252: Surviving Career Uncertainty: Lessons from Broadway with Megan Kingery

Unlock the secrets to harnessing creative energy for career success with Megan Kingery, a multifaceted producer who has mastered the art of navigating career uncertainties. Discover how Megan transitioned from being a doer to a leader, leveraging coaching and strategic planning to align her personal vision with how she's perceived professionally. Gain actionable insights on how to utilize storytelling and case studies to showcase your unique problem-solving abilities, preparing for career transitions in an ever-changing landscape.

Facing instability in the Broadway and theater industry? You're not alone. Megan and I explore the emotional and financial challenges exacerbated by the pandemic and economic shifts. Learn how creative professionals are finding stability outside the live entertainment sector and why owning and adapting to instability is crucial for growth across all fields. We also delve into practical strategies for managing emotional and financial instability, offering tips on finding opportunities that align with your skills and passions.

What does it take to pitch a new show to potential investors with confidence? Through a role-playing scenario, Megan and I demonstrate the importance of a strong team and risk mitigation, making investors feel part of a worthwhile venture. We also touch on mindfulness practices like meditation for maintaining emotional stability during challenging times, sharing personal anecdotes and favorite Broadway shows that bring humor and lightness to our conversation. Don't miss this enriching episode filled with practical advice, personal stories, and a touch of Broadway magic.

Connect with Megan Kingery
Website | LinkedIn | Email - megan@megankingery.com

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Unleashing Creative Energy for Career Success

John Neral 0:00

Harnessing your creative energy can help you make bolder moves in your career and build relationships you never imagined . My guest today is known as a producer of everything and she's here to talk about how she helps creative make big moves on stage , on screen and in the workplace . And part of her talent is helping people deal with the uncertainty of their industry and how to handle work's ever-changing landscape . Join me and my guest , megan Kingery , as we unpack what you can do if you are uncertain about where your career is headed or if you're ready to make a big move and need a little inspiration to get there . Let's get started . Hello , my friends , this is the Mid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm your host , John Neral . I help mid-career professionals like you find a job they love , or love the job they have , using my proven four-step formula . If you're a fan of Broadway , you are going to enjoy a very special part of this episode where I ask Megan some questions about her favorite shows and actors . But you're also not going to want to miss a part of this episode that includes why a lot of aspiring Broadway actors abandon their dream at mid-career and move on to something else , and where do they go ?

John Neral 1:32

Megan Kingery's primary mediums include theater , digital and mobile technologies , film , television and graphic novels . Megan basically says that if you can imagine it , she can figure out a way to make it . But one of Megan's exceptional talents is helping these people see the entire matrix . They look at the entire production or they look at the entire landscape that's in front of them and she helps them stay calm at the center of a hurricane . So one of the reasons why I asked Megan to be on the show because for some of you that are either currently navigating a reorganization or your company is being acquired and there is uncertainty about what might be next , staying calm amidst the chaos is a much-needed skill and desired trait , not only for your self-care but for how you bring that into your teams and your leadership at your current organization . So the curtain's going up . I hope you enjoy my conversation with Megan Kingery . Megan Kingery , welcome to the Mid-Career GPS podcast . I'm honored to have you here with us today .

Megan Kingery 2:47

Hello , I am so happy to be here .

John Neral 2:50

Oh my gosh . I wish our listeners could have heard all of the laughs we had before we got recording , but that'll probably come out of the conversation anyway . Megan , you've got this incredible background and I shared part of it in the introduction . We're going to get into all of that today , but please share with my listeners what was your mid-career moment .

Megan Kingery 3:11

Absolutely so . My mid-career moment , and we'll talk a little bit about . I want to preface this by saying I had a wild time in my twenties and early thirts . I bounced around indie theater for a long time . I , you know , took a lot of really kind of random jobs . I did not have any kind of plan or any kind of focus .

Megan Kingery 3:37

And my mid career moment , when I felt like I did start to have a focus , I was working with an internationally recognized brand in entertainment and I was an incredible doer . I was a coordinator , I was an organizer , I could do absolutely anything that my managers put me to . But I kept seeing myself passed over for promotion over and over and over again , and I just kept being in the position of the go-to person to do something that needed doing , but not the person who was going to be leading the team . And I finally had a moment where I said you know , this is not the life that I want . I do want to be leading the team . I want to be the person who's in charge . I want to be developing new projects . How do I get to that point ?

