Lessons Learnt from Changing Careers and Two Decades as a Business Owner
The other day I had an epiphany… Unbelievably, it’s almost 20 years ago I started my business. But what initially triggered my thinking about becoming my own boss and what are some of my key lessons learnt from changing careers and two decades as a business owner? I had almost forgotten. Then I had this sudden recollection of the day I had the first gem of a business idea [...]
Winning Through Redundancy & Lay-Offs-Six Steps to Navigate Your Way to a Brighter Future
This is a repurposed blog from the original I wrote during the last economic downturn about 'winning through redundancy' but it's arguably even more relevant than ever right now. Although the employment market is picking up, as a result of the pandemic, organisational restructuring resulting in redundancies/lay-offs are still on the agenda and are likely to continue for some while yet, especially when furloughs end, creating more uncertainty. What [...]
What have you done this decade to make you feel proud
What have you done this decade to make you feel proud? It only seems like a blink of an eye and not only have we seen the end of 2019 and the start of a new year but 2020 is also the start of a new decade. Thinking about the new decade prompted some interesting family conversations and reflection about the last 10 years. There was much reminiscing, pondering [...]
Monday Moan day!
Monday Moan Day! Now the main holiday season is almost over and it’s back to work, it begs the question; do you love or loathe Mondays? Is it Monday moan day? Does the thought of Monday fill you a sense of ‘sadness’? Is this because your weekend is over and that you now have to work for another five days until you get your next two days off? Typically, this [...]
Are you holding yourself back by not ‘letting go’ of conditioned thinking?
Are you holding yourself back by not ‘letting go’ of conditioned thinking? “There were two monks walking along, an older monk and a young monk. They came to a shallow river, and there was a lady there who demanded that one of them should carry her across the river. So the older monk carried her across, and the two monks continued walking. At the end of the day they [...]
Are you living on ‘Someday Island’?
Are you living on ‘Someday Island’? For many people it’s vacation time. That time of year when you pack up and head out for a week or 2 to forget about work and enjoy yourself. It might be your annual much anticipated family holiday, a week or two just chilling out or time for a real adventure. I Don’t Like Monday’s! After a much-needed break, you come back feeling [...]
Are you stuck in the Velvet Rut?
What is the Velvet Rut? If you have never heard this expression before, I'm sure you are not alone. I hadn't until one of my clients coined the phrase, several years ago. Maybe, like you, I was intrigued and sought a definition. So, let's now look at the fascinating conundrum of the 'Velvet Rut'. My client used the 'Velvet Rut' as a wonderful metaphor to exemplify how they were [...]
Portfolio Careers Masterclass
How Would You Like a Career Based on Your Passions? Joseph Campbell (1904 – 1987) was a foremost US mythologist, writer and lecturer. He is remembered for some wonderful quotes – here are two in particular: Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures Inspirational words I'm sure you [...]
How happy are you in your job or career?
Have You Set Your Career Goals for 2020? With every new year comes new challenges, reflections from the previous year, resulting 'resolutions' that are rarely followed through and maybe a number of key questions about what the future holds. So, how happy are you in your job or career? Probably, like most people, you haven't given this much thought and have instead just stumbled blindly into yet another year. [...]
What Are The 3 Biggest Mistakes People Make Before Sending Out Their CV?
What Are The 3 Biggest Mistakes People Make Before Sending Out Their CV? So, the time has come when you either need to look for a new job, due to redundancy or you decide the time is right for a fresh challenge or a change of career. What is your first step? Do you immediately dust off your CV, consider updating it, adding relevant new information, then fire it [...]
How Would You Like to Transform People’s Careers & Lives?
How Would You Like to Transform People's Careers & Lives? As a firm believer in the importance of doing work you love, I am passionate about the work I do as a 'helping professional' and the positive impact I can make to people's careers and lives. This my mantra and the code I live by: You spend more waking hours at work than any other activity. Life is too [...]
Why Being Unhappy in Your Job or Career Impacts on your Mental Health and Well-being
Why Being Unhappy in Your Job or Career Impacts on your Mental Health and Well-being Research consistently shows that at least 1 in 2 people are unhappy and unfulfilled in their jobs or careers. This sobering statistic is often banded around in the media in the UK and US. It means that either you are affected personally, or you know people who are and we all do, don’t we? [...]
A Moving Case Study – From ‘Zero’ Back to ‘Hero’
The Power of Coaching - Moving from 'Zero' Back to 'Hero' Why Do I Love the Work I Do? Quite simply because there is no better feeling and personal reward than playing a significant role in helping to transform the lives and careers of other people! Everybody loves an underdog and we all love to watch movies and read stories of talented people who go from 'hero to zero,' [...]
Career Rethink
Career of Passion? Joseph Campbell (1904 – 1987) was a foremost US mythologist, writer and lecturer. He is remembered for some wonderful quotes – here are two in particular: “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” “Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures” In the first chapter of my Portfolio Careers book, you will be encouraged [...]
Personal Development Inspiration for 2018!
