Career Failures, and How to Recover from Them. #004
In this episode, Marc shares the chapter, \u201cCareer Failures, and How to Recover from Them,\u201d from his upcoming book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide to the Second Half of Life.
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Key Takeaways:
[1:35] Is failure an option? If you\u2019re like most people, it\u2019s inevitable, and essential. If you are unwilling to fail, you are unlikely to venture into anything very impressive.
[2:50] Failure 1: Marc was \u2018seduced\u2019 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 \u2018dream job.\u2019 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: \u2018I can make this work!\u2019 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\u2019s 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\u2019re working on, in terms of finances, skills learned, or happiness. Give yourself short windows to achieve these.
[13:33] Make sure the work you\u2019re 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\u2019s 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\u2019s working, and jump ship when it isn\u2019t. 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?
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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\u2019s get started!
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