Helping Career Changers Around The World

November 2010

Hello!

Welcome to the November 2010 edition of The 5 Minute Career Coach.

What's in this Issue

• Quote of the Day
• Article of the Month - Do Something Crazy!
• Your 5 Minute Coaching Session
• What Is Your Biggest Career Change Question?
• Recommended Resources – The Great Corporate Escape
• Comments and Feedback
• Useful Links

I have made an important change to my website this month – I've added an audio introduction to my homepage. Click here to listen!

Why have I done this? Because I want to create the sense that there is a real person behind How To Change Careers. There are plenty of careers websites out there, but the majority feel pretty impersonal, just offering visitors a random selection of articles on careers issues.

I'd like to think that mine is different. When you visit How To Change Careers you are meeting with with a real person, a qualified careers professional who is reaching out to career changers round the world. I hope by adding audio, every visitor will get a feeling of personal welcome and will be encouraged to come back to my site again and again for help and support with their career change. Do let me know what you think!

Well a great place to start is with a free teleseminar, run by a colleague of mine, Karen Revell. Karen is a real life escapee from the corporate world, and in this teleseminar she will be sharing tips and strategies drawn from her own experience. If you are doubting that The Great Corporate Escape is possible, make sure you sign up! Read more about The Great Corporate Escape under Recommended Resources.

If you think this newsletter and my website deliver good value, just click the button below and buy my next cup!

Or click through to the How To Change Careers website!

With best wishes

Cherry

Cherry Douglas
Your Career Change Guide

How To Change Careers

Click here to access Nick Williams' FREE ecourse on Discovering the Work You Were Born To Do

• Would you like to get greater clarity over what kind of work could be right for you?


• Are you intrigued by the idea that your personality can guide you towards the right career choice?


• Would a list of career ideas that match your personality be useful?

Then take a look at Know Your Personality, Know Your Career and find out more.

Just click here to read more about The CV & Resume Workbook

Feel free to share this newsletter and my website with your friends. I wouldn't mind betting that there will be a few of them who are unhappy with their own careers.

Remember that they can get their free copy of 11¾ Ways To Kick Start Your Career Change when they visit the How To Change Careers website.

This is a great wake up call for anyone who is just keeping their head down and always putting off change till tomorrow.

Yes, of course change is scary, there will always be an element of fear to be overcome, but don’t let it become a barrier that will stop you from living a life you will be proud to look back on.

I am a great fan of Steve Pavlina and always read his blog and newsletters with interest.

This month he was writing about pursuing a crazy idea – in his case taking a 23 day road trip around the US and Canada - away from family & business commitments - and on one occasion driving 750 miles in one day! That is definitely a bit crazy!

But he uses this story to talk about the importance of knowing when to follow the impulses that sometimes just bubble up from nowhere in our minds. He acknowledges that some impulses are way off piste and are best ignored.

But goes on to say:

"...other times, these urges are coming from a place within you that knows you're capable of more. It's the part of you that wants to stretch. It's the part of you that's tired of settling for the mundane and the routine. It's your passion trying to awaken."

If your life is feeling mundane and boring, then maybe a dose of crazy might do you good!

Have you got any crazy urges at the moment? If so, what do you think they are trying to tell you?

Remember that the crazy thing doesn't have to be a complete career change, but could be just a one-off activity at the weekend that is very untypical of you – a firewalk, a hike up a mountain, a very different music gig from your usual one, a class on transformational breathing, a protest march... All that matters is that it is an exciting stretch for you. If you do it, will you feel proud of yourself afterwards?

If you find yourself avoiding the crazy impulse, saying 'it's just not me', then maybe it's high time you stretched your own perception of who 'me' is.

And once you have stretched the boundaries of 'me', they never go back and suddenly more things seem possible – including a career change!

Challenging questions are one of the key tools coaches use in helping clients to create change.

Each month I offer you a mini coaching session by asking you a challenging question to think about. The questions I ask are designed to get you thinking in new ways and hopefully gain insights that may open your mind to new possibilities for you career and for your life.

Understanding your attitude to change can make a big difference to your chances of success. We all have different approaches to change and some people will tackle changing careers more positively and confidently than others.

When you think about the possibility of making big changes in your life, are you positive, avoidant or negative? Click here to find out more about your change style and read some tips for working with your typical attitude to change.

This section in the 5 Minute Career Coach, gives you the opportunity to ask a specific question you may have about changing career. I will do my best to answer the questions that come up either here in the 5 Minute Career Coach or on the How To Change Careers website.

So what is your biggest question or concern about changing careers?

If you'd like to ask a question about changing careers, just click this link and fill in the form to submit your question via the How To Change Careers website.

• Are you fed up with the daily commute, the long hours and the constant demands from your boss?


• Would you like more time, freedom and fun in your daily work?


• Have you thought about working for yourself and starting a business but thought it too risky?

Then I recommend that you sign-up for this free teleseminar to discover how to make The Great Corporate Escape and why right now is the best time to do it.

The teleseminar will be held on the 9th November at 20.00 UK time (15.00 Eastern, 12.00 Pacific)

It is run by Corporate Escapee, Karen Revell so you can be sure that the information and ideas she will share has been tried and tested. I know Karen well and am confident that you will get great value from the teleseminar.

In this teleseminar you will learn:

• Why now is the best time to make a change and how waiting any longer could be much riskier


• How smaller, authentic businesses have the upper hand over the big corporate companies


• What are the important elements for a successful career change


• The different business models out there and which one is right for you


• How to make a successful career change and build an authentic business

Don't worry if you are unable to listen live. Just register anyway and you will get a recording of the call and Karen's free report The Great Corporate Escape.

More recommendations
If you would like to see more recommendations for books and similar resources, follow the link to the Career Change Books page of the How To Change Careers website. Do keep popping back to it as I am adding to it all the time.

And if there are books, websites and other resources that have inspired you and that you would like to recommend, there is a place for you to do so on that page.

I want to be sure that both this newsletter and the How To Change Careers website are focused on YOU.

The best way I can do this is by asking for your comments and feedback:

• What do you enjoy and find most helpful about the 5 Minute Career Coach?


• What suggestions do you have for improvements to the 5 Minute Career Coach?

Read more articles about career change on the How To Change Careers website

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