The 7-Part Blueprint to a Fulfilling Career

If you think getting that next great job or business breakthrough will be the thing that fulfills you, you’re wrong.

Two key things you need to understand up front — this is not only Jeremy speaking, this is wisdom from the wealthy and non-wealthy that found greater fulfillment (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Quick aside: if you want a wake-up call about material possessions and happiness, go to a third world country and see if you find happy people there.

Keep those two things in mind as we go on this 7-part exploration together — Take a breath and step away from the rat race with me. Let’s slow down, get real, and see where this deeper look at life can take us—you won’t want to miss it.This 7-part blueprint is meant to help you unlock the personal confidence and energy that leads to fulfillment at work, naturally spilling over into every part of your life. If you’re like me, no one ever took the time to guide you in discovering your true uniqueness, what genuinely brings you joy and energy, and which direction you should pursue—especially in your career.

Have you ever felt certain you had all the answers—only to realize ehh, maybe not? Maybe, like me, you never even asked these deeper questions until recently…like right now 🤦.

You’re not alone! Many people think they “know themselves” simply by bundling all their likes, dislikes, goals, and habits—as if they capture your essence. I’ve found this to result in a comically big misunderstanding of self.

Truly knowing yourself goes much deeper. It means asking big questions, digging beneath the surface, and uncovering the real substance of your identity and purpose. Imagine waking up each day with the joy and confidence of knowing exactly who you are and the direction you’ve committed to. I promise you are 100% unique—and that’s a truly beautiful thing to offer the world, lean into it.

In this series, we’ll explore how genuine self-knowledge sets the foundation for you to shape your life, build lasting confidence, and make wise, time-conscious choices that lead to greater career fulfillment. Curious to do some discovering together? Let’s go 🎬

Have you ever made a decision you thought was “so you”, only to regret it later? Or felt pulled in different directions by friends, family, and society’s expectations of you? These are strong signs that you’re building your life on sand (shifty stuff) rather than on a solid foundation of true self-knowledge and confident identity. Major risk alert here - if we keep going down this path, it leads to something I’ve decided just now to call the cyclical setback.

And that’s all the time we have...😅. Seriously though, I’m trying to keep these to about 500 words per newsletter. Think about those questions ^^ ahead of next issue. We’ll do a full dive into Part 1 together. See you in the next issue! 🙌

Let’s unpack the cyclical setback a bit. Simply put, it’s when you feel like you’re making steady progress in some direction, then a problem pops up and suddenly you’re questioning everything. “Why am I doing this?” “What was the point?” “I didn’t even want this in the first place.” You get frustrated, upset, maybe even angry—and it hits harder than a regular bad day because you actually make some severe changes as a result. This can happen over and over again. If it does, that’s the cyclical setback.

You think you know yourself—but something’s off. The problem? You’re building on shifty sand. We often follow others, hoping to discover ourselves passively rather than using their stories as useful reference points. But real discovery doesn’t happen through imitation. It happens in quiet, intentional moments alone—when you finally start asking yourself the questions only you can answer.

If we’re serious about becoming who we were made to be—not just collecting titles, money, or chasing recognition—then we have to go deeper. But let’s not confuse the process of exploring with arriving at truth. Discovery is essential, yes—but it’s not yet a foundation. We’re forgetful, easily influenced people. Without regular reflection, we start building our identity on borrowed opinions or surface-level experiences. That’s the shifting sand as a foundation problem. Conviction is the kind of foundation that holds and usually forms in quiet moments—when you’ve wrestled with something long enough to call it your own. Skip that part, and what you’ve built won’t hold when life starts to shake things up.

True self-knowledge digs into the stuff that stays with you no matter where you are or who you’re with—your values, passions, and principles.

People who really know themselves don’t wait for others to hand them options—they create situations that align with their values. In practice, that could look like this: if you know you value truly helping others, you don’t just wait for someone to ask for help—you actively seek out ways to help. In doing so, you become the pilot of your life, not just a passenger. That mindset shift from reactive to proactive becomes possible—almost inevitable—when you’re building from a solid foundation of self-knowledge and identity.

