I recently worked with a client who had just been laid off from her job due to corporate restructuring. A little bruised emotionally, she was finding it difficult to get focused on her job search. I asked a simple question that I ask most clients. “What is your dream job?” Not surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the work she’d spent the past 20 years doing. Her answer: “I love to organize things. I’d love to be someone who helps people get their houses organized.” The most surprising part was that she didn’t know this could actually be a career path. So, we dug deeper on what this dream job would look like and how she might explore options. Fortunately, she knows people whose work aligns with her goal and who she can collaborate with. She’s already had conversations about how they might work together. While she is still in the planning phase, she is well on her way to starting her own business as a home organizer and model home stager. And from there, who knows where she will go? She is pursuing her passion for being organized and helping other people discover how much joy, yes, Marie Kondo said it first, and freedom being organized can bring.

Are you stuck in a job because it’s what you’ve always done? Or perhaps you’ve lost your passion for what you do. Or maybe you’ve just reached a point in life where you want to follow a passion. It’s never too late. Don’t wait. Start the work to discover your passion and how you can spend your days pursuing it. It will change your life! Some great resources are Simon Sinek’s FIND YOUR WHY, Bill Burnett & Dave Evans’ DESIGNING YOUR LIFE, or a career coach.

Growing up, all I wanted to be was a wife and mom. Never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine a career! I went to college because that’s what was expected of me. I pursued a degree in journalism, fell in love, and quit college to move to Florida with my boyfriend who had already graduated.

This was followed by one job after another. I was always good at what I did, but they were nowhere jobs. I was ok with that for a few years, because, remember, my only goal was to get married and be a mom. But life had other plans for me that took me years to realize, much less understand.

Seven years after moving to Florida, working in the Financial Aid office of a private college, and was offered a promotion to Financial Aid Director of a school that had just been purchased in Seattle. From the moment I first saw Seattle, on a cold, rainy March day, I was in love! I knew this was the move for me.

Still not thinking about a ‘career’, I worked away there, and at a number of subsequent jobs over the next few years. I found myself married and thought that was it. Not so much. I started to feel discontent with not having finished college because in job after job, I was told if only I had a degree, I could move higher. So, I went back to school, graduating in Accounting from the University of Washington, quickly got recruited to Microsoft and things went well….for a while. Fast forward several years later and I’m divorced and living in Washington, DC having held several different positions using my accounting degree, but finding myself immensely unhappy. The work was too repetitive, too detailed, too mundane. Something wasn’t right. I was on the precipice of discovering my WHY. But, not so fast.

First, I had to do some discovery. I looked back over my life and asked myself when had I been happy, what work had I done that I really enjoyed or was really good at? This led to me pursuing my masters degree in Human and Organizational Learning at The George Washington University. It felt easy. I felt at home. I never looked back. That was the beginning of discovering my life’s goal. It took some more years, but I eventually realized that my WHY, my reason for being, is to help others and in some small way, make the world a better place. This is what led me to coaching, and career and retirement coaching in particular. Having been so unhappy so many times throughout my career, I’m passionate about helping others get there sooner. It took me over 20 years to reach the point where I love my work. I don’t want others to have to wait as long.

My WHY isn’t just limited to work. It’s who I am at all times. I love to quilt, but rarely make one for myself. They are all baby gifts. During the pandemic, I’ve been fostering a dog (and eventually adopted) and making masks to donate to underserved communities. It’s like I can’t help myself. If there is a need where I can help, I will dive in.

So, what is your WHY? Do you know or are you still looking? Maybe I can help. My coaching begins right there – discovering your WHY so we can establish a path to get you where you really want to be! Why wait! Schedule a strategy session with me today.