Alison Cardy Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast
To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below:
Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via RSS (non-iTunes feed)
If you like the show, we would be so grateful if would consider leaving the show a review in iTunes as well as Stitcher Radio. A couple minutes of your time can help the show immensely! Thank YOU!
Introducing Alison Cardy
Alison Cardy is my guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast interview.
She is a lady who like most of us start on a path that was right for our parents, but not necessarily ourselves.
To be honest it probably wasn’t even right for our parents, which makes it doubly mad that we passively follow suit
First, she followed the engineering path of her father and older brother, then stepped onto her mother’s career path in accounting.
“I was just showing up. I was physically there, but I wasn’t bringing a whole lot to the table. I knew it wasn’t the right path for me, but I struggled for a couple of years.”
And struggling is what its all about when we aren’t doing the thing that is right for us.
But how do we break free from the struggle and start lighting up the passions of a life which may actually have no idea that we want?
How The Dots Joined Up For Alison
Well while still working as an accountant, our guest volunteered for a crisis and suicide hotline and as she say.
“That was a real breakthrough for me.
It gave me an opportunity to be in the kind of helping role I had thought I would like.
I received amazing training there. I got experience actually helping people.
I got validation and learned for the first time that I was really good at it.
I was quickly promoted to be a trainer within that organization.”
And that is how it starts people.
You try lots of things. Some work, some don’t. But when other start seeing your talents and saying great things, then perhaps that is where your attention should go.
You may not see it at the time, but being told nice things about your performance is a great indicator that you have talents that can be used for a business.
And now our guest, is an author of Career Grease: How to Get Unstuck and Pivot Your Career, and an expert career coach who has guided hundreds of people to innovative and functional career solutions.
She is a practical advocate for achieving your heart’s desires, improving your workweek, and making a difference, all while keeping an eye on your financial success.
So why does she think that now she has found her thing, it took her several missteps to find it?
And is there a real path for everyone, or are someone people never going to find it as it simply doesn’t exist for some?
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Alison Cardy
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Alison Cardy such as:
Alison shares how she struggled with marketing her business, which held her back from truly expanding in the direction she wanted before realising her mistake.
Alison shares how we can all pivot in our careers, and believes that the first step is to find a champion that can support you moving forward.
How the world cannot believe that they can do what they want in life, and they can actually make it happen too. Total mindset shift.
and lastly….
Alison shares how she spent many years living in her head, unhappy, depressed, not uncommon to many of the people who now uses her services.
How To Connect With Alison Cardy
Return To The Top Of Alison Cardy Interview
If you enjoyed this episode with Alison Cardy why not check out other inspirational chat with Jessica Cox, Joshua Rivedal Building A Niche Site and the amazing Croix Sather
You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here – enjoy
Audio Transcription Of Alison Cardy Interview
Intro [0:00]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling join up dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK David Ralph
David Ralph [0:25]
Yes. Hello there. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, and welcome to another episode. Are you sick of us? Are you sick of us already? We’ve been coming to you for nearly four years now. And while you’re not, you’re not because this show is growing exponentially. And it’s it’s exciting times. And I say that so many times, because in a business, you think you’ve kind of hit a peak, and then it plateaus for a while. And then it goes up again. And you think oh, no, the first peak was the first peak that I could see there’s more peaks to climb. And I know today’s guest who’s waiting on the other end of the, of the Skype call is somebody that’s been climbing peaks, literally all her life seems and for like most of us, she was a person who I suppose started on a path that was right for her parents, but not necessarily herself. Now, to be honest, it probably wasn’t even right for her parents, which makes it doubly mad. But she went the same route, we go the same route. And we also follow the bootstrap other people prescribed to us. First she followed the engineering path of her father and older brother. And when she stepped onto her mother’s career path in accounting, and as she says, I was just showing up, I was physically there. But I wasn’t bringing a whole lot to the table. I knew it wasn’t the right path for me. But I struggled for a couple of years and struggling is what it’s all about when we aren’t doing the thing that is right for us. But how do we break free from the struggle and start lighting up the passions of life, which may actually have no idea what we want, it’s just in us but we can’t actually express it. Well, while still working as an accountant, our guest volunteered for a crisis and suicide hotline. And as she says, that was a real breakthrough. For me, it gave me an opportunity to be in the kind of helping worldwide for I would like I received amazing training, I got experience actually helping people. And I learned for the first time that I was really good at it, I was quickly promoted to be a trainer within that organization. And that is how it starts people you’re trying lots of things, some work, some don’t. But when others start seeing your talents and saying great things, then perhaps that is where your attention should go. You may not see at a time. But being told nice things about your performance is a great indicator that you have talents that can be used for a business. And now our guest is an author of career Grace, how to get unstuck and pivot your career and an expert career coach who has guided hundreds, probably thousands, millions of people to innovative and functional career solutions. She’s a practical advocate for achieving your heart’s desires, improving your work week and making a difference all while keeping an eye on your financial success. So what does she think about now she’s found her thing after several missteps to find it and is there a real path for everyone or some people just never going to find it as it simply doesn’t exist? But some? Well, let’s find out as we bring them to the show to start join up dots with the one and only Alison Cardy.Good morning. How are you?
