Breakthrough: an important discovery or an event that helps to improve a situation or provide and answer to a problem. (Cambridge English Dictionary) Have you ever wondered why, despite all your hard work and efforts, you just can’t seem to move your career forward? You feel stuck? And then, to rub salt into the wound, others around you suddenly seem to be having all the career luck. Or are you wondering if you’ve had your career breakthrough yet? If you’re wondering this, its likely the answer is no – a significant occurrence like this normally makes its presence felt! There are many factors that contribute to (or detract from) building successful careers, namely mindset, behaviour, approach and situation. I’ve worked with many hugely capable people over the years – as a boss, a colleague or as a coach – helping them build successful careers. Here’s my view of what tends to be in the way and what you can do about it. The Obstacles: A Belief in Luck, Magic and Fairness! – Harsh but sometimes true. People can become wedded to the idea that when it comes to career, things will fall into their hands without the work required to put

Often “fear” keeps us in jobs that frustrate us, on career paths that we find unfulfilling, in relationships that are unsatisfying and so the list goes on. For most people, fear ranks up there in the top 2 or 3 things that stop us from trying to achieve our dreams and the things we REALLY want in life. We all face different fears; fear of disappointing others, of not fitting in, of being ostracised, fear of failure and even fear of success – most fears are made up from our experience of life, particularly our childhood. Don’t panic – I’m not get all Freudian on childhood, but you get my drift. Experience, including experiences that produced or reinforced fears, is what shapes us and make us all different. So, is fear a weakness?? Or is it actually a force for good? As time has gone on, I’ve started to realise that fear can be incredibly useful! Why? Combine fear with courage and what do you get? How often do you hear someone (maybe you?) say “if only I was brave enough to….fill in blank)!” I used to think that other people were courageous when they did things I wouldn’t dare