Which You is the Right You?

When you have started on your journey to find the work you love, the biggest challenge is not finding something you love, and can also make money doing, but it is working out which of the many choices that you could take will lead you to the work and lifestyle of your dreams?

It's not about discovering yourself, it's about discovering yourselves!

You see there is no envelope out there with your name on that tells you your perfect job or career, it's never that easy. Instead you have to discover what your real working identity is and how you can create the lifestyle you want from it. So today I thought I would give you my top five tips for discovering your working identity.

Act Don't Think!

I get so many emails and phone calls from people who are looking for help in discovering the work they love and in most cases the first thing I discover is they have spent months, even years, thinking about their ideal role in life, yet have not taken any action to check out their thinking. So rule one is act don’t think. Throw away the assessment manuals and career guides, get out there and try things, then try some more things. Eventually, and in fact normally very quickly, you will discover what you love and hate about the work you do.

Change Your Mind!

Once you have set down a path that you think is the route to the answers you are looking for, it's fine to change your mind as often as you like. You can go back and forth between different ideas, experimenting, learning, but not to much analyzing, just a little reflection and a lot of action is whats needed.

No Big Decisions!

Don’t commit yourself to life changing decisions until you have done plenty of my first two tips. Even then, don’t do something that you cannot back out of with little consequence. In other words, do not commit your life savings, or even your redundancy cheque, to an untested idea, this is the time for small steps and small decisions.

Jump Before You're Pushed!

It's OK to take a step back and reflect on your decisions, but not for too long. If you procrastinate and wait for disaster to force your hand, you are not going to make the right decision. So prepare yourself as early as possible, start taking action, and start experimenting, before you jump from your last job. But don’t worry, many people do not have that luxury and are suddenly faced with losing their job. This doesn’t mean you need to panic, you can still follow these tips, but think about getting a coach, mentor, or a trusted expert who can help you accelerate your transition process.

Seize the Moment!

Life doesn’t move at one pace, so this is going to be a stop start process. It is really important that you are ready to take opportunities as and when they appear. Use the natural gaps and windows in your life to reach out to your network and communicate your intentions, receive feedback, and learn new things. Now some of you, I know, are big on planning and will have a fixed plan for how your transition will work. STOP! Don’t allow your fixed view of how this should all work to stifle your natural creativity. Don't let it close off potential life changing opportunities, just because they were not in your plan!

About The Author’s Work

As well as the many speaking and training events James appears at, He also conducts a small number of one on one coaching sessions for people who really need to gain traction in their career transition. James will take on a further five individual coaching assignments in the next two months, and if you would like James to help you, drop him an email at james@james-kneller.com with your contact details and we will get in contact with you.

Need a Speaker?

James is an incredibly entertaining, engaging, and knowledgable speaker, and if you would like to book him for an event, contact him by email at james@james-kneller.com

Its all about your network!

Its all about them you know! Your Network I mean.... You see last week I was sharing with you my views on being in transition, and the importance of walking the crooked path, experimenting, and trying things on for size.

So a key part of your transition process is, how do you leverage and extend your network of contacts?

For those of you of a more introvert disposition, the idea of networking may take you way out of your comfort zone. But in truth. most people find this challenging, but the thing is, no matter where your crooked path may end up, your ability to network will make a huge impact on your ability to set up a successful business, or land that perfect job you have always dreamt about.

Networking comes all many shapes and sizes, social media, blogging, formal network events, getting back in touch through Linkedin, and simply trawling through your address book on your PC, are all good places to start.

Many of you may not like the idea of Twitter, Facebook, and all the various online meeting places, but here is the thing, somewhere out there is someone who will help you find the work you love, so the more you get the message out, the quicker you will expand your community.

So within my network I have friends and contacts who I admire, who I consider a role model, and who have helped me over the years develop my business, and provided direction during my search for the work I love. So I have asked one of these people from my network, Dr Joanna Martin, to share her tips on Networking.

Why YOU Need To Network
Your network is your net-worth! In other words, who you hang out is a reflection of where you are right now in terms of career and finance.

Are your friends and colleagues high achievers, entrepreneurs, millionaires and massively successful people with a vision and a purpose? In short, are they the people you aspire to be?

If not, never fear. It’s never been easier to lift our game and widen our circle of influence.

Expand Your Business
Whatever stage of business you’re at, you can never stop learning. I get so much out of my time in my mastermind group. I discover new tricks or techniques that can save me thousands of dollars or I make a mindset shift that takes me to the next financial level. And I always meet key contacts who I can JV with later down the line. If you’re wondering how to meet these people, then it’s easy:

Never waste a single opportunity.

Talk To People And Tell People Your Purpose
That’s right, every opportunity with people is a chance to communicate your purpose on earth. That person might be able to help you facilitate this goal or they might know someone else who can help you. In my years of training events, I’ve seen countless moments where people were synchronistically connected to the right person at the right time – just because they shared their purpose.

