‘Wow!’ my client said. ‘That’s amazing!’
Little did my client know that his light bulb moment two years ago would lead to a midlife career change that would positively impact his life, and that of his family and help facilitate a dream come true.
Just like my client, you may be a mid-life professional who has spent months or even years thinking about a new career direction. A clarity session helped him open up to new possibilities.
Neil had been wrestling with the idea of changing his career for at least a year. He’d had numerous conversations (mainly in his head) about what he might do next. He’d thought about several business ideas. Some he’d researched, others had stayed as an idea. He’d spent months and months trying to work out how his skill set might be used in a different way, and most importantly for him, how he might manage a new career to better fit in with his family. He loved spending time with them, and even though his latest job allowed him to work from home, he was often needed elsewhere at very short notice. Eventually he came to see me at the behest of his wife, who had been suggesting for ages that he give me a call.
The Challenge
Neil was working as an area sales manager in Telecoms. He’d been in this Sector for years, working for several different companies during that time. He’d become despondent by the restrictions that existing business models place on him. His creativity wasn’t being tapped into and he’d been impatient to broaden his horizons. He came to me because he had no idea where to go from here. He felt under-utilized and stagnant. When he arrived he was clearly extremely frustrated by his lack of direction, causing him to display signs of stress.
The Process
Three weeks before this light bulb session, Neil had an initial conversation with me. In this session he’d explained where he was at, and that he wanted a new challenge. He was keen to re-ignite his passion for business and had been feeling bored and impatient by his lack of direction.
During that session we talked about Neil’s work values. This helped him re-focus on the things that were important to him at work, rather than focusing on the things that were making him unhappy as he’d been doing previously. His negative thoughts had been feeding his frustration and impatience.
A few weeks went by until his second session, and by now he had gained some perspective. It was clear that he was much more relaxed and calm about his situation than before. He’d still been throwing ideas into the melting pot but hadn’t been so impatient about moving on, recognising that his current job offered him several benefits, including being able to work from home and therefore he was able to enjoy more time with his family than he had realised.
In this frame of mind it was easier for him to talk about some of the ideas he’d been having with fresh eyes. The much used Einstein quote comes to mind here as he was indeed more able to find a solution because he was now in a ‘different state of mind to the one in which the problem was created’. I asked him to consider what he needed from his next career move. The things he must have that were non-negotiable. He realised there were only a couple of things he must have: an income that met his current commitments, and the flexibility to spend time with his family.
Next, we looked at what he wanted from a new career. He told me about an idea he’d had many times before, but had dismissed because he didn’t think there was a business out there that would go for it. His sales model would give him the creative input he’d been lacking, and the direction he craved. I stopped him as he was about to dismiss it once more. ‘What if your idea wasn’t rejected?’ He stopped, in stunned silence for a while as he realised he’d never given a business the opportunity to grasp it, or reject it, assuming he’d have to create his own business in order to accommodate his approach. How would he know until he tried?
The Result
After the ‘Wow!’ statement above, Neil happily left before the end of his session was up in order to write down the ideas that were now crystallising, so that he could prepare for an interview he was having the following day.
He was offered a second interview. The business is clearly interested in Neil’s idea and was willing to consider it…..
Two Years Later
I met Neil at a friend’s wedding recently. He made a point of coming over to me to thank me for that session. The job he secured after our session has enabled much more flexibility in his life. He sees his family more regularly, and it has enabled a massive change of life that he and his wife have been dreaming of for years. They are currently in the throws of moving their life down to the coast. This move holds so much significance for both of them. In fact about five years ago I facilitated a workshop with his wife. I invited her to make a dream board and on it she stuck pictures of all the things she wanted in her life. They included a home by the sea, a business award and a Mercedes. She contacted me the other day as she was packing up the contents of their house, because she came across that mood board and realised she had achieved everything on it.
Neil says, ‘Sandra has a great understanding of what is important in life and career, but does not preach to you. I’d recommend her clarity session if you’re stuck in your career.’ At the wedding he added, “Thank you so much for your work. You have helped to change our lives and fulfil our dreams, I can’t say enough about you and how great I feel right now”.
If you’d like to discuss how I might help you get some clarity about your midlife career change, or discuss your long held dreams – it really is never too late, so contact me and I’d be happy to offer you a free 40 minute, no obligation evaluation.