#79 – Career Pivot Playbook: Your Guide To A Successful & Fulfilling Career Change | Empowerment & Career Advice

[00:00:00] Loree Philip: Hi, and welcome to Daring to Leap. I'm your host, Loree Philip. Are you interested in making a career change or feeling stuck in a job that doesn't align with your true passions or values? Stick around as our special guest Shannon Russell dives deep into navigating career transitions and to discuss how you can achieve a balanced and fulfilling second act in your career.

[00:00:26] Loree Philip: Let's dive in. Shannon is a career transition coach, certified UMAP coach, writer, speaker. And host of the second act success career podcast, Shannon helps women in unresolved careers pivot towards a second act career that produces a balanced life of abundance.

[00:00:47] Loree Philip: She spent over 16 years as a television producer in New York City and Los Angeles. She then pivoted to open her own business, running a Snapology franchise, teaching children STEM education. [00:01:00] Now as a certified business coach, certified career business coach, Shannon supports women as they change careers, start a business or follow their creative passions to the fullest.

[00:01:13] Loree Philip: Her motto is produce your best life. Welcome to the show, Shannon. Thank you, Lori. I'm so glad to be chatting with you. Yes. Yes. I'm so excited to talk about this today. And I was already telling you that it is time for us to talk about pivot, career pivot, second acts and to really speak to this idea that we can change.

[00:01:39] Loree Philip: We can move into a new direction, one that is aligned more. More in alignment with ourselves, our heart, our passions. And so before I dive into that topic with you, I'd love to hear more about your career pivot and what was the main reason [00:02:00] behind it.

[00:02:01] Shannon Russell: Yeah, I had dreamed of working in Hollywood and the entertainment industry since I was really little and so when I got there, when I started working at MTV in New York, and then I was in Los Angeles, it was just everything I had dreamed about, but when I became a mom, that's when everything kind of started shifting a little bit.

[00:02:21] Shannon Russell: I had my first son while I was in Los Angeles, and then we moved back to the East Coast and started working in Manhattan. My husband's a producer as well, and we were closer to my family on the East Coast. So it just, I had that help, but I still was missing first birthdays and Halloween and just getting home really late.

[00:02:42] Shannon Russell: My son would already be in bed. And so things started like kind of the light bulb was going off of this might not work for the long term. And then when I was pregnant with my second son, that's when everything like came to fruition. And I said, okay, I can't do this anymore. Cause the commute to New York [00:03:00] city pregnant was just a really, really.

[00:03:03] Shannon Russell: Hard one from where I'm living in New Jersey. So it was right when I was on maternity leave for my second son where I had the epiphany to Make a change and try to be a more present mom because I didn't want to miss out on all of those big Milestones in my kids lives and I felt like I was with the hours and the travel that I had in television

[00:03:26] Loree Philip: Yeah, it's such an important point around like we have these phases and stages of our life that that can shift in a big way.

[00:03:36] Loree Philip: I know becoming a mom was a big one for me as well. I didn't change careers at that time, but it really started to open up to this idea of, do I want to be traveling a lot anymore? Do I want to have a role that has more flexibility in hours and location and all this kind of stuff?

[00:03:57] Loree Philip: So what's [00:04:00] important is that you listen to it. And you decided to take that ownership of this is what I want. I should make a change. Even though you had this amazing, beautiful career that I'm sure people were like, why are you leaving this? What are you doing? Talk to me a bit about how you dealt with the.

[00:04:23] Loree Philip: Societal pressure, the expectations of others, like all of that kind of stuff that can keep us stuck in place.

[00:04:32] Shannon Russell: That's such a great question, Lori, because I think we don't talk about that enough and how we often feel like our career is our identity.

[00:04:40] Loree Philip: And

[00:04:41] Shannon Russell: for me, I love my job. It wasn't like I had a job that was toxic and I really wanted to switch.

[00:04:46] Shannon Russell: I enjoyed what I did. And I that's what I had always worked for. And so it was tricky when I made that decision because all of my friends, my husband, we were all in the industry. And I often [00:05:00] joke that it was kind of like an intervention from some friends of, well, why you're making such great money and you're getting to do all this.

[00:05:07] Shannon Russell: And why would you. Throw that away and I I tried to explain that for me after some self reflection. I realized I Accomplished that goal. So for me, I'm really big on what I call like checking all of the boxes So I had checked the box that I became what I wanted to be when I was five years old And now it was time for a new adventure and that I was taking that experience with me And I could go back to TV anytime I could still like I tried to still say I am a television producer sometimes instead of a former one because I could go back and do it tomorrow if I wanted to.

