"Climb the Ladder"-"Getting Ahead"-"The Winning Edge"–What Does it All Mean?

 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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Topics:

Escape the 9 to 5 

Escape the 9-5 

Career Coach 

Career Advice 

Career Guidance 

Career Transition 

Career Change 

Next Step Careers Limited

Auckland Wellington Christchurch New Zealand

Episode Transcript

Random (00:00):
never, over.
Work it, harder, make it better, doit, faster, make so stronger, or then,
ever, or after, our work is never, over.

Shure MV7 (00:09):
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 competitionthat's unsustainable.
key to a successful career,what can you do instead?

(00:31):
In this episode, you're going to find out.
Be competitive.
Hustle harder.
Get ahead.
You've heard it all before, right?
Success, according to society, is a game.
A competition, where you're told thatif you push a little harder, if you just

(00:54):
grind a little longer, you'll finally win.
But here's the problem.
It's a game you're destined to lose.
Because there's always someone bigger.
Always something better.
Always someone faster.
And no matter how much you strengthenyour skills, your network, your

(01:16):
position, there's always anotherlevel you haven't reached.
I went to a private school whereI saw parents of kids work harder,
do longer hours, achieve more.
The result?
Entitled kids with low self esteem.
Relationship breakdowns.

(01:37):
And the worst part of all, parentsmissing their children growing up.
CEO who made millions workingoverseas, but barely took
part in his kid's childhoods.
His justification?
I can now help them get into businesses.

(01:58):
Even though I suspect hisrelationship with his kids isn't
just terrible, It's non existent.
Are you someone who ischasing ever harder?
more money.
Achieving bigger goalsand creating more wealth?
But if you stop to consider, have you gotthe real results you want in your life?

(02:21):
Like seriously, what doessuccess even mean to you?
If you spend your entire career chasingan external scoreboard, someone else's
version of success, you're goingto wake up one day, standing at the
top of the ladder, and realising itwas leaning against the wrong wall.
So what can you do instead?

(02:43):
Instead of competing in a game that neverends, What if you rewrote the rules?
What if you chose whatsuccess actually means to you?
In today's episode, we're going totalk about escaping this never ending
rat race and figuring out what ittruly means to win in your own life.

(03:05):
You're a working professionalstuck in a 9 to 5 job.
You've done everything right.
Climbed the ladder, workedhard, earned promotions.
But something doesn't feel quite right.
And deep down, you're starting to questionwhether this linear career path, the one
everyone told you would make you happy, isactually leading to where you want to go.

(03:31):
I'm career coach Dr.
Steve O'Earley, host andcreator of Escape the 9 to 5.
I'm going to break down the myth ofbigger, better, faster, stronger, and
why the future of careers isn't aboutclimbing a ladder, but navigating a
squiggly path that actually fits you.

(03:54):
Our modern capitalist societyLove's a clear, linear path.
It makes things simple.
Graduate.
Get a good job.
Get promoted.
Buy a house.
Work until retirement.
You're fitting in.
You're contributing to GDP.

(04:15):
And most importantly, you'reconforming to the system.
But here's the thing, careersare not linear anymore.
spoken to hundreds, if not thousandsof professionals in the last few
years, the most fulfilled, happiestprofessionals I've met, aren't the

(04:35):
ones playing this game to the end.
They're the ones who optedout, who realised That
success isn't a straight road.
It's a squiggly one.
So let me ask you again.
What does success actually mean to you?
Would you truly feel like you'dmade it with an executive role where

(04:58):
you're working 60 hours a week, a fourbedroom house, and a rental property?
Would you spend more time in the fourwalls of your office than you do with your
friends, your family, and even your kids?
Or would you feel happier if youhad more time to spend with those
you loved, Actually routinelyspend time doing hobbies?

(05:21):
Having the flexibilityto work your own hours?
Travel, or even buildsomething of your own?
Think about the times in your lifewhen you felt on top of the world.
It probably wasn't whenyou got a bigger paycheck.
It wasn't when you were bigger,better, faster, stronger.
It was likely when you were fulfilled.

(05:44):
To provide a personal example,I'll share three times I felt most
fulfilled in the past few years.
One.
Those first few hourswith my baby daughter.
There are not words to explain.
The level of fulfillment that gave me.
But any time we connect, we bothlaugh, and we're spending quality time

(06:08):
together, there is no job offer thatcould match that level of fulfillment.
welling up in my eyesjust thinking about it.
Two.
The few days surrounding my 10 yearuniversity reunion, spending time
uninterrupted with good friends,connecting with old friends, and having

(06:30):
no agenda on my mind other than toenjoy a few days off I was left buzzing
more than any line of cocaine orbottle of whiskey could ever provide.
Three.
Going surfing for the first timein months over Christmas and being
completely immersed in the experiencewith not a care in the world.

(06:54):
Walking out of the water I was as happyand in my element as I'll ever be.
You'll notice a theme here.
None of these moments have anything todo with money, titles, or achievements.
They're more personal.
They're the sort of thingsthat money just can't buy.

(07:16):
are the times more recently whenyou found that level of happiness
and fulfilment in your own life?
Was it spending timewith family or friends?
being in flow, doing your favoritehobby, or even a moment of pure
joy connecting with someone at adeeper level, this might be a better

(07:37):
measure of success for you than ourinsane modern definition of success.
Think about it.
Capitalism in its modern form hasbeen around for about a hundred years.
Deeper emotions, like love andjoy, are so primal, many mammals

(07:57):
experience these emotions.
They have literally beenaround for millions of years.
Do you want to measure yourlife by a man made social
construct or a deep psychologicalneed that all humans possess?
The point is, success isn't aboutplaying a game society built for you.

(08:20):
It's about creating yourown measuring stick.
Or even more specifically, understandingwhat you should be measuring.
So instead of asking questionslike, How can I get ahead?
How can I be better?
How can I win?
Ask questions like this.
What kind of life do I actually want?

(08:42):
What do I want my days to look like?
What kind of work makesme feel the most alive?
once you know the answers to thesequestions, you can start designing
your own squiggly career path.
See you next time.