A Five Step process to determining work that inspires you, and how to overcome the fear that stops us from going for it.

1. Own your
Career Path
Take control of your working future.
Today

2. Some people know what they want in their
career, and have the opportunity to make it
happen.

3. Many people are uncomfortable
admitting that something needs to
change.
This presentation is for them.

4. What holds people back from trying to
make a change at work?
I asked friends, and here were some of
the answers I received:

5. “There is a fear of being viewed as "needy"
and that translating into being a less
valuable member of the team, or not as
hard of a worker. There is still a perception
that asking for anything makes you a
demanding employee who will get passed
over for advancement in favour of a more
"dedicated" worker.”

6. “My biggest fear is rocking the boat and "being
fired"... I really like working with clients and I’m
scared I’ll get marked as a boat rocker if I bring up
issues with my boss... I feel like I can put up with the
shitty stuff because the idea of being an office
outcast is of greater concern. I don't want my boss
to think I’m a trouble maker in case it impacts my
chances of getting a good reference in the future.”

7. Change Feels Risky

8. Common issues that prevent people from
trying to make change happen:
•Inertia
•Uncertainty
•Negative mindsets
•Fear

9. Inertia

10. “I could try, but it will be a lot of work”
Sometimes, it feels easier to not do
anything

11. When I ask myself, “who are the happiest
people on the planet?” my answer is,
“Those who can’t wait to wake up in the
morning to get back to what they were
doing the day before.”
-James Cronin, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, 1980

12. Connecting your goals with bigger
ambitions and purpose in your life will help
overcome inertia

13. Uncertainty

14. “I could make a change, but
I don’t know what I really
want”

15. “Happiness depends on one being
exactly fitted to the nature of one’s
work”
-Alexis Carrel

16. Negative MindsetS

17. “I’m not good enough.”
“It’s too hard to achieve what I want.”
“This is for other people, but not me.”
“I could never be as good as...”
“With my circumstances, I could never...”

18. A human being is never
what he is but the self
he seeks.
-Octavio Paz

19. Tools from Positive Psychology like training
your “PQ” (see www.PositiveIntelligence.com),
and gratitude are tools that will help shift
mindset challenges.
Humor and play are also valuable.

20. FEAR

21. “My family need me to work.
I have bills to pay. I can’t risk
loosing my job over wanting
something different”

22. “My boss will think less of me
for wanting more time off. I’ll
never be able to get a
promotion.”

23. “To get that role requires me to
work a lot of overtime, and I
won’t have the time I want with
my family.”

24. “What if I fail?”

25. “Just take a risk. Go for it. I
think if you crash and burn
trying, it’s still going to be
better than if you never
tried at all.”
-Roderick MacKinnon

26. You know how you feel. Are
you happy?

27. The cost of inaction is simple:
Keeping everything the
same.

28. It's a cultural instinct to wait to get picked. To seek out
the permission and authority that comes from a publisher
or talk show host or even a blogger saying, "I pick you."
Once you reject that impulse and realize that no one is
going to select you--that Prince Charming has chosen
another house--then you can actually get to work.
If you're hoping that the HR people you sent your resume
to are about to pick you, it's going to be a long wait.
Once you understand that there are problems just waiting
to be solved, once you realize that you have all the tools
and all the permission you need, then opportunities to
contribute abound.
No one is going to pick you. Pick yourself.
-Seth Godin, from: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/03/reject-the-tyranny-of-being-
picked-pick-yourself.html

29. You, being happy and
engaged matters to your
workplace, whether they
know it, or not.

30. Only 30% of US
Employees are
“Engaged” in their
jobs*
*Stat provided by Gallup from: http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/183614/employees-responsible-
engagement.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication

31. If you are actively disengaged at work you
will (likely):
•Dread going to work
•Have more negative interactions than positive
with your team members
•Treat your customers poorly
•Tell your friends you work for a miserable
company
•Achieve less on a daily basis
•Have fewer positive and creative moments
•Have higher risk of health complications or
mental health challenges
Source: Tom Rath, StenghtsFinder 2.0, published 2007 by Gallup Press

32. “Engaged Employees begin their day with a
sense of purpose, and finish it with a sense of
achievement.”
Source: http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/183851/employees-germany-
engaged.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication

33. Engaged Employees have more:
•Determination
•Energy
•Resiliency
•Enthusiasm
•Positive Interactions at work, and with
customers
•Well Being
•Healthy Lifestyles
•Better Health Outcomes
Source: Tom Rath, StenghtsFinder 2.0, published 2007 by Gallup Press

34. Engaged Employees create
real results for the company,
are more profitable, productive,
have a better customer focus,
have fewer quality defects and
a lower turnover rate.

35. Change your role if you aren’t engaged!
It makes business sense, and it will improve
your health and well-being.
(I’ve just given you the information to share with a doubting
manager!)

36. Change doesn’t have to be big to have
a meaningful impact on your
experience at work.

37. Often, its about making your own
opportunities, rather than waiting to be
picked.

38. Without picking up your pen, draw four straight
lines that go through all nine dots only once.

40. “Our brains create rules for
reality that we do not think we
can break.”
Source: Before Happiness, Shawn Achor, Published by Crown Business, 2013.

41. Change challenges
us to
outside of the box.

42. “But, what if I don’t even
know what I want to do?”

43. Step One: Get a
clear view of your
present reality

44. Write out an answer to the question:
What is work like for you right now?

45. Example (an extremely negative one anyway):
I’ve got way more work than one person
can possibly accomplish. I am so
stressed that it’s impacting my health.
And I just lost a major account with a
client.

