What would you give to have a career – job or business – that made you want to get up in the morning and get to work? Would you take half of your old salary to wear casual clothes, learn from your team every day or be your own boss? Have you ever had a work situation that made you happy … contented?

These questions have been rolling around my skull during my months of unemployment and even prior to being laid off. Lately, I have been talking to a lot of people who are also pondering the balance between money and happiness. Just this week a friend said he’d be happy to have a full-time job at fifth of his old salary (he was a six-figure salesman) with benefits just for the security. But then he mentioned a position that didn’t fit him at all. So I asked, if you don’t care how much you make, why not do something you are passionate about?

It all goes back to how we search for our career. If I am a square peg, then why do I keep trying to shove myself into a round hole? Babies learn pretty quickly that the triangle doesn’t fit in the hexagon spot, yet we adults have a tough time using this metaphor in our own lives.

Before you can brand yourself using the tools in www.CareerAdvice4U.com, you have to explore your passions. That’s why “Career Crossroads: Finding the Perfect Career” starts with personal assessment.

I wasn’t surprised by the results of my Myers-Briggs Type and Keirsey Temperament Tests because I had already made a long list of my passions. I already knew some of the careers I fit from past experience.

So I continue to ask myself – “what am I worth?” and “what makes me happy?” I know I don’t want to go back to being a starving reporter, but I’m not sure I need to match my previous six-figure salary along with the stress, migraines and loss of sleep that accompanied it. I think I would accept lesser pay for a boss that doesn’t scream at me – or to be my own boss and solely responsible for my successes and failures.

Possibly we can all have the perfect career and make great money. Why not? I am just suggesting that if we seek jobs only because of pay, and not because of what we are passionate about, well, we will probably be doing this entire job-seeking routine again in a year or less.

I definitely deserve money. I also deserve to be happy in my work. So, my goal is to find the medium and have both. With guidance from the career wizards, I believe we all can.