Work It Real Good Book Series: Chapters 4 & 5: Heart-Mind Connection and Passion & PurposeHere’s a statistic that might surprise you: the average person stays in a role for only 18 months. We’re changing jobs almost as often as we change our jeans, hopping from opportunity to opportunity, thinking the next one will finally be “the one.”But it never is.I see it all the time in my coaching practice. Someone comes to me complaining about their terrible boss, their unfulfilling work, their lack of pay or flexibility. And look, these complaints might all be 100% valid. But here’s what I’ve learned after years of helping people transform their careers: if external circumstances were really the problem, then everyone who got a pay rise or changed jobs would be living happily ever after.That’s not what happens.The truth is harder to hear, but it’s also more empowering: peace and fulfillment come from connection with your true self and working in a career that honors who you are.There’s this incredible concept from the HeartMath Institute called “heart coherence” – it’s what happens when your heart and mind work together in genuine connection. Their research shows that when we achieve this state, our heart and brain operate as a single system, maximizing energy, preventing stress, and increasing mental clarity.The problem? For most people, this only happens by accident.Our energetic heart is constantly communicating intuitive information to our mind, but we ignore it because our ego overrides those quiet suggestions. You know that feeling when you just know what you should do, but you talk yourself out of it? That’s your ego drowning out your heart’s intelligence.Developing heart coherence requires two things: courage and tenacity. Courage to do things that scare you, to get uncomfortable, to face your deepest fears. And tenacity to keep going when it gets hard, to try new approaches, to refuse to give up.I call the breakthrough moment “the shift.” It’s that pivotal point when everything clicks, when you tune into your heart coherence and suddenly have permission to be who you were always meant to be. For some of my clients, it’s confronting. For others, it’s like coming home.Once you’ve connected with your heart, you need to understand what drives you. That’s where passion and purpose come in.Passion is simple: it’s what you’re curious about. As Oprah told me when I saw her speak in Melbourne, your calling is based on whatever you’re curious about. So pay attention to what makes time disappear, what lights you up, what gives you that burning feeling in your stomach.Purpose is deeper. It’s the meaning behind your career – the thing that enables you to bear almost anything to succeed. Viktor Frankl, the concentration camp survivor and psychologist, taught us that we need to focus on a cause greater than our own personal gain to find real meaning.Here’s the counterintuitive truth: if you want success, don’t chase it. Chase purpose. Success, like happiness, must ensue as a side effect of dedication to something greater than yourself.Look at companies like Thank You Water or Who Gives A Crap. They started with purpose (clean water access, toilet access), learned to be good at what they did, made it profitable, and discovered they loved it.That’s the formula: Find what matters to you + Get good at it + Make it profitable = Love your work.But it all starts with the inner work. You can’t skip heart coherence. You can’t bypass passion and purpose. The external changes – the new job, the career pivot, the business launch – only work when they’re built on this foundation.So stop job-hopping. Start soul-searching. Your dream career isn’t out there waiting to be found. It’s inside you, waiting to be built.Rachel Sparkes, your HR Bestie from Big TechLove Your Work! Order Work It Real Good Book - Click hereInterview Secrets Training - Click hereSubscribe to the Love Your Work! Substack - Click Here

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