Every child is asked the same question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
When I was six, I wanted to be a doctor. Doctors were wizards. They waved stethoscopes like magic wands and cured fevers with pink elixir. They possessed a superpower no other profession could match. At eight, I changed my answer. I wanted to be a LEGO masterbuilder. Nothing beats discovering that you can get paid to build LEGOs all day.
Simon Squibb, the multi-millionaire famous for his viral “What’s your dream?” street interviews, suggests a better question: “What problem do I want to solve?”
While most people choose from a menu of predefined careers, the problem-focused explore them like Indiana Jones. With a torch in hand, they wander into places most people never think to look.
One of the biggest career mistakes people make is exploring too little. Many get stuck in medicine, law or PhDs because they felt like safe, prestigious choices rather than a genuine calling. Though not dead careers by any means, they may be ill-suited for a specific person. Broader exploration often leads to a better fit and more meaningful work.
So, how should you explore?
Jordan Peterson puts it like this: “Your destiny is manifest within the problems that seize you.”
Problems are like magnets. They tug at us and pull us towards the work we are meant to do. Some of us are tormented by animal suffering. Others, by bad leadership or human injustices. These are not problems we chose, but problems that chose us. What annoys you is often what you’re called to fix.
To find these problems, treat the early stages of your search like a laboratory running experiments all day. Take the consulting gig, then try the startup. Volunteer at the animal shelter, then freelance for the nonprofit. Some work will make your brain light up like a pinball machine, others will feel like chewing on cardboard. Over time, you’ll notice yourself leaning towards certain problems the way a plant bends towards sunlight.
Your calling won’t arrive in a lightning bolt of clarity. Instead, it gradually emerges from the data you collect in your laboratory of experiments. And one day, in a moment of epiphany, everything will click: "This is it. This is what I was made to do.”