The Pivot Pro (From "On The Job" with Avery Thompson)

For the 8th season of "On The Job," host Avery Thompson shares stories of folks making pivots in their professional - and personal - lives. Whether it's a successful athlete transitioning into a new career off the field, a fly fishing tour guide trying to introduce a new segment of folks to the joys of the outdoors, or a stadium beer and hot dog hawker who doubles as the CEO of a red-hot start-up, we'll find out what drives them, how they've managed their pivots and what lies ahead. Strap in for eight more entertaining and heartfelt stories of people finding their life's work. "On The Job" is brought to you by Express Employment Professions.

On today's episode, author Adam Markel has learned the transformational power of making a professional pivot firsthand, and he shares his tips and tricks with us.
https://adammarkel.com

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to On the Job. Since we're focusing on pivots
this season, we hear at OTJ figured why not check
in with someone who knows all about pivots, So in
today's episode, we're going to speak with Adam Markel, who,
after a pivot of his own, went on to write
a book called Well What Else? Pivot. Before Adam Markel

(00:24):
ever thought of becoming an author and keynote speaker, he
was a lawyer in New York City, and a successful
one at that.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, I mean I liked winning, and there's a part
of you when you beat somebody in court that is
just an exhilarating experience.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
And there were even parts of the job the fulfilled
them on a psychological level.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
I was bullied as a kid, and at a certain
point when I decided that wasn't going to be my
life experience anymore, I became the carnivor's part of why
I became a lawyer.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
And as you can imagine, being a lawyer in Manhattan
was quite lucrative.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
You can make a lot of money, a lot of money,
a tremendous amount of money in a very controlled environment.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
And yet despite all the success, Adam could feel that
something was off, or more accurately, he could hear it.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
I would I could describe it almost like it was
a hum, and I would say, you know, it's like
saying to somebody, do you hear that? They go, they go,
what are you talking about? I'll go, it's that hum.
It's that there's like this dull thing out that says
this sucks.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
This is not right.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
But nobody heard it except me.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Adam just tried to pretend this hum wasn't there, to
focus more on his work, or, as he explained it,
to become even more of an agro aggressive attorney. Until
one day.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
You know, I ended up with a serious anxiety attack
at one point, ended up in the hospital, and you know,
the whole I'm thinking I'm dying of art attack experiences.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
Fortunately for Adam, the doctors checked him out and said
it was okay. But he knew if he didn't make
a change soon, it was only a matter of time.
But to understand the change that Adam made, we need
to go back a few years, back to Adam's teenage
years when he was a lifeguard on Long Island.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
I worked at a place called Jones Beach, was really
active beach. On the Atlantic Ocean, and we made and
I kid you not, we made one hundred plus saves
every Saturday or Sunday in the summer because we had
one hundred thousand people on that beach.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
And the more Adam thought back on those times, the
more he realized that not only did he miss the beach,
but that he drifted so far from that version of
himself that he loved. And with the support of his wife, Randy,
Adam said goodbye to the rat Race of New York
City and then he and the family packed up all
their belongings and moved way out to San Diego, California.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
I mean we were uprooting our entire family. I figured
I was going to have some therapy bills down the road.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
And that massive mid career pivot that Adam made was
a big influence on his decision to write a book
all about pivoting.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
We have to override that with design, and that's what
the book Pivot is about, designing your changes in life.
We are constantly growing in our cells, are replicating in
our bodies. Old cells dye and new cells are created.
This is the cycle of life. This is not didn't
make it up. This is what it is.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
And then when you do feel it's time to make
a change in your life, Adam wants to remind you
that it's all about that first step, however small it
might seem.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
And then you'll be inspired to do the one small thing.
Like in Pivot, I talk about the process, and that
process always starts with the tiniest little step, what we
like to refer to as the small domino thing.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
But I should clarify that neither Adam nor I are
saying that you have to drop everything and move across
the country or change careers.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
There's something really amazing when you find yourself in a role,
in an organization, in a profession that you could you
could be there for decades.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
So whether your next pivot is going to be as
big as Adams or subtle as a change in your perspective,
make sure that you listen to that voice in your head,
to that gut instinct that we're all so lucky to have.
Because come on, folks, haven't you been listening? Pivots are
so hot right now. For on the job, I'm Avery Thompson.

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