5 Game-Changing Lessons from a Career Changer

Hindsight's a Wonderful Thing, Right?

After 25 years in corporate life, two significant career changes, and a journey from hotel management, tech startups to career coaching, I've learned some hard-won lessons. I wish someone had shared these insights with my bright-eyed 20-year-old self, fresh out of university.

Here's the thing: I don't see these experiences as things that happened 'to' me anymore. I've flipped my thinking. These challenges (dark times included), happened 'for' me. They've led me to this moment, armed with insights I'm excited to share with you.

Listen to this blog topic 'on the go', as a podcast instead on Spotify (also on Apple and Substack):

Lesson 1: Discover Your Innate Talents (Like, Yesterday)

If I could do it all over again, I'd find out what my innate talents were in my 20s. Actually, before I even left school would be ideal.

Here's why this matters: 1 in 33 million people have the same top 5 talents as you. That's what makes you beautifully unique. That's your power and edge.

I discovered mine at 40 through a strengths assessment, and it completely changed my trajectory. Suddenly, everything made sense. Why I hated certain tasks (they weren't my strengths). Why I procrastinated on specific projects. Why I burned out in my 30s. And more importantly, why I gravitated toward creative work and was brilliant at reading people and building teams.

My number one talent? Individualization. I have this innate ability to spot talents in others and align them with work that brings out their best. No wonder I became a strengths and career coach!

The question I love asking: Who wouldn't want to know what they're naturally amazing at?

Having this knowledge gives you confidence and belief in yourself. Imagine being handed that gift at the beginning of your career. Game-changing.

Action Step

Don't wait until you're 40 like I did. Discover what you're naturally great at, then intentionally add skill, knowledge, and experience to amplify those talents infinitely. If you're keen to discover your innate strengths, find out more about Strengths Coaching on my website.

Lesson 2: Life First, Work Second

Let me be brutally honest: I used to worship work. And it nearly destroyed me.

Have you fallen for the belief that 'busyness' equals 'importance'? You know the drill:

"How are you?"

"SO busy! Work's full on, got this workshop deadline, report due tomorrow, off to Sydney next week..."

Brené Brown calls this wearing your badge of honour. I wore mine proudly through my 20s and 30s, believing it made me seem successful.

The Reality

I was saying no to dinners with friends. Working until 9pm instead of being home with my husband in our first year of marriage. Doing a master's degree while working full-time. All because I thought the "important stuff" was at work.

In reality, the important stuff was actually setting boundaries, having dinner with my husband, and connecting with friends who fill your bucket.

I wish I'd started my career knowing how to recognise when the pendulum had swung too far. I wish I'd known that flipping it just takes a conscious CHOICE.

Action Step

Focussing less on work doesn't mean you're slacking off. It means you've decided to care about yourself. What's one boundary you could set this week to tip the balance back toward 'living' your life?

Lesson 3: Define Your Core Values

I didn't identify my core values until my 40s. Let that sink in.

Your values are woven into everything you do. They drive your decisions, influence how you judge people and situations, and determine what friendships you're attracted to. Along with your talents, your values become your North Star.

A Story That Smacked Me in the Face

Picture me at 20-something, at the pub with my brother and his friends. A female friend of my brother worked high up in marketing for a cigarette brand. I was studying marketing and totally girl-crushing on her success.

I worked up the courage: "It's my dream to have a job like yours! How did you get there?"

She turned to me and said: "A job like mine requires you to check first if it aligns with your values."

I nodded enthusiastically. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

She continued: "I get paid to promote cigarettes, to entice people to buy them, even though I know they can cause cancer. You need to ask yourself if you can live with that."

BOOM. That was my introduction to the power of values.

Did I rush home and research my values? Nope! That still didn't happen until my 40s.

Action Step

Don't wait like I did. Your values will guide your decisions about where you work, who you work for, and what kind of impact you'll make. They'll change over time as life happens, so revisit them regularly.

Lesson 4: Seek a High Impact Career (Not Just a High-Paying One)

My super ambitious 20-year-old self would've assumed "high impact" meant climbing the corporate ladder, earning six figures, traveling for work, and staying in 5-star hotels.

I wish someone had sat me down before I got caught up in my ego and the tech startup life to talk about crafting a career of 'real' impact. How to make a difference to people, to humanity, to the planet. How to choose work that contributes to the betterment of society as a whole.