Alison Cardy [3:05]
Good morning David, I am phenomenal. And thank you for that and energetic and awesome introduction.
David Ralph [3:11]
Oh, you deserve it.Alison, because you’ve been on the join up dots we were saying this just before we recorded, it seems like you’ve been booked in on the show for, I don’t know, 1000 years? Is it possible that you can look so young, but you’ve been in my vicinity for 1000 years?
Alison Cardy [3:27]
It is possible. But you know, I’m glad that we’re connecting today. I think it’s a really good time.
David Ralph [3:32]
So all you mean a good time in your life? Is life career, everything going well? Or are you in a slump? Lay out on the table? Can we help you? Are you in a good place?
Alison Cardy [3:44]
Help is always welcome. And I am in a good place. I think it’s really interesting. I believe we’re supposed to connect earlier this year. And earlier this year, I was really fighting through a big block in my own business. And I’m through the other side and excited to grow extensively in the coming year.
David Ralph [4:06]
But what was the block? What was the block? And and how did you work through it? Because that that is just one of those things that annoys me so much. And I so I’m grateful for you being so honest on that, because so many people come on the show, and they kind of make out that they’re super talents. They’re super women, super men, but it’s not like that in life. So what was your block?
Alison Cardy [4:29]
Right? Well, I am the first to admit, I am not super woman, I haven’t been running a career coaching business since 2009. And for, I would say the first seven plus years, while I was a really good coach, I was a terrible business owner slash marketer. And the block that I had that took me seven years to kind of figure out and get through was that I am a really good worker, I was doing a ton of marketing work and taking on big projects. But I am also incredibly honest, and it took me a long time to recognize that honesty, like total honesty, which serves me incredibly well as a coach and in my personal life does not work very well as a marketing device, I would kind of be signing people up for a marathon and like putting a spotlight on you’re going to have to wake up at 5am. And it’s going to suck, or you’re going to get blisters on your foot. And it just took me a really long time to realize, okay, marketing needs to be true, but it is never complete. You only show the person at the finish line with their arms up looking happy and excited. And I just couldn’t get it. I didn’t understand why don’t we show the whole picture. But once I finally realized that a ton of the seeds that I had been planting year after year started to come to fruition. And we are rocking and rolling at this point in time.
David Ralph [5:58]
Oh, that’s great news. That’s great news. Anytime true remarketing, somebody said to me the other day, but the idea of marketing is taking somebody from where they are to an island, but stop trying to sell the boat, but they’re not interested in the boat, all they want to do is get to the island. And once you get that idea, it is true. It’s probably three things. every sale is made around three pain points, one being the big one, one being the kind of knowing I haven’t admitted it to myself. And the third one would be something but probably your other clients have told you. And if you hit those three pain points, you pretty much guarantee yourself, don’t you?
Alison Cardy [6:36]
Yeah, I think that’s a really interesting metaphor about the boat. And then your point about the pain points, I the way I have come to think about it is to get to that island, you’re going to need to do something uncomfortable, you’re going to need to change in some way, it may be painful. And people don’t really want to do uncomfortable painful things that require them to change. So we really need to put a spotlight on the island, so that they’re inspired to move through and get through that painful thing. That’s how I think about it now.
