????史蒂文森說，他和其他很多人犯的錯誤是，“他們陷入了誤區，不妨問問自己一些最簡單的問題，比如‘今天我想要的東西真的和去年想要的是一樣的嗎？5年前我接受這份工作的理由如今還存在嗎？’”這位不開心的企業家最后想清了一點，他并不想做什么新的事情。真正讓他有成就感的是他一直以來做的事情：供養家庭。因此，他將更多重心轉到了“職業生活”，創立了一家新的公司。

思考你會留下些什么

????史蒂文森表示，思考如何平衡7種生活的另一種方式是，不妨想想百年之后你的人生將被如何看待。你會留下些什么？史蒂文森說，人們總是會找一位導師，試圖復制他們的職業。他認為，這樣的道路注定失敗。“不管別人的想法多么有吸引力，也不能完全真正地成為你自己的想法。你留下來的東西應該是你自己的，”史蒂文森說。他建議，比較好的方式是以榜樣的想法為出發點，推動自己深入思考，什么真正有意義？什么真正令人滿意？

????找到讓你滿意的東西后，還要經常留意史蒂文森稱之為“拐點”的時刻，及時轉向新的方向。為了說明這一點，辛諾威舉了一個例子：中層管理者米歇爾的老板在一次重組中被解雇了。米歇爾表示，她感覺前途渺茫，不知道自己將來在部門中的新角色是什么。她已經在這家公司工作了10年，希望能有一個最好的結果。

????史蒂文森說，她在浪費一個絕佳的上升機會。他的建議：她需要爭取和管理層對話，給出她對部門重組以及自身新職能的建議。也許她會遭到回絕，但藉此至少也能對個人的職業和前景多一些了解。如果成功，她將立即獲得一份精彩的新工作。

最具挑戰的部分：坦誠面對自己。

????人們常犯的另一個錯誤，史蒂文森稱之為“在單人紙牌游戲中作弊”。史蒂文森在哈佛商學院曾經帶過一名叫詹姆斯的學生，后來進入了房地產投資信托公司工作，但他對工作并不滿意。這個人很聰明，也是辦公室里工作最努力的一個，但卻沒能晉升到下一個級別。

????The mistake he and many other people make, Stevenson says, is that "they fall into the trap of not asking simple questions, like, 'Do I really want the same things today that I wanted last year? Are the reasons I took this job five years ago still valid now?'" The disgruntled entrepreneur eventually figured out that he didn't really want to do anything new. What really gave him fulfillment was what he had been doing before: providing for his family. So he shifted more emphasis to his "career self" and started a new company.

Considering your legacy

????Another way to figure out how to balance your seven lives, says Stevenson, is to start thinking about how your life will be perceived after it's over. What's your legacy going to be? Stevenson says people often find a mentor and then try to replicate their careers. This path, he argues, is bound for failure. ?"As compelling as another's vision might be, you can't make it wholly, truly yours. A legacy is tailored to fit just one person," Stevenson says.? The better approach, he suggests, is to use a role model's perspectives as a catalyst to promote your own deep thinking about what's truly meaningful and satisfying.

????Once you have found what you think will make you happy, you have to be constantly on the lookout for what Stevenson calls? "inflection points," moments that can catapult you in a new direction. To illustrate, Sinoway uses the example of a middle level executive named Michelle whose boss was fired in a restructuring. She said that she was going to lay low and wait to find out what her new role would be in the department. She had invested 10 years in the company and was hoping for the best.

????Stevenson says she was wasting an excellent opportunity for growth. His advice: she needs to step up to management, and offer her ideas for restructuring the department and her new role in it. She might be rebuffed, but at least it would give her some valuable data about her career and prospects. And if it worked, she'd suddenly have an exciting new job.

The most challenging task of all: Being honest with yourself

????Another common mistake people make is what Stevenson calls "cheating at solitaire." A former Harvard Business School student of Stevenson's named James was frustrated in his job working for a real estate investment trust. He was smart and the hardest working person in the office, but he wasn't rising to the next level.