Making a Career Out of Things You Enjoy
BY ANDRÉ CRAMBLITT

   I have worked as a principal for the Afatchkee Day School on the Seminole Reservation in the Everglades, was the first director of education programs for the Yurok Tribe, and even served a sentence with the BIA as an education specialist. Through these varied experiences I have found that the difference between a career and a job is the sense of purpose you feel when at work. You will best help yourself and your people if you are satisfied with how you are spending your time in your vocation. Do you enjoy your job or is it just a way to make money? Drudgery rarely equates to happiness and gratification. The more content you are, the greater the impact of your contributions can be. Trust your instincts and be open to the teachings around you to determine how you can best serve the needs of your community.
   Everyone is born with a different set of skills, talents and interests. Finding a way to blend these three areas together is the beginning of finding your place. Using the strengths that are uniquely yours will help you to improve the world for yourself, for your family and ultimately for your people. Sometimes seeing one's own areas of potential is a difficult thing. To assist you in this journey here are several things you can do:

• Visit your Elders. Spend time with them, listen to their stories, and find out about the history of your family. Take them on trips around your community, and check on them when they are in the hospital or in a rest home. Time is the most valuable commodity you have to share. • Push your boundaries. Don't let your horizons be limited by others—or even worse, by your own self-doubt. Take the time to learn new things. Do things you enjoy, explore the world and then the universe. • Become educated. Please note, this is not just an academic term! School is a good place to start but every one, everything and every place has lessons to teach you. Open your eyes and ears to the knowledge that surrounds you. • Find out about your tribe. Start learning your language and become familiar with the thought patterns that go into how your language is spoken. Explore the land of your people. There are some things that only make sense when you are physically connected to the sacred geography of your tribe. Walk the same trails as your relatives to see and experience the same places that your ancestors were familiar with. • Examine your values. What do you believe in? Whether it is your tribal traditions, or a core set of personal beliefs, you can only grow and develop if you have a way to measure progress. • The old adage goes "We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan." Planning helps you guide the impact of today's decisions on the future. It provides a basis for you to determine how what you are doing now will help your future . • The compliment of planning is goal setting. Goals can become the roadmap that helps guide your decisions. Make sure your goals are attainable and specific. • Think! This cannot be overstated. Think creatively, critically and objectively. Examine data, gather input from others, make choices, be proactive. Common sense doesn't hurt either.

André Cramblit is an enrolled member of the Karuk Tribe of California and is also of Tohono O'odham blood. He is currently the operations director of the Northern California Indian Development Council (www.ncidc.org), a non-profit that meets the community development needs of American Indians throughout California. He can be reached at: andrekar@ncidc.org.