Encore Careers: How to Be Empowered by Career Change
You might not like change, but like it or not, everything changes all
the time. There's the kind of change you choose, like retiring from your
current work life to pursue the encore career of your dreams. There's
also the kind that's thrust upon you that you would never choose for
yourself, like being downsized from work that you love.
What's important, in either case, is how you make the journey from where
you were to where you choose to be. You can dig in your heels and resist
change, or open to the opportunities that change offers. You can look
frantically to others for what to do next, or you can trust your own
inner knowing. You can throw yourself a pity party, or alter your
attitude.
Choose wisely and you'll discover you have the courage to not only
survive, but to actually thrive as you move through your transition.
Jean Shula is an expert on navigating change. She left teaching behind
when her youngest child started school, getting a Master's degree and
becoming a therapist -- her choice. Getting a divorce just as her three
kids were emptying the nest was not her choice. It was on a year-long,
post-divorce trip around the US in a camper by herself (her choice) that
the idea of writing for a living first sparked.
Once back at home, Jean worked as a therapist for three years before
retiring -- again, her choice. A year in Austria and a second Master's
degree followed, and finally she jumped into writing full-time, an
encore career that she chose whole-heartedly.
In the middle of writing her first book, The Coming of Aging: Learning
to Live from the Inside Out, Jean was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Derailed? Definitely! But here's the thing. Jean didn't waste time
battling against the fact of her disease, or blaming or feeling sorry
for herself. She took care of business.
One surgery turned into three. Then there was the post-surgery protocol.
Then the months of getting her energy and stamina back. Sure, Jean
researched her options and got all the information she needed to make a
well-informed choice about how to proceed. But, she trusted her
instincts and made good decisions for herself.
While the book was on hold, she never lost her excitement about the
project or her hope for the future. She saw this derailment as an
opportunity to take better care of herself physically, and as a wake-up
call to stay focused on the things in life that are most important to
her.
Jean uses change to fuel her forward in life. Today, five years after
her diagnosis, The Coming of Aging is published, her second book is
being shopped to publishers, and a third book is in the works. This
dream encore writing career also includes traveling around the country
speaking and leading workshops and retreats, and Jean's having the time
of her life.
Once you decide to embrace change rather than resisting it, your encore
life and encore career choices become much clearer to you.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Encore Career Coach
Coach Lin Schreiber, author of the popular ABC's of Revolutionizing
Retirement, helps self-reliant women reinvent themselves in the next
stage of life, formerly known as "retirement," by designing a new encore
life that includes a fulfilling
encore
career. To claim your free Encore Career Starter Kit,
visit her site at =====>
http://www.EncoreCareerStarterKit.com
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