Major Themes for Career Adventurers

Reflecting on the first 20 podcast episodes.

20! It’s hard to believe that I’ve reached this podcast episode milestone. No, it’s not summiting Everest, but I’m proud of the accomplishment nonetheless.

Once I publish the next podcast episode, I’ll be among the 1% of podcasters, who go beyond 20. So, as Bill Murray said in Caddyshack, “I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.”

Early on, I wasn’t sure how many people would find stories of career adventurers to be valuable. It was simply an idea to explore, to see where it would go. Yet, I’ve found that many people are finding value in the diverse collection of stories.

At times, I’ve wondered if anyone really has cared. Creating happens in a echoless vacuum, or so it seems. You put your soul into an episode or piece, publish it, and then check to see how many “likes” or comments you get.

Over time, you wonder, “Is anyone listening? Does anyone find this helpful.” Then, you get a note.

The note says, “I’ve really found your writing and podcast to be helpful. I love your take on things.” The note brightens your day. The note keeps you going. The note motivates you.

I’ve gotten a few notes like these over the past 18 months. I’m not sharing to brag. I’m sharing because at times, the notes were motivational fuel. They kept me interviewing, writing, and publishing. Now, I’ve got enough data to bring a few insights.

In honor of 20 episodes, I’d like to hit on a few of the themes, highlights, and lessons from creating the first 20. Consider this the Cliffs Notes of Career Adventurer.

I used one of my best pals, ChatGPT to help me identify themes. I did not use ChatGPT to help me write.

Without further ado, here are both common themes mentioned in unique ways by many guests and less common themes mentioned by a few.

Common Career Adventurer Themes -

I’ve noted 105 individual themes across 20 episodes. All themes are not completely unique, however. Guests oftentimes expressed similar insights in their own ways. While this is still a limited data size, I’ve interviewed people from a variety of backgrounds and career paths

Here’s six core themes that my friend ChatGPT and I saw -

1. Mentorship, Support Systems, & Community

Luke had Leah, Han, R2, and Obi-Wan. Frodo had Samwise, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gandalf. You get the point. All great adventurers need support. Yet, many of us are choosing to defeat Vader or Sauron alone. Don’t! You need help.

According to a survey by Olivet Nazarene University only 37% of people have mentors. 76% of people say that want one. Mentors helped push these guests on their path. While many have been intricately involved in their careers, mentorship doesn’t have to be a formal undertaking. You can find help from people in many ways, including micro-moments.

2. Self Awareness and Identity

“Know thyself.” You’ve heard the quote countless times. It’s hard to make real progress without understanding who you are and what you want. It’s why there’s a multibillion dollar industry focused on helping people “discover” who they are.

People change over time. No single personality test is permanent and can explain your complexity. Guests repeatedly talked about the importance of reflecting on strengths and interests to help make confident decisions. Some discussed psychographic assessments like Enneagram. While others extolled simply carving out time to think consistently.

3. Embracing Discomfort

“No pain, no gain.” That’s the saying, right? It takes a little blood, sweat, and tears to get anything epic done. Yet, most of us get too complacent with the status quo. We know the path to something greater requires getting our hands dirty.

Guests talked about this in a number of ways. Dr. Linda Fisher talked about how impulsivity lead to buying her first harp which ultimately lead to becoming a certified harp therapy practitioner.

Kendra Ramirez talked about how fear doesn’t fade. She said that practice and repetition is the “antidote” to helping one take down fear.

There are countless examples of how Career Adventurers I’ve interviewed are embracing discomfort in their own way. According to Anne Oudersluys, the key is to get comfortable with it. We all need the skill more in the future.

4. Custom Path

Early in my career at P&G, I remember “typical” career paths presented to junior employees. The intent was to help people see how they could continue to grow with the company. Some people took the paths too literally. They NEEDED to know the exact path and who to emulate. The reality is that there is no perfect path. People who realize this, take the bull by the horns and created their own way are likely more satisfied and resilient.

Each of the people interviewed embraced this concept. For some, it took disorienting moments to forge a new way. Regardless of how you find the right path, Zenda Walker encouraged us to remember that life isn’t linear.

5. Managing Risk

What do you think of when you hear the word “adventurer?” Maybe it conjures images of someone like Indiana Jones or James Bond taking bold actions to defeat bad guys. When applied to careers, you also might think it’s about taking big, bold risks. That isn’t necessarily the case.

A number of guests talked about how they are actively seeking ways to minimize risk in their careers. They aren’t taking bold leaps left and right. They are purposefully building contingencies and taking calculated risks.

6. Experimentation

Getting something right the first time is tough. We can diligently collect data. We can coalesce the data into insights. In the end, careers are guessing games. All we can expect is that we’ve spent enough time reflecting on what’s right for us. Whether we’re right out of school or 20 years in, all careers are experiments.

Guests discussed their experiments intimately. One guest championed projects as a way to test a path before fully embracing it. A product management executive shared his journey based on iterating with agility. Most importantly, the right path is really all about following joy.

A Few More Unique Ones -

Beyond the most common themes said in their own unique way across episodes, here are a few of the distinct things mentioned.

1. Marketing the Self with the Enneagram

Sandhya Sudhakar talked about using the Enneagram personality framework in two ways. She used it for her own self-understanding while on a sabbatical. Then, she built its use into her own entrepreneurial business model.

2. Buy Then Build

You don’t have to create an idea from scratch to be an entrepreneur. Jason Hauer talked about the concept of entrepreneurship through acquisition or ETA. This less-traditional way into entrepreneurship is gaining steam.

3. Measure Income in Years

We’ve been trained to think of annual salary as the key job metric. Raj Kapur offered up another idea - measuring your income in years. It’s about evaluating roles over a longer time frame with a focus on how well they support you not just monetarily but from a lifestyle perspective.

4. Leave a Legacy with Olives

Stefano Zenezini talked about leaving a physical legacy along with a symbolic one. He and his wife are producing olive oil from trees that are hundreds of years old. They are leaving their mark on the land and hopefully leaving a legacy for their kids to embrace.

5. Embracing AI

Both R.J. Talyor and Kelly Berry talked about the importance of staying human in tech-forward environments. Technology is powerful and important, but it is still just a tool that we must use authentically.

Summing it Up -

I’ve learned that there is no perfect path. After talking for hundreds of minutes to both friends and strangers, each one of us can and should pursue what interests us most.

We all need partners and tools on the journey to help. In the end we have the power and strength to forge meaningful routes if we just take a minute to catalogue our interests and strengths, reflect upon who we are and what we want, plan for discomfort, and then boldly leap and iterate.

Be sure to take a look at the entire catalogue of career adventurer stories. You’ll find a growing world of bold path makers carving their way through a dynamic work environment.

Thanks for reading!

Paul G. Fisher