Step one to making any change in your life is to boost your self-confidence. You must believe that you are capable of anything to move forward and pursue your dreams — because you are the most important person in driving your ship of change. Nobody else can make the decisions to carry out your change in the way you want it to happen. That’s on your shoulders.

Working with a career coach is one crucial relationship that will help you boost your confidence and figure out a direction to emphasize.

The self-help industry is huge. People benefit from the many books, DVDs and seminars that are out there, too. A lot of these self-help gurus, however, won’t share one vital piece of information with you: Failure is absolutely still possible. Fortunately, sometimes all you need is a little boost, and you can make your life into something you want.

As a mentor and career coach, nothing is more satisfying to me than when I help one of my clients see something in themselves that I know is there but has been lying dormant for too long. Yet — there is still no blog

Imagine if Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln had never existed. What would America even look like? It was almost the case that neither man became President of the United States because both suffered from crippling stage fright. Jefferson — one of the Founding Fathers – gave only two public speeches his entire eight years in office, both inaugural addresses. Lincoln — who did more for civil rights than any person since — could barely bring himself to campaign. He was said to be shaking throughout the delivery of the Gettysburg Address, a famous speech most people don’t realize is only 10 sentences long and took Lincoln less than three minutes to deliver. Why mention these great men? Because without them, the world would be different.

Over the last couple of weeks, discussions mostly involved the analysis of finally admitting that you’re not happy, determining it’s time to move on from what you’re doing and pondering your initial thoughts on what direction your career should take. Today, let’s talk about a much more difficult thing — actually starting the process.

In a perfect scenario, you’d be able to walk into the boardroom or office of the owner or manager of where you work and quit with no notice. The next day, you’d wake up ready for your new challenges and seamlessly transition into the new financial and personal aspects of your life. Unfortunately,

One of the things that I admire most about the younger millennial generation and those that are coming behind them is they understand that happiness and quality of life are more important than making money. It’s a lesson most of the older generations had to learn the hard way, if they learned it at all. 

Sure, you’ll run into salty old-timers who think today’s youth are soft, but I think they are smart. They are using specialized skills and ever-evolving technology to find their niche in a world that is becoming more splintered every day. Many are striking out on their own and choosing self-employment over the typical 9 to 5 routine.

When I work with clients to discover their calling, I also help them learn how their choice of career can complement it. Usually, a radical change in their professional life has to happen for their new choice to succeed, which is understandably scary. Whether it’s a decline in pay, learning new skills, or moving somewhere, taking on a new career tosses people out of their comfort zone more than just about any other transition.

I remember as a boy hearing my parents and other elders lament over how fast time was passing for them. As a child in school, I felt like the days would never end, especially when Christmas was just around the corner! These days, as an adult and father with my own children, I now understand what the older folks were talking about. Where did 2019 go?  

We all must pause in the closing weeks of a year to assess how the previous 365 days treated us and how we treated them. What did we learn, what do we still have to learn and what should we be grateful for?  

Let’s consider this time of year. Most of us gather with family and friends in late November to celebrate holidays through Christmas. Then, we finish it all off by welcoming in the new year at the stroke of midnight on January 1. During this time of year, most of us seem to have a common calling or a need to be filled with good will. The clients I work with during the holiday season feel this way, too, even when they aren’t completely sure about their personal calling. They know that at the root of their calling is the need to help make the world a better place. That’s one of the great tendencies of people that often gets overlooked and is mostly on display this time of year. Ultimately, people want the world to be a place of peace and harmony, where everyone gets along, so why not have this holiday calling year round?

Many people use the words “calling” and “passion” interchangeably. While they certainly are related, they do not mean the same thing. The best way to explain the difference between calling and passion comes from an article by Pooja Khare, who explains it in the following way: “Calling is something that you are born to do. Passion is the path or skill that supports you to attain your calling.”

If you’ve discovered your calling, it’s crucial to note that a calling doesn’t need to be something as well-defined as “I want to be a firefighter” or “I want be a choir director.” Sometimes people miss their calling because they’re looking for too many specifics. My calling to help others came from a life of experiences working with people who helped me.