6 Figure Career Management

“At the end of our lives, we do not regret the things at which we failed,
we regret the things we wished for but never attempted.”
- Unknown Source

Whilst many of the people reading this article will really enjoy their careers and love working within financial services, some of you will have dreams about a career or job which is far away from the world of finance.

Whether it involves starting up your own business, a part-time home based career, working for a charitable cause or pursuing a career that taps into your creative talents - most people have a dream career buried deep inside them, and very often, it never sees the light of day.

But in my experience, it’s during challenging times that people actually start to get serious about these dreams. Tough markets get people thinking….

“Well, if I’ve got to handle more uncertainty, more BS and less reward whilst still working long hours - then I may as well go off and do what I really want to do!”

When I get into discussions with people about their dream careers, I often ask “So what stops you pursuing that?”

The most common reply is: “I can’t afford it!”

That’s because people view pursuing a career that they are passionate about to be directly at odds with their economic well-being. And in many cases that is of course true - and so a logical and rational response.

But that really is not a good enough reason for not pursuing it!

You see, dreams are never meant to be rational and logical. The essence of a dream career is that despite it seeming irrational to most others, to you it feels ‘right’ and instinctively you want to pursue it.

Maybe not today, maybe not next week but sometime soon that dream will become a burning desire that you must follow, or else grow grey and old thinking “if only.”

So instead of shelving your dreams, you should really focus on subsidising them.

By that I mean:-

a) Finding ways to build a pot of cash to subsidise you during a transition phase

And / or

b) Finding other income streams that will subsidise your earnings

a) Building a pot of cash

Many career coaches and ‘Ra Ra-style’ motivational gurus will tell you “Oh Sital, dream big and just go for it! You only live once!”

That’s all fine and well. But if you don’t subsidise it adequately you will find your dream turn into a disaster.

For any kind of major career transition it is essential that you have a pot of cash put aside.

Your enthusiasm and drive will, yes, be critical in helping you make a successful move, but enthusiasm doesn’t pay the mortgage.

It doesn’t matter how great your plan is, you will have set-backs and so you need to ensure you have the funds to get you through the change.

b) Finding other income streams

When I left my job as a recruitment consultant in the City of London 5 years ago, I had a dream. I was going to run a career management business which I could run from anywhere in the world. Which would mean I could travel, see the world whilst also doing work I loved to do and work that makes a real difference to the clients I work with. All from my lap-top on the beach…

But like any major change, it didn’t happen overnight.

To subsidise my dream career I have, yes, made sacrifices and also found new income streams to support the dream. I have undertaken various freelance recruitment, retention and career management projects. Some have been major projects with global banks and some one-off projects with individuals.

Some of this work has been interesting and fun. Some of it lousy and dull - but that’s all par for the course.

But what is interesting is that every single piece of ’subsidised work’ has given me something more than just money. Without exception, every single assignment has resulted in me walking away with something more - a new opportunity, new contact, friend, idea, skill or an insight that has helped me along my journey.

Reflecting on it now, it has often felt like collecting a series of random pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that have been handed out in order for me to create a big new picture.

The result is that in addition to running a career management business, I now provide recruitment and retention solutions to banks (which was never part of any plan) and also earn passive revenue from 2 e-books I have written on small business recruitment: Find Staff NOW!! and Interviewing Made Easy.

All of which will help me with the ’sitting on beach with laptop’ plan!

Whilst I’m not quite ‘there’ yet - I’m on my way. And yes, I know it’s a cliché, but it really is true - real success is experienced on the journey rather than the destination.

Having hated large parts my career in the early days, I now do something I love doing, something I am damn good at doing and something that brings huge value to the clients I work with.

Making a major career change and chasing a dream is not easy - and anyone that tells you it is, is talking plain rubbish.

But a really critical factor in ensuring your career transition and your plan stays on track is ensuring that you can subsidise the dream instead of shelving it.

“Is it really worth the hassle and stress..?”

You may decide that you do not want to pursue your dream career - and that’s absolutely your prerogative.

But just like the actors or actresses I have met through my improvisation, if you have a dream that you are really passionate about then you must accept that it involves you stretching to make it happen.

The restaurants and bars of London, Paris and New York are full of actors and actresses subsidising their dreams. For a tiny percentage that make the ‘big time’ the stress and effort will all be worth it.

But for the majority of these people, the dream will never happen. But that’s fine because they would much rather fail than have regrets for never attempting to chase their dreams.

Like me, for you to subsidise your career change you don’t need to go and work in a bar or restaurant (unless you really want to). A banking career opens up all sorts of doors to create revenue streams to subsidise a successful career change.

You just need to make the decision to change, plan it and then go for it.

Your Field Work

With your dream career in mind:

1. Design your ideal lifestyle

2. Cost it

3. And then find the fastest, easiest way to finance the transition either from your current job or from alternative income streams which are in tune with your unique abilities and desired career and lifestyle.
 
(And be sure you look out for the ‘pieces of jigsaw’ along the way)

I’m committed to helping people make career moves in less time, with less stress and less hassle than it’s taken me.

So if you’re considering a major career change (or indeed are mid-way through one now), then I hope this article has been of benefit. It’s the article I wish I had read 5 years ago.