Photos by carf and stuck in customs.

Welcome to the first article in my Career Transitions series. My motivation for this series is drawn from my own personal search for a career that fuels my passion and leaves me fulfilled at the end of each day (see my recent post Feel the Pain, Then Make the Change for more on this).

To kick-off this series, my friend Todd Goldfarb from We The Change has agreed to share his story. I think you will find it an interesting one!

Todd, one of the reasons I immediately thought to interview you for my Career Transitions series is that you, like me, have a background in Business and Finance. Can you tell me more about this career?

Even though technically I have been working in “finance” for the past 6 years, my skill set can be applied to almost any industry. That’s one of the beautiful things about being a sales and marketing consultant. But yes, I have learned a tremendous amount about the financial services industry during this time…and apropos to your “career transitions” theme, I no longer want to spend my time here. So I am making some moves, and taking the skills I have acquired over the years and applying them to fields where I have more passion. For example—because I have given more than 20 lectures to over 2,000 financial professionals regarding “how to effectively market and grow” their business, similar opportunities are coming to me in fields I enjoy.

In 2006 you were featured in New York Times Columnist Marci Alboher’s book “One Person/ Multiple Careers“. What is this idea of “One Person/ Multiple Careers” and how does it relate to your life?

Well, Marci’s book is all about the phenomenon of being a “slash”; a term she created that refers to someone who succeeds in multiple professional careers which are seemingly unrelated. She contacted me because in addition to my marketing business, I also run a successful business coaching practice. Therefore, I am a “marketing consultant/business coach”. For me, I find the two professions somewhat related, but she liked me because I am also a Certified Holistic Health Counselor…and do health counseling as it pertains to a client’s needs. Since the time of the book’s publication I have also launched my blog, We The Change, and a few other web-based businesses that keep me busy. Am I a true “slash”? Absolutely! I enjoy having multiple streams of income and creating varied professional interests!

I’m sure there was some work involved to become a Certified Holistic Health Counselor. What did you do in order to become certified and, more importantly, how did you find the time to do it?

Man, good question. I was introduced to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition by a friend of the family, and without knowing much about the program I attended an orientation and found myself signing up for it at the end! This was one of the best decisions of my life, and if you have any interest in counseling/coaching, especially in the area of nutrition, I highly recommend you check out this school. The curriculum consists of the full spectrum of dietary theory and includes guest lectures from some of the most influential leaders in the mind-body-spirit continuum (Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, etc…).

I recall from an article on your blog last year that you were not only in New York during the attacks of September 11, but that you saw the complete aftermath with your own eyes. Can you tell me how this changed you?

Yes, I live very close to downtown with what was a very clear view of the World Trade Center. I heard the first plane going over my apartment and thought “that’s weird” and then heard it hit. Yes, these events really changed me, but I think it has taken a while for the changes to manifest themselves in my life. Soon after 9/11, I continued living a life “of distraction and convenience”…but have slowly gravitated towards a more spiritual existence in recent years. It was a very weird moment when I realized my blog, We The Change, had the initials “WTC” (World Trade Center) and even stranger when I noticed that my first real blog entry was on September 11, 2007. These were pure coincidences, and not consciously planned…but obviously the events which took place in 2001 deeply affected me. The more time goes on, I feel myself compelled to be more a “part of the solution” and limit unconscious behaviour in my life the best I can.

What advice do you have for anyone who feels stuck in their current job? In particular, how do you suggest a person finds their true calling?

The first step has to be awareness. Ask yourself “am I really satisfied with my career” and be honest with yourself when answering. Try your best not to let “the rational you” interfere with the authentic answer. Once you attain this level of genuineness with yourself, and you realize that you are not on the right path, then you can start doing something about it! From here Peter, there are a myriad of different ways this process can go and anything else I say will be a limiting answer. But I do recommend NOT doing anything rash, and taking time to figure out the best course of action. The same voice that tells us “I am not on the right path” also knows the way to a better one—and we must purposefully develop the patience to listen within. This is one of the reasons I am going into my career/business coaching practice more deeply…as it affords me the opportunity to help others find their true calling!

Finally, what’s next in the life of Todd Goldfarb?

For one, as I just alluded to, I plan to expand my business coaching practice. Why? Because I love doing it and know I am good at it. In terms of the marketing stuff I do, I am trying my best to transition out of finance and help more conscious and holistic businesses expand their services. I am in the process of getting a 4-hour workshop accredited by the national Acupuncture society and will be giving these talks to acupuncturists all over the country starting mid ’08. I am excited about this. I also plan to expand my blog, We The Change and am starting weekly podcast interviews with top thought leaders across the mind-body-spirit continuum. My plan? To become the “Larry King of the blogosphere” who only talks about all the good, positive movements going on in the world. Why not, right? I also have several other web-based projects in the works. They are awesome, and can not wait to launch these ideas!

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If you have a story of changing careers and would like to be considered for this series, please send me an email via the contact form.

Tags: Career //