If you are seeking inspiration to make 2018 one of the best years of your life, there are a wealth of career and personal development books, audio books and DVDs to choose from. So, how do you know what personal development resources are the best for you? Clearly, we all have different tastes and it depends on what goal/s you are looking to achieve. Maybe you want to unlock and [...]
Legacy – Why it’s Key to Your Career
Why understanding your career legacy is so important I recently attended a funeral where I was quickly thinking about legacy. Firstly I was amazed by the numbers of people crowding into the Chapel, coming to pay their respects to a loved one, with standing room only. Like most people there, I was also genuinely touched by the wonderful send-off, especially the tender and vibrant words of the Celebrant’s eulogy. Rather [...]
Fulfil Your True Potential
What is your purpose in life? Many people believe you are on this planet to fulfil your true potential to become the best person you can possibly be. Even if you don’t subscribe to such a belief, just thinking about it certainly has an uplifting effect. The dust has well and truly settled on Wimbledon for another year, where we treated to some great tennis but equally some remarkable upsets [...]
Changing Careers-Test the water
Are You Thinking About Changing Careers? Maybe you have some ideas, you have worked through some options yourself or you are working with a professional Career Coach to help achieve the clarity you are seeking? Either way, it can be daunting to jump ship, straight from one job or career into something completely different, as how do you know if it right for you? Exploring Opportunities - The Power of [...]
Work for Passion, Pleasure, Profit
Joseph Campbell (1904 – 1987) was a foremost US mythologist, writer and lecturer. He is remembered for some wonderful quotes – here are two in particular: “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” “Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures" Why Passion, Pleasure, Profit? Having interviewed over 20 portfolio careerists and elicited feedback from many others around [...]
Is it time to change your working lifestyle?
Portfolio Careers - How to Work for Passion, Pleasure & Profit! A Portfolio Career could be the answer - If so what is a Portfolio Career ? Let’s start with a definition. If you search on the internet, you will come across various definitions of a portfolio career. However, I have found few that really answer the question in a way that sits comfortably with me. They either [...]
Is it time to re-evaluate your Career?
Stock Take - What Is Important To You In Your Career & Life & WHY? In our fast moving world and lives, most of us rarely stop and reflect. Instead we tend to stumble through life. Does this sound familiar? However, if you are looking to change career, you now have a great opportunity to take stock, put some new stakes in the ground and re-evaluate some key areas of [...]
Values-What Gets You Out Of Bed Each Day?
No not that old joke about your alarm clock or Smartphone! If you have read any of my books or blogs or already done some 'stock taking' of your own, you might well be starting to re-evaluate your current career situation. Digging deeper, will help to consider some of your key motivators and drivers, as this will give you even more powerful information to help you re-evaluate what is important to [...]
Letting Go and Looking Forward
Letting Go and Looking Forward - To Change You Must First Change People often ask me 'what do you mean by letting go and what would I need to let go of?' This great quote from Deepak Chopra sums it up perfectly for me: In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” I spend much time coaching clients to [...]
Have You Reached A Career Crossroads?
Can you imagine how would it feel to wake up each Monday morning in the knowledge that you have an exciting and enjoyable week ahead, doing work you love? Wouldn’t that be just great? Most People are Unfulfilled in Their Jobs The sobering statistics are that research consistently shows 1 in 2 people is in the ‘wrong job’ and 2 out of 3 are unfulfilled in their jobs. Therefore millions [...]
Don’t let FEAR hold back your career!
Don't Let FEAR Hold Back Your Career! Most common FEARS Some recent experiences with new clients, all in different situations, have got me thinking again about how FEAR can hold you back from achieving success or key goals in your career and life. We all have fears, don't we, as it is part of human nature? As a coach, the most common fears that impact on your personal career [...]
Knowing when to walk away
Knowing When to Walk Away and Why I first wrote this blog several years ago, well before the Covid pandemic and it attracted much interest. However, I felt compelled to re-post and tweak it, following a spate of unexpected resignations from a number of my clients. This again was a few years pre pandemic.I first wrote this blog several years ago, well before the Covid pandemic and it attracted [...]
Career Change in the New Year
Time for a career change? For many people the new year is a time for thinking about changing jobs or career. Most people are comfortable thinking about changing to a similar job. This might be to progress your career and move up the career ladder, earn more money, work for a competitor or perceived better company, work more locally to have less travelling time and cost etc. This isn't really [...]
Career Success – Navigate Your Way
How do you ever find your way to somewhere you don’t know how to get to? In life, we are used to using maps to get our bearings and follow directions. In the 21st century digital age, Smartphones come supplied with maps and a sat nav facility, which makes it easy for us. This is fine if you are in your car or walking but what happens when you are [...]
Job Interviews – How to Win
Job interviews come in all shapes and sizes in today's 21st century digital age. It wasn't that long ago that the telephone interview was considered to be an innovative new and time saving approach. They are now commonplace and mainly for screening out prospective candidates. Nowadays job interviews over Video meetings using Zoom, Teams or Skype have rapidly replaced the telephone interview and become the norm during the Covid [...]
Are You Aware of Your Career Values And Needs?
