Don’t Live by Default—Create the Career You Deserve | #189

Are you waking up every day feeling stuck, unfulfilled, or just "going through the motions" in your job? In this empowering episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, career transition and business coach Shannon Russell shares a powerful message about what it really means to live by default—and how to break free from it. If you’ve been dreaming about starting a business, changing careers, or simply building a life that aligns with your values, this episode is your wake-up call.

Shannon discusses the difference between comfort and alignment, why midlife is the perfect time to reinvent yourself, and how to take small but intentional steps toward your second act. You’ll learn how to stop ignoring your inner voice, how to take action on that business idea or career pivot you’ve been sitting on, and why you don’t need permission to begin again.

Whether you’re craving more creativity, flexibility, or freedom in your life, this episode will inspire you to stop settling and start designing a future that lights you up.

👉 Topics covered:

• What it means to live by default vs. design
• How to listen to your inner voice and trust your intuition
• Why you’re not stuck—even after 20 years in the same career
• Simple steps to validate your business idea or pivot plan
• Encouragement for midlife women looking to change careers or start a business

🎧 Listen now and start taking action toward your second act success!

Book a FREE Strategy Call with host and career/business coach Shannon Russell - https://www.calendly.com/second-act-success/coaching-strategy

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast

Season 1 - Don’t Live by Default—Create the Career You Deserve | #189

Episode - #189

Host: Shannon Russell

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate) 

[00:00:00] Hey there, my friend. Welcome back to the second Act Success Career podcast. I am your host, career transition coach, business mentor, and your biggest cheerleader when it comes to stepping into a life and business that you love.   

 Before we dive into the podcast, I want to read a review from a listener just like you, this review is by Foxy Coffee Snob, and it's entitled Embrace Your Transformation. This podcast has quickly become a staple in my weekly routine. Each episode is packed with actionable advice, heartfelt stories, and practical tips for anyone looking to reinvent themselves or simply make meaningful adjustments to their current path. Thank you so much, Foxy Coffee snob. I truly appreciate it. And for anyone else who finds value in this podcast, please head over to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review. I would absolutely love to see it and share it here on the show.  

Today we're diving into a message that is all about living in the present, [00:01:00] yet not living by default.

today. I wanted to discuss a topic that came about when I was in a client call this week. I was chatting with a client of mine who kept talking about. The way her life was, instead of what she's trying to create and build.

 And that made me think about living in the present, following your heart and not living by default. I believe that someone out there listening right now needs to hear this message and maybe that's someone is you, but here it is. You do not have to live your life by default. What do I mean by that? Living by default means waking up every day, going through the motions, clocking into a job that no longer excites you, and you're doing it because you've always done it.

You're ignoring that whisper that you're hearing in your head. You're ignoring that feeling in your heart. You're [00:02:00] ignoring those signs, that intuition that women have so well, but you're ignoring it. To live the life that you're used to, the life that is comfortable. And I talk a lot about not being stuck because I've had women say in the past, who really loves their job anyway?

Doesn't everyone hate their job? I'm just gonna suck it up. I'm gonna suck it up until. This date, I'm gonna suck it up until the kids are out of the house. I'm going to suck it up until retirement. That is living in default, my friend, that is living in what you are used to when you default back to what it is to what's comfortable.

And I want to urge you to think a little differently. I want to remind you that you are not stuck. Let me say that again. You are not stuck. Even if you've been in the same career for 10, 15, 20 years, 

If you've gotten that degree, you've climbed the ladder, you've checked the boxes, you're where [00:03:00] you should be on your timeline, but you're feeling like it is not aligned. It's not aligned with you where you are right now. And that can be because you are now a parents, because you are married, divorced, because you're taking care of family members because you're in whatever situation you're in.

And this career doesn't fit. It might not fit like it was when you were 22 or even when you were 30, but it's okay to realize that. Sit with it, think about it, and then say, okay, if I continue down this path, I am doing what is comfortable, what is safe, what is living by default, what I'm already doing?

However, what if you climbed the ladder, you did all the things you got here and you realize, okay, this isn't aligned. Now what? What can I do to change my circumstances? I'm [00:04:00] not gonna wreak havoc on my family, on my life, on our finances, all the things.

I am going to figure out a path that fits within all of these realms, and then I'm going to build that successfully, whatever that is to me. So if people around you don't quite understand why you might feel stuck and you might want to make a change, that's okay, because making a change starting over in midlife, that is not something for everyone.

