WEBVTT - Make little bets

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that when you are contemplating a career change

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<v Speaker 1>or any other big change in life, make little bets.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't bet at all that you will thrive in something new. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>find the smallest possible way to test your hypothesis that

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<v Speaker 1>this is a good move. Today's tip comes from Dory Clark,

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<v Speaker 1>a coach, consultant, and speaker who's been a guest on

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<v Speaker 1>my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds. In an article

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<v Speaker 1>in Harvard Business Review, Clark encourages those contemplating a new

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<v Speaker 1>career to ask themselves, what is the smallest way to

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<v Speaker 1>test my hypothesis? In other words, if you think something

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<v Speaker 1>would be your dream career, find a small way to

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<v Speaker 1>test that idea out before you make big bets to

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<v Speaker 1>pursue it. Figure out a way to get a little

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<v Speaker 1>real life experience in data about whether this career change

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<v Speaker 1>will actually suit you. In the article, Clark gives the

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<v Speaker 1>example of a person who thought she wanted to be

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<v Speaker 1>a florist, but discovered after a day shadowing a florist

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<v Speaker 1>that she couldn't stand the cold of the flower coolers.

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<v Speaker 1>Florists turn out to spend a lot of time in

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<v Speaker 1>their coolers. Much better to invest one day job shadowing

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<v Speaker 1>to come to that realization than to have this person

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<v Speaker 1>quit her day job enroll in a floral design program

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<v Speaker 1>only to figure out that being a florist wasn't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>a good fit for her after all. So what are

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<v Speaker 1>small ways to test your hypothesis that a new career

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<v Speaker 1>is right for you. Job shadowing, informational interviews, and reading

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<v Speaker 1>books can help you figure out what might be a

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<v Speaker 1>good fit without you spending lots of money on training,

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<v Speaker 1>and without you upending the career you already have. It's

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<v Speaker 1>also wise to find small ways to test hypotheses about

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<v Speaker 1>other big changes too. For instance, if you think you

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<v Speaker 1>would like to buy a beach house, talk with friends

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<v Speaker 1>who have beach houses about the time and expense that

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<v Speaker 1>is required for upkeep and any unexpected headaches. Spend several

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<v Speaker 1>weeks at the beach this summer instead of just one,

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<v Speaker 1>to see whether you would really like to spend most

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<v Speaker 1>of your summer at the beach, and to figure out

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<v Speaker 1>whether you can work remotely from there. If you think

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<v Speaker 1>you'd like a dog offer to dogs for a friend

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<v Speaker 1>who is going out of town for the weekend. It

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<v Speaker 1>is fun to imagine going for a long walk with

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<v Speaker 1>a dog on a sunny Saturday morning. It's another thing

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<v Speaker 1>to fit dog care into an already full day and

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<v Speaker 1>contend with rainy late night trips outside for the dog

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<v Speaker 1>to do its business. You want to know what you're

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<v Speaker 1>getting into. Or maybe you're fantasizing about getting an MFA

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<v Speaker 1>and poetry. That could be amazing, But it might be

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<v Speaker 1>wise to take a single poetry class before you decide

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<v Speaker 1>to spend all your spare time and money for the

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<v Speaker 1>next few years squeezing coursework into your already busy schedule.

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<v Speaker 1>By finding small ways to test hypotheses, whether about career

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<v Speaker 1>moves or other major changes, you'll be able to get

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<v Speaker 1>good information to inform your big decisions. Making little bets

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<v Speaker 1>before are making big beds raises the chances that you

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<v Speaker 1>actually get a big payoff in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.