Megan Kingery 4:26

And I ended up actually working with two different coaches , one of whom was just a really like big ideas , inspiration , mindset , ambition type of coach and we started putting massive dreams on paper with the idea that I was actually going to be working towards them . And what's crazy now is I look at that original list of just unimaginably cool things that I could do and I've done most of them . And I also started working with another coach who worked in the profession that I wanted . He had the job that I wanted and he was coaching other folks and we worked really specifically on strategy and accountability and taking action week by week , day by day , month by month , and that started to be seen in a different light . I started to be seen as somebody that was creating new work , that was ideating new work , and not just someone that was good at following orders and that changed things in a very profound way for me , both internally and with how people saw me .

John Neral 5:48

What I love about that part of your story is it really is this kind of awakening to understand it's not just about how people see you , but it is about how you want to be seen .

Megan Kingery 6:03

Right , but it is about how you want to be seen Right and how I believed I could appear , and you know , and it's like a lot of the mindset stuff that we talk about as coaches is a little goofy , you know , it's a little funny , but it can make these profound shifts if it's paired with action .

John Neral 6:21

Absolutely yeah , yeah with action Absolutely yeah , yeah . And so when you think about where you are right now and I love how you are the chief creative officer at Producer of Everything Global , right , and just kind of you've got your hand in so many different things we hear a lot of mid-career professionals talk about and they'll say , I'm passionate about this . But it often falls very flat , especially when they're networking or interviewing , because it's that buzzword that gets thrown out there that you think everybody's going to know and understand what that means For creative professionals and even for yourself included in that . What comes up for you when you hear people say I'm passionate about blank ?

Megan Kingery 7:15

That's so smart ? Because the word passion ? Of course you want to have energy and enthusiasm for the work that you do , but it can also mean that you are unfocused about how to approach something . I'm less interested in people that are passionate about a certain subject than people who are obsessed with solving a problem . And if you are obsessed with solving a certain problem , I know that you're trying different things . I know that you're willing to fail . I know that you're willing to get better in service of something bigger than yourself . But you know , just , passion is , you know it's kind of a nice to have , not a have to have .

Megan Kingery 8:01

Right yeah have to have Right . Yeah , you know I want you to be excited , but I also don't know does that mean you're going to talk about it a lot or does it mean you're going to do something and I want to work with people who do things ? And that's also what can make a difference in terms of how you're perceived is are you a person that's willing to think creatively about how to solve something that's in front of you , rather than just you know , do it like you can passionately edit a spreadsheet or you can passionately get to inbox zero , but is that going to move a project forward in a substantial way ?

John Neral 8:41

So well said and you hit on such a key point , which is right now , especially for any job seekers , especially mid-career job seekers that are interviewing for positions . Right now . Companies want to know what you're going to do for them now . What are the deliverables within those first 30 , 60 , 90 , 180 days ? That's going to prove to them that you are the best fit , best candidate , right fit for the job . All the other stuff you've done is important , but they want to know what you're going to do for them now .

Megan Kingery 9:13

Well , exactly , and how are you going to do something that they don't know they need ?

Megan Kingery 9:19

If you are someone that is going to be looking at the problems of the company you're approaching in a novel way and be able to say in a constructive way , you do have to be constructive . You don't want to go in and say , well , I think we should burn the house down , but can I come in and say you know , I think things would be more efficient if we did things this way . Have you thought about this ? Have you thought about reaching your customers in this way ? Are you bringing something to the table that they don't know they need ? And so that's what I think is going to differentiate somebody from you know , just somebody that is , I'd say , passionate and skilled . And in some positions , you do want someone who's passionate and skilled , and in some positions , you do want someone who's passionate and skilled . But for your listeners especially who are in that mid-career moment of saying I know that there is more that I can be doing with my life and I don't know how to get there , yeah

Navigating Career Instability With Resilience

Megan Kingery 10:19

.

Megan Kingery 10:19

Learning how to solve problems in an in a novel way is part of that process , and so I'm working with a client right now who's looking to do bigger creative work in different industries , and we're looking very specifically about how case studies , how he took a problem and solved it in a way that the client could not have done themselves .

John Neral 10:46

In those kind of case studies and examples . I do an exercise with my clients . I call story buckets . Right , you need to have those things as part of your story because that shapes the way you prepare for an interview . Because it shapes , because it's how you know your story . If you can't tell your story better than anybody else , you're not doing something right .

Megan Kingery 11:09

You've got to be out there doing it Exactly so , megan .

