Transcription
Hey everybody, I really, really, really want to talk to you, or this is perfectly made for you if you got the degrees, you did everything you should do to be successful. You have the career, the respectable job, you're seen as probably a leader, a professional, a successful person, but there's part of you that's kind of dying inside.
I read something the other day and I can't stop thinking about it. It was like the career path you chose at 18 might not fit anymore, and that's okay. I think even back when I got into my entrepreneurship and my coaching journey back in 2013, and I was only in my late 20s at the time, but I remember feeling so guilty for wanting to do something else, to do something different. Like I should be grateful, I should be happy. This is exactly what I thought that I wanted. And although 18 to 28 years of age might not seem like that transformational, for me it really was. There were so many things that happened over the course of that decade that really changed my mind about this career path that I chose at 18, like what I went to school for and what I saw myself doing for the rest of my life.
And just to give you a little bit of background, going off to college, I would say is the first time I really had left my family home. I grew up in a home with a lot of chaos. When I finally got out of the house and went to college at 18, that was probably the first time in my whole life that I was experiencing myself outside of who I was. And I'm I'm prefacing this whole episode by sharing a little bit about that because there's no way that 16, 17, 18-year-old me who was getting ready to go off to college mostly to have like a freaking sanctuary. I didn't ever before that have much spaciousness to really think about who I am and what I wanted. I chose a career path which was education, and I think I was naturally good at teaching. But I think what I will also say is that when I had presented that to my parents and to my teachers at the time, everybody was like, "Yeah, you should do that." And I was like, "Okay." And then I found myself 10 years later being like, "Did I choose this?" I mean, it made sense at the time. Like, this kind of career that we're doing and this level of like internet connectivity, blah blah blah, AI. That didn't exist then.
So, all that to say is if you chose a career path at 18 or 20-ish or anything, with 35, doesn't matter, and you've changed your mind a decade or so later, welcome to the club. It's okay. We can reinvent ourselves at any time. And I'm going to give you some of the signs that maybe you're there and maybe you need to kind of start taking the next thing more seriously.
All right, so the number one sign, let's get into it. The number one sign that you have probably outgrown that career is that you are ultimately spending more time, energy, and maybe even money thinking about the next chapter than you are on your current chapter. So, there was a point in my teaching career where it was like very easy for me to just like go to work, get things done, be done with it. Because I was so preoccupied, busy, spending all of my extra time building the next version of myself. I no longer was excited about planning lessons. I no longer was excited about trying to, you know, hunt down field trip opportunities for my classroom. I was no longer even excited about finishing my the very last part of my master's degree to become a principal. I was excited about building a business. And before I get into coaching, I had dabbled in other businesses. This wasn't like I didn't get it right the first time, and many people won't. The point is like, if you find yourself onto the new thing and almost like you're in autopilot going to your career or like check in, check out, I don't think that's the worst thing because if you can turn off that career to be able to turn on something else, great. I think you get to a point though where you're like this old thing is just like existing in my life and not having any benefit other than perhaps obviously the paycheck and benefits, which are yes, replaceable. That's a definite sign. So you could be watching different videos, you could be researching different, you know, job opportunities, career changes, perhaps other degrees, hopefully coaching certification programs, or at least like wondering else wondering what else is possible. Maybe you've created a little side hustle or something. When that starts to take over, that's clear evidence sign number one.
What I think people get stuck in is this like, "Oh, but like it hasn't gone anywhere." Unfortunately, you didn't find one of those YouTube channels or podcasts where I'll be like, "In the next 3 weeks, you too can become a millionaire." I am very much a realist. I have a whole episode on like a realistic timeline for getting out of your 9-5 and into entrepreneurship or into a coaching career particularly, but I think the timeline kind of applies to whatever you're building. Nothing is really going to be an overnight success. So you really do have to get serious with yourself and like how much time have you actually put in to selling something, growing something, building something else versus like journaling about it. That's part of the process, researching about it, that's part of the process, but don't give up because you haven't actually taken enough legitimate action yet. I think that's where most people end up in this loop. They get really, really excited about it, they have all the information, and then they do nothing, and then they're like, "Well, this was never going to work." And I'm like, "But did you do the actions to make it work?" Hm, okay. So, people will often dismiss it, they'll get stuck in this loop-de-loop of like, "I'm going to become this, I'm going to become this, I'm going to become this." And nothing ever gets off the ground, but I do feel like the sign it like if you're on the right track is it's very persistent. The thing that you know you're supposed to do is going to keep ticking at you. It's going to keep coming, and you got to move. You got to move.
Let's talk about sign number two, cuz I feel like we we got to move on from that. Cuz you know, when you know, you know. All right. So, number two, you have become more loyal to your resume than to your happiness. Here's what I mean. This is what I was clinging to for dear life. But I already spent so much money on college, and I already have my bachelor's degree, and I already have my master's degree, and I'm already known as this, and I already have a career here, and I already have a paycheck here, and I already have this extra experience there, and then I got this bonus there, and so I am my resume. And as cliche as it is, friends, you're probably replaceable. I know I was. So, I'm just speaking from experience. You know what isn't though? Your visions, your purpose, your dreams, this life. This life. And I know going after things takes so much time, it takes so much money. I am such a little wuss in many areas of my life, and I have not fully realized my purpose or potential in some areas. So, I'm not preaching to you and telling you I'm perfect, and I know how to do this. I was able to do this successfully in business, okay? Every other area, work in progress. I'm working on it. I'm working on it. But what I tell you is I know that you are more than just your resume, and you cannot cling so tightly to your degrees and to your work experience that you forget that you are also you, and your interests evolve, and you evolve, and your purpose is You know, things happen in life where your purpose is realized at a later time, or God forbid something, you know, tragic or traumatic happens, and it rewrites your entire path forward. This might not be what you thought your life was going to be like when you made those decisions around those degrees and around those schools and universities and all of that. You still have a say now. Don't cling so tightly to the student loans or the certifications or the diplomas that you don't even give your evolved vision a chance. So, that's sign number two. You're just so It's like your default. That was my default. I'd be like, "There's no way I can do anything else because I spent so much money on student loans and I'm going to just have hundreds of thousands of dollars that First of all, Olivia, why did you do that? Like you Basic math would have said it was going to take an eternity on a teacher salary to pay back a student loan, but needless to say, you have to stop solely protecting your past investments and start also building the future.
