I’m saying no  more than treat yourself to a great 15 minutes of ironic humour… and on-the-spot messaging about having a great career. And, if it doesn’t tick just one of your “OMG-that’s-what-I-do boxes”, you can buy me lunch!

Here’s Larry Smith talking about why you’re going to fail to have a great career

If there is one skill that makes a difference in life and work, it’s the skill of “doing it now”.

This is the antidote to procrastination – the skill of “doing it when…”

I am learning a lot about my strategies for “procrastination” through my sport – dog obedience championships. I have realised that in the context of competing, when I enable Harry to perform at his best he does so with fun, flair and positive attitude. It’s the most euphoric feeling ever to have that connection. Whether we win or not doesn’t matter.

Yet this activity brings out some of the most elaborate procrastination patterns in me. I fear that all the hard work and years of training that we  have put in will not appear in the show ring…

“What if we’re not good enough…?” “What if we get it wrong…?” What if …? What if….? What…If?

So I put off the moment of truth for as long as possible.

Then I embark upon some truly bizarre preparation rituals and Harry loses interest!

The moment for action passes and all I have succeeded in doing is proving to myself that I can’t do it!

This makes it even easier to “put it off” the next time.

Think about it… How many things have you been intending to do but it still it remains on your To Do Another Day List. How many promises have you made to yourself?

I have learned a lot about myself through my sport. I have learned a lot about dogs! I can create the conditions to enable Harry to perform at his best or his worst. My behaviour influences whether he follows my lead (excuse the pun)…or not.

The problem is, that in sport, as in many situations in life, it’s not always up to us to choose the time to do our “winning” performance. And if we keep saving ourselves for the right moment -it may never come.

I’ve learned that in sport, as well as all aspects of work and life, it doesn’t matter if how we perform on the day is not our all singing, all dancing, shiny best ever, perfect performance. It’s more important to have started, and to continue than it is to perform only in that moment when we feel at our most confident.

To realise our career goals and personal aspirations we need to act. Commit to the stretch. Take the feedback. And keep on doing it. Starting right now.

As everyone knows deep down, every dog has his day! So have yours TODAY!

We are in a period of Renaissance.

Working men and women:

Are freeing themselves from tight boxes, and joyless job titles.

Are unleashing themselves from self-imposed straight jackets.

Are fleeing the 9-5 treadmill in droves for freedom and independence.

To change their lives – by finding their dream job, retraining, going on a big adventure, writing a book, starting a new business – all at once if it pleases them to do so.

These professionals:

• Can powerfully assist many others to achieve big, positive, business and personal goals.

• Can help each other through connection, collaboration, and partnership, to the benefit of all.

• Can advise, challenge, and grow the best leaders of tomorrow.

But the vast majority feel stuck in the same job, but more work, less pay; same industry but less growth, no challenges; same path fewer options. It’s entirely possible that you’ve trudged as far as you can go on this path and that the slog is just going to be more of the same. Possible.

But I don’t believe it

Why?

Because I fervently believe you can tap into the extra-ordinary capacity for change that comes with the energy and experience of life. If you’re up for the choice.

The new Renaissance (the one we’re living through, the one that’s changing everything) has opened doors for anyone (with enough resources and education to be reading this). If you’ve got the time, the intellect, and the mindset to learn how to deal with uncertainty, you now have the opportunity to turn your sitaution around, regardless of what you do, who it’s with,  or what other’s around you expect.

The old ways we grew up with are disappearing and being replaced by new ways of interacting, making a living and making a difference. Not just for organisations, but for individuals, – people like you.

It’s why Careersafterforty was created. To help anyone (like you) in search of change, increase your chances of getting started on a good path.

However there’s a basic problem.

The typical burned out, stressed out -or merely disaffected professional looking for change knows that he or she wants something new but doesn’t (yet) know what. Those of us with a little more direction come equipped with a long list of career ideas – usually padded with ideas that really do not appeal. Sometimes it’s just easier stay put and shut up (even if you hate every minute of your work).