Who am I?

What am I doing with my life?

What do I have to offer the world?

Remember—you are unique for a reason. Lean into that uniqueness, play with it, be curious. If you can start to answer those types of questions with any degree of confidence, you’re already ahead of most people.

Last time, we unpacked how shaky self-knowledge can lead to reactive living—and then cyclical setbacks. But here’s the thing: there’s one resource that quietly shapes whether we grow or stay stuck—and it’s often overlooked. Not just how we use it, but how much we value it. That’s the difference between progress and another venture around the same old cycle.

A revelation hit me a while back as I was evaluating my behavior—both what I was doing and what I wasn’t. I kept asking: “Why do I feel so busy but so unaccomplished?” “Why do some people seem so much more productive than me?”

To get real answers, I had to dig a bit deeper. That’s when I started noticing some patterns.

I was naturally more of a listener than a speaker, more of an optimizer than an initiator. Those traits weren’t bad—but too much of a good thing made me more reactive than I wanted to be. I was used to responding to others, not wrestling with my own ideas from the heart. That quietly limited what I was capable of. I was hearing plenty—but rarely overflowing creatively from my identity.

I was spending time on things I wasn’t convicted about—because I hadn’t stopped to think about what truly mattered. That’s the trap of not valuing this asset: you drift into other people’s priorities without even realizing it. Consumer brands & social media play into this big time btw (consume vs create is a whole other topic, for another time).

People-pleasers know the drill—we avoid tension, try to keep things smooth, and end up overextending ourselves. I also craved quick wins—happy people, easy tasks, things that looked like progress. Especially in startup life, where wearing a lot of hats was a requirement, it was easy to confuse “being busy” with “progress.”

But the results? Shallow progress. Burnout. Procrastination. Fake harmony. Even if that’s not your exact story, I bet part of it still lands.

So what was the problem? Unintentionally, I was okay with misusing my time.

We touched on this briefly in Part 1—proactive vs. reactive living. We need to realize how limited time really is and start acting like it matters by taking control of it back. “Successful” people aren’t working harder—they’re just more intentional with their time. That internal shift has huge implications.

And to dispel misconceptions—passing on an opportunity isn’t about being rude; it’s about being honest. Does this thing move me in the direction I want to go? If not, then respectfully decline.

People who value their time reflect, plan, and pray. They make space to figure out what matters. Because of that, their time naturally gets spent directionally on the right things—even if it’s not perfect in every moment. It’s the direction that matters most.

But when we don’t value time, we drift. We say yes to too much and wonder why we’re not where we want to be.

If you treat time like the scarce, powerful resource it is—that’s how you start to break the cycles. That’s when momentum builds. That’s when change begins to stick.

Are you happy with your use of time? What would you change? Pause and think about that for a few minutes…

In earlier parts, we discussed how surface-level self-awareness can lead to cycles of setbacks as well as the critical importance of valuing our time. Now, let’s build on those ideas by intentionally investing our time in creating a solid foundation for our career and life. Why is this important? Because when our sense of self is clear and stable, we confidently build toward genuine fulfillment rather than chasing fleeting external rewards (quick dopamine hits don’t fulfill us). Without clarity, it’s easy to drift, becoming burned out or frustrated—signs our foundation wasn’t stable from the start.

A firm personal foundation moves us from reactive living to intentional living. True self-awareness grounds us in core values, guiding decisions from internal alignment rather than external pressures.

Personally, I spent close to eight years living a half-aligned life which made for an incredibly difficult period to say the least. I often felt like I was moving in the right direction, yet moments of cognitive dissonance revealed deeper conflicts, leaving me feeling completely unaccomplished—just spinning my wheels. My first instinct was to power through by working harder, but that was unsustainable and didn’t address the root issues. Eventually, I realized that I truly needed exactly what we’re discussing here: slowing down, engaging in deep self-reflection, ensuring internal alignment, and ultimately changing my behavior to match my identified true values. That last part was especially challenging because it meant losing some relationships I deeply valued but recognized were misaligned with the direction I believed was best for me—the person I wanted to become, and the impact I felt called toward. One key thing for me was double-clicking on my personal faith which helped me understand the importance of living from internal conviction rather than external expectations—an inside-out approach rather than an outside-in one.

