Escape the nine to five: how to design your career

As I'm slowly returning back from paternity leave, I thought it would be fitting to share an episode on the very thing we work for:

Our life.

 Is having work-life balance achievable?

Is it realistic?

What does work-life balance even mean to me?

These are likely questions you've had running through your head.

What does your current work-life balance look like?

And what is your own definition of work-life balance?

You want a successful ...

 If you're a millennial, chances are you've got boomer parents. Parenting with reward and punishment. Sticks and carrots. Extrinsic motivation. And this might lead to a career choice based on reward and punishment. A well paying "prestigious" job. Implied negative consequences if you didn't go to college. Safe professions. And the result? A draining job where work is exhausting. Days drag on forever. And by Friday, you're counting ...

 The Monday Blues. Hump day. TGIF. It's become so normal, we've just accepted that you should dread work and celebrate the end of the work week. Why do we put up with this? Why do we settle for jobs that drain us, rather than energise us? Especially when they're not necessarily meaningfully contributing to society. And more importantly, what can you do about it? In this episode, you're going to find out.

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If you’re enjoying this ...

 My life's mission is to help working professionals like you take the next steps in their professional lives and design a career that works for them. And part of that mission is interviewing some of the most interesting career changes on the planet. Top career coaches. As well as regular people like you and me who went from a standard career and decided to walk the path less travelled.

Someone who followed that journey is Steve H...

You've been told your entire life, to follow your passion. That if you just love the work you do, work won't feel like work at all. And yet, you're sitting at your desk, clock-watching, questioning whether you made the right career choice.  But what if you've been looking at it all wrong?

In today's Monday Motivation, I'm going to convince you why not to follow your passion, and what you should do instead.

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If you’re enjoying this po...

Growing up, we get told to practice. Practice your alphabet, practice your timetables, practice your sports drills. But what if you're practicing the wrong things? What if you're not focusing on the things you're good at? Do you even know what your strengths are? Maybe you don't even realise how good you are at certain things, because they come so naturally. But unlocking these strengths. Unlocks a superpower. A superpower that ha...

 What is it costing you to keep chasing the illusion of wealth? In today's episode, we're going to break free from the consumerism mindset.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to follow us on your favourite app.

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Join the Escape the nine to five MOVEMENT: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/etntf 

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To contact Steve directly, visit: https://www.nextstepcareers.nz/ 

Or email: steve@nextstepcareers.nz 

Or che...

This week, I'm joined by Jim Collison & Saurav Atri - two experts on using your strengths at work.

You'll learn:

1. How to truly figure out your strengths
2. How working to your strengths will transform your career

And I'll give you one simple tool you can use today to put this conversation into practice.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to follow us on your favourite app.

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Join the Escape the nine to five MOVEM...

 You see others who seem to love what they do, thriving in their careers, and you wonder: What's wrong with me? Why does work feel like such a slog? Why does it feel like I'm constantly trying to keep up, instead of excelling? And then, Doubt creeps in. You start to believe, maybe you're just as not talented as others. But here's the truth: You're not stuck because of lack of talent. You're stuck because of something core to your b...

 You grew up thinking careers were linear. Step one: get a degree. Step two: land a job. Step three: climb the ladder. But you've seen enough examples of people not following this path to know it's bullshit. And often, these people are happier than the corporate warriors climbing the ladder. You want more from your career: one that grows with you, that evolves, that gives you more freedom and fulfilment. In this happiness episode,...

 Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. Can't we see that it's an endless competition that we're all destined to lose? Climb the ladder. The winning edge. Getting ahead. It's all a competition, that's unsustainable. What can you do instead? In this episode, you're going to find out.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to follow us on your favourite app.

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Join the Escape the nine to five MOVEMENT: 

https://www.facebook.com/...

 Have you ever wished you could get some advice from other career pivoters? Not just one or two tips, but the whole process. Even better: what if you could get 10,000 hours of experience in the career transition space? Heck, if you talk to someone like that, you might be talking to an expert.

Mark Lankford is that expert.

He started on Wall Street, worked overseas and then came back to work in start ups, has worked in eight diffe...

 You're working hard, but it's sometimes hard to see where this is all going. Deep down you wonder. What if I've chosen the wrong path? What if I'm wasting time, climbing higher in a role I don't even like? But imagine sticking with the wrong ladder for the next 5, 10, or even 20 years? Sure, you might earn a decent pay check, or pick up a fancy title, but what about your happiness, your growth, your sense of purpose?

In a world ...

You're stuck in a career that feels like it's going nowhere. When you started in your job, it felt like the perfect stepping stone to success. A clear ladder to climb. But now? You're staring at the same desk, the same tasks, and the same routine you've been in for years. You thought you'd have it all figured out by now. More money. More purpose. More growth. Instead, you feel stagnant. And the idea of making a change feels overwh...

 You wake up every day, rushing into the same routine: Work emails, meetings, deadlines. You tell yourself, you'll chase those dreams "some day", but some day isn't a date on your calendar–and your life calendar has an expiry date. When was the last time you reflected on the fact you're going to die? In this episode, we're going to reflect on the key message from this week.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to follow u...

How many times have you sat with your closest friends, venting about work, and dreaming about doing something different? But how often do those conversations actually lead to action? The truth is, most of us are great at talking about change, but terrible at holding ourselves, or each other, accountable.

How many conversations have you had where the same career frustrations come up over and over again?

Yet here you are, still in t...

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to achieve their career goals faster than others? Is it talent, hard work, or even luck? Maybe it's something much simpler–something you can tap into today. You've probably heard the saying, "You're the sum of the five people you spend the most time with." It isn't just some motivational quote, it's actually backed by science. In this happiness episode, you're going to find out.

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If you’re...

 People love putting you in boxes: Ben the accountant. Jess the lawyer. Steve the Vet. We're taught from a young age to aim for stability, safety, and predictability. Deviating from that is seen as a threat. Not just to you, but to the very framework they've built their lives around.

It's not just a career path.

It's an identity.

And when you show them another way, it makes them question their own choices. How do you avoid this c...

 Today's guest is a walking case study on what happens when we chase external success, but it doesn't match who we are on the inside. She is, in her own words, a corporate dropout, a recovering codependent, people pleaser. She was a very successful professional in the advertising industry, only to get burnt out to the point. She couldn't get out of bed. It made her ask the question most of us ask at some point in our professiona...