Hello and welcome, Reader!

When one chapter of your career is fully over, the natural impulse is to move forward.

To regain direction.
To find the next step.
To feel that things are taking shape again.

And often, this phase begins with energy.

Trying What Seems Logical

One of my clients stepped into this phase with exactly that mindset.

His previous role had ended unexpectedly, but not entirely without relief.
For a long time, he had been under constant stress, carrying more than he wanted to admit.

When the decision was made for him, it closed that chapter completely.

He also had something many people in transition don’t.

Time.
And financial space.

A so-called “golden parachute” gave him the freedom to explore without immediate pressure.

And he decided to use it well.

Like many people, he started with what seemed most obvious.

One direction was built around a personal interest.
He had always been curious about coding, so he leaned into it more seriously.
Joined a couple of startups where these skills could be applied.
The environments were fast-moving, full of ideas, full of possibility.

Another direction came from his past experience.
Years of leadership, deep industry knowledge.

Consulting seemed like a natural extension.
He entered a partnership, positioning himself as an advisor.

It made sense.
It used everything he already knew.

And then there was a completely different idea.

Owning something of his own.

He explored the possibility of buying a café franchise.
A model that felt structured, almost secure.
A proven concept, an established brand, clear systems.

He went deep into it.
Worked with consultants.
Studied locations.
Even used tools that measure foot traffic to estimate potential.

Each path was taken more than seriously.

When Nothing Holds

And yet, the pattern repeated.

He would step in, explore, invest time and attention.

And then, gradually, the energy would fade.

• The startup work didn’t sustain his interest.
• The consulting role felt flat, almost predictable.
• The café idea remained distant, never quite becoming his.

Nothing was clearly wrong.

But none of it felt fully right either.

The Moment of Doubt

This is where the experience becomes confusing.

From the outside, it looks like progress.

You are active.
You are exploring.
You are doing what is expected in a transition.

Internally, it feels different.

More like moving between options without getting closer to a decision.

And at some point, a quieter question appears:

Why doesn’t any of this stay?

Shifting the Direction

By the time we started working together, the situation had already changed.

The time he thought he had was no longer open-ended.
The financial space was narrowing.

And his focus was still on finding the right path.

The right option.
The right decision.

My questions didn’t immediately fit that expectation.

We didn’t start with new options.

We started with something else.

At first, this felt unfamiliar.

Later, he told me it was the most important shift he had made.

Not because it gave him an instant answer.

But because it helped him see clearly what he had been missing in all those attempts.

In many career transitions, this phase is easy to misinterpret.

It can feel like a series of wrong choices.

In reality, it's often about figuring out what doesn't work.

Not through thinking,
but through experience.

You might recognize this in your own way.

• Trying different directions.
• Seeing potential in them.
• And then noticing that something is missing.

Where are you in this process?

Still exploring what could work?

Or beginning to see more clearly what doesn’t?

With warmth,

Elena