[00:05:44] Shannon Russell: So I learned a lot about career identity and the fact that We're just trying something new, but all of those skills and experiences come with us. And I think when you start reframing your mind to think that way, it becomes less scary. And a lot of [00:06:00] friends were worried. My husband was worried.

[00:06:02] Shannon Russell: But as I got into my first business, They started saying like, wow, you are finding a way to transfer your skills and you're, you're doing this. So I just had to have that confidence in myself, I think. And kind of put on those blinders and not really listen to other people because that's what does keep us stuck, like you said.

[00:06:23] Loree Philip: Yeah, yeah, it's hard because Most of our friends and family, they come from this place of love and they're just, they're scared for you, right? They want to make sure that, and this, if you can lean in on you hear about new businesses failing and you hear about all this negativity about risk and high risk to switch and all this kind of stuff.

[00:06:51] Loree Philip: But at the same time, those are their fears. They don't have to become your fears. Right. And so [00:07:00] kudos to you to kind of let that go, especially when you're completely involved in the community of it. Oh my goodness. I can't even imagine. Like I had my, I have my mom. And so then it's a little different than somebody like that's entrenched in the, the, the work environment in that culture.

[00:07:19] Loree Philip: And so, yeah, kudos to you, Shannon, for listening to yourself.

[00:07:25] Loree Philip: And in going for it, were there moments for you that you had to push through some doubts like, what did I decide to do? Like, who am I to do this? Like all of those types of fears that come up. How did you address that for yourself?

[00:07:46] Shannon Russell: I definitely did, because I had a one year old and a four year old at the time.

[00:07:51] Shannon Russell: So it was a really big transition to build this franchise business and have my two kids at home. And that was the whole point, is that I [00:08:00] wanted to be there for them. And it was very, very scary. And actually it's funny. So in buying into a franchise, you have that corporate support from the franchise or, and for me, it was a little bit of a stepping stone so that I could learn about business, have that support and then grow it from there.

[00:08:20] Shannon Russell: So I remember coming back from my week long training. It was in Pittsburgh at the franchise orders headquarters. And. I came back and she said, all right, send an email to your database that we provided you of everybody in your community, send that email, let them know that you're in business. And I was like, but I'm not in business.

[00:08:40] Shannon Russell: I just came home. I need to prepare. And as someone who's really type a, I wanted to go through everything and really feel secure. And she's like, Nope. Send that email and I did reluctantly, but I immediately started getting business and I started getting inquiries from my community of like, let's partner for this and this is great.

[00:08:59] Shannon Russell: And [00:09:00] so. In those moments of doubt where I was like, I can't do this, I can't do this. I realized like I just had to, there was no failing, right? I had said no to these shows and this work to try this thing and all that fear as it crept in. I just said, Nope, I've got it. I have to do this. This is what I am doing.

[00:09:20] Shannon Russell: So if it fails, it fails, but at least I will try. And then, I remember I went and did a shoot for a friend in New York City like a week or so after and it felt so great to be back doing that, but then I got home late and both my kids were asleep and I remember thinking like, okay, this just is why I'm not doing this every day anymore.

[00:09:42] Shannon Russell: So it just, those moments just kind of ebb and flow of like, what did I do? And okay, I did the right thing. And so you just, yeah, I had a lot of those moments. It was. A rough time for that first year.

[00:09:54] Loree Philip: Oh, I can imagine. And, a couple of things. And you said one is that [00:10:00] especially when you're starting out on something new, I love that you lean into a model that gave you support it.

[00:10:07] Loree Philip: We don't always have to just jump out. On our own completely with no support, no, nothing in place to kind of give us the tools. We need to be successful. So I love that in your story. And then also, re grouping around why you did this to begin with there is. Our whys are so important, and it's very easy to lose sight of them, and so sometimes that's exactly what a person needs to hear, to remember, to reflect on in those moments of doubt, like, no, I'm doing this because I want to be a present mom.

[00:10:46] Loree Philip: And even though that was fun, yeah, and I'm great at that work. I did it. I, you check the box on it. Right.

[00:10:53] Shannon Russell: Exactly. Yeah. And yeah, and you just have to go back to like, okay, it's so easy to [00:11:00] slide back when you feel uncomfortable or you're in that place of fear. But I think if you can just overcome that. Then your why really does like float to the top and you see it and you're like, okay, well, I'm going to focus on that.

