This Isn’t Another AI Article About Finding Your Purpose
Let’s start here:
You don’t need another bullet-point list about optimizing your morning routine.
You don’t need “5 Steps to Reinvent Yourself by Q4.”
You need the truth.
So here it is:
Career development is a scam.
At least, the way it’s been packaged and pushed—by corporate HR blogs, LinkedIn influencers, and now, generative AI with a chipper tone and no actual experience.
You know the type:
“Discover your WHY.”
“Build your personal brand!”
“Fail forward!”
(Insert stock photo of a white guy on a mountaintop.)
Meanwhile, you’re working two jobs, your industry’s on fire, and your “why” is making rent and trying not to lose your mind.
Let’s Get Real
Most of us didn’t choose our careers so much as we survived into them.
We took what was offered. We pivoted because the thing we trained for dried up. We learned how to sell, write, code, lead—because someone needed it and we needed to eat. We adapted, not because it was fun, but because that’s what real people do.
That’s the story no one writes articles about.
And definitely not AI, because it can’t feel the stakes.
Career development isn’t a personal branding exercise. It’s not a hashtag.
It’s what you build in the quiet.
After the layoff.
After the promotion that didn’t fix anything.
After the failed startup, the toxic boss, the burnout, the midlife facepalm.
After the version of your life you sold yourself stops selling.
So What Now?
Here’s what I know:
- Skepticism is a skill.
If you’re reading this rolling your eyes—good. It means you still think for yourself. Keep doing that. - Clarity comes from action.
Not journaling. Not vision boards. Movement. Any kind. Say yes to something slightly out of your lane. Say no to something that makes your stomach twist. See what sticks. - You don’t owe anyone a linear narrative.
Especially not on LinkedIn. Especially not to yourself. Your resume isn’t your soul. - Trust your exhaustion.
Burnout doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means your environment is unsustainable. That’s data. Use it. - If you don’t know what to do next, tell the truth about where you are.
That alone will move you forward. Maybe not fast. But real.
Final Thought
If AI ever tells you to “lean into your power” or “rewrite your limiting beliefs,” close the tab. It’s not talking to you. It’s talking to a search engine.
You’re not a persona.
You’re a person.
And your career—whatever shape it takes—isn’t a machine learning model.
It’s yours. Even if you’re still figuring out what that means.
That’s the point.
