Had a catch-up with a friend who is also asking questions about their career and their life.

We all do this at many points through our life. Doubts that make us stop and reset.

Asking, what is next for me professionally and where will life take me?… all of that and more.

Big questions sometimes lead to great conversations, to deep reflection and further introspection.

We had an insightful conversation on the big topics and I took a lot away from it.

We Shared a lot of stuff, I took some notes and now I share it with you in bullet point format and with some editing.

I hope you get something from it and if you have anything to add, please leave a comment in the section below. It would be great to hear from you.

• The airport in 5 years time example: see picture below.

• If you get an answer to that question about the airport then what advice would you come back and give yourself as you are now, today… as you are sitting here as we speak?

• If you go on the current path you have – how long will it take you to get that next place and how will it make you feel? Will you be any further forward to where you are now? Will you feel different, better? Worse? Fulfilled?

• Is it what you want to do?

• What is it that you want to do?

• What did you study for?

• Is that what you want to do?

• What are you currently doing to get into that line of work?

• Are you refreshing what you know and making it up to date?, it has been some years since you weer studying?

• Do you know where to start? It always seems a mountain at the beginning.

• What could you be doing to get more knowledge on where you want to be?

• What would you suggest?

• Start small, build your habits and know this, it is never all or nothing. “It’s an AND, AND”

• You can work for free a few hours a week?

• You can have your own company?

• You can freelance?

• You can learn on linked in learning to show that you are life-long learner?

• You can fill your spare minute sin the day with other things to gain the knowledge.

• Skills get you where you want to be?

• Competency is language to grow some behaviours, but try telling someone you want to build or design the new phone because you are good at dealing with Ambiguity… won’t happen.

• Companies are wrappers for your experiences – you should work for great people and learn from them.

• There are many great ‘companies of people’ to work with and learn from.

• You are the core person in your career, write the script with you in that role… not any other person. YOU.

• Do you feel financially in a good place to explore other things?

• Get your money right before making any moves – that is base minimum. Don’t let that hold you back, but know when it is at the stage that enough is enough?

• Don’t over complicate it – you can always, always, always find another job if things don’t work out.

• Most people will put themselves first and that comes to what they can get from you or how you can further them… you should be looking to get your path, for you.

• Do you feel that you have to stay in the role you are in out of loyalty?

• You owe no one anything, keep it that way. You build your career. Not others.

• What type of place would you like to work at?

• Small companies offer great opportunities and you can grow faster – you learn to do so much more and skill up quicker.

• Everyone has an opinion or an idea about you, so what.!!

• You should think of yourself as a ‘Business’… you are the Business, with incomes, outgoings and staff to keep happy and motivated.

• What’s your business plan for you?

• If I asked you to write a business plan for your new company you would go and do that with great energy, but when I ask you to write a business plan for ‘you as the Business’ (a life plan) most people don’t know how to do that or refuse. Would you refuse?

• What, when, where do you think you could learn?

• Always be learning new things and growing your knowledge. (YOU: as the business intellectual property)

• Start early in the morning but if it doesn’t work for you find out what does.

• Don’t go straight home, stop at a coffee shop and capture an hour of work on YOU. Make it a habit.

• What habits do you currently have, can you change them if you don’t like them?

• Are you aware of any bad or negative habits?

• Keep a journal and complete it daily and be honest and capture your thoughts, ideas and feelings.

• It’s ok to have off days, you are working on your own time deadlines no one else’s… just don’t build a habit of missing deadlines.

• Be realistic with time: ‘most people overestimate what they can do in a year but underestimate what they can do in ten years’ Bill Gates

• Most people don’t start… so YOU SHOULD START…. once started most people STOP, don’t be like most people… DO NOT STOP!

• Changing direction is easy, you just move your sails and rudder.

• What else do you want to talk about because there is no end, there is only more.

Interlude: When sharing my way of journaling I shared an entry about my sister, Eileen, that I had written earlier in the day.

‘To see a school picture of Eileen on Facebook … an old picture, from a long time ago but a fond memory. It was a real pleasant and heartwarming surprise’

Stoic Philosophy is an interesting one but a central piece of the philosophy is to remember that you will die at some point and so it should stir you into action.

‘Amor fati’

My sister died in a car crash when she was in her early 30’s leaving two young children and a husband!! Always makes me think about life differently when I anchor thoughts to that’

When all said and done, sometimes we forget to cherish what we do have.

Or to cherish what we do want.