In this episode, Marc shares the chapter, “Career Failures, and How to Recover from Them,” from his upcoming book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide to the Second Half of Life.
Key Takeaways:
[1:35] Is failure an option? If you’re like most people, it’s inevitable, and essential. If you are unwilling to fail, you are unlikely to venture into anything very impressive.
[2:50] Failure 1: Marc was ‘seduced’ by a former manager to leave a job at IBM, and join her at IBM Consulting. Why was it one of the biggest mistakes of his career?
[6:17] Failure 2: Taking his ‘dream job.’ Marc went to teach Math in an inner-city high school. He was not prepared to teach kids whose problems reached far beyond his ability to help them.
[9:33] Failure 3: ‘I can make this work!’ Marc took a job that was not optimal, working in fundraising for a non-profit that was not aligned with his goals, just before a major downturn in the economy.
[11:56] Failure’s upside: Marc is happy he took all three jobs. He learned a tremendous amount about consulting, public education, and non-profits. He also learned a lot about himself.
[12:47] Rules of Reinvention: Have a Plan B. Be prepared to pull the plug on the reinvention project.
[13:05] You might have three or five goals you’re working on, in terms of finances, skills learned, or happiness. Give yourself short windows to achieve these.
[13:33] Make sure the work you’re doing is something from which you could pivot into something else.
[14:57] Take stock of your choices and actions from your past, and what you can take away that will make tomorrow’s choices and actions better.
[18:21] If you have a laptop, an Internet connection, and some hustle, you can start a business right now, with no money down.
[20:06] Have a plan, have a way to gauge whether it’s working, and jump ship when it isn’t. If you planned it right, another ship will come along, soon enough.
[20:25] Questions on this chapter: Have you failed, and hung on too long? What did you learn from that experience? Does that experience deter you from taking a risk?
Mentioned in This Episode:
Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me
Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide to the Second Half of Life, by Marc Miller, available in early 2017
www.Flexjobs.com/blog/post/webinar-career-failures-future-success/
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This podcast is where those of us in the second half of life come together to discuss how to repurpose our careers for the 21st Century. Come listen to career experts give you proven strategies, listen to people like you tell their stories on how they repurposed their careers, and finally, get your questions answered. Your host, Marc Miller, has made six career pivots over the last 30 years. He understands this is not about jumping out of the frying pan into a fire, but rather, to create a plan where you make clear, actionable steps, or pivots, to a better future career. Are you ready to repurpose your career? Let’s get started!