Is This The Career You Really Want?

September 24, 2009
Interview with Rick Smith author of The Leap: How 3 Simple Changes Can Propel Your Career from Good to Great

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Mike Carruthers:
When you look at your career and where that’s headed, have you ever asked yourself…

Rick Smith, author of the book The Leap says exploring new careers doesn’t have to be scary - you don’t have to take big risks and dive in.

It’s really a matter of -"can you identify new opportunities while safely figuring out, "Am I good at it? Do I really like it and is there a real opportunity?

An example of this is the executive who gets frustrated with corporate life and throws it all away to start a Bed and Breakfast.

And then they wake up one day and they’re like, " I actually hate maintenance, I hate housekeeping and I hate customer service but I love the idea of owning a bed and breakfast in the mountains."  That same thing applies in so many areas where in that scenario there’s a lot of ways to talk to people who have done it. You can volunteer and go work in a Bed and Breakfast for a weekend  - all without ever leaving your job.

This is very often how truly successful people find their right career.

In my studies of Bill Gates or Richard Branson (sort of these huge entrepreneurial lone wolf type) when you look at when they started their businesses it took a process of about 2 years or more to explore the opportunity – “Am I good at it? Am I passionate?” That’s when I actually step in the new direction.
 

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here.