199. Career as a Launch Pad: Lata Hamilton on Crafting a Life in Alignment

[00:00:06] Welcome to episode 199 of Girl, Take the Lead, where each week we explore womanhood and leadership. And I'm your host, Yolanda Canny. Today, Lata Hamilton, millennial, returns to the show to discuss her new book, Pioneer Your Career Change, The Proven Path to Change Careers with Confidence and Earn Your Worth.

[00:00:32] Her book has reached number one in the job hunting category, number two in personal success and spirituality, number five in business and women, and climbing the charts to be number one in all categories.

[00:00:51] Lata is a change leadership and confidence expert, the creator of leading successful change program, and the founder and CEO of passion pioneers. These topics are the ones we covered. Why changing careers with confidence is important. How to make a change and things to consider.

[00:01:19] Five step formula for career change process. Don't follow someone else's path.

[00:01:29] Portfolio careers. Six areas of our lives and alignment types of career costs and the power of forgiveness. You know that I like to match a car or gift from our online store at our website, Girl, Take the Lead.

[00:01:48] That's the leadpod.com slash shop. That reflects the episode. And for this one, I think the She Flies with Brave Wings is the perfect card to reflect Lata's journey with her book launch. Enjoy the listen. And here you go.

[00:02:13] Lata, welcome back to Girl, Take the Lead.

[00:02:16] Thank you so much. It's so lovely to be back here. Thank you so much for having me back.

[00:02:21] I love it when people come back because it's like a friend coming back. So I appreciate that very much.

[00:02:29] So let's start. Would you introduce yourself to our listeners and viewers who maybe didn't catch our previous episode, but I'll have that in the show notes for those of you who are interested in listening to that.

[00:02:41] Yeah, absolutely. So I'm Lata Hamilton. I'm a change leadership and confidence expert and newly the author of my first ever book, Pioneer Your Career Change.

[00:02:54] And that's what we're going to talk a lot about today because I had the pleasure of reading that book.

[00:03:00] And I'm telling you, people, if you are thinking about making a career change, you have got to get this book.

[00:03:07] Now, when is it going to be available, you think, that they can order it?

[00:03:10] Yeah. So the official launch date is the 12th of November, 2024, Australian time.

[00:03:16] So obviously Australia is often, you know, ahead of the rest of the world.

[00:03:19] Maybe only New Zealand is in front of us. So it'll be Australia time.

[00:03:23] So for some of the world, it will probably actually be like the 11th of November.

[00:03:26] But yeah, the 12th of November, 2024 is the official release date and it's going to be coming out in print and in ebook.

[00:03:34] Well, congratulations. Congratulations.

[00:03:36] It's such a good book. And what made you want to write it?

[00:03:43] It's a funny story, actually.

[00:03:46] So I had wanted to write my memoirs.

[00:03:49] So I was like, you know, early 30s and I was like, I can't even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday.

[00:03:55] So I probably need to like write down the things that happened in like the first 30 years of my life.

[00:04:01] Because, you know, a lot of people think that like, you know, you write your memoirs when you are older and you kind of like reflecting on your whole life.

[00:04:08] I'm like, I'm not going to remember that.

[00:04:11] I'm not going to remember it.

[00:04:14] So I was kind of like writing my memoirs.

[00:04:16] And that's what I kind of always thought of publishing it as a book.

[00:04:19] And that's what I really thought the book would be.

[00:04:21] I just thought it would be like stories from my life.

[00:04:24] And the original first title was going to be One Day in December.

[00:04:29] One Day in December, which I told some of my students recently.

[00:04:33] They're like, I love that title.

[00:04:34] And I'm like, I loved it too.

[00:04:35] Except that there is like a romance novel already out with the title.

[00:04:40] It does not have a romance novel.

[00:04:42] And the reason why it was December was because that was when I arrived in Australia.

[00:04:45] So I'm adopted.

[00:04:46] And that was when I was adopted and arrived in Australia.

[00:04:50] So I had to kind of park that.

[00:04:51] And so then because it was going to be on my memoirs, I was like, okay, I'll call it Curls and Confidence.

[00:04:56] Curls and Confidence.

[00:04:57] Because I have curly hair.

[00:04:58] I talk about confidence.

[00:05:00] And so many people that I talk to, they're like, I love that title.

[00:05:05] The interesting thing was, was that as I was writing my memoirs, I was like, I've actually got a message here.

[00:05:10] Like, I've actually got something that I want to share.

[00:05:13] And it's no, you know, secret.

