1. Testdrive
Your
Dreamjob
in
Italy
(5)
By
Peter
de
Kuster
with
Falco
Valkenburg
Overcoming
Your
Fears.
Il
Postino
This
travel
guide
of
Italy
will
tell
you
how
to
make
a
Testdrive
in
Your
Dream
Job.
When
Il
Postino
meets
a
poet
who
makes
his
money
doing
what
he
loves
he
thinks
like
‘that’s
great
but
how
do
I
make
this
happen
for
me?”

2.
What
he
needs
more
than
anything
is
help
getting
past
his
fear.
He
needed
someone
to
tell
him
that;
1. Going
after
his
dream
job
didn’t
require
the
daredevil
leap
that
he
thought
it
did;
2. What
it
did
require
was
a
series
of
small,
incremental
steps;
and
3. Those
steps
could
be
fun
rather
than
scary
You
are
probably
skeptical.
The
idea
of
giving
up
the
security
of
a
“real”
job
–
with
a
real
paycheck
and
real
benefits
–
is
pretty
scary
no
matter
how
you
cut
it,
and
imagining
even
the
most
exciting
dream
job
doesn’t
do
much
to
mitigate
that
fear.
The
only
way
to
do
that
is
to
address
those
fears
head
–
on.
So
let’s
do
that
right
now
–
because
the
sooner
you
get
mobilized,
step
by
incremental
step,
the
sooner
you’ll
make
that
dream
job
real.
We
talked
to
many
people
who
gave
up
“security”
to
start
their
dream
jobs,
and
discovered
that
most
people
had
a
similar
experience.
They
spent
years
thinking
about
making
the
switch
before
finally
taking
action.
Like
Il
Postino,
they
had
found
their
fear
insurmountable.
They
had
a
million
reasons
for
not
doing
it:
kids
in
school,
mortgages
and
tuitions
to
pay,
an
impending
promotion,
not
the
right
time…
Every
reason

3.
The
Poet
and
mentor
of
Il
Postino
was
completely
legitimate,
but
somehow,
at
a
certain
point,
those
reasons
ceased
to
matter.
Sometimes
the
reasons
actually
went
away
(the
kids
graduated,
the
mortgage
got
paid
off),
but
just
as
often
the
underlying
situations
didn’t
change.
What
changed
was
something
inside
the
people.
They
had
crossed
a
line.
They
had
moved
from
a
place
where
they
were
making
rational
arguments
for
not
pursuing
their
dream
to
making
an
emotional
choice
to
do
so.
And
once
that
line
was
crossed,
there
was
no
turning
back.
So
what
gets
us
to
that
line?
If
you,
too,
are
wishing
for
your
dream
job
but
are
immobilized
with
fear;
how
can
you
get
to
that
line
yourself?
Let’s
take
a
moment
to
look
at
your
nemesis,
fear.
When
it
comes
to
fear,
we
are
little
better
than
rats.
Brain
research
shows
that
we
are
wired
to
instant
gratification
over
long
–
term
gain.
Much
as
we
want
our
dream
jobs,
our
brain’s
circuitry
pushes
us
to
stay
with
the
secure
jobs
and
situations
we
already
have.
In
other
words,
now
we
want
our

4.
steady
paycheck
and
benefits;
in
the
future
we’ll
risk
pursuing
the
job
of
our
dreams.
And
as
if
our
own
physiology
weren’t
obstacle
enough,
there
are
plenty
of
other
factors
that
encourage
us
to
stay
where
we
are.
Money,
family,
loss
of
identity,
fear
of
exposing
the
“real
you”,
the
“fraud
factor”
(that
voice
in
our
heads
that
says
“you
mean
you
really
think
you
can
succeed
at
that”?)
are
all
steely
–
gripped
forces
that
work
to
keep
us
where
we
are.
But
they
don’t
always
keep
us
where
we
are.
Despite
the
fact
that
everyone
faces
those
hurdles,
some
people
manage
to
surmount
them
and
move
forward
toward
their
dreams.
People
with
nothing
in
the
bank
quit
their
jobs
and
open
successful
businesses.
Sole
earners
with
families
to
support
move
cross
country
to
work
at
starting
wages
to
their
career
of
choice.
People
who
have
spent
years
building
respect
and
credentials
in
their
profession
leave
it
all
and
go
back
to
square
one
in
another.
And
people
who
are
terrified
to
expose
the
dream
they’ve
sheltered
inside
for
decades
manage
to
give
up
the
career
that
was
“expected”
and
take
up
a
very
different
kind
of
work
they
love.
How
do
they
do
it?

