Today, I want to share with you some crucial career advice, at least one element of which has taken me longer to learn than I’d like to admit. These are the next three steps you need to take if your current job is no longer fulfilling you and you’re not sure what to do next. Now, it may be that you simply need to find a new job. It may also mean, it’s time for you to take the leap and venture out on your own; a dream of many, but a path that is taken by few. 1. Begin with the End in Mind Set a deadline, a date in the future by which you desire to ultimately make the transition. The first time we set this kind of goal, it made all the difference. At one point in our marriage, my wife and I decided we wanted her to have the freedom to stay at home. So, we began by picking a date into the future, by which we wanted to make this a reality. Our choice was aided by determining how much of a nest egg we felt was necessary, and how long it would take us to aggressively save that much money. Join in on the chat below Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS This Episode is Sponsored By Gusto Gusto is refreshingly easy payroll, benefits, and HR for the modern small business. They make it easy, with modern technology doing all the heavy lifting. You no longer have to be a big company to get great technology, great benefits, and great service for your team. Gusto is offering Read to Lead listeners an exclusive, limited-time deal. Sign up today and you’ll get 3 months free once you run your first payroll. Just go here to get started. The second time we did this, was when I realized my passion for the industry I was working in for 24 years had waned. I began thinking about life beyond my job. I wanted to work for myself someday soon. So, I talked it over with my wife and, together we chose a date that was not close enough to feel scary just yet, and not far enough away that we could afford to sit on our hands. As it turns out, through no fault of my own, I would lose my job 6 or 7 months BEFORE that date we’d set, which is why taking step number 2 is incredibly important. 2. Start a Side Project or Side Hustle Now! Don’t wait for something to happen to you before you consider your options. Start now! This can be something related to your current career or something completely unrelated. For me, I enjoyed tinkering around with websites. Eventually, that led to building mobile apps too. So, for fun and extra income, I started helping small businesses with both of those things in my spare time. I only took on the few I could handle. And while I knew that earning a living doing these things long term wasn’t ultimately what I saw for my future, this side hustle was a Godsend. Because a couple of years later, it helped my wife and I keep our “heads above water” when that fateful day came. I was immediately able to transition into this side business 40 hours a week, and within 30 days of losing my job,