[00:05:15] I was a career coach.

[00:05:17] And, you know, I help a lot of women in their career.

[00:05:22] And it's specifically career change.

[00:05:24] So like transitioning from where they are, you know, to any career, but often into my profession, which is organizational change management.

[00:05:32] And so I was like, oh, I kind of have this message to share.

[00:05:35] And so I was like, okay, well, how do I craft it into a book?

[00:05:37] And then that's when I kind of stumbled across, actually, I really want to talk about this topic of kind of career change.

[00:05:43] And it's almost harking back to sort of the early days of my business, sort of 2015, 2016, when I first kicked off my business and then sort of started to specialize in career.

[00:05:52] Like, I do talk today a lot more about change leadership, change management.

[00:05:57] But I just feel like with this current time that we're living in, you know, I've been talking about this for a few years now about the fact that with technology change, automation, artificial intelligence, there are a lot of jobs that are going to be impacted.

[00:06:13] And I think that we have this, we're on the cusp of this transition globally and sort of in the energy of the world, but then also in the way that we work and what we work on and how we think about ourselves.

[00:06:27] So if we can arm people and empower them and inspire them to take ownership of their own career and to actually open themselves up to changing careers and doing that, you know, from a place of confidence, from a place of positivity, from a place of openness and from a place of, you know, really owning their own self-worth and what they are worth and what they bring to the table and their value.

[00:06:51] And like that is going to be.

[00:06:53] And like that is going to pave the way for so many people if their roles are impacted, if their industries, if their companies, if their jobs are impacted by technology change, then they can actually build a successful future for themselves no matter what happens.

[00:07:08] Well, I think your book is like this gentle guide on how to kind of walk through something that is usually paralyzing, filled with a lot of anxiety and fear.

[00:07:24] And you really do a nice job of providing actions that people can take.

[00:07:30] A lot of books will tell us what to do, like how to do, but yours is helping us really go through how to make that change.

[00:07:39] How, you know, what are things to consider?

[00:07:43] And one of the things that I loved was you use Joseph Campbell's quote, let go of the life you planned so you can accept the one that is worthy of us.

[00:07:59] Or I didn't really say that correctly, but it was pretty close to what, what that quote is.

[00:08:03] That was so brilliant because so many times we do think we have it figured out.

[00:08:10] Absolutely.

[00:08:10] It was really hard.

[00:08:12] And we're going to make it happen.

[00:08:14] And we just keep pushing and struggling and all of the, you know, things that come up, all the negativity that comes up around that.

[00:08:26] And I think your book just helps us like, okay, you're going to make a change.

[00:08:33] Let go.

[00:08:34] Here are some steps to take.

[00:08:38] And I think your book just kind of outlines that so nicely.

[00:08:41] I think it was like five steps, right?

[00:08:44] Career change.

[00:08:45] Yeah, my five step formula for career change.

[00:08:48] Yeah.

[00:08:48] It's super, you know, it just breaks it down in a super simple, you know, step-by-step process that, you know, each step builds on the one before.

[00:08:57] So, you know, the steps at a high level are one, calculate the costs.

[00:09:02] Two, remember your worth.

[00:09:04] Three, get clear on career.

[00:09:05] Four, commit to change.

[00:09:07] And then five, carve your path.

[00:09:08] And obviously within those, there are like sub-steps and like how to go about doing that.

[00:09:13] And I think as well, you're like doing it from a place of authenticity, from a place of courage, from a place of like what's individually meaningful for you and like what you specifically want and the life and lifestyle that you specifically want.

[00:09:28] You know, like I say in the book that your career is the launch pad to the rest of your life.

[00:09:33] It creates a foundation for you to be able to live the kind of life and lifestyle that you want to live.

[00:09:40] So it's sort of like not, and I always kind of have this phrase, it's like carve your own path for change.

[00:09:46] It's not about cookie-cuttering somebody else's career path, especially because.

[00:09:50] Oh my God, that was so good.

[00:09:51] Yeah.

[00:09:52] Like those careers might not exist anymore.

[00:09:54] Those paths that were tried and tested and proven and, you know, like that were the tick the box kind of thing.

[00:10:02] Like you could guarantee that career path in the past.

[00:10:06] If you did this and you went, you know, if you went to university and college, finished school, went to university and college, got a good job, you know, you could have this clear career path.

[00:10:15] It's just not the case anymore.

[00:10:17] Like there's so much change in our industries, companies, technology, roles, job design.

[00:10:23] It's like doing all the right things doesn't guarantee you, unfortunately, success in the world of work today and in the career.

