The Litmus Test for Happiness in Career & Love

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“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose” – Bishop T.D. Jakes

I often say there are many parallels between careers and love. If you’re not excited by the career or person, don’t do it. Period.

I call it The Passion Test for a reason. If you wouldn’t wanna read a book on it or listen to a podcast on it, you may not have enough passion to hit the fuzzy heights of true success and fulfilment.

If you’re non-plussed or not excited by a date or the prospect of marrying someone, don’t do it.

Case in point – I spoke to a potential client yday. She looked flat and disconnected from her current work but by george, when she mentioned an experience of the past working on the field making a difference in a totally different way to her office job which pivots on the granular detail of technical law, she lit up. She even said she ‘came away from the experience and felt a fire inside’. YESSSS!

Émotions don’t lie.

If you want true career and love fulfilment, you must feel passionate about it and them. Period.

Tough times will come but it’s that passion that drives meaning, purpose and ease and will keep you going on a bad day. ‘The Bad Day Test’ as I call it.

It’s that passion that keeps you going ‘for better or for worse, in sickness and in health’. It doesn’t mean the job or person need be perfect, but passion lines your soul with the grit and determination required to succeed. And makes for the heady success of true fulfilment, align, ease and flow.

Still unsure?

Let these inspiring quotes light a flame in you:

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
Oprah Winfrey

“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

“When you have balance in your life, work becomes an entirely different experience. There is a passion that moves you to a whole new level of fulfilment and gratitude, and that’s when you can do your best… for yourself and for others.”
Cara Delevingne

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
Maya Angelou

“The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it’s possible to achieve the American dream.”
Tommy Hilfiger

“Follow your passion. The rest will attend to itself. If I can do it, anybody can do it. It’s possible. And it’s your turn. So go for it. It’s never too late to become what you always wanted to be in the first place.”
J. Michael Straczynski

“Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.”
Donovan Bailey

“When you have a passion for something then you tend not only to be better at it, but you work harder at it too.”
Vera Wang

“I think that in order to be successful, women have to figure out what they’re passionate about first. No matter what you aspire to, you’ve got to love what you do in order to be successful at it.”
Michelle Obama

“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
John C. Maxwell

“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support.”
Sabrina Bryan

“Grit is that ‘extra something’ that separates the most successful people from the rest. It’s the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality.”
Travis Bradberry

Ps That pic is me in Paris, a place that fans the flames of my soul. The decadence, darkness, passion, sensuality and soul spans so many things I’m passionate about. French, food, adventure, travel, honesty and above all, passion.

🐚

Want to create a career and life you love?

Get in touch for a free discovery call at www.melanie-pritchard.com. If there’s one thing I can assure you of having life and career coached for 7 years, it’s that true happiness, fulfilment and success are far closer than you think. You simply need the clarity and the ‘how’ to get there 🪄

3 Ways to Create a Cracking CV!

CV

‘Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation’ – Zig Ziglar

Uplevelling your CV can feel like one of the driest tasks going, but with a few simple tricks you can create a cracking CV in as little as an hour.

Here are 3 of 10 top tips I share with career coaching clients keen to stand out from a crowded job market to attract the job of their dreams.

The good news? Even if you’re superb, most CVs are sub-par, so nailing this is an easy way to shine. And you’ll feel amazing for it.

And with the average recruiter spending a mere 30 seconds reviewing a CV, first impressions count.

To give your CV a back to school spring clean that will be quick and fun, drop me a DM with the words ‘bring it on’ and let’s help you get the job of your dreams fast🧞‍♀️

Still unsure? Here’s what a wonderful Brazilian client, Marcel Bittencourt, said recently: “The CV Masterclass Webinar was outstanding. It made me rethink a lot of things about my CV”.

Read more about how I can help you uplevel your life and career here book a free discovery call here!

LA Weekly: 10 Career Coaches to Follow in 2023

press womens la weekly 10 career coaches to follow

Whether your career is in its infancy or you’re ready to change paths, working with a passionate and expert career coach can make a big difference. Career development can be quite daunting and everyone can benefit from the guidance and support career coaches are meant to provide.

If you need help exploring careers paths, setting and achieving career goals, developing your skills, and finding new and better jobs, among many other things, working with a career coach will make things a lot easier. They have years of experience and a wealth of knowledge under their belt, it’s just a matter of finding the right fit for you.

Browse our list below to find the top 10 career coaches in 2023!

