Not having a clear idea of your end goal or ideal next career move is extremely common. And is not a valid reason to do nothing at all.

When I started considering my career move away from corporate graduate recruitment, I had no idea what I wanted. I knew that I enjoyed coaching among other things, but had heard numerous stories about there being no stability or money in it. It was difficult for me to justify exploring this further, when for a long time I was convinced it was a completely unrealistic option for me.

Tentatively, I started dipping my toes in the water by talking to other coaches. I spoke to executive coaches, career coaches, and I spoke to people that worked in-house and those that were self-employed. The mixture of advice, support, encouragement and warnings I had from those in the industry varied a great deal, but I loved immersing myself in a new world with new people. And I found that when approached in the right way, most were generous with their time and happy to chat to me.

At the same time as these conversations, I started devouring books about motivation, success, mindset, and about high achievers. I read the ‘secrets’ behind the success of people like Henry Ford and Walt Disney, many of whom had multiple long-standing failures before achieving their career goals.

Reading so many stories of others’ mixed experience of success I started to form a view that the differentiating factors that led to industry leaders’ success wasn’t luck or connections. Often it wasn’t even about skill or ability. The factor that separated those that achieved their biggest and most unrealistic career goals was persistence. Consistent action, backed up with a belief that even if they weren’t successful this time, they would try and try again until they were.

When I was right at the start of considering a move into coaching, I didn’t have the self belief that I would eventually be successful. I very nearly didn’t start at all. But as I started taking small steps forward to explore paths further, my self-belief grew.

As well as the training and inspiration I received from my coach and my coaching training, there were a number of books I read and audio books I listened to that fundamentally changed how I viewed myself, careers, and what is possible.