John Neral 11:15

One of the reasons and admittedly a selfish reason why I wanted to have you on the show here was that you have a tremendous background and knowledge in the theater industry . I want to talk with you a little bit about theater and specifically Broadway . In general , broadway has taken a couple of hits .

Megan Kingery 11:36

Yeah .

John Neral 11:38

So most recently because of the pandemic when the world shut down a little over four years ago , and also and I remember this very well when I was working outside of New York City when 9-11 happened . And to this day , one of the best moments I have ever had in the theater was going to see 42nd Street with 40 of my teaching colleagues after 9-11 and sitting in that theater and sharing that communal experience that we all so desperately needed and craved at that time . When we look at entertainment and we look at fame and notoriety and celebrity , there are obviously people that come to mind very quickly . There's a lot of people that don't , and in our pre-call , one of the things you shared with me was that the Broadway industry often loses a lot of talent at mid career . Yes , Can you talk with us a little bit about what that specifically means ?

Megan Kingery 12:49

Oh , it'll make me cry , but yes , It'll probably make me cry too , yeah .

Megan Kingery 12:56

Well , so one thing is again to just reiterate what you said , which is that the commercial theatre industry and the ability to make a living in the theatre has gone through a very , very challenging several years between , I mean , obviously , the pandemic has I had to shut down sort of the concept of live entertainment for some time and it was a number of folks , including myself , were kind of stuck with this . This is my entire life , what am I without this thing that I do , and and and that became in in some ways a good moment of introspection and in other ways , sort of a very arresting moment of I've got to figure out who the heck I am . I , I don't know . Um , so you know , there is just to acknowledge between you know , the recession of 08 , the pandemic , a number of the ways in which people are trying to drive social change in a very good way .

Megan Kingery 14:14

But a disruptive way and not everyone is adapting to that disruption healthfully , I'll say on both the institutional and the individual level . I'll say on both the institutional and the individual level . And so there's a lot of instability and for someone especially that is coming into their mid-career , they're really starting to come into their power . You're starting to identify your values , you're starting to identify your beliefs . Surviving in an environment that feels that unstable is a ton of pressure and just incredibly difficult . So what folks in mid-career entertainment industries are finding is that there are many other ways to make a living other than this industry and in fact many of those opportunities can be much more stable financially , emotionally , logistically , all of those things you know we work in .

Megan Kingery 15:25

Because of the nature of live entertainment , things go horribly wrong all the time , and that's the nature of it . You know , that's not a bug , that's a feature . And during stable times that can be kind of exciting . You know , oh no , the set did not get here in time . What shall we do ? And you have to , you know , come up with exciting and creative solutions . But when pipeline is challenging , when audiences have not come back fully , when the you know mechanisms of wealth that fund a lot of Broadway are not coming to the table in the same way , lot of Broadway are not coming to the table in the same way . It is incredibly unstable , and so I think part of what I had to learn , sort of , in those early times was also I had to reconcile myself with a life of a lot of instability and say , if I'm going to do this , of a lot of instability , and say , if I'm going to do this , I need to be okay with this level of change all the time .

John Neral 16:33

Hey there , we'll get back to the episode in a moment , but I want to give you something game-changing , a golden ticket . That is like having a roadmap to take you from career confusion to clarity in minutes , introducing the Mid-Career Job Seekers Checklist . It is your secret weapon in your job search , and if you feel like navigating your job search right now is like navigating a maze blindfolded , don't worry , my friend , I got your back . This checklist is a powerhouse of organization and preparation crafted to make you say goodbye to feeling overwhelmed and hello to a career transition made easy . I want you to head on over to https://johnneral . com to snag your free copy of the mid-career job seekers checklist . It's not just a checklist , it is a career compass to help you find that job you're going to love . Now let's dive back into the episode .

John Neral 17:33

So I want to jump in here for a moment , because what you just said is going to resonate with a lot of my listeners in particular , because , wherever they work , or whatever industry they're in , dealing and coming to grips with , owning that instability is a big part of their career journey and that instability may look like you're going through a reorg , you're going through a leadership change , there's a culture shift that's happening within your organization and when we look at mid-career and there are people out there who we know they're risk takers- or they're risk averse .

John Neral 18:18

And they come and they sit here and they say , okay , how much am I willing to take on or put up with at this point in time in my career ? That's going to help me make a very clear decision .

Megan Kingery 18:34

Exactly , exactly and really being okay with the answer .

John Neral 18:41

Yes .

