Lately, everyone I talk to seems to be questioning the stability of their future in this weird era of AI, political turmoil, and general chaos. Are you feeling it too? How can you be ready to pivot to the next job, career, or phase of life? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but let me share some concepts that worked for me in the hopes they will help you, too.
In 2016, my family returned to the U.S. after living in Europe for three years, and I had to start my career over from scratch. In my upcoming book I share the whole story of how I created my dream job as a location scout for film, TV and commercials. I’ll leave those details for the book, but the concepts you’ll see here are timeless. This isn’t about curating your resume, leveraging LinkedIn, or nailing that interview. This is about mindset.
Once a month, I devote a whole day to do three things: rest deeply, reflect on the past, and reorient myself towards the future. During those first few months after moving back to the United States, my monthly Personal Retreat Days became more important than ever. They allowed me the space to dream, ponder, muse, and wonder. To remember what I’d once loved doing, and imagine what my new life could be like. So that was step one of the process: giving myself time and space to reflect.
There’s something almost magical about allowing yourself an entire day to think and process. We usually rush from one task to the next. When you’re facing a major life change, you need to slow down! Give yourself permission to dream again. Do not overlook the power of your inner thought life. The mental work you do on a Personal Retreat Day casts a vision for your future.
After moving back from Europe, I essentially had to create a new career path from zero. At first my mind was blocked. I did the things you’re “supposed” to do, like send out a ton of resumes to traditional jobs. Nothing worked. I knew that to move forward, I had to invite a sense of curiosity. I had to think outside the box. So I asked myself a ton of questions during my Personal Retreat Days. What did I enjoy doing as a child? What type of work lights me up? Inviting curiosity to the table opened up ideas that hadn’t occurred to me before.
In those early months back in America I did a lot of exploring. The thought work I did during my retreat days helped me pare down my job search to two very different paths, teaching and film production. I explored both options thoroughly. I took a year to work as a teacher’s assistant, and at the same time I leaned on my brother, who owns a production company in a different city, to share his film connections with me. I took a lot of local producers to coffee and picked their brains. This season of exploring helped me understand what the fields were actually like, not just how I imagined them to be. Turns out I didn’t enjoy traditional classroom teaching, but I loved the film world.
My final step, then, was to create my dream job. I won’t lie, this took several years, one slow step at a time. How did I do it? I created connections with people who were already doing what I wanted to be doing. I created an environment of seeking out and saying yes to opportunities, at first by volunteering to work on student films for free. I created a solid reputation by showing up to gigs with a positive attitude and going above and beyond. Eventually I got paid for my work, and I got better and better at it.
Here’s what I learned: nothing changes unless you change. Opportunities won’t just show up at your doorstep. You have to go after them. But first, you have to know what you want. Put in the mental work first. Cast the vision in your mind. Then take the steps to go after what you want.
To recap, here are the steps you can put into practice to create your dream situation:
- Carve out ample time to reflect. What type of work have you enjoyed in the past? What did you dream about as a child? What are your deal breakers and non-negotiables?
- Invite curiosity. If you could do anything, what would it be? Why? What type of work gets you excited?
- Explore your options. Who do you know that is already doing this type of work? Can you invite them out to coffee to learn more? Can you volunteer in that field to see if you actually like it?
- Start creating. Remember, nobody is going to hand you your dream job on a silver platter. Step by step, day by day, put in the reps. Some days you’ll stumble. Some days you’ll feel like giving up. I know I did. But pick yourself up and start again. You can do this! Reflect on what you’re learning as you go, and reorient towards the future you’ve already created in your mind.