[00:10:32] And so if you want to have that life and lifestyle for yourself, it is sometimes about you taking charge of that.

[00:10:38] And the quote that you mentioned from Joseph Campbell, like about the life that we planned.

[00:10:43] And in some cases, not even the life that we planned, it was just the life that we fell into.

[00:10:48] Yeah.

[00:10:49] Or the life that we, like we thought we wanted it back then.

[00:10:52] And then there's kind of that sunk cost fallacy where you go, well, I've already put so much time and effort and investment of, of, you know, me into this particular career path.

[00:11:04] Even if it's not working for me anymore, I'm going to keep plugging along, like trotting along on it.

[00:11:10] And it's like, no, this is the time.

[00:11:12] Like we only get one shot at this life.

[00:11:14] This is the time to really own and arm and armor yourself to take whatever path you want.

[00:11:21] And what I would say is like, I've had five career changes by the age of 35.

[00:11:25] I've gotten a pay rise every single time.

[00:11:28] In your career, you can have multiple careers.

[00:11:32] And I think that's really, you know, like where we're going to now.

[00:11:36] I kind of call them like portfolio, or I hear them being called portfolio careers.

[00:11:39] And I like to call them like pick and mix careers.

[00:11:42] You can have multiple careers.

[00:11:44] And sometimes I'll have students or followers come to me and there might be women in their 40s and 50s.

[00:11:50] And they're like, oh, you know, like, and I'm like, you have so much left to live and so much left to give.

[00:11:56] And like, you can have another whole career in the time that you have left in the workforce if you choose to retire at sort of the average age.

[00:12:06] Well, one of the things I loved about your book was that the work that you're asking your readers to do.

[00:12:17] You know, it's just not like, here's what you need to do.

[00:12:22] It's an exploration for you.

[00:12:25] And one of the things I loved that you did was you ask the reader to look at, I think it's six areas in their life.

[00:12:37] Career, spirituality, health, emotions, finance, and relationships.

[00:12:43] And I love that because I think you're encouraging us to look at the totality of our life, not just this one dimension.

[00:12:54] Yes.

[00:12:55] And it's so important that there be alignment around all of these other things.

[00:13:00] And I thought, this is really good, Lata, because this is so insightful that we're not just this one dimension, that we have these other things going on too.

[00:13:10] And there definitely has to be like continuity around those things.

[00:13:16] Yes.

[00:13:17] And I learned that process actually, you know, when I did my coaching certification.

[00:13:22] So I did a life coaching certification and we looked at that, we looked at that holistic view of your life because, you know, often we think that there's work and life.

[00:13:31] And especially when we talk about that idea of work-life balance, it's like those are the only two areas.

[00:13:36] There's work and life.

[00:13:38] But when you look at it as that wheel, you know, as that kind of like segmented wheel, you see that actually career is only one-sixth of your life.

[00:13:50] It's not this balance between 50-50.

[00:13:53] It's actually, well, I'm terrible at maths, so I don't know what one-sixth of the percentage is.

[00:14:00] Don't ask me to do that, please, on the spot.

[00:14:02] I can get a calculator.

[00:14:04] But, you know, like your career is actually one-sixth of your life and it just helps to put everything into perspective.

[00:14:09] But then it also helps, I think, to show, and I talk about this a little bit in the book, is like where are those interrelationships?

[00:14:15] You know, like career and finance are on opposite sides of the wheel because your career is often sort of the main driving force as to what your finances might or could look like.

[00:14:27] Like it's not, you know, necessarily set in stone, but often like how much money we're able to make kind of drives the opposite side of the wheel, which is how much money do we have.

[00:14:37] And then, you know, like spirituality sits to the left of career and health sits to the right because so often, and I'm absolutely guilty of this, when I put too much focus on my career, my health has suffered.

[00:14:51] Mm-hmm.

[00:14:52] Or when I've put, or on the other side of the wheel, it's like, you know, if you're in a career that is not fulfilling you, if you don't feel like you're living something that's of purpose and doing something meaningful in the world, having a positive impact, that can affect your spirituality rating because you're like, like this isn't, like I'm not actually fulfilled.

[00:15:11] So there's all these interrelationships with between those areas of life.

[00:15:15] And like I mentioned, like career can be such a great way of helping to build the other areas of your life, like how you feel about yourself, your emotions, or getting more balance in your career could help you have that focus on your health.

[00:15:28] Or having more fulfillment in your career or more purpose or impact could help you drive up your spirituality rating.