[00:11:13] Shannon Russell: And I feel like we are meant to be lifelong learners and trying new things and, and having adventures. So by leaning into the Y and trying something new, it's an adventure to like challenge yourself, really.

[00:11:29] Loree Philip: Yeah, it, it really is. And I, I think I want to pivot here a little bit to, to lean into the discussion around supporting others to decide this for themselves, that they want to have a second act, a second career and shift out of what they're doing into something new.

[00:11:48] Loree Philip: Let's just start at the top. Like, what kind of clients or people that you work with, what are the, some of the typical things that they're seeing or [00:12:00] noticing or challenges that are coming up for them that are causing them to start to wonder, am I, Am I okay with this career anymore? Should I try something new?

[00:12:12] Loree Philip: Are you seeing common themes with that, with people?

[00:12:15] Shannon Russell: The most recent theme that I've noticed is really a lot of women who have taken a few years off to be with their kids now trying to get back into their workforce and realizing that either they don't have, their skills aren't up to date, or they're hiring people who are younger, who will work for less and it's really kind of, well.

[00:12:34] Shannon Russell: Should I go back to the old thing or should I try something new? Should I start a business? Really just that whole reinvention and what does that look like? That's been a big thing and also just really like coming to terms with the fact that you've worked so hard on this career, you've spent money, you've spent years climbing that ladder and then to all of a sudden get to a point where it doesn't fit your current lifestyle and [00:13:00] realizing that it's okay to pivot.

[00:13:03] Shannon Russell: Right. Just giving yourself that permission. I think it's the number one thing that people struggle with is to say, it's okay for me to try something else because you're getting maybe your partner's not supportive or your friends aren't supportive. And so it's trying to kind of put your blockers on and figure out what it is you need and then moving forward and having that confidence to show everybody else that you do need this for whatever reason.

[00:13:28] Shannon Russell: So it's, I think it's, it's. It's both of those that I notice a lot from people, just feeling that stuck and like they need that little bit of hand holding to get them to the next level.

[00:13:38] Loree Philip: Yeah, I could see both and it's, it's very interesting in terms of, giving, giving ourselves permission is always the first step, like even exploring it, like we're talking about it right now.

[00:13:51] Loree Philip: It doesn't mean anybody needs to go jump out and do something brand new, but there are options for everybody. [00:14:00] We have options and a lot of the times we feel like we don't because we've spent so long. Like you said, doing the same thing, climbing the ladder, spending the time, getting your education, all of the things that got you to where you are today, and I love the example you brought up earlier, Shannon around.

[00:14:21] Loree Philip: I get to bring all that with me. I don't lose it. It's not my identity being in this one career. What is part of me is all of the stuff I get to take with me, my, my learning, my education, my background. Who I am that goes with you and what you do for a living might change. And, and there's a lot of excitement there.

[00:14:47] Loree Philip: I did love the energy you were bringing in earlier around what we're meant to grow and, and learn and, and do something a little different because doing the same thing over and over can get quite [00:15:00] stale. And, and we do get this place of complacency. So if we're, if we're leaning into this discussion, it's like, okay, great.

[00:15:08] Loree Philip: I'm thinking about maybe doing something a bit different, whether it's a career change or starting a business, what are some of the first things that you would advise a person to go do to start to kind of start to figure this out for themselves?

[00:15:24] Shannon Russell: It goes back to what we talked about a little earlier and finding your why.

[00:15:28] Shannon Russell: I'm very big on the why as well and, and looking at, okay, if I'm making this change, look at what I want. I am big on, if you are leaping into a second act of any kind, you want to know what you want. You want to know your priorities, your non negotiables, because you're making a change and you want to be educated about it so that you don't end up in the same situation, feeling, you Stuck again.

[00:15:54] Shannon Russell: So really you can do something as simple as take a piece of paper and write down what your non negotiables [00:16:00] will be for What you want to move towards so if you know that your children are in school and you need to be home by three o'clock To get them off the bus then that's something that is a non negotiable for you and you're going to look for Your next act that's going to be Something that you can do Push pause at three o'clock to get your kids.

[00:16:21] Shannon Russell: So just things like that to kind of look at what it is you want and also to start looking at. Maybe things that you were really good at that you just don't want to do anymore. If you were really good at doing the budgets or working with numbers, you just don't want to do that, then this is a time for you to say, okay, well, I don't want to do that anymore.

