I know I’m not alone in sometimes feeling surrounded by illness, bereavement or grief.  In the last six weeks two close friends have each lost one of their parents. Another friend is undergoing treatment to blast away cancerous cells and yet another awaits news if her treatment has been successful. It seems, we, of a certain age, have entered an emotionally turbulent stage of our lives accompanied by illness, bereavement and grief. I met one of these friends for coffee this week who divulged that while physical and mental trauma has been a very unwelcome visitor in her home for the last ..read more

Whilst in his 40s, a former client discovered one of his untapped Superpowers - writing insightful, painfully honest and often funny articles, opinion pieces and stories.  When I suggested he write a piece about how it felt to "wake up" in his mid to late 40s, in the wrong company/culture/career, he responded by sending me this article.  I haven't changed a word.   It's a lonely place to be, so please share his story if you know anyone who might be in a similar position.    The author of this article chooses to remain anonymous. So, why am I writing this?  Well, I ..read more

I’d bet money that you know someone who appears “successful” to the external world but internally they dread Monday mornings, feel unfulfilled while at work and head home most days feeling dissatisfied with their contribution to the world.   What are their choices? Leap into something else or just point their head down and bum up until they have amassed enough of a retirement fund to go and do something more fun instead - as the 80s kids TV programme suggested.  What it feels like to be in a job that you hate Someone I know well wrote an article for me explaining in perfect det ..read more

The career happiness spectrum It simply not possible to leap from feeling career stuck to feeling Fierce at work in one fell swoop - they're at opposite ends of the career happiness spectrum.  The transformation doesn't happen overnight. It's a progression that demands understanding, time, patience and focus - things in short suppy for many of the midlife professionals I met - to navigate through the fog. But before we can move anywhere, what does it truly mean to be "stuck" in your career?  Before you decide to make change, it’s helpful to understand where you are in the career stu ..read more

Aged 51, in northern Norway, I learned how to cross-country ski. It was one of my bigger, harder experiments. Hands down, the hardest thing was deciding how many layers to wear each day.  In the first hour, we beginners were all dressed in padded, downhill ski-gear. By the second hour, we'd all swapped to light, waterproof jackets. By the third we'd stripped down to vests!  The better we got at assessing our skills and matching them to the day ahead, the easier it was for each of us to choose the right clothes to wear.  And by day three, we'd all found our version of the pe ..read more

Designing more satisfaction into your career needn’t involve a scary leap of faith into the unknown. This article compares the pros and cons for two opposing methods of designing more satisfaction and fun into your work. When potential clients jump on one of my free 30min calls to see if they could work with me, they almost always believe that they need to escape their current career to find happiness. Sometimes, that is the case. But more often than not, it’s the fantasy of escape that attracts. It’s the quick-fix they’re seeking. That isn’t always the right solution. I know this because I i ..read more

Some clients are stuck because they have too many ideas and don’t know how to narrow them down. This is just as painful as having zero ideas. But it’s a different kind of pain - these clients carry with them the burden of confidence in their potential to make a difference, if only they could narrow the field of ideas. The drifting through time combined with the wasted opportunity is often a heavy load to carry. Iona was one such client.   “I felt like I could absolutely do anything. I was confident that if I pointed my skills and experience at one thing that I could make a real impact. B ..read more

"I've ended up doing work that is so much more enjoyable than I could possibly have imagined."  Joelyn happily left behind a big job in the UK media to help her babies grow into children. When she was ready for a new, flexible work-life challenge, a franchise opportunity seemed to fit her requirements.  And it did. For a time.  We’re all bored-at-work sometimes. But if boredom becomes the dominant emotion around your work, something needs to change. A new but similar role is sometimes enough. But if the boredom is everywhere - a redesign is required. When boring becomes unbeara ..read more

When I’m saying goodbye to a client, I ask them to reflect on what they learned and to share any feedback they feel would help me or help a future client. Some do. Some don’t. This particular client decided to write a letter that floored me. A surprising letter from Shauna (name changed for privacy). From a very early age, I’ve felt like a freak. You’d never have guessed because I learned the codes from my parents and other authorities - but these codes weren’t my codes. Lucia, First of all, I would like to thank you again for embarking me on this strong, hard and beautiful journey. You’ve a ..read more

Dear Lucia, As I stare out my window on a dribbling, drizzling, damp English day, I acknowledge it's been about a year since we worked together. If someone were to stand outside these glass panes, peering into my life, he could be fooled into imagining that change has passed me by. But he’d be wrong. Entirely wrong. Career change for midlife professionals whose outgoings equal their income often appears slower - to the outsider. Often they need to remain in the less-than-perfect work while they gain the new skills, insights and create opportunities to make bigger change. As Jarlath says “kids ..read more