Welcome to episode #222 of the Own Your Best Life Podcast. If you’re feeling ready to search for the next job but are unsure if it’ll truly be better than where you are now, you’re not alone. Many people make the leap, thinking the grass will be greener, only to find themselves back in a similar situation once the honeymoon phase fades. Today’s episode is about how to ensure your next job is a true step up in your career—and in your life.
I’ve personally navigated multiple job and career transitions. From supply chain to management consulting, from sales to training and coaching. I’ve worked at companies like Johnson & Johnson, Lehman Brothers, McKinsey, and Danone. I’m sharing this not to impress you, but to show that even with varied experiences, you can still end up wondering, “Is this really it?”
For the last eight years, I’ve found my calling in coaching and training, and it became clear when I shifted within my corporate roles and started my business that I was finally aligned with work that felt purposeful.
Mindset is the Hidden Tax
Before evaluating any job, it’s crucial to recognize that a version of work exists where you feel both energized and well-compensated. The problem is, most people skip this step. Instead, they live in a default mindset, accepting work that doesn’t fulfill them.
Negative self-talk and blame are often signs of dissatisfaction. This energy is contagious. Managing it becomes critical, so you don’t spiral into hopelessness. A huge part of ensuring your next job is better involves training your mind to look for opportunities to grow and improve, starting from where you are right now.
Skill Development
One of the clearest indicators that your next job is better is skill development. Are you growing in alignment with your mission or purpose? This shouldn’t be some vague idea. It’s about seeing real progress in your daily work, feeling confident about saying yes to opportunities because they amplify your gifts.
Even if you haven’t found meaningful work yet, it doesn’t mean you’re stuck. I’ve had many clients who once doubted they’d ever find fulfillment in their work but now say, “I can’t believe I get paid to do this.” This isn’t about eliminating stress completely—every job has its moments—but reframing challenges as skill-building exercises.
When you focus on growth, obstacles like stress or uncertainty become part of the journey, not barriers. You build resilience and capacity, which is essential if you’re taking on greater responsibility, whether in your current job or your own business.
Make Your Current Job Better
Before you move on, ask yourself: Have you done everything you can to improve your current situation? Even in a toxic environment, there’s always something you can control. Maybe it’s learning how to handle difficult people, navigating tricky client relationships, or making career moves despite challenging circumstances. This is where accountability comes in. When you take responsibility for why you’re where you are, you empower yourself to change your circumstances.
The shift happens when you see your role as a choice. If you can choose to be where you are today, you can choose where you are tomorrow. This is the mindset that creates optimism and opens doors to better opportunities. Moving on isn’t about escaping; it’s about making an empowered choice to evolve.
Ask About Your Role in Driving the Business
If you want to make a bigger impact, ask questions that will reveal whether you’ll have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully in your next role. Look for signs that indicate your potential for growth—like how the team you’ll be joining drives the organization’s success. Are they recognized as a direct driver of growth? Does your manager have influence and tenure in the company?
These are important clues about whether or not you’ll have the support you need to thrive. When you’re surrounded by people who elevate your ideas and back your contributions, you’ll find more fulfillment and opportunity for success.
Do You Like the People?
Relationships are the foundation of success. A great team can make all the difference in your job experience. If you genuinely like the people you work with, you’re more likely to feel motivated and engaged. There was a period in my career when I was consulting where I based my work on the people, not the location or type of work and I found that it truly made a big difference in how fulfilled I was during these projects.
Use the 80/20 rule to evaluate your next team. Who are the 20% of people who will influence 80% of your experience? Will you thrive in a culture built around these individuals? When you can picture yourself handling both everyday and difficult situations with them, you’re in a place where you can succeed.
Difficult moments reveal true character, and how people respond to stress is telling. When evaluating your next job, look for a team that values communication, self-mastery, and collaboration, even in tough times.
Recognition
Recognition is a powerful motivator. In a fulfilling job, recognition isn’t just about paychecks—though we all want to be compensated fairly. It’s about being seen and valued for the contributions you’re making. When you feel recognized, it fuels your engagement and commitment.
Recognition might come in the form of awards, new opportunities, or simply the knowledge that you’re building valuable skills. If the next role offers this, you’re more likely to feel fulfilled. Take time to ask yourself what kind of recognition matters most to you and if this next opportunity will provide it.
At Spiritual Achiever® Coaching, we help you make big moves—whether that’s in your career, investments, or building your own business—while staying aligned with your purpose. The work you’re doing today is part of a larger mission. Your next job isn’t the final destination, but a step in the journey.
Are you ready to claim it?
If you’d like to become a Spiritual Achiever, I invite you to watch the free training on how to Stand Out and Lead, using spiritual, high-performance strategies: STAND OUT AND LEAD.
You can apply to join my Spiritual Achiever® program, where you’re going to create your next chapter with spiritual and high-performance strategies to achieve time and financial freedom using my proven method. It’s risk-free. You either start seeing results within your first month or I give you your money back. Schedule your call here at www.mayempson.com/contact. We’ll see you inside.
Want to know more about what happens when you join?
- When you join Spiritual Achiever® Coaching you’ll be supported for a full year: Career Revelation Academy: A 5-step career change process (if you have a job you want to stay in, I’ll show you how to love it even more) that can launch you into your next career chapter in 30 days.
- 2x/month group training and coaching on Spirituality, Achievement, Earth Energy and Harmony. You’ll know how to design your days for breakthroughs, create a personal brand and community, lead yourself and others through change, become more physically and mentally fit, reduce stress and reinvent what’s possible in this next chapter of your life.
- Discover your Leadership Strengths and Branding Workshop: Increase your awareness of what makes YOU different from others and how to become even better at your genius zone.
- Your Best Year workshop: Create your one year plan and design this next year, no matter what time of the year it is.
- Your Next 5 Years one-day virtual retreat: Vision what’s possible 5 years from now and break out of your old routines so you can step into new habits, behaviors and routines.
- Tickets to all in-person Spiritual Achiever retreats (discounted rates): Highly immersive and intimate gatherings where we spend time in nature, experience energy work, eat and move well – all while making big decisions and committing to what’s next for us.
- Monthly 1:1 Coaching Sessions: To help you break through obstacles, define your individual path, and to work on both strategy and mindset.
The next step?
Schedule a consultation to get clarity on how coaching can help you on your journey.
Once you’re accepted into the program, you’ll receive a calendar invite for a 2-hour deep dive 1:1 session to map out your personal goals and your own year-long journey.
You’ll have immediate access to the Spiritual Achiever process and philosophy – how to achieve your biggest goals and reinvent your life.
You’ll have immediate access to 5 modules of Career Revelation Academy – to love your career even more and launch that next chapter of your career in 30 days.
You’ll have the calendar invites for the upcoming group calls and retreats.
If this speaks to you, I can’t wait to talk to you live: Schedule a consultation.
Reach out at www.mayempson.com/contact for more information on my Spiritual Achiever coaching program. You’ll figure out what’s next and actually go and do it.
That’s it for this week. Have an amazing one and I’ll talk to you next time.
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