The Best Video on Imposter Syndrome You’ll Ever See

“I still have a little impostor syndrome… It doesn’t go away, that feeling that you shouldn’t take me that seriously. What do I know? I share that with you because we all have doubts in our abilities, about our power and what that power is” – Michelle Obama

 

Imposter Syndrome is a regular pain-point many of my brilliant life coaching and career coaching clients struggle with.

 

And by brilliant I’m talking geneticists, lawyers, management consultants, entrepreneurs, CEOs and beyond.

 

Male or female, undergraduate, trainee, Partner, Founder or Managing Director, it doesn’t discriminate. And it will take you down, if you let it – or at least keep you stuck from fulfilling your true potential and achieving the wild success you’re capable of.

 

We are all on the spectrum somewhere whether fearing to speak up in a meeting, thinking we’re not good enough at our jobs or waiting to be found out for some corporate crime we never committed ! If it wasn’t so stressful, it would be funny!

 

Think lack of confidence, waking up sweating in the dead of night, catastrophising you’ll be sacked or fearing you’re not good enough for promotion.

 

If any of that resonates, click here for an awesome video in Imposter Syndrome from Diary of a CEO founder, Steven Bartlett which reframes imposter syndrome in a way you’ll never expect.

 

And if you want to learn some simple, transformative life coaching tools to uplevel your confidence and transform your mindset, book a free discovery call in with me here!

 

 

The Surprising Similarity between Careers and Dating

5 Main Differences Between Dating And Being In A Relationship

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” – Confucius

Ever gone on a date you weren’t excited about to discover, well, it was a waste of time?

Ever sent in multiple job applications or done an interview somewhat half-heartedly to discover, shock horror, you weren’t successful?

Or maybe you’re struggling to excel in your current role (or even get through the day..) because your heart’s just not in it?

I always say there are multiple parallels between love and careers. If you’re not excited, it’s not the right one! What happens when we settle on a half-hearted love? Yup, it ends in tears. Careers are no different as I explain in my short video here.

Do not, I repeat, do not, settle with your career.

Feeing disconnected 5 days’ a week is a BIG DEAL and will affect your mental health and wider life whether your love life, relationships with your children, wellbeing or otherwise.

If you think you’re lost, confused, stuck – you’re not nearly as lost as you think, trust me. I see these feelings ALL THE TIME with clients who invariably become unstuck within just 1-3 sessions. Confusion, apathy and frustration may alarm you but they excite me (!) because they are merely signs of unmet needs and when you work out what you need to be happy, the rest is easy.

Don’t believe me?

One creative career coaching client thought she was totally lost job wise and was sliding into depression when we first connected. She was also worried her career joylessness was endangering her relationship. By session 2, she was a different person – with a 360 energy / clarity turnaround once she got clear on her values. She wasn’t remotely crazy or even that lost once she had the space to explore what was really going on – she was just in the wrong role in a misaligned work environment.

She now has her dream job for a leading fashion house in Amsterdam and feels truly seen, heard and fulfilled.

If that resonates, hit me up for a free discovery call and feel the anxiety reduce and hope spike!

As an ex-lawyer turned career and life coach who works with smart, successful people in high-stress jobs, my superpower is helping ‘confused’ clients get unstuck fast and reconnect with careers that make them truly happy, fulfilled and excited to get up in the morning.

Remember: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

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How to Unearth the Hidden Job Market and Find Work you Love!

Who Owns An Idea? A Good Idea Doesn't Care Who Has It

‘My best interactions to secure this new career were through speculative approaches’ – Buzzing Client!

I just came off a call with an overjoyed management consulting career coaching client who came to coaching feeling overwhelmed, confused and unsure about how she could find a new career she loved. She lacked confidence and worried it wasn’t possible to maintain her pay and find happiness through career change. She has since secured her dream career in a new industry and new role she’d previously doubted was possible, combining her interests in law and tech to great effect (throw in Mondays off to work from home with her children and a higher salary, too!)

She did this through an unusual route, which, done well, can secure you the job of your dreams in ways your inner saboteur may try to quash!

It’s one of the most high-results producing methods I share with disillusioned career coaching clients who want to find work they love in cultures that truly align.

Watch my short video here for the insider scoop and reach out if you’d like the secret formula!

Disclaimer: don’t do this if you’re not prepared for massive career fulfilment!

If you’d like to learn more about how to get career clarity fast to find work you love, contact me for a free discovery call here!

