1938 – Pivoting with Purpose: Empowering Mid-Career Men to Thrive with Anna Urnova

0:05Hey there, thoughtful listener. Are you looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, influencers, influencers, and clients? Well, I've had private conversations with over 2 ,000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video you can watch with no opt-in required where I'll share the exact steps necessary to be 100 % inbound in your industry over the next six to eight months with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for over 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments.

0:51Also, don't forget, the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for great guests. Go to upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. I'd love to have you.

1:05with us right now, Anna Urnova. Anna, I am really excited to talk with you. You are a career coach helping mid-career men pivot to thrive. And you end up working with a lot of people that I talk with on this podcast. So Anna, I can't wait to get into your area of expertise. Anna, you're found on the web, by the way, at AnnaUrnova.com. To our friend that's listening, just kind of click around in your app and you're going to find where you've got the show notes. This is very important because it's where we always put our good links and important things that you want to take a look at, but you'll find a direct link, Anna, to your website.

1:44Anna, thank you for joining us. Hello, and thank you for having me on your show. Really excited. Yeah, you're based in Berlin, but you work with a very global audience. And I should point this out, lest anyone think that Anna is small potatoes, nay, nay, she's working with executives and leaders at companies like PwC, Siemens, Visa, Quicksilver, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, PayPal, Novartis, Deutsche Bank. You are very well respected. You're very good at what you do. Anna, in your words, let's share just a bit about the impact you have and the work you do. Thanks, Josh. Well, you're right.

2:24I've been in coaching for, well, almost two decades now. and I found myself specializing on a certain niche so to say and happened to be professional man at mid-career midlife point roughly 35 to 55 years of age and initially I started working in the executive context like for the companies you've just mentioned and then I started specializing on just this niche and more individually on the clients and their needs and I found that these these people this audience have very specific needs at let's say mid-career mid-life points that have to do with them needing some sort of change that's why I said pivot to thrive a lot of men at this point find themselves somewhat stuck they're professionals they're successful they've had at least 15 years of professional experience either in corporate or as entrepreneurs and then something something happening you know and they got stuck they got stagnant things stopped making sense they find themselves maybe experiencing low motivation low energy sort of losing their mojo as they say and there's one and they start dreading some you know somehow something they liked only yesterday they don't like it anymore start resenting it maybe their their work their clients their customers whatever whatever happening this somehow there is a switch in energy and motivation and at the same time a lot of them telling me that they start having this feeling persistent feeling that there may be more there must be more to life than than what they were doing at the moment and they have a bigger purpose on their heart and they they feel they have unrealized potential and they start very acutely start be aware very acutely of that you know time uh being uh not forever and the tick tock and that that there's a running out and they feel like they need to change in order to thrive again and make the impact and income they really want.

4:23So, and that's where I come to help them. And I developed a system that I see really helping men make sense of this period and then really uncover their purpose and, you know, start having more fun. You know, this is a subject that I really enjoy and I'm a big fan of, you know, thinking of our lives and stages, right? And, you know, I think when we're at this stage, you know, maybe if we've had kids, the kids are getting a little bit older. So, you know, now maybe parenting is just a little bit different. You know, I can speak for myself. My youngest just graduated high school. So I think, you know, very intimately well where I am right now.

5:03Now, I will say that my boys are still at home and they're attending college, which is just up the road. So we get a little bit more time with them. But my oldest is already, you know, kind of into her career and, you know, in a different part of the country. You know, just about I'm hoping, Anna, you can just let's talk just about this stage in life and why sometimes this really becomes a an inflection point or we find ourselves at a crossroads. And again, I think a lot of times we're talking professionally, you know, say you get into your 40s and early 50s or something like that. And, you know, what's going on in our brains given kind of the typical lifestyle pattern?

5:51Yeah, well, what I found more by experience, let's say, and then I already started, you know, doing reading all sorts of research on the subject. And I found that, yeah, there is something special about the midlife period, so to say. um i and and why also men right the men is because i think men also have a maybe specific needs i i worked with women as well but i found that women and i myself a woman and i i navigated my career crisis as well but i found that somehow the needs are different what i found basically josh that maybe uh for whatever reason a lot of men were taught that somehow um they need to self-sacrifice in the field of work in order to provide for their families um you know pay the bills and somehow a lot of men believe that they did that's their purpose to self self-sacrifice so to say and at mid-career they become aware that they are missing out on something i mean they're doing it and they're doing it and they're doing it and and and they even have success a lot of them telling me i i look successful on paper good business or good career but something is missing and then they realize there's something more the purpose is something more but somehow they believe that they only can afford you know doing something purposeful or being on purpose or serving their higher purpose so to say when they've paid the bills somehow these these two things kind of live in separate boxes and I believe that mid-career mid-life is is an opportunity and let's say maybe even a last call if you will where men can actually put the two together they can get on purpose and at the same time make income with it because being on purpose will provide value and value translates into income and money, right?

