Career Change Success Story: How to Move Beyond the Devil That You Know

Change is hard. For most of us, no matter how much part of us wants to make a change, there’s another part that for whatever reason seems bent on staying stuck in the status quo. As a result, we procrastinate, convince ourselves it’s not even worth trying, or find other ways to stay with the devil that we know.

How can we overcome this tendency in order to move towards what we want more powerfully?

To answer that question, I’m excited to share with you the story of Jeff Siewert, a former client of mine who managed to move past his resistance to change and go from listless executive to impassioned entrepreneur in a relatively short period of time.

Jeff participated in my Pathfinders Group Coaching Program, which is currently enrolling, but he does a great job of identifying what exactly was key to his transformation so that even if you’re not interested in coaching right now, you can get an idea of what to look for from other sources to help you make a similar move.

Here’s Jeff’s story, in his own words:

How Things Were

“Two years ago I was at a crossroads and needed a career change—a life change—but I wasn’t sure how to go about it.

“I was coming off two years at my latest job. I had an executive title and my compensation was as good as it had been in years. I traveled often to New York City and had made two long international business trips. On paper things were good, but I couldn’t help thinking I was in a dissatisfying spot that I’d found myself in before.

“I knew I had the talent and skills to do my job and was performing successfully, but after some of the excitement of rebuilding and creating new improvements passed, I found myself listless and less than fully interested in what I was doing. When I was honest with myself, I realized that I’d come to that same moment of truth before.”

The Challenges

“In some ways I was lucky to have a catalyst for change. There was an upcoming company re-org that would have meant a retrenching and starting over of sorts. This would be a good time to transition to something new, something better. However, I didn’t know what that could be.

“Was I ready to forego the regular income I had now? What did I think I could do that was better? To quote the phrase, wasn’t it easier to stick with the devil I knew? Was I ready to deal with family and friends who questioned my sanity in making a late career change? Was it too late for me to make a change? How was I going to figure this out any better than I had previously?

“I joined Pathfinders Group Coaching after researching several career counseling services. The kicker for me is that I didn't want job placement advice or simply a list of potential corporate roles I should consider. I wanted answers regarding what types of paths I should be considering based on what my skills and talents are and for what activities I have real passion. Getting to those skills and passions first was more important than jumping to corporate business titles. I knew many of those types of corporate roles already, and the ambivalence I felt about them told me I needed to do some soul-searching work and be honest with myself about who I am and what’s important to me before jumping to solutions.

“I had inklings of some pursuits I might want to try. I decided I needed to be in a group setting, that saying things out loud to others would make my ideas more 'real'; my group members could hold me accountable. As important, they might make the connections and suggest the actions that I was too afraid to admit to myself.”

How He Did It

“Our group started off with some baseline inventories of our skills and interests. I’d taken some similar exercises in the past, but these were at work and were never going to drive a change from that work! I enjoyed getting into the Enneagram results and those of other tests. It was great to take these at face value and not try to fit them into preconceived slots.

“As we all talked through our stories and baseline assessments, I was comforted to realize that I wasn’t the only one feeling blasé, unsatisfied, or disconnected about where I was going. We were all in that same boat. It was great that we had this safe environment in which to open up.

“The exercises we did each week were never onerous, but they did take effort to dig within myself to write what I really felt rather than what I thought I was supposed to write. Over a few weeks talking about “Purpose,” we did a Self Reflection essay, wrote a Personal Mission Statement for our future work, and created a Power. Passion, and Purpose diagram. These were powerful exercises that I still refer to today. I’ve shared my Power, Passion, and Purpose diagram with others even recently.

“However, even with our own homework pointing out new options to consider, we can be our own worst enemies, and we spent some time addressing our 'Inner Critics,' those voices that tell us why we cannot do the possible steps we outlined.

“A really valuable Pathfinders exercise is that each of us got to have a 'Mastermind Session' in which a person could self-direct a meeting to solicit help and input from others on our progress in turning our ideas into action and results. I had a list of passions and strengths and a tentative idea of groups I might serve. Still, I had trouble taking my ideas and giving form to real options.

“My teammates very quickly told me, 'You’ve been telling us of your passion for music. You have these strengths and interests in communicating and creating. Why aren’t you writing some kind of music blog?' They helped turn on the lightbulb I’d been shuffling to the back of my mind. Before my session was even up, my mind was flooded with ideas.”

