I help people on a regular basis who are looking for coaching, ideas and inspiration on getting ready for what I like to call their “encore career”. Many of them come to me with the same questions and concerns, and I have found that it is helpful to give them an example of what others have done to show them what is possible.
This got me thinking that I should put together a blog article with one of my best examples, and that is what this little blog is all about.
One of my clients, Greg, has been a chiropractor for most of his adult life and, as he’s approaching 60. He came to me about a year ago seeking answers to how to phase out of his chiropractic career. He wanted to phase into something that was less strenuous on his body, and didn’t require him to show up at his office every day at specific hours.
We talked at length and I found that Greg is quite a capable writer and has been writing poetry and learning about how to write scripts for TV commercials in his spare time. As a matter of fact, he is always been quite passionate about writing and has gone to night school classes and taken a number of online classes as well to augment his writing skills.
The only thing that really was a holding him back from becoming a full-time writer was the fact that he had not actually ever made any money as a writer. This is a problem, by the way, that many of my clients have. They are interested in transitioning into a different occupation, sometimes a completely different from the industry than what they have been in for many years, but since the money is not there, it can be a little bit daunting.
So, in coaching with Greg, he realized he needed to test the waters to see if his writing was even good enough to be published. His first steps was to submit his writing work to a number of companies to get their feedback and also to get feedback from as many “real people” as he could about his skills, keeping his mind open to the fact that he might not like what he heard. His major fear was giving up the steady paycheck from his chiropractic practice. However, he was willing to face his fears in the interest of truly moving ahead.
I’m glad to say that, almost a year later, Greg has actually transitioned from chiropractor to full-time write. He not only has been able to match his previous income by almost 70%, but now has a group of customers in a myriad of different businesses that come to him on a regular basis for their writing needs, including scriptwriting, reviews and articles.
Today, Greg is doing something that he is very passionate about. It’s also something that he can literally do from anywhere since all he needs is a computer and an Internet connection. Greg’s “encore career” has given him the freedom to travel, spend time with his children and grandchildren and really enjoy his life. As far as examples go, he’s one of the best that I have and hopefully his story has inspired you to go out and do the same.
Thank you to our associate career coach Katie Weiser for this post!
Hallie Crawford and Katie Weiser
Certified Career Coaches
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