5.
What
enables
them
to
put
aside
their
fear
and
take
the
risk?
Behavioral
economists,
who
look
at
how
people
make
choices
are
well
aware
of
the
fact
that
we
tend
to
choose
the
thing
that
feels
most
desirable
in
the
present,
and
postpone
a
harder
or
riskier
choice
until
the
future.
Fortunately,
they’ve
also
noted
ways
that
people
work
around
that.
One
solution
is
to
precommit
,
that
is,
to
take
an
action
that
requires
you
to
make
that
more
difficult
choice
now.
Precommitment
is
also
an
excellent
strategy
for
circumventing
fear.
Book
directly
a
Testdrive
Your
Dream
Job
before
you
can
talk
yourself
out
of
it.
A
precommitment
to
something
that
feels
scary.
That
way,
when
the
time
comes,
when
your
brain’s
limbic
system
urges
you
to
put
off
the
Testdrive
your
Dream
Job,
you
would
no
longer
have
the
option.

6.
Throughout
the
dream
job
process
there
are
many
ways
you
can
precommit
to
circumvent
your
fear:
schedule
a
Testdrive
your
Dream
Job
three
months
in
the
future
because
that
far
away
it
won’t
seem
so
scary:
register
now
even
though
it
won’t
start
until
the
fall
(same
reason);
commit
to
a
bank
loan
or
a
lease
or
a
business
partner
even
if
those
actions
scare
you
silly.
Don’t
commit
if
on
every
level
you
question
the
decision
but
do
commit
if
in
your
heart
you
know
your
course
is
right
and
I’t
only
fear
that
is
making
you
hesitate.
Often
when
we
describe
the
process
of
dream
job
seeking,
people
will
say
“Well,
I
couldn’t
do
that
because
I’m
not
the
right
kind
of
entrepreneurial
person”
as
if
there
were
a
certain
personality
type
that
is
capable
of
making
the
switch.
We
know
what
they
mean.
They
have
the
idea
that
the
type
of
person
who
can
successfully
pursue
a
dream
job
is
someone
who
is
exceptionally
gutsy
(or
perhaps
foolhardy);
is
very
decisive
and
assertive;
has
a
high
tolerance
for
risk
and
ambiguity;
and
has
a
history
of
creating
opportunities
and
trying
new
things.

7.
We
suppose
if
we
hadn’t
seen
so
many
different
types
of
people
successfully
create
their
dream
jobs,
we
would
assume
the
same
thing,
but
we’ve
known
many
heroes
and
heroines
in
the
past
and
present
to
know
that
isn’t
so.
People
who
create
their
dream
job
seem
to
come
in
all
personality
configurations;
some
are
so
assertive
that
they
resemble
bulldogs,
while
others
seem
very
timid.
Some
have
a
history
of
starting
new
ventures
and
others
have
worked
entire
careers
in
the
same
job.
Some
rattle
off
decisions
with
heroic
force;
others
deliberate
until
the
last
possible
moment
–
and
then
change
their
minds!
Whatever
you
imagine
the
right
personality
type
to
be,
we
are
sure
we
can
find
you
a
successful
hero
and
heroine
who
turns
your
stereotype
on
its
head.
But
that’s
not
to
say
that
successful
dream
job
seekers
don’t
have
anything
in
common.
They
do.
The
more
people
we
talk
to,
the
more
we
see
certain
stories
that
most
of
them
share.
Regardless
of
their
proclivity
toward
risk
or
their
life
of
assertiveness
they
have
similar
stories
about
life
and
themselves
that
make
it
easier
for
them
to
proceed.
1. A
Clear
Story.
Successful
heroes
and
heroines
in
a
dream
job
have
a
clear
story
of
what
they
want
to
do.
It
may
be
a
particular
job,
it
may
be
a