[00:16:40] Shannon Russell: So make your list of what you don't want to do. Make a list of the things that you want to do because they fill you up, that you feel like you can be more creative or more flexible, whatever it is. And you have those lists to kind of be your roadmap, if you will, to, to steer you towards what it is. That could be your next [00:17:00] venture and then really start make that list of here's a couple options of what I'm thinking whether it's businesses that you want to start or careers that you might want to switch into and start doing your research because you'll find, especially if you go back to those lists that you just made, you might be able to cross things off and say, you know what, this isn't What pertains to my list.

[00:17:20] Shannon Russell: This isn't one of my non-negotiables. So really checking in with the why, looking at your lists, your priorities, your non-negotiables, and then you can make a more educated decision about these potential roles that you're thinking about. So yeah, and that's all stuff that you can do. Working your nine to five, you can start researching, you can start reaching out and networking.

[00:17:42] Shannon Russell: So I think just getting those wheels turning. And really lean into the why of why you want this, because you want to make a move and not have to do it again, necessarily.

[00:17:53] Loree Philip: Yeah. Yeah. It's so smart to get that out, out front. And it was cool about it is [00:18:00] that at this point, we're really in a lot of creative energy.

[00:18:03] Loree Philip: We're trying to figure out and how exciting is this? What if I got to do exactly what I wanted to do and have it within the parameters? That I'm setting out that are going to work for me and I'll give you an example of how this I implemented this for myself because I also had some parameters and one of the things that kept rising to the top when I was looking at stuff is that I really valued my freedom and I wanted so badly to have control over my schedule.

[00:18:35] Loree Philip: And how I spent my time and my energy and what that ended up doing for me is exactly what you're talking about. I basically crossed off the list working for another firm.

[00:18:45] Shannon Russell: And

[00:18:47] Loree Philip: cause there was a lot of options around maybe taking my skillset and putting it towards in a different industry or maybe a slightly different role or something like that when I was thinking about doing something else.[00:19:00]

[00:19:00] Loree Philip: But when I really. Digged deep and figured out that what I really, really wanted was freedom for myself and my energy and my time and the flexibility and all of that kind of stuff. It came back to, you know what, if I go work for another company, I'll probably be in this exact same place. Again, in like 3 years, because the 1st year will be exciting, and then the 2nd year I'll start to, you know what I mean, but I will come back and go, okay, well, this didn't exactly work out, I'm sure it would have been a great adventure, but that is the value of starting to think about these things up front, and Don't right off the bat, assume that it's nothing's going to work in your parameters until you do the research and you really think it through because there is a lot of possibilities in this day and age.

[00:19:53] Shannon Russell: Yeah, and I, I had to deal with that in, Deciding to leave TV too. And for me, I was [00:20:00] really, I felt like working in the entertainment industry was so niche and like I wrote scripts, I interviewed celebrities, I was on sets. So how does any of that correlate anywhere else? And I had to do a lot of soul searching and researched.

[00:20:15] Shannon Russell: And that's when I finally said, you know what, I think I'm best suited as an entrepreneur running my own business for that flexibility and to be able to produce. Something for myself. So, yeah, I had to do the exact same thing and really because those shiny objects of a new role at a corporate office at a different company or that next big show make you think, Oh, let me just try it.

[00:20:39] Shannon Russell: But then you go back to, like, no, I'm still going to be working those hours, or I'm not going to have that freedom. So, so, yeah, it's, it's a struggle, but you're right. You can, you can start to do it. while you're working and start to do it sooner and just start really narrowing in on that. Why?

[00:20:56] Loree Philip: Yeah.

[00:20:57] Loree Philip: So let's move to the [00:21:00] next step. So say we've come up with the parameters, we start to kind of do our research. Do you recommend that people What, what would be the next step testing it out or where do we go from here?

[00:21:15] Shannon Russell: I say, do the research. So if you have either a list of three things that you're thinking about, then really start trying to figure out what a day to day in that role looks like, and you can do that easily online.

[00:21:28] Shannon Russell: If you have if you're on LinkedIn, you can reach out to friends or kind of look through your connections and see if there's someone who works in a similar company or role, and just Either ask for an introduction or reach out to them and just ask for an informational interview, because the more you learn about that role and what they do, the clearer you're going to be on if that's going to be a good fit for you.

