How is your career like Hallmark Christmas movies?

Love them or hate them, like pumpkin spice, it's time for the Hallmark Christmas movies to reappear. In fact, they've been back 24 hours a day for over a week. The Hallmark Channel often hovers in the top 20 cable networks throughout the year, but when November rolls around, the network typically vaults to Number One, with 80 to 100 million views of it's holiday movies.

The cast for these movies is fairly stable, and production costs are relatively low, making the genre very profitable for the network. People love their cheesy, predictable Hallmark Christmas movies.

Hallmark Christmas movies follow a very predictable, specific format. They are often set in a small town, have a light-hearted romance, a strong community spirit, and an abundance of Christmas traditions. There is usually cookie decorating, snowman making/snowball fights, holiday parties, a holiday festival, and tree-lighting ceremonies are often part of these movies.

People love them because of their predictability, fun nature, and happy ending with closure.

But how is your career like Hallmark Christmas movies?

First, in a sense "breaking the fourth wall" at the macro level, your career is like Hallmark Christmas movies in that in order to be successful, you need a plan. You need a formula for success. In Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill introduces the concept of a "drifter", which is essentially what it sounds like - someone who drifts through life with no direction and no plans. In your career, you need a predictable plan and goals to accomplish, or you will perpetually be a drifter, which is definitely not a good thing. Most people put more time and effort into planning their weekends or their vacations than they do their careers and their next steps in their careers, and that's where we can all take a cue from Hallmark Christmas movies.

We all have certain gifts and areas where we excel, and we all have professional backgrounds that are unique to each one of us. Leverage those assets and form a plan for YOUR success, like a Hallmark Christmas movie!

Inside the movies themselves, one thing that is almost always present in a Hallmark Christmas movie is a "big misunderstanding moment". Usually, the lead role, a young professional female, overhears or misunderstands something her love interest, a young, attractive, local male, says to a third party. The misunderstanding happens innocently enough, is taken out of context, and results in the lead role often leaving the small town or exiting before getting a full explanation. Don't worry though, the "big misunderstanding moment" is always corrected by the end of the movie!

Applying the "big misunderstanding moment" to your career can be tricky. We all have to act on limited information in our careers, and sometimes, that information isn't completely accurate. There are people in your career who will "have your back", those who will speak your name in a room full of opportunities. There are also people who have not the best of intentions. Effective communication, either way, is critical in the success of your career, and, just like those Hallmark Christmas movies, if you'll be bold and have conversations, sometimes difficult ones, early, you'll avoid a lot of possible pain for yourself.

Finally, one thing that the lead role also typically has in a Hallmark Christmas movie is an a-ha moment. There are people who cross the path of these characters to help them grow and see a perspective they didn't have before, something they critically needed to grow.

Always have an open mind, always learn, and always try to grow.

I hope this take on Hallmark Christmas movies will get you thinking, and maybe you'll have your own a-ha moment the next time you're watching one. I know I often do!

In an a-ha moment of my own, I've been open to the universe letting me know that I can and should be helping you thrive in your career. To serve you, I’ve created my proprietary REBELIEVE career system that will give you a path to maximum career satisfaction and success.?

If you’d like, let’s hop on a quick 15 minute call together to see if this process is right for you.

Just book a time to chat that works for you:?https://calendly.com/michaelcjonesmba/15-minute-consult

During that call, we’ll look at how you could return to or get to a place where you truly love your career, earn what you’re worth, and are thrilled about your future. You’ll also learn what your best next steps would be if you decide to pursue this strategy.

Spots are limited, and there’s zero obligation to work with me, but if we do end up being a fit, I’ll invite you to become a private client of mine and we can work together to help you thrive in your career.?

I look forward to speaking with you, and I believe in you!