Megan Kingery 18:42

If you are risk averse , that's not a bad thing , that is not a negative . It speaks to what is going to make you most comfortable going through life . And if the answer is I really value stability , just take that as a trait , not as a positive or a negative . Just say that that's an attribute that I have .

Navigating Risk in Professional Environments

Megan Kingery 19:08

For some professions . I think you do have to reconcile a certain level of risk and definitely in commercial entertainment , if you are a risk-averse person , this will be a challenging environment for you .

John Neral 19:26

Sure .

Megan Kingery 19:26

I mean there are some's , some , there are some professions like you know , within the , the marketing universe , or like within , I mean , and all the marketers I know are just like what do you mean ? It's incredibly risky all the time , but so you know there may be places you can find within that industry that you know will help solve that problem . But anywhere you go , there's going to be massive change all the time .

John Neral 19:51

Yes , so , megan , let's do a little role-player scenario here for a moment , okay .

Megan Kingery 20:00

Oh , John .

John Neral 20:02

Am I speaking your language ? I didn't know there would be role-play . That's right , exactly . Yes , we're good , right , okay . So here's the scenario . Okay , let's say you're working with or coaching a potential investor . Okay , and they're getting ready to produce a brand new show , whatever that show could be . Okay , I'm not going to put any ideas out there for fear that someone may steal it . Right , but they're going to pitch a new show , okay .

Megan Kingery 20:38

Yeah .

John Neral 20:40

And for the listeners . What I want them to think about is I want you to imagine yourself in a job interview . How do you help that producer create a very strong message to secure funding for their show that doesn't make them come across as being desperate or needy ?

Megan Kingery 21:07

across as being desperate or needy . You are speaking my language and what I'll sort of acknowledge at the front here is you may be desperate and you may be in need , and for folks in a job interview situation and certainly you know , for , like myself , as a producer when I've been pitching for investment .

Megan Kingery 21:42

There are times when I really need the money to create a safe environment for your investor to talk about risk and for the other , the person at the end of the table , to talk about the potential exchange that is going to happen and how . What you're bringing to the table and and this is also true of anyone that is seeking funding in a startup position and you know who is who is doing this what you want to do is let your investor know that you have thought through the problems that they are thinking about . You are anticipating their sense of risk . So the first question is why do you think this show will succeed when most don't ? And you say well , I have this incredible team , we have this incredible script . We've you know , we have all of these people in place to make sure that it's going to be a success . And if it's not going to be a success , we will have done everything we can to make it one .

Megan Kingery 22:44

You know you want to be Um . You know you , you want to be anticipating what they're worried about . So you know , and and for the investor , it's not just am I going to lose all my money , it is . Also , am I going to be treated with respect and dignity ? Um , am I going to be a part of something that feels exciting ? Am I going to be a part of something that feels exciting ? Am I going to be a part of something that will bring me joy ? Am I going to be a part of something that is going to introduce me to other people ? Because I probably have my own challenges that I'm working through and networking opportunities that I want to be in . So you're looking at like one , what are the opportunities available ? Two , how are you going to solve their risk questions ? And three , can you have a sense of humor about it ?

Megan Kingery 23:44

Um , and this I find is very true , especially for job seekers is there's a lot of things in any industry that are going to be remarkably challenging and potentially unsolvable , and I find that if you're able to go into that with a sense of lightness , that's going to immediately make everyone more at ease . So say like yeah , this is a wild , bizarro choice we're making here . Let's do it together , you and me , and I'll find meditation , I'll talk . You know we can talk about meditation in a bit , no-transcript .

John Neral 24:37

When I was listening to you and you talk about anticipating risk . That is such a great point for anybody who is wanting something right , because there's always risk involved . There's risk involved in producing a show . There's risk involved in being a professional athlete . There's risk involved in our relationships . There's risk involved when our relationships . There's risk involved when we go for a new job , right , but it's our job to help call out those risks . I talk about it in terms of overcoming an objection . Right , anticipate that objection and call that out and create and I like how you said about creating that safety for yourself as well as , potentially , for them to have the clarity and the wherewithal to make a very clean and clear decision , exactly , yeah , so talk to us a little bit about how meditation might help in this situation might help

Finding Stability Through Mindfulness Practices

John Neral 25:39

in this situation .

Megan Kingery 25:39

Well , also , you know one of my earlier career moments . I went through a very , very challenging personal time where I you know I was I lost someone very close to me . They died very young and very suddenly , and I was also let go from my job , also very , very suddenly and surprisingly , and I was in a position where I had to be interviewing for a new job . I needed a new job and I was angry and I was grieving and I said you know , this isn't going to work . I can't go into a job interview crying and yelling . I need to find another way .

