#26: Come with me if you want to live.
The headline says it all.
OK. So my earliest of readership brethren will recognise this straight away as a rehashed post from February. It is, for sure. Well done.
Why? Because I’m feeling ill and frankly my cottonwool-stuffed head is struggling to pull together anything meaningful.
So rather than a “sorry I’m not coming in today, <cough, cough>” I’ve made a few tweaks to this for your delightful eyes instead.
It’s all about career change, doing something different, and getting the support you need. Enjoy.
No, I’m not Kyle Reese dropping out of the sky, naked, having been sent back in time by my mate John Connor to protect his unwitting mum from Arnie… and then inadvertently conceive him too.
But, I am calling from the future to make sure you’re taking the right actions and making the right decisions NOW to give you the best chances of living your best life.
Sat on the sofa, late at night, lights dimmed, dog curled round my thigh, listening to West End Girls quietly on my headphones because I don’t want my stereo blasting all over the house. Gotta love the 80s tunes.
Sometimes making big life decisions can feel a bit like this 👆
I’m wired. It’s been one of those weeks. No, not one of those, the other, good type.
The type where it’s felt great. Daft busy, but great.
It’s been crazy couple of weeks—I’ve been wall to wall and head to toe in quotations, proposals and delivery.
Fortunately I’ve not had many of those bad weeks for a long time. In fact I can’t remember having one for approaching 2 years1 since I left the whirlwind that was Amazon.
Back then, I was having some mental health issues, not for the first time in my then 44 years, brought on by work-related stress. It was pretty horrible.
But with support, counselling, some self prescribed art/creative therapy and sleep (lots of it, I lost countless days if not weeks through utter lethargy) I came through it and somehow managed to set up what became a successful business.
I kind of always expected things to work out OK. I swing wildly between hedonistic optimism and total pessimism, but I am fortunate that I received a lot of encouragement and positive reinforcement from my family growing up. Don’t get me wrong, like most I have massive imposter syndrome in many areas of my life, and have never considered myself particularly great at anything - adequate at best.
So what on earth was I doing going out on my own and setting up a business?
Some of my friends thought I was nuts (or brave) quitting jobs when they’ve made me unhappy—with nothing to go to—particularly with a mortgage, and then a family.
Gettodachoppaaah! 👆 Don’t live your life in fear of what might go wrong. What might be truly incredible?
Some find it incredible (and I’m hugely proud) that I’ve managed to carve some semblance of an income (at all) out of doing what I’m doing now—and taken all the risks to do so.
One, when we were at Alton Towers with his brother and cousin in the summer, said “hey Phil, tell ‘em what you’re doing for a living”. I said “I write peoples’ CVs”.
“Yeah that’s right! People actually PAY him hundreds of pounds to write their fucking CVs! And that’s his JOB!” - Dave.
Yeah, I know, crazy huh?
Reflecting on it all, it’s been a bit of a journey. I love the fact I can help people find their career mojo.
Whether it’s the CV that needs a proper overhaul, some confidence boosting interview practice or just some help chewing through some career options, it’s truly rewarding.
Working with people to help them understand their worth, see their benefit and look at the world slightly differently. I’ve discovered these are all the things I’m great at.
Don’t take my word for it, look at some of my reviews.
It’s utterly fulfilling and simply wonderful that people I don’t know come and work with me and then write this stuff afterwards. All these years I’ve been trying to find my thing. And now I have. (If you want/need some support, get in touch.)
So what am I saying?
I guess that bits of your life can be really shit, but they can become really amazing with the right inputs and support. For example, after I left Amazon I had loads of encouragement to get the CV writing going - ex colleagues, my professional network, family, my therapist…. and once a few clients wrote some testimonials…. well I was off. “What’s the worst that can happen?” I asked myself.
Since, those same people plus more have come out in support. Business guidance, writing support, amazing support that keeps my imposter syndrome at bay.
So, keep plugging away. Some questions for you to ponder:
What’s the one thing you’ve always wanted to do but found an excuse not to?
What single action would get you over that mental barrier?
Who in your network could provide you with the encouragement you need?
I’ll be back….
Phil
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Here’s some of my thoughts and quick wins from Linkedin. Take a look. There may be something there you can put in to action straight away:
Here’s something with some ideas for dealing with stress and depression. It truly helped me get back to being me.
Here’s something about making space and time to think. I did it once, and it was a revelation.
Here’s something about the difference between “fewer” and “less”. Important if you want to make less social faux pas.
Oh, and sharing’s caring, innit? Feel free to share this email with someone.
If you’re that someone and want to read more of my midnight ramblings, just subscribe! Even better, help support this free-to-air advice and guidance with a paid subscription. It’s like 2 coffees a month.
It’s now nearly 3 years. In fact, this time 3 years ago I was taking time out for mental health reasons. I was in a horrible place. But, I’m better now. Much better. If you’re not in a good place, talk to someone. Talk to me.