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Are you a Victim of “Career Drift” Syndrome?
For all too many people, career paths develop more as a result of “drift” – the decisions you make by not deciding – than as a result of planning. But I’d hate to see you fall into that trap as you prepare for your second-act. That’s why I wanted to share this video with Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, where she discusses how she “drifted” into being a lawyer before finding her way to becoming an author.
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Want to Make a Difference? Here is How
- Photo by Blake Robinson Photography
Looking for a career that matters? Let me introduce you to Nicole.
Nicole is the daughter of a dear friend and former client of mine. As you can see from her photo, she is a true beauty with crystal clear blue eyes and a megawatt smile.
What you can’t see is that Nicole is being treated for a life-threatening illness. Last fall, this tri-varsity athlete and honors student started her junior year of high school anticipating a year filled with AP courses, SAT prep and college visits.
What she got instead was a diagnosis of leukemia. And more.
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Second-Act Career Reinvention Tip: How To Turn a Passion Into Profit
“Nancy, I’d really love to __________( paint, cook, sing, knit, do carpentry, make chocolate, brew beer, fill-in-the-blank), but I don’t know how to turn that passion into income.”
Sound familiar? It’s a common concern that I hear from many of my readers. Figuring out what you love to do is (relatively) easy. Building a viable business around that passion or hobby, especially when your goal is to create a lifestyle-friendly career, often proves more challenging.
But I’ve got a suggestion that might help make the process of going from idea-to-income a bit easier.
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Love Pets? 6 Ways to Profit From Your Passion
Did you know that Americans spent upward of $53 billion (yes, that is billion with a “B”) on services for their pets in 2012?
While food and vet care account for about two-thirds of the dollars spent, the remaining third (approximately $19 billion) was spent on alternative vet care (acupuncture, massage, etc.) grooming, boarding and pet-sitting services, and to a lesser degree, miscellaneous pet-related products and services.
Whoa doggie, that’s a lot of cash being spent on our four-legged friends!
Clearly there is plenty of opportunity here for people who want to turn their love of pets into a second-act career. If that sounds like you, I’ve put together a group of resources to help get you started exploring.
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Two Great Career Sites for Foodies
I sometimes joke that in my next life I’d love to come back as a chocolate shop owner. The pragmatic side of me knows the realities of making chocolates day-in and day-out would likely wear thin quickly (while I pack on the pounds equally quickly), but the dreamer part of me thinks it would be great fun to spend my days around homemade toffees, almond bark and chocolate dipped sea salt caramels – at least for a week or two.
About Nancy
Nancy Collamer is a career coach, speaker and author who writes a weekly column about careers and volunteering for NextAvenue.org (PBS) and Forbes.com.
My New Book
"A terrific resource to lead you right into a realm of possibilities for what you might like to do when you 'retire' but still want, or need, to work." -- Forbes.
