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Five Steps to Vocational Passion: A Disciplined Plan for Major Mid-life Changes
There's a famous song lyric that asks: "Is that all there is?" Every seven seconds, an American turns 50 years old. So there's a good chance that song is running through some of their heads. The question captures the ennui that many people feel in mid-life. They look up at the clock, see it ticking, and begin counting in their heads all the mountains not climbed, the poems not written, and the songs not sung. It's time to stop asking the question idly. I'm offering five initial steps that you can take to evaluate your situation and to begin the transition away from a meaningless grind toward a new life that provides you with energy and fulfillment. Vocational passion is an alignment of your abilities and interests in a role that gives you unlimited energy and happiness. This is not an overnight process. But it's a process you can begin today. Step One: Evaluate Lots of people settle for jobs that pay the bills but leave them feeling empty. If you want to break out of this trap and find another kind of life, you need to evaluate where you would like to go. Examine where your passions lie. On a scale of 1-10, where are you when it comes to vocational passion? A "1" is a living drudgery where you force yourself to your desk every morning and dream about the end of the day; a "10" is a perfect alignment between interests and livelihood. Too many of us are closer to "1" than "10". Anything lower than a "5" suggests your working life may be feeding your family, but at the expense of starving your soul. Step Two: Envision Your Future You may have seen the U.S. Navy ad that asks: "If someone wrote a book about your life, would anyone want to read it?" Here's your chance to write that book or at least the outline. Sit down and write a short biography that describes who you are five years from now. Describe exactly the life you wish to lead, doing work that you love. You will know you are done with the exercise when your heart races with excitement. Then imagine and write down your vision of a perfect vocational day. It's difficult to achieve something that you have not clearly envisioned. Make sure your vision has clarity. Then document it and pull it out regularly, to refresh your desire to achieve that vision. Step Three: Tune Out Negative Feedback Understand this: The moment you announce plans to make a radical change in your life, many people will find the move threatening and they will not wish you well. They will try to talk you out of it and tell you what a big mistake you are about to make. Never let the naysayers dictate your life. People who listen to negative voices end up with the status quo. Step Four: Shore Up Your Support Network Anyone making a change needs supportive friends, and lots of them. I suggest a three-tiered model for analyzing your personal support network. The three tiers will include people who are 1) "interested" in your work; 2) "supporters" who are not only interested, but offer creative ideas to move you forward; 3) "believers," which includes your most active supporters. Make your lists now. Examine whom you have in your support network and rank them according to these tiers. Focus on networking with your tier-one supporters, while trying to move those people in tiers two and three up the ladder. Step Five: Assess Your Risk When taking action to follow one's passion, people trying to change their life fall into one of four categories. Each requires a different strategy. Category One: Plenty of money and plenty of time. People in this category have a high tolerance for risk based on their relatively young age and solid financial means. Category Two: Plenty of money and little time. Because of failing health and/or advancing age, those in category two have some risk tolerance. But they probably lack a solid support network, since most friends will advise against change because they are "too old" or "too sick." Category Three: Little time and little money. I define "little money" as having less than six months of cash flow in the bank. Risk tolerance is low in this category, and supporters are probably hard to come by. Most people are in this category. Category Four: No money and no time. I define "no money" as less then three months cash flow in the bank. Anyone is this position will have a very low risk tolerance. They will find little support to help them move toward doing what they love. What to do? Take the calculated risks now.
What's the worst that can happen? Remember this: You won't die or become homeless if you pursue what you love. You may, however, find that your relationship to your money will change. You'll respect money more, and you'll find that you can manage on less of it. Also understand that pursuing vocational passion doesn't always mean making less money. But it does mean that money is not the only consideration or even the most important consideration in choosing your new vocational path. If you don't act to pursue your vocational passion, then every seven seconds someone else will come along and ask themselves: "Is that all there is?" Many of them will answer, "No," and will do something about it. You can be one of the doers. About The Author Craig Nathanson, The Vocational Coach, is the author of "P Is For Perfect: Your Perfect Vocational Day," by Book Coach Press. He publishes the free monthly e-zine, "Vocational Passion in Mid-life." Craig believes the world works a little better when we do the work we love. He helps those in mid-life carry this out. Visit his online community at http://www.thevocationalcoach.com where you can sign up for his next Tele-class coming up November 17.