 Oftentimes when people kind of push back on our ideas and they don't feel like they're fully supportive, that is just them, not intentionally, but really projecting their fears onto us. Most likely they are not doing it to hurt you or to make you feel bad, or to make you stop in your tracks.

They're doing it because they would never make a pivot. They wouldn't start over. They may not open a business, they may not change careers, [00:05:00] and that's okay. So you can say, thank you so much for your concern. I've got this, I've got this. I have one life to live and I don't want to live in default. I talk to so many women, whether I'm speaking at an event or they're my clients that I work with one-on-one, and these women say, oh, I've always had something I've wanted to do, or, I have this business idea that's been lurking in my mind for years.

Or, you know, I wish I had more freedom, or I wish I had more time with my kids, or, I wish I had time to travel. I wish I had more creativity in the work that I do. And my response is always the same. Okay, let me hear it. You can do it. So what is it you want to do? And then they pause and they say, really, because someone is giving them permission to think outside of that default, to think outside of that box.

 I think sometimes as a career and business coach, my job is [00:06:00] to allow you that space, allow you to think outside of the box and ponder what these ideas are, and to give you that permission and then to hold you accountable as you try to figure out that next step, that second act. You don't have to keep doing what you're doing and what you've always done.

Your path is never set in stone. You're allowed to change your mind at any time. I sometimes work with recent college graduates who might be a year or two out of school and in the workforce, and they're already feeling like, oh, this is not what I wanted. This isn't what I thought it would be. And so I say to them, okay, well let's evolve.

Let's pivot. Let's transition from where you are into what you think may fit. But before we do that. Let's go back to that research. Let's figure out what that second act of yours entails by talking to people in the industry by [00:07:00] doing your research, by really getting confident before you leap, right? It's that learn before you leap.

I talk about it a lot here on the show. Learn before you leap so you can leap with confidence and therefore find your success. But whether you are a recent college grad, you are midlife, you are in retirement. No matter what age you are or what part of life you're in, you are allowed to begin again. Most importantly, I want to make sure that you're aware that you don't have to start from the bottom.

You are not starting from scratch. You are starting with your experience, all of those skills you've built over the years, all of those challenges you've overcome, those accomplishments, those awards, those accolades, those experiences make you the person you are, not the fill in the blank title, you are right.

Our title is not our identity, but you are that person [00:08:00] with all of those skills and knowledge, and you're taking that wisdom and you're going to be resilient as you build this next chapter in your life. I. And it really comes down to you choosing what is next for you and what will fit you at this stage of your life.

Okay. Let's pause for a second because I know a lot of this can sound scary or it can sound too good to be true. Doing something is always scary. It's always a challenge, but so is staying stuck. So is waking up 10 years from now in the same place you're in now, still feeling stuck and resentful and unhappy and saying, wow, now I'm 10 years older, and now you're thinking back to what you could have done today.

To change your circumstances to get out of that default living. Wouldn't you like to try, just [00:09:00] try that something new rather than live with those questions of what if my friend, if there is a business idea that is sitting on your heart, if there's a career change you're thinking about that you've been pondering, but you've been keeping in the back of your head, 

whatever this is that you're thinking about, now is the time to start letting that idea. Grow its legs. Think about what that would look like for you in your personal scenario if you were to make that change. Think about it, and it can be just a small little step, like taking out a pad and a pen and writing down what that other role, that second act business or career would look like.

Write down, and then on another piece of paper, write down your skills. Write down everything that you've done in the past and see what correlates. Because you don't need permission to start that business if it's been sitting on your heart, 

whether it's opening a [00:10:00] store, launching a digital product, starting a podcast, writing a book, starting a coaching or consulting business, or leaping into a franchise, or leaping into an entirely new business that you are developing. You don't need permission. You don't have to have it perfect.

And you also don't need to wait for that perfect timing. What you do need to do is believe that what you're thinking, those thoughts in your head and in your heart, you need to believe that those thoughts are important, that that desire that you're thinking for something else, that it really matters and that it's there for a reason.

So honestly, my friend, even if you start doing your research. And I've had this happen with clients in the past where they have multiple ideas for businesses and we sit and we really dive through each idea to see which is the best for them. You might be thinking about these ideas, and as you [00:11:00] sit down to research, you might start saying, Ooh, that really isn't for me.

