Shifting Careers - Proof Positive

Fortunately, I stumbled upon Marci Alboher's blog in the New York Times, Shifting Careers (http://shiftingcareers.blogs.nytimes.com/). Here's a former corporate attorney-turned-bloggist and author of a best-selling book, “One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success” (Warner Books, 2007). I know many professional women, quite a number of them professionals in law firms, cpa firms, and other arenas of accomplishment, who dream of leaving positions and companies and starting new ventures, tapping into their creativity, and creating the kind of life Marci has. I don't blame them. I once was one of them. I used to go to my senior level corporate job every day, dreading it, doing the minimum, counting the hours until the weekend. Lunch hours would be teary experiences, walking the streets of NYC holding imaginary conversations with my boss, telling him I was quitting, starting a new venture, but never having the guts to actually do it. I had NO IDEA what I wanted to do, and worse, what I was capable of doing other than what I had been doing for the last 20 years (strategizing and developing brassiere product lines for well known brands most of you are still wearing!)

Marci is an example that shifting careers and life truly can be done. I've been reading her postings and feeling as though she knows me personally. She sheds light on the issues I've personally lived. I had no idea that I could start a business and that by doing so I would become coach, consultant, slash writer slash speaker slash internet business owner.

What about you? Do you yearn for more, for different? For living your life on purpose? Do you dream about writing that book and simply cannot see how you would ever accomplish that while working full time AND raising those two adorable children AND trying desperately to get a stolen hour or two to get your hair colored or a yoga class in every month or two?

Check out Marci's blog. If she did it, and I did it, so can you. Was it hard? Absolutely. Was it scary? Without question. Did I regret that I shifted careers? Never. Not once. I have never been so fulfilled and so grateful that I was finally willing to earn less until I could earn more, take the scary path, live on less, so that I could move forward and make a difference for others while growing in ways I never could have imagined.

What's your dream? If you share it, it is almost certain one of our fellow female colleagues has one very similar to yours, and needs to hear about yours so so that she will have the courage to take action and live her life with purpose, prosperity, and possibility.