Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Career Clarity Mini-Series - What Is The Why Behind Your Work? (Part 2) | Ep #105
Episode - #105
Host: Shannon Russell
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)
[00:00:00] Shannon Russell: Hey, it's Shannon. If you are enjoying this podcast, then you will love my weekly newsletter. It's full of career advice, productivity tips, and of course, inspiring stories of women who have launched a new career that they love. Just go to secondactsuccess.Co to sign up. Now it's back to the episode.
[00:00:18] Shannon Russell: it's day two of the career clarity mini series, all about how to get clear on what it is you really want to be doing when it comes to your work. If you Ms. Day one in this mini series, then go back and listen to episode 1 0 4, which sets up this special week of episodes. If you're back for more, it is day two and I'm pumped. You're here.
[00:01:00]
[00:01:12] Shannon Russell: Let's get right to it. It's the four steps to career clarity. So we're about to dive into these. Are you ready?
A lot of times we don't even think to look inwards and really ask ourselves. Am I doing what I want to be doing or am I just going through the motions? Now, remember this is all part of a bigger process. So the most important thing. That you really need to focus on right now is that if you don't get clear on what all of these different options are for you, then it's going to be hard for you to move forward. And the number one way you can get clear is to think about your why.
Once you know your why, why do I want to make a career change? Why do I need to start a second act? Why am I unhappy with where I am right now? Once you can answer those [00:02:00] questions, you'll end up feeling confident about that next move, about that leap you're about to take.
If not, if you're not sure and clear on your why you might end up in the same position you're in now and feel unfulfilled. So we want to make sure that that does not happen. Alright, so let's dive in so that you can start getting the career clarity you need. one of my favorite, favorite quotes finding your passion isn't just about careers and money.
It's about finding your authentic self, the one that you've buried beneath other people's needs. This is by Kristen Hanna, and wow, I think as women, and if you're a parent, I think, or spouse, really a daughter, a friend, any of us, we often put other people's needs in front of ours. And this is just a good reminder to know that we want to find our authentic self.
And that is the arrow that will lead us to where we need to be. Self reflection time.[00:03:00] Number one rule of career clarity in my book, and that is follow what lights you up. Now, by taking this time for the self reflection, as Maya Angelou, one of my favorites, said, is that I have great respect for the past, but if you don't know where you've come from, You don't know where you're going.
So ask yourself what truly excites you and what motivates you. Consider your hobbies, your interests, the dreams you had when you were little, your activities that make you lose track of time. Maybe it's reading a good book, maybe it's writing, maybe it's music, maybe it's working out, maybe it's athletics.
Maybe it's just helping others. Whatever that is. Think about all of those things that make you lose time. Those things that just light you up and you feel like you're true self. Now reflect on the moments when you felt a sense of accomplishment in the past. , and fulfillment. And do you have that sense of [00:04:00] accomplishment and fulfillment right now in your current role?
Whatever that might be, maybe you're a stay at home parent, maybe you work in corporate, maybe you're a business owner, wherever you are right now, do you feel accomplished and fulfilled? And if not, think about? How So you could change something at your current role that would give you that spark.
Is there a way that you could make things better where you are now? if not, what would an accomplishment or fulfillment in a different role look like for you? One example I have actually two examples. I have two clients that were both school teachers. They felt really burnt out. They wanted to become entrepreneurs and one client of mine built a business while she was working as a teacher full time. She was actually able to leave her teaching job this year, 2023 when she came to me and we started working together, [00:05:00] she had this business and she said, how can I grow this? How can I get this income and really build this so that I do not have to go back to teach in the fall? And so we really dove into the things that she loves about teaching the things that she loves about what she's been doing in this first act career of hers.
And we pulled all of that into her business And as she grew that business, she was confident in giving her resignation. And now she is really officially as of the summer. a full time entrepreneur. I think it's so incredible to really take that insight and know what it is you want and work towards that.
Because if you're floundering and you're not quite sure yet, you still have some work to do and that's okay. but this was one example of someone who came to me with a little inkling. We were able to really dive into it and she was to take that next step into a whole new, a whole new act, a whole new chapter.
it's getting deep into that self reflection. And then the second part [00:06:00] of this, step is really aligning yourself with your values and your purpose. Consider your core values and how you align with your potential career choices. If they're not being met now in your current role, how would you like your values to be met in these career options that you're thinking about for your second act?
What would make you happy and be aligned with your values? explore your values and your passion and really how you want it to contribute, I guess, to your greater purpose, right? If you're going to build this path towards an end result, you want to make sure that you are clearly following your values, that your purpose is rooted.
In this change, and that's just going to bring a lot more confidence to you as you move forward.
[00:06:46] Shannon Russell: All right, this was step one of my four steps to achieve career clarity. We'll be releasing the next three steps in the coming days. And it's all part of my career clarity masterclass mini series, make sure you are [00:07:00] subscribed to the podcast. So you get these upcoming episodes dropped right into your feed. That's it for now. Thank you for listening and I will catch you next time. My friend.