How to find a job that makes you come alive

The useful part

That was an odd notion because I had enjoyed my career and had held numerous leadership positions. This job brought me back into transportation after a stint in local government. The pay was great and the head of the company pointed to the general manager's chair and promised I would soon be sitting there.

How it works

• Instead, the years went by, and my responsibilities shifted and then shrank until I was doing almost nothing I enjoyed.
• I became essentially a "paper pusher" doing administrative minutiae and reports.
• Once a customer scolded me in a large staff meeting because the tail of my necktie was askew and ordered me to leave the meeting until I straightened it.

Details worth keeping

Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that. The environment also was stifling, bureaucratic and micromanaged. It was humiliation designed to reinforce a culture of fear and control.