What to Do Next

1. Knowing When to Leave Requires Honest Self-Assessment

In order to make your way forward, you must be honest with where you’ve been, how you got to where you are now, and what you can leverage to discover what’s next.

Defining Reality. The first step in figuring out what's next is to define your current reality. This involves an honest assessment of your financial, emotional, and vocational standing. The Career Risk Assessment is a tool designed to help you see where you are, providing insights into the work you need to do before making a significant change.

Action Over Worry. Taking action is the antidote to paralysis by worry and fear. The Career Risk Assessment provides a starting point, but the key is to move beyond analysis and begin taking concrete steps. This could involve increasing your financial margin, building your network, or developing a side hustle.

Comparison is the Thief of Joy. Avoid the comparison game, which pits you against others and their perceived successes. Instead, compare yourself to your potential. Focus on your unique story, strengths, and dormant talents. Embrace where you are as a starting point, not a conclusion.

2. Is It Time? Managing Risk in Career Transitions

Sometimes the biggest risk isn’t leaving; sometimes the biggest risk is staying.

Risk is Inherent. Change always involves risk, but risk can be managed. A career change doesn't have to be a leap over the Grand Canyon; it can be managed to be more like a leap over a mud puddle. Managing risk involves shrinking the gap between your current situation and your desired future.

Financial, Relational, and Strength-Based Risk Management. Managing financial risk involves getting your financial house in order. Valuing your relationships means maintaining connections with former colleagues and mentors. Knowing your strengths means aligning your next steps with your natural talents and abilities.

The "Too Early" vs. "Too Late" Dilemma. It's better to leave a year too early than a day too late. This doesn't mean making reckless decisions, but rather recognizing that you'll never truly feel 100% ready. Wisdom can turn into fear if you wait too long.

3. The Waiting Room: A Season of Preparation, Not Passivity

Don’t let what you don’t know rob you of what you can do.

Active vs. Passive Waiting. The waiting room is a season of uncertainty, but it doesn't have to be a time of passivity. Waiting actively involves combining wisdom, patience, and an intentional plan to leverage this season. It's about being prepared for what's next.

Building Your Network. Your net worth largely depends on your network. Building your personal network is one of the best decisions you can make while you search for what's next. This involves identifying key contacts, reaching out for advice, and asking, "Who do you know that I need to know?"

Creating Optimal Options. The worst thing isn't being unsure of what's next; it's not being able to pursue what's next when it arrives. Creating optimal options involves getting your financial house in order, creating multiple income streams, working a side hustle, and focusing on your physical and emotional health.

4. Finishing Well: The Foundation for Future Success

The best change doesn’t start with beginnings; the best change begins with good endings.

Finishing Well Starts Today. Every day, you're one step closer to finishing your current assignment. Finishing well requires planning, vision, humility, and character. It's about setting the team up for success after you're gone.

Five Strategies for Finishing Strong:

• Communicate your finish plan to the team
• Create a game plan for emotional health
• Take the high road
• Express gratitude
• Grieve well

Grieving Well. Leaving requires loss, and if you don't grieve the loss, it will hide and show back up at the wrong times. Unprocessed grief is a silent killer. It's important to acknowledge the loss of identity, financial security, relationships, and routine.

5. The Path to Your Dream Job Leads Through Your Day Job

The path to your dream job often leads through your day job.

Clues in Your Current Role. Your day job provides distinct clues about your future. It's a place to discover your strengths and weaknesses, to build your network, and to identify problems you want to solve. Don't dismiss your current role; leverage it.

The Power of the Second Mile. Going the second mile means going above and beyond what's expected and required of you. It's about thinking like an owner, not an employee. The second mile is the path that leads to what's next.

5 Questions for You, Inc. To discover your strengths and gifts, ask yourself:

• Which activity brings you the most energy?
• What is one area or attribute coworkers have referred to as a strength of yours?
• Who do you know with a similar strength that you could talk to or learn from?
• What can you start doing to sharpen your strengths?
• Looking back over your career, what work activity is easier for you than others?

6. Scaling the Money Wall: Financial Freedom as a Catalyst

Money won’t tell you what’s next, but it will prepare you to find it.

Money as an Optimal Option. Financial freedom gives you the option to decide rather than watching something else decide for you. It's about creating a solid financial foundation so you can pursue your dreams without being held back by financial constraints.

Training Camp for Financial Freedom. Scaling the money wall requires a focused intensity. It's about getting in shape financially, eliminating debt, saving more than you spend, and creating a cash margin for emergencies. Every dollar saved is another day in training camp.

Two Steps Up the Wall:

• Take care of Clubber Lang (debt) by creating a plan to eliminate it.
• Find your Apollo Creed (financial mentor) by joining a financial small group.

7. When You Don't Know What to Do, Focus on Calling, Gifting, and Timing

A calling is when you realize that this is one of the moments you were created for.

The Three Circles. When you don't know what to do, pay attention to calling, gifting, and timing. The combination of these three leads to what to do next. A calling is when your heart and soul say yes, while your head says, "Huh?"

Calling Without Gifting. A calling without gifting is like the first couple of episodes of every season of American Idol. Everyone thinks they have a calling to be a singer, but not everyone can sing. It's important to align your calling with your natural talents and abilities.

The Frustration of Timing. You can't control the timing, but you can control what you do during the time. It may be a no for now, but it's not forever. Keep your chin up, and you'll eventually see what's next.

8. Letting Go: Releasing the Past to Embrace the Future

To receive what’s next, we need to open up our hands.

Change vs. Transition. Change is an event; transition is a journey. It's easier to drive away physically than to walk away emotionally. Letting go of the past is essential for embracing the future.

The Three Areas to Let Go Of:

• Past hurts: Forgive others, not because they deserve it, but because you deserve peace.
• Past mistakes: Convert mistakes into lessons for the future.
• What others say: Make a list of the voices that matter most to you and release the rest.

The Biggest Roadblock. The biggest roadblock to finding what's next may be you. It's about addressing your emotional health, forgiving others, and letting go of the past.

9. The Dream Will Die, But Can Be Resurrected

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

The Life Cycle of an Idea. Every idea goes through a cycle: birth, death, resurrection, and ascension. Knowing this cycle can help you persevere through the inevitable challenges and setbacks.

From Death to Life. The key is understanding how to get from stage 2 (death) to stage 3 (resurrection). This involves asking, "What am I learning?" and recognizing that failure is an event, not a person.

The Obstacle is the Way. Every great story requires a villain. Challenges, defeats, and obstacles are necessary for growth and transformation. Embrace the challenges and use them to write a better story with your life.

10. What's Next Feels Like: Navigating the Emotional Landscape

The scariest place to be is the same place as last year.

The Allure of the Familiar. Our brains are wired to search for safety and protection, which can lead us to cling to the familiar. However, the familiar can be dangerous if it prevents us from growing and taking risks.

Creating a Thought Converter. To overcome the tendency to play it safe, we need to create a converter within us. This involves converting negative thought patterns into positive ones.

Four Key Conversions:

• What if this doesn't work? to What if this does work?
• What if my best days are behind me? to What if my best days are ahead of me?
• You don't really know what you're doing to I'm learning how to do something I've never done before.
• This situation is unique to you to There's someone who has faced similar challenges, so seek them out.

Last updated: March 16, 2025