ABSTRACT
This chapter helps readers start thinking about that story line now and gives them strategies for authoring their professional narrative. It provides them some strategies for thinking about the kind of career they want to have and the kind of faculty member they want to be. The chapter shares what the trajectory of a faculty career might look like based on existing literature. It introduces the idea of a sweet spot—an aspirational place where they integrate the three areas of faculty work with their personal and professional identities. The chapter offers advice for finding their passions to guide their faculty career, and discusses developing a sense of belonging and handling fear of failure. When people think about the nature of faculty work and when they have felt most successful, they think of something they are calling the sweet spot.
