Are you drawn to meeting a basic human want or need? These create a powerful way to describe your dream job in terms of what you can offer to others. Today there is a need for new, creative ideas for how to fulfill the basic needs and wants of people all over the world – from healthy fast food to stain resistant clothing and fuel efficient vehicles.
Although the basic needs and wants have not changed for thousands of years, each generation seeks better ways to have them filled. So if you have an idea for a specific need or want, you can use it to find your dream job or become an entrepreneur and start your own dream business.
Needs
Many of us think of human needs in terms of Maslow's bottom hierarchy of food, shelter, clothing, medical care and education. If you care deeply about providing one of these, there are many ways to use your creativity to turn these basics into a wonderful career or business ...
Food
You can create gourmet recipes, raise organic produce, create a line of red hot chili products, or feed abandoned exotic animals.
Shelter
You could build tornado proof housing, design ergonomic skyscrapers, raise huts above flood planes, invent better earthquake safety systems, restore old tenement buildings or construct shelters for the homeless.
Clothing
You can design new textile fibers, grow organic cotton, dye hemp fibers, create clothes that grow with children, redistribute work clothes to the unemployed, tailor clothes for paraplegics or make wigs for chemotherapy patients.
Medical Care
You could provide hospice services, train as a midwife, be an art therapist, teach CPR, run a medical taxi service, grow medicinal herbs, or teach yoga.
Education
You can be a literacy advocate, run a summer camp to teach children how to start a business, work on a campus at sea cruise, create educational games or design digital textbooks.
In addition to the traditional needs, people also need to ...
Be Entertained
...
with children's stories, video games, bestsellers and blockbuster movies.
Be Nurtured
... with home made desserts, energy efficient fireplaces, down comforters and romantic lighting.
Be Inspired
... with stories of courage, ideas of future possibilities, and examples of beauty.
Be Excited
... with mind expanding experiences, heart pumping thrill rides, feats of physical daring, and adventures into the unknown.
Be Soothed
... with a gentle massage, a glass of great wine, or a zen indoor fountain.
Be Renewed
... with a great vacation, an opportunity to give back to others, or uplifting music.
Be Creative
... with art classes, scrapbook supplies, and inventive games.
Wants
Wants are more than just nicer ways to fulfill basic needs and traditional luxury items. We think of them as basic, universal things which are not required for survival but are required for thriving. Based on our experience, everyone wants to ...
Be Loved
... with tokens of affection, gifts of friendship, and things that champion them reaching their individual goals.
Be Appreciated
... with thoughtful gestures, celebrations of accomplishments, and acts of kindness.
Be Accepted
... with welcoming gestures, actions that make them feel like they belong, and experiences of being a valued member of a group.
Be Confident
... with experiences that increase their abilities, show their innate worth, and increase their self esteem.
Be Smart
... with ideas that help them understand their world, tools that help them make good decisions, and products that increase their wisdom.
Be Beautiful
... with techniques to reveal the beauty inside, tools to express their own unique style, and activities that let their humor, intelligence and inner light shine.
Be Respected
... with actions that honor who they are, experiences that highlight their character, and activities which demonstrate their contributions to others.
Be Good At Something
... with tools to help them identify what they excel at, training to develop their skills and feedback from others to help them understand what they are great at.
Fulfilling needs and wants is an age old way to make a living. But there is no reason you can't get creative with how you meet those needs and create your dream job or business in the process.