[00:21:51] Shannon Russell: And I think people online, especially whether it's in groups on Facebook or LinkedIn, they, if you reach out and say, Hey, I'd just love to know what you do [00:22:00] day in and day out, or I want to learn a little bit more about your company. People will feel honored that you've reached out and happy to let you know how it really is.

[00:22:09] Shannon Russell: And you never know where those connections can go. So I think in learning that, that's a great way to do it is just to try to do your research and find out. Do your values align with that company? What is their schedule like, et cetera. And then to really take it a step further and say, well, how can I get in there?

[00:22:28] Shannon Russell: Can I of course I can try to apply, but do they have volunteer opportunities? Are there networking events where I can go and talk to people who work at the company or the business? So just kind of see how you can get yourself there. ingrained in that network if you can. And really just the more you research, either you're going to check it off as it's not a good option, or you're going to narrow in onto that one thing that really checks all the boxes for you and you feel like can be your, your next potential opportunity.

[00:22:58] Loree Philip: Yeah, and I think that [00:23:00] the other piece I was thinking about and I love this idea of trying to figure out, okay, so how do I get into this network? And how would I go about getting this particular role that I'm interested in doing? And sometimes, sometimes we have all the skills already. That we can repackage and offer as I'm ready now to, to do this.

[00:23:22] Loree Philip: And sometimes there are some gaps in our skills that maybe we need a certification or maybe we need some kind of class that we need to take to get whatever those requirements are, but you can find that out in the research. And, and if you really excited about it and you want to kind of take that next step, there's always that also the training that you can do and just the To make sure that as you're going through the training, it aligns with what you were thinking.

[00:23:50] Loree Philip: That was one of the things that I did. I I did all of my coaching certifications while I was still working in my corporate role. And it was a, it [00:24:00] was almost a test like I'm going to do this. I'm going to see how it feels. I'm going to do some as this on the side, just to kind of get a sense of it.

[00:24:08] Loree Philip: Because if it wasn't what I was expecting. I have not lost anything, right? I'm still where I'm at. I haven't moved anywhere. And it wasn't until I got to a point where I was like, this is what I want to do. And nobody's going to stop me because I'm so excited about it. I know it's the right thing for me.

[00:24:26] Loree Philip: And then you have that. Passion and the resiliency will come in into this is my next step.

[00:24:34] Shannon Russell: Right. Right. That's, that's so smart that you did that because I did not do that. I literally was just like, okay, let me figure it out. And that's a scary. Time to you're more vulnerable then so I love that you did that That's such a great thing.

[00:24:49] Shannon Russell: And then you were just excited and confident to give your resignation and move forward. I'm sure

[00:24:54] Loree Philip: yeah People were people were asking me a lot about that because it was [00:25:00] such so out of the blue For me, having spent so much, so long in the same career. And so people were saying, wow, that's so courageous.

[00:25:10] Loree Philip: Or they were using these words that I was like, well, it doesn't feel courageous because I spent so much time researching, figuring this out, soul searching, getting training that. There was nothing that was going to keep me where I was. Like I had to leave. I couldn't even spend another day doing this other work because I had decided on such a deep level to switch.

[00:25:38] Loree Philip: And, and that was quite useful because there was still doubts and things, but at the end of the day, I could kind of regroup on, nope, this is, this is what I need to do because of all of this. It wasn't, we don't want to. Take lightly a big change like this and, and it takes a lot for somebody, especially that's [00:26:00] been had a first act.

[00:26:02] Loree Philip: And so, I'd love to hear from you. I was just thinking about this around, what do you recommend for people? Some, some things that will come up like mindset shifts. Things that, that are frequently coming up for people in your experience around, I've had this first act and now I'm like either apprehensive or scared to move into a second actor because we can get so comfortable in doing what we're doing.

[00:26:30] Loree Philip: And the status quo is quite easy to maintain. Just keep going. You know exactly what to do, right? And a big change like this is like, whoa, okay, I'd love to do it, but I just can't wrap my head around being able to do it for myself.

[00:26:48] Shannon Russell: I find that a lot of people push it off. They know that they feel stuck and they want to try something different, but it's never a good time, right?

[00:26:55] Shannon Russell: Like it's, and it's never going to be the right time, but a lot of [00:27:00] times people will say, Oh, well when the kids get Out of the house or when it's this and when it's that and. They're clearly not in the right mind space to make the change if they're just putting it off. So maybe it's not the right time.

