On Friday I watched the lively movie Julie & Julia, which shared some surprising insights into charting one's career path.  Below are some lessons I took away from the movie.

1. Careers don't have to come from "traditional" places.  One of the movie's protagonists, Julia Child, was in her late 30s by the time she enrolled in culinary school.  Why was she drawn to cooking?   She loved to eat.  In the New York Times, she described her first meal in France as  "an opening up of the soul and spirit for me." 

Takeaway: when considering a career change, be attentive to all of the things you love, in all areas of your life.  Your best career may come from the place you least expect.

2. Do what you love, in every respect. In the movie, which is based on a true story, Julie Powell gave up on her dream of being a novelist and settled into a job that made her unhappy.  Looking to add more structure to her life, she challenged herself to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook.  Why?  Because she loved cooking.  She combined this with her love of writing and created a wildly successful blog.  Today, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep star in the movie adaptation of Julie's book. 

Takeaway: Do what you love.  Take this to the next level by finding the intersection of multiple things that you love.  Julie Powell was able to achieve a breakthrough in her career by merging her loves of writing and cooking in her blog. 

I'll put the second lesson into action this Friday by speaking at the Asian American Journalists Association's national convention.  Not only do I love public speaking, but I also love helping people think about how to proactively map their careers.  A win-win!