#coaching #career #job #work #love #video #management#managementconsulting #law #lawyers #stress #happiness #change#transformation

How Radical A Career Change is Possible with Career Coaching?

10 Signs You May Be Ready for a Career Change

‘Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’ – Confucius

🤫 Bored by your career?
🤫 Lack interest in the subject matter?
🤫 Hate the place you work?
🤫 Secretly long to change paths but don’t know how, into what or if you can maintain your earnings?

So many of my clients have many of these doubts and sooo much more.

Happily, working with hundreds of clients across all industries has confirmed successful career change is ABSOLUTELY possible – sometimes in radically different directions as explained above!

Infact, making ‘major’ changes become so much easier when you get clear on who you are and what you need to be happy. One way we do this in my 360 Career Change Programme is by examining:

🍋 Your passions and interests
🍋 Your strengths and superpowers
🍋 Your values (what gives your life meaning)
🍋 Your purpose

Sound hard? It’s easy with the right support, it really is.

Unknotting confusion is my superpower which is why anxiety starts to fall away from the moment we start coaching together – instead, hope, excitement and momentum abound!

That’s the simple power of coaching – it gets you out of the lonely silo of your circular mind and zooms in on the truth – what energises you and what direction you yearn to follow to find the deep happiness and success my clients long for.

If you’re wandering what sort of clients I work with and what sort of industries they start in and move to, here’s a sneak peek in this short video.

If I sound confident about your ability to change paths, it’s because my clients do this again and again. I’m talking 99%!

Like anything, it’s easy when you know how and have a structure.

To hear more about how I can support your next steps towards the career and life of your dreams, email me ‘bring it on!’ here. I have space for two new clients in the next 6 weeks and offer an early bird discount for the super keen! Think fun, clarifying conversations with tangible results which hit bullseye.

To quote one lovely client: ‘Coaching with Mel was the best investment I’ve ever made’. You can check out more Google Reviews from past clients who have moved from career confusion to successful 360 career change here!

What’s stopping you?

Surprisingly Simple Stress Trick: How to Get Out of Your Head Fast!

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‘Faith is an oasis in the heart that will never be reached by the caravan of thinking’

Khalil Gibran

 

How often do you find yourself overthinking when you’re stressed?

Totally stuck in your head or going round in circles with no end?

It makes sense to think we can think our way around things but sometimes, getting out of our heads and into our bodies is the best thing we can do. Y’see, without learnt tools to master our minds, our brains are designed to keep us stuck focusing on the negative and continuing to do what we’ve always done. Not very evolved, hey?!

Case in point – a career coaching client who was so stressed she was really quite depressed and unable to move forward had a 360 about-turn when she took her focus off thinking about careers and instead reconnected with doing the things that brought her fun and joy in life.

All the things that took her out of her head whether cooking, drawing, running or seeing her friends.

And boom! Then the clarity came – from being more and thinking less. Like a counter-intuitive detour around stress. The renewed energy and clarity came from moving her body rather than just sitting in the stasis of thought. Ironic, isn’t it, that when we stop thinking so much, sometimes we unlock feelings that guide the way.

As the legendary Dr Wayne Dyer says: ‘Think less, feel more’.

What do you do that brings you joy and gets you out of your head? When did you last have this experience? And what were the results?

For me it might be things like travelling, local adventures, meeting new people, working in new cafés, or doing a new activity like paragliding in the wilds of Italy above. Connecting with free spirits in sublime nature is always a sure fire way for me to change my state and get clarity on confusion. Note – most of these things involve movement – as Tony Robbins says: ‘Motion equals emotion’.

What one change can you make today to get out of your head and into your body?

How would that feel?

And what’s the best possible outcome?

 

 

 

5 Top Tips for Changing Careers in Your 30s

career change featured image

Shifting career at any point can feel scary, sometimes all the scarier in your 30s. At this age, you’re no longer the fearless undergraduate hungry to cut your teeth in competitive new industries and the rose tinted spectacles of inexperience may have well and truly fallen off. You may also feel burdened by the liabilities of real life whether mortgages, children or otherwise.

But do not fear! These fears are very normal — so normal, that I see them again and again in career coaching clients hungry for career change but often disabled by fear. This is exactly why they seek out career coaching — so they can find ways to master their minds and harness easy to apply methods to shift into careers that truly excite and fulfil them.

