Moving Into Your Fear: The Key to Your Career Evolution

A common inquiry I receive is how to move towards doing things (at work) that truly get your juices flowing and adrenaline rushing (like, say when you first started a new school, or job, etc.)  I find that the secret to staying inspired and on top of my game, is by always moving into new and unique opportunities that appeal to *me* and that are flanked with a side of *healthy discomfort*.  Once I recognize both of these elements, I know this is an opportunity for me to evolve but to do so I am going to have to endure some growing pain(s).

It is human nature for all of us to get entrenched in executing competencies in which we feel safe and comfortable and very, very familiar.  Of course, there are obvious reasons for this practice: it’s what we become known for and people around us simply expect the same ‘output’ from us day in and day out.

So, what happens when you find yourself yearning for a fresh experience or role in the ‘ol daily grind:

• Perhaps you are curious to put on a sales hat for your company or your own business and experiment with a totally radical way of attracting your customers

•  Or maybe you watch others roll out a show stopping presentation and you think to yourself—‘Hey, I’d love to be a dynamo public speaker like them’

•  Or maybe instead of managing the client side of your business, you want to jump over to the creative, production department

Here are some simple ways to begin to move into the discomfort of possibly being seen as not totally perfect as your try on new skills:

1)      Identify a few people in your network who seem to be masters of this new skill/experience you are looking to try on yourself.

2) Propose lunch or a drink after work with these folks so that you can find out more information and tips on how you can move into this new realm yourself.

3) Compile a simple list of steps you need to take to move you towards your new end goal

4) Figure out ways that you can begin to practice this new skill(s).

5) Ask for feedback and be prepared for the fact that it is going to take time to feel comfortable and proficient again in this new practice.

 *If you take nothing else away from this blog, remember this:

Healthy fear will always be a by-product of moving into the unknown. It will never go away. The key is to move into the fear with the knowledge that it will lead you to the sweet reward of inspired and gratifying work.  Being on top of your game is not easy work, and it is a path taken by few. So, what’s next on YOUR radar champ?

My Miraculous Week: Thanks to a Tweet

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you have to pinch yourself to make sure it’s really your own skin that you are embodying?  I am just wrapping one of those weeks and I am so filled with gratitude and wonder about it all—I decided I would let you all into this wonderful place that has been my work life this week.

I believe in sharing both my victories and my setbacks because it helps break down any assumptions or false ideas we have about how certain events come about.  What a lot of my clients tell me that they most appreciate about me is that I am working right alongside them trying to make progress in my career and that no one person has the right formula for what is going to work for either of us.  It’s all about sharing our experiences and figuring out where and how to make that next best step forward for our own selves.

For me, this past week was forever altered in the most delightful way, with a simple Tweet.

So as some of you may know, alongside my work with my clients, I am developing my ‘on air’ media personality with a hope of eventually having my own television show where I get to share my work with a global audience.  Over the last year, I have served as a Leadership Expert on a morning television talk show on a monthly basis.  This incredible opportunity helped me find my media voice and has allowed me to practice and continue to hone my ‘on air/live’ presentation skills.  Not so easy!

As is my personality, I am now hungry for the next rung in the ladder if you will to help me push my big crazy dream of my show down the road. So, I simply asked my network to help me (take note: build, nurture and call on a network and amazing things happen).  In a matter of an hour after tweeting a request for connections in #BroadcastMedia—two of my colleagues contacted me and put me in touch with these two GIANTS in their industry and this is what came of my connection with them:

1)  An Executive Producer of 20/20 and Good Morning America in NYC: Once I finally got to speak to this generous man live—he said to me, “Katie, as you can imagine, I see a lot of tapes, I mean a lot and I don’t usually think much of what I see, but I have to say with your TV segments—I think you have some……. potential.”  Don’t you just love that line? I will never forget it.  He put me in touch with an agent who has directed me to pursue a local radio show that will then get syndicated and go from there.

2)  A NPR Producer: She and I met this morning, immediately following the information above and she is now guiding me through how to create my own content on a YouTube Channel so that I can submit those clips to a Clear Channel, etc. She thinks I should be the next “Frasier Crane”. How awesome is that?

My end goal in sharing this with you all is to prove to you that small miracles truly do happen every day. By simply sharing your story and asking your community if they, ‘know someone’—doors fly open and in no time at all-a dream becomes your reality.

I would love to know if my story resonates with you and if you have had any similar experiences in everyday miracle making.  Do tell!