Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Prioritizing Your Goals: Finding Clarity Amidst Life's Chaos | Ep #126
Episode - #126
Host: Shannon Russell
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Shannon Russell: Have you been wondering if now is the right time to change careers? If you have been asking yourself that question, you are not alone. I created a new 10 question quiz that will give you the clarity you need. Download the quiz at secondactsuccess.co/quiz. You will get results quick. Plus, you'll get action items for you to implement right away.

I am also including private podcast links to give you even more information on how you can move forward to pursue your second act career. You can grab it now at secondactsuccess.co/quiz. Good luck!

Hey, you, are you feeling stuck, desperate for a career change or thinking of starting a business, but you're just not sure how to make your first move? I'm television producer turned career coach, Shannon Russell, and this is the Second Act Success Career Podcast. This is where you will not only get the career advice you've been craving, but you'll get [00:01:00] tips from career and business experts.

along with inspiration from others who have made a career transition to find Second Act Success. Let's get started.

Hey there. Welcome back to the podcast. I am excited to have this solo episode because I really wanted to focus on empowerment empowering the stories that we tell ourselves. And kind of talk about. Our professional journeys.

On the podcast before we've talked about, what is your career story? Where did you begin your career? What have you accomplished? What have you experienced? What have you learned along the way and where are you choosing to go from here? That is your career story, and it's also your professional journey, your professional story. How you want to show up in the world that you work in and how you want to serve your community, serve your company, serve [00:02:00] yourself, how you want to make money for your family, how you want to earn a living.

And what you want to do for your work day in and day out. Now this past week, I have celebrated the birthdays of my two sons. I have two boys and they have birthdays that are five days apart. And during this time, I really find myself reflecting on a lot of the choices that I have made in my life and my career that have led me here to a week where I can truly celebrate them and celebrate their birthdays and be really present with them during this time, because it's a special week in our house. You know, when I left behind my career in television to embark on this journey of entrepreneurship, I wasn't just chasing a different type of success.

I was really trying to prioritize. What really mattered to me in this second act that I was creating for myself. I've talked a lot here on the show [00:03:00] about, I wasn't someone who left a job that was toxic, that I hated. I left a job, a career. That was my, everything that I really truly loved with all of my hearts. And I just got to a point where. Where I guess I just, as I like to say, I checked the box. I checked the box and I knew that now that I had two children. And they were little, they were three and a newborn at the time when this change occurred for me. That I really just had a shift in my priorities and I was able to look at my first act and say, okay, that was amazing.

That was a dream come true. I'm proud of what I accomplished. Now what's the next adventure. And that's where the shift happened for me. Where I looked at my boys and my career as being a mother as my new priority. .

My children are really my driving force. They are the inspiration behind [00:04:00] me moving from television into entrepreneurship. They are the reason that I built my two businesses to be flexible so that I can be with them as much as I can.

And. Participate at school and take them to their activities and be able to spend a week, having parties and lunches and, taking them out of school and celebrating their birthdays. That is important to me and a priority to me as the mom. I want to be. So my children obviously mean a lot. today I have two businesses.

I have my franchise business and then I have my Second Act Success career coaching business. And as a career transition coach. I am passionate about helping other women discover their priorities and build careers or businesses that align with those priorities. So that they can have a very full life. 'cause sometimes. And you might experience this too. That when you were working at a [00:05:00] job, that's really pulling you in a million directions. And then you go home and you're being pulled in a million directions at home. It's hard to find. That harmony.

It's hard to find where you can take a breath and sit back. And be present because you're thinking about work. You're thinking about home and. I think there's a way to prioritize your work with your home life and kind of intermingled them. In a way that fulfills you and doesn't just exhaust you. And it's not easy to find that balance.

I mean, there really is, in my opinion, no true balance balance between everything, but there's a way. To make little shifts, as you think about your second act and think about what you are moving into that can make, that move, just a little simpler and a little bit more focused so that you can know your non-negotiables.

You can know what you want to move towards and make that move really aligned with your [00:06:00] priorities.

Let's dive a little further into the topic of empowering women to prioritize their life goals in the realm of work and business. As women, we often navigate multiple roles as we've been talking about, right.

