One of the challenges of being in HR is that we have career goals and lifetime desires that have been put in abeyance or forfeited in order to climb the HR ladder of fulfillment and success. Sometimes those goals get set aside in deference to the one who could become our life partner, whether that means spouse or companion or whatever other definition we choose to assign to that term. We keep those goals private and never publicly reveal them even to our most intimate of friends or that special person in our life. The very last to know about the stars we see on our personal horizon are our co-workers and superiors.

For the sake of those who have closet aspirations to grab our stars, I will share the list I sprayed my friend with. This should allow you the space you need to identify with the goals and even share some of your own aspirations. Who knows. The sooner you're empowered to show others which stars you've claimed, the sooner it may be possible for you to receive the support, mentoring, and realization of those very goals in order to attain them.

It was the Sunday before July 30 [July 26, 2009] when I finally revealed how I feel about my work. I told him:

"On Sunday, I returned to my work with more energy and earnestness. I derive the most fulfillment from my work. My mind opens. I see the possibilities and the unasked questions. Maybe that's why my colleagues call me a visionary and a thought leader. I enjoy the challenge that offers.

"Not only did I have a situation before me on Sunday that I began to blog about, but I also began to follow up on a message sent to me that relates to salaries and compensation. As I researched and wrote, even more information began to tumble into my lap. And then the predictable happened. Some other priorities supplanted my writing. Curfew cut off my remaining time. And then a lack of power outlets and one that had no power turned off my laptop and destroyed the content I started on Sunday.

"I love my work. It is me; it's my identity. I enjoy being challenged with seeing and comprehending the deeper message and getting past the superficial. I love understanding more and learning more about what there is -- the underlying basis from which the concept or practice sprang. It seems I'm cursed. I cannot get my heart's desire fulfilled in any way.


"But as to my wishes, I'll list them:

* Pass the bar and then go into practice
* Get my books published with enormous popularity and sales
* Travel the world
* Have hundreds clamoring for me to be a speaker on my subject matters
* Find I have more requests than time to do all of the trainings and workshops I have
* Discover there are millions benefitting from my endeavors (for which I'm being financially compensated)
* A very happy, comfortable, and safe home of my own
* A very sound estate plan and the tools to actualize it when and as needed"

Apparently, I left him speechless.

Now that these matters are no longer part of the longstanding secret, perhaps I can begin to muster the momentum needed to tear down the barriers to their fulfillment and start harvesting my professional stars rather than just reaching for them.

For the sake of your own career development, my wish is that you also identify the right person to whom you can reveal your goals and delightedly learn that they will do whatever is necessary to help you actualize them.