David Ralph [7:10]
Well, believe me, Alison, I don’t want to share the Dark Side of Life. But there’s a lot of people out there that like to do the pain, horrible things. There is a market place for everything if you want to sell it.
Alison Cardy [7:23]
Fair enough. Fair enough.
David Ralph [7:25]
Well, we won’t go there because it’s a family show and how you my wife might be listening and wondering where I’m getting my information from. So in your situation, let’s start with career Greece, how to get unstuck and pivot your career now was written for you, were you the kind of the sort of the Avatar for that book.
Alison Cardy [7:45]
Kind of kind of, I certainly if I think back to where I was at the beginning of my career, I could have really used that book. It was really meant in my head as the most generous, complete offering that I could provide for somebody who is unhappy and stuck in their career, and really having a big issue with the question, What do I do next? And then kind of the pain doubles, because you’re like, Okay, I’m unhappy. And I have a problem that I don’t know how to solve. The book is really a to z guide of how do you think about and go about figuring out what is going to be the next best career move for you?
David Ralph [8:30]
And how do you how do you I’m sitting here, I’ve suddenly decided Allison, but I’m rubbish at being a podcaster. I don’t like doing it anymore. You’re my last show backs it that the world is saying relief, but I’m giving it all up? How do I then pivot?
Alison Cardy [8:48]
Definitely, it’s a funny premise, because you are a phenomenal podcaster. So so that’s not totally true. But if you were to make a change, I think the very best thing that you can do is first to get somebody in your corner who is the right type of support. For a long time, I’ve been kind of a do it yourself or mentality. And I think I tended to give advice like, Okay, guys, here’s the path A to Z, go do it. But I think in doing that I kind of left people high and dry. Because career decisions and changes are so incredibly personal. They’re so close to us. And as a result, we have terrible perspective on them, like, absolutely terrible. We’re not good at seeing ourselves, we’re not good at understanding where our blind spots are. So I think the most important step, and it’s actually a pretty big hurdle for a lot of people is to be willing to ask for help and to say, Hey, I’m not liking this, I’m not sure what I should do next. Can you come in and help me because when you get another brain in the mix, somebody who has not so close problem who has perspective, they can show you things about yourself about your history that you might not have seen that might be right under your nose, but you’re just totally missing it. And they can see your blind spots. Because oftentimes, what’s going on is not so much that there’s nothing out there for you or that you don’t know. But there’s some type of fear or block or misconception, or you come up with an idea and you shoot it down 10 seconds later, but you already have the idea. And so we really need somebody else’s brain in the mix to sort all that out and kind of give you that clear reflection of where to go next. Does that make sense?
David Ralph [10:41]
It makes perfect sense. But my question would be is, is this person not too connected to you? He can’t be your best mate, or it can’t be your parent or your partner? Does it have to be somebody who doesn’t sort of the closer you get, the more that people are unwilling to give you true advice somehow.
Alison Cardy [11:02]
Okay, so I can share very briefly that I think there are kind of two camps in the world. There are people who have accurate mirrors around them, where they have people in their lives, who are good reflectors and support it. So they might be able to say, Oh, you know, you’re really awesome at this and go for it, you should do it. And then I think there are many, many, many other people who do not have accurate mirrors in their life. I was at a, like Chamber of Commerce event. And I was talking to somebody and telling, describing what I did about how I help people to make career decisions. And he kind of asked me the same question, Well, why don’t you just go to your family and friends in my head, I’m like, okay, you have supportive, helpful family and friends, that’s fantastic. And you will never ever use my service. But for those of us who have people in our lives, who might be negative, might have their own agenda for us might not be able to see past themselves to actually see us. So they are like, Okay, this is what I would want. So therefore, everybody would want this. Or even they just don’t know how to be helpful. I think there’s a lot of that going around. And in those circumstances, I would really recommend bringing in somebody who is a more neutral, professional support to be that accurate mirror for you.
David Ralph [12:27]
So how does somebody find this person? There’s this person who’s the professional? Because there’s a myriad, there’s millions, there’s hundreds of these people out there? How do they choose the one that’s right for them?