[00:27:14] Shannon Russell: But when you start thinking about, well, how do I feel right now? Like to turn in and ask yourself, are you happy? Because if you're okay you want to make sure that you're not having the Sunday scaries and just dreading work every day. You want to wake up and feel like you're You know, a productive member of society and you're fulfilling your cup as well as your families.

[00:27:36] Shannon Russell: And so I think if you can start looking and putting yourself first, and I think a lot of women have trouble doing that, but if you can say, you know what, I want to make sure that I'm enjoying my time as well, and that I'm enjoying my day and what I'm doing and I'm serving. That that really helps, I think, in, in moving forward and, and it is scary.

[00:27:56] Shannon Russell: I'm speaking tonight to a bunch of younger kids from my [00:28:00] college. There are college alum that are about 25 to 30 and they're in that space of what did I just do? I don't like this major. I don't like my first job. And I'm going to be speaking to them about making that switch and letting them know that it's okay.

[00:28:13] Shannon Russell: You can switch at any time. And just to be confident in that best about what. You can do and how you can use your skills and experience.

[00:28:24] Loree Philip: Yeah, thank you for that. Shannon is such a good reminder. I think it's hard for us to see that we can switch when we've been in the same thing for a long time.

[00:28:35] Loree Philip: We're not in that space of how you know, in that switching space. Some people like to jump around and some people like to go out and try this and try that and but. What, what you said so, so beautifully and would like to add on to is that, we have this one life and it really was like the, the [00:29:00] sensitivity of time for me that got me to wake up.

[00:29:03] Loree Philip: It's like, wow, I have been in my career at that point for 15 years. How I have another 15 plus years left in my career. Do I want to be doing this for another 15 years? And I could kind of take myself in and project out. What would that look like for another 15 years? Does that look like will I be thriving in that environment?

[00:29:27] Loree Philip: Happy in that environment, fulfilling my my potential in that environment. And it just was quite like, no, I don't want to be doing this for another 15 years. I don't even know how I got here. It's like, what are those things? Like, how did I even get here? And so we do always have opportunity to decide to shift and it's okay.

[00:29:52] Loree Philip: And I think it's becoming more and more common in our culture where the 30 year career [00:30:00] is, No longer at the same firm or same industry is no longer the norm from an employee standpoint and also from an employer's standpoint. So we have, we're, we're talking about choice around 2nd acts, but I've also noticed for a lot of people, it's like.

[00:30:19] Loree Philip: Sometimes a door closes and even though that was not their choice, it is always a great idea to take that opportunity and make the most of it and reflect and decide, Hey, maybe I have an opportunity here. To do something else that I love are you seeing clients like that, that are just like, well I kind of got laid off and I want to let everybody know this is happening to the best of people because it's just the environment we're in and they're like, now what do I do?

[00:30:55] Shannon Russell: Yep. And you know what? Absolutely. And I think no job is [00:31:00] guaranteed. Even if you own a business, that's not guaranteed. So I personally think we should all be thinking about that next act or what it is we could do, whether we're really happy in our job or we're miserable because You want to hold the cards, you want to know that if you get let go, you've already been thinking about this next step and you don't it's not that you've already updated your resume and done all of this, but that like, okay, I think I want to try this next time, but just have that backup plan.

[00:31:30] Shannon Russell: In your head, because yeah, you're right. Like it's not a 30 year career type of world that we live in anymore. And you just want to be prepared so that you're not caught off guard and just feeling worse about yourself.

[00:31:45] Loree Philip: Yeah. Yeah. Having a plan. Is so useful. And I think we just were a lot of us are just trying to make it from day to day.

[00:31:54] Loree Philip: It's like, great, Shannon. I love to be thinking about this big huge. I'm just trying to survive in my current [00:32:00] environment. So there is a bit there about taking some time out and prioritizing yourself, which you brought up earlier just to start to think about it. Just very lightly like what would I do?

[00:32:11] Loree Philip: What would I love to do? And just kind of, kind of look at that a little bit more. And I think the last area I want to talk to you about Shannon is for those people that are like, I'm ready to go. I'm going to jump out and do something. I already know what it is. What kind of advice do you have for those people that are like, yeah.

[00:32:30] Loree Philip: Just starting that something new and realizing like, okay, I'm here. I've left this other thing. I'm here. How do I make it successful for myself? Because I know having to start something new, it is quite uncomfortable and it is not, You can't really lean on knowing how to do everything when it's something new.