So here are 5 top tips for taking the stress out of switching careers in your 30s, fast:

  1. The Values Audit

Before even contemplating changing careers, it’s important to get clear on your values — the needs or drivers you need to be connecting with in life to feel happy. I call this your ‘Toolkit for Life’ because once you know what energises and excites you, you have a roadmap for happiness and the clarity to shift path with confidence. For instance, it was easy for me to leave law and traverse into creating my own business when I realised I needed greater work life balance, freedom and fun to feel truly fulfilled in life. Getting clear on your values also helps you label why you’ve felt unfulfilled by prior roles, organisations or industries which brings clarity, relief and validation — the ideal springboard for career change. For instance, let’s say you’ve felt drained working in a very process driven role and you realise creativity is central to your sense of self — it’s then easy to see why you’ve felt out of sorts and more motivating to shift into a career that really compliments you. To get clear on your values, start by asking yourself what you can’t do without in life at large? What would your dream job involve? What are you key frustrations and what’s the opposite of each? What would make you truly happy? As Mahatma Gandhi reminds us: ‘Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.’

  1. Identify your ‘Why’

Most career coaching clients have no idea what their purpose is — that North Star that guides the bigger picture. For some career coaching clients, this may be making a difference, for others it may be spending quality time with family, for others it may be winning awards and becoming an expert in their field. To work out your ‘why’, ask yourself who do you admire in life and why? How would you like to be remembered when you leave this world? What kind of things would you like to hear people saying about you at your funeral? What kind of legacy would you like to leave? A lot of us think in ego driven, linear ways when it comes to careers, but as Steve Jobs warns us: ‘I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to’. So park your ego and ask yourself instead, what does success really mean to you? What would drive you on days when you feel like giving up? What kind of career and impact would leave you feeling proud at the end of your days?

  1. Connect to the Truth

One of the key regrets Bronnie Ware identifies in her book, ‘The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying’ is: ‘I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not a life others expected of me’. So many of my career coaching clients fall into roles because their parents told them law or consulting would be a good idea or because the job title sounds sexy at dinner parties. Although it’s natural to be led by others when we’re young and unaware of what really drives us, with age comes experience, of different people, different roles and different corporate cultures — and greater awareness of how we really feel about each! By the time you’re in your 30s, you have an ideal backdrop from which to explore what you’ve liked, disliked and craved more of in a role and environment. This commercial landscape sheds light on the key factors which drive aligned career change including your leading strengths, your passions and interests, your values and your purpose. So instead of thinking it’s too late to change, see your experience for what it is — a vehicle to truth — uncovering key pearls of wisdom around what truly makes you happy. As F Scott Fitzgerald reminds us: ‘It’s never too late to be who you want to be’. Look at Ray Croc, the founder of McDonald’s — he was 52 when he opened his first McDonald’s franchise!

  1. Leverage Your Experience

Career coaching clients often panic that they lack the experience to shift paths into a new career, forgetting they have developed some great transferable skills they can use as evidence to launch into new career directions. Start by asking yourself what are your leading skills? What have you been most complimented on in prior jobs? What comes naturally to you? What are you doing when you’re most energised? And which of these skills overlap with leading skills in your new area of interest? Remember, existing killer skills can often be taken forward in new directions! You can also minimise panicking about career change by asking yourself what unique selling points you have in terms of prior expertise that you could harness to push you to the top of the CV pile for a new role. For instance, a client of mine had been a midwife for 15 years and was interested in moving into project management and innovation. Initially she panicked about her seeming lack of experience in these fields, but she soon started thinking more strategically, identifying how she could harness her unique selling point of clinical experience in new areas of interest. You guessed it, she found her dream job in a clinical setting and has been promoted twice already! If you don’t have experience in a new area of interest, what quick wins could help you close the gap, whether work experience, a course or seeking advice from people in that area?

  1. Chats with People

The most high results producing activity you can engage in, informational interviews with people in areas of interest will help you deepen clarity around new avenues, fast. Many career coaching clients panic about talking to strangers so start by asking yourself who you know in possible areas of interest and also who you know who may know people they can connect you to. Remember, we’ve all been confused in life — it’s the one commonality of being human — and people generally love talking about themselves, especially if you make them feel special. The one common mistake I see career coaching clients make here is the same problem I see in cover letters, job applications and job interviews — if you don’t bespoke your approach to the person or organisation you’re trying to seduce with specific examples of why you think they’re special, they won’t make time to talk to you. To be seen as worthwhile, you need to prove you’ve done your homework, showcasing your research, communication and interpersonal skills through specific examples that evidence your interest. The litmus test is asking yourself: ‘Could the reasons I’m giving to evidence my interest in this person apply to someone else?’ If the answer is yes, your reasons are too vague and not specific enough. To get clear on what reasons you could give, start by asking yourself, what 3 things truly inspire me about this person or their organisation? Then think of a specific example for each whether an article they’ve written, a project they’ve worked on or otherwise. Remember, authenticity and passion sells!

