your career by the time you finish college, if not sooner.
Work your way to the higher levels of your field. Get
established. Continue to retirement. For others, the path
resembles a winding road.
Sometimes a winding road becomes the first step to a
long-term, satisfying career.
For example, Meredith entered a competitive doctoral
program, intending to become a college professor. Losing
interest in her dissertation, she began to explore massage
therapy for her own stress. And she began writing a novel.
Friends asked her to give them massages and soon she
realized she could charge for this service. Five years
after leaving her doctoral program, Meredith is a
successful, licensed massage therapist. She quietly
abandoned her novel.
On the other hand, some people keep winding.
Tom majored in political science in college. He worked as a
newspaper reporter, a community college instructor, an
insurance executive, and a diversity management
consultant...in more or less that order. He has never
collected unemployment and he confidently predicts he'll
find new adventure with every bend in the road.
If you're on this path, you probably didn't choose your
careers and jobs. They chose you.
What happens when you find yourself stranded? Unlike those
who follow more linear paths, you may not have a logical
"next step" to take. Your challenge: Assemble your previous
jobs and careers into a meaningful pattern. Think of
creating a mosaic or a collage.
Most important, those who find themselves on the winding
road learn to avoid the wet blankets who pull out a map and
say, "Now, if you'd taken this highway, you'd be hereč"
Who knows? Maybe you'd have encountered a roadblockčor
ended up on another detour. And you may find yourself in
a place you'd never have found if you'd planned your
life in a straight line.
---------------------------------
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., author of Making the Big
Move, helps midlife professionals navigate
career and business transitions.
Complimentary Special Report:
"How Smart People Can Derail During Transitions"
http://www.cathygoodwin.com/subscribe.html .
Contact: http://www.cathygoodwin.com/feedback.html
Phone: 505-534-4294
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