Alison Cardy [12:42]
Or have David if you mean that to be a softball question, I would say they should go to Cardy career coaching, calm and check out our services, because this is what we do. But beyond that, I think you really want to find somebody that you feel a rapport with, I will recommend looking for somebody who specializes in helping with career direction, and who has a system a process of working with you. And the Career Services realm in particular, there are a lot of people in it. But it’s kind of a lot of mom and pop feel where if somebody is just doing it, they may not have ever worked with a large volume of clients, they are just feeling their way through their case, through your case, they might just be asking you open ended questions they might be giving you assessments that are invalidated. That don’t actually mean anything. So often people come to our services, and I say I’ve tried to get help before I’ve reached out and it left me high and dry. It didn’t really help me. So you really want to look for people who are specialists who have a track record of getting good results for people like you. And you have a process where they can tell you okay, if you coming in feeling confused. And last, we can get you to the other side of this and get you clear and confident and moving on with your life because that’s what it’s all about.
David Ralph [14:08]
So did you need this service when you when you was going into accountancy, and to be honest, even when I was reading the introduction, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at your professional sort of a history. And I think to myself, Allison Allison, what the hell were you doing going into engineering? It just doesn’t seem to be your your thing. Did you need this kind of service?
Alison Cardy [14:29]
Absolutely, absolutely. When I entered the workforce, and I actually got an accounting degree and was working as an accountant, I was totally lost. I was like the quietest, meek is the most adrift person you could ever come across, I was completely living in my head, I have a big imagination. So I was just living up there. And not really living and participating in the real world. I was just sort of going with the flow. And I knew something was wrong. And I definitely saw some symptoms in my life. I felt off track. I wasn’t happy. I was entering a period of depression, I had even had some physical symptoms of like heart palpitations that were telling me, okay, something’s wrong. And even beyond that, I was pulling away from friends and family because I never want to be the person who showed up every time to go see them and be like, yep, still unhappy. Yeah, not liking my job. You know, so I was trying to pull away and I did try to seek out help. I tried, actually on three different occasions. And I will note, to my knowledge, people who are working in helping professions are generally incredibly well intentioned. But I found in each instance, people weren’t really able to help me, I saw a therapist who was wonderful, but she didn’t have career expertise, I went a coaching route. They just asked me a lot of open ended questions. And we’re like, Okay, what do you think you should do? And you know, how do you think distributor this is I don’t know why I need help. And I reached out again to another coach, not to be dissuaded. And again, they kind of left me in a unrelated unrealistic point of view, where they weren’t helping me to figure out a path forward, that would actually work in the real world. So I think those experiences of trying to get help and wanting to fix it, and really having trouble with him, are a big motivator and why I created the work the body of work that I have, because this is a solvable problem, is a universal path through to get to the other side. And I wanted to be able to consistently and effectively help people to get an answer to their question, to have a process to work to have the right supports around them. So that we can minimize the amount of time that people are walking around feeling unhappy, confused, and losing confidence because they don’t know how to solve the problem
David Ralph [17:09]
is so crappy, isn’t it to be in a situation I was in that, you know, many times. And most of the times that I was in that was when I went for jobs that were paying a lot of money. But we’re not in my skill set, I was always very good getting into an interview and telling the person what they wanted to hear and basically getting the second interview, and then it was a bit of a lottery, but more often not I would get the job. And the bigger the money, the higher the stress. And I had all the physical symptoms, I thought I had a heart attack at work, I had all that kind of stuff. And it was really down to not playing to my strengths. And that’s a big part of your your program, isn’t it, knowing what your strengths are, knowing where your talents are, and kind of living your purpose. And when you get to that point, everything becomes easy for you, you almost get to a point where you’re playing and you’re working wondering why you didn’t do it earlier. But it’s difficult isn’t it is difficult to sort of break free from all that.