[00:15:34] And when I, in my early days of my business, when I did work one-on-one with clients, we talked about that a lot.

[00:15:41] Like I saw that pan out over the course of our coaching would be that like we would be focusing mostly on career.

[00:15:47] I just naturally attracted clients who were, you know, young professionals often.

[00:15:52] I worked with men and women, but often they were kind of young professionals, really ambitious, really high achieving, and they wanted to take the next step in their career.

[00:16:01] And that was who I attracted.

[00:16:02] We would spend, say, let's just say we spent six months together coaching.

[00:16:06] Even after the six months, even though we honed in on career, other areas of their life would all increase and improve as well.

[00:16:14] So good.

[00:16:15] And the other good thing that you offer in your book throughout are these little bonuses.

[00:16:22] And I think one of the things you offer is the ability to download the map of life, which I thought was like, this girl's thought of everything.

[00:16:30] It's just, she's really done a great job.

[00:16:35] Maybe we can talk a little bit more about the types of career costs.

[00:16:43] Because you mentioned a little bit of it, you know, in terms of there can be a spiritual cost, a health cost.

[00:16:51] But sometimes we're so determined that we don't realize how blind we can be and how that affects our self-worth or our self-confidence.

[00:17:07] Like those things that are at stake too.

[00:17:11] Because you may be talking a little bit too more about confidence, because that seems to be a theme throughout the book too.

[00:17:19] Yes.

[00:17:20] Yeah, you're absolutely right.

[00:17:21] In terms of the costs, you know, I talk a lot about loyalty in the book.

[00:17:27] Because I think, you know, you mentioned it sort of earlier where people are afraid.

[00:17:31] And people kind of stay stuck and they kind of keep themselves because they're just so fearful of making a change.

[00:17:38] Because they don't know whether or not they're going to have what it takes to make that change.

[00:17:43] And, you know, we can really be talking about any type of career change.

[00:17:46] It could be, you know, a step up.

[00:17:48] It could be a promotion.

[00:17:49] It could be going and asking for a pay rise.

[00:17:52] Excuse me.

[00:17:53] It could be an actual career change, which is what we talk mostly about in the book.

[00:17:57] But all of the steps can absolutely be used for like a pay rise or a promotion.

[00:18:01] So they're so scared that they kind of stay stuck, keep themselves, you know, where they are.

[00:18:08] But so part of that, that kind of chapter in the book around, you know, calculating the true costs of loyalty.

[00:18:14] It's like you holding yourself back because of ideas of loyalty or fear of making a change can have real ramifications and costs in your life.

[00:18:24] The main one, obviously, is financial costs.

[00:18:27] And I talk a little bit in the book about like how you'll often be better calibrating against the open market than against the 1 to 3% pay rise that you might get in your current company year on year.

[00:18:39] 1 to 3%.

[00:18:40] A lot of them have been zero.

[00:18:44] Yeah, especially at the moment with the economy as it is.

[00:18:47] You know, some people are being told, you know, we're not giving any pay rises at all.

[00:18:54] But the thing is, is that the cost of living is going up.

[00:18:57] So if you are earning the same, like my true belief is like if you are earning the same amount of money, it's almost like your company is stealing from you because their products and services are going up in price.

[00:19:06] But they're not passing that on to you as an employee if they're not increasing by 1 to 3%.

[00:19:12] But I'm like, I've been able to triple my salary in the space of a couple of years.

[00:19:17] I've been able to get pay rises of like $15,000, $20,000 and then doubling in one move simply by changing companies or changing the way that I work and calibrating against the open market.

[00:19:30] So the financial costs are, you know, we're not going to work for fun.

[00:19:34] I mean, we can have fun at work, but we're not going to work for fun.

[00:19:37] It's not a hobby.

[00:19:38] It's not volunteering.

[00:19:39] You want to be remunerated and compensated appropriately for the work that you do, appropriately and abundantly.

[00:19:47] Saying that, you raised a really good point.

[00:19:50] It's not just about the financial costs.

[00:19:52] There are personal costs like, you know, how it could be costing your health, how it could be costing how you think about yourself and like your, you know, what that means to you in your personal life.

[00:20:04] And then the spiritual costs and the spiritual costs are the interesting one, because it's like, if you're not growing, if you don't have variety and challenge, if you're staying stuck and stifled, that can really have a big impact on your own sense of self-esteem, your own sense of self-worth.

[00:20:20] And then just like improving in your career can have positive effects in the rest of your life.