Remember, each of us is unique, and our greatest fulfillment comes from genuinely leaning into that uniqueness.

Ready to begin the process of solidifying your foundation? Here's a good place to start:

Deepening self-awareness creates lasting confidence anchored in authenticity. Remember, each step genuinely reflecting your identity becomes its own reward—leading to stability, growth, and genuine confidence.

Building on our discussion of deep self-awareness, let's now dive into discovering your unique gifts and the meaningful impact you can make. As we've discussed earlier, external rewards alone won't provide lasting satisfaction—real fulfillment comes from aligning your actions deeply with your identity and values.

One of the most exciting outcomes of truly knowing yourself is beginning to uncover what makes you unique—your God-given gifts, what drives you, and where you can have the biggest impact in the world around you. It's about leaning into what you're genuinely meant to do, not simply following the paths others expect or suggest for you.

Recognize that you are uniquely made—there is no duplicate of you, past, present, or future. Accepting this fact opens the door to genuine fulfillment, especially when you focus on leaning in to your uniqueness to positively impact others. Remember, discovering your gifts is an ongoing journey that requires patience, curiosity, and humility. Your understanding of yourself should grow with time, naturally.

How do you begin identifying your unique gifts? Start by paying close attention to what energizes and excites you. Notice the activities where your eyes light up, your enthusiasm becomes contagious, and you lose track of time. These are strong signals pointing toward your natural abilities and interests—areas worthy of deeper exploration. Pursuing something with genuine curiosity allows you to deeply explore and truly discover if it's aligned with who you are. The sincere act of doing is often the best teacher—sometimes you'll be surprised by what resonates after wholeheartedly trying it. Conversely, also notice what drains your energy and leaves you unmotivated; these are equally valuable insights that help narrow your focus.

True motivation emerges from a genuine alignment between your passions and your actions. When you consistently engage in activities aligned with your intrinsic motivations, not only does your confidence grow, but your expertise naturally deepens. Over time, this positions you to make a truly significant impact on the lives of others. Remember, fulfillment rarely arises from isolated personal achievements; rather, it comes from leveraging your unique abilities to positively affect your community and the world around you.

Something I’m currently learning is that life and interests can come in seasons. It’s perfectly okay if a particular focus naturally shifts out of view—you don’t have to remain tied to one area of interest forever. Embracing a seasonal approach lets you fully immerse yourself for a meaningful period, gaining deeper insights and clarity. After that intentional engagement, you can confidently decide if it’s worthwhile to extend into another season. Also keep in mind that from a career perspective, the more skilled you are in something specific, the more people will want to pay for your expertise. Don’t be motivated by money or the job, but it’s good to remember that the deeper you go with something, the more value you are able to deliver to others (regardless of whether you’re compensated monetarily or not).

Ready to start uncovering your unique gifts? Here are some practical steps to guide your exploration:

Reflect on Past Experiences: Identify moments or activities from your past where you felt most energized and fulfilled. Write these down to reveal recurring themes.

Seek Trusted Feedback: Consult friends, family, or mentors who understand you well. Often, others see strengths in us that we might overlook.

Test and Explore: Commit to exploring activities or skills that resonate with your identified strengths. Engage deeply enough to determine whether these align with your identity and motivations.

Understanding and embracing your unique gifts isn't a self-centered pursuit; it's about realizing that your greatest fulfillment comes from making a meaningful contribution that only you can offer. Accepting and celebrating your distinctiveness empowers you to confidently deliver your expertise to the world—leading to deeper joy, lasting fulfillment, and profound impact.

IN PROGRESS: With each issue we’ll be adding more content to this page

UPDATED: April 16, 2025