Is your career classified 3F?
When the United States had a military draft, men with "4F"
status were banned from military service. Some cherished the
designation while others felt cheated out of the experience.
If you're seeking career freedom, you may feel blocked by the
3F's: Fear, Focus and Finances -- and you can change your 3F
status to the fourth F, "Forward!"
Fear comes from giving up a cherished identity. Once you move to
a new career, you have to find a new way to say, "I am" with
pride and excitement. What will your former colleagues say? How
will your family greet the new you? And how do you feel about
trading in your "senior seasoned" identity for the role of a
stumbling beginner? The risk is real. After starting a business
or spending a few years in graduate school, you are no longer
the same person. Your old career neighborhood changes, too.
Returning home may no longer be an option. You overcome this
block by learning to recognize fear as a powerful ally rather
than a threat. Work with and through the fear.
Focus requires you to choose a meaningful goal and then to avoid
the siren call of your previous life. If you have wisely chosen
to remain in a job while exploring your options, you must resist
getting caught up in the politics and reward system of a world
where you are no longer a citizen. You may need to find the
inner resources to keep going, while sustaining the motivation
and excitement of your new world.
Focus requires learning time management skills and creating a
career-related support system. You can learn to move toward your
dream in fifteen-minute chunks. A coach can help you feel less
alone during the early stages.
Finally, financial blocks are real, not psychological. I have
recommend taking a career freedom inventory to add up all your
resources, not just money. Sometimes a unique skill or a
dynamite network can substitute for a bulging savings account.
At the same time, face your own tolerance for financial
uncertainty. Some people sleep soundly with a zero-balance
checking account, trusting the universe to pay the rent. Others
get nervous when their checking account falls below five figures
-- to the left of the decimal point.
After years of researching and working with transitioners, I
believe the complexities boil down to transforming yourself from
3-F to F-M: Forward-Moving.
As you work through each block, you gain a powerful burst of
energy and insight. To change metaphors, think of moving a
boulder off your ravel lane on a highway. Now nothing stops you
from moving full speed ahead! You need your rear view mirror
only to see how far you've come.