Navigating Career Changes (w/ Hugh Lawson)
Let me introduce you to a good friend - Hugh Lawson.
Hugh has been an influential mentor and trusted advisor to me over the last 10+ years.
Who Is Hugh?
Hugh has seen it all.
From playing professional football in the Canadian Football League to building a business as an entrepreneur and eventually becoming a senior sales leader, his journey has not been a walk in the park.
After eight games in the CFL, Hugh stepped away from the football to start a promotional products company.
Things started out amazing!
Everything was going just as he had envisioned it until 2008 rolled around. I’m sure you can imagine how that story ends.
Ultimately, the Great Recession forced him to fold his hand and get back to the drawing board.
Hugh told the story of his ride through peaks and valleys in his life after sports during an interview with Joseph Fung from UVARO, an online tech sales career accelerator.
Listen to it here:
After hearing Hugh’s story, I felt compelled to share it with you. He drops so many gems.
3 Lessons on Perseverance and Career Pivots
The World is NOT Going To End
No matter how bad things may seem in the moment, just remember it is only a moment.
A blip on your radar.
Don’t let one event define you and your success.
The outcomes of your life have yet to be determined. You can always get back to the drawing board and figure out another way to make it happen tomorrow.
If you’re not dead, don’t quit.
Scared Money Don’t Make Money
In order to take your business to the next level, you have to be willing to go all in.
If you have a side-gig that’s starting to show potential and growing in the right direction, eventually, you just have to commit.
That’s how you will reach the milestones you are chasing. Don’t be afraid to bet on yourself when the time is right.
Work your plan A like you have no plan B.
Failure Can Be An Empowering Experience
When you discuss your failures, you subconsciously give other people the permission to be brave.
So many of us hold back from pursuing goals that we have been thinking about in private because we don’t want to fall flat on our face in front of our peers.
As a leader, it is powerful when you expose your greatest vulnerability to the people you lead.
When they see you as an equal - Someone who bleeds just like them - that gives them the freedom they need to cut loose and go for their goals without the fear of failure.
As a leader, sharing stories of your failure is one of the most powerful things you can do.
More importantly, as a person with goals, failure is nothing to fear. It is to be embraced and learned from.
Your greatest strengths are developed in your toughest battles.