#71: What Comes Next

What Else Might Be Possible?

You may already have everything needed to create something different.

On Thursday a friend shared he's being promoted to Chief Operating Officer, a tremendous professional accomplishment. As we continued talking he mentioned something within was pulling him another direction. He wants to coach, share his knowledge, and positively impact the lives of others. He may earn additional income doing it, but what seemed to excite him most was the opportunity to contribute in other ways.

I encouraged him to consider how he might leverage his nine-to-five more than it leverages him, using the professional opportunities and resources already available to begin creating that other expression of himself. Enjoy the promotion while developing other aspects of his life.

Interestingly, I was already planning an open Try Life On discussion on this very subject when our Thursday conversation took place. I love when life unfolds that way.

On Tuesday, November 3, at 1pm Eastern, a few friends and I will be sharing our experiences with creating different professional and lifestyle opportunities and I'd love for you to join.

Creating What Comes Next — Lifestyle, Identity and New Possibilities

That Inner Conversation

At different points in our professional journeys, regardless of age or circumstances, we may begin having an inner conversation about doing something different. Pay attention to it.

Perhaps it's spending more time with family, working from home, investing, teaching, or creating something independently. Some call it intuition, a gut feeling, subconscious knowing, or the inner Divine. Only you can determine what that conversation means and whether you want to explore it.

If you do, consider how much you may already have available to you. Your education, professional experience, relationships, and accumulated knowledge can open doors you’ve not yet considered. Sometimes an entirely different lifestyle or professional opportunity begins by using what you already know in a new way.

Six People, Six Different Paths

Consider the following six people whose experiences illustrate this beautifully. Each had an inner recognition of something they wanted to explore, each choosing a different way to act on it.

Some continued their careers while creating opportunities in parallel. Others changed their professional arrangements, prepared for a future transition, or committed themselves to building something independently. Whether you're staying on Career Highway, preparing to exit onto Lifestyle Lane, or going all in on something new, the path is yours to choose rather than defaulting to what you've always done (your own status quo).

Me — The Accidental Solopreneur. My professional life has included corporate consulting, law enforcement, military service, and real estate. Along the way, I began sharing my experiences with financial freedom, lifestyle design, and travel, and people started reaching out for help. I eventually packaged that knowledge into my Try Life On education platform, finding people to help with the technology and infrastructure rather than learning everything myself. I documented the process in Newsletter #7, Solopreneurship — A Great Way to Try Life On.

Melissa — The Independent Contractor. After decades as a marketing executive at a global bank, Melissa recognized that her professional arrangement no longer reflected how she wanted to live. She left her executive position and returned as an independent contractor, using the same expertise while earning as much or more, working fewer hours, and enjoying a new at-home lifestyle.

Artemis — The Business Owner. A police detective and friend of mine, Artemis understood that his law enforcement career would eventually end, and he wanted to prepare for that next chapter. Rather than waiting until retirement, he leveraged his experience and knowledge to build Cognizance Protection, creating opportunities for himself and his family while continuing his career.

Noelina — The Investor. Noelina continues her remote executive career while building her life as a real estate investor. Through her Perfect Day and Lifestyle Blueprint work, she assumed the identity of an investor, imagining, feeling, and living from that identity before her first deal materialized. Textbook Try Life On. She became the person inwardly before her external circumstances reflected it.

Michelle — The Business Founder. Michelle worked in the nonprofit sector, doing meaningful work but facing limitations around compensation, growth, and family time. During our conversations, we explored how she could package her knowledge differently, including approaching the grant-making ecosystem from another direction. She went on to create Granted Advisors, shaping a new professional opportunity around her experience and the life she wanted for her family.

Samah — The Entrepreneur and Advisor. Samah has started several businesses and helped others launch their own through his venture Kook Creative. Along the way, he recognized that many aspiring entrepreneurs needed clarity and confidence in who they were becoming. That insight led him to expand into advisory work, helping people develop Clarity by Design through identity and self-concept.

Six people with different circumstances, responsibilities, and ambitions, each finding ways to create opportunities that better reflect how they want to live.

Becoming the Person

What I want to highlight in these experiences is the role of self-concept and identity. In each case there was an inner recognition of possibility followed by a conscious decision to explore it.

You might possess decades of expertise yet struggle to imagine offering it independently. You might be perfectly capable of coaching, consulting, investing, or building a business, but question whether you're qualified without the professional title or organization behind you.

That's where imposter syndrome can enter the picture, and where self-concept becomes so important. You begin seeing yourself as the coach, entrepreneur, consultant, or investor you want to become, even while your circumstances remain unchanged. As you act and gain experience, that identity becomes increasingly natural.

This is creation. Recognizing something within yourself, bringing your conscious attention into alignment with it, and beginning to live from that understanding.

Just Do and Course Correct Along the Way

Start with the lifestyle you want to experience. Your Lifestyle Blueprint can help articulate how you want to spend your days, where you want to live, and what experiences matter most (See Newsletter 68 - How to Begin Trying Life On). Then consider how you might use your existing knowledge and experience to create opportunities that support that lifestyle.

One of my favorite Try Life On principles… “Find a who, don’t worry about ‘the what’ forever”. Read Newsletter 7 to understand this concept better. You don't need to master every aspect of starting a business or exploring an opportunity. Find someone who can help and course correct along the way. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Your path may involve staying in your current career, building something alongside it, changing how you work, or pursuing something entirely new. You get to decide what makes sense for your life.

Let's Talk About It Tuesday

On Tuesday, November 3, at 1pm Eastern, I'm hosting an open Try Life On conversation about recognizing that inner pull, developing the self-concept and identity of the person you want to become, and exploring how to bring those possibilities into everyday life.

Samah and Melissa will join me to share their experiences, possibly along with a few others. We'll have an open conversation, exchange ideas, and answer questions together.

Creating What Comes Next — Lifestyle, Identity and New Possibilities

A favorite mentor of mine said, "Life should be a perpetual increase of the things you love."

I think that's a wonderful way to approach all of this. We each have the opportunity to consciously arrange our lives so that we experience more of what we love, in whatever form that takes.

Try Life On.

Maurice