7:36So instead of thinking, well, I have to self-sacrifice, pay the bills, and then maybe when I'm retired, then I will do something for fun or more purposeful or whatever, live my dream. I invite men to ask themselves, why not now? I mean, if I have a purpose, why would I postpone it, right? And so basically midlife is the time where this purpose is almost knocking on the door and saying, I think it's time that you use your creative self at work, your authentic self at work, and we find a way to use your skill sets that you've already acquired in the previous 15 years and this purpose together so that you can create impact on the income you really want.

8:17Yeah. All right. So, Anna, what would you recommend if someone says, you know what, I just, I'm feeling exhausted. I'm feeling burnt out. I'm questioning where I am professionally. I'm like, I just feel unsettled. Like, what do you know, let's say that they're not working with you and let's just give some really great advice for some maybe some questions we can ask ourselves. Maybe it's an exercise, a thought exercise or something like that. What would you recommend someone could do immediately? Well, first of all, I see direct link between purpose and energy. A lot of people think that purpose is something I think about, something looks good on paper again, but it's not.

8:59I think the first sign that a man is on purpose is that he's energized intrinsically, you know, and that's why it's actually, I believe, it's the great remedy for burnout and the lack of energy. Because when you're on doing something purposeful and you feel that that's what I'm meant to be doing, that's how I'm using my skill sets, my abilities in the best way to benefit humankind, so to say help people and all that that's actually energizing men so the the burnout becomes less of an issue right rather than you self-sacrifice 10 12 hours a day and then you try to you know have a hobby to maybe gain some energy back i believe being on purpose actually you know creates a very positive spiral where you've naturally energized by bringing yourself to work right so and i believe that will be my first advice watch if you lack of you can argue with anything but not with lack of energy if energy goes that's the first sign that you lack in purpose that you somehow not on the right path and josh you know what surprises me about the generation that currently in the midlife and mid-career time they still somehow assume their career should serve them the lifetime Yeah.

10:18Yeah. I mean, because I think that that's, you know, again, that's an older concept. I could see that as being a very popular concept still with a lot of Gen Xers, which I am a part of. Millennials, I think millennials and, you know, your Gen Zs probably don't think of it like - Gen Zs, no, but millennials, I find with big surprise, wherever they hit a snag or a brick wall or derail they actually feel no they have i have to get my career back you know on track and when i i suggest listen why don't you think that maybe it's a dead end maybe that's a signal that you are meant to start a new path people are shocked although we were taught right we were just entering gen so i'd say my second tip my second advice would be uh recognize that maybe your career just ran out of steam and maybe it's actually a great opportunity that you can pursue a new path.

11:14I know it's scary. I know it's uncertain, but there are ways, right, to do it. And there are steps to take to do it, but just first say, well, it's normal maybe, and now I can embrace something new. Yeah. Anna, what if someone says, Anna, I would have this conversation with you. I don't want to start all over. I'm in my 40s right now. Why would I want to start from square one? I know that's the biggest misconception about mid-Korea, Josh, is like if I start a new career, it will be all over. And I'm saying, guys, your mid-Korea, this is like you're traveling. I don't know, Josh, you were traveling from the U.S.

11:51to Europe, right? You traveled across the Atlantic and then got a bit lost on the way to your hotel from the airport. And instead of just figuring that out, you're like, OK, now I have to go all the way back to the yes to start my journey all over right that would be crazy so yes you wouldn't need in a way to be a beginner at something but you will not start from zero you will not start from zero and and and that's the biggest fear men have and and that's just not true because you have you have skill sets you have experiences you have failures you have wins you have natural traits as well. You have all of that.

12:25And the idea is repurpose it. You need to claim it and then repurpose it for the new path. So my clients, for instance, I work with, I see that every single man actually can repurpose his skills as an experience to jumpstart his new path. No one needs to go back. No one needs to go invest all over into new degrees, go back to school. Yes, you will need to experiment with new things. And there you will have this, you know, beginner mindset so to say but it's not about going back to zero like for instance I am not an experienced podcast guest so I joined this pod match matches and I joined and I was like 2 ,700 to 600 person on the list right and I was like oh my god where am I now but my experiences started getting me invited on podcasts.

13:19And so before I knew it, and it just took one month and now I'm like top three, 4%. That's the example. I mean, I got there as a complete beginner. I was telling I am new here, but my skill sets, my experiences, you know, jumpstarted me. That's exactly what happens in mid-career. No need to go over, start from zero. Right. And so some of these shifts are like, I would not necessarily recommend, Anna, that someone say, well, listen, I've been working as a engineer. I'm burnt out. I'm going to go and start a food truck. I mean, I guess that's a possibility. Is that some purpose for you? Yeah. But, Anna, there are lateral moves or there are moves that you can still retain nearly all of your authority and expertise.

