by Melissa Wells

photo via pixabay 

In hindsight, the choice was obvious. What did I love to do in my previous career?

Q: Hi Melissa! Yours is an interesting story. Can you talk a bit more about how and when you settled on career coaching as your next career? —Mark Gleason, WhatsNext.com

Melissa Wells answers:

You ask how I decided to pursue career coaching after leaving the corporate world. At the time I left, I had a bunch of opportunities ranging from co-founding a production company to acting as a talent agent.

I blame my decision on the majesty and intrigue of traveling. If the world, its cultures and creatures were not so darned interesting to me, then maybe another option would have won out. My one priority was work that would allow for extensive travel, four to six weeks at a time, several times a year. Thank goodness for that self-imposed requirement. I would have been overwhelmed with choices without it.

With that in mind, it was the fact that my former clients and colleagues came to me for guidance, after I left the corporate world, that cemented the decision. Yes, it was after five months of catching up on sleep, which I believe helped. The decision itself took two seconds. Just as much time as it took for me to have the thought and acknowledge it. I couldn’t think of a reason to not pursue career coaching. As soon as I mentioned my new path, I started getting clients, all from referral. I am grateful for that!

What strikes me as obvious now is reinforced by my earlier work experience. I was the manager/director at work with a coaching waiting list. Really. I loved coaching at work. Building teams that run well energizes me. Now I experience the satisfaction of witnessing my clients create what they want in their work lives and I get to travel. This year I’ve had a standoff with an elephant in Botswana, played soccer in Namibia, and tried to get penguins to sit next to me (they behave like cats) in Argentina. Of course, there’s more to come...