[00:20:26] When you're feeling really drained and really stuck and really stagnant in your career, that can have detrimental effects on the rest of your life too.

[00:20:36] So we really kind of want to always be taking this holistic approach.

[00:20:40] And it sounds silly, but almost trying to put a little bit of a dollar figure or a pound figure or whatever, use your like your currency on the things that we don't often think about as, you know, being a cost or like a really good example is, you know, during COVID, I was working from home more.

[00:21:03] So that was great for my like work-life balance and like being able to go and, you know, exercise and stuff because I had actually been really struggling.

[00:21:10] I had changed where I lived and I had to travel a lot to work.

[00:21:15] And I was like, oh, so when COVID hit, that was great.

[00:21:18] I was like, oh my goodness, I can save the commute.

[00:21:20] And it actually helped.

[00:21:21] It was one of the things that helped keep me at that company for longer.

[00:21:24] But the flip side was that I was sitting all the time and I wasn't getting enough walking, incidental walking in.

[00:21:30] And so I had to start going to the physiotherapy weekly, weekly, because I had a sore back and I'm like, oh my goodness.

[00:21:39] Like where is your, where is your career potentially creating these other real costs in your life?

[00:21:46] You know, it might even be relationship costs where because of your career, because of the way that you work or the expectations that you have or that you feel that you have,

[00:21:55] that you could be bringing that stress and that strain home.

[00:21:59] You could be taking that out on your loved ones without meaning to.

[00:22:02] It's just that you are so burnt out and you are so drained.

[00:22:06] And that can have real costs as well.

[00:22:08] Like, you know, if you have to separate from your partner or, you know, maybe it has a flow-on effect on your children, for example, on your friends or family.

[00:22:17] Like, yeah, it's really starting to look at what those true costs are.

[00:22:24] And looking at that can really help build your commitment to wanting to change.

[00:22:29] So is the confidence, you think, the factor that is the result of all of this?

[00:22:34] So if you're feeling aligned, you're feeling good about life and your career, and more than likely you've got a good sense of self-confidence.

[00:22:47] And if you find yourself kind of going down in a spiral, it's very easy for us to lose our self-confidence.

[00:22:55] Is that kind of where you've netted out?

[00:22:58] Yeah, I think so.

[00:22:59] And you do hear those stories.

[00:23:00] And I can't remember, Yo, but I think maybe you've even been in this situation before, pardon me,

[00:23:06] where when somebody loses their role, their confidence just plummets.

[00:23:11] And they end up sort of like, you know, rock bottom.

[00:23:13] Like maybe they get made redundant or laid off or something like that.

[00:23:16] I also see it a lot with a lot of women who go and have their babies.

[00:23:21] So they might go on maternity leave.

[00:23:22] And while they're on maternity leave, their confidence plummets.

[00:23:25] And it's just that shift in them trying to navigate that return to work in that transition.

[00:23:33] It could be that you get put into a brand new position.

[00:23:38] It could be that you, you know, get told that you've got to step up and do your boss's role because the role is vacant now.

[00:23:45] And you're like, imposter syndrome like suddenly comes up.

[00:23:49] Or it could just, it could also just be like that your confidence drops because you don't enjoy what you're doing anymore.

[00:23:56] And because of that, it's almost like this, like, like I have, I have a bad habit probably of like switching off of just being like, when I'm done, I'm done.

[00:24:05] Like, and the engagement just isn't there.

[00:24:07] I will still deliver.

[00:24:08] I will still do, you know, everything that is required of me.

[00:24:11] I will still perform really highly and I will absolutely deliver.

[00:24:15] But the passion and the love isn't there anymore.

[00:24:18] And I think even that can make your confidence way.

[00:24:21] And I think even that can, you know, really just, just affect the way that you feel about yourself and affect the way that you feel about life.

[00:24:29] And, and so, yeah, so going through this process helps to build that confidence and that self, that sense of inner worth.

[00:24:35] But also that sense of certainty and that sense of empowerment for yourself around what you want for your life and that you're, and that you're committed to go and out there and get that.

[00:24:45] I thought one of the things that really struck me, and I love how you, at the end of each chapter, you say, you know, what was the thing in this chapter that really struck you?

[00:24:54] But one of the things that really struck me was when you said, you know, don't follow someone else's career path.

[00:25:08] Like I would, how, how brilliant?

[00:25:12] Because so many times you go into a new job and you look around and you figure what the career path is in that organization.

[00:25:24] Like how you get promoted.

[00:25:26] So you're comparing externally to other people.