And that's actually a great thing because you can cross that off your list and move on to the next thing. Or if there's just one idea that you've been sitting on, that would be your ideal second act move. And you start researching and maybe you start dabbling and you open a side hustle and you just start things small.

You might realize again that this is not right for you. That's actually great news because then you can close it up. You can push it off to the side and you can say, I tried and I will never look back and regret not trying, because everything we choose to move into is not going to work out perfectly.

But it's just knowing that you put the action steps in and the intention to try what you've been thinking about. If it doesn't work, then you are no worse off, right? You know now, but at least try.

If you are thinking about living a life that is [00:12:00] not in default, that you're living a life that you are truly in control of, here's what I want you to do this week. I want you to take one small step, and maybe that's writing down your business idea and then putting it away. And coming back next week and saying, okay, I'm going to take 30 minutes to myself.

It can be when the kids go to sleep. It could be in the morning when you're drinking your morning coffee. It can be over your lunch break. It can be while you're doing dishes or laundry, whatever it is. Find that 30 minutes of time to brainstorm that business idea you wrote down. And maybe it's researching what it looks like, and you can look up similar businesses online.

You can reach out to people that you know via LinkedIn or Facebook or Instagram or TikTok and say, Hey, can I just chat with you? I'm thinking about a business that is similar to this that you have, and I would love to ask you your opinion on it. Just this week actually, I had someone message [00:13:00] me, just remembered this on LinkedIn, and they wanted to ask me about my franchise business.

Well, if you know me, you know that I've had a franchise business for eight years, and I sold it in 2024. So I wrote back to this person on LinkedIn and I said, oh, thank you so much. I would love to speak with you, but I no longer own that business. And they said, actually, we want to speak with someone who's stepped away from the business to really learn the pros and cons.

So I said, okay, actually, I really admire that. That is what I would teach my clients. So yes, I'll hop on the call with you. So actually that's a great example of, me reaching out. I have no skin in the game. I'm not gonna tell them, you know, anything that I wouldn't tell my best friend about the business.

And I truly love the business, but I'm going to let them know and give them my honest opinion and then they can make a sound decision. You can do the same thing with a complete stranger. You might see that you have a connection with online and ask them for the same, and hopefully if [00:14:00] they, think like me and want to give you a few minutes of their time to help someone.

 Then that would be great. That would be a way for you to learn a little bit more about that potential business.

It also gives you that feeling of, if that person can do it, I can do it too, right? You sometimes need that validation and it boosts your confidence, and then it makes you want to dig a little deeper and take that next action step and just keep going.

You can also feel free to book a call with a coach. I offer free strategy sessions, so if you ever want to just have a quick little brainstorm with another human, you can book a free strategy call with me and we can chat about your business idea. I would absolutely love to do that with you. Head over to second x success.co and you'll see a green button where you can.

Book a call. I'll also link it in the show notes for this episode too, so you can grab it if you're interested. Whether it's me or someone else, grab a call, sign up for a course maybe, or a training. Just [00:15:00] tell someone even close to you. I'm going to start something new, and if it's someone you trust, then they're going to back you up.

Just start taking those little action steps, whatever it might be for you. The point is, is that when you start taking action, even if it's small, you are telling yourself, I am no longer living By default, I'm designing my future. I'm owning my life, my career, my world around me. It is mine. It's not in default.

That's where I want you to be. That is where I want you to live, my friend. I want you to feel that power of living by design and not by default.

Okay. As we wrap up, I'll leave you with this, you my friend. Were not meant to just exist. You were meant to thrive, to create, to build something meaningful. And if you feel that fire inside of you to start a business, change careers, start a podcast, write a book, any of it, follow that feeling. You [00:16:00] already have everything you need to start a second act.

You have all of the skills and experience from your first act, everything you've done in your working professional life that will add on to that business that you're thinking of creating. Thank you so much for listening, and if this message spoke to you, share this episode with a friend or send me a message.

You can DM me on Instagram @secondactsuccess or find me on LinkedIn. I'm @shannonrussellcareercoach. I'd love to hear about what your dreaming about and I'd love to be able to help you. If you are ready to make your dream happen, check out all of my free resources over at secondActsuccess.co/resources.

There are a ton of free downloads that can just help you get those ideas in your head down onto paper and really start moving towards your second act. Alright, until next time, go out there and produce your best life. I'll talk to you soon.

Thank [00:17:00] you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to second act, success. To view show notes from this episode, visit second act success.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell. And this is second act success.