Megan Kingery 26:23

And that was when I went on my first silent meditation retreat and finding , you know , it was a full seven days of silence and you know , you could just let everything cycle through your brain and by the end of it I did have , obviously , I mean I was still grieving and I was still going through my feelings , but I had some space around it and I find that that's what a practice like meditation or mindful movement .

Megan Kingery 26:50

You know there are a lot of ways to be mindful , other than just sitting on a mat , but someplace where you can achieve some stillness and let your brain process , so that you're not going into an interview or a networking opportunity in a very reactive state , because one of the riskiest things , I think , for people who are hiring or people who are investing in a show or any of these situations , they want to know that somebody has some stability in their emotions and so if you go into an interview sitting and you are very reactive and you're hypervigilant in your responses , that can signal to somebody that you're going to be a wild card and they don't know how you're going to react in stressful situations .

John Neral 27:46

So it's a good point .

Megan Kingery 27:48

And it's also , you know , I think , just for for your , for your own sense of self and safety , to be able to handle some of some of stressful situations in with a sense of calm Got it .

John Neral 28:03

I thank you for that , Because for anybody who is facing some difficult times at work or in their personal life , and especially those who are looking for a new job , these kind of practices can be extremely helpful and they can take on a lot of different forms . I liked how you said you know , you don't have to be sitting on a mat to meditate , right . There's a lot of stillness and in this whole theme of what we've been talking about today in terms of , you know , kind of like finding the stable and the unstable , it's super helpful . Megan , before we start wrapping up this episode , I'm wondering if I can ask you a few rapid fire questions about your Broadway love and your theater love and everything like that . Is that okay ?

Megan Kingery 28:53

Yes , absolutely , and remember , I'm a producer of everything .

John Neral 28:57

Yes , exactly Right , so so I'll , so I'll . I'll phrase it in this way so be it either movie or show , if you need a really good laugh , what are you seeing ?

Megan Kingery 29:11

Oh gosh , and of course my mind goes blank . And of course my mind goes blank . Um , well , it's funny . I I just , uh , you know , actually go see water for elephants . Um , I wouldn't , won't say it's like the funniest show out there , but there is a sense of wonder and joy on the stage that the acrobatics are having and the whole whole cast is having . So if you're looking for an escape , um , I think it's just wonderful . Um , there there was a show called gutenberg , the musical , which , uh , just had a limited run recently , which was absolutely hysterical . Unfortunately it was a limited run . Um , I'm trying to think of the landscape of , like , big old comedies right now and I'm actually coming up blank which is okay , that's all right .

John Neral 30:09

No , I mean , those are , those are two . Those are

Broadway Shows and Career Advice

John Neral 30:12

two great shows . I've heard , I've heard some really good things about water for elephants . In fact , a friend of mine saw it and said it kind of reminded him of the revival of Pippin .

Megan Kingery 30:21

Yes , with the circus theme behind it .

John Neral 30:23

I saw that production . That was incredible . If you need a really good cry .

Megan Kingery 30:28

The Outsiders .

John Neral 30:31

Okay .

Megan Kingery 30:32

I went into that show really expecting not to enjoy it . I am not a huge fan of some of the source material . It wasn't for me . I didn't quite get it . I am not a huge fan of some of the source material , I just it wasn't for me . I didn't quite get it . I have not sobbed in such a cathartic way in a theater in a really long time . It is so beautiful , the songs are so moving , it is really emotional in the best way and Merrily we roll along . If you can get tickets I will say if you can get tickets definitely see Merrily we roll along . If you need a show that perhaps has some more accessible price points , go see the Outsiders . It's fantastic and it's really astonishing . We're having kind of another Sondheim Renaissance and that's a wonderful thing , and this one especially , I think , is pretty spectacular .

John Neral 32:20

If money is no object and you can sit in the front row to hear someone perform of any age , genre or style , who is it ?

Megan Kingery 32:38

I mean probably Audra McDonald . It's a little cliche to say , but she is just the most spectacular performer . There is no one like her , and she's a very cool human being .

Megan Kingery 32:51

I've had the opportunity to meet her very briefly a few times and she's just cool . But you know Cool , but you know we also . There's such a wealth of really really great voices out there . Brian Stokes Mitchell is a huge favorite I . One of the first shows I saw when I moved to New York in 1999 was was the revival of Kiss Me Kate with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Marin Mazzei , and I have been in love with him ever since .

