Newsletter – Are you Suffering from the “Half-Way Syndrome”?
November 1st, 2011
“The secret to being at the right place, at the right time, is knowing you always are. Like today. Like now.” Mike Dooley
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Is Changing Your Career Really What You Want?
October 22nd, 2011
Recently I’ve been attending very specific coaching training. Naturally, part of the training was to practice our coaching skills. It was quite fascinating to watch, how each and every participant chose their career/business development as the main topic to be coached on.
So there we were, plodding along with the career and business goals for a couple of sessions until such time when the “surface reality” was gone and we started getting deeper information. And boy, what we discovered was quite fascinating.
Low-and-behold, underneath all those grand business plans were plain and simple human needs, successfully and, may I say, masterfully covered up by the years of practice.
Overall, there was a big cry for recognition, validation, self-worth and love.
There were people who were lonely and instead of addressing that need they threw themselves into a gigantic career transformation. There were people who didn´t feel appreciated by anybody, so the thought of a higher and more important position seemed like the right remedy.
Basically, the change and advancement in their career was supposed to provide an instant plaster to their emotional needs.
The trouble with this approach is that once you get that further promotion and once you achieve your company´s financial goals, there comes the time when those emotional needs re-appear. You didn´t deal with them; you merely kept yourselves busy, hoping they would vanish by themselves.
If you are in the midst of changing your career or considering starting your own business, do yourself a favor called “due diligence”.
Open your heart and ask yourself what the real reasons for this new direction are. Will this new career be in-line with your values? Will it truly reflect who you are? Are there any issues from the past that you need to deal with first, before you commit to the whole process?
The answer to all of these questions is full and total self-acceptance. When you are ready to accept and embrace yourself for who you are, including all your imperfections (you should know by now that we are all full of them!), the following will happen.
- You will be able to see your priorities more clearly and maybe, just maybe, it will turn out a new career is not one of them!
- If, as a result of your newly found emotional freedom, you still believe that changes in career are necessary, approach them with this new perspective. I can promise you that half of the requirements you were after will be gone!
- If your choices are in-line with your true personal values (and you will make sure they are), your next steps will become much easier to define and take.
Most importantly, enjoy the process. It might not be the easiest one but it is highly rewarding in the end.
Thank you, Chris, for your comment. I think it is really important that people go beyond the obvious and search deeper when making big life decisions, should it be in their career or in other areas of their lives. All the best, Natalie
You a so right. People often jump into major life changes thinking that the outcome will lead to a perfect life. Sadly these choices are often misguided. Unless change is forced on you, then there’s always a fundamental reason behind it. Identifying what the reason is and planning around can not only help you make the right decision, but like you said can sometimes avoid these major changes completely. Most people who jump from job to job or even relationship to relationship are searching for something without really knowing what the something is. It's never as simple as "more money" or "better recognition". Often, it's all about who you are and what you want on a much deeper level. Great post!
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How to Deal With Disappointment When Changing Your Career
October 14th, 2011
Changing your career needs to be treated as any other big change that you undergo in your life. You will most probably go through the following motions: questioning the decisions you make along the way, feeling the loss of leaving something familiar behind you, facing the uncertainties of embarking on the unknown. There will be fear and there will be excitement. There will be expectations and there will be disappointments. Most probably, the whole process will be a bit bumpy and might leave you exhausted.
However, it doesn´t have to be this way; what you need to understand is that sometimes we can´t change the process but we can certainly change our reaction to it!
When things don´t go smoothly and the disappointment and fatigue set in, there are a few steps you can take:
1.) Make a decision that no matter how much progress you are making, you will enjoy the process and you will consider any setback as just another “building block” on the way towards your final goal of having your ideal career. Never underestimate the power of a decision. Thinking about something, considering it, visualizing it, discussing it, these are all fine activities. Making a decision is much more powerful, though. It implies that there is no looking back, only forward. It signals to you that you are in charge and you will move ahead on your own terms. Taking the decision means that whatever happens, you will have your ideal career and you will enjoy the process, you are moving ahead of those who wallow in their sorrows and get stuck half-way through the process without knowing it. You might take a few wrong turns but at least you are moving and that puts you way ahead of the crowd.
