230: Follow Your Mindful Career Path with Alicia Ramsdell

Alicia Ramsdell was raised by two hard-working parents who laid a solid foundation for her and her three sisters; the family came first, and education was a critical path to making a secure living. From an early age, mathematics came quickly to Alicia. So when she decided on her college major, she concluded that accounting would be a good choice. It checked off all the boxes, or so she thought. It was a secure profession that would pay well. As Alicia learned more about the principles and practices of accounting, she realized didn’t love it. Yet she held herself to the value of finishing things she started and kept telling herself that it was a pathway to financial security. In fact, Alicia became so invested in her accounting career that she went on to earn her master’s degree in taxation. She characterizes this as identity foreclosure, which is a psychological term describing an individual who commits to an identity without exploring options.

The turning point in Alicia’s life came when her father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in his early 40s. She watched as her parents’ life plans changed completely, and it was a wake-up call for Alicia. She also was raising two young children and wanted to be able to share more with them about what it means to have a meaningful career.

Today, Alicia is the founder and CEO of ​Mindful Career Path​, designing career fulfillment in collaboration with her clients' professional passion and energy. She is a certified career services provider, a global career development facilitator, and holds a certificate in mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques.

In her ​TEDx talk​, Alicia says, "Don't be afraid to fail in the career of your dreams. Be afraid to succeed in the career of your nightmares."

In this week’s ​Work From The Inside Out podcast,​