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Business Management What is Life Coaching? An recent article in Money Magazine said that "A coach may be the guardian angel you need to rev up your career." In fact, if you pick up any major newspaper or magazine, you are bound to come across a glowing article on coaching. It is one of the fastest growing careers, with an estimated 20,000 coaches in the United States. Because coaching is a relatively new profession, there are many people calling themselves "coaches"---unfortunately not all of whom are fully qualified. You should know that there is no required professional certification process, although it is coming in the near future. Life On The Receiving End Of Coaching What is it like to be on the receiving end of mentoring to improve your performance in pocket billiards and at the same time, participate in life changing coaching? What To Do? Lifes Big Question We've all experienced the same thing at important crossroads in our life when big changes were underway. Often, we find ourselves feeling panic and frozen in time, possibly with indecision, waiting and wondering: Which way to go?; How will things turn out? Sometimes, you just don't know what to do. The American Dream Are We Really Free? The promises of THE AMERICAN DREAM (to have it all and enjoy it all, based on materialistic values system) has been holding us captive and threatening to take our power and freedom away- without our awareness, like a thief in the night. If What You Are Doing Is Not Working Change Your Approach And ironically the more we worry about it, the more tense we get and the more likely we are to say something stupid. The Self Development Tool Box Do you have a self-development toolbox? Do you have a standard set of instruments or mechanisms that you use to delve into your inner self? Just asking yourself those questions makes you think, doesn't it? That is because questioning is the most powerful tool in your self-development toolbox. When we start on the self-development path it is usually because we have asked ourselves a question: who am I, what is it I want, why am I in this position, when can I change, where will this happen and how can I make it happen? Questions can be about us or about others and are used as identifiers. Who do I want to be? Who is standing in the way? Who will support me in this? Who can provide information? Permission To Have FUN ? Have you been working long hours? ? Have you been managing 10 (or more) tasks at once? ? Are you combining several different personal and professional roles? Making Changes in Your Personal Life Making changes in your personal life can be a tough process. Change starts with a thought. It cannot begin without one. However, what we think and dream is not always what those around us choose to envision for us. Mid Life Crisis and the Great American Dream One of the mainstays of American culture is the "Great American Dream". Immigrants would uproot their families and leave their homeland in the hopes of experiencing the freedom and opportunity that awaits them in America. While it is true that our Declaration of Independence states, "we are endowed by our creator with certain alienable rights and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", it was probably Horatio Alger who did more to popularize the "American Dream". He wrote more than 134 successful short novels targeting the rags to riches theme. His theme was that if you were honest, worked hard, had a strong determination, did your best and always tried to do the right thing, you would succeed. Alger captured the essence, emotion, soul and especially the spirit of an emerging America. The association between happiness and success was taking root in American culture. 3 Easy Steps to Low Stress Communication Life is all about choices. And so is the way you communicate. You can fill your days with frustrating high stress communication or you can have days of low stress effective communication with your peers. Is Your Attitude Destroying Your Health? A positive attitude may bring good health and success. If you have ever read any book about success you will discover how an optimistic attitude will keep you healthier and tremendously increase your chances of success. Leadership Coaching Easier Said Than done Recently at a Pharmaceutical meeting in Europe, one of the presenters shared the results of a recent study that demonstrated that Managers who were trained in Eight Step Coaching Skills were out selling DM's who were not trained in the program. This quantitative data seems to support that the cornerstone of success lies in effective leadership coaching and diagnosing the needs of the Representatives. However, it is not simply a matter of being trained. Managers must overcome day to day hurdles to be an effective coach. It takes a knowledge of the skills plus the courage to open up sensitive and important topics with others. It takes time, a precious commodity in a DM's week. It takes self-control over our emotions when someone doesn't measure up on an important mission that we, as Managers care about. When we coach, we run a risk of opening up conflict, differences, and misunderstandings that can create discomfort. In short, "coaching is easier said than done." But the results will be worth it if we are consistent and rigorous at using coaching skills. Poise, Posture, and Performance Good posture is seen to have many advantages. From an aesthetic point of view it can enhance image, sending out the right signals (body language). For an athlete it is seen to be essential. But what is a good posture? We recognise poor posture when we see it, as it is evident in the majority of adults regardless of athletic ability. But just to confuse the matter, people with an ideal 'plumb-line' posture can also have poor movement patterns. This is because it is not the shape that is important but how it is maintained. An apparent 'good' posture can be achieved with totally inappropriate muscular activity. Ten Ways to Make New Years Resolutions That You Can Actually Keep! Are you one of the millions of people who make big New Year's Resolutions each year, only to watch those resolutions fall by the wayside mere days or weeks later? Would you like to be able to set New Year's Resolutions that you can actually keep? It might be easier than you think! Whats Wrong with Life Coaching? As a Life Coach I quickly identified most individuals wanted to achieve a particular goal or ambition and tried it themselves without success, and unfortunatley were still reluctant to get any help. So, I started 'A Life Coaching' a company which provides individuals with the tools, skills and processes to Life Coach themselves. (Free sample multi media below.) Simple Tips to Move Forward on the Job Someone I know wants to move into another job in the same company. It is not a management job. It's a job as an assistant safety coordinator. 7 Effective Ways To Boost Your Self Esteem 1. Get a life purpose statement. We Are the Five People We Associate with Most Last month I was invited to participate in a charity golf tournament in Las Vegas to celebrate the life of the late dancing legend Gregory Hines. The event was held to raise funds and awareness of the tragic disease that took this entertainer's life. Plug in Your Systems for Success Have you ever noticed that so many of us who work diligently and ethically rarely achieve our objectives? And, why is it that those who-seemingly-work half as hard and half as long experience one success after another? Curse of Competence: How Being Good gets in the way of Becoming Great Just before the storms hit last winter, my father-in-law and I replaced 26 feet of fence on my property. I must say, for a couple of non-handyman-sorts like the two of us, it is a very well done fence.
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