[00:32:52] Loree Philip: So how does a person approach that with a success mindset and being able to actually not just put their toe in the [00:33:00] water, but jump in and make it happen?

[00:33:02] Shannon Russell: I think a, you have to be realistic and not. I think it's going to happen overnight, but then also just allow yourself to grow from this experience, from this change.

[00:33:12] Shannon Russell: And you are transitioning your, your personality, who you are in a way that you don't know how it's going to turn out, but if you're excited about it and you're confident, and you go with the flow and you watch it evolve naturally, then, you're going to be surprised and you're going to enjoy the journey, but just to know that you're not going to quit one job, start somewhere else and make the same salary and have the same position all overnight.

[00:33:41] Shannon Russell: When you're not going to open a business and be successful and be making your same salary overnight. So just know that it's going to be a process and. Hang in there, and you can do it, and it's going to happen when it's supposed to happen. I think just that grace that we can give ourselves when we're normally so hard on ourselves is important during any kind of life [00:34:00] change.

[00:34:00] Loree Philip: Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah, it really is, and everything does. I don't want to say it takes longer than we expect it to, but I think When we're at a place that we've, you have to look at it. Like you got to this place and maybe it's took you 15 years to get there. It doesn't mean it's going to take you another 15 years to get there in a different role.

[00:34:23] Loree Philip: You will get there faster, but it won't happen overnight. And, and there is, there is a journey in the process and learning, as you mentioned. And. Lots and lots and lots of grace because we don't see, we don't see the behind the scenes of you or me doing this and, and the ups and the downs and the excitement and the WTF and all that kind of stuff, but it does happen and it's real.

[00:34:52] Loree Philip: And so what, what I would advise for people too, is Only do this if you want it so [00:35:00] bad in your heart that you really, that why is going to be your North star and keep you going and help you from just letting go too soon and making it a success at the end of the day. What, what, Shannon, what have we missed in this conversation that you feel like is something we should bring up at this point?

[00:35:24] Shannon Russell: I think just that one thing is just to reiterate really that your skills do transfer and that you can look at different ways of Of using your skills and your abilities in different ways. So just know, like you had touched on it earlier about reshaping our experience to fit a different role and just to feel open and say, you know what, maybe I had customer service.

[00:35:48] Shannon Russell: How can I use that in my next role in a different way? And so just to really kind of look at everything you've done, all of your accomplishments, be proud of yourself and then say, I'm going to use that. An [00:36:00] XYZ career or business and and just really feel that confidence and let that take you there.

[00:36:07] Shannon Russell: Even if everyone else, is telling you not to do it, you're, you just are the one who needs to feel that confidence, I think. And just know that your career is not your identity again and just move forward. You are evolving into a new person with. More experience and more skills.

[00:36:24] Loree Philip: Hmm. Yeah, it's so beautiful.

[00:36:28] Loree Philip: And I, I would say just lean into that excitement of what's possible when you go for something else that you really want to do. And and then, and look with fresh eyes at your current career, its trajectory and decide deep down if that's for you. And if something else sounds exciting, to give yourself permission to explore it and get the support you need because you don't have to do it on your own.

[00:36:56] Loree Philip: And with that, Shanna, I would love for people to [00:37:00] learn more about you and where they can connect with you and learn more about your work.

[00:37:05] Shannon Russell: Sure. Yeah. Everything's at second X success. co. And there you have links to my podcast ways to work with me. There's lots of free resources about career transitions.

[00:37:16] Shannon Russell: So yeah, that's probably the best place. Second X success. co.

[00:37:19] Loree Philip: Great. Well, I want to thank you so much for your time and just your story. And it really does help. To hear people that decided to make a big change for themselves and made it happen. And so I, I hope you're proud of yourself and, and others can, can use your knowledge and experience to, to move forward for themselves.

[00:37:43] Shannon Russell: Oh, thank you for having me. Thank you for letting me share my story and hopefully inspire some other people as well.

[00:37:49] Loree Philip: Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you've enjoyed it, I would love for you to subscribe. If you're already a subscriber, don't forget to share the podcast [00:38:00] with a friend.

[00:38:01] Loree Philip: Make sure to tune in next week.

[00:38:03] Loree Philip: We will be speaking with Bridget Hom about how to cultivate a growth mindset. I hope you have an amazing week. It's your time to shine. Bye.