After working with Lucia, Lester had clarity. He understood the key elements he needed in his working life, the problems he wanted to tackle, the Kryptonite to avoid and the Superpowers he wanted to use more.

But as Lester puts it: the design is not the house. You still have to build it.

For him, that has meant finding more ways to use his Superpowers, experimenting alongside other people, learning the difference between simply spending time and using it with focus, and taking small steps that create momentum.

And that momentum matters. Because one of Lester’s biggest discoveries is that progress sustains joy.

When Lucia asks what work feels like now, his answer is wonderfully tangible: he’s relaxed. His shoulders are down. He’s learning, using his Superpowers and smiling in a way that reaches his eyes.

Lester’s story is a reminder that career design isn’t about finding one perfect answer. It’s about getting clear on what you need from work — and then having a way to keep building towards it.

Want to discover what work designed around you could look like? Explore Lucia’s career design programmes and find the right next step for you:

https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/work-with-me

After we finished our work, I had such clarity.

I knew all the key elements.

The design was clear, but a design is not a house.

one still has to build it.

Hi, I'm Lucia Knight and this is the Joy At Work podcast.

Today I'm joined by one of my former clients, someone who, like so many

of us, had a moment of "Wait! Is this what work is supposed to feel like?"

And instead of brushing it off and cracking on, they paused and they chose

to design their work life differently.

I've asked each guest to share the three most important insights they

learned about their future work life that they never ever want to forget.

And these aren't just liked reflections.

They're the result of three, six, or 12 months of deep work together, and now

they're in a position to capture those timeless notes to their future selves.

Let's dive in.

So Lester, I am dying to know what is the first thing about your future work

life that you never ever want to forget?

Design is just the first step and I still need to build it.

After we finished our work, I had such clarity.

I knew all the key elements, which problems to tackle, which kryptonite

to avoid and which superpowers to use, for example by helping

others, by using wisdom gain from asking or reading or experimenting.

The design was clear, but a design is not a house.

one still has to build it.

I recently asked two peers to vibe code together and see

what AI could really do for us.

It took some convincing, to get 'em to carve out 90 minutes

out of their busy schedules.

We even postponed the first session once or twice because

inevitably something came up.

But we got far enough in the first one that then they were willing to

do a second, then they were hooked because we were answering questions

that we used to wait a week for the data science team to handle for us, and

this group learning and experimentation.

It just became like a highlight of my week.

Future self.

Remember to build more ways to use your superpowers.

Brilliant.

Brilliant.

I love that.

And I love that you brought people on the experimentation journey with you.

That's very Lester.

We all reflected afterwards that it was such a difference because

we had individually been trying and we could not get past a bit

of a motivational hurdle, right?

We would run into some problem and then we give up.

But together, because in the moment, like the second you ran into a problem, you

had other people right there on the spot, I'm gonna help you with this right now.

And afterwards we all realised it's not the same.

Doing it by yourself versus doing it with two other people is not twice as good.

It's probably 20 times as good.

Yeah.

Wow.

Okay.

Brilliant.

I could ask you so much about that, but I'm gonna try and

keep our conversation focused.

Okay, so what is the second message you'd like to give to your future self that you

never want to forget about your work life?

Stealing a phrase from one of your other guests.

Time abundance is also a first step.

I still need to use the time ferociously.

As my wife says,

Tell me more.

Comment on this early on in our work you observed how precious time was to

me and just how carefully I plan each week, what goals to focus on, how much

time to spend on each goal, and even when in the week to spend that time.

This worked better some weeks than others, and I have learned that an hour spent is

completely different than an hour focused.

It's like the cooking show say, you have to prepare your

Mise en Place before you cook.

So before that hour comes, I need to prepare the first approach that

I'm going to try to make progress.

It may not work out.

That's why I say the first approach, but at least when that hour comes,

I'm ready to hit the ground running.

More importantly, I need to bring a hunger for that goal In that moment,

lets say another time critical issue has come up, there's some customer disaster.

It really matters.

I'm actually better off changing that original plan, fully dealing with

the other issue, and then coming back later when I'm focused and ferocious.

Now to remind myself of this, I've programmed my calendar.

So every two weeks it shows me this quote from author Danny Shapiro.

"So much can be accomplished in one focused hour, especially when

that hour is part of a routine."

Yeah, it's it's very you, so you are one of the most deliberate people about how

you invest your time so that you don't spend it easily in the top one or two

people I've ever come across who do that.

But even still, you want to remind your future self that spending time is not

the same as investing it and planning and knowing what you're gonna do, and

then also having this dynamism if that's, if something else more important comes

along, just move it out of the way.

Yeah, other people talk about the framework of like, know

your peak energy levels and schedule your work for that time.

A potentially flawed assumption is your peak energy levels are

constant from day to day, right?

So I think in the same way, am I focused and ferocious in this hour on this task?

If not I really, truly am better off just dealing with the other thing or whatever

it takes to get that outta my mind.

Gorgeous.

Gorgeous.

Excellent.

I love that distinction.

Okay, and what is the very final, I'm sure there are more, but I've asked

you to think about your top three.

So what is the third thing that you always want to remember

for the rest of your work life?

Joy is sustained by progress.

And this is from you.

I think your go-to mode is to test any i new idea with an experiment quick.

While I like to think it out a bit more, like I just told you

about preparing the  mise en place , I've realised that choosing

between the two is a false choice.

The  mise en place doesn't always have to be for an eight course tasting menu.

It can be for an omelette with scallions, which I made for my wife over the weekend.

I've come to see I can get more joy by taking more frequent tiny steps than

make it easier to create momentum.

Momentum feels like progress, which sustains joy.

So future self.

Remember to define the next tiniest step.

Get it done in this focused and ferocious hour, and keep on building

that life you designed with the in incomparable Lucia Knight.

One more question.

Yes.

So I just wanted to get your reaction.

So when you do exactly as you've just said.

Yes.

So designing the way forward.

And then experimenting with people where possible, when you've used

this time so valuably and that you've moved fast to create the next

first step to get that momentum.

How does work like that feel for you?

First I'm relaxed, where you can see by looking at my shoulders, they're

down and not my near my ears like the Bangles or any other eighties band.

I'm also telling you about something new that I've learned with others or how

I've used one of my other superpowers.

And I'm smiling in a way that reaches my eyes like they're now, because there's

been progress to sustain that joy.

Lester is proof that the work that I do together with any client is based

firmly on the fierce model of change, which came from my original research.

It lands very differently for each of us.

Lester and I, for instance, share a core value of using our precious

time on this earth valuably.

But boy do we do it differently.

Lester and I work together on the Fierce Accelerator programme, a mix of the Fierce

Emporium career redesign programme with added one-to-one design time with me.

Check out the episode notes for more details to find

the right next step for you.