Check out my most recent contributions on my blog(s) for additional motivation and insights to your escape journey.

* If You Had Six Weeks
I was recently told of a scene from the movie Fight Club. I'd seen the movie ages ago, but had forgotten this particular bit. Brad Pitt's character walks into a restaurant and holds a gun to the dishwasher's head. The dishwasher begs for his life. The dishwasher says: 'I'll do anything, just don't kill me'. Pitt's character asks him: 'Is this what you want to do with your life? Is this what you dreamt of as a kid?'

* Enemies of Change
On a course I did recently we were introduced to the concept of 'enemies of learning' - what are the thoughts and attitudes that prevent us from learning and being open to learning. It made me think of the work I do one-on-one and so I went through my client notes from the last few months, and surely enough I found a lot of reasons not to change that were similar to the ones that I'd learned about learning. So here's a selection, in no particular order, of what I would call: 'enemies of change'. See if any of them sound familiar - and think how they might be preventing you from starting your career shift...

Rarely, if ever actually, has the first answer been:
"Because I love what I do" or "Because it means so much to me to spend my time doing X..."

* But I Don't Have Enough Experience
Do you often feel that you don't have the right or enough experience to really do what you want? Are there days when you feel that everyone else just is so much more qualified than you are? Do you read job ads thinking I can't apply for these jobs as I don't have the right experience?

How would you describe yourself? Who is Roger?
A few words come to mind: adventurous, futurist (although I am trying to appreciate and spend more time in the present!), friend, husband, optimist, fun- loving.

What are you working on now?
I'm working as Manager of Talent Management in a major multinational company, which involves ensuring that we attract, retain, develop and engage people to the best of our ability. This helps individuals get the most from their current roles and potential future roles. A lot of my work includes one-to-one time with people but also dealing with very senior leaders in the business so relationship building and influencing are key. However, without a doubt the most important resource I have is the passion for what I do. I work in a team of 5, and we primarily concentrate on key talent within the organization, covering all continents and generally director-level and above.

And I do a lot of courses too, some self-financed and some paid for by work. I've recently done courses on career counselling, advanced facilitation and being a 'corporate athlete' (exploring optimum energy management / performance in the work place). Later in the year I'm doing one on inspirational leadership, and how to bring your true self to your role.

What has been your journey to what you are doing now?
Growing up I loved business, I enjoyed buying and selling things. I was always creative about how I could get the money I needed to make my little dreams happen, for example travel / holidays, music and sports gear.

We didn't have a careers counsellor at school, so as my family were pushing the college route, it felt like studying economics, business and social studies would make sense. I did love it. Although thinking back on it, it was the people I enjoyed, although I did quite well with my coursework too. However, coming out of university, the business world had lost some of its appeal. I felt more entrepreneurial, and sitting somewhere in a suit was not appealing.

I loved the idea of travelling though, and got an interview with an airline (BA). It was one of the only career stands I'd been attracted to. But then I was talking to my brother, and he said I should consider doing accountancy, as it was one of the best qualifications in business I could get. If I wanted to travel, I could do that with a chartered accountancy degree. So I got an interview with one of the 'Big 5' accountancy firms in Dublin. The only problem was that it was on the same day as the BA one, which I ended up delaying. But I got offered the accountancy job almost straight away. It was a difficult decision, but I thought here is a job many would love to have secured and in four years time once qualified I will have freedom to travel the world and make good money; it just seemed like the right thing to do.

So I spent four years there - with mixed emotions. On the plus side, I met some of my best friends there, including my wife Sheila. I learned A LOT about business. But I also have some of the most painful memories of my career. I'd normally work 60 hour weeks, then I'd have to do 3 hour lectures on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings, and do horrendously hard exams each summer. A lot of the values and culture went against what I stood for; there was not a lot of freedom, not a lot of entrepreneurial spirit, or a great incentive to help the development of others. The ruthless ambition of senior managers also didn't really agree with me (allied to the nature of what the company stood for and what it 'achieved' for or offered to, life).

During those years, I also noticed that I was drinking and eating a lot more. In general, I was not as happy and optimistic a person as I usually am and wanted to be. So once I finished my exams, I resigned and moved to Australia. I earned plenty doig contract accounting work on an hourly late, only worked 6 months of that year and in general was loving life (but not caring what I did in work - or even think about it after 5pm!). Sheila and I went travelling through Southeast-Asia together for 3-4 months. Our aim was to move to New York, but we came to London first, with the aim to be here 2 years, and now 7 ½ years later we're still here.

When we got here, I joined the company I am still at today as a contract accountant, with the aim to save money to pay off previous and save for future travels. I had no intention of going permanent. But I really liked the culture of the company, and thought this could be what I've been waiting for: l'm actually enjoying my job... I thought. I worked in corporate finance for about 3 years. But a year in, I noticed that there was still something wrong. But I tried to distract myself from these thoughts, and I'd live it up at evenings and weekends not thinking about it. But I felt there was a big mismatch between my work and this other life. I respected the individuals I worked with, but it was not an environment that I wanted to spend my time in. I felt like I had so much more potential, more to offer, like something was being wasted. What if this is me at 45?

I knew that I wanted to give everything that I have to my work, and that if I was going to devote my energy, I wanted to do it properly. I wanted to make a change, and we agreed we would find a way to make it financially (at his stage it's worth noting Sheila had also changed her career to become an actress!). Whatever the career is that I wanted to do, I'd just go for it, no matter how far fetched.

I explored loads of options - whatever it was I was going to go for it, including things like tree surgery! I would look for people doing the types of roles I thought would appeal, I'd talk to them, read books. I also explored franchising, but still felt like something was missing - we only have certain amount of time on this earth, why spend it setting up a Starbucks?