How Important is it to do work you love? Confucius, Chinese Teacher, Editor, Politician, and Philosopher (BC 551-BC 479) says “Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life” What a wonderful fulfilling statement. You may have never considered how important it is to love what you do. By re-evaluating what is important to you in your career and life and why, you have [...]
Fulfilling Life-titanium transforms
Leading a fulfilling life One year on from having a full hip replacement (with titanium implants) I am grateful for making a full recovery, which many people have said is ‘remarkable and inspirational’ However, like overcoming any adversity or major change in your life, it has been an emotional roller coaster of a journey. Therefore it is a good time to reflect and share my learning to benefit others. This [...]
Developing Winning Mindset
Do you FEAR failure? No doubt you have said yes to this question, as most of us don’t like to fail at anything, do we? However, the reality is many successful people fail at some time in their lives, don’t they? Consider Richard Branson, Gary Barlow and Andy Murray. What do they all have in common? They have all experienced great successes but also many ‘failures’ e.g. a business venture that [...]
Networking
As a business owner how do you go about your day? Do you let your day run you or do you take control of your day by setting your intent and clear goals to achieve specific objectives, making things happen for you and your business? Networking is key to any small business. It is important to be getting out there, constantly meeting new people and making new connections. You never [...]
Developing Your Career – What Are The Benefits?
What are the benefits of developing your career? A simple answer would be you are helping to unlock and fulfil your true potential, which surely must be the aim for most people in life, don't you think? Also by going through the process and seeing what you have to offer then achieving your goal, just think what this will do for your confidence and self-esteem? What are your options for [...]
Skills, Attributes or Attitude?
What are more important......Skills, attributes or attitude? What will determine whether you win your next job, promotion, career change or contract you were hoping for? Will it be because you have the right skills, attributes or your attitude? What factors will play a major part in your success? Skills are undeniably a vital ingredient for success in life and the more specific or the more transferable the better. For some specialist, technical and clinical jobs, having [...]
Six Steps to Win Through Career Crossroads
Why are you at career crossroads? Are you ‘lost in your job’, stuck in a rut, not achieving your potential, maybe a square peg in a round hole? Or are you at a career crossroads because you have lost your job through redundancy and are unsure how to move forward? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Research on job happiness invariably shows that around 1 in 2 people are ‘in [...]
What is the meaning of Winning?
Having been hooked on the recent World Athletics Championships, it has brought new thinking to some of my previous blogs and posts about what ‘winning or ‘winning through’ means. […]
Taking Back Control!
Once upon a time…… […]
Finding Your Happy Place!
Have You Forgotten Your Happy Place? “So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!” Peter Pan Cast your mind back to the delightful story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up……. […]
Work-Life Blend – What’s Your Favourite Blend?
What’s your Favourite Blend? How many times have you heard this cliché -‘work-life balance’? It seems that all manner of professionals use this term to describe what you can aspire to achieve in your life. However… […]
I Don’t Like Mondays but can I?
Learn to Love Mondays! Do you love or loathe Mondays? Does the thought of Monday fill you a sense of ‘sadness’? Is this because your weekend is over and that you now have to work for another five days until you get your next two days off? Typically, this Monday, ‘moan day’ feeling hits many people within the working population, across the globe. For some it’s almost an innate fear [...]
Have you Outgrown Your Past?
Are you letting your past still dictate your future? How great would it be to travel in a time machine? Imagine being able to ‘jump’ into your own future. Based on where you are at right now consider for a moment what you and your life or career will look like when you ‘travel’ ahead two years. What do you see? Are you rewarded with strong inner feelings of happiness, [...]
The 100k Mindset
Changing the 100k Mindset No, I don’t mean, you should change the way you think about earning 100k, if that is a goal you wish to aspire to. There is nothing wrong with this if it is right for you for all the right reasons. What I do mean is to change your thinking around the work you do to ensure you lead a happy and fulfilling life. Why? Because [...]
Are You Prepared to Take Your Career ‘Off Piste’?
Are you still in search of a linear career path? As you think about your career, it is a good idea to look at the path you are currently travelling on. Is your path similar to the well-used ski run? Have you taken a ‘traditional’ or safe route? Along your journey have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and chosen another way? A linear career path is just [...]
Going for Gold?
There’s gold on this little isle, there is. And plenty of it too! Secured by a select few, these winners of Olympic and Para Olympic gold set their sights high, committed to many hours of hard work, and reached the pinnacle of their career to date. What an incredible accolade of success for each one of the recent GB gold medal winners! Are you inspired by the gold rush to [...]
Is Letting Go So Hard to Do?
Is Letting Go So Hard to Do? Imagine yourself wearing a parachute inside a light aircraft at 10,000 feet above the earth. You are just one step away from jumping out but one of your hands holds tight to the edge of the doorway. You are just one step away from having to let go and plunge (safely) toward terra firma. Are you thinking: “Do I need to jump? Isn’t [...]
Welcome
Welcome to my personal website and blog for Steve Preston The Career Catalyst ®. Life is too short to be unhappy. Research consistently shows that around one in two people are in the wrong job and two out of three are unfulfilled in their work. On the basis we spend more of our waking hours at work than in any other activity, my mantra is why be unhappy as you [...]