2.) Remain open-minded about how you will get the career of your dreams. Quite often, we make the mistake of having a very precise idea about how things will develop. Then if something doesn´t go according to plan we are left disheartened and disappointed. Imagine though, if there were tons of different ways to land your ideal career, if you only allowed them to unfold naturally! Please don´t misunderstand me. Taking action every single day and moving in the direction of your new career is extremely important. Which actions to take, however, can be left to your imagination and the immediate feelings of what is best for you. Sometimes you can be struck by an idea that seems completely farfetched and yet when you follow up on it, it might lead to an interesting contact, valuable information or a new avenue to pursue. Don´t underestimate the power of your intuition. If a new and crazy idea strikes, try it out, you never know the surprising outcome.
3.) Allow yourself enough time. Quite often, people who are determined and work towards change in their career steadily, make the easiest transitions. The reason being that once they reach the point of readiness to take the plunge, they have fully prepared and implemented plan B. They know exactly what they are doing, they have a financial plan, potentially a business plan (if transitioning to their own business), they have clarity and they have an action plan. To put all these elements in place can take time. Having a time frame is important but if you allow yourself to be patient, potential disappointments will not seem as fatal as if your deadline was set in stone for you.
Most importantly, remember why you decided to change your career in the first place. I am guessing it was because you wanted to spend your time doing something that you truly loved! Keep your eyes on the prize and all your disappointments will become but little stories to share at dinner parties and lovely reminders of how much you have overcome and how far you have travelled.
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Newsletter – Why the End is Actually the Beginning (and what comes in between)
October 3rd, 2011
“Once you make peace with the inevitability of your expansion, and once you accept that it is the journey that is the joy, not the destination, it’s the JOURNEY that is the joy, then there is no end to the fun you can have along the way.” Abraham-Hicks
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Why Your Passion is Not Enough When Changing Your Career
September 27th, 2011
In many of my previous articles I have written that in terms of identifying your ideal career, the area that holds your interest and passion is the first one to look at. While this is definitely true, looking for your dream career while following your passion only is not enough.
We live in the age of many reality shows, so I am sure you are familiar with at least a few of them. When you watch some of the participants (mainly taking part in singing or dancing competitions), their passion is so palpable, you want to hug them through your TV screen. And yet, most of them do not succeed. The reason for that is simple. While they might have the passion, they lack the talent.
You can apply this example to your own situation. You might have a great passion for a specific occupation but if you lack a gift for that particular area, it might be very difficult to succeed. I am not saying it is not possible but in all likelihood your efforts will deliver average results and (this is my own personal opinion) if you are taking this huge step towards changing your career, surely your intention is to excel?!
In order to excel, let´s look at the other part of the “successful career change” equation. What are you passionate about and really good at? If you look at it from this perspective, I am sure you will be able to come up with some great ideas! All of us are really good at something, be it a fantastic cupcake maker, a brilliant wine expert or an inventive home decorator.
The combination of your passion and your abilities is the best basis for identifying and consequently changing your career. Be open to any ideas and possibilities and remain open minded throughout the process. (By the way, did you hear about the teenage boy who had made millions online selling ebooks about skateboarding? He was passionate about skateboarding, could not find any good textbooks on the subject, so decided to write one himself. Who would have ever thought that this topic would be such a huge success?)
Once you have identified your strengths, start developing these even further; turn them into your “superpowers”, if you will. If you are good at writing, take yet another course and improve your skill (plus many of the writing courses these days teach you how to sell your work too). There are evening classes available on so many different subjects. Online information is basically at your fingertips, so develop a sound and solid plan to:
1.) Identify your strengths
2.) Improve them and turn them into your “superpowers”
3.) Infuse them with your passion for the subject / area of interest and off you go.
Congratulations.You have just become unstoppable.
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How to Keep Yourself Motivated When Changing Your Career
September 20th, 2011
First of all, let me say that if you are changing your career because you want to do something better, more satisfying, more rewarding, more “you”, then the issue of self-motivation should really not exist. If, on the other hand, you are at the point of changing your career but you don´t know which direction to go in, then motivation (or the lack of it) could be a good indicator of whether you are on the right track or not.
If you wake up every morning and can´t wait to take another step towards getting that dream career of yours, you know that you are looking for something worthy, fun and exciting.
