Work.  It's a big part of life.  With travel time, it can be 45 to 60 hours a week.  Half your waking time.  And that's not including all the time you spend thinking about work.

I first noticed my dissatisfaction in my career.  And I had great jobs.  I was an advertising and marketing executive, with $20 million dollar budgets.  I was an organizational development consultant on a client who had global operations and made profits well over $100 million dollars.  I was an investment banker, working on deals with anywhere from $5 million to $50 million in size.

None of these satisfied me.  It took me quite awhile to realize that my dissatisfaction had very little to do with what line of work I chose.  I was always focused on the next achievement, the next mountain - always convinced that if only I had a bigger job, a larger paycheque, a more prestigious position, then I would be happy.

I had no idea how to live in the present - how to find serenity and joy along the way.

In retrospect, I discovered that I was doing work that was not right for me.  I mean, I was good at it, and I had talents for it, but I felt a lack of meaning in my work.  Why was I doing this work?  For whom was I doing this work?  Who was I trying to impress, prove myself to?

Then with the help of a counselor I saw my truth:

My father.

Of course.  It was so close to home that I couldn't see it.  I couldn't see how  I wanted him to pat me on the back and say, "Good job.  I'm proud of you."

I was in a men's group once and the leader asked eight of us men, how many of us chose our careers because it was what our fathers wanted us to do?  Four hands shot up.  And how many of us had chosen our careers because it was NOT what our fathers wanted us to do.  And the other four hands went up!

As you focus on being more present, you begin to shed your past - your mother's beliefs about what "good boys and girls" do - your father's desire to make himself look good in the eyes of his colleagues - by you doing something that he thinks is right for you - even if you don't. 

When you stop, slow down, and listen in the present moment, you'll hear the quiet inner voice within, telling you what is right for you.  What's Important Now for you. 

Of course, there's a catch - you won't know the answer upfront.  You have to first focus on being present, perhaps for some period of time, before you can clearly see and understand who you are, hidden behind the years of expectations that others have foisted upon you, and that you have reluctantly bought into.

The good news, is that all of your baggage can be shed, if you learn how to notice when it is being triggered and how to let it go.  You learn how when you master being real in the present moment, taught exclusively in the Present Living coaching program.