Inquisitive workmates, friends or close relations have most likely asked anyone involved with Personal Development: “What are you doing all this for?”
Perhaps these questions have caused you to pause and reflect for a time? But did you bail out of giving an answer because you couldn’t find the words, felt ashamed or just didn’t want to go there?
I’ve been there too. And I remember that some of their generally well-meaning questions made me somewhat ashamed that I even needed to focus on personal development. It was real easy to start looking for what might be really “wrong” with me to have created the PD need in the first place.
Heck, I thought maybe I should just go recycle all those PD books and tapes and CDs. And settle for whatever may come…
Fortunately, I was able to engineer a change of mindset to deal with these self-doubts. And that change became centered on the belief that the best of Personal Development is all about developing the potential of the whole person. It’s definitely not about focusing on faults, limitations and lack of ability.
This new mode of thinking became effectively hardwired after I decided to enroll with the International Coach Academy in Winter 2004. I already had a successful IT role in a global financial services corporation and was not looking for a full-time coaching role. Although part-time participation in a mentoring project with other staff was in the early preparation stages.
My self-proclaimed objective throughout the 1.5 years it took me to complete the Certified Professional Coaching program, was to find out how to use my personal development experience in a self-coaching context. During the program I made the following two life empowering discoveries:
1: A realization that “raising awareness” is the secret to becoming more alive and to the very act of living itself…
Number 2: I am able to choose my degree of responsibility for most or all of my actions.
‘Never-ending change’ is now almost a documented procedure in many global companies! I was therefore not at all alarmed to hear that a major IT outsourcing project was about to get underway!
With the knowledge that outsourcing was about to make an appearance in my world, I decided to concentrate on applying my two discoveries to help coach myself smoothly out of a 20 year employee mind-set and into the new and uncharted waters of Internet business ownership – and all this in under two years! This PD-coaching stuff rocks!
Concurrently with the outsourcing project, I also made it a daily habit of asking myself this question before the start of almost every major task: “What is the point of doing this?” This felt weird but I soon got used to it. What remained tricky was to remember to pose the same question when the task was completed!
Do you want to give it a go? If you do, you might be shocked to realize that you often don’t really know why you are doing any one particular task – it just appeared on your to-do list. And once you begin to question your reasons for engaging in probably 80% of the stuff that comes your way – the time for changing the game has probably arrived.
Over time, the answers I got from repeated use of this question helped me to see that I really was able to choose to accept more or less responsibility for some of these tasks and their outcomes. It was (and remains) a very liberating feeling to know that.
My initial successes with self-enquiry made me curious to know even more about what I was not yet aware of concerning personal development and unrealized potential at this middle stage of my life. Though it was clear that I could develop myself further within my existing employee career role (with or without outsourcing scenarios), I wondered what other roles existed beyond my day-to-day conscious awareness of “this is what I expect of myself”.
All this pondering concluded with the emergence of a simple but subtly effective self-awareness tool I refer to as “the Bio Map”.
The tool has 7 straightforward tasks each requiring only a one-word “answer”. Get a pen and some paper if you want to test it out. Here it is:
- Write down your Family name.
- Write down where you were born.
- Write down where you live now.
- Write down your current job title.
- Give one word that recalls a big goal you have already achieved in your life.
- Write down a major goal you really want to achieve.
- Write down the date.
Good job! You just made your first Bio Map! And to finish up, here is the tiebreaker! Take your list of words and write a brief paragraph on what these words mean to you and your life right now.
This marks the beginning of all effective goal creation.

Clients considering a midlife career change often call with the question, “Should I go back to school for another degree? So I wasn’t surprised to find an article in a major business journal, featuring a Q&A around the question, “Should I get an Executive MBA after 50?”
Frankly, I wonder why the question even comes up. The real question is, “How will I benefit from a new educational credential? And how can I steer clear of embarrassing headlines, like ‘Top Executive Reveals Degree from Diploma Mill?’”
(1) Instead of asking “Am I too old,” ask, “What do I need now.”
For an under-30 student, a traditional MBA can be an express elevator to the executive suite. For a midlife career change, you’re more likely to use your MBA for networking, starting a business, or jump-starting a new career.
But will you get a lower return on your investment, with fewer years remaining in your career?
Who cares?
Five or ten years after completing your degree, you’re facing a brand new career with technologies that weren’t invented when you started out. Or you realize you’ve outgrown your career.
So these days any degree, at any age, has a ten-year life span at most. Midlife career change happens more than once in a lifetime.
(2) Education programs offer unparalleled networking opportunities.
Midlife career change usually requires networking. Degree programs offer a unique way to network without feeling pressure, bypassing informational interviews.
Your fellow students will have information about other companies, industries and professions. Professors at business schools (and other specialized degree programs, such as psychology, engineering and even music) often maintain a network of contacts.
Once I taught a class for an executive MBA program. Shortly after entering the program, student “Meredith” lost her job. Her resume landed on the desk of her classmate “Rodney.” Rodney recognized her immediately, as they’d been on a class project team together.
(3) Degree programs give you new ideals.
You’ll meet people and take classes on subjects you’d never consider otherwise. Most career change comes from serendipitous encounters, so you’ll raise your chances of finding the best opportunity for your next move.
(4) Choose a program that won’t land you on the wrong side of Sixty Minutes.
You’ve probably seen the horror stories flashed across your television screen. Mid-career professional gets doctoral degree — and then gets fired for displaying bogus credentials. Senior executive discredited when sources reveal degree from non-accredited university.
One technique: Does the university have an alumni program? If the answer is “no,” don’t bother applying. If yes, attend a few meetings as a guest. Talk to alums about their success, experiences and their memories of academic rigor.
(5) For any educational program, set realistic goals and decide whether you can meet them.
Signing up is easy. These days, you’ll find a warm welcome at universities, certificate programs, coaching programs – just about anything you might consider.
Figuring out the benefits? That’s the hard part. Let’s say your local university offers a certificate program in Human Resources. It sounds great: just four courses and you get to write on your resume, “Earned HR certificate from Local U.”
How will future employers regard your certification? That depends on the reputation of Local U, the experience you bring to the table and the qualifications of your competitors.
Any of those factors could change overnight. So entering Local U with the goal of “a career change to human resources” may not be realistic.
But your certificate can pay off through networking opportunities, an extra edge if you change jobs, even a jump start to your bored professional self.
Bottom Line: You get my favorite answer. It depends.