#31: How to do something for YOU
if you wanna be starting somethin'*
A year and 27,667 words ago, I started writing something called “The Jobs List”.
You might remember it.
The first one featured an enduring line from The Terminator franchise.
No.
Not “I’ll be back”, “Did you call moi a dipshit?”, or “I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle”, but….
“Come with me if you want to live”.
I started writing it at a time when 2 years into running my CV writing business, I felt the need to scratch one of my many creative itches. Sure, I was enjoying the near-daily writing on LinkedIn, but I thought I’d enjoy pulling together something long-form.
I didn’t know what I was going to write about.
But that day, my wandering mind led me in to a corner where The Terminator was playing. And the line struck me as quite poignant.
Now, bear with me as I get all philosophical for a second.
But there’s living (day to day) and living - that is, really getting the best out of your time and existence, pushing yourself through boundaries to achieve things you’d not thought possible before.
And I needed that.
I needed to live.
And I recognised my audience (sounds a bit grand, sorry) probably needed to too.
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That scene in The Terminator. Sarah Connor doesn’t quite know she’s in mortal danger, or why. She senses something’s up, and when Kyle Reese slides in to protect her at any cost - well suddenly her life, as she knew it, ended.
A whole new one started.
Sure, it was the start of a life’s work to protect the earth and all it’s inhabitants and bear a child who would lead the resistance, but she didn’t yet know that.
And, ratcheting down the metaphor for a second, I didn’t quite know where writing that first email/article would take me, either.
I knew I wanted to write to create, and to share valuable guidance and ideas to help people make a gear shift in their careers, but that was about it.
So, off I went. I decided I’d write once a fortnight. I’d seen others do weekly emails, but I didn’t think there was a need for that and besides I had other stuff to do too. Fortnightly felt broadly manageable.
What would I write about next time? No idea. It’ll come to me, I thought.
And sure enough, it did. Sometimes more frequently than once a fortnight. When that happened, I’d open up my Substack page (it’s free to do this stuff) and start writing. I try not to over think it.
So now, my inspiration continues to come from the same places as that first post.
Pop culture.
The films, TV shows, music, and experiences of my youth. Which is effectively the 70s, 80s and 90s. I pick up a line, a lyric, or a memory, and tenuously carve a narrative into it to help job seekers.
Or at least that USED to be the focus.
So that’s not to say I won’t continue to write about how to get a new job - that’ll always be there. I’ll still be making loose reference to pop culture (*like check the sub heading, right? It’s a bit more subtle than normal, I’ll grant you, but I like it. I’ve just asked Alexa to play the song. It’s still brilliant).
More and more I find myself straying into areas like personal performance and whole career support. So I’ll be writing about that too.
About how you can just “be better” and more aware of what you’re doing.
And CV writing, interview support and all that great stuff is still a huge piece of bread and butter, but I know I can do more and I’m doing it already.
Just like I’ve had support from quite an enviable network of coaches, former colleagues and specialists, all of which have encouraged me to do more, charge more, value myself more… etc… I’m sharing my time with those who need it to make dramatic steps forward. Because IT WORKS.
I’ve billed 50% more so far this year than this time last year, all because of how this help has made me feel, and the confidence it’s given me to just go for it.
I’m working with clients on this right now. I’m due to go an see one of them tomorrow and spend the day observing him in his work place. This chap’s new to the board of a big old company. I’m helping him navigate the culture and am acting as his personal sounding board. In just 4 sessions he’s making massive in roads to his relationships with his colleagues, getting his feet under the table, and is standing out for the right reasons.
I’m working with a senior guy in the world of management consulting who has had an extended amount off time of work following a pretty serious breakdown. I’m helping him get back on the horse, providing the direction and career support to keep making small steps.
There’s a chap who came to me who said he wanted to go freelancing. I asked him the timeframe. I told him 5 years was too long. So I’m working with him for at least the next 12 months, twice a month, to help him make it happen significantly quicker.
So just as what I do is evolving (and we all must evolve, lest we get stale) this missive is also evolving.
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So what used to be called The Jobs List is now called A Sterne Word.
As frankly, I couldn’t avoid the pun, and my copywriter buddy Jo Watson couldn’t either. Hi Jo! yes, this is a name check.
What can you learn from this?
(My regular readers will know there’s always a lesson or two).
Well, several things.
Don’t stand still or get too comfortable.
If you get an itch, find a way to scratch it.
Get help. Sharing your goal or ideas with an independent person and you’ll be amazed where you can go.
Be consistent. I literally didn’t write 27667 words (or now 28,639) over night.
Start that thing. Just fucking start. Don’t overthink it.
Anyway, I’m off into the loft to get my gear out for my snowboarding trip next week. I’m fully expecting to need something new that I can’t possibly get delivered by Saturday.
So wish me luck.
Phil
In the socials….
Here’s one about navigating the culture of a new firm
Here’s one about reframing a big problem into a big success
and here’s one about nailing interviews
I support senior people make the career steps that fulfil their personal and career goals.
I help remove doubt, rebuild confidence, and give them the tools they need to take ownership of their careers.
If that sounds like something you would benefit from, book a discovery call with me.