Don’t get me wrong. Changing career isn’t one long soak in the bath tub. A true change in direction is terrifying. No two ways about it.

But new tools, new ways to access job markets, new ways of networking, and new economic patterns have given us a lot more varied ways of making a living, even if we’re doing something traditional.

And education about how to navigate career change is so much better (cheaper, easier to find, more comprehensive), than it was when I started poking around on the internet trying to figure out how I could change.

We don’t have to choose anymore between the personality profiling/tick box exercises (first pay up front £2,000 career consultations) and prescriptive ” one size fits all, magic formula’s.” There’s pay what you can, face to face and telephone options.

The 5 Myths Of Career Change

Looking back, what kept me in a day job for so long? I found what I call 5 myths of career change. These are 5 ideas that might still be true for landing a job under normal circumstances. Or maybe they’re just make-believe. It doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that these myths can be ignored. Even if you have already taken the leap, these myths can still trip you up. They can keep you from changing, growing, and really enjoying the experience of change, and from crafting a career that supports your life, rather than suffocates it.

Here are the five myths I’ve zoomed in on:

• That our true path is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered at the core of our inner being.

• The key to successful career change lies in knowing – with as much clarity and certainty as possible – what we really want to do and then implementing a sound strategy to get from A-B.

• That people who change careers in their forties have to be crazy risk takers or some kind of special breed of human being…that they’re “different” from you or me

• Once we know and understand our personality, needs, and core values we can go out and find a job or organisation that matches.

• Whatever happens, we must not make a move until we are 100% certain that we know exactly where we are going. ( Crystal balls at the ready!!)

So, are you serious about transformation? I don’t mean the polishing yourself, improving yourself, making things a bit better kind of transformation. I’m talking about a complete overhaul in what you believe and how you work. If you’re up for that, then right here, right now you can start:

Be yourself, use your talents, do work that matters.

9 words available to anyone. They’re here if you want them. These turbulent times just presented you with the opportunity to make a difference, to spread your wings, and fly. What are you going to do about that? When?

Here are 5 ideas available for anyone (like you) in search of reinvention.

1.Change your mind. Right now.You don’t need more knowledge, or more certificates because you have access to more knowledge than you can handle. What you need is the mindset to actually get out there and use what you know.

2. Learn to live with uncertainty and take risks. If you stay within what’s known and safe (especially if you hate it), you will never be truly successful. Doing what’s uncertain and risky isn’t easy, and that’s why the people who do it are rewarded.

3. Lead – which simply means going out and doing things, rather than thinking and talking about doing those things.

4. Stop trying to find your one true path and accept the crooked path. Introspection can make starting even harder. Instead get out of your cage and start flirting with new possibilities.

5. Start believing you can do it. That might sound rah-rah but it’s very important. We train ourselves into believing we can do some things and can’t do others.

What you can do, or dream, begin it.

You already took a first step by reading this post. Together we can learn and turn your career around. I hope you’re with me.

If you are then please leave your comments below.

You are part of Careersafterforty. I don’t mean simply as a reader. I mean as a contributor too. I am assuming that you are already a successful and highly capable professional, in your 30s’/ 40′s/50′s.  You already have some experience. A story to tell. We want to hear your stories, and experiences in the commenting section of the blog posts.

Your contribution will inspire other readers enormously. Collectively we can learn more than individually. Become part of the Renaissance.

Pass this post on to others using the share buttons.

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Maybe you have an idea of a different career direction already and you’re not sure if you should go for it. Or perhaps you think its safer to stay as you are in this current climate.

It’s easy to be confused at this point.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways to determine if career change really is for you.

1.You’re a mid career professional who is questioning your career path after having made a long term investment in that path.