Multiple responsibilities. From careers to family obligations, personal aspirations. And then just trying to find a way to make all of those different worlds and those different roles kind of come together in this really symbiotic way. And in the midst of the whirlwind of us trying to balance it all, it really is crucial for us. To take that pause and reflect on what matters the most.

Let's explore some strategies for finding focus and finding that clarity, amidst all of the chaos. That might be our lives and our careers right here at the moment. Okay.

Okay.

First and foremost, it is essential to recognize our true priorities. In order to do that, you want to take a moment for some self reflection [00:07:00] and really identify the core values that guide your decisions and your actions. Consider the roles that you play. You might be a parent, a partner, a professional. you might be a caregiver to a family member or to a child. determine out of all of those roles that you play. Which is the most significant for you? Maybe prioritize them in some sort of order.

And maybe that order is not possible. Maybe they all are as equally important to you. Just take a moment to kind of think about that, which is your priority. If being the boss at work is your priority over. Being a partner at home. Then that's what it is. If being a parent or a caregiver, is your priority over any other relationship or work obligation that you may have, then that is your priority.

Figure out where your priorities lie amongst all of your roles.

Mhm.

[00:07:59] Shannon Russell: [00:08:00] Hey there, my friend. Shannon here just popping in quickly because I'm wondering, is this episode getting you thinking? Are you starting to come up with ideas for your second act? Maybe it's changing careers, writing a book, starting a business, whatever it is, I am here to help. You can book a free discovery call with me so that we can chat about your next steps.

So head over to secondactsuccess.co/coaching. Now let's get back to the episode

.

balancing work and life can be challenging, but it's not about achieving that perfect balance. We have to remind ourselves that instead we want to find. that work life integration. We want to find a harmony between the professional and the personal, we really want to establish clear, clear boundaries. We want to prevent the burnout. We want to prevent the chaos and the craziness that we might feel when we're being pulled in all of these directions.

And we want to prioritize our self care as well. So we really want [00:09:00] to focus on our priorities and then figure out how we can fulfill our obligations to these priorities. But in a way that doesn't not overly stress us out.

For example. If you are the boss at work, if you are in charge of a major project that is going on, that you know is going to last for say the next two weeks. Right now at this moment, being that professional at work might be your priority. So, how can you set yourself up to focus on that role for the next two weeks? And let everyone else in your life know that that is your priority at the moment.

What you can do is establish those boundaries. For not only yourself for those around you. Maybe it is having that conversation with your partner or the conversation with your family or friends and letting them know that, hey, I have this really big deadline.

That's coming up. [00:10:00] I need two weeks to work on this project, so I might not be able to be as present at home for dinner. I might not be able to attend as many practices after school. You might have to lean on so-and-so for homework, help. I will be focusing on this for work because it's extremely important.

And after this deadline is up. I will be back into my role as fill in the blank. So It really is just about setting those boundaries, letting everyone know that this is where you're going to put your focus. And by having that open line of communication,

you will be able to hopefully prevent any burnout. Because you're focusing on one roll at a time. You'll also be able to kind of maintain some self care and your own wellbeing. At the same time.

Mhm.

That is one option of prioritizing your roles and focusing on what you need to take care of. If you already have a job, or if you have a career in [00:11:00] place that you're working towards. ,

However, if you are looking for work, and if you're exploring other career roles that might be available. You want to think about your priorities as you search for these roles? We've definitely talked about this before the non-negotiables and that's when you take a list and you write down what is most important to you?

If you need weekends off because that's family time. If you need to be finished with work by 4:00 PM because that's when the children get home, those are your non-negotiables. So You take those with you as you look for your next career move.

Flexibility is one of the number one things that people look for when they're exploring a new job up.

. If flexibility in the workplace is something that is important to you. Then you want to seek out those employers who have it as a priority as well. You want to make sure that that company that you are sending your resume to offers flexible work arrangements hybrid working work from home [00:12:00] options. Or you might want to consider an entrepreneurial route where you have more control over your schedule. Or really embracing or even embracing kind of the consultant role, freelance options, the gig economy, if you will, those are job options. That really allow you to take on a project when you're available.

