A few years ago, a colleague of mine said, “Careers these days aren’t so much about climbing the ladder, but about bouncing around a jungle gym.” As someone who still hasn’t found her calling, has a slew of interests, and is also a sucker for metaphors, I ate this up.
Often, we forget that there are no rules telling you what direction to go in, nor is there a crystal ball that’ll tell you how the future will pan out (though if there is, please tell me). The path ahead of you won’t be straight—and that’s OK. In fact, it’s encouraged. Because each time you venture off the obvious route, you’ll learn invaluable lessons and gain a fresh perspective on how to handle any bumps you may encounter down the road.
On this episode, “126: Your Career Path Is Not a Straight Line,” of the “Happen to Your Career” podcast, the host speaks with Dave Stachowiak, Executive VP of Talent Development at Dale Carnegie of Southern LA and founder of Coaching for Leaders, about embracing every step of your career journey, even if the progression doesn’t make sense at first.
Listen in to hear about why he encourages you to take some risks and start doing what you love doing—you’ll probably thank him someday.