How Do You Plot Your Next Career Move?

The key is to figure out what you want out of life, not what you want out of your career. ~ Goldie Hawn


 

People often ask me how they should go about plotting their next career move.  Sometimes they act like I “should” have some secret formula for helping them make it happen. They think it should happen as easily and quickly as snapping their fingers.

Sorry – I don’t have a one-size-fits-all formula. Finding one that does fit  doesn’t usually happen just like that. Most of the time, plotting your Sexy Second Act career move is a marathon and not a sprint.

And that’s good. If one solution worked for everyone, no one would need my coaching skills.

Here’s what I do know based on my experience. Your dreams are big. They are important. They require you to put your energy, unique talents, experience and imagination to work to make them happen. And you won’t have to wait to love it, you’ll fall in love somewhere during the process.

Why? Because plotting your next career move – the one that leads to your Sexy Second Act – is part of a bigger dream and purpose that encompasses your whole life. As such, you can’t rush, force, drag, kick, pummel or harass your fun, passionate, and rewarding Sexy Second Act into being. It’s designed to unfold in its own way and in it’s own time.

I suspect a few things about you if you are here reading this…

  • You’ve probably been on the planet awhile
  • You’ve probably come to realize how much life energy goes into your work
  • You might be thinking you have spent too dang much life energy doing what you are doing rather than doing the thing that floats your boat
  • You are finally ready to give up doing what you don’t want to do and start doing what you do want to do
  • You aren’t sure what you do want or else it scares your socks off because you don’t think it’s possible

I’ve been where you are. I know you want quick answers. I wanted them too when I was plotting my post-corporate career move.

I learned that it rarely works out that way. You’ve gotta live your way into the answers.

Do you ever watch Property Brothers, House Hunters, Love it or List It, or any show where people set out to remodel or purchase a dream home?  At the beginning of the show, clients generally want quick and easy solutions, too.

How often do you see it happen? Yeah. Almost never.

What they learn while remodeling or looking for their dream homes can also apply to plotting your next career move:

  • Big dreams take time, effort and letting go of preconceived notions and expectations
  • You may not get all the way to your big dream in one move
  • Sometimes you have to move to the best place you can with the resources you have
  • Big dreams require the active participation, support, and expertise of others – you can’t get there by yourself
  • There may be detours and surprises along the way
  • Even though you have a vision, you won’t see the whole staircase until you get to the end
  • It may get messy for awhile, but it works out, usually better than you could have imagined.

Your inability to see the whole staircase is no reason to stop plotting your next career move. You may have some learning and growing to do before you are ready to go the distance. Like your dream home, your dream career may have “good bones”, but it may take work to bring out its  full beauty and functionality.

Plotting your next career move requires you to get back to basics. What matters to you? What kind of dent do you want to make in the Universe? Or at least in your little corner of it?  How would it feel to have your career dream come true? You know – the one that becomes integrated into your bad-ass Sexy Life Plan rather than separate from it?

Is that a possibility worth taking a shot at?


I’ve got tools to help you start plotting your next career move or to help you take your dreams to the next level. Ask for a Personal Insights Profile, schedule your complimentary “get acquainted” coaching session, or join one of our mastermind groups. If this article was helpful, please share with a friend or colleague or leave a comment below.