Nurturing Your Parachute – Macpparky

In a new Macppsarky Labs Event, some people start asking about career change – how to do it, when it’s going to think about it, and how a big move feels.

Questions hit home for me because, as most of what you know, I have spent thirty years as a lawyer before full time in Macpsarky. And when I made that change, I realized something important: If you thought you needed a parachute, it would be better to start with it early.

I haven’t built to build a parachute. I am not trying to escape my law’s behavior. I just started writing about Apple Tech and productivity because it was interesting to me. I started to visit podcasts because I had something to say. It’s fun, and scraped an itch. I have no idea the time I put the foundation for a different career.

But when I hit my two concentrations, I started feeling pulling for something new. I don’t have to leave the law – I stay in the world to retirement – but I know I want to repot myself, to bring new challenges. And because I slowly, almost accidentally, built something on the side, I had an option. I have a parachute.

One of the greatest challenges of doing that jump is identity. For decades, I introduced myself as a lawyer. That’s not my job; How I saw myself. And when I started talking to friends, family, and colleagues I rode, I got some surprising look. “But you are a lawyer,” they said. And sure that’s true – but this is no longer the whole story. It takes time to move my own thinking and get the idea that my career describes me.

So, if you’re on your forts – or even before – and wonder if you should start preparing for a possible change, the answer is yes. That doesn’t mean you need to stop your work or make a passionate step.

It just means putting small bets on things that interest you. Explore different skills, build relationships with other fields, and don’t be afraid to try something that can’t work. Even if you don’t have to pull the ripcord, good with choices.

The actual point here is not necessary to change you to the races, which you must be deliberately about your future. Take time to reflect on what you want for a long time. The early start of knitting your parachute, the more powerful if you need it.