What is Your Spark?

I picked up the book 5 by Dan Zadra while visiting family in Seattle in 2013. It sat on my coffee table looking pretty in its red cover sleeve, with the words “Where will you be five years from today?” glaring back at me every time I walked by. I wanted to make some changes in my life and career, but couldn’t quite put my finger on want needed to change. It was easy to continue with my routine and the benefits of a stable pay cheque. If you asked me back then what I'd be doing at this very moment, I'd say, "continue to manage talent programs in my corporate job, learn as much as I can, and maybe aspire to a director position of organizational development." Never would I have imagined quitting my nine-to-five job to become an educator, career coach, and entrepreneur. This is not my first career shift, but it's the first time I'm launching a website and putting myself out there in a very public way.

How did all this happen? What was my spark?

Life events.

I've always been a very driven and introspective person, so when my mom passed away I was forced to re-evaluate all the choices I was making in my life, especially with work.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't enjoy my job. I am forever grateful for all the opportunities that I was able to experience. However, the work that I was doing didn't align with my values - desire to spend time with my family. I envisioned a flexible work schedule – one that I could have more control over.

What's been your experience with your career path? What is your ideal career? Where will you be in five years? What are you inspired by?

In our lifetime, we spend over 90,000 hours working. We better enjoy it.

What is your vision for yourself? What do you desire and what’s important to you? What is getting in the way of your career aspirations?  Spark comes in different forms for everyone – for some it’s a big fire, for others it’s a one small lit match as a lead-in to taking their first step like writing your thoughts down with honesty and no self-judgement. 

ACTION: Commit to doing one thing today that will help you make a change and move forward.

"Your imagination is the preview to life’s coming attractions." – Albert Einstein

P.S. This new chapter in my life would not be possible without my parents and my life partner, along with so many others past, present, and future. This post is dedicated to my mom, who I've learned what it means to be meticulous and resourceful; to my dad, whose transparent and liberal approach to parenting has taught me resilience; and my life partner, who keeps me laughing with our bantering – wit for wit.