Written by: Stacey Henry-Carr, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I woke up daily and followed a routine that I had grown accustomed to. After graduating college, my sole desire was to find a job making enough money to be independent. I needed to pay the rent and all the basic needs to survive. And so, I sought out a job based on my college degree. I remembered I listened intently during my senior seminar in college, and I took a job even though the salary was not that great. “We all have to start somewhere.” This was the way it was back then for me and many others. I searched for an industry that would have longevity and found telecommunications. Back then, I searched for work in the career section of the newspaper. That concept seems foreign now since technology has become the forefront of everything we do.
While in school, I was not taught about working with passion and purpose. I dared not even considered being an entrepreneur. These terms were not discussed in my family or circle of friends. Everyone was looking for a job to make a career. I was expected to work for someone else and show them all my capabilities and potential with hopes of getting an annual raise. I watched the people in my life work numerous jobs and barely meet financial obligations. And so, I thought that was my benchmark to emulate. I fell into the cycle and continued the working woman’s legacy. I set goals such as, “I am going to double my salary in a year. And in nine months, I am going to seek a promotion.” Most of my bosses loved working with me because I had brilliant ideas. I was always willing to try something new. My work ethic was unmatched.
When I was on this work cycle that felt like a hamster wheel, I had no knowledge or understanding of the other side of the coin. I was working as an intrapreneur and never entertained the thought of being an entrepreneur. I did what I knew, and I became extremely good at it. I received many promotions and accolades. I jumped through all the proverbial hoops to make it lucrative for me. Until one day, after many years of being on the wheel, I started feeling like something was missing.
I struggled to find joy and excitement in my familiar work cycle. I was not sure what was happening to my comfort zone. The many leadership changes that were occurring stopped being a welcomed challenge and started to feel like a defeat. And as this was happening around me, I realized that my priorities were changing, and the joy and excitement I once had as a “working woman” was diminishing. I started complaining about the organization and the leaders. I had to spend time in my car hyping myself up to go into the office. Yes, it was true that some of these leaders were grossly ill-equipped. But the shift I was feeling was deeper. It seemed that I had outgrown this work cycle. I no longer wanted to be a part of the rat race.
This realization was a scary one, especially since I had invested 21 years on this wheel. How would I jump off? What would I do when I jumped? It was during this time that I revisited something I had learned along the way. I needed to awaken my life’s purpose. This article could be prolonged to many pages because the journey from corporate leader to Life Coach and Hypnotherapist has been the most rewarding experience of my life. I know many people are seeking the truth about their passion and purpose. I quickly realized that my purpose was not something to find because it was not lost. It was something I had been cultivating and nurturing all along. I was always the Life Coach in the office. I was the person everyone came to for guidance and wisdom. My best days were spent when I helped someone sought through life’s dilemmas. I had been working on my purpose on some level. When I left corporate coaching for life coaching, it was time to make my major shift.
If you are at a crossroads with your career and seeking to have a deeper meaning in your life. Here are eight tips to help you awaken your purpose:
Identify your top five values — Align your values with all areas of your life. Use your values as a compass. What is important to you? What keeps you balance?
Create a personal vision and mission statement — Fill in the blank. If I had all the money I desired, then I would do
Conduct a root cause analysis on yourself and become aware of your beliefs and where they originated. What are you telling yourself about yourself? What is your inner dialogue?
Trust your spiritual guidance — Your inner intelligence and intuition are great guides. What keeps you grounded?
Take daily inspired actions — Dream it and act on it! Motivate yourself with action. What makes you jump out of bed?
Invest in yourself — Try something different to get different results. Read a book, watch a podcast, or take a course. What do you need to learn more about?
Surround yourself with positive people — Who is in your village? Do they share your vision?
Know what legacy you want to leave behind — Write your legacy speech now. Write the speech you would like someone to give at your retirement party. What will they say that you have accomplished?
Many years ago, if someone had given me these tips when I graduated from college, my story would be different. However, because of the path I took, I learned many lessons. I can guide people through their journey to passion and purpose. When I left my corporate job, I realized I was unwilling to stay in a daily routine that no longer served me. I had outgrown that phase of my life. It was time to shift my energy and invest in getting to know the coach, healer, writer, and speaker. It was time to release the baggage that I called my job.
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Stacey Henry-Carr, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Stacey Henry-Carr is an ex-corporate leader who now helps people identify, interrupt, and replace blockers with living more meaningful and intentional lives. She is a Certified Life Coach, Certified Hypnotherapist, an author, a mother, and a wife with a positive approach to life. She practices authentic leadership and servitude in everything she does. Her twenty-two years of corporate leadership, training, and career development have equipped her with a proven track record to help guide others in their journey of discovery. She has always had a passion for helping others become their best selves.
She has a passion for reading, writing, traveling, dancing, singing off-key, and the beach. She spends her days homeschooling her daughter, coaching clients, and creating meditation recordings. She writes healing blogs and inspiring articles. Her self-published book “Live Your Truth and Break the Cycle” is one of the ways she authentically serves people. In this book, she shared her journey from trauma to triumph while bringing awareness to child sexual abuse. Stacey has overcome her life challenges which have strengthened her will to serve others. She is a testament that you can rise from any situation with determination, spirituality, and a positive outlook on life. She believes that her true legacy to her children will be the lives she has touched by motivating and inspiring others to change.
Stacey has a Master’s in Human Resources Development but believes that life’s experiences have been her best teacher.
