I’ve spent a lot of years trying to be perfect. I mean a lot of years. This obsession can be traced back to a number of things. I could literally fill a post with the sporting events, academic challenges, and personal goals I have trained for, gone after, and succeeded at. Did you know success is addicting? It is. Once you taste the glories of winning, obtaining, completing, and succeeding…let’s just say it’s hard to be mediocre…ever again.

So what does this have to do with your career?  Well, I argue it has everything to do with it.

How many of you enjoy your jobs? Raise your hands high. There you go. For those of you that don’t love your job, ask yourself, "why?" Some of the common answers will include things like, “I don’t love what I do every day,” “I don’t love the company I am working so hard for” and “I don’t love the people that I pretend to want to collaborate with.” It’s a sad reality friend, but the majority of unhappy employees simply aren’t doing what they enjoy, where they want to do it, with the people they want to do it with.

You would think this would be easy enough to change. Get a different job, apply for new positions at other companies, or just change careers. Unfortunately most of us are paralyzed by the need to be perfect. There are certain job titles that bring a level of respect. With that there are also companies with stronger reputations, and those companies are sometimes full of righteous brats that we all put up with in the hopes of “succeeding.” We figure if we can just get in two years with a company and leave on a good note, we can secure a job that we will love, but will you?

Won’t that job still be in the same industry that you aren’t necessarily passionate about? Won’t you still be meeting with the same type of people, and working so hard for the same goals that didn’t really satisfy you before?

This is where we all need to reach in and grab our freak flag. It’s time to embrace the qualities and passions that make you unique. Too often we are given a set of goals, and told we need to fine tune a set of skills. Years pass and all of a sudden we are highly-qualified at something we could really care less about.

This happened to me. I found myself at my last job working late nights, stressing on weekends, and kissing ass for a job title and position that I didn’t really even love that much. I wanted a job where I could research more, blog, test things, and socialize with people that really loved the industry. I didn’t want that title that I became obsessed with. I completely forgot about the innate skills that I spent a lifetime trying to refine before joining the real world.

For those of you not sure how to find your freak flag, let me tell you…it’s actually pretty easy. Ask yourself what you love to do? Ask yourself when you are most content with things? What sort of activities can you get lost in for hours at a time? What sort of people do you love to talk to and learn from? Start composing a list of all of this and you will find yourself creating the outline to your own personal freak flag.

For example—I don’t sleep a lot. I never really needed sleep. I actually prefer long nights of uninterrupted work sessions. I also am very talented at multi-tasking (to the point of obnoxious at times). I get along with most people…particularly underdogs since I can relate to their obsession in a goal. I work best alone. Yup I said it. I’m not a team player when it comes to accomplishing goals. I also have a fear of the phone; you are more likely to get me on Twitter, Facebook, text, smoke signal, or messenger pigeon before I actually answer my phone.

That’s my freak flag. You know what I realized? That freak flag is pretty well aligned with a consultant’s life and, with the luck of finding a great business partner, it has made me a strong entrepreneur as well.

My freak flag is responsible for my successes, not my illusions and falsely founded goals.

Today’s homework is to make sure you are waving your freak flag, or at the very least—that you aren’t hiding it in hopes of accomplishing some illusive professional goal that (trust me when I say this) will probably not live up to the bells and whistles you have assigned to it. Instead of spending all of that time working toward a better office, title, or larger chip on your shoulder, I suggest investing that time and energy into something far more fulfilling…waving your freak flag. Go on, give it a try.