The Leap of Faith

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Each time I speak on career management, there’s always the question of how to choose the next step in a career.  Often this question comes from an attendee who is stuck in a not-so-fun job and wants out but doesn’t know where to.

Not knowing is a scary experience and everyone goes through it (except for my accountant who wanted to be an accountant since he was 10 years old).  The rest of us struggle with career path questions repeatedly.  I’ve also found that the more traditionally creative you are, the more iterative your path is and that makes for an exponentially higher number of career path twists and turns.

I’ve had many turns and twists and I can tell you what helps the most.  Listening to your heart.

Here she goes again, talking about compassion and heart stuff.  True dat.  Listen up peeps.  This is real.

It’s important to let your rage and fear have a voice because they’re most likely bubbling up and out of you.  Rage at the job that doesn’t feed your soul, fear of never finding a job that will feed your soul…  But rage and fear will suck your spirit dry.

What feeds the engine in our bodies is love.  And love is listening to your heart.  What are your options at this moment?  How does each of them make you feel physically?  What makes you feel tingly and excited?  What makes your shoulders sag?  Then listen to your deepest knowing that the next step may be “it” or bring you closer to the “it” you’ve been yearning for.  And then leap.

We can only leap effectively when we lean our whole bodies into the free fall.  Loose joints, arms and legs out embracing the unknown, heart forward and high to the sky and a huge smile singing “Go for greatness!”

There’s a leap of faith that I have taken over and over.  I call it smart risk taking.  Yes, I have fallen on my face.  Oh yes I have.  Ouch a few times over.  But the thought of not going for it is more painful to me then living small or having a potentially embarrassing moment.  And anyway, how can it be embarrassing when I knew it was a risk and I went for greatness?  And how else can I attain greatness if I don’t go for it?

I don’t know what your definition of a smart risk is – starting your own business or going for a promotion or moving to farm country…  it doesn’t matter.  When you listen and leap, you always land on your feet.