Midlife Career Reboot — Start Building PLAN B
I was in my work-from home mode one late evening and my son returned home from his first internship/job and asked me one of the toughest questions of my career. He asked me “do I also have to do this for the next 30 years of my life. Look at you, is there no better way to make a living?” I was stressed finishing off a meeting with my large account exasperated at some complications. I looked up dazed at my son. He shook his head and walked off to his room not waiting for a response. I looked after him dumb-struck. That sentence kept haunting me for days. I realized that I was cornered.
My wake up call. Yes, I did not know any other way to make a living — then. Now I do.
I paused and looked back at my life.
Decades had flown past and I counted causalities along my glorious path — nagging health ailments, emotionally distanced relationships and worse of all that feeling of inner emptiness.
A dream career started right after university to now. The climb initially was intentional and later became compulsive. It started a single rung at a time and gradually I got sucked into the famed hedonic treadmill -the climb seemed endless and I was never completely satisfied.
There was always that one more leap, that one more material thing- be it a better car, a that fancy university for your kids, responsibility towards extended family, the list was endless. Like a carrot the handsome raise and better perks were dangled and I worked harder to reach it. With it, my wish-list grew and my expenses soared too.
My WAKE- up call spurred me to search the internet for an alternative to a corporate rat-race and stumbled on a laptop lifestyle career. It intrigued me. I went deeper to understand how this works and how it can help me to re-discover myself. It helped me to realize that I am not defined by my CV. I started reskilling and embarked onto this amazing experiential learning experience coupled with peer-mentorship.
Now I wake up every morning excited knowing that I am building a PLAN B while in the Corporate race. The PLAN B gives me a laptop lifestyle, geographical independence financial stability and allows me to work at my pace. Also further to listening to the success stories of my peers, I knew that a new path was laid for me. A crystal clear path.
In the process I shifted to a growth mindset and broke my self-limiting beliefs. I was inspired to drive meaning to my existence and add value with my life, I can give back to mankind.
A step at a time, I am stealthily moving forward. With each new step I knew I was creating a new way of life for the next generation.
Most importantly, I wish to lead by example and show my son that there is an alternative to the Corporate rat race — I call it PLAN B for now.
More information on this program, I will leave in the description box below.