Megan Kingery 33:23

Um , if you ever have the opportunity to see Idina Menzel live , it's pretty spectacular , okay , um , the I you know . I mean , the nice thing about working in this industry is I do have this long list of just unbelievable people . Um , ava Nobluzada in anything she does , I will follow her anywhere . She's so spectacular . And there's a new show , lempika , which has , I'd say , the best collection of voices that you will see on Broadway right now . There are so many powerhouses on the stage singing really really well . I can go on I . Now there are so many powerhouses on the stage singing really really well . I can go on I know , oh gosh .

John Neral 34:05

Well , we had an opportunity to see Audra perform at the Kennedy Center with the orchestra there , and I remember we walked into the theater and I looked at Richard and I said to him I go all right . So what's the over under on how many times I cry ? And she sang Stars in the Moon and I cried three times in . I go all right . So what's the over under on how many times I cry ? And she sang Stars in the Moon and I cried three times in that song alone , which is just one of my favorites .

Megan Kingery 34:27

So , yeah , well , she really . You know , there's a connection to emotion that she has , not not just with the technical prowess that she has , which is very high , but , um , there's also an ease with which she appears to do it , which is what you get when you have great masters . You know , it looks like she's just tossing these out one after another , as though she never rehearsed a day in her life , and and that's what , you know , makes someone an incredible master of the form like she is .

John Neral 35:02

Yeah , well for everybody . If you've enjoyed this part of the episode , then we know you're a Broadway and a musical fan , and we're glad you stuck around here . So , megan , I could talk about this stuff with you all day , but your background , your experience , your coaching , everything like that is so powerful and I appreciate our connection and you coming on to share your story with us today . As we start wrapping up , what advice do you want to leave with the listeners today to help them build their mid-career GPS ?

Megan Kingery 35:36

Absolutely . One of the things that I'll say the most is make sure that if you have ambitions , you are writing them down on paper . Get specific , get excited and start thinking of the things you want to do as reality and you can reverse engineer from there . But I'd say , start to get specific with your values and your dreams .

John Neral 36:02

Megan , that's such great advice . I want to thank you for sharing that with everybody . If people want to connect with you , learn more about you and find you , I'm going to turn the mic over to you , my friend , share with us all the great places where people can connect with you .

Megan Kingery 36:15

Absolutely so . The easiest way to find me is on my website at poglobalcom that's P-O-E globalcom . Also on Instagram at Poglobal Productions , I coach individuals one-on-one who are developing new work and who are interested in creative transformation . I'm also going to be starting an initiative for people who are pitching their work and a safe and safe feedback community where people can talk about pitching and , in fact , pitch live in front of their people . I have . You'll also be hearing about some of the productions I'm working on in the news over the next couple months , so watch that style section .

John Neral 36:57

I'm on it watch that style section . I'm on it , megan . I will make sure all of that is in the show notes , but for right now , my friend , thank you so very much for sharing your story and being a great guest .

Megan Kingery 37:10

Thank you , this was so much fun .

John Neral 37:12

Absolutely Well . My friends , if there's one big takeaway I want to leave you with from my conversation with Megan today , it's this we know the mid-career journey is dynamic , but there's going to be parts of it that are going to be , and feel , very unstable for you . How are you showing up to face that instability , to come from a place of confidence and competence as you navigate toward whatever is next ? Megan shared with us some great tips today in terms of processing , reflecting , meditating , journaling and sorting all of those things out . But one of the things that she said that really stuck out for me and this is important for you if you're either currently unemployed or you're looking for a new job , it is okay to feel desperate , it is okay to feel needy . It's important to acknowledge what you're feeling . But , going into that interview or that networking opportunity , to show up from a place of how are you going to help them solve a problem they're facing , or a problem they don't even know that they have , that you're gonna be able to help them do because of your talent and skills that allow you to be the best you you can be every single day . So until next time , my friends , remember this you will build your mid-career GPS one mile or one step at a time , and how you show up matters . Make it a great rest of your day .

John Neral 38:45

Thank you for listening to the Mid-Career GPS Podcast . Make sure to follow on your favorite listening platform and , if you have a moment , I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts . Visit johnnarrellcom for more information about how I can help you build your mid-career GPS or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event . Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on social at John Nerrell Coaching . I look forward to being back with you next week . Until then , take care and remember how we show up matters . Thank you .