[00:25:31] It's, it's an external thing.

[00:25:34] It's not an internal, what's my path.

[00:25:36] It's like, what do I need to do that they're doing?

[00:25:42] So I get promoted.

[00:25:44] And when you said, don't follow someone else's career path, I went, oh, wow.

[00:25:50] That's good.

[00:25:52] I mean, it's so, I mean, it doesn't sound probably like, it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

[00:26:00] Like, but you do it.

[00:26:00] I mean, you, you do, you get into an organization, you follow someone else's career path.

[00:26:06] Don't you think?

[00:26:07] I mean, I just.

[00:26:08] Yeah.

[00:26:09] And I think like there is something in modeling other people and seeing what worked for them and learning from success.

[00:26:15] So there's nothing wrong with like going, okay, cool.

[00:26:18] Like this person took this path.

[00:26:20] They took this route and that's how they got to the place that they're at.

[00:26:24] But I think we always have to remember times have changed.

[00:26:26] So even if that person is even three years ahead of you, like the world might have changed.

[00:26:33] The economy might have changed.

[00:26:34] The company might have changed in that time.

[00:26:36] Even if it was just three years earlier, like a really good example of that is I went once went for a job interview at a company early on in my career.

[00:26:45] And they wanted me back for a second interview.

[00:26:47] But I can honestly tell you that the energy of the building was horrible.

[00:26:54] Like it was cold and sterile.

[00:26:57] And I'd come from this great organization sort of thing that had like a really positive, vibrant culture.

[00:27:02] And I could feel it.

[00:27:03] Like it was quiet and cold and sterile.

[00:27:06] And so I did the interview.

[00:27:07] And then they really wanted me back for a second interview.

[00:27:09] And I was like, oh, no, sorry.

[00:27:11] Like the distance is too far.

[00:27:12] I was like, the commute is too bad.

[00:27:14] Because I didn't know how to explain to them.

[00:27:16] I'm like, I can't work in that environment.

[00:27:19] Like it's just not going to work.

[00:27:21] Fast forward about four years-ish, I think it was.

[00:27:26] And a recruiter came to me with a role.

[00:27:28] And it was for the same company.

[00:27:30] And I almost turned it down.

[00:27:32] Because I was like, I'm not going to do the interview.

[00:27:34] Because I remembered so vividly that experience before.

[00:27:37] But I went back into that same site, the very same building.

[00:27:42] Meeting with the hiring manager.

[00:27:45] It was really relaxed.

[00:27:46] It wasn't in like a cold, sterile office, like meeting room.

[00:27:50] It was actually out in the cafe.

[00:27:52] There was like an activation going on.

[00:27:53] There was all this like buzz and hype and activity.

[00:27:56] It felt really warm.

[00:27:57] It felt like there was this buzzing energy, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:28:01] I loved it.

[00:28:02] I could feel it.

[00:28:05] It was just incredible.

[00:28:08] And I took the role.

[00:28:10] And I loved working with those people.

[00:28:12] I have some of the like some people, some of those people that I worked with there are some

[00:28:15] of my best friends.

[00:28:16] Like, you know, I was still friends today.

[00:28:19] I really was probably one of the best roles that I ever had.

[00:28:22] That was only the space of about four years.

[00:28:24] And that company had completely changed in culture and energy.

[00:28:29] So if you're looking at somebody who's three to five years ahead of you in a company, like

[00:28:35] you don't know what it was like when they started.

[00:28:38] So you can't necessarily follow directly in their footsteps.

[00:28:41] You can absolutely learn from things and take insights and nuggets.

[00:28:45] But it's you're not them.

[00:28:47] So you don't know what their interests are and their passions and their objectives and

[00:28:51] their life and lifestyle goals.

[00:28:54] So you're not them, but also you're just not there at it's not the same time as that they

[00:28:59] did it.

[00:29:00] So it will just always be mindful, I think is probably the thing to say.

[00:29:05] Can't be your own path.

[00:29:06] Make your own plans and decisions.

[00:29:08] And you might be an inspiration to somebody else.

[00:29:12] No, I thought that was just so good about having your own path.

[00:29:19] I mean, it was just so good.

[00:29:20] It hit me like that was so good.

[00:29:22] Another thing that I love was your chapter on the power of forgiveness.

[00:29:34] There's just with your book, every chapter was sort of a surprise.

[00:29:40] Like I went, oh, well, people don't usually put that with that.

[00:29:43] And here she is.

[00:29:44] She's talking about forgiveness.

