Episode 11: (Take Two) The Big Why
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welcome to The Love What You Do podcast. I'm Kelly Dugan, former HR executive turned career coach, and I'm here each episode of sharing strategies and stories to help you uncover your unique value, leverage your personal brand, and take action to create a career you love. Welcome back to the podcast everybody.
Uh, and honestly, welcome back to me 'cause it has been a while since I have done a solo recording for love what you do. , If you don't follow me on socials, you may not have heard, but I had a baby back in April. Little Ms. Riley Grace. Uh, joined us and, um, it is now July, so it has, it has been a minute.
And I just gotta tell you, I am absolutely loving the parenthood thing. I love being a mom. I love getting to be there [00:01:00] for Riley. It has definitely not been easy. There is, uh, not a lot of sleep happening in this house. Uh, and I'm constantly learning something new.
I feel like every single day is a new adventure. As soon as you think you understand a newborn, the next day you've got a completely different newborn. And, um, we are right on the sip of what I hear is the four month steep sleep regression coming our way soon. So I've got even more to learn. And when it comes to that, but, I am really excited to be getting back to something that feels like normal, that like life before baby.
Because there's definitely something about having a baby that made me want to rethink every decision I have ever made, um, including this business and this podcast. , Not because I don't love it, but because there is something. Inside me at least. , When I have now had 12 [00:02:00] weeks of being only Riley's mom, that made me think about do I want to be anything else?
Is there anything else that I, any other role that I want to jump back into, um, right now, and I, I don't think I'm alone in that. I don't think I'm the only mom who has these types of doubts and questions, uh, when it comes to, you know, a reentering, back into work. But after giving a lot of thought, I really have felt even more energized to want to get back into the business a little bit because for me.
This life of getting to be Riley's mom, though I didn't know it was going to be Riley but getting to be a mom, getting to manage business, getting to help people love what they do. This has been my dream and my vision for a really long time. You know, I, I started my career, well [00:03:00] over a decade ago at this point, and.
Right from the get go, I knew that my ultimate dream would be to be able to have a job that allowed me the flexibility to be a mom on my terms and, and get to make the decisions and, and not have to ask for permission to do the things that I wanted to do. And quite honestly, at the very beginning of the story.
That didn't look like it was going to be the easiest possibility? Uh, not financially, um, not logistically. Uh, my husband and I, live hours away from any family members. I came out of college with quite a bit of debt that felt truly insurmountable at the time. And I just remember looking around and being like, wow, that dream of being some version of a hybrid stay at home parent, um, is a really nice pipe dream.
But nothing that I could ever see really coming to fruition for [00:04:00] me. But I never fully let go of that inkling inside of wanting to make that happen. I. Held onto it, and I allowed myself to make decisions and take action that would support that eventual goal, even if I didn't fully believe it was actually going to come to fruition.
And one little action after another little action after another little action. I fast forward and here I am living a dream that I at one point never thought possible. And. How can I not share this with other people? Like that's what made it an easy decision to turn on this camera again and to, to jump back into coaching again.
Because I, I truly believe I have a responsibility to share my story, um, and to help people to discover their own why. So that they can [00:05:00] create a career that they love. That little snippet that I share at the top of each podcast, uh, you know, it's not there for no reason. Um, I, I really believe that. And if I really believe that as I do, I.
I can't, I can't shut up now. Right? Like and honestly, if you thought that I was shouting from the rooftops, the importance of resume writing and interview skills and building your personal brand before, hold onto your hat because I don't think you're ever gonna be able to get me to shut up now, because the truth is I do this not because.
Those things are, are good on their own, right. Those things, having a, an ability to interview, having the personal brand that helps you land opportunities, all of that is there to help you do what I'm doing right now, which is live your why, love what you do. I, I truly believe that that is possible for everyone.[00:06:00]
Uh, and I think there's an epidemic out there where we are thinking that. It's not possible for us. And I know that because I've, I've been on that side of the fence at one point and I talked to clients who were on that side of the fence and we've helped them jump over to the other side. Uh, and nothing brings me more joy than getting to work with a client who is now in a job, in a career that is something that they had only prayed for or imagined in the past.
There's no greater joy than that except for getting the opportunity to, to live it myself right now. So yeah, I wanted to turn on the podcast camera today and really just double down on my commitment to you all, and say that, I am here, I am back. I am also on a journey of, of learning what it is to be a mompreneur, if you will, uh, to wear the hat.
Of mom and which I, I, I'm learning what that hat even looks [00:07:00] like. And to wear the hat of business owner and coach and, and all of the things, uh, that, that go into this. Um, and I'm gonna share that. I'm gonna share the good, the bad and the ugly of that with all of you. And I'm also going to double down on.
Bringing in some really great experts who are going to give us the tools and the, the, the tips and the tricks, um, that we need in order to do all those things I talked about earlier, right? Like, I really do believe having a great resume matters. I really do believe that having a personal brand that is curated and true to yourself creates opportunities that are unimaginable for you.
And I, I've seen that in my own career. I've seen that with my clients. I believe in all of that stuff, and I'm gonna double down on bringing you all of those strategy and skill strategies and skills. But I just needed to turn on the camera and tell you why. And I can tell you my why. My why is. [00:08:00] RI grace and this life that I am living right now, that's my why.
But you need to know your why. And I really do encourage you to just take some time to reflect on what is the why for your career? What is the why for your life? And ask yourself, you know, like what are the things that you're putting out of your mind and saying that's not a possibility. Because there's a pretty good chance that the why is hidden in there somewhere and you're just telling yourself that it's not worth it or it's not possible.
And I'm here to tell you that it is, and I'm here to give you the the strategies that you need to do the logistical things to be able to make that happen. But you're never gonna take those actions if you aren't very clear on what your why is. Because I can tell you on the days where I was. Building a business at two o'clock in the morning after working a full-time job in the midst of infertility and loss and not knowing if I was [00:09:00] even going to actually get the family that I have today.
It was that why that kept me going and. It is that why that keeps me getting out of bed and excited every day today. And wanting to bring that to you is what is gonna continue to, invigorate me into everything we do with your place at the top. So stay tuned, keep tuning in. We've got a exciting era of the love what you're, you do podcast coming.
Uh, but one thing I do wanna ask of you is yes, identify what that why is for yourself, but please tell me. I would love to know the why's of our listeners, because it's gonna be different for every single person, and all of them are incredible because they're yours. So send me an email, tag me on social, tell me your why.
Tell me what you need in order to achieve that. Why? And those are the guests. Those are the topics that we're gonna be bringing to the podcast because. There is amazing things on Horizon for this podcast. [00:10:00] I'm so excited to bring on some of the guests that we already have booked. Um, but I wanna know what it is it that you need and that's who we're gonna bring to you.
So as always. Thank you for joining us on The Love What You Do podcast. Thank you for all of your love and support. Those of you who have reached out since rightly has been born. Um, and just thank you for being on this journey along with me. I am so excited to see where this goes. See you next time.