The Uncomfortable Truth

When I look back over almost every job in my 25-year career, none truly ignited meaning and purpose for me. None lit a fire inside. None were linked to a greater cause I was passionate about.

I was just a cog in a wheel. Another employee who could be replaced.

In my early 40s, I couldn't pretend anymore. I'd scroll through job listings, and NOTHING excited me. Jobs I would've jumped at before sounded like torture. I felt sick at the thought of them.

But here's the myth I'll bust right now: Once you know your talents, you realise you have so much more to give than the skills and knowledge you've acquired.

Something inside me kept saying: There's more than this. Hunt for meaning and purpose.

The Intersection You're Looking For

What you're passionate about + what problems you want to solve + what ignites a fire inside you + what you're naturally great at.

Action Step

Don't wait to feel hollow. Start identifying now what high impact looks like for you. What do you want to fix in the world? It's okay to want more from your job than just a (high) salary.

Lesson 5: You Always Have the Freedom of Choice

This was my game-changer, and I wish I'd believed it from day one.

Let me introduce you to a concept that changed everything: Drift.

A five-minute ebook landed in my inbox about five years ago called Drift: How to (Accidentally) Create a Life You Don't Want by Meredith Paige NeJame.

The Powerful Intro

One day, you wake up and are nowhere near your goals and dreams. You have no idea how you got here, but you feel like something has gone amiss. It turns out that a few seemingly inconsequential decisions to stay put and let life unfold have caused you to drift away from the life you really want.

Small choice here, tiny decision there. Years pass. And suddenly, you're living an accidental life.

I had drifted away from work that lit me up, that had a positive impact, that allowed me to actually LIVE. Through seemingly insignificant choices driven by keeping up with the Joneses, trying to keep others happy, and expectations placed on me when I was young.

If you're feeling emotion reading this, you're not alone. I speak with people feeling this way every day. Even people you admire who look like they're living their dream? Many feel trapped too.

My Wake-Up Call

I was severely burnt out in my early 30s. I pulled over on the side of the road on my way to work one day and burst into tears. I simply couldn't face another day.

Four weeks of stress leave. A physical and mental mess. Feeling completely trapped because:

• I was earning amazing money

• Fast-tracked for leadership programs

• We had a mortgage

• Planning to have kids

• Would need a bigger house

• Would have to return to a job I hated to afford the life we'd created

  
  

I believed there was no other way.

But here's what changed everything: I taught myself meditation during that time off. One particular type had you actively think about solving a problem during meditation rather than clearing your mind.

The problem I meditated on: How might we continue to pay our mortgage, whilst not having to stay in this full-time job anymore.

Later that day, a solution whispered into my head: Why do we need to live in the city?

We sold our house after only owning it for 18 months. Bought land by the beach. Built a house that was perfect for a family of four, double the block size, 2km from the beach. The commute wasn't much longer than living in the city. We could afford for me to take time off when we had our kids, and retunr to work part-time afterwards. We weren't trapped anymore.

The Lesson

Even when you feel trapped in your accidental life, you have the freedom of choice. You need space and focus to find the options. Take the blinkers off. Define what you want, why you want it, and believe there IS a viable solution.

It's never too late to cultivate the life and work you actually want.

Your Wake-Up Call

This is the essence of what I do at The Inkling Effect. I'm here to be your wake-up call. To create action within you for seeking alternative work options. To guide you toward first steps. To help you overcome the saboteurs, those voices in your head trying to talk you out of it.

You're not trapped. You have choices. Discovering your innate talents, defining your values, and seeking meaningful, high-impact work while putting life first? That's the recipe for actually loving Mondays.

Nobody should sit on the couch Sunday night dreading the work week. And I'm really, really passionate about changing that.

Ready to Start Your Journey?

Let's dig a little deeper together. Your talents are waiting to be discovered. Your meaningful work is out there. And the life you actually want? It's possible.

What's one small choice you could make this week to stop the drift? If you need help answering this question, my Career Crossroads workshop might be just what you need right now.

Want more insights on career change and discovering your strengths? Follow along for the next episode, and share this with someone who needs to hear it right now. If you're curious about your own possible career change, book a free Career Strategy chat.

Binny

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