At the seminar, everyone was visibly relieved to have formulated their desires. With a renewed appetite for the future, we were able to continue the conversation about how to get where you want to go. There was a general consesus that it would be an excellent idea to share this with relevant parties like managers.

Figure out what you are missing – and pass it on. Simple.

In the late '70s, I was on a grade school excursion to London, and one of the places we were attracted to was King's Road. The cradle of punk rock. A street vendor was peddling metal badges with various forceful statements. My eyes fell on two of them. One read "Support the Miners" and the other "Stand Up and Be Counted". Since we had no mining in Denmark, my 8th grade self chose the latter. I wasn't quite sure how to implement the message, but I understood the calling. I never forgot it: If you get up and assert yourself, you stand a better chance at making yourself counted.

I know it's your manager's job to keep an eye on your job satisfaction. But a boss doesn't always understand or possess the resources and skills to help you. I know it would be much easier if everyone in this world comformed to your needs. It's just exceedingly unlikely to happen.

At age two you were carefree and eagerly sought out anything fun and exciting. You were full of love for the world, with plenty of confidence and self-worth. Now imagine if you could rediscover that carefree love of the world. How hard can it be?

Over the years, I have spoken to more than a thousand people on this subject; it seems that negative life experiences lock us into a notion that life is difficult, and anything can go wrong. Rejections and defeats we experience throughout our lives erode confidence and self esteem. This is why we stop offering ourselves to the world with all we are and everything we want to achieve. We lose our naivety and childish approach to life. We can't stand getting burnt anymore. This is a call to those of you who are ready to change that situation. Those who want to develop, even though developing is difficult and dangerous.

Most people experience unsatisfactory conditions, constricting circumstances, and overwhelming resistance from other people at their workplace. And those who don't struggle to create a good work day simply accept mediocrity and remind themselves that the sky is, after all, the limit.

The European Commission hosts a yearly conference called "Career Days" for their 33,000 employees. The purpose of the conference is to foster employee well-being and increase job satisfaction. It offers a wide range of workshops, presentations, and discussions. I was invited to lead the seminar "A Brilliant Worklife" for 100 wonderful and committed participants, who shared their work experiences. I asked them which elements or results they missed the most in their everyday life. These are the five answers that dominated the conversation:

In the late '70s, I was on a grade school excursion to London, and one of the places we were attracted to was King's Road. The cradle of punk rock. A street vendor was peddling metal badges with various forceful statements. My eyes fell on two of them. One read "Support the Miners" and the other "Stand Up and Be Counted". Since we had no mining in Denmark, my 8th grade self chose the latter. I wasn't quite sure how to implement the message, but I understood the calling. I never forgot it: If you get up and assert yourself, you stand a better chance at making yourself counted.

I know it's your manager's job to keep an eye on your job satisfaction. But a boss doesn't always understand or possess the resources and skills to help you. I know it would be much easier if everyone in this world comformed to your needs. It's just exceedingly unlikely to happen.

Therefore, my best suggestions are: