There comes a point in many careers when our current story isn’t working for us any more. When we sense it might be time to write a different story.

A better story than the one on offer if we stick where we are. That old story might have worked well for us in the past. But we’re pretty sure it’s not going to work in the future.

Let’s be honest, sometimes this new story is forced upon us by events we can’t control. At other times, it’s completely our decision.

Maybe we’ve achieved a bunch of ambitions, but they aren’t cutting it for us any more. Maybe we’re now attracted more by being significant than by being successful. Maybe we’ve lost our sense of purpose, and the meaning that having a purpose can give to life. Maybe we need to think more about our aspirations, and who we want to be, than our ambitions.

We, and Martin especially, work with a lot of Leaders who want to go on making a difference, but can’t quite work out how to do that. A common theme to all of them, as the quote at the top of the page might suggest, is that they have to overcome conflicts and challenges to make the shift. And whatever the switch, let’s be clear. It takes courage. But always at the core of their stories is the motivation on their part to

LIVE A BETTER STORY

So if this is where you are, give us a shout. We’d love to help you work out how to go on making a difference in the world.

Just to get you started, this little book might help stimulate some thinking.

“Don’t Look Back” tells the stories of nine characters who set out to live better stories than the default ones on offer if they did nothing. In their cases, they chose to become coaches in various forms. They did this at ages from 30 to 50. And, as it says in the book, age does matter, because the nature of the challenges and conflicts to be overcome varies with age.

Their stories provide a template for many such stories.

Each story tells of a character seeking to find greater purpose and meaning from their work. And grappling with a mix of, essentially, ten different themes as they learn to write new stories. Here’s a picture to capture those themes.

If “living a better story” is what you’re thinking about right now, maybe “Don’t Look Back” can provide both the inspiration and the template for yours. But if a book isn’t going to do it for you, and you just want to talk, please do get in touch using the Contact page.

Finally, “Don’t Look Back” is sold to raise funds for the Boaz Trust, in supporting destitute asylum seekers and refugees. And if ever there were people looking to live a better story, it would be those men, women and children. So if you do fancy reading it, know that as you think through how to live your new story, you can play a small part in helping them to live theirs.