Here's an odd challenge that could help you find a job faster...

What if I offered you $1 million to drive a car from Cape Town, South Africa to Miami, Florida?

You'd say it can't be done, right? I mean, look at any map -- Cape Town and Miami are separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

But, wait.

If you drive north, through Egypt, Israel and Russia, across the frozen
Bering Sea to Alaska (you'll have to go in winter), down through Canada and the US, you can reach Miami by car.

To find your way, all it takes is a new perspective.

In this case, I'm not looking at an ordinary map of the world, but a very different one, called a Dymaxion Map (learn more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_map).

Invented by Buckminster Fuller, a Dymaxion Map shows the continents as a "one world island," to use his phrase. There's almost no separation between land masses.

OK. Here's what this has to do with your career...

You can get the job you want -- even if it seems as unlikely as driving from Cape Town to Miami -- because you are already connected to it, in ways that might not be visible. All you need a new perspective, like that of a Dymaxion Map. Then, start forward.

Before you start, I suggest you stop job hunting the old way.

That means, put down the want ads and turn off the computer. After all, what connection do you have with impersonal job postings that go out to millions of other people every day? None. Which may explain why traditional job searches take so long.

Instead, get out a clean sheet of paper. At the top, draw a circle. In it, write your name. Then, at the bottom, draw another circle. In it, write your target job title, such as "Manager of Operations."

Now, all you need to do is find the connection between you and that job, like finding the land route from South Africa to Florida.

Start by drawing 10 circles just below your name. In them, write the names and phone numbers of your closest friends or relatives. Call each person and ask, "You know a lot of people and I trust your judgment. I'm looking for a connection between you and a company that needs a good Manager of Operations. Who do you know that I should be talking to?"

Don't hang up the phone until you get three names and phone numbers.

Then -- you guessed it -- draw three circles under each of your first 10, and fill them in. You now have 40 personal contacts. In a few days, you could have 130, 390, etc. And you are that much closer connecting with someone who can hire you.

There's great power in your network. But you'll never truly believe it until you see it. So, start drawing those circles and filling in names today. When you do, you'll gain a new perspective on the many "hidden" connections you already have ... like seeing a Dymaxion Map for the first time.

Then, you can forget about anything separating you from your target job. Instead, start where you are and go from contact to contact, until you connect to that job.

Why not try it and see?