Clients Moving Forward Into New Careers

Changing professions can be both exhilarating and frightening.  For many people, the decision requires new learning.  For those afraid to take the plunge, continuing to study – to take courses – is a way to think you are moving forward, but really stalling out of either fear or lack of knowledge about how to get where you want to be going.

Let me tell you about a few people I’ve worked with recently who are in the process of making change – but seem stuck in the mud. They are each still studying” their options. 

1:       From bureaucrat to politician

A man, previously a government employee,  now running for political office knows he is not a marketing person, a writer, or knowledgeable about running his campaign.  He has already put his hat in the ring and spent the money necessary (not a trivial sum) to be a serious candidate. 

His next step is to prepare his ballot statement and the rest of his marketing materials, including his website.  He vacillates about spending the money (considerably less than he’s already spent) to get his ballot statement finished.   I feel like I’m playing yo-yo to his decision making process.  I’ve contracted to do this for him.  If he doesn’t move fast, he will lose the window of opportunity to get a statement on the ballot.

His vacillation is because he is still slightly afraid of taking the necessary leap.  Too, making the transition requires an expenditure of money.  If he spends it he is truly making the commitment – so he keeps vacillating.

2:       From Mom to Business Owner

I am in a partnership with a friend who was to be responsible for getting our website (for this project) up and running.  She could have hired an expert for about $2,000.00 and it would have been done in a month or two.  Instead, she has been “taking courses” (e.g. studying) to learn – I know not what – and so far has spent over $5,000.00 and almost two years time stalling – and our website still isn’t live.

This is a pattern for this woman, who through the years has studied to become several different professionals.  She gets the degree, the license, and then finds something else to entice her interest. 

3:       From Employee to Having Her Own Professional Practice

I spent some hours with a lovely well educated and experienced woman who didn’t think she was ready yet to launch her business.  Talking with her, I was sure she had all the knowledge and tools necessary.  She also had purchased her business license, had her fictitious business name legalized and published, and had plied her craft many many times under the supervision of others.

It was her lack of confidence in herself that held her back.  She was continuing to “take courses” (e.g. studying) to become more expert.  While it is wonderful to take classes to advance your skills, there is a point at which as one of the CEO’s I worked with said: “To freeze the features”.   Stop being frozen in fear – and move forward.

3:       Targeting the wrong target market

I’ve worked with two different physicians who, for different reasons, no longer practice medicine.  Both of these men continue to go to career advise classes, (studying) trying to learn where they should go next.

I spent only a few hours with each of them and we created a plan.

Dr. A – really wants to focus on alternative medicine, nutrition and health.  He now has made the commitment to go in that direction.

Dr. B – is really good with dealing with heavy emotional problems and internal conflict.  Instead of his prior thinking to break into the high tech community, where he has no credentials, we worked together and planned a marketing program for him to approach hospitals and large medical practices.

In both these cases, the doctors had been stuck in a rut of listening to career counselors who probably were poorly trained and lacking in good interviewing and listening skills.  They were “studying.”

Success is the maximum utilization
of the ability that you have.
Zig Ziglar