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The Serendipity Career Change Path
by Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.
Serendipity is not "woo-woo."
It's a recognized element of career change.
We all know people who were going about their own business not
seeking new direction. Guidance came, unasked, from sources
outside themselves.
It's not enough to receive a message: you have to know how
to listen and interpret what comes.
Coaching rarely provides serendipitous guidance, but can help you
listen and interpret more effectively.
Real-Life
Examples of Serendipity Career Change
Charles found his career in junior high school, when he literally
fell from the choir loft into the church organ. He was so
fascinated by the repairs that the specialist invited him to work
in his shop.
Through high school, Charles did small chores and later
graduated to apprentice repair. He never bothered with college.
Now his firm repairs church organs all over the region
According to a story from long ago, the California Highway Patrol
stopped a man for speeding. Noting that he handled the car
exceptionally well at high speeds, they suggested he apply to the
CHP. Now he can drive ninety miles an hour all day long.
In her book Fighting Fire, Caroline Paul describes the birth of
her career. During one of her workouts in a gym, a man greeted
her, complimented her strength, and handed her a Fire Department
recruiting pamphlet. Caroline, a Stanford graduate who had planned
graduate study in fine arts, went on to become one of the first
women fire fighters in San Francisco.
A particularly good story comes from the owners of Three Dog
Bakery. When their dog refused to eat, the vet suggested, "Why
don't you cook for her?"
The owner had no idea where to begin. He modified a cookie recipe
and the dog wolfed it down. That was the beginning of an empire.
In an audiotape about work, author Thomas Moore says he had just
decided to stop teaching psychology when someone asked him, "Will
you be my therapist?" That question gave him a new career.
Do the rest of us
ignore those messages?
I'm trying to collect more serendipity stories, but people who
fall into work they love do not read self-help books or call
career coaches. I suspect the rest of us also receive messages,
but we ignore them.
A professor says to a student, "You have a knack for this subject
and you should major in it." A neighbor says, "You ought to
consider making a career out of your talent." And the
conversation is forgotten half an hour later.
Sometimes the message should be heard as, "Keep this talent
somewhere in your life, not necessarily as a profit center." Nina
gives pottery as Christmas presents, but she will not give up her
lucrative day job in advertising. She realizes the need to market
her wares would overwhelm her love of the clay.
True messages leave you feeling as if you've been hit on the head
by a flying two-by-four. They reach your heart. They feel
"right." You hear them as invitations, not advice.
As you open your intuition and become focused on what you want,
you'll find yourself attracting more invitations. And one of them
might take you to worlds you never dreamed of.
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