46. Look at what you’ve written – you
have likely only focused on one
perspective? Using only TRUE
statements, offer an alternative
description of that exact same
situation.
i.e. If you are working hard on a task, are you
growing from facing challenges? Have you built
new relationships while trying to solve a
specific problem?

47. I’ve got way more
work than one
person can
possibly
accomplish.
I have been given
a lot of authority
and responsibility
which will help my
career.

48. I am so stressed
that it’s impacting
my health.
Through this
struggle I have
built strong
friendships with
my team as we
work together.

49. I just lost a major
account with a
client.
That client was
taking 90% of my
time for only 20%
of revenue – now
I have time to
better serve my
other clients who
are better
relationships.

50. Write out a third version that does not
mention any of the details from the first
two realities.

51. Adding vantage points will help you see
new possibilities to pounce on, new
client needs to fulfill, new business
leads to explore, and new solutions to
problems... And what’s more, looking at
reality from different angles will not only
allow you to open your eyes to a
broader range of opportunities, ideas
and solutions, but also help you
connect more deeply with your team,
organization and family.
Source: Shawn Achor, Before Happiness, Pg 41

52. Used under Creative Commons License: Rob
Ketcherside
Step Two:
Define your Values,
and map your
“Meaning-Markers”

53. “Our values serve as a compass pointing
out what it means to be true to oneself.
When we honor our values on a regular
and consistent basis, life is good and
fulfilling.”
Source: The Coaches Training Institute.

54. Give yourself some time (minimum 15
minutes uninterrupted), and write out
answers to the questions on the
following page.

55. 1) Write down a list of all of the people that inspire
you. Beside their names, write down all of the
reasons why.
2) Describe a time in your life when you were fully
alive and present – what were you doing? Who
was around you?
3) What are all the topics and ideas that excite
you, that you choose to learn more, and
practice more simply because you are
fascinated.
4) What is your greatest ambition? What is your
greatest fear?
5) What makes you angry? (look for values that are
being suppressed)

56. After you’ve written down your
answers, look for repeat words,
or words that make you “feel
something”.

57. Sample Values List:
Achievement
Adventure
Ambition
Balance
Being the best
Belonging
Boldness
Challenge
Community
Compassion
Competition
Continuous Improvement
Contribution
Creativity
Curiosity
Dependability
Determination
Discipline
Efficiency
Elegance
Empathy
Excellence
Focus
Freedom
Fun
Generosity
Hard Work
Health
Helping Society
Honesty
Honor
Humility
Independence
Leadership
Loyalty
Making a difference
Mastery
Originality
Peace
Positivity
Self-actualization
Self-control
Selflessness
Self-reliance
Simplicity
Spontaneity
Strength
Success
Teamwork
Uniqueness
Vitality

58. Step 3:
Discover your
Strengths

59. If you don’t know your strengths, consider following:
1) Gallup StrengthsFinder Test ($10)
2) UPENN Values In Action Character
Strengths Test (Free)
3) Hire a coach to help you!

60. In addition to the previous page, you can
also explore the questions on the next
page, to try and uncover your strengths
in the same way you looked for your
values.

61. 1) What do people thank you for?
2) What do you love helping people with?
3) What are you ridiculously good at?
4) What are you most proud of
accomplishing in your life? How did you
ensure that you were successful?
5) When facing a challenge that you don’t
know if you can complete, how do you
want to approach it?

62. Step 4:
Set
Meaningful
Goals

63. Using your perspectives, values
and strengths as a guide:
What do you want your
career to look like in Six
Months?

64. Make goals as concrete as possible.
Choose goals that can be measured,
and you can hold yourself accountable
to.

65. For any goal that doesn’t have a direct
action (like “get a promotion), what
“habits” do you want to cultivate to
support achieving that goal?

66. Examples:
If you want to write a book – write
1000 words a day.
If you want to learn a language,
practice 15 minutes every day.
If you need new skills for a promotion,
devote one hour every week to
practicing them outside of work.

67. Create Accountability
–Tell your friends/partner/spouse
–Get your manager on side to support
you
–For every concrete action – put it on the
calendar.

68. Then, the best way forward is:
DO THE WORK

69. Step 5:
Regularly Evaluate
Your Progress

70. Set regular intervals (for example, every
three months) to evaluate goals, actions and
the present reality –
Are things shifting, changing?
Do your targets need an update?
Are things moving forward?
Do you feel stuck and need to reset?

71. Goals serve as direction for forward motion
– they aren’t what’s important. If in Six
Months you haven’t perfectly hit them all, it’s
not a sign of failure. It’s an opportunity to
learn from what has worked, and what
hasn’t.
Keep focused on how you are honoring your
values, and using your strengths.

72. Bonus Step:
Celebrate Your Wins!

73. Look for small victories, and build on that.
Each small victory, even if it is just getting
up 5 minutes earlier, give you confidence.
You realize that these little victories make
you feel great, and you keep going. You
realize that being paralyzed by fear of
failure is worse than failure...
-Arnold Schwarzenegger

74. This work isn’t easy. There’s a reason why
so many people have dedicated their
efforts to this work. Find a few friends who
want to join along with you as you
experiment, challenge yourself, and work
towards your next better self.

75. Hard work does not necessarily guarantee
success, but no success is possible
without hard work.
-Dr. T. P. Chia

76. Created by Jim Mondry for Jim Mondry Coaching
Find more at: JIMMONDRY.COM
Twitter: @Jim_Mondry
Thank You