Most people in the US hate their jobs. National surveys support this idea finding that 65 – 70 % of all employees are dissatisfied and disengaged in their current job. A 2015 Gallup poll states that 30%- 35% are saying they plan to leave their current job within a year.

When I was in my mid-30s years ago, I was one of them. I was productive, but my work didn’t fit me. I got depressed. So I quit a good job and went to a career counselor to help me change careers. Then I got even more depressed. Because his advice was “pick a job title that fits you and send out lots resumes.”  Over 1000 resumes went out. I got one interview, which went nowhere. I was devastated. I thought something was wrong with me but my “hire-ability” wasn’t the problem. I was using the wrong strategy.

Sometimes a crisis turns into a calling. It did for me. From the chaos and confusion that spun in me during my career transition came the creation of my life’s work. I discovered my innate gift for helping people get on the path to their authentic career and finding it faster. The path begins with three questions.

1st – Who am I? Know your skills, values and interests.
2nd – Where is my place in the world? Clarify the things that really motivate you to be your best.
3rd How do I find it? Put away your resume, create a plan and ask for advice.
In the first phase in my true vocation, which was 20 years ago, I was a career coach. In the second phase I moved into management consulting focused on creating healthy organizations where people’s careers really matter. In my current and third final phase, I find  T. S. Eliot hauntingly correct as I rediscover the bliss as a career guide as I felt the first time.

As I glide into my swan song, I decided to write a new book entitled The White Shirt. This book is a parable that shares the secrets of making a successful career move at any stage of life.

In The White Shirt, readers follow along with a young man named Cyrus as he searches for his vocation – his ideal job. He makes the same mistakes we all make, but eventually asks and answers those three questions. Then we follow as Cyrus discovers the career that is his calling.

My hope is that readers will see themselves in Cyrus. We are made for a purpose and that purpose is not to endure a job that “sucks the life out of you,” but to find a career “that makes you feel alive.”

Journal Entry: To learn more go to www.whiteshirtbook.com. This 100-page book will help you make your next move,  in ,leadership and life,  a good one.

Special offer for my loyal LLJ readers.  One of the key secrets to finding your place is –  you can’t do this alone. The White Shirt is designed to be read with a friend so you can support each other as you apply the principles and complete the step-by-step process to have a 1 page next move career plan in only 1 week.  Limited time 3 DAY FREE BOOK OFFER: So if you order a book on my website within the next 3 days, I will mail you another book at no cost. Just place your order then email me your mailing address. Your free book will be shipped to you.  Thank you.

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. ~ T.S. Eliot, author – Four Quartets

 

The will to win is not nearly so important as the will to prepare to win. ~ Vince Lombardi, football coach

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart. ~ Ecclesiastes: 18-20, The Bible – Old Testament