Are You Running Toward the Right Finish Line?

 

5:30. 9:00. 15:45. Three different times to run a mile.  Which one is best? 

At first glance, the obvious answer would be 5:30. It is the fastest, so it must be the best, right? 

I’d argue it depends on the goal.

A 5:30 mile could be a disappointment for an elite runner who trained for something faster. Meanwhile, 15:45 could be a personal best for someone who just started running to improve their health.

The number alone doesn’t tell you whether either person succeeded. You have to know what they were trying to accomplish.

I think the same is true when it comes to our careers.

In conversations with clients, I hear a wide range of priorities. For some, income is number one. For others, time with family and flexibility are the top goals. Neither is right or wrong. What success looks like is personal to each of us.

Like the fastest running time, the highest income goal is not always the best.  If your highest-paying opportunity requires 50% travel but your real priority is being present for your family, is it actually the better opportunity?

Everyone’s definition of success is different, so it’s important to understand what really matters to you and your family. If you haven’t defined your finish line, how will you know when you’ve crossed it?

As I think about my career transition, I can see how important it was for me to define what I wanted.  I was burnt out and felt a lack of control over what I was doing.  Being in middle management, I not only had to deal with decisions made above me, but also had to pass those along to my staff, whether I fully believed in them or not.  That, more than hours worked, was my main stressor.  I felt like I spent every day putting out fires instead of having the ability to address the root cause.

That helped me realize that one of my measures of success was having more control over my future. I wanted my effort, decisions, and performance to have a more direct connection to the outcome.

That’s what made me curious about what it would take to take ownership of my career. I wanted to look at all my options including business ownership. Not because I had decided it was the answer, but because it was an option worth exploring.

As you think about your next career step, maybe the question isn’t what others see as the best opportunity. Maybe it’s:

What is the best opportunity for what I want my life to look like?

Just like with the mile times, everyone will have a different answer based on priorities, and that’s how it should be.  The important part is being honest with yourself about what you really want.

That’s a big part of the work I do with clients today—helping people step back, define what they really want, and compare their current path with other possibilities.

My coaching is complimentary, so if you’re curious about what your options could look like, I’d be happy to chat. Sometimes a conversation is simply a good place to start.

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About Your Career Revolution

Our mission is to help individuals explore self-sufficiency as an alternative career.

We help them define their Income, Lifestyle, Wealth, and Equity goals and provide education on the best ways to achieve them. We don’t sell franchises – we help people achieve their dreams of self-sufficiency through business ownership. The approach is different, the experience is different. And it works.

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