"If you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, " said Henry David Thoreau, "and endeavor to live the life you have imagined, you will meet with unexpected success."

Finding your right work can improve your life. Considerably. When you cut to the chase, focus on the essentials, and do work that is both satisfying to you and fulfilling to the world, you will feel your precious life going somewhere.

The key to a life that you may never have dared imagine before is finding satisfaction in work.

How do you move in this direction, shrugging off the work that you have taken on out of desperation or necessity and beginning the work that expresses who you are in the world?

It takes inner work to make the transition. Focus on your creative mind, reflect on what work you like to do, and contemplate on your skills and talents. Think back on what you have learned from both good and bad past experiences. What works and what does not work for you?

Each of us is different. Each of us has a unique purpose. Each of us is unique in our talents. Each of us is exceptionally qualified to do some things better than almost everyone around us. We come into this world with gifts, and when we do work other than what we are talented to do, we feel immense discomfort.

Our gifts call to us to express them. When we deny this call, when we pretend to be somebody we are not and do things that we have little or no interest in, then we feel the weight of our own self-betrayal.

You may have to look for your right work. Or it may be obvious to you. The Latin word for work is "vocation." It means, "calling." Calling, in turn, is related to your voice. Thus, the right work for you is one where you can express your own voice.

In Letters to My Son, Kent Nerburn expresses this idea in an eloquent way. He says:

"Think of work as 'vocation.' It should be something you want to do, and it should be something that gives voice to who you are and what you want to say to the world. It is something that you choose because of what it allows you to say with your life. It is, above all else, something that lets you love."

Simple questions will help you make the right choices, those that lead to an architecture of a fulfilling life. Here are some questions you can ask to get clear on your vocation:

How am I creative?

How am I unique?

What is my greatest fantasy?

What things do I like having?

What kind of career life have I had to date?

What life skills can I use to make money?

How does my work match my life purpose?

What do I need to do to start changing my life?

What kind of life planning am I prepared to do?

What have been my best life choices?

What things do I like doing?

What kind of person do I want to be?

If I could be someone else for a day, who would I choose to be?

How does the right work fulfill my spiritual life?

What makes me frustrated with my current situation?

What do I have to do to feel inner peace?

When I look back on this adventure of my life, what do I hope to see?