Greg McKeown's written an Article describing an executive's mid-life crisis, realising he's been in the wrong job building a software company for years and really wants to be a teacher and writer. Greg's advice is good, and worth reading for yourself, but there's more to this 'career change' thing.
Commenting on the article are a young woman who longs to have a job, and also an older man with kids who believes he can't change his job because he has bills to pay. Both of them feel stuck, but neither of them is realising just what advantages they have and how they can change their lives.
The young woman has loads of free time. What I would give to have that freedom. Sure, she hasn't got a lot of money, but she has lots of options and her free time gives her a 500% advantage on the competition. And the money aspect doesn't get any easier as you get older - far from it. Commitments cut into your time and your resources. So now in fact is her best time to think "what do I want to do" and create her own work. She has a computer and an internet connection - that's more resources than I had at her age, and frankly all she needs to get networking and make those important contacts and create her own work. Sure there will be a lot of false starts and disappointments, but that doesn't change with age either.
The older man seems to be waiting until the kids move out before he can 'start his life'. Others I know waited until they retired to start that hobby or interest or work that they'd always wanted to do. Big mistake. Life's too short. Sure, commitments make it difficult to change jobs, but you can find ten minutes every day to work towards another goal, a better future. It might take a while, but just one action every day - a message, some research, a plan - will move you towards those goals. You might not have the right qualifications or the hours available, but get real about it - I started out writing for theatre, but having kids meant I couldn't do those evenings and weekends anymore. Oh well. So I had to learn to write novels instead. It took a while - a very long time in fact - but I did it. And i couldn't have done it without the kids.
Because the older man also has another huge advantage - he's got kids. Those looking for a career change seem to think kids are a disadvantage, and financially, yes, that's a problem. However there's something about kids that adults seem to forget. Tell them your dreams, and they will support you. Why? Because they want you to be the person you want to be, to be happy. They don't want to see your dreams destroyed, working yourself to death in a job you hate. Explain to them your situation, get them involved, and they will actually help you. Maybe with a bit of moaning because you forgot to wash their PE kit, but kids will pick up some of these chores if they know there's something in it for them.
Commenting on the article are a young woman who longs to have a job, and also an older man with kids who believes he can't change his job because he has bills to pay. Both of them feel stuck, but neither of them is realising just what advantages they have and how they can change their lives.
The young woman has loads of free time. What I would give to have that freedom. Sure, she hasn't got a lot of money, but she has lots of options and her free time gives her a 500% advantage on the competition. And the money aspect doesn't get any easier as you get older - far from it. Commitments cut into your time and your resources. So now in fact is her best time to think "what do I want to do" and create her own work. She has a computer and an internet connection - that's more resources than I had at her age, and frankly all she needs to get networking and make those important contacts and create her own work. Sure there will be a lot of false starts and disappointments, but that doesn't change with age either.
The older man seems to be waiting until the kids move out before he can 'start his life'. Others I know waited until they retired to start that hobby or interest or work that they'd always wanted to do. Big mistake. Life's too short. Sure, commitments make it difficult to change jobs, but you can find ten minutes every day to work towards another goal, a better future. It might take a while, but just one action every day - a message, some research, a plan - will move you towards those goals. You might not have the right qualifications or the hours available, but get real about it - I started out writing for theatre, but having kids meant I couldn't do those evenings and weekends anymore. Oh well. So I had to learn to write novels instead. It took a while - a very long time in fact - but I did it. And i couldn't have done it without the kids.
Because the older man also has another huge advantage - he's got kids. Those looking for a career change seem to think kids are a disadvantage, and financially, yes, that's a problem. However there's something about kids that adults seem to forget. Tell them your dreams, and they will support you. Why? Because they want you to be the person you want to be, to be happy. They don't want to see your dreams destroyed, working yourself to death in a job you hate. Explain to them your situation, get them involved, and they will actually help you. Maybe with a bit of moaning because you forgot to wash their PE kit, but kids will pick up some of these chores if they know there's something in it for them.
So what is in it for them? A happy parent, that's a good one. A human being in the house who might be busy, but not stressed and miserable. And inspiration! Nothing inspires kids more than seeing their parent aiming for something better. Your kids will then choose ambitious goals too, goals that will make them happy and willing to work towards those goals. Which in turn makes 'homework time' a hell of a lot easier, I can tell you!
We need to find the right work for ourselves so we can inspire our kids with our achievements and choices. You may still have to do the day-job to pay the bills, but at least make the time for your long-term goals, before you retire and find you no longer have the energy or the commitment. There's a sad story of the housewife who spent her little spare time preparing to write, getting the paper ready, gathering the resources, and the moment the kids moved out, she sat down to write and discovered she couldn't think of anything to write about. And hadn't put in the hours of practice that every writer needs. She was dead before she retired, having never managed to write anything at all. Tragic true story.
That story alone made me determined to write in every moment I could find. And even if I still never achieve what I've set out to do with my life, I've done some of the work and the research to hand over to my kids. I know a lot more about life and living now than I did when I was young, wasting all that free time, and I can offer a lot more advice to my kids now on career-choices and options, so that's major progress in itself.
But what of that executive software developer who really wants to be a teacher and writer? He seems to think he's wasted all those years doing something he hates. He hasn't wasted anything! It's all good. You can't be a good teacher or a writer until you've got some life experience. The first rule of writing is "Get a Life!" He's built his own business, he's been successful, out in the real world. Now he's got something to teach and to write about.
So what are you waiting for?
We need to find the right work for ourselves so we can inspire our kids with our achievements and choices. You may still have to do the day-job to pay the bills, but at least make the time for your long-term goals, before you retire and find you no longer have the energy or the commitment. There's a sad story of the housewife who spent her little spare time preparing to write, getting the paper ready, gathering the resources, and the moment the kids moved out, she sat down to write and discovered she couldn't think of anything to write about. And hadn't put in the hours of practice that every writer needs. She was dead before she retired, having never managed to write anything at all. Tragic true story.
That story alone made me determined to write in every moment I could find. And even if I still never achieve what I've set out to do with my life, I've done some of the work and the research to hand over to my kids. I know a lot more about life and living now than I did when I was young, wasting all that free time, and I can offer a lot more advice to my kids now on career-choices and options, so that's major progress in itself.
But what of that executive software developer who really wants to be a teacher and writer? He seems to think he's wasted all those years doing something he hates. He hasn't wasted anything! It's all good. You can't be a good teacher or a writer until you've got some life experience. The first rule of writing is "Get a Life!" He's built his own business, he's been successful, out in the real world. Now he's got something to teach and to write about.
So what are you waiting for?