2. Your desire for change dovetails with hitting forty as part of the famed mid life transition.

3. You are experiencing new degrees of freedom now the children have flown the nest, maybe you’re enjoying being single again and rellish the opportunity of spending the next 15-20 years in a different way.

4. You’re already planning your exit strategy.

5. You are preparing to take your next step up into a leadership or executive role.

6. You perk up when you hear about the accountant who gave it all up to be a landscape gardener, or the senior manager who ditched her firm to became an independent coach and training consultant, or the  nurse who became a writer, and wonder what if?

7. You started your career young and are considering retraining in your chosen career.

8. You are an established consultant, coach or trainer who wants to do more of the work that gets you out of bed in the morinings.

9. You feel like you’re stood on the edge of a high diving board, feeling excited and nervous at the same time.

10. You yearn for change, but remain stuck and unsure of which path to take.

11. You want to get your spark back.

If you caught yourself nodding to just one of these statements you’re in good company.

Most of us will navigate at least one major career shift in the course of our lives.

Many of our friends, family and professional associates will make similar changes. But the difference is between you and the rest is that you are here today.

Learning what twists and turns might lie in the road ahead will not reduce the uncertainty about the ultimate destination. But it will increase your chances of getting started.

12. For you it’s like what?

Please leave your comments, viewpoints, questions, examples in the comments section below.

If this post has resonated with you in some way please click the “like” button on this page.

Best wishes

Angela

And it happened in an instant. Although several years of procrastination, it took a milli-second to actually occur. The moment it did everything changed for good.

It changed. I changed. And the world around me changed. To be honest…it all happened frighteningly quick.

My career in the NHS took me to the cutting edge of medicine and closer to the top of the management tree than I had thought possible. A qualified nurse, a graduate in Public Sector Health Studies, a senior manager working with the world’s brightest professionals, leading experts in their field, managing hundreds of staff, on calls, £million budgets, and achieving government targets – it was a varied career, full of stress, excitement, learning, change, opportunity, and it was very worthwhile. I learned a lot about people and a lot about myself.

Even so it felt more like surviving than thriving.

It was with this knoweldge of who I was that led me to quit my job – I had had enough – I had gone as far as I wanted to -further in many ways. And it was my time for complete change.

What did I change? What did I start? What did I stop?

The most profound change was not in leaving my job after 17 years. Nor was it setting up my training and development business. At first it was doing my old job in a new way.

I stopped hiding my personality behind the “management cloak”. Stopped worrying about ” what will people think of me?” ” What if people don’t like what I’ve got to offer?” What if…? What if…? What if…?

Stopped blaming the boss. Stopped depending on my job for my status in life. Stopped accepting the status quo.

Instead I re-invented myself.

Now I was inspired. I started leading myself in a new way.  Started seriously flirting with new possibilities. Started exposing myself to new roles and realtionships. Most of all, I was inspired to take a big bold stand for what I truly believed I could uniquely offer. I started experimenting and making new things happen.

I can remember the immense sense of freedom as finally, I removed my blinkers and looked at my work afresh. As a result I found more. More interests. More opportunities. More engagement. More satisfaction. More influence.

New possibilities revealed themselves as a result of being inspired, not the other way round.

Fortunately re-inventing the “SELF” like this does not require a 3,000 word business case highlighting all the strategic issues involved.

It doesn’t require a board meeting to gain approval.

It doen’t need a spreadsheet of rows and rows of costs and benefits detailed down to the bottom line.

Neither does it need a ten point plan career plan or personality profiling.

It just takes action. Spontaneously. Instantly.

Miraculously as everyone knows deep down, somehow our well developed neurological programming system can achieve this in a flash.

We just pretend it can’t.

What if…? What if…? What if…?

If this blog has provoked your thoughts and resonated with you in some way please click the “like” button. Importantly, if you have any questions or comments please put them in the comment section below. I will do my best to answer them.

And finally, click here  to join our midcareer community.

To your career success

Angela