\n1. A vocation<\/strong> – \u201cIt\u2019s the difference between saying I \u2018am\u2019 a doctor versus I \u2018work as\u2019 a doctor,\u201d he
\nsaid.
\n2. Keeping your job to a minimum <\/strong>– \u201cthis person won\u2019t get too invested in their job or career. They find an easy job so they can invest all their time and energy outside of work.\u201d
\n3. Go up the corporate ladder <\/strong>– \u201cthis person wants to achieve maximum earnings and power from their work and that can be quite addictive\u201d, Chris said.
\n4. Early retirement <\/strong>– \u201cthese people work really hard and get out early. But that\u2019s highly risky, and usually quite stressful.\u201d
\n5. Self-employed<\/strong> – with the goal of setting up a company and selling it. Not easy!
\n6. Self-employed as a lifestyle business<\/strong> – \u201cyou\u2019re just you and you sell your time. For example, a builder, designer, or a traveling trainer like me. You are what you do, and you can\u2019t lose your job, you can\u2019t be made redundant. It\u2019s similar to having a vocation. You live and die by the quality of your work. I was made redundant three times, I was just unlucky with bosses and companies. It\u2019s almost certainly not all because of you if you\u2019re out of work\u201d, Chris said. \u201cHowever long-term unemployment can create a circle of bitterness, and that doesn\u2019t look good in an interview. You begin to say \u2018what\u2019s the point?\u2019. That attitude must change, which is really difficult to achieve on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever someone is doing, Chris emphasizes the importance of his mantra \u201cachieving and enjoying,
\nboth from work and from home\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are plenty of books out there about success and how to achieve lots in your work, but it\u2019s just as important to achieving things outside your work, and not for money or fame, but for example helping out with the local kid’s football team, or having a hundred types of fuchsias growing in your greenhouse, or writing a book and sticking it on amazon kindle. So ideally people would achieve at home too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris says that it’s not good enough just to achieve, but also to enjoy your work. \u201cRelentlessly keep looking even if you\u2019re sixty. Somewhere you\u2019ll find your \u201cikigai\u201d, which involves doing something that you love, and that you\u2019re good at, and that will benefit others \u2013 then you\u2019ve found your purpose in life.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t think about the money, find what you love first,\u201d he said. For Chris enjoying both home and work and achieving both at home and in work is his meaning of life, \u201ccall me greedy but I don\u2019t think it is too much to ask to enjoy both home and work \u2013 we can all aim for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chris says he was glad he was made redundant three times because \u201cit made me take the plunge that I wouldn\u2019t have taken otherwise. For those who are out of work because of the pandemic or otherwise you now have a chance to have a reappraisal. It\u2019s tough at the time but for me, it was a positive thing, it gave me the push I needed. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s a sign, or destiny or something, but it is a push. It\u2019s depressing <\/p>\n![\"Ikigai](\"https:\/\/blog.recruitireland.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ikigai-1-600x600.png\")
Photo: forbes.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nand often unjust when you don\u2019t have a job and others do, but you may well look back and say it might be the best thing that\u2019s ever happened \u2013 maybe you can MAKE it the best thing that\u2019s ever happened to you. Get advice, listen to it and do it: attitude is so important,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n