April 9, 2020 | by David March.
As an intuitive and creative person, I have always been excited by possibilities. Not only can I come up with endless amounts of ideas, but I can also look at all the different ways there are to approach each challenge or problem. This gives me the tendency to overthink and lose focus, making it difficult to stay on a clear path. But, along the journey I am about to share, I did find my focus which helped me realize my dream and the path I needed to take to get there.
How I discovered my ideal career
When I began my search for a career, my tendency to overthink was in full gear. I went to college and struggled with the endless variations of majors to choose from! Even within the field of psychology, which I eventually landed on, there were so many different courses and careers I could end up with: clinical psychology, biopsychology, child psychology, forensic psychology, abnormal psychology… Is your head spinning yet?
I questioned, like so many people do, how this education would prepare me for the actual work I would be doing out in the real world. There was a disconnect between what was taught in universities and what was applied in the real world.
I ended up taking courses in general psychology, but I didn’t like that I was learning about dendrites in the brain and the biology of the human mind. I was more interested in understanding what makes people happy, how people make choices, and the strength of the human spirit.
Most areas of psychology tend to point out what’s wrong with people and how to spot it. I wanted to initiate a conversation about what’s right with people. I felt it was important to move the conversation away from the field of psychology that focuses on mental disorders and diseases.
My mindset shift and transition to coaching was due to the way I wanted to apply my knowledge and understanding of psychology. I wanted to work with people one-on-one, in a positive and productive way.
I wanted to talk about how people are all inherently of equal value. Personality psychology and positive psychology are two fields that delve into this concept. We hear a lot about Post-Traumatic Stress – but what about Post-Traumatic Growth? Or the difference between the placebo effect and the nocebo effect?
I began my career transition by educating myself on the field of coaching. I read scores of books, attended seminars and classes, and gorged myself on as much knowledge as I could get my hands on. Each idea led me down another rabbit hole, and I followed each one through. I even spent time learning about Eastern philosophies and how to marry them with Western teachings.
After all that, I sat down to write a book about my findings. During the process of creating the book, I struggled with all the ideas scattered within my mind, and I had to find a way to piece them together.
Throughout the book writing process, I continued to hone and develop my skills with the support of my parents and editors. Eventually, I learned how to integrate my fragmented ideas into a solid piece of work, entitled Vision in Action.
How did I make things work?
I always went back to my understanding of personality types. Through the lense of different personality assessments, I was able to see myself in new ways. I gained insights into the strengths and weaknesses of my personality type and began to learn how I work most efficiently. I then used those insights to create an individualized structure for myself, which increased my productivity and kept me focused.
When it came time for me to launch my online coaching business, the choices I faced were daunting. I knew I needed additional support, so I looked to a mentor for help with adding structure, creating a strategy, and refining my ideas. While my parents were amazing, getting a different perceptive outside of my friends and family was essential.
My mentor quickly became a trusted advisor; he listened to me, got to know me and my goals, and was quick to say “no” to ideas that didn’t match with my long-term goal. My experience brings to mind a quote from an interview with Jordan Peterson: “A quick death is better than a slow, painful death. And working with someone who says ‘no’ offers you the opportunity to have a quick death. And that’s actually preferable.”
Through tough love, hard truths, and most of all, learning to say “no,” my mentor helped me work through my ideas until I found the ones that fit my vision for the future. This approach provided me the focus I needed.
What was it that helped me so much?
If I had a dime for every time someone told me, “Just tell me what to do, and I can do it!” I would be rich. Hell, I have said that many times myself. I realized that the key to my future success was structure; it helped me focus my energy, procrastinate less, and take meaningful action.
What struck me most was that I had always disliked structure growing up, so this new success was in stark contrast to my early life. As a child and young adult, I was spontaneous and always wanted to keep my options open. Until I added structure, I hadn’t ever found my “flow.”
Looking back at my childhood, I realized that I had found my flow before – when I played video games. I tapped into my flow again when I added structure to my business plan. There was a similar structure to both; in the video game, I knew which buttons to press, which controls to use, how to defeat a certain boss
It became fun to stay in the flow, hit my milestones, and reach my ultimate goal. I speak about other ways you can find your flow in a previous article: https://coachdavemarch.com/sustainable-happiness-in-your-career
What can I do for you?
A mentor can help you develop your career path and change your life. As your mentor, I’ll help you focus on your personality strengths and weaknesses in the context of your career goals. Just like when you’re learning how to play a video game, I can help you understand your buttons and controls, then we can create a “walkthrough” to your desired career.
I will be a trusted advisor for your goals – I’ll help you work through all your ideas until we find the ones that best fit your future. We’ll work together to create a map of your ideal career world, narrow it down to your career journey, then hold you accountable to the goals we’ve identified.
I’ll show you how to focus your energy on what matters most and what you need to succeed. Together, we’ll form a partnership that will take you to the next level!
Take the next step today and schedule a call with me at https://calendly.com/coachdavemarch
GET MY FREE TRAINING
Access resume-writing, career and personal development insights, straight to your inbox
Your information will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy