Career Change Advice: Don’t Believe The Lies!

The Best Career Change Advice I ever heard was: Change your Environment, get a self-education and consistently and actively recall all the successful events you’ve ever done. This is the first in a three part series about the lies we hold on to and treasure, even if it’s not helping us get ahead. Be sure to leave your comments and questions.

Have you ever thought I can’t have fun and work at the same time? Maybe you believe that you can’t relax and work? Maybe you believe that you really can’t make money by helping people? What’s the one thought that’s keeping you in that place you hate? Can your work really be play? You say it’s the mortgage, it’s the bills, it’s the kid’s college tuition, it’s the “everything excuse” for not changing. But beyond the words you say, what is really tying you to that role you’re playing?

Nothing Good Ever Happens To ME!

Have you thought that’s not going to happen to me? It’s not that you are fascinated by this green colored paper we call money. You’re want what the money represents. I’m not quite sure what having the money will mean to you. Is it a month long Caribbean vacation? a yacht? A bigger and fancier house? Better clothes? It really is about your belief around money and what it can do for you.  Career Success will be what having this money represents. Having the money represents the power to do what you want, when you want if you want. So you stay on your job where you can’t do what you want, when you want if you want and you hate it. But at least you have the money. You hate where you are, what you’re doing and you don’t explore any other options to get this “thing” you want. Seems odd doesn’t it? Not really. It’s your belief that’s keeping you stuck in that rut. If you think the only way to make money is by having a job then you’ll stick to that job to have the money. If you believe that your idea is a waste of time, then it is.

If anything were to happen to that job your world will be rocked like nothing you’ve ever known.  Tom Rath in WellBeing suggests the hardest “event” to return from is unemployment. It’s effects are damaging for many years. Beyond the financial, it affects the emotional, physical and mental states more than death.

What if I said by not changing you’re not having the “things” that money represents. The belief that being successful means having more “stuff” is only a minor aspect of success. Good success hinges on your ability to fully engage your purpose with your belief that you have the power (energy and faith) to produce success. If you don’t take the time to define your own success with a clear strategy to bring it about, then you’re helping someone else to have a successful life. When asked what success looks like it’s easy to say a house, car, extensive wardrobe etc. When asked what does success look like to you? It becomes different. It’s different because you think I could never have that, or I don’t really want (because I’ll rather not hope for it and be disappointed).

I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT?

People who say they don’t know what they want, actually believe they can’t have what they think

Hate Your Job But Stuck?

they want. It’s all in your belief. This is beyond positive thinking, it’s more about positive action towards the realization of your dreams. It’s about changing your beliefs to change your actions and ultimately to change your life. I’m not talking about beliefs like religion. Rather I’m talking about the deeply rooted convictions you’ve gathered over the years that precede your action (or inaction).

WHICH COMES FIRST: A THOUGHT OR ACTION?

You don’t just act. Before you act or react there is a thought that triggers the physical response. But before that thought is a belief. So if you want to change careers and change your life, it begins with changing your belief about career success, about how to make money and most importantly about how you think success and your life should look. When you say you can’t do something, you give a command to your brain to not do it. Don’t even try. Don’t even take advantage of the opportunities that are given to you. You’ve essentially create a “scotoma” – a metaphorical psychological term for blind spot. It’s your inability to perceive a personality trait in you that are obvious to others. So even if I can see you being successful and making money without a job-job, if you can’t see it then it’s not going to happen.

 HOW DO I CHANGE BY BELIEFS? HOW DO I KNOW WHAT TO CHANGE?

If you want to change your beliefs, the first step is to change your environment.  I don’t mean relocating. I mean changing your immediate environment. Like a plant needs soil, earth and sun to grow, so too you need an “environment”  to grow, develop and thrive. If you’re surrounded by people that think average and are averse to taking charge of their life then chances are you will be just like them.  If you’re watching or listening to information that is in no way challenging you, encouraging you or pushing you forward, then stop doing it.

“You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success – or are they holding you back?” ~                                                                                                                                                                          W. Clement Stone

There are at least 2 more things you can do to guarantee career success. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for part 2. Oh and be sure to leave your comments, I love to hear from you. This post was written by Charlene Nora on 7/7/10. If you’re interested I do offer a FREE one-on-one consultation if you want to discover how to make money doing what you love without a job-job. Go here to schedule your consultation today.