Welcome to the new members of The Break!
If you like what you’ve been reading follow along on Twitter ( @mngardon ) and LinkedIn for more community and conversations about breaking work.
If you're listening to this, we'd love a review! Head on over to Apple Podcasts and let us know how we're doing, or hit that like and subscribe buttons on youtube :)
Today's Issue
Perspective is key to unlocking your hidden potential
There's a difference between perspective and mindset
11 perspective shifts that have shaped my life
The creators that inspired these perspective shifts in my life
Looking for a new job or looking to hire in 2023?
Start with ZipRecruiter today to find the best opportunities and candidates out there. I'm proud to partner with this award winning company to bring you this newsletter absolutely free.
Looking for inspiring real world tacticians to learn from?
Subscribe to The Break podcast . Each week you'll get this newsletter in audio format, plus monthly long form interviews with top creators, entrepreneurs and other Career Breakers who have put work in its place and designed lives of freedom and control.
11 Perspective Shifts If You Want To Break Your Career Path And Build A Life Of Meaning
The biggest mind blowing moments in my life have come from tiny perspective shifts that broke the way I looked at the world.
Here are a few:
Investment in loss
money is a tool, nothing more
Every person has two lives and the second begins when he realizes he only has one - Confucius
I use the term “perspective” separately from “mindset” because perspective comes from the outside. It’s a shift to a new way of seeing through a new lens. Mindset implies it’s your mind that needs to change.
I believe you can change your mindset by changing your inner beliefs about yourself, but that journey comes from perspective shifts.
If you’ve been longing to make a change in your life - a new career, a new relationship, a new path, but have been stuck, here are 10 perspective shifts I’ve learned that have helped me navigate change to be more prosperous and resilient.
1. One —> Many
The fixed perspective says I only have:
one path
one way
one shot
The growth perspective says I have:
many shots
unlimited rolls of the dice
the next play
One shot means pressure. Many shots means there’s room for misses and learning.
2. Vision: Narrow —> Wide
Most career advice is about becoming exceptionally good at one thing.
But going too narrow on the wrong thing is how you get stuck, pigeonholed.
Too narrow leaves you vulnerable to change. You can't pick up the cues that are signaling a change is coming.
When you have a wide base you can withstand change and even use it to your advantage.
A wide lens helps you see around corners.
You see the big picture.
You move with the wave, rather than being consumed by it.
3. Focus: Wide —> Narrow
The opposite is true with focus. When you have your priorities nailed down, ruthlessly eliminate distraction.
The ability to zoom in and out is a superpower.
Widen your focus to find the right thing, then narrow it like a laser on your most important priorities.
4. Passion —> Purpose
We hear about passion all the time, but passion is fleeting like motivation.
It comes and goes.
Purpose on the other hand, is immovable, like a mountain.
But you have to do the work to uncover it.
The Japanese have a term for it - Ikiagai.
H/T to my recent podcast guest Dan Go .
5. Thinking —> Feeling
We are taught to be overly logical - “smart.”
We miss the wisdom in our feeling.
Feelings matter as a navigational device.
Follow feelings to point yourself in the right direction, then use your brain to execute the plan.
6. Knower —-> Explorer
You don’t need to have all the answers. This is a byproduct of our “expert” culture.
But no one has all the answers.
Instead, become an explorer, who everyone can count on to navigate a course through uncertainty.
I want to follow that person.
7. Outcome —> Process
You won’t be fulfilled by an outcome, no matter how great.
The path to fulfillment comes from embracing the process because when you achieve the outcome, the time you spend reflecting on that achievement will all be focused on how you got there.
h/t Teddy Mitrosilis - The Process Newsletter
8. Optimized —> Robust
The more you optimize for a particular outcome, the less you can adapt and adjust to uncertainty. Over-optimization is fragile.
Instead, aim to be robust to change and able to move fast in a changing landscape.
Nassim Taleb author of Antifragile
9. Productive —> Selective
Almost all productivity advice is BS because it focuses almost exclusively on time.
Instead, focus on the WHAT. You can gain years of productivity by just being selective about what you focus on.
No app can do this for you. It takes your attention and judgement.
10. Perfectionist —> Experimentalist
Perfectionism causes us to:
be slow
not start
second guess
Experimentalism says:
just go
it’s ok to change your mind
you’re always learning
h/t Matt Gray
11. Scared —> Excited
Nothing good happens when we’re scared. Let’s turn that fear into excitement, by taking the smallest action to create momentum.
Put the book down and try
Stop scrolling and start making
The future is exciting when you do.
3 ways I can help you:
1. Book a free Intro To Advantage Mapping coaching call . In this 30 minute, no obligation call, we'll get you executing on a high odds career path by leveraging your natural advantages and Circle of Competence.
2. Find your new job! Remote tech jobs curated for you. Follow me on Pallet .
3. Get in the Breaking Work conversation on Linkedin. Messages are open. Follow me here .
The Break Job Board
I teamed up with Pallet to create a curated job board for our community ! These jobs are tech focused, remote first opportunities. I’d love it if you followed. Maybe, just maybe you’ll find your next big opportunity here.
Here are a few featured opportunities:
Fiverr: Enterprise Account Executive
Mindbloom: Business Operations
Appollo.io: VP of Talent Acquisition
The Mom Project: Payroll Coordinator
Cross River Bank: Technical Product Manager
Also, If you’re looking to support the community and have a job to post, you can do so by clicking the ‘ Post a Job’ button.
What’s happening on the pod?
Imagine being a pudgy, bullied high school dropout going nowhere, then miraculously, building a successful business, selling it, and then going on to coach thousands of high-performing executives and entrepreneurs on fitness and energy.
How did he do it all? Dan’s remarkable story starts with one simple decision - his BREAK moment. He decided to get in shape, and little by little Dan transformed the way he looked, but more importantly, he transformed how he thought of himself and what he was capable of.
Dan is now THE fitness coach to high-achieving entrepreneurs. He's spent the past 20 years coaching thousands of clients, helping them lose over 100,000+ pounds while growing one of the most successful gyms in Toronto. In 2018 he left the gym world to help high-achieving entrepreneurs improve their health and build world-class bodies.
This episode is packed with wisdom on getting in shape and transforming your psychology. I was particularly keen to ask Dan about the parallels between getting in shape and career performance.
You made it to the end! Hopefully you learned something about breaking your career today! If so, please share this with someone you care about.
P.S. What did you think of today's email? Click one of the ratings below to send us your feedback. We'd love to know what you think!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was super helpful! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Could be better. ⭐️ This one needs work!