But if you find the prospect of looking for a new job, daunting, scary or downright depressing, you have clearly not done your homework to identify what it is that you really, really want to do. In this case, I would recommend going through a thorough process of identifying your ideal career (using coaching or any other tool that you have at your disposal).
In reality, no matter which group you belong to, finding the right job might take longer than anticipated and in order to stay positive and upbeat throughout the process I would like to share a few tips with you on keeping your motivation up.
1.) Surround yourself with people who share the same interests and passions, to keep your enthusiasm alive. I had a client who wanted to be a middle-aged fashion model (yes, it is possible!) and the agencies she contacted just could not make up their minds. In the meantime, my client kept going to fashion shows, followed the fashion trends, kept herself fit and beautiful and continued taking new and different pictures until such a time that one agency finally agreed to take her on! The “in-between” activities didn´t cost much but it kept her focused on what it was she really wanted.
2.) Think about projects you will do when one day this job/business comes through. If it is the right direction for you, new ideas will come easily and when you speak to your potential employers, you will blow them away with how prepared and well suited you are for the particular job.
3.) Use the time between the jobs doing things you have always wanted to do but never had time for: play that very famous golf course you always wanted to try, learn a new skill, join an evening class, or sign up to a mastermind group. Spend your time doing things that make you happy and relaxed. That positive state of mind will translate into other areas of life, changing your career being one of them.
And remember that the best motivation is the knowledge that there are many people out there who have their dream career – and so will you.
Copyright: 2011 LB Coaching
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Newsletter – You Know It, You Have It but Do You Use it?
September 5th, 2011
“You will never have a definite purpose in life; you will never have self confidence; you will never have initiative and leadership unless you first create these qualities in your imagination and see yourself in possession of them.” Napoleon Hill
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Now You Have a New Career Direction, What´s Next? (Part 3)
August 18th, 2011
Wow, good news! You have now firmly decided what your future career will be. You took into consideration all the information you received (whether from friends, colleagues or your own intuition), you did your research, you checked with your feelings (regularly, of course) and now you want it. You can see it, you can feel it, you are positive and you want it NOW.
And that is where the challenge begins. In 9 out of 10 cases you might be ready for your dream career but your dream career is not ready for you, at least not for now.
If you ask people who have changed their career in the past to branch into a completely different field, they will tell you it took them a solid amount of time. The reasons could be the following: if you are making such a huge shift, you want to get it right and that takes time; possibly had to go back to school and maybe took college courses online; you might be going into a highly competitive niche and to gain new clients might take time; you are starting from scratch and building something to a certain level always takes time.
My apologies, time is the word here; so what can you do to ride the wave (and make the time span as short as possible) instead of riding against it (and unnecessarily lose more of it)?
1.) From the beginning of your new career, decide to be the best you can be. If you make that decision and keep up with it on a consistent basis, you can be sure your way to the top of the game will go fast and smoothly. Human beings respond well to being treated with care, professionalism and respect. So there you go, identify yourself with these attributes and you have won half the battle!
2.) Plan carefully your every step. If you have a plan, you don´t have to stop in the middle and start figuring it out (and thus don´t waste time). Stick to your plan but be flexible enough that if you spot a shortcut that feels right, you take advantage of it. Your plan should not be rigorous but structured enough to take you from A to B with superb efficiency.
3.) Have a clear vision of the final outcome. I am sure many of you understand the importance of having this vision but how many of you actually have it? Sometimes it doesn´t come easy: you are afraid to dream too big (what if you fail; the higher you dream, the bigger the fall). At the same time you are not comfortable to dream too little (what if you can achieve more but you don´t dare picture it?). The only way through this dilemma is rather simple. Close your eyes and ask your Inner Wisdom to send you a picture of you, happy in your work/career/business. If the answer that comes makes you happy and satisfied, start there; you can always take it further later. It is always better to set the goals that you believe you can achieve and then align your vision than have a vision that is so overwhelming that you don´t believe for a second you can achieve it!
And if your true dream is to become a successful entrepreneur, join me and my friend Robin Bela on August 24 for our free tele-seminar: “Be the Spirited Entrepreneuer”: www.spirited-entrepreneur.com
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Changing Your Career – Action, Now! (Part 2)
August 11th, 2011
Quite often, taking those first, tentative steps towards changing your career can feel a bit wobbly, but after all, these are the first steps and just like with babies, wobbling is fully acceptable!
