Well, here I am. I find myself at a crossroads. I’m 58 and have been a pastor for over 34 years and find myself having to relive what it was like when I graduated from college. Just a little over a year ago my world was rocked by a simple exercise in getting a vision for the next 10 years of my life. As I looked ahead, I took stock of quite a few things. I looked at my career, my relationships and my values. I found myself wondering if the Peter Principle(getting promoted to a place where you go from excelling to ineffectiveness) had overtaken me and I didn’t even know it. I was angsty and frustrated, but couldn’t find the words to express it. I’m feeling this journey internally, but seeing it play out in all parts of my life. I feel like I let people down, but I don’t want to live with the unfair obligation that I can please everyone. I’ve been loyal(been at my church for 29 years!), but when I think about what’s next, that loyalty doesn’t seem to count for much. I’m missing my grandkids(they moved to Arizona from Oregon a couple years ago) and know my wife and I are heading that direction soon, which is prompting this career change. I think my greatest fear is that I won’t find that next career or that I’ll have to settle instead of step into something I am positively anticipating.
Enter Talent Stackers. Listening to the podcast and investigating the career development program have been such a great motivation for me. The many resources and wise guidance have me finding more hope than when I started this journey a few months ago. I’m strangely excited and anxious for what this new opportunity will bring. Right now I’m working on a Salesforce admin certification and truly loving it. It’s challenging and full of problem solving and new learnings. But, to take my new learnings into a new job will require things that are outside of my comfort zone, which is why I decided to write this post. I’ve been challenged by the Talent Stackers team that I need to be more active on social media while doing my cert training so this is a way for me to chronicle my journey. So, here’s day 1 and I hope what I’m learning will encourage others along the way!
Responses
Hi Mark! Thank you for sharing your story. I enjoyed reading it. I also just joined this program a couple of days ago and don’t have any IT background, so I can resonate with how you feel. Let’s keep learning and gain something and get to the goal!! Cheers!
Hi Mark, thank you for sharing your concerns! I am also transitioning from the religious industry (I work for a ministry/non-profit) and it is a daunting task to enter the tech field and can feel like a strange journey yet with a lot of hope! Looking forward to the increased freedom and work-life balance that I think we will both discover.
Hi Mark,
I just read your Day 1 post and am wondering how you are doing now…