A professional wrestler runs for governor of Minnesota and wins. The owner and pastry chef of my neighborhood bakery is a former investment banker. A friend from college who was a computer scientist for seven years now makes her living as a sailboat captain in Seattle.

How did these people get where they are today? Through a combination of luck, confidence, and lots of self-awareness. As you contemplate where your own career might take you, it's impossible to know what opportunities fate may throw your way. What you can do, however, is identify your interests, talents, and values, then explore occupations that might make good use of them. If you follow the three-step process below, you won't just be sitting back waiting for careers and jobs to land in your lap. You'll be working toward discovering what makes you happy.

Step One
Figure out what makes you tick. Ask yourself these questions:

• What piques (and holds) my interest?
• What do I do well?
• What kind of personality do I have?
• What's really important to me?

Take any career-related tests you can. Or think of times when you've enjoyed and excelled at a job, internship, class, or aspect of your personal life. A great book to read for help with this process is Do What You Are, by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger.

Step Two
Learn about your career options. You have to take the initiative to explore it yourself. Try to find books that describe different kinds of work, the typical qualifications needed, and the salary ranges for various occupations. You can also find profiles of career fields at the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Web site or at Review.com. Also, talk to people through informational interviews, and try out careers by shadowing and taking internships or part-time jobs.

Step Three
Sort out your priorities. After you've spent time on steps one and two, some of your strong preferences may start to emerge. You might learn you don't want to be in a corporate environment: That rules out investment banking. Or you might find that your interest in art wouldn't sustain a career, so you cross those types of jobs off your list. Whatever it is that you learn about yourself, you're making important discoveries that will help you choose a good career when the time comes.

Most importantly, keep it all in perspective. Remember that you don't have to live forever with any career decision you make now. Most people change careers several times over their lives, so the thing you choose to do right after college will most likely not be your career forty or fifty years from now - unless you want it to be. So don't put too much pressure on yourself to make the perfect decision. And always keep your eyes open.