8. life
style
and
a
location.
Though
the
level
of
specificity
varies
for
every
person;
they
share
a
clear
mental
story
of
themselves
doing
that
work.
The
clarity
of
their
story
acts
like
a
magnet
pulling
them
forward.
When
they
meet
obstacles
along
the
way
that
magnetic
story
tallies
them
and
keeps
them
moving
toward
it.
2. Optimism
.
In
addition
to
having
a
clear
story,
successful
heroes
and
heroines
believe
that
their
story
will
pan
out.
Otherwise,
they
wouldn’t
do
it!
Some
have
a
general
confidence
in
their
own
abilities
based
on
a
history
of
success;
others
believe
that
this
particular
venture
is
primed
to
success.
They
know
that
failure
is
possible
(and
occasionally
can
‘t
stop
that
fear
from
creeping
in)
but
most
of
the
time
they
anticipate
success
as
if
that
were
the
far
more
likely
option.
3.
Comfort
with
failure.
When
they
do
consider
failure
they
don’t
become
terrified.
Their
story
is
“What’s
the
worse
that
can
happen?
Whatever
it
is,
we’ll
deal
with
it”.
They
imagine
a
period
of
difficulty
and
adjustment
after
the
failure,
and
then
life
moving
forward
positively
once
again.

9. 3. Heroism.
Over
and
over,
in
different
words
successful
heroes
and
heroines
express
the
same
story.
'I
would
rather
try
and
fail
than
know
I
didn’t
try.”.
“I
would
be
so
disappointed
in
myself
later
if
I
hadn’t
given
it
a
try”.
It
is
a
recurring
story:
what
pushes
them
past
the
fear
is
the
knowledge
that
by
not
trying
they
will
be
letting
themselves
down.
Not
everyone
who
makes
the
switch
has
every
one
of
these
stories,
but
the
people
who
successfully
undertake
dream
careers
seem
to
have
most
of
them.
Together,
these
stories
make
a
legendary
package
that
seems
to
make
it
easier
for
people
to
move
out
of
their
comfort
zone
and
try
something
new.
But
even
these
attributes
don’t
fully
explain
why
some
people
switch
and
others
don’t.
Something
is
still
missing
from
the
equation.
And
that
missing
something,
I
believe,
is
questing.
People
who
make
the
switch
have
reached
a
point
in
their
lives
at
which
they
simply
have
no
choice.
The
call
for
a
quest
is
reached.
It
is
no
longer
a
matter
of
wanting
to
make
a
change.
They
have
to.

10.
Eventually
the
pain
of
not
acting
outweighs
our
fear
of
making
a
change.
It
simply
becomes
too
uncomfortable
to
stay.
That
is
the
point
at
which
we
accept
the
risk
of
change.
And
that
is
a
magic
moment
–
because
the
moment
we
cross
that
line,
things
that
previously
felt
like
insurmountable
fears
begin
to
look
more
like
manageable
hurdles.
Now,
on
your
way
to
work
you
find
yourself
dreaming
up
ways
to
overcome
them.
Instead
of
wishing
there
were
a
way
that
you
could
move
forward
with
the
dream,
you
find
yourself
thinking
about
how
you’re
going
to
do
it.
Instead
of
imagining
some
vague,
open
–
ended
timeline
you
start
fixing
your
actions
to
concrete
dates
when
you
know
you
will
be
able
to
act.
An
enormous
internal
shift
has
taken
place,
and
now
even
major
fears
as
money,
family,
identity;
and
exposing
the
‘real
you’
begin
to
lose
their
insurmountable
quality.
As
if
a
Jaguar
has
begun
rolling
inside
you,
from
that
moment
on,
you
steadily
gather
momentum.