I Get Mad When People Underestimate Themselves: Use Your Skills for Self-Development and Leave 9-5 Life for Good with the Free At 50 2023 Summer Interview Series
When I left politics, some people shocked me with their praise.
When I left the teeny tiny world under Michigan’s Capitol dome, people were praising me. They were telling me how brave it was to leave the security of “what I know” and move into… optometry. It was a tremendous change! I was shocked at the praise.
Truly, the skills transferred. I was a human not a resume.
And what shocked me even more: the fear I heard over the years from others as they became more and more entrenched in political life- the fear that they couldn’t “do anything else because they don’t have skills.”
Those are actual words I heard from several people. Many in fact.
Well I’m here to say that the world is bigger than the job you are in, whether it’s government, retail, or even the C-Suite in a large corporation.
Your 9-5 and your title do not define you or your ability to have an impact. Your skills do. I had to create my 2023 Summer Interview Series- no doubt the inspiration is needed. Treat yourself to some self-development and a possible mindset shift: your skills can lead to amazing things without a corporate title as a pre-requisite.
RELATED: This video interview about how corporate titles do not matter I did with Corporate to Calling business coach Nora Luke.
Photo by Céline Druguet on Unsplash
Is it about confidence? Maybe. Or maybe it’s simply easier to underestimate yourself.
Articles for the 2023 Summer Interview Series on this blog start in June. I’m looking forward to sharing inspiration through several amazing entrepreneurs’ vision of time freedom and success in moving onto their next chapter by turning their passions into a business.
Underestimating yourself is the fastest way to avoid moving into something new.
In the series, you'll meet entrepreneurs who have the corporate background and shifted their mindsets from employee to entrepreneur.
These creators and business owners are human like us, but they have discovered that self-development beats underestimation to a pulp.
RELATED: My friend Ann Hooper's article on 4 things that could be impacting your success.
As always, this blog is here to inspire you as well as fill your toolkit with tools that are both effective and manageable. What’s more effective than stories of others’ journeys and more manageable than adding a blog post to your reading list?
RELATED: Self-development can change your life –here is an article I recommend!
Note: As a blogger, I use affiliate links sometimes! I may receive commission from purchases I share, but it does not change your price.
Image by Sasha Moroz from Pixabay
What are your skills? I know you’ve got skills.
Don’t peek at your resume or C.V. to answer this question.
Grab some post-its, a blank piece of paper, or your journal and start writing. Make a list of the things you’re fabulous at--- it doesn’t have to be work-related in the traditional sense.
- Do you have a knack for making people laugh?
- Is your garden proof of your green thumb?
- Can you organize and tackle lists like no other?
- Are you the person everyone turns to for advice?
- Have you raised children into thriving adults?
Next up grab another stack of post-its, a clean sheet of paper, or open a new page in the journal.
Write down your passions. For example, do you love:
- History?
- Reading?
- Music?
- Travel?
- Art?
Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay
You now have the basis for creating your next chapter. It’s the method I used after reading The 4-Hour Workweek and shifting my mindset away from the limiting 9-5 belief system.
Marrying your skills with your passions can lead to creating a business and creating your life outside the 9-5. It’s the epitome of turning your passion into profit. For me, writing and encouraging people led to the content in this blog.
My love for reading and the idea that I wanted to live where I vacationed (historical Colonial Williamsburg!) where I can be surrounded and inspired by history, as well as be outdoors every month of the year without any passion for snow sports, led to blogging as a career.
Yes, I'm using my skills and passions to create a new career!
This exercise we just did, it’s an illustration of self-development. It’s how you can get from point A (your current situation) to Point B (a lifestyle you design, filled with time freedom) through recognizing your passions matter as much as your skills.
Don’t be overwhelmed, create life outside your 9-5 life.
One step at a time. And the Free At 50 blog is here to help. Overwhelm is natural. However, by creating a plan, focusing on one thing at a time, and taking actions, even tiny ones like Skye mentions in her guest post here, you will get there.
So watch for it: the posts that will comprise my 2023 Summer Interview Series. I’ll add the links here when they are published.
Image by Pexels from Pixabay
In the meantime, focus on one step at a time and taking action, every day.
Step 6 on my 6-Step Checklist to Escape the 9-5 is “Take Action.” I thought it appropriate to close out this post with a note about it.
Why is “take action” step 6 of my checklist? Because I never want you to stop. Keep going back and taking new actions. Keep the checklist on hand. Always move forward.
Grab the checklist here and dive in because you CAN use your skills, marry them with your passions and turn it all into your future.
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