So I got to the question of: what drives me? Early in life it was the excitement of being involved with business. Looking back of course so much of this was also motivated by what I could get a job doing (and paid for). On reflection I still liked being involved in 'business' but it was being with people, excitement of everyone working together for something. At the core I realised it was helping people live up to their full potential. Thinking about it I realised that I had loads of examples of having helped people, that this is what I had a passion and a gift for, but I hadn't put my finger on it, nor had I thought that I could make a living from it.

Somebody named it life coaching - I looked into it and it was as if time had stopped. I couldn't believe people were doing this. This was absolutely me. I researched it and realised that everything about it appealed. I found NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and thought: 'this is amazing'. I'd been trying to work this out in my head for years. Life completely changed then. It just felt like this was the route that I was meant to go down.

It's sometimes scary to think how in the dark I was, and how easily I could have stayed there. I had loads of people around me with the attitude of: this is what life deals you, it is what it is, and to change now is more difficult than not to. It's funny, when I was going into accountancy people said I'd never make it through the training / exams as I was so unsuited to it. Then when I was well into my career in finance they started telling me I couldn't leave!

It's such a shame as there are plenty of people in the same situation and the way I see it, there is a lot of wasted potential out there.

I was still in finance at this time. But I decided to take a NLP Master Practitioner Course to be a Life Coach. I had to use up all of my holidays for 1½ years and 8000 pounds of my own money. We were just about to get married and postponing holidays was not ideal, but my work wouldn't pay or accommodate it as it was too far off my role.

At the end of the course I knew I wanted to find a job doing this, but didn't want to be a life coach full- time. I was going to find a job doing this stuff, even if it meant working in a training company at half salary if need be. But first I thought to explore options in the company I was already in. I realised I needed to find a mentor in the international side of the business. He didn't quite understand exactly what I was looking for, but he put me in touch with several people, through whom I got a tip to contact yet another person, someone in HR. I called this lady 5 times, but she never returned my calls. So I kept pestering. I so needed to talk to her, I wasn't embarassed about what she thought. She finally answered. She realised how passionate I was, she was just studying NLP herself, and it turned out that someone in her team was going on maternity leave. She said it would be a big jump for me and a risk for them, but come for an interview. I researched the whole area (recruitment and talent management) - and got the job! This is one of the happiest memories! I knew thus was the first step to a new career and path in life. It was only a secondment, but in 6 months they restructured, and a job came up running the recruitment team and doing talent management. It was a promotion, and I got it. I did this for 1 ½ years. And 18 months ago I got my current role, which is really what I wanted, a pure talent management position, doing leadership development work.

How do you see the future?
Exciting. With family. In the west coast of Ireland. Being self-employed. Having more time off, but the time I am working being very motivated and in flow. A lot of one-to-one coaching. Focusing on the customers who need it but can't really afford it. Like teachers for example. Or kids, disadvantaged kids. I think we'll move back in about 3 years...

Would you do anything differently?
I would. In school, I would have asked for a career counsellor. A friend of the family was a career counsellor. I think it would have affected what I did in college - as I think I would have gone to study psychology. Also, I would not have gone for 'presumed' job security or listened to people's fears of what you can or cannot get a job from. I think this clouded my judgement early on.

What advice would you give to other people in similar situations as you were in?
· · Be patient. Get to know yourself (what really drives and motivates you, honestly). Consider what your options are. What have you got that will help you get to where you want to go. There's no rush, you are better off making the right decision

· Look at the resources you have in a different way. You are not just in accounting or in sales - what are the skills and experience that you have? A lot are directly transferable. Influencing, communicating - a lot of things that I did in accounting were needed in HR.

· Talk to people! Meet as many people as you possibly can and talk about and explore with them what you'd like to do. Everybody is happy to meet, and people love to talk about themselves. I could have been applying for jobs until the cows came home, but I couldn't have got the first right job without talking to the right people. It was clear that I was passionate and motivated, which could be heard but not transmitted in a CV. Don't worry about the set-backs. For me it was the last conversation that made things happen. I kept thinking that this was going to happen and pictured what it would look like when I was doing it. It sounds strange but I think people can pick up on that as you believe it yourself! The more you talk about what you are passionate about the more you can picture it and be even more convincing, so it's then not a case of if, but when. 'What you can conceive and believe you can achieve' as they say!

Reignite Your Career: Careershifters Evening

Monday, September 24, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
6-8.30 pm
Central London venue (near Angel tube)

To register and for more information, click here

Kickstart Your Career Change

Saturday-Sunday, October 13-14, 2007
9.30am-5 pm
Central London venue (near Whitehall)

No more if's, but's and when's...

Make 2007 the year that you really do something about getting yourself out of a job that doesn't quite feel right and into one that you want to jump out of bed for!

Before coaching I was lost and felt isolated. Everyone around me seemed to have jobs they liked or atleast were good at. I felt that I was stuck in a career that I had studied so hard to do yet felt bored and hopeless. My career was stripping me of all my confidence and self worth.

My friend sent me a website link and that is how I got in touch with Satu. She has been brilliant with me as she's made see that my skills, strengths and passions lie elsewhere and that it is never too late to make that leap. She has not only helped me get on the right path but has made me into a more positive person!- On the Right Path, UK

You know how some successful professionals stay in jobs that don't fulfill them waiting for the perfect job to land on their lap, or to have enough money to leave and do what they 'really' want to do

Which means that they have some good days, but most days they aren't living or working to their potential, and start being more and more unhappy with their work, which then reflect on their lives

What I do is help these people create an escape plan doing what they want (not what they feel other people want)

Which means they have clarity about the type of work that would bring them the satisfaction they crave for - and a plan to get the work too!