This week we bring you two examples from More Magazine of people over age 50 who are making career changes. In the case of architect, Calli Spheeris, the impetus for change was the economy. The outcome was an unexpected pairing of her passions and a greater understanding of what had been missing from her work. As Calli notes, “Age can bring a greater sense of confidence and integration of those things that make you who you are.”
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Today’s Quote: What Helps Luck
“What helps luck is a habit of watching for opportunities, of having a patient, but restless mind, of sacrificing one’s ease or vanity, of uniting a love of detail to foresight, and of passing through hard times bravely and cheerfully.” Charles Victor Cherbuliez
CUT OUT THE MIDDLE STEP
by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang
Four years ago, at a bookstore event, a woman asked a question about a career strategy she was hatching. Her goal was to become a global director for the multinational company she worked for. Her question was about her next move to attain an interim position that would get her to her goal. Immediately, I realized she did not want that interim step but it was what she thought was necessary to get what she wanted. I recommended just going for what she really wanted instead.
I never heard from her again until a few weeks ago. She told me she had been holding that global director position since shortly after she asked that question.
Another woman had come to get some short-term coaching to confirm she had made the right career choice for herself. She was in a pharmacist’s training school. Once we got to work it was clear that being a pharmacist was not what the woman wanted at all! She chose that field because she felt it had job security and she could build a good financial future for herself. The truth was she was miserable and hated every minute of it. She wanted a strong financial future, not a pharmacist’s life.
Both these women and countless others, male and female, mistakenly put a middle step between where they are and where they want to go. Every path we take in life has its stepping stones. No one is going to get a driver’s license and then fly an airplane. You’d need flying lessons and getting the required hours before getting in the air. However, there are other life steps or career steps that are not necessary but rather, mere creations of our own mistaken rules for accomplishment.
If you hear yourself thinking: “ I need to do x to get y” think again. Take out the ‘x’ and re-examine your strategy. The truth is “I want Y”. The question is ‘how do I get that?’. That is what should form your strategy.
Life will tell you if there is indeed an interim step you need, you don’t need to make more work for yourself. Take out the middle step and see how you springboard into opportunity.
Today’s Quote: What You Would Be
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” Epictetus
Video Viernes: Making a Splash & Making a Difference
From nearly drowning at age 5, to becoming an Olympic swimmer, to teaching kids to swim. Now that’s going for the gold in life, and we don’t just mean Cullen Jones’ Olympic medal. Who can predict where life will lead you?
Get Paid For Your Hobbies
Frank Hyman, the author of today’s article, shares what came from the decision he made at age 26 to get paid for his hobbies. Certainly, a career of combined hobbies isn’t for everyone, but Frank’s story just may spur some ideas. In the Now What process, we encourage you to engage in your hobbies even as you are researching other types of jobs and scenarios. As Frank says in this article: Follow your curiosity.