How To Network
Networking is like dating. You don’t want to get tooheavy too soon, not unless you want to scare them off. The key point to remember, it’s not all about you and what you want. It’s about forming a natural friendship where both of you can offer value to each other. A great way to make a long term contact is to find out what value you can offer them first. Think long term trust not short term grab.

Where To Meet New People
It’s never been easier in this day and age so here’s some suggestions you can follow right now:

• Social Media – Facebook is not just about playing games and chatting to friends, it’s about meeting new people and forming friendships with them online. Just like when you meet someone at an event, don’t bombard them with what you want, offer something to them first.
• Networking Events – a chance to face to face meet new clients. They even do speed networking now so the structure is there in place for you to meet as many people as you can.
• Seminars and Trainings – always take a business
• card and make the effort to meet new people, not just stay within your comfort circle. Often they have networking boards, so post your business card on this.
• Random – networking is not a setting you have to switch on or off. You always can be networking, in a queue, on an airplane, in the supermarket, on a bus, round a swimming pool. You name it!

Summary
So networking has never been easier and the benefits are priceless. This week, make the commitment to go to at least one networking event and see what rewards you can reap just by rubbing shoulders with people who can help you raise your game.

Would you like to use this article on your website or in your ezine? You are free to reproduce the text, as long as the information below stays intact.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr Joanna Martin

Dr Joanna Martin is an internationally acclaimed speaker and sought-after educator who has taught over 40,000 people on three continents. She is also the author of the new book "The Lifestyle Shift". Today, she trains entrepreneurs and professionals alike in key communication, leadership, and presentation skills. With her partner Greg, through their business, Shift Lifestyle they provide strategy and support for business owners who want a lifestyle, not just a living. For more information go to: www.ShiftSpeakerTraining.com

What, you thought you could plan your way out of this?

I guess it's a bit of an occupational hazard of mine that requires me to attend so many conferences, seminars, and workshops run by those "who are here to help".

Whilst I do meet some interesting and successful people, I also meet people who are really struggling to find their way through the confusion of transitioning their career. On one such occasion, I was hiding in the corner, full of flu (The male form of a cold) when I got talking to a guy who had been made redundant from a project management position two years earlier and had decided to set up as a business growth coach!

How long have you been doing this?, I asked. ....Two years came the polite reply.

How many customers do you have? (This is always my second question!) .......None currently.

How many have you had in the two years?..........Well its been a bit quiet!

How many is that then? (No time for small talk!)....... Well none really! But I have a very detailed business plan that I have been working on since I started.

Now I wish this was an unusual story, but it is not. I meet literally hundreds of people who have exited either the Public or

Corporate world, and who think calling themselves a coach will deliver income for the future, it doesn't!

Now I am not saying that you cannot make money coaching, many do, but its a crowded market with only the very best making a survivable living (Thats £250,000+ per year in my book), and they work incredibly hard for a very long time to build a coaching practice of that size!

So, in my experience, people often use the term coach because they don't really know what they want to do for the second, or even third part of their career. They haven't discovered the work they love, or the life passion they want to follow.

Entering Transition

The day you leave your job is the beginning of your transition journey, and for many senior executives I meet, it often means

crawling under a duvet for six months feeling sorry for them selves and "catching up" on sleep. This is a natural reaction,

particularly when your exit has been traumatic, although for many people, six months under a duvet is a luxury they can ill afford. But for everyone, it is a missed opportunity.

You see, this is the time to walk the crooked path, a time for experimenting, a time of trying new things for size. Many of us

discover the work we love by accident, so experimenting, getting feedback, and experiencing new approaches can help us. Now for many people this is a lengthy process and often it is two years down the road before they have gained real clarity as to what is important to them, but it doesn't have to take that long.

Ask yourself

• What is my purpose in Life?
• What is the working environment I need that will enable me to do the work I love?
• When other people describe me, what do they say I am good at?
• What are the things I hate most about working?
• What do I need to develop to improve my performance?

Now at this stage it can get a little heavy, as this is the part where I take my personal clients on a very deep journey of self

discovery, or put more simply, what REALLY matters in life?

But remember, its not the answers to these question that matter at first, just that you start thinking about them, because this focus will enable you to gain clarity on what matters.

Now here I should point out that for many people, finding the work they love, is having the income and flexibility to allow them time, space, and financial security, to go and fulfill what they consider to be their life's purpose. In other words, its not the day to day work activities, but the lifestyle choice that is important.

Part of this process is certainly an internalized one, but part must also be identifying external sources to inform and populate

your decision making process, this includes Networking, which I will talk a little more about next week.

Ah yes......... the man with a detailed plan,

My point here is that your career transition is not about planning, its about experiencing and experimenting, the planning

bit comes later when you are designing your leveraged business model, a subject for another time.

Why not start the process now?

I would like to give you a heads up about a small workshop I am planning to run shortly, that not only will reveal to you the 4 1/2 Big secrets to to successfully transitioning your career and finding the work you love, but will also help you explore further

how to manage your career transition in a fraction of the time it takes most people.

To find out more go to http://www.james-kneller.com/1-day-workshop/

I'd love to see you there!

Take care

James