Soul Work is brilliant … and it is only sustainable if you can make a living at it. The model in Unit 2 lacks one additional, very important, element – will anyone pay you to do it? So we need to add in the final element of viable work – Profit: That gives us two more intersections to think about: “Role Work” and “Goal Work”. As part of finding your focus, these are less important than Soul Work, but you still need to be aware of what they are, for you – they will help you clarify your relationship with the things you do in your life. For this unit only, you are coming back to the present – you need to be thinking about what is now, and how that will change as you move towards your perfect day.

Role Work

Role Work is where your capabilities (Power) meet what people want to pay for (Profit) – and does not overlap with what you love doing (no Passion). Very often we take work we would rather not do, simply to pay the bills – in our role as “householder”, “parent”, “breadwinner”. In fact, this is so common these days, our work ethic makes us believe that this is the way it has to be – work is something you have to do, you’re not supposed to enjoy it, it’s a silly indulgence to believe you can love making a living. But that was not always the case, and it certainly doesn’t have to continue to be the case for you, once you decide to truly let loose your unique genius. And Role Work comes into play even when you actually enjoy the majority of your work.  Most jobs come with a role that you are required to play: “Accountant”, “Manager”, “Secretary”, “Scientist”, even “Business Owner”. And job titles have job descriptions – usually including at least a few tasks that the job-holder would really rather not have to do: filing, staff management, selling maybe? That too is Role Work – stuff that you can do and must do if you want your salary paid at the end of the month, but for you it has no enjoyment attached.  You may not be able to avoid doing this stuff - but you do want to know when you are doing Role Work.

Goal Work

So what about the work that you would love to do (Passion), and that others would gladly pay you to do (Profit), but you simply don’t have the capability to do (no Power)? That’s Goal Work – if you really want to do that, you are going to have to set yourself a goal of learning to do it well. For those running their own business, this also includes the stuff you know people would pay for, but you are struggling to get clients for – your goal is to learn to market it effectively.

Identify your Role Work and your Goal Work

Which aspects of your current work would you call “Role Work” – things that you would rather not do, but you need to, to keep the business running, or to keep a roof over your head? And what are the things that you would dearly love to do, if only you knew how? Write down the essential elements of each, together with any ideas for how they will change between now and you perfect day.- how will Role Work become something you no longer have to do, and what will you learn to enable you to do your Goal Work? Enjoy this exercise, and I'll see you in the next module!