Looking for your next job? Do this first.
One of the reasons that figuring out what you want to do next in your career can be so confusing is you’re playing with multiple variables at once.
Industry. Function. Title. Career trajectory.
Salary. Future earning potential. Hours. Benefits. Flexibility.
The mission of the company you’re working for. Your level of interest in the product. Passion. Purpose. Stress. Fulfillment.
How other people react when you tell them what you do. Whether people “get it.” Whether it’s the kind of thing people like you DO.
There are so many things that you’re solving for…
And if you change one variable, everything else changes too.
It’s no wonder people can find themselves endlessly researching, endlessly evaluating, and struggling to find the conviction that THIS is the right next step.
Let me give you a way to cut through the noise.
There is ONE variable you need to solve for first.
Figure out what it is and then hold it steady while you solve for everything else.
That variable is: How you want to spend your time day-to-day at work.
What kinds of activities do you want to be doing (and not doing)?
What kinds of problems do you want to be solving (and not solving)?
If success and money and status and all other external outcomes were guaranteed, how would you most like to spend your work time every day?
(And if you’re not sure, use these questions to generate a bunch of data from your brain and past experiences, and then distill the common themes.)
Once you have a clear idea of the kind of day-to-day you want, hold that variable steady and solve everything else around it.
How can you have that day-to-day at work AND make enough money to support your lifestyle?
How can you have that day-to-day at work AND make the kind of impact you want to see in the world?
How can you have that day-to-day at work AND have the kind of flexibility and balance that you want?
How can you have that day-to-day at work AND explain it to your friends and family?
Too many people anchor FIRST to variables like salary, title, prestige, and “explain-ability” to friends, family and colleagues.
They hold THOSE variables steady with an iron fist…
…and are willing to compromise all over the place on the actual day-to-day life they’ll be living.
They plug those variables into the equation first and just HOPE that some kind of moderately acceptable, not TOO painful day-to-day life falls out of the other end.
I’m not saying all those other things don’t matter. They DO matter.
I WANT you to make plenty of money, live comfortably and well, and be respected and well-regarded for the work you do.
I just want you to be solving the right equation.
I want you to work on the question:
How do I get everything I want…WHILE living the day-to-day life I want?
I DON’T want you to work on the question:
How do I get everything I want…while RECONCILING myself to the fact that I dislike my day-to-day life?
Your life is 99% process, 1% outcome.
Getting the promotion. Doing the launch. Getting the payout from the investment. Selling your company. Saying what you do at a cocktail party and watching everyone else be impressed.
Those kinds of singular moments represent 1% of your life at most.
The other 99% is you actually living your day-to-day life, doing the activities required to create those 1% moments.
And I don’t want you to solve for an amazing 1% at the cost of a mediocre 99%.
I want you to set the north star of an AWESOME 99%.
And then get to work figuring out how to direct that day-to-day work in a way that makes the awesome 1% moments happen TOO.
There is a whole bunch of problem-solving and experimentation you’ll need to do in order to figure this out.
You are 100% capable of figuring this out. You have already solved harder problems, guaranteed.
AND because this is something very important and very personal to you…
You are likely to run into blocker emotions while you do this problem-solving — things like fear, confusion, discouragement, and overwhelm.
These emotions will slow you down, keep you stuck, and make you go in circles.
This is a completely normal part of this process. It’s not just you. Everyone goes through it.
AND if you spend any more than 7 days feeling stuck and going in circles…
Come talk to me on day 8.
Getting stuck is normal. STAYING stuck doesn’t have to be.
Come tell me where you got stuck. Tell me the EXACT thing that seems impossible to figure out.
I guarantee: I’ve seen it. I know how to handle it. I already have ideas for how you can break through and get moving, today.
You don’t have to figure this out on your own, from scratch. There’s no prize for doing it by yourself.
The only thing that happens when you insist on doing it all yourself…is that everything takes longer than it needs to.
And your time is your #1 most precious commodity. I don’t want to see you waste it.
I’ve already helped so many people in your exact situation, and I know I can help you too. Come talk to me and let me tell you how.
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