Stop trying to own your career. Own your life instead.

A short story about surviving, thriving and what it took to finally own my life.

Everything in my life has prepared me for this moment, and probably yours has too.

Here’s some terrible career advice:
“Own your career.”

Every time I hear that, I cringe. Not because I don’t believe in it...
but because for most of my life, it wasn’t an option.

I’m 47 now, and I’ve never followed a “path.”
I survived. I adapted. I hustled. I took whatever job would keep the lights on.

Sometimes two or three at the same time.

Here’s a rough list of the jobs I’ve done just to get by:

• Farmhand

• Steel worker

• Movie theater attendant

• Warehouse loader

• Ice cream scooper

• Barista (many, many times)

• Magazine distributor

• Car salesman

• Server

• Cafe manager

• General manager

• Regional manager (restaurants and cafes)

• Flight simulator engineer

• Production assistant

• Film producer

• Video editor

• News producer

• Adjunct professor

• Product evangelist

• Program manager

• Strategic Partner Lead

• People development operations specialist

• Nonprofit co-founder

• Executive coach

• Mindfulness facilitator

Some of these I did at the same time. Others I barely made it through.

A few helped me grow. But many left scars...On my body. On my nervous system. On my sense of self-worth.

Because for most of those years, I was answering one question:

“How do I make it through this month?”

Or worse:

“How do I not lose everything…again?”

Even during my 13 years at Google leading initiatives, driving impact, doing meaningful work…I was still looking over my shoulder. Waiting for the next reorg.
The next layoff. The moment it would all disappear.

And beneath it all, a voice in my head whispering:

"This won't last. Eventually you'll fuck this up too."

That voice stuck around for a long time. But lately it’s gone quiet.

Not because I’ve arrived.
Not because the path got easier.

But because I stopped asking “Will this work?”
And started asking “How can I make this work?”

A funny thing happens when you stop giving yourself a Plan B:
You start solving better problems.

• How do I serve deeply?

• How do I sell with integrity?

• How do I build something real?

I’ve never left that up to the universe. I don’t trust magic to make the hard calls.

I trust grit.
Clear thinking.
Commitment.

A little inherited entrepreneurial instinct from watching my parents run their own business stuck with me, and an unwavering belief that I’ll figure it out...
or find someone who will help me.

I’ve owned businesses before. A film and photo production company, born from survival. That’s where I first became an entrepreneur, and it never left me.

So no, I’ve never really “owned” my career.
But now?

I own my business.
I own my choices.

And I own the fact that the path I’m walking, I blazed it with my own damn hands.

And here’s the part that maybe matters most:

Everything I’ve done up to this point prepared me for this moment. Even the jobs that nearly broke me. Even the ones that felt like detours.

There’s not a single experience I can’t draw from now. Not a skill I can’t repurpose. Not a hard season that didn’t sharpen something I need today.

And while I believe in flow, and synchronicity, and Wu Wei…I also believe in seeing things as they are. Not as I wish they were.

Wishful thinking won’t build your business.
Magical thinking won’t pay your bills.
Avoiding your bank balance won’t extend your runway.
Ignoring your skills gap won’t prepare you for what’s next.

You have to be honest with yourself about where you are, so you can take real ownership of where you’re going.

You don’t need a sign from the universe.
You don’t need everything to be aligned.

You don’t even need to believe in your ability to do the work.

Just learn to take the hits and keep building anyway.
Carve out the life you want, one hard decision at a time.

Sometimes that means doing work that doesn’t light your soul on fire so you can create a life that eventually will.

That’s not failure.
That’s radical ownership.

And every step you’ve taken so far counts.

This is part of the Quiet Rebellion.

Not waiting for someone or something to tell you what to do or what path to follow.

But choosing to trust yourself even when it’s hard.
Especially when it’s hard.

No backup plan.
Just presence, purpose, and action.

Be Rebellious.
In Solidarity ✊
Nicholas Whitaker
Human BE-ing and Conscious Leadership Coach
nicholaswhitaker.com | Co-founder @ Changing Work