Just like you, I’ve done many jobs in my life. I’ve worked illegally and underage at a scrap yard. I’ve interviewed rock stars. I’ve mowed grass. I’ve helped people heal and thrive. I’ve even made movies.

Since I’m the type who likes to dream up various theories, I’ve thought a bunch about jobs, careers and our personal destinies. This one is the first step to understanding your dreamjob.

Unless you’re unlucky enough to be be born into the 1%, you’ll need to work at some point. This is actually a very good thing. It gives us the opportunity to express ourselves through our directed actions.

At its best, our work is not only an expression of ourselves, but also our contribution to better the world… where you get paid well. I’d call that a dreamjob. 

At its worst, work is a mind and body crushing slog that’s only good for a meager paycheck. Not fun.

After doing plenty of slogs, and many more dreamjobs, I’ve come up with The Theory that explains the Four Levels of Jobs.

Level 4— Jobs that you dislike, that don’t pay well.

We’ve all been there. Hopefully these are our first jobs. Ya know, the high school gig flipping burgers, cleaning up something unsavory or doing some kind of brain crushing repetitive task. Employers both love and hate these jobs. They love them because the job is so simple that anybody can do it, thus they can get away with paying very little. They hate it because there’s constant turnover.

We all need to do these jobs at various points in our lives, but we want to stay away from them as much as possible.

Level 3— Jobs you dislike that pay well.

You may argue this definition or position in the hierarchy. But the fact remains that if you dislike the job, it really doesn’t matter how much it pays. You still have to show up and do it. Sure, that fat paycheck is nice, but is it worth the pain of spending your life doing something that’s not important to you? Something that makes your mind and body ache? Maybe it is, maybe it’s not.

Employers know that these kinds of jobs either take real skill or are so nasty that they have to pay a premium to get them done. 

Global corporations use this level of job to capture the skills of their workers who may not like the job, or even believe in the product or service. But when they flash the big bucks, people tend to fold. Sometimes this is a smart move. We all need to make real money. But if we stay in these jobs too long they’ll eventually destroy us. (But you’ll get paid for it;)

Level 2— Jobs you love that don’t pay well.

Thank goddess for these gigs. When you clock out of these jobs, your heart is filled up with joy and happiness. You shine and beam. You’re doing something that is true to you, something that actually matters.

For many summers, I was a camp counselor at Camp Log-n-Twig. It was basically a twenty four hour a day job for nine weeks. It was nearly pure joy. The cleanest air, millions of trees. Hanging around with a hundred and fifty kids, with no other mission than to have fun. It was full on dreamy. 

At the end of the summer I was handed a paycheck for $900. Instead of being upset about my hourly rate— which was just shy of $.60 an hour— I was overjoyed. I got paid to do a job I loved!

After so many hours in retail, washing dishes and priming scrap metal for smelting, it was a miracle.

Level 1— Jobs that you love that pay well.

F yeah! Obviously this is the big dream. Galactic! Getting paid well for doing what you love is the pinnacle of work. It fuses your actions, skills, passions and time into something that someone finds valuable and is willing to pay for. Major win.

You can find this with an employer. Absolutely. If your skills are in demands, and you love your skills, you’re in pretty sweet shape. Just find someone who’s willing to pay up, and you’re good to go.

The thing is, the mainstream economy is generally interested in making as much money as fast as possible. If your skills and passions don’t align with that, or don’t benefit an employer in a big way, you won’t be getting a Level 1 job anytime soon. 

Good news! It’s America. You can make your own job. This is where it gets really cool.

Being a solopreneur, working for yourself, is absolutely attainable. Literally millions of people are going it right now. Coaches, personal chefs, writers, photographers, healers, creatives, rebels and dreamers of every flavor are making money doing what they love. It’s real.

And I can tell you first hand that it’s wayyy better than commuting to a job that sucks.

Believe it or not, I have never clocked in full time to job. And for the last several decades I have done level 1 work. I am so grateful. And I want you to know that you can do it too.

The gov predicts that the number of solopreneurs are going to increase tremendously in the next decade. So now’s the time to make the move to get started. The wave is coming. Like the internet, apps, podcasts, and all kinds of other stuff. Hop on now and you’ll get the big ride.