"Do something you really love," she said of her best career advice. "It doesn't matter what it is: being a mom, teaching, whatever you love. If you love it, it'll get you through the hard times, and if you don't, it's not authentic or real anyway. When you love something, every day goes by in 10 minutes."
Does this sound familiar? This quote* is from the internationally renowned Vera Wang, who became an independent bridal wear designer at age 40, after 17 years as an editor at Vogue and a short stint at Ralph Lauren.
I wanted to highlight this topic because I often feel the sense of defeat and hopelessness in people I talk to who have been in the job market for a while. I hear in their tone and their words how they long for work that will inspire them, but feel it is too late to make a change. They feel stuck, with their hands tied, to continue down a worn, but familiar path, given the commitments they have made and the lack of flexibility of the current job market.
And yet, life IS change. People change. YOU have changed since you started down your current career path. Your career path can change too.
Although Julia Child had started going to cooking school many years earlier to prepare for married life, she worked in advertising and U.S Secret Intelligence and did not publish her first best-selling cooking book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking until the age of 49, which then led to a career in television in her 50’s and beyond.
Motivational author, minister and artist Louise Hay opened her successful publishing company, Hay House, at age 62.
I have successfully changed careers a few times too. I have worked as a teacher, corporate researcher, consultant, recruiter, Reiki Practitioner and now a life coach. Being a celebrity is not a necessary condition for a successful career change :-)
However as some of these examples show, self-employment is often the most direct path to doing work you love. Fortunately, it is not the only option. There are now more and more opportunities to work flexibly around family life, through part-time roles or homeworking, which can also support a career transition. There isn’t just one and only way to change careers. It will look different for everyone and will just require some time, focus and creativity.
As Joseph Campbell said: “We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” It is only when you let go of what no longer inspires you that you can learn what new and amazing things you can achieve. If not now, when?
What is the main reason you believe you should stay in a career you chose at 18, or even at 30? This blog post may help you address it: What’s stopping you from making a career change?
If you are still struggling to let go of a work life that is unfulfilling or are unsure of how you could make a new career happen, book a complimentary call with me to start exploring your path to a new career today.
Sources:
*Exclusive: Vera Wang's Career Advice Is Something Every Woman Needs to Hear (2019, 4 June) Retrieved from https://www.glamour.com/story/vera-wang-interview-career
Joseph Campbell quotes (2019, 14 June) Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/joseph_campbell_386014
Louise’s Timeline + Highlights (2019, 4 June) Retrieved from https://www.louisehay.com/about/#timeline
Vera Wang (2019, 4 June) Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Wang#Career
100 Years of Julia Child (2019, 4 June) Retrieved from https://juliachildfoundation.org/timeline/#
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