Making a complete career change is scary & intimidating.
I'm in my 7th month, and each day is a new experience. Each experience brings a challenge I may or may not have had while in school leadership. The business world is different, and change is rapid. While much is different, serving as a school leader, and managing over 70 adults and 500 students does have many skill acquisition advantages.
In my 17yrs in education, we'd go years with things staying the same..(that in and of itself is one of the issues with education)
I have learned that adaptability is a must and that the fluid nature of what is expected of me needs to be malleable.
Am I willing to pivot quickly and learn new skills, or will I stay the same and expect others to adapt to me??
A few weeks ago, I heard a podcaster briefly reference the book "Build for Tomorrow." I got the book from the library and then promptly bought it so that I could take notes in the margins.
From the author:
"The most successful people in the world all have one thing in common: They’re extremely adaptable. I wanted to know how they do it."
"Build For Tomorrow is about how to become more optimistic and resilient, and how to turn moments of change into great opportunity"
WHAT DO YOU DO?
One book section that caught my attention asks you to narrow down what you do. As in, when someone asks you, "what do you do? " how do you answer them...???
I work for an esports company... Before that, I was a teacher, coach, and principal.
BUT....as you dive deeper into what you do...you get to the core of your mission for why you do what you do...
At the core, I love helping people. With that in mind, I can be more adaptable to various professions and "jobs" moving forward.
Seek roles that allow for service to others to occur. And service to others can be many different things.
The willingness to adapt and adjust to life is a choice.
Will you be willing to get up and get after life when things don't go as planned?
Will you be willing to make the changes that need to occur to be happy & purposeful?
I have a cousin that is driving for Amazon right now. He sees the work as a way to help set him up for his next opportunity while starting to be a school substitute and see if education is the path for him. I admire his willingness to stay engaged in life and stay disciplined in working toward his ultimate purpose: helping underserved youth experience the outdoors. He knows the Amazon role is a solid stop while he works to get closer to his goals.
In the book of Colossians, Paul talks about the importance of always working hard as if working for the Lord. A good reminder that our jobs are NOT the essential thing in life. In all things, look to serve the Lord.
When searching for purpose and meaning...while building for tomorrow..unless our minds are moving us closer to Jesus...we will feel lost.
Maybe I need to think of things as Building for Eternity...not just tomorrow.
Trevor
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