I have been working on my soul and searching to find a more meaningful fit for me in my day to day life — AKA a job that taps into more of my passions than my stressors. At least…. more than my status quo.

So, I quest about. One thing I have tried which tends to surface helpful blips and blurps of insight is to partner with someone — or something — to mirror back to me opportunity I might be missing.

Enter: Opportunity Tunneling. Akin to the network-effect fun-house trip of tunneling through Wikipedia or Tumblr, bouncing from one page and sub-ecosystem through the comments and interactions to another related page to find myself somehow in the same universe but Zebra have purple stripes.

In short, it goes like this:

1. What do you like?
2. What is related to what you like? (There is an ecosystem at play)
3. What are they up to? What is related to them?
4. After poking around some handful of sub-systems, what do you see? What sticks out as interesting? Who is playing in these spaces? What is their story? Might there be job openings somewhere between here and back where we started?

You’re mapping. Scrappy cartography of the soul. low-fi. Keep it simple, stupid. KISS.

To that end, I asked GPT to sketch me out a one-pager that takes you on a 3-day quest of just this type of cartography. Easy breezy, but you can dig as deep an as intentional as you like. This is just a frame to take and plow through, or finesse, or whatever you like. The prompting back to the AI is not necessary but can be quite helpful.

I hope it’s useful:

Opportunity Tunneling: A 3-Day Guided Inquiry for Resonant Job Discovery

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🌟 Overview

This is not your typical job search.

Opportunity Tunneling is a guided ritual of career discovery that begins with resonance. You’ll tunnel outward from one point of genuine curiosity—a person, organization, or idea you love—and map the ecosystem around it. Instead of searching for roles in isolation, the intent is to uncover living networks of people, projects, and platforms connected to your passion.

Each day has two parts:

• A reflective prompt (for your own journal or notes)
• A ChatGPT activation prompt (to bring the inquiry to your AI co-pilot)

Use this process at your own pace, alone or with a partner.

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🌌 DAY 1: Choose Your Anchors

Theme: Follow your aliveness.

Reflective Prompt

Name 3 anchors that spark your curiosity. These could be:

• A person you admire (alive, dead, fictional)
• An organization whose work you love
• A project, movement, or idea that stirs something in you

For each anchor, write:

If you don’t have answers to any or all of these, not a problem. Work with what you have–push it through and see what you find.

1. What draws me to this?
2. What part of me comes alive in this ‘space’?
3. What kind of contribution would feel natural or joyful here?

Optional: Add a quote, image, or short video link that captures the energy of this anchor.

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🤖 ChatGPT Activation Prompt

“I’m exploring job discovery through a process called Opportunity Tunneling. One of my anchors is [describe org/person/idea]. Please help me reflect on what roles or contributions are often needed in spaces like this, and how my curiosity might translate into potential roles.”

Use follow-ups like:

• “What types of jobs or collaborators tend to gather around this kind of work?”
• “What hidden functions or support roles might exist behind this public-facing work?”

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🕸️ DAY 2: Tunnel the Ecosystem

Theme: Ecosystem map.

Reflective Prompt

Choose 1 of your 3 anchors and start mapping the ecosystem around it:

• Who funds or supports this?
• What partner orgs or coalitions are involved?
• What conferences, journals, or platforms intersect here?
• Who else is working on similar things?
• What tools, frameworks, or tech show up?

Make a visual map, list, or sketch.

Reflection questions:

• What patterns do I see in the ecosystem?
• Where might I belong? What role do I gravitate toward?

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🤖 ChatGPT Activation Prompt

“Based on the anchor I chose—[describe it briefly]—please help me map the ecosystem around it. Who are key players, adjacent orgs, supporting structures, and typical roles that show up here?”

Follow-up prompts:

• “Give me a system-level map of this domain: influencers, funders, enablers, researchers, and implementers.”
• “Can you suggest 3 real-world organizations or projects connected to this anchor that are likely hiring or engaging contributors?”

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🚪 DAY 3: Spot the Doors

Theme: Name the opportunities (or make them.)

Reflective Prompt

From your ecosystem map:

1. List 2–3 orgs or people you would love to work with, not just for.
2. Find 1 real-world opportunity (job posting, fellowship, open call, etc.).
3. Write a short note or email you might send to someone inside that ecosystem.

Bonus: Write a short positioning statement for yourself:

“I’m drawn to [theme] and I contribute best through [skills/role type]. I’m currently seeking opportunities to [goal/impact] within [ecosystem or org type].”

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🤖 ChatGPT Activation Prompt

“Based on the ecosystem I mapped around [anchor], help me find specific job listings, open projects, or entry points that align with my curiosity.”

Follow-ups:

• “Draft a short outreach message I could send to someone in this ecosystem asking for a conversation.”
• “What unconventional entry points might exist into this world? (e.g. fellowships, volunteer roles, storytelling, residencies)”

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🌿 Final Notes

• Your tunnel may take longer than 3 days. That’s okay.
• You can repeat this process with new anchors anytime.
• Let it be relational, not extractive. Reach out to connect, not just to ask for jobs.
• If you want to go deeper, revisit your maps and ask: What story am I telling myself about what I’m allowed to do or be?

Welcome to the liberating world of tunneling.