What is the point of an Invincible Career?
I talk about creating an “Invincible Career” a lot. I know. Sorry about that, but I can’t help it. I’m really passionate about the concept.
You may be thinking, “What does that even mean? Why should I care? My job is rock solid, and it always will be.“
But… will it?
Sooner or later, we all become vulnerable in our careers. The reality is that the majority of us are always vulnerable, even if we don’t realize it or admit it to ourselves. Eventually, something will happen that wakes you up to this fact. I learned the hard way.
- If your primary source of income is from one job and you have a single boss who controls your fate, you are vulnerable.
- If your regional cost of living is so high that your rent or mortgage consumes a lot of your income, then you are vulnerable.
- If you heavily depend on a single source of income to make ends meet, sometimes paycheck to paycheck, you are vulnerable.
- If your profession disappeared or your industry collapsed, and you do not have a significant financial cushion to survive as you rebuild your career and change professions, you are vulnerable.
- If age discrimination makes it harder and harder to find employment in your chosen profession, you become increasingly vulnerable with every passing year.
- If you have a more senior job title with a pretty good salary, a new job search can take 6 months to 2 years. Unfortunately, the higher you climb the career ladder, the more vulnerable you become (despite the obvious perks).
Ok, enough of the bad news. What is an Invincible Career?
It means that, as much as possible, you have removed single points of failure from every aspect of your overall career ecosystem. No single event can disrupt your life for very long.
In fact, you may even become stronger as you are exposed to adversity. You bounce back from any setback; wiser, tougher, and more prepared for what comes your way. Nassim Nicholas Taleb refers to this as being “Antifragile“, and wrote a book on this phenomenon called Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder.
Benefits of an Invincible Career
In general, the primary benefit of an Invincible Career is that you get to work and live your life on your own terms. You no longer live in fear of upsetting your boss or manager, or losing your job.
You don’t let golden handcuffs keep you chained to a company that is no longer serving your career well (been there, did that). Your work is aligned with your personal values, and leverages your core talents and strengths.
The positive ripple effects of living this way are enormous, with far-reaching impact. I can’t even begin to capture all of the ways your life might change. But, I’ve summarized what it means to have an invincible career in terms of 10 core principles.
The 10 Principles of an Invincible Career
- Live where you will truly enjoy your quality of life
- Work where you want to spend your days
- Become an expert at what you do for a living
- Transform your work to be meaningful and satisfying
- Take control of how you want to do your work
- Work when you want, and as much as you want
- Work with people who bring out the best in you
- Achieve fulfillment by leveraging your expertise to help others
- Take charge of your career and never again feel trapped
- Empower yourself to never again feel vulnerable
Stay tuned for more details about what each of these principles really means.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my passion with you!
Interested in learning more about my career community? You can check it out here.