In this episode, we explore the cornerstone activities that can lead to a deeply satisfying and high-earning career, whether you're running a business, working a corporate job, juggling multiple roles, or have a flexible career. Discovering these unique activities may require effort, but they promise to serve you well financially and personally throughout your working life. We emphasize the importance of investing time, energy, and focus early in your career to reap long-term benefits and reaffirm that it's never too late to uncover your uniqueness.

Speaker Links:

Starter worksheet to discover your uniqueness: https://midlifeunstuck.activehosted.com/f/17

Dig a little deeper:

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment. It's a 30-minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you down. I call it Derailed and it's a fabulous place to begin a joy-at-work redesign.

https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/derailed

I've noticed a phenomenon experienced by mid career professionals

that hamstrings their earning potential and reduces their career longevity.

I call it the squeeze.

Now you need to know about it only if you want to be paid well

and to do highly valued work for the remainder of your work life.

So let's assume you do.

So what is the squeeze?

Here's my definition.

The squeeze happens when a professional skills or knowledge or talents become

commoditized by the market, resulting in them earning less and less over time.

There are five major signs that you're experiencing the squeeze.

Here they are.

Number one, you're competing with professionals with much less

experience for the same roles.

Your skills or talents are perceived as not unique enough

to warrant premium pricing.

Three, you find yourself constantly trolling LinkedIn and other job

sites, applying cold for jobs with diminishing chances of being picked.

Four, you use generalized terms to describe what you do, like consulting,

leadership, governance, strategy, finance, or marketing, instead

of showcasing your uniqueness.

And number five, you're getting paid less.

than before, despite delivering similar quality work.

That one's a doozy, isn't it?

So who experiences the squeeze most harshly?

My direct experience with clients has shown me that the squeeze is prevalent in

industries like finance, pharmaceutical, consulting, fintech, FNCG, leisure,

banking, retail, academia, publishing, big tech, agriculture, manufacturing, and law.

This might suggest that it's happening everywhere.

In my eight years of research, two types of professionals experienced

the squeeze particularly harshly.

The first is small business owners who struggle to define the unique

problem they solve and to identify their specific target audience.

Or who cannot articulate how their methods solve significant

problems uniquely, preventing them from charging premium prices.

The other is generalists who offer generic business consulting, coaching, marketing,

HR, finance, legal services, etc.

to a broad, unspecified clientele.

These generalists are professionals claiming, I can

do marketing, HR, finance, etc.

for any business.

And when we hear that, We know that they're not commanding high fees.

Now here's the crunch.

The world doesn't need more generalists.

It needs specialists who solve specific problems in specific ways,

delivering specific, provable results.

Why don't more people talk about the squeeze?

Individuals experiencing the squeeze often blame the market.

Initially, if the situation persists, they start blaming

themselves, which is unhelpful.

Instead, I want mid career professionals to earn their worth, to work fewer

hours, and to do highly valued work that makes them feel valuable.

I get this question often.

Is the squeeze fair?

Well, this isn't really the issue.

It's about understanding the business game and no business minded individual

that I know pays highly for easy work.

Outsource providers have taken over this high volume, low value market.

But when work is complex, nuanced, requires rare specialist skills,

knowledge or experience or involves messy human relationships and

cultural transformations, it becomes high value work due to

the high risk of getting it wrong.

And this is premium work.

Let's leave the low value commoditized, generalized work to AI solutions.

Instead, let's focus on identifying your uniqueness with tangible, provable

results from your past to communicate effectively in interviews, resumes,

CVs, business discussions, and even casual conversations at the weekend.

There are three or four things.

that you do in the world of work, that you do more easily,

lightly, speedily than anyone else.

These activities give you a jolt of energy, a jolt of

satisfaction, a jolt of joy.

They are the key to your unique offering, unlocking a future filled with

fulfilling work that allows you to earn well for as long as you wish to work.

Whether you own a business, have a full time corporate career, a portfolio

career, or a flexible career, these cornerstone activities will build a

deeply satisfying high earning career.

Now, it may be hard work figuring out these unique activities, but

once discovered, they will serve you and your bank balance well,

for the rest of your working life.

What I know for sure is that you are worth the investment of time, energy and focus.

And the earlier in your career you discover your uniqueness, the

longer you'll enjoy the benefits.

It's never too late, and you're never too old to discover your uniqueness.

To help you get started, I've included a starter document with a framework

for identifying your unique strengths.

Access it in the show notes.

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment.

It's a 30 minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas

of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you time.

I call it D.

It's a fabulous place to begin a joy at work redesign.