14:12and I am a huge fan and I'm wondering, I'd love your take on this. Listen, if you're really good at what you do, there is a really legitimate opportunity in most fields to consult. And I'm sure consulting comes up quite a bit with you and your clients. Absolutely, yes, yes. And then your example, if an engineer says, I want to open a food truck, I would ask, so what do you really want? and probably a person wants somehow be involved with well-being and feeding people nourishing people the question would be well as an engineer you know what are the niches where you can find yourself doing that yeah or applying that because often people just say this label you know well i want to be an astronaut i want to be this and that but there is a deeper purpose behind it and once we uncover that purpose we actually can find many other options where you can still use everything you acquired so far and jumpstart that new path without, again, downshifting or making this extreme pivot as you just described, right?

15:17There are ways, but the key thing is just to be open to it and trust that if purpose is calling you, then you're better off with it than without it and fighting against it. Yeah. Anna, your website, you have a book here, a booklet. It's called do what you love five-step formula, or it's actually a masterclass. Can you tell me a little bit about that? And by the way, to our friend that's listening, watch this class. Again, you can go to Anna Urnova.com. That's U-R-N-O-V-A.com, A-N-N-A Urnova.com. And then right at the very top here, you'll see where you could watch this free masterclass. If you feel stuck in your work life and you have a five-step formula, do you mind sharing just a bit more about that?

16:06thanks a lot josh yeah absolutely this is by the way my free training my free master class where i've put together like over 15 years of work with my clients into 45 minute show so to say where i explain what mid-career midlife is about show some signs that you might be stuck and actually provide this five-step system how you can start pivoting and to thrive at mid-career without taking risk going back to zero or doing other things that people are scared about i also give real examples of three clients of different walks of life how they did it step by step so you can get really inspired and the best thing about as well that if it speaks to you if it resonates um i also give free calls to go with it so you can book a call and you can basically check with me without any obligations or anything uh whether you are you actually how to apply these five steps first of all whether you really the case of midlife and mid-career crisis and whether the five steps apply to you and how right this is honestly there and the only thing with these calls that they are limited unfortunately because i i i am only one but once people uh mention on their forum for the for the booking call that podcast or i heard about you on podcast i will make sure to find time for them and accommodate them because I find it's really important.

17:30Yeah. All right. So AnnaErnova.com. Anna, and then just, do you mind maybe just sharing just real briefly around what coaching with you looks like? Is it, how do you typically meet? Is it ridiculously expensive? Is it, you know, is there someone who's not maybe hired a coach who does what you do? What does it look like? Yeah. Well, first of all, I would really recommend watching the masterclass, the free training we just discussed because the five-step system is actually exactly what I'm doing with my clients, right? It's exactly it. We figure out your purpose and there are exercises I take you through that's proven to help you with that.

18:11And then I take you through step-by-step by this five steps. So it's exactly it. There is no like a hidden agenda or anything and then if you get on the on the on the call that i recommend again i will do exactly that i will see what's not working uh what do you want it instead and can we apply the five-step system to you and then if i see that i i may be of a you know help further i will tell you how i can help and i always very honest and transparent if not i will i will refer somewhere else right i just i just um and say that any man who is serious about being successful in their career they absolutely can afford it this is not crazy but i also will never sell you on my program if i don't see i can help right or because this thing i want is someone who is unhappy and and we're stuck midway and we can't make it work right and if i can help you on the 45 minute call and and and don't discount i really had men who had a huge aha moment and you know i have ton of thank you letters from men who, okay, I took the action.

19:15I did this. I did that. You clarified it for me. I wouldn't discount that. And Josh, you know, funny thing. Often men get very suspicious about free things. I don't know what it is. I even get letters saying nothing is free. What's your agenda? Oh, no. Oh, jeez. Getting on this podcast, I actually thought this podcast is free. Yeah, absolutely. This is how stuff gets done. We're just folks getting to know each other. And listen, And, you know, as someone who has hired many, many coaches in my life, I don't like I like a little bit of getting to know you before I make a decision. That's what this is.

19:55Ultimately, you as you know, as a coaching recipient, it's your call. And the only way to kind of figure that out is to spend time virtually and then have a quick chat. And, you know, you know, it's either a fit or it's not. But Anna Ernova, let's, again, your website, AnnaErnova.com, right on there, it says, do what you love, five-step formula. Yes, sign up, watch the masterclass. But Anna, it has been a joy having you as a guest. Thank you so much for the work that you do. And thank you for joining us. Thank you very much, Josh. That was a pleasure for me to be on your show. Thank you.

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