You've put in a good deal of hard work and gotten this far, but perhaps there is still something holding you back from attaining your ideal career.

What's stopping you? That's not always easy to figure out, but it can be helpful to try to identify some of the things that are keeping you from career fulfillment. Look at the following list and check any that apply to you.

Lack of confidence

Reluctance to take risks

Health

Assumed discrimination

Lack of occupational information

Lack of role models

Difficulty following through

Money pressures

Time constraints

Family constraints

Unrealistic goals

Doing more research into various careers and what they entail can help you with some of the preceding concerns. Also, don't forget that there are professional career counselors and coaches who are trained to help you attain your goal. Just like any good coach of a sports team, they can offer encouragement, support, and a healthy reality check. They also have a wealth of information — resources, ideas, and people to contact that you may not have thought of or even known about. Think of them like that friendly person in the visitor center you meet on vacation. Map in hand, you know you want to get from point A to point B, but she knows where to find the best restaurants and schools, parks, shops, and those unique spots that make a trip memorable.

You have your career map; all you may need now is a little guidance. If there's nothing stopping you from going ahead, take the time to jot down some concrete action steps that you can do right now and some that you can do in the future.

Action Steps (short-term):

Action Steps (long-term):

As Nick Paumgarten wrote in The New Yorker (April 2006), “a map contains multitudes.” That's true whether you're driving from Secaucus to Phoenix or plotting the course of your career. There are infinite things to see and do on the journey, many ways to get sidetracked and lost, and great surprises to be enjoyed along the way. Preparation will make sure you don't run out of sustenance or energy. A good map will keep you on the right track. The rest of the adventure is up to you.