Our feelings of opportunity scarcity is an over-reliance on systems that don’t serve us 

Opportunity Scarcity comes up when we are taught to prioritize the recognition and approval of different systems instead of our own talents and ability to create good work. 

This is because, within an opportunity scarce culture, our lives are unstable when we work outside of a traditional workplace. It discourages things like entrepreneurship and non-traditional career structures as being less valid and less safe. This makes a lot of sense when you think about it because our jobs give us our livelihood, our ability to have access to healthcare, and social validation. I speak about this alot in the income REBELLION because we are the group of people who are creating a cultural alternative. 

For many, our self worth becomes intertwined within our work systems. This leads to:

→ Cultures of shame: Internalizing the decisions of recognition (or a lack of recognition) as a moral indication ie: “I didn’t get the promotion because I suck” OR “I am better than XYZ person because I got a higher raise” etc.

→ Individualism: Associating results as an individualized moral failure or success ie: “I got that job because I am better than everyone else” OR “ I must be awful since I haven’t gotten a job after searching for months”  

→ Powerlessness: Inheriting shame because there are no other tangible culpable parties ie:“My job won’t let me take as much time off work as I’d like for my maternity leave. I feel like I’m a bad mom:”

→ and more examples where you are unable to untwine your will from your work

The alternative is creating a way of working where we are not reliant on these systems but can instead feel confident that our needs are met no matter what. 

In practice this means not being afraid to lose a single job or work opportunity because you know a million people would want to work with you. This looks like always having your next job lined up. For some this looks like having an additional income stream to your 9 to 5. 

So how do you begin to build a career so that you’re working within a field of your own? I call this the Fearless Career. 

The biggest shift between a traditional career and a fearless career is that you get out of the “apply and hope” cycle and begin to take more ownership over your professional experience. 

You know what you want to do to grow and you are actively curating experiences for yourself to make that growth happen for you. You become your own manager and you pave a way for you to be seen, valued, and accepted. 

I recommend that people take this career pivot if they want to enjoy what they do and experience more security, because you have more opportunities so you are less dependent on a single opportunity, and freedom, because you get to chose more of your trajectory.

The best part of the Fearless Career is that it makes your regular job search easier because you build a reputation in your industry instead of only within your current workplace. 

So what are some steps you can start to take to build your Fearless Career? 

First, you can sign up for this live workshop I have on the topic in May. There I will be sharing some essential skills for building a creative, playful, recession proof career you love

Second, you can begin to ask yourself the question of what knowledge, experiences, or relationships do you need to fully live in my purpose (if you’re new to thinking about purpose, start with this workshop here)? What are some steps that you can begin taking right now to move closer to that goal posts. 

Some things my clients have tried and loved are: 

• Volunteering at a local community garden to gain experience BEFORE launching her own plant store
• Pitching an idea for a data analysis system for a local non-profit so that they could better communicate their wins to funders (PS: This person was later hired to manage this work full time for this company) 
• Reaching back out to all of your old favorite colleagues (I’ve had a few clients get GREAT new jobs this way) 
• Building out your own personal brand (this is essential if you want to go down this path) 

So take a moment and reflect, what would it mean for you to have a fearless career? Comment before and if you want more support you can:

Sign up for the fearless career workshop here

Grab the 8 week pivot at a discount here 

Schedule a 1:1 coaching call here