The most important thing for you at the moment is to take action, now! To begin with, start with one action per day: make a phone call, connect with some old colleagues/friends on LinkedIn or Facebook, find out about local networking events and make a point of attending them. Your actions don´t need to be huge and they don´t need to make you uncomfortable. Having said that, if any of your actions feel right and yet they are out of your comfort zone, close your eyes and jump, just go for them. Pushing your boundaries is like stretching your muscles – over time, you will notice how much more flexible you have become.
When it comes to taking action, there are a few points to remember:
1.) Be persistent. If you meet somebody who wants to introduce you to somebody else but keeps forgetting, remind them again and again and again. It is not other people´s responsibility to help you change your career, it is yours only. So be patient, be organized and be persistent. This is exactly the part where so many people give up; make sure you are not one of them.
2.) Listen to and act on your intuition. If you wake up in the middle of the night, thinking you desperately need to call Sarah, who you haven´t talked to for 5 years, do exactly that (in the morning, of course!) and tell her about your plan to change your career. Maybe Sarah is precisely the person who can help you and point you in the right direction. Quite often, when we have a goal, the way to achieve it turns out to be completely different from what we had originally planned. Be open to this scenario and go with whichever next step feels the best.
3.) Be open to various outcomes. Sometimes, you set off with the idea of doing “x”, only to discover in the process that actually, you prefer option “y”. It is very possible that initially you didn´t know option “y” even existed! However, due to your diligence, creativity, connecting to various people and openness, you might have discovered something far more exciting than option “x” that you previously dreamed about! Being focused is important but being open-minded is equally important. Remember that a successful career change will happen to you sooner or later, guaranteed.
Should you wish to hear more about this subject, especially if you are trying to branch out and have your own business, sign up for a free tele-seminar “Be the Spirited Entrepreneur” which I am running together with my friend Robin Bela on August 24. To read more, click here: www.spirited-entrepreneur.com
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Are You Struggling with Clarity when Changing Your Career? (Part 1) (Blog article)
August 3rd, 2011
When you are in the process of changing you career, knowing “what you are changing your career to” is essential. Ironically, this is exactly where many people struggle the most. Many of you are very clear about what you don´t want to do but in terms of knowing what is your dream job/business/occupation – that is where the struggle begins.
The reasons for this vary: some of you like too many things and don´t know which direction to pick while others don´t really feel strongly about anything (or so you think). Then there are those who know exactly what their dream job is but don´t possess enough courage to pursue it. If you identify your situation with any of these options or if you fall somewhere in-between, here is what you can do about it.
1.) Be aware of your values. Our values are often a very strong indicator of our preferences. There are so many people sitting in their office jobs, dreaming about having their own business, not knowing that one of their core values is freedom and everything it represents (including being your own boss).
(To learn about your values, you can approach any qualified life coach or you can sign up for my special 1-hour coaching session where we can focus on identifying your values. Knowing your values will have a tremendous impact on your life, I can promise you that.)
2.) Another source of information can be your friends, family and colleagues. Be careful about asking them what they think you “should be” doing. What you are searching for here, is how people who know you the best view you; what your strengths are, what comes completely naturally to you, what type of environment suits you the best. You would be surprised how much you will learn about yourself. You might not agree with them and that is fine but you might find a gem of information there that will take you by surprise. I have a friend who loves shopping and clothes and often she is a target of many jokes about it. Yet when she asked my opinion about what should her future career be and I suggested a fashion stylist, she was completely shocked! She never thought about such a possibility but it was exactly the right career choice for her!
3.) After you have gathered enough information, do some self-reflection and pick the pieces from that information that were particularly interesting or new to you. There will always be some information that will make you feel excited, enthusiastic or at least curious. Well, that is your starting point. Take that information and start exploring more options and possibilities. Be creative and be bold. In that “feeling good space” you will find your answers.
Happy exploring! If you would like to hear and learn more about this topic, please join me and my friend Robin Bela for our free tele-seminar “Be the Spirited Entrepreneur“! For more information, please visit: www.spirited-entrepreneur.com
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