PVPF 2024

Interview with Neel Shah Author of “Your Dream Career”

Unlock your dream career with insights from Neel Shah, author of 'Your Dream Career.' Gain expert guidance for success in this exclusive interview on Frontlist.
on Jan 11, 2024

Frontlist: In your own career journey, you transitioned from a successful position in Major League Soccer to contributing to India's sports industry. Can you elaborate on how self-discovery played a role in this significant career change? What specific steps or strategies did you employ to align your career choices with your authentic self during your transition?

Neel: Yes, in 2009, I chose to resign from my position as director of fan development at Major League Soccer in New York City to move to India and support the growth of the country’s sporting ecosystem. To everyone around me, this decision seemed impulsive and risky. However, I
saw it as a strategic shift towards alignment and expansion. Self-discovery was evident every step of the way as I pondered and made this decision. First, I took two personal trips to India in 2007 and 2008, where I had the opportunity to spend time with industry leaders and professional athletes and even deliver a few programs on-ground. Although I was way out of my comfort zone during these trips, I loved everything about the conversations and experiences – they made me feel alive. They also helped me to realize that my past sports management education and experience in the US, combined with the fact I am of Indian origin, made me uniquely positioned to support the growth of sport in India. Also, when I looked up at the next position in line ahead of me at MLS – it was director of marketing which was not something that excited me at the time. Finally, I started to feel a sense of purpose to help create more safe and engaging places for youth to play sport in India, and I knew that I had to be in India to make this happen. So, resigned from MLS and made the move to India – it was one of the best decisions of my life.

Frontlist: How has the process of writing this book influenced your own understanding of self-discovery, both personally and professionally?
Neel: Writing this book has been enlightening and therapeutic for me. Enlightening in that in writing my story and sharing stories of other people whom I have worked with in the past, it became crystal clear that this formula focused on career creation through identifying one’s passion, superpower, and purpose works.

It allowed me to go deeper into these concepts and unravel how I can best support others in identifying who they really are, which has done wonders for my coaching
practice. It has been therapeutic as by telling my story and reading it over and over again during the editing phase. It felt that these chapters of my life are now complete and that I can write or paint the next chapter of my life on a blank page or canvas.

Frontlist: Your book mentions a unique process that simplifies the pursuit of a dream job. How can individuals apply this strategy in their own lives to navigate career decisions and find professional pathways aligned with their authentic selves?

Neel: It all starts with an intention to create a career that can lead to joy and fulfilment. Many people get into jobs or careers they don’t enjoy and just feel stuck – they don’t try to find a way to move towards joy and fulfillment.

Once you have the intention, it is important to get to know yourself. This means connecting with your passion, uncovering your superpower and identifying your purpose. Once this happens, we must be able to play with these three elements to brainstorm jobs that integrate all three.

This is only the first part, though. Once we gain clarity on the job or jobs we would like to pursue, we craft a mission statement and identify and accomplish baby steps that will take us in the direction we hope to go. The book explains this process in detail and shares real-life examples of how this can be applied. The important thing to know is that anyone can use this formula and process to identify and enjoy a dream career.

Frontlist: Pursuing a dream career often involves balancing passion and practical considerations. How can individuals strike a balance between following their passions and addressing practical concerns, such as financial stability?

Neel: It is important that we ask ourselves questions such as, ‘How much money do I really need’? And ‘How much free time do I want and what would I do with it’? If we are married or have a family, we can bring them into the loop. The key is to remember that our income and asset trajectory does not have to be an upward-moving line, especially if we are not happy with our professional lives. We can sometimes choose to pause and then invest our time and energy into paving a new path that will lead to more joy and fulfilment.

We all work for around 100,000 hours in our lives, and how we feel during those hours affects our experience of the hours outside of these 100,000. So we must do what we can to enjoy as many of our 100,000 hours as possible. Trust me, it makes a big difference to our experience of life and how people feel around us.

Frontlist: What advice would you give to someone who is in the early stages of self-discovery for their dream career? Also, based on your experiences and the stories shared in your book , arethereany common misconceptions about self-discovery in the context of
career choices that you would like to address?

Neel: If someone is in the early stages of self-discovery, then I would definitely advise them not to get too worried if they have not had much life experience. They can learn about themselves by looking into what excites them, what they like to talk about, what they are naturally good at, how they would like to contribute to the world, etc. Let your experience of life be your teacher – this is important. The book discusses how projects and people can lead to more joy and fulfilment than profile and pay. If we are aligned with the projects we are working on and appreciate the people we work with, this will ultimately make the 100,000 hours better than when we focus on high pay and profile. And typically, when we like the projects we work on and the people we work with, we usually work better with a good attitude, which can lead to higher pay and profile. Also, it is vital that we don’t stop at passion when creating a dream career – we must incorporate all three elements – passion, superpower, purpose - into the formula and career brainstorm. I share a story about my father’s career in the book and the impact on his 100,000 hours when he did not bring in all three elements.

Frontlist: Beyond landing a dream job, your book emphasizes long-term fulfillment. How can individuals ensure that their dream career brings sustained satisfaction, and what role does ongoing self-discovery play in this?

Neel: I mentioned 100,000 hours many times earlier. This is a long journey, so we must evolve our jobs as we evolve as people. In the book, I talk about how I went from working at Major League Soccer in the US to moving to India, to becoming a CEO of a professional football team, to setting up a sports management education institute, to becoming an author and life coach. To an outsider, this would seem like a roller coaster of a career, but to me, each move was aligned with my core self so it was smooth sailing – well mostly.

This is only possible when we check in with ourselves and ensure that our career stream is flowing in the right direction. If not, then we must ask ourselves what’s working, what’s not working, and what do we need to do to get back to flowing in the right direction. This typically involves self-discovery, formula, mission statement and baby steps. Read the book to find out more!