[00:29:46] Can you talk a little bit about why you included that in the book?

[00:29:50] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:29:51] You know, I'm a neurolinguistic programming practitioner.

[00:29:54] So an NLP practitioner, neurolinguistic programming.

[00:29:57] And that is the study of excellence in behavior, psychology, and like, which is kind of like your

[00:30:04] emotions and communication, behavior, communication, and psychology or emotions.

[00:30:08] And obviously coaching as well.

[00:30:11] And so some of the deeper work that we do in neurolinguistic programming is about often

[00:30:16] forgiving yourself and forgiving others.

[00:30:18] And, you know, sometimes like there'll be practices that a practitioner will do with their one-on-one

[00:30:22] with their client that kind of go into those particular opportunities to do some emotional

[00:30:29] healing.

[00:30:30] I also, you know, am a very, very strong advocate and part of her program of Denise Duffield-Thomas.

[00:30:37] So she's like a money mindset mentor for women.

[00:30:40] And she talks a lot about self-love and forgiveness.

[00:30:43] And, you know, she's come up from a coaching background as well.

[00:30:46] So it's quite common sort of thing to talk about forgiveness in the personal development

[00:30:50] space.

[00:30:51] And I just thought to myself, like, I'm like, in my career, I have had those bad bosses or

[00:30:58] those bad experiences or, you know, those times when I went for a pay rise and I didn't

[00:31:02] get it and things like that.

[00:31:04] And so I wanted to include it because I think when we can start to shift some of those emotional

[00:31:11] blocks, then you are opening yourself up to something new coming in.

[00:31:16] You know, it's kind of like that decluttering of energy.

[00:31:19] But also I think it's that releasing of pain, that releasing of trauma, that releasing of

[00:31:28] fears, beliefs, anxieties, hurt, guilt sometimes.

[00:31:35] Maybe there's been in the past things that you did wrong.

[00:31:39] I can put my hand up and say, like, I've made mistakes in my career.

[00:31:44] I've made mistakes in my career.

[00:31:46] And so it's like, you know, we're all human.

[00:31:49] It's like letting some of that stuff go, releasing that, making space for the new career that you

[00:31:54] want.

[00:31:55] And like a really great example of this, and I do talk about it a little bit in the book,

[00:31:59] is like when I did a big breakthrough session with one of my coaches, it was like in the

[00:32:04] area of relationships, not even in the area of career.

[00:32:06] It was in the area of relationships.

[00:32:08] Um, and it was after that, that the beautiful relationship that I'm still in today, we're

[00:32:14] almost going on to our 10 year anniversary, um, that that came into my life.

[00:32:18] I'd never had a boyfriend before that, never had a boyfriend in my whole life.

[00:32:21] I was like 27, never had a boyfriend.

[00:32:23] Um, and so after doing that release work with this coach, then he was already in my life,

[00:32:30] but it was like, I opened up.

[00:32:32] I felt my heart physically open.

[00:32:35] And it was because I, I now had space to actually receive that love in and receive that relationship

[00:32:42] in.

[00:32:43] And so I think there's something so powerful in that.

[00:32:46] It's like, if you, uh, if you're, if your cup is already full, there's no volume left.

[00:32:54] Like there's no space left for a new career to actually enter.

[00:32:57] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:58] So it's kind of about sort of decluttering, releasing, letting go of things that have

[00:33:03] happened in your past, especially if you are kind of mid career or later career, there

[00:33:08] will have been many things that have happened in your past.

[00:33:10] And I give in the book, like a few practices that you can do on your own because I've often

[00:33:15] worked with a coach.

[00:33:16] Um, but I think it is really important that, um, you know, for people to have some, some

[00:33:21] tools that they can use on their own to just start to release some of this stuff.

[00:33:24] So that's why I included the chapter.

[00:33:27] Well, we could keep talking forever, but I want people to go and get the book.

[00:33:33] So tell them where they can get that and, um, how they can follow you and contact you.

[00:33:39] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:33:40] So you can go to latahamilton.com slash pioneer, P I O N E E R.

[00:33:48] So latahamilton.com slash pioneer.

[00:33:50] Um, and that's where you can buy the book.

[00:33:53] Um, and when I'm doing the book launch, so the book's going to get launched on the 12th

[00:33:57] of November, 2024.

[00:33:59] Um, I'm actually doing a free 30 day book club to kind of celebrate the book launch.

[00:34:05] Um, so you can absolutely jump onto the book club, um, and kind of get a bit of support

[00:34:10] in kind of working your way through the book and the activities, cause it is a very practical

[00:34:13] book.

