20 quick ideas to help with a career change

Future Work/Life?is my newsletter in which I explore ideas focused on the future of work and how to design legendary careers.If you'd prefer to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday, join thousands of others who are subscribed on?Substack (check out the details in my profile).

It’s been an unusual few weeks, hence why this newsletter has not been delivered to the usual schedule. Normal service will resume to normal this Thursday, but before then, here’s one last edition sharing what you can expect if you buy my new bestselling book Work/Life Flywheel, which one Amazon reviewer has described as:

“A practical guide full of rich examples and exercises to help you rethink how to shape your career.”

You can find an order link in the comments below. And if you've already read it, please leave a review!

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My book Work/Life Flywheel features insights from 100s of top thought leaders.

I’ve picked out twenty of my favourites focused on the six parts of the Work/Life Flywheel model: Mindset, Creativity, Experimentation, Community, Learning and Breakthroughs.

1. Want to make a change but scared to take the plunge? Being bold in your career is one of people’s biggest regrets. Daniel Pink gives killer insights into why now’s the time to take action, and why the Work/Life Flywheel is the “system you need to make bold changes in your career.”
2. Feel like you deserve more luck? With the right approach, you can cultivate serendipity in your career. Christian Busch breaks down how you open yourself up to exciting new opportunities by using hook strategies and a proactive mindset.
3. Struggling to find your purpose? You may be overthinking it. The solution? Pay attention to your curiosity. What Dorie Clark calls ‘optimising for interesting.’ Focus on the things you choose to spend time doing.
4. What’s the secret to hitting your goals? As Emily Balcetis has discovered in her NYU lab, it’s materialising them. That means literally visualising your objective and combining this with ‘foreshadowing failure’. Focusing on the finish line + knowing what could go wrong = success.
5. Do you need to know the exact steps you’ll take in order to achieve your biggest goals? As Damian Hughes and Jake Humphrey often say: “Be clear about where you’re going but flexible about you get there.” And thanks for writing my Foreword, Damian!
6. We live in an era of personalisation. How can we leverage this in our careers? Dror Poleg explains how the internet enables each of us (but not all of us) to become superstars: "The internet matching machine is fueled by content."
7. You’ve been told to find a niche but don’t believe you can monetise it. That’s what most people think. We underestimate the potential market. But you can take advantage of an idea Derek Thompson calls ‘The Internet is Tokyo” – in Tokyo there’s a shop for every niche taste!
8. You’ve decided to share your ideas so how do you start? It’s your biggest obstacle, but that’s where Nicolas Cole ???? and Dickie Bush ?? come in. Cole shares lessons to get you started & design a niche - using your writing habit as the spark to make big changes in your career.
9. Newsletters are great for building authority, but as Hung Lee shared, you have to be patient and stick with them. That requires a genuine passion for the work and developing depth of knowledge. Just like those "weird dudes" who hang out at the back of craft beer places!
10. There’s a template for success, right? Wrong! As Christopher Lochhead ???????????? wisely explains: “Most of us are tricked into believing that achieving personal and professional success means fitting in. What it really means is the courage to stand out.”
11. Technology is revolutionising work but certain human characteristics will remain a differentiator. Critical thinking, understanding context, and most important of all: CREATIVITY. In the book, Lynda Gratton explains why this matters to your evolving multi-stage life.
12. As Rory Sutherland shares creativity shows up everywhere: "I've got some bad news and some good news," the pilot said "BAD: Another aircraft's blocking our arrival gate so it'll have to be a bus. GOOD: The bus will drive you to passport control so you won't have to walk far with your bags."
13. Can you maintain a sense of connection with others if you go it alone in your career? Bruce Daisley highlights the importance of Simcha (shared joy) in our work. The good news is that this is possible if you reimagine what building community means on and offline.
14. Can you combine more independence with working in a great team? That’s the beauty of new online communities and collaboration platforms. As Stephanie Nadi Olson and We Are Rosie have shown, Flexibility + Connection +Expertise = High-Performing Teams.
15. Why should you always follow your curiosity? Tim Harford references Julia Galef’s Soldier Mindset idea because curiosity allows you the opportunity to focus on thinking and talking about ideas. By definition, this gives you the ambition to learn, discover more and to grow.
16. An undervalued skill to help pivot career? Autodidacticism. Justin Welsh breaks down why the ability (and desire) to teach yourself if vital. Formal learning is great, but what YOU do alone is the difference between ordinary and legendary.
17. How should you judge the success of your future career choices? As Cath Bishop shared, reframing what winning and success mean is vital. This means focusing on work that gives you purpose and makes you feel like you’re making progress.
18. The secret to sustaining a healthy relationship with your work? As Jennifer Moss loving your job isn’t enough – burnout affects these people too. So introduce downtime into your schedule AND incorporate moments for rest and reflection.
19. How can you achieve long-term peak performance? Think like an elite athlete and build the right pacing into your work/life. Alex Hutchinson ’s work on rest and recovery demonstrates how to positively influence our cognition.
20. The biggest influence on your sense of fulfilment in your work? Progress. Tracking your ‘wins’ gives you a positive boost and creates momentum. Andy Ayim MBE Ayim shares how micro-journaling has powered his work/life.

Are you thinking of making changes in your career - big or small? Then you might enjoy Work/Life Flywheel.

Annie Auerbach, author of FLEX, Reinventing Work for a Smarter and Happier Life, described it as a book that will:

“Help us all navigate a better way to work and live.”