James' Story

I’m 47 years old. Every job I’ve held up until now has been the "luck of the draw." If someone hired me, I stayed there until whatever bitter end awaited me. Some jobs didn’t last because it was soon obvious that I was not where I belonged; the thought of installing insulation in crawl spaces still makes my skin itch! Most of the time, though, I’d stay in office jobs for at least five years until finally driven to quit due to the work stress.

I had no idea what else I could do. It wasn’t that I had no interests. I have had countless obscure enthusiasms, but I could never see a way to focus these into any kind of career.

My last job was fourteen years at a bank, shifting from IRA transaction processing to accounting to software development. No matter what job I held, I dreaded going into work each day. Near the end I not only experienced job burnout but discovered new, transcendent levels of it. Finally, the stress started to mimic neurological damage, going from a light tingling in my toes to numbness and pain in all four limbs. When I learned from my doctor that this was entirely caused by stress, I knew I had to escape my job while I was still alive.

Previously I had considered career counseling and I knew about Centerpoint from its website, but had never followed up. Once I quit this last job, though, I knew that I needed help. I attended one of Centerpoint’s weekly orientations to get a better feel for the organization before committing to any services. My impression was favorable and I made an appointment with a career counselor, which led to my signing up for the Passion Search™ workshop.

I actually struggled with the decision to attend this class and was worried about convincing my wife that it was the right thing to do. As it turned out, the Passion Search™ workshop was life-changing for me. At first it was a little scary—I felt exposed presenting my life to others in class—but it turned out to be one of the most positive and constructive environments that I had ever been in. The insight of the other students was key; not only did they help me see the gifts that I possess, but I became amazed at how gifted everyone else was, each in a completely different way. The end goal of the workshop was to draft career and life vision statements and, until the very end, I had no idea how the various assignments would lead to that. Amazingly, everything fell into place and I came up with statements that truly express who I am and what I need in order to flourish.

Now I feel alive and confident like never before. Not only are my vision statements inspiring to me, they inspire others including a friend who is now going through Passion Search.

Before Centerpoint, I had some vague inklings of what I’d like to do, but now I have a solid direction for myself. I am currently juggling three projects that match my career vision and I hope at least one of them turns out to be profitable. But if not, I’m not worried. I’m still exploring and fine-tuning my vision. I know I’m closer than ever before to finding my true calling.