50 Thoughts for Career Changers

The way things work isn't working - #1. On the global scale – our institutions and corporations aren't adequately

addressing our biggest shared challenges.

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Thought #1/#50

The way things work isn't working - #2. On the individual scale – big

organisations are often frustrating, unfulfilling and painful places to work.



Thought #2/#50

The world needs ambitious, educated, passionate people who are waking up. The world needs people who want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.



Thought #3/#50

The world is changing (always) and this change is accelerating. Your children’s jobs haven’t been invented yet. To survive and

thrive you need to keep changing too.



Thought #4/#50

You are not the only one noticing a big mismatch between your interests and aspirations and the reality of your

day-to-day work.



Thought #5/#50

External definitions of success - good salary / employer / job title - are dangerous

if they are not accompanied by a strong internal sense of meaning and purpose.



Thought #6/#50

It’s no surprise building a career on your own terms is hard. We have been trained to jump

through hoops - we aren’t prepared for thriving outside of the mainstream.



Thought #7/#50

How long have you had that nagging voice in your head saying that you could and

perhaps should do something different with your career?



Thought #8/#50

Truly fulfilling work is found in the service of something way bigger than yourself - it

doesn’t have to be saving the world - it just needs to matter deeply to you.



Thought #9/#50

Copy Roz Savage (ex-management consultant, environmentalist, ocean rower). Write two

versions of your obituary: the one you want and the one you are headed for.



Thought #10/#50

Heed Randy Komisar: “The most dangerous risk of all - the risk of spending your life not

doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”



Thought #11/#50

You know what you don’t want. How do you know what you do want? Start by accepting

that there is no such thing as a eureka moment when you “just know”.



Thought #12/#50

Passions are grown, not discovered. They are grown through the hard work of continuously operating outside of our comfort zones and

doing work that interests us.



Thought #13/#50

Anyone whose life you admire and whose success you envy has faced just the same fear, uncertainty, worry, doubt and risk as you. The

difference is, it didn’t stop them.



Thought #14/#50

Gradual career shifts are easy. You simply move from one job to another - sideways,

upwards, whatever. What’s hard is taking your career by the scruff of the neck.



Thought #15/#50

Too many professionals wake up one day - years into their careers - and realise that they didn’t actively, consciously, fully choose

the path that they are now on.



Thought #16/#50

Living a life on your own terms is a fight. The mainstream is powerful and will stop at

nothing to pull you back into its comforting numbness. You have to commit fully.



Thought #17/#50

Of course it’s fine to dabble, to have side-projects, to explore. But if you want radically different outcomes for yourself you need to

adopt radically different behaviours.



Thought #18/#50

We are extremely fortunate for career dissatisfaction to be a problem in our lives. Most people don’t have that luxury. So what

are we going to do with this privilege?



Thought #19/#50

There are always going to be reasons why something is hard. We have a simple choice: do

nothing and justify our inaction or take responsibility and act.



Thought #20/#50

Be pragmatically idealistic. You are you. Which means the right future path for you is likely to lie where your skills, experiences,

interests and aspirations overlap.



Thought #21/#50

You may feel that you are too old / young / poor / rich / inexperienced / experienced to do what you want to do. Or you can figure

out a way that works for you.



Thought #22/#50

Start a career transition savings fund today. Even if you don’t make a move for years. The money you save gives you options. The money

you owe keeps you trapped.



Thought #23/#50

We are hardwired to avoid the unknown. 10,000 years ago this kept us alive. Today this

instinct stops us from creating new opportunities outside our comfort zones.



Thought #24/#50

Moving towards something that matters can be challenging. Our emotions and instincts can be unhelpful when fulfilment is at stake - they

want to keep us safe.



Thought #25/#50

Public speaking is our no.1 shared fear. We are hardwired to fit in with the crowd. Today’s

economy rewards people who dare to stand for something, to create a ruckus.



Thought #26/#50

The corporate world doesn’t accept mistakes. But perfectionism ruins creativity. If you need it to be sorted before you start you will never start. Mistakes are how we learn and grow.



Thought #27/#50

Pick a vision and walk towards it. Manage your risk but get moving. The end point will

change as soon as you start. What’s important is that you start.



Thought #28/#50

We have been trained to be customers. Our parents, schools, universities and employers treat us as customers. To thrive in the new

world we need to be suppliers.



Thought #29/#50

Replace “what can I get?” with “what can I give?”. If you really want what you say you want then make yourself useful to the world

and you will be rewarded. Serve.



Thought #30/#50

You are not your job title, you are not your employer’s impressive brand or their big glass office, you are not your salary. You are what

you create in this world.



Thought #31/#50

Escaping isn’t about pursuing happiness. Although happiness may be a byproduct,

escaping is about pursuing deep fulfillment. And this often hurts.



Thought #32/#50

What is your definition of success? Not your parents’ or society’s or your friends’ but yours. What is your definition of wealth? Do your

actions reflect this belief?



Thought #33/#50

Integrity is acting in line with your values. Step 1 is knowing yourself and your values. Step 2 is honestly assessing whether your

choices today align with your values.



Thought #34/#50

When you know what rough direction you want to head in, ask the world for help. Google “the strength of weak ties”. Your next opportunity

is probably in your network.



Thought #35/#50

Find your tribe. Stop hanging out with complainers and dream killers. Be ruthless

about this. Surround yourself with people who build you up, who believe in you.



Thought #36/#50

Look after yourself. It is impossible to make big life changes and achieve scary things if you are ill, tired, hungover, or unfit. Your

body and mind are your only tools.



Thought #37/#50

Learn voraciously. The more ideas you expose yourself to, the more you’ll start making links between seemingly unrelated

things and the more you’ll create.



Thought #38/#50

Distinguish risk from worry and danger from fear. Risk and danger are real and need to be managed. Worry and fear are simply trying to

stop you and your plans.



Thought #39/#50

Catch your negative thoughts. They sound like you but they are actually the Resistance

and their sole purpose is to get you to abandon your dreams.



Thought #40/#50

Test towards the way that works for you. Stop thinking in all-or-nothing terms. Place small bets, be prepared for small failures,

and use the experiments to guide you.



Thought #41/#50

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." - Lincoln. Put yourself out there. Stop waiting

to be picked. Stop asking for permission.



Thought #42/#50

There is no such thing as a secret toolkit that will teach you how to take ownership of

your career. The only secret is that it’s damn hard work. How much do you want it?



Thought #43/#50

Be patient. Escaping isn’t a one-off event. It’s a process. It’s also a mindset to guard

you from comfortable, unfulfilling numbness for the rest of your life.



Thought #44/#50

Do something different. You can only overcome your blockers through doing - not thinking. By doing different things you will

create new possibilities for yourself.



Thought #45/#50

How much it is costing you to keep your salary? What opportunities, adventures, and challenges are you not living as a result of

staying put? Is it worth it?



Thought #46/#50

If you need to have it all figured out before you start you will never start. Just start. Start small if you need and manage your

risk but do start. We learn by doing.



Thought #47/#50

Stop collecting qualifications. The world doesn’t need another MBA or post-grad

degree. Go to the heart of the problem you want to solve and make yourself useful.



Thought #48/#50

So many people who make big life changes report that it was a tragedy or illness that shocked them into action. Isn’t it crazy that that’s what it takes for us to decide to act?!



Thought #49/#50

“You know you have only one life. You know it is a precious, extraordinary, unrepeatable thing: the product of billions of years of serendipity and

evolution. So why waste it by handing it over to the living dead?” - George Monbiot



Thought #50/#50