All right, sign number three. You are successful on paper, but ultimately unfulfilled in real life. Do I need to elaborate? We know what this means. You have everything that everyone wants, okay? You went to a good school, you got a good career, you make a good income, maybe you have a fancy car, fancy house, fancy, fancy, fancy. I don't know. Or maybe you're just a normal person, but you did all the things that you were supposed to do and everyone can see considers you to be successful and you're You know, you have nothing technically to complain about because you are so grateful and so am I. We should be so grateful just to have a job in this economy. And while I don't disagree in gratitude, gratitude does not mean we shut the door on all of our other dreams. Those things are not mutually exclusive. If you are going to bed every night feeling unfulfilled, if you are dreaming about something on and on, you got to give yourself a chance. But that's this That's the sign. Sometimes mainstream success on paper becomes almost like an addiction to that comfort, even though it's also very uncomfortable to feel unfulfilled. It's also very uncomfortable to feel like you're missing out on your life or your potential or experiences that you want to have that may require more time, money, and freedom. And I do not buy it, even though my parents still buy it. I do not buy it that this should all wait until retirement. Maybe 50 years ago or 25 years ago even, but people are creating their own career all the time. There People are inventing businesses or ideas or creative careers that literally did not exist. I'm not trying to say that any single person can be successful in a creative or entrepreneurial endeavor, but the people that are laying in bed every night with a vision and a heart for something different likely can.
Let's move on to sign number four. You feel This is me. You actually feel more alive talking about everyone else's possibilities than your own. This is also, I would say, like major sign that you should be in a helping profession like coaching or consulting or something of that nature. Like it's almost like a little hypocritical, but like you you can get really excited about everyone else. Like, "Oh my god, yes, you should start a business. Oh my god, you should start that photography studio or coaching business or open your private therapy practice or you should start a, you know, restaurant or balloon art company." Yes, I'm so proud of you. I'm going to go to all of your grand openings. I'm going to support all of your social media posts. I'm going to share everything. I'm going to refer my friends, but I'm not going to do it for myself. The lever that I want you to to turn a little bit here is that if you can get so behind other people's possibilities, you can also give that to yourself. And hopefully some of those people that you've supported will also support you in your next endeavor. All right? So, if you are already putting that energy out there into the world, I'm not saying stop, but I am saying you spot it, you got it. You can also do this. You can also feel that energy into you and your dreams and your visions.
All right, the last sign I want to go over today is one that again, it's kind of like an if you know, you know. So, I remember very, very vividly when I knew I had to leave my education job and I knew because it well, it required me to walk away from a $25,000 bonus that I had earned. But, if I took that bonus, I had to stay for another year and I was kind of planning on it. At first, I was like, I can, you know, do this another year. It's fine. It's fine. Until I was just like, one year becomes another year and I started feeling physically ill. There was other physical signs like weight gain, acne, just a puffy face just so many If your career's making you uglier, yeah. Talking about myself here, but if it resonates, it resonates. All right, I just remember feeling this like bolt of anxiety go through my body when I was like, there is no way I can do this for another 20 years. So, if you sit here, you close your eyes, not if you're driving, but if you sit here and really picture yourself 5, 10, 20 years from now doing exactly what you're doing, what does that feel like? And if you're like, it's not so bad, maybe it's not. Maybe it's not so bad. Like, I always think like everybody has a price, everybody has a some type of bar for what they're willing to put up with. I don't think there was any price at that point, pre-kids, pre-COVID, pre-becoming a single mom. It was my time to take a chance on myself. There was no amount of money that would have kept me there any longer because I could not physically stand it anymore. If the thought of staying makes you feel physically unwell, that's a key sign, but you get to decide for you. I'm just giving you some of the key signs that I I and that I often see people experience on the precipice of saying, "You know what? I'm going to hang it up. I'm going to make my exit plan, and I'm going to move on."
I think the other thing is you don't necessarily need to know exactly what the chapter is that's going to be next. I don't think I knew it. I had no clue. When I first knew I was leaving teaching, I thought that I was going to be doing workshops for teen girls and moms. Like, I thought that was my thing. That was my core offering. That was what I wanted to be doing. I did that for a while, and it did evolve and evolve and evolve, and then we're here. You got to give your space to get give yourself space to be serious about it, to really think about it, and to just even tell yourself, like, I have made this decision. In the next 6 months, I will be doing something new. And it is your job and your responsibility to yourself to make the time to figure out what that is.
All right, so I hope this was helpful. If you experience those signs, please tell me in the comments, or if you're listening to this on any type of podcast thing, leave a review, and let it us know if this was helpful. If you are curious about exploring coaching, cuz ultimately that is what this channel is about. I'm going to leave you some free resources down below. Most importantly is our Get Paid to Coach Workshop. If you think that a coaching business could be your next step, and I do because I think it's the fastest and easiest way into entrepreneurship, please feel free to register for that, and subscribe, subscribe, subscribe, because we're going to give you some more episodes that make you think, make you smarter, and hopefully make you richer. All right, we'll talk to you next time.