This book, which is intended for career counselors, is based on studies extending over 40 years that examined people living under different socioeconomic regimens in various parts of the world. It discusses the formation and implementation of life aspirations from adolescence onward. The book begins with an analysis of the phenomenon of self-realization and proposes a model for predicting the probable course of people's careers that is based on assessment of motivational and instrumental career ingredients. The successful planning and implementation of life careers is demonstrated to depend on three factors: clarity of aspirations; match between people's career types and aspiration image; and availability of counseling. The following topics are discussed in the book's nine chapters: self-realization and attainment of life goals; work and career as tools for self-realization; holistic and hidden aspects of career choice linked to the quest for self-realization; occupational images in public opinion and the hidden selection of occupational appeal; motivational steering of careers toward self-realization; instrumental ingredients of career goal implementation; planning, implementation, and prediction of careers; pathology of career adjustment and self-realization; and counseling for self-realization. (Contains 383 references and 51 tables/figures.) (MN)