In his recent book, The Person Called You: Why You're Here, Why You Matter and What You Should Do With Your Life, author and giftedness expert Bill Hendricks put bluntly what so many of us have felt... but didn't put into words this concise,

• "I'm still trying to figure out what to do when I grow up,

• The students who wanted to crawl under a chair when yet another adult asked them,"What are you going to major in?"

• or worse, "What are you going to do when you graduate?"

So, why do you feel stupid? Because, somehow in a culture that offers very little, or practically no guidance in equipping us to maximize our best abilities, gifts and talents, we're supposed to just somehow "know it" "find it" or "figure it out." As if by some kind of magical insights...

[cryout-pullquote >The Three Most Important Questions You Can Ask Your Teenager. He writes,

1. Who tells us who we are?

2. Where do we want to go with our lives?

3. How do we want to get there?"

In a world with 1800 different college majorsnow officially offered (growing each year), and "Career Planner" offers over 12,000 different careers, is it any wonder that in today's modern world, that most of us feel somewhat "stupid" when it comes to choosing?

How should one even start?

As Bill Hendricks shared, "We're really only less than a century into this new career economy." Almost none of these 12,000 existed just a few years ago!

Consider the typical 1700's conversation: "George, Would you rather be a farmer, a butcher, baker or candle-stick make? Agnes, would you rather work in the home? Or work in someone else's home?"

Today, George or Agnes (well, Brandon or Cassidy) would be able to consider things like, organic agriculture, biotechnology, homeland security, computer game design, forensic accounting or nanotechnology.

With ALL THESE OPTIONS, we've yet to realize what kind of resources are being wasted and smart people allowed to feel stupid because most have yet to find their "convergence point" with any real intentionality. Most don't know its even possible!

Few education, spiritual and business systems have adapted to this new world of seeing that intentional guidance and discovery in this area can change everything for the chronic misplacement where still 80% of people hate their jobs.

My friend and mentor Ralph Mattson (who co-authored Finding a Job You Can Love) once passionately shared with a told a group of business leaders in Boston, "We've worked hard to figure out how to put a man on the moon, but we have yet to figure out how to help an 18-year-old figure out what he should major in college or what job he should apply for!?"

And yes, some do find their way by "hook or by crook." They connect their gifting and skills, passions and interests, needs and markets and platforms that work and make their way.

But, too many , teens, twenty-somethings, thirty-somethings and beyond feel somewhat confused... trying to make their way alone or as many others experience, stuck and feeling stupid.

Yes, we're all ultimately responsible for finding our way -but, along with Bill Hendricks and a small handful of others, I see the emergence of a new profession of "giftedness coaches" who help others maximize who they are, what they do best with the needs and opportunities in the world.

Can you see yourself joining that cadre and creating a world where people no longer feel stupid, stuck, misplaced or under performing in their work?

If so, get in touch.

There really are better ways than stumbling forward in the dark.

PS. One of the clues along the way is getting fully clear on your PASSION. For the next few days download my tool PassionFinder 2.0 at no cost. DOWNLOAD HERE.