Best Job Ever!
Rethink Your Career, Redefine Rich, Revolutionize Your Life

Best Job Ever! is the ultimate guide to creating your dream career and increasing your financial success by providing you with valuable and insightful career information, personal stories and examples of others who have successfully created their Best Job Ever! Written by a nationally recognized expert in career development, this book provides you with a concrete, step-by-step blueprint for revolutionizing your career and revamping your life. You'll find the motivation you need to climb out of your daily ruts as you dig deep to discover your personal motivation, financial needs, and career and life goals. This actionable guide gets you started right away as you explore various avenues for improvement?whether that means re-engaging with the job you have, getting that promotion or making a career change. You'll learn how to overcome career fear, beat job boredom, find and follow your passion while advancing your skill sets and building a career and life plan. The stories will help you decide when to forge ahead with your current career, when to change tracks entirely and how to increase your salary while doing it. If a career change is in the cards, you'll learn how to make the transition with minimal disruption to your finances and emotional well being so you can get quickly get back on track to achieving your dreams.

Do you currently love your job? Have you ever loved your job? Whether you're in the wrong career or just lost the passion somewhere along the way, this book gives you a clear action plan with step by step guidance to help you build the career and life you want.

• Discover the principles of career development
• Create a job that is meaningful and fulfilling
• Increase Your Career Income
• Minimize the financial impact of changing careers/What to do when you get laid off or fired.
• Build the life and career you want and find happiness while doing it

The vast majority of employees feel disconnected from their careers and dread going to work. Life is short! Don't waste your days in unfulfilling career when there are options out there to create the Best Job Ever! and find meaningful, fulfilling and financially rewarding work.

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: My Story and Why You Need This Book xiii

Chapter 1 You Don’t Have to Wait for Your Dream Career to Be Happy 1

Chapter 2 Eighty-Seven Percent of Employees Don’t Like Their Jobs: Here Are the Top Five Reasons Why and What to Do About It 11

Chapter 3 Why You Haven’t Changed Anything: Career Fear 23

Chapter 4 What If I Don’t Know What to Do? 37

Chapter 5 Career Excuses: All the Reasons You Don’t Have Your Best Job Ever! 47

Chapter 6 Career Boredom 53

Chapter 7 Redefine Rich 65

Chapter 8 Why You Are NOT Stuck in Your Career: The Power of Change 77

Chapter 9 What Career and Life Do You Want and Why? 85

Chapter 10 You Can Follow Your Passion Without Quitting Your Job 101

Chapter 11 Career Plan Step #1: What Is Your Job? 113

Chapter 12 Career Plan Step #2: Discover Your Strengths 119

Chapter 13 Career Plan Step #3: What Makes You Awesome at Work? 127

Chapter 14 Career Plan Step #4: One-, Three-, and Five-Year Plan 133

Chapter 15 Career Plan Step #5: The Big “Why?” 143

Chapter 16 Career Plan Step #6: Your Community 149

Chapter 17 Career Plan Step #7: Identify Both Personal and Professional Barriers to Your Success 159

Chapter 18 Career Plan Step #8: Achieving Your Career Plan: The Power of Work 169

Chapter 19 Career Plan Step #9: Return on Investment 177

Chapter 20 Career Change: Try Before You Buy 183

Chapter 21 Money, Finances, and Your Career Change 193

Chapter 22 When Everything Goes Wrong 201

Chapter 23 Start Doing: Take Focused, Smart Actions 211

Index 219

DR. C.K. BRAY is a nationally recognized career and organizational development expert and corporate consultant who speaks and trains worldwide. Working with individuals and a variety of organizations ranging from Fortune 100 companies to Silicon Valley start-ups, he helps employees and leaders develop skills in leadership, success, engagement, and career development. He also provides free career advice at DrCkBray.com through his podcast, blog, and videos. Dr. Bray lives with his wife and six children in Arizona.