Just a quick post here about a short piece I heard from NPR lately (the truth is my wonderful wife sent me a link to this piece). It unites several interests of mine – including product development, personal growth, goal setting, and discovering a sense of purpose – and I’d encourage you to take the roughly 7 minutes to listen. Here is the link: http://www.npr.org/2017/01/02/507854095/design-thinking-could-help-those-who-want-to-get-unstuck

This brief story talks about applying design theory – a way of doing product discovery and creation that involves iterative development and a willingness to ‘fail early and often’ along the path to learning – to the job search process. Actually it sets even that process in a larger context of ‘designing your life’ with an encouragement to experiment with possible life paths rather than trying to find the mythical ‘perfect’ job or life. The basic idea is that between the real circumstances of life (like a need for income) and our dreams or passions we can make choices to design a life that fits our constraints and still touches what matters most. Following the steps outlined won’t necessarily  get you quickly to a happy life of course because in truth it’s not that simple.