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!”

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I get fed up with people talking about “Work-Life balance.”

To me, the term Work-Life Balance infers that ‘work’ is the opposite to ‘Life.’ Which in the literal sense could mean death (!) or something equally negative.

Which really is nonsense.

Our ultimate aim should be to do work that is interesting, fulfilling and meaningful whilst still enabling you to achieve goals and priorities in other parts of your life.

i.e. Work that compliments other parts of your life - instead of competing against them. As soon as you talk about a balance between actvities - the assumption is that they are competing actvities.

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I have today started reading a great new book titled “Why Work Sucks and How To Fix It” by Jody Thomson and Cali Ressler.

It is based around a new working environment implemented by the authors at the Fortune 100 retailer Best Buy.

A culture which helped increase productivity by 35% and reduced voluntary staff turnover by 90%.

What is this new culture? - “ROWE” - Results-Only Work Environment. 

What is a ROWE? Well to quote the authors:

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In the developed economies of the world, “Time” is now the new currency.  As we get wealthier and more prosperous, the greater importance we place on time as a commodity.

Which is why when it comes to jobs and careers you need to start switching the focus from “what will this role pay?” to “I’m interested in the pay, but how much discretionary time will I get in this role?”

It’s a shift in mindset. A shift that becomes easier the minute you start viewing the money as fuel that provides you with the discretionary time to live your desired lifestyle rather than the end in itself.

Design your ideal lifestyle, cost it and then find the fastest, easiest way to finance this with a career that is in tune with your unique abilities and desired lifestyle.

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Below is an extract of an email I sent this week to a friend who works in a sales role within the City of London. She had talked about her plans for the next couple of years which involved working less, starting a family, moving into a new family home whilst pursuing some passions and hobbies away from work.

But the current market conditions are now directly impacting on her earnings potential and so she feels frustrated that all these goals will have to go on hold and be delayed.

My response to this was:-

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