Before taking the leap into a new career or heading off to grad school, get your bearings first. To avoid going down a dead end road, it's important to be clear about what career paths you're innately cut out for.

Worldwide, very intelligent people are making career choices that aren't panning out. Although most parents and teachers say that you can do anything you want with hard work, what they don't say is how bored you'll be if you're not into the subject matter or naturally talented for the daily work in your field. Thirty percent of my clients are newly minted lawyers that can't stand the typical day-to-day nature of legal work.

The main underlying reason for career dissatisfaction is a mismatch with natural talents and abilities. Smart career decision-making is counter to conventional wisdom; people who attain long-term career satisfaction and overall success in life aren't working harder, they're working smarter by doing what they are. In fact, many of the happiest career changers have intentionally ignored family pressures to stick with their socially prestigeous careers.

Over half of my clients are in their late 30s and early 40s, they are well-educated people who have already attempted a major career change. Even with an expensive graduate degree and a high paying job, they still haven't found their fit; they made the same mistake twice. It's difficult to make a good career decision without knowing what you're best at. If you gamble again, the odds are likely that you'll wake up 10 years from now in the same situation.

By the time you reach mid-career it gets much harder to drag yourself out of bed to go to a job you don't enjoy. If you don't genuinely like your work, it gets increasingly more difficult to stay competitive in your field. Faking an interest in your work causes unhealthy stress that can make you sick and impedes your ability to excel. If you're considering a major career change around 30, this is the best time to get it right.

The good news, there are professional tools and methodologies to help you make smart career choices. Pathfinders offers a state-of-the-art Careerfinder Program to help you figure out what you're really good at and a knowledgeable career coach can guide you in designing and launching a sustainable and exciting Career Change.

If the future doesn't come toward you, you'll have to go fetch it. ~Zulu proverb