Unusual Career Change No. 1

Career counselors (like myself) are famously known for our seemingly idealistic advice to our clients to "Follow Your Dream."

Through the years I have become more jaded about that advice. From a financial standpoint, some dreams are too risky and impractical, especially when you have family responsibilities and financial obligations. On the other hand, you have a responsibility to yourself as well. Regardless of what the cliche tells us, time is not money. Time is time. And, since no one gets out alive, time is also one of the most valuable resources that you have. As adults, many of us spend as much as one-half of our waking adults lives at work. If you don't like your work or the people you work with, that can be a very demoralizing experience, one that can even spill over into your personal life and contaminate that as well.

No one can tell you how much risk is too much risk. You have to decide that for yourself. That said, other people can provide support and insight. One question I like to ask my career counseling clients relates to the consequences of failing. In other words, can you afford to take the risk. This is both an emotional and a financial question. For some people, the consequences of not taking a risk is unacceptable. Assuming that you only have one life (a pretty safe bet), you have to make choices about how you want to live that life.

As a career counselor, I am always on the lookout for stories about people who make unconventional choices -- and are glad they did. Recently I came across the story of Charlie Haas. Haas was a college wrestler at Seton Hall University where he won a two-time Big East Champion. After college, he left the wrestling world behind to start a career as a stockbroker on Wall Street and soon discovered that it wasn't for him.

After leaving Goldman Sachs he pursued a career in professional wrestling where he eventually became as superstar on the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment.) While these two careers may seem very very different, they do have a few things in common. To be successful, they both require: energy, drive, ambition, persistence, courage and a tolerance for risk. You can also make tons of money in either arena.

While Haas has clearly left his Wall Street days behind, he has also figured out a rather ingenious way to use his Wall Street experience as a marketing ploy. Two of his signature moves are called the Haas of Pain and the Haastile Takeover.

Career change is a journey - not a destination. As you travel the road that will hopefully become uniquely your own, you may be surprised at the myriad of ways in which your past life continues to inform and shape the future.