From Idea Into Action

“I immediately started brainstorming ideas – strategic ones like what would be my vision and mission, and tactical ones like what distinguishing content and web presence should I consider. A name and a logo came to me and I began trademarking and incorporation steps as Atlanta Music Grapevine [AMGV]. Grapevine was to be a news, information, and social site, and eventually a larger Grapevine Enterprises LLC would offer additional services to artists, venues, and music businesses.

“I was well on my way when I started to uncover similar competitors I had previously missed. I wanted to launch with a big bang. I was interviewing web developers to design a super-charged site. Admittedly, seeing others doing some of what I wanted to and being far ahead of me left me feeling discouraged. I had shopped around the idea with people I knew in music and they had been supportive, but my Inner Critic was getting to me again.

“I then heard of other people about to start a similar music magazine. I got fired up and decided that I needed to start. I couldn’t let 'best get in the way of better.' I needed to head off any further competition. Bigger sites were heavily outsourcing to freelancers, but I still wanted some control and consistency over the 'voice' and style of the magazine. I decided to customize my own website theme, and read all I could on web formatting. I would launch now and add all the features on my wish list later as I could. We put out our first story the first week of June.

“As Atlanta has nearly doubled in size in twenty years, it's become home to many talented musicians of all genres, venues that offer music entertainment, and music businesses that make music happen. Atlanta Music Grapevine focuses on Atlanta, not on national acts that play Atlanta. We cover a broad geography, as there is great music happening in the suburbs across the metro area, just as there is inside city entertainment districts. We've featured folk singers, jam-band style rock bands, hard rock music promoters, jazz vocalists, and more. We want Atlantans to know the talent we have in our backyards. We're telling the stories of venue owners who create spaces where people can go see live music. We tell the stories of luthiers, guitar pedal builders, producers, and others with music businesses.”

How Things Are Now

“Reaction from the Atlanta music community and fans of music has been very positive and supportive. I think one reason for this is that AMGV aims to tell the stories of the people behind the music. Everyone has an interesting story to share. I think the stories help make real the people in bands, those at music venues, or those managing behind the scenes. Knowing about the people makes connecting to the music a greater interest. In our short-attention span world, AMGV tends to write longer stories that emerge from interviews that are often two hours long.

“I have not yet begun to monetize the site, as the focus has been on establishing credibility. Yes, I know that it is important. Money, in fact, is a needed part of the change I wanted to make. However, people who like what I'm trying to do are sending me business ideas and offering to make introductions for me.

“Two lessons from Pathfinders come to me as I worry about finances. One I heard during Pathfinders is that if do what you're passionate about, the money would follow. I can't tell you how many other people tell me that same thing as I share what I'm doing with Atlanta Music Grapevine. Another lesson is that when you do something you enjoy, you have more energy, time doesn't creep along sluggishly, and you find yourself absorbed in what you’re doing.

“While these ideas and benefits sound obvious enough, getting from where you are to where you want to be, doing the work to honestly write about your likes and strengths, and admitting to and working with your Inner Critic fears, are not as obvious when trying to do it on your own. Pathfinders gave me a needed structured approach, meaningful exercises, a sounding board, a safe environment, Meredith’s non-judgmental, encouraging coaching, and the support of team members whom I could trust.

“I revisit my Pathfinders homework from time to time and am reminded that while my current endeavors are so far distant from the type of work I did for many years, what I’m doing now is a better, truer version of what I can do. I’m thankful I learned through my Pathfinders experience that it’s never too late to make a positive change.” 

 Learn more about Jeff’s business (and Atlanta’s music scene) here: Atlanta Music Grapevine: Cool Town. Cool Tunes. 

 Find Help to Find Your Own Calling

Pathfinders Group Coaching is still open for enrollment (but won’t be much longer).

Designed to help you identify the type of work you want to do in the world and start actually doing it, Pathfinders walks you through a unique process that helps you:

• Clarify your superpowers, passion, and purpose through creative exercises and engaging discussion;
• Learn how to tap into your somatic (or body) intelligence, one of the most powerful and underused resources for making wise decisions; and
• Develop tools for working with anxiety, fear, self doubt, overthinking, procrastination, and other common challenges.

If this sounds good to you, I’d love to talk. Just click here to fill out a short, no-obligation application. If it sounds like we might be a good fit, we’ll set up a brief, complimentary call to go over your needs, discuss the details of the program, and find out if Pathfinders Group Coaching is for you.

Meredith Walters is a certified career coach who loves to help people who are still unsure what they’re meant to do in the world find their calling, forge their own path, and discover the hero within. Click here to get a free guide with 50 practical ideas, resources, and exercises to help you find your calling without losing your mind (or your shirt).