And when that project is over, you can choose. If you want to jump onto another one or take some time off. So there's a lot of flexibility to be found

in that freelancing and consulting world as well.

Okay.

Next let's talk about guilt, right? . Overcoming feelings of guilt and the societal expectations of what you should be doing as a woman in the workplace. And as a woman in the home, we have these expectations put on us that we need to be everywhere all at once, and it can be a lot. So if we can't make it to. The school party for our children.

If we can't make [00:13:00] it to the family obligation, if we can't make it out to happy hour with friends that that guilt creeps in, and that we're not doing enough because we can't be everywhere all at once. So I challenge you. To remember that it is O K to prioritize you and your wellbeing. And your aspirations.

If you're looking for new work,

If you are working on a project that is taking some extra attention. You are allowed, who prioritize you, you are allowed to say no embrace. No. That is something that I have definitely been trying to do. So when I get asked to go grab lunch and I'm in the middle of writing my book, or if my neighbors are having a party and I have a lot going on with work or with my family. No is the answer because I need to prioritize what is most important to me at the moment.

We all have to start letting go of being [00:14:00] perfect

and seek support from our friends and our family and our coworkers. And even our mentors, seek that support and let people know when you're busy, let people know when you need a break, let them know why. Be honest and open and let's get rid of that guilt of not being able to do it all and focus on our wellbeing. And not being perfect. And sticking up for the priorities that we have going on because

we're always working on ourselves. We are pursuing goals. And so whether we're pursuing goals in the home at work personally, Professionally, whatever it is. Our goals are ultimately our priority. We need to respect them and not feel the guilt of being pulled in just extra directions. , when it doesn't really serve us.

Okay.

Okay, one more tip for you here. Embrace personal [00:15:00] growth and fulfillment as an essential part. Of your journey. And what I mean by that is. Investing in you. Investing in continuous learning or pursuing your passions outside of work and really digging into your creativity and those hobbies that you love.

And. Celebrating you along the way,

we all know what it's like to be busy. We've been discussing that here in this episode, but what's important is to celebrate our successes and those small victories that we can accomplish. And whether everyone knows about these victories or just, we know. And We can celebrate them with ourselves. It's just important to take that moment to say, Hey, I'm on a roll.

I am working towards what it was that I said I was prioritizing.

I'm working on that next step, that will lead me to my ultimate goal. It's important to give yourself those props and take that moment and to embrace that we are on a journey. So [00:16:00] there's going to be personal growth along the way. Bumps and bruises, highs, and lows, but it's part of our journey and we're learning from every step and mistake that we make along the way.

So let's embrace the way we are moving in this world.

Let's embrace the achievements that we're making. Let's embrace the times when things are hard and let's let go of the guilt. Embrace learn and keep on moving, because if we feel the pressure of being pulled in all of these directions, The guilt of having to be everywhere all at once.

The pressure of not succeeding, as soon as we want to, then everything starts chipping away at us. So we want to make sure that we can find whatever kind of integration with work life, professional, personal balance. That we can kind of come up with in our own little world. And that goes back to our priorities. If we can prioritize, what's important to us at [00:17:00] this stage in our lives, in our careers. Then we can move forward. Uh, more confident and more ready to just knock it out of the park.

And that's what you're doing. That's what you're doing. Just joining in on this conversation with me today. You are sitting here trying to figure out. How you can take that next step, how you can prioritize you and your goals. And really feel that empowerment to get you to that next step.

And I hope that's what you're getting from this podcast. I encourage you to embark on. Your journey, uh, prioritizing your goals, whether they're for your life, for your career, for work for business, but find that clarity, find that focus amidst all of the chaos,

all of the roles that you were playing, the things that you were juggling, just empower yourself to create the fulfilling career. And the meaningful life that you desire.

Once you do, you are on your way. My friend.

Okay.

I want to thank you. [00:18:00] Thank you for tuning in to the Second Act Success Career Podcast.

I will be back next time. So stay tuned for more inspiring stories and strategies to help you thrive on your professional journey. until next time, keep striving for success on your terms.

[00:18:17] Shannon Russell: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to Second Act Success. To view show notes from this episode, visit secondactsuccess.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell and this is Second Act Success.