[00:34:14] Um, and it's a really nice way as well to just kind of bring a community together who

[00:34:18] are all, um, looking for that same inspiration and that same support.

[00:34:21] So you'll have me kind of supporting you, um, for the first 30 days for that.

[00:34:25] And as part of that book club.

[00:34:27] And that starts on November, the 14th, 12th.

[00:34:31] Yeah.

[00:34:31] The book club starts, kicks off on the 14th and the book's released on the 12th.

[00:34:35] So yeah, when you go to that one, you can kind of join up for that one.

[00:34:39] Um, so lots of, I'd love asking my guests this question now, what would you tell your

[00:34:45] 20 something self?

[00:34:48] It's such a great question.

[00:34:50] I think for me, um, like it was my late twenties that I really enjoyed.

[00:34:56] Um, and it was my early twenties when I was like a bit like unsure of myself and things

[00:35:00] like that.

[00:35:01] Like I knew what I wanted.

[00:35:02] I just felt like I was being told by other people, like, no, you've got to slow down.

[00:35:06] You've got to do your time.

[00:35:08] You've got to hold back.

[00:35:08] Um, and I would just tell her to just go for it.

[00:35:12] I just feel like, do what you want to do.

[00:35:14] Um, you know, explore other paths, explore other ways of getting to where you want to

[00:35:18] go because yeah, it felt very jarring back then.

[00:35:23] Um, and if I have could have sort of told my early twenties self, like you can absolutely

[00:35:28] do it how you want to do it.

[00:35:30] Um, and you just go for it the way that you want to do it.

[00:35:33] That would have been the most incredible, like inspiration to have heard.

[00:35:39] Absolutely.

[00:35:40] Oh, thank you.

[00:35:41] Thank you.

[00:35:42] Thank you for coming and sharing your book with us and writing the book and just putting

[00:35:46] your heart into it.

[00:35:47] I mean, it's just so well laid out.

[00:35:49] So thank you so much.

[00:35:52] You're so welcome.

[00:35:53] And thanks so much for having me back.

[00:35:54] It's been great.

[00:35:55] Thank you for listening today.

[00:35:56] And we sure hope you enjoyed this episode.

[00:35:59] If you did, please leave a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[00:36:03] Tell a friend about us, join our public Facebook group, girl, take the lead, or visit our website,

[00:36:11] girl, take the lead pod.com.

[00:36:13] We also have a YouTube channel where your subscription would be appreciated.

[00:36:18] Once you're on YouTube search at girl, take the lead.

[00:36:22] And we're on YouTube music where you can find a video of this episode and be sure to visit

[00:36:31] our shop and pick up, um, with brave wings.

[00:36:35] She flies card for someone who is fearless and be sure to register for a lot of book bonuses

[00:36:43] and join her free 30 day online book club to celebrate the launch of her book.

[00:36:50] The book club kickoff party is Thursday, November 14.

[00:36:55] And details are in the show notes.

[00:36:59] Here are three takeaways from our episode one.

[00:37:04] So many times we push and struggle to make our careers happen.

[00:37:10] And if we just let go of our expectation, we can make changes.

[00:37:17] Lata said this, your career is your launch pad to the rest of your life.

[00:37:25] Two.

[00:37:27] Lata's five steps were calculate the costs.

[00:37:32] Remember your worth.

[00:37:35] Get clear on career.

[00:37:38] Commit to change and carve your path.

[00:37:42] These can help us come from a place of authenticity and identity.

[00:37:48] And what we specifically want.

[00:37:52] Three.

[00:37:53] We are not a one dimension person.

[00:37:56] We need to look at our lives holistically.

[00:37:59] And career is only one sixth with interrelationships with other areas like finance, spirituality, health, and others.

[00:38:13] In our next episode, we'll hit our 200th episode milestone.

[00:38:20] And my daughter Kiki said I should do something special.

[00:38:24] So here it goes.

[00:38:25] At the end of my episodes this year, I've asked our guests, what would they tell their 20-something self today?

[00:38:37] And I have loved so many other answers.

[00:38:40] I've put some of them together for you in this special edition.

[00:38:45] You'll hear their amazing voices from different generational perspectives.

[00:38:51] And I'll link to their episodes in the show notes in case you want to hear more.

[00:38:55] So please join us again and help us celebrate.

[00:38:59] We're pretty excited about reaching that milestone.

[00:39:03] Talk to you soon.

[00:39:05] Bye.