So there you have it — 5 simple ways to boost clarity to get clear on career change fast! It’s easy when you know how! Don’t believe me? These top tips have helped hundreds of career coaching clients like Marcel, all united by confusion, self-doubt and sometimes crippling fear, change careers in sometimes radical ways:

“Mel was arguably one of the best things that happened to me last year. I had just moved to the UK and found myself facing a lot of professional challenges regarding self-promotion, speculative approaches, interviews, etc. With a well-planned, straightforward programme, Mel made me rediscover my strengths and taught me how to adapt them to my new reality. Thanks to her strategies, I was able to thrive and secure a leading role at a huge multinational company!”

 

From New York Journalist to Farmer’s Wife: What The Dirty Life Teaches Us About Happiness

Good Husbandry by Kristin Kimball review – a new life on a community farm |  Society books | The Guardian

What are you?

A professional or an entrepreneur, a country bumpkin or a city slicker, a conformist or a free spirit? Or are you a hybrid – a suited and booted banker or lawyer with the ‘perfect job’ but a niggling desire to explore less well-trodden paths? Or maybe you’re just plain confused about where you fit and what really drives you.

Whatever category you fall into, most of us from Generation Y were bred by folks with far less opportunity than us professionally. With more conventional views of what constitutes a ‘proper’ job, our parents may have inadvertently left us stuck between a rock and a hard place – between what we should do and what we want to do. But ‘should’ is where it all goes wrong.

Expectations versus reality

OUR HOTELS IN NEW YORK

Nobody knows this better than Kristen Kimball, author of ‘The Dirty Life’ and former freelance journalist and Harvard graduate from New York. After a chance interview with a hunky farmer, she upped sticks to set up farm with her green-fingered interviewee, leaving the city lights and life as she knew it in her wake. You heard right – East Village in favour of mud and veg in the middle of nowhere. This is a story of two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of an intellectual glamour-puss’ life – one with farming and the other with a man who milks cows for a living. A striking tale about love, happiness and the power of instinct, ‘The Dirty Life’ is a must-read for anyone feeling a little disillusioned with the daily grind or what life’s all about.

The product of a neat, middle-class world, Kimball’s novel charts the mental and physical challenges she faced leaving the glitzy world of ‘convention’ in favour of rural slog. ‘Writ[ing] with precision, authority and gratitude about what is evidently, despite its rigours, an idyllic life’ (New York Times Book Review), Kimball challenges our views about wealth, success and love, giving food for thought as compelling as the gastronomical delights she chronicles.

Kimball’s union with Mark, a rugged hulk of a man with a passion for food and farming, is a world away from the corporate sphere she might have settled into. But as with the different kind of ‘wealth’ she finds farm-side, Kimball takes us on a journey full of surprises, a journey which exposes some stark ironies about our perceptions of ‘success’ and ‘happiness’ of City life.

Does success equal happiness?

How to Get Hens to Lay Eggs in Nest Boxes

‘The Dirty Life’ makes us question our ‘values’ as we know them. In Kimball we find a cosmopolitan New Yorker who, like many of us, supposedly ‘has it all’. A woman with all the trappings of refinement, yet one who is, by her own admission, blinded by ignorance. Openly admitting her surprise that a ‘salt-of-the-earth-type’ person such as Mark could talk with dexterity and intelligence and that ‘the physical world – the trades’ was not in fact ‘the place you ended up if you weren’t bright or ambitious enough to handle a white-collar job’, Kimball shows us the danger of defining people by what they do. In Kimball we find a highly educated woman who has travelled the world with her job, yet whose eyes are opened by an entirely different world, stunned by the happiness she finds ‘pulling warm eggs out of a nest box’.

Shake things up…

So, what is the moral of the tale? Keep meeting new people, keep an open-mind and be true to yourself. Work out what is important to you and don’t be afraid to question reality as you know it. Have the courage to live a life true to yourself, not the life others expect of you and remember, the most successful life is one which unearths what makes you truly happy. Fulfilment goes far deeper than an impressive job title and it will bring you fruits that money can’t buy.

Watch an interview with Kristin Kimball here.

 

 

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