Alison Cardy [18:06]
Yes, you nailed it, we our goal is to help people to understand who they are connect to what they want their strengths, their interests, all of that, and then to act on those things. So it is difficult. And I think that in many instances, our clients to some degree, really parallel my story of their drifting in a particular way, they may be following a path somebody else set out for them, they may just have happened on something because it looked good. And it does actually feel good to them. And they’ve never actually made that connection of Okay, I can one connect to what I want. And to I can get what I want. So that’s a that’s actually a really big concept. And to my point of view, I want people to wind up in a career, that’s a great fit for them, and want them to enjoy their work, but also from like a coach mentality. I want people to learn that lesson because it is so transformational. And I think that beyond the exterior, once you know that the world becomes a different place,
David Ralph [19:21]
and MTG that you had she, you know, talking about myself, hi, that’s what I like to do. But do you think that you actually have to, you know, be willing to work for free to find your thing, because I see it all the time that people are in a career, they’re looking for the money, they’re doing this, they’re doing bad. And then they they volunteer, or they you know, for example, with join up dots I must work, I don’t know, seven months, eight months didn’t earn a penny of it. But I was willing to do that. And through that process, I found out something I really love. So I sort of just hopefully got better at it. Do you think that people should sometimes separate themselves from the money Chase and just do stuff, volunteering and for free?
Alison Cardy [20:03]
Okay, that is a big question. Now I’m going to try to break it down for you. First of all, no, you don’t have to do that route. And I think that it really depends on the particular path that you’re considering. Oftentimes, and this is probably different from your case, David but oftentimes, I think people are concerned about making the transition. And please note that we normally help people go from one employee role to another, that’s a better fit. Not always, but typically. So know that that’s what I’m talking about. I think people actually err on the other side where they think, Oh, my gosh, I need to get a whole nother degree, I need to like get some experience under my belt, I need to look perfect before I can make this transition. And it’s actually the opposite. You just need to get your head around it. You just need to believe that you can do it and have some good strategies in place. So much of what you are already doing, or bringing to the table or no can transfer very easily. So I’m going to say no, in some instances. And then yes, in other instances, if you’re thinking about a path that is more entrepreneurial, yeah, you got to get started. And most businesses do not make money from day one. So yes, you do need to be willing to dig in and get things going. There is another piece to what you’re talking about, though, which is the overall money piece. And I would just offer this framework for thinking about careers and money. Careers really impacts three big areas of our lives. They impact our level of fulfillment, our financial health, and our personal time and well being. And if you think about like a Venn diagram of those three things, fulfillment, financial health, personal time, and well being everybody, one something right smack in the middle of that Venn diagram, we want to be healthy, wealthy, and have a whole lot of fun every single day. Of course, we all want that. And we can certainly work towards it. But in a route to getting there, a framework that I often use is the idea that careers kind of rest on a seesaw. On one side of the seesaw is financial health. On the other side of the seesaw is fulfillment and kind of personal time and well being. And they move in opposition to one another in general. So what that means is jobs that require more responsibility, longer hours, more education, more stress, those things kind of stink, we don’t like to do to do those things. But we need jobs like that in the world. So we compensate with finances to get people in them. Conversely, if there’s a job that is super, super fulfilling, and so much fun, the inherent pay, maybe lower for it. Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t terrible jobs that pay very poorly and wonderful jobs that pay great there are, but in general, there is this push and pull. So what that means is we really need to be clear about what is in the lead for us. And those three areas, what is most important if you had to pick and what I find for a lot of people, they might be going for money, because they just have kind of like a default, Oh, I should make a lot of money or people will respect me if I have money or whatever. But I often really want fulfillment in the lead, which it sounds like may have been your case. So when that happens,
David Ralph [23:41]
yes, you might need to sacrifice a little bit financially, particularly when you’re getting started. To honor what is important to you. That was really long winded. So let me stop there. No, that sounds good. That sounds good. But now with me, I think now, when I started, it was fulfillment, I think he was vain. I went into this stage of actually obsession, I wanted to become really, you know, good at doing something. And then I got to the point where I realized it’s about freedom. For me freedom, I would much rather just be financially comfortable, but have a life where I can just be as free as I want more than anything else. And I spent many, many years as I say, going after the money was catching time, Show me the money. But once I got the money didn’t make me happy. But freedom does. I like the thought of being able to watch Netflix on a Monday morning when everybody else is at work. I like the thought of just going through a walk through the country whenever I want. That is where my career heads. Do people have fat sort of natural step and step and step where they get to one thing and I think this is what I was I don’t know, it’s not as good as I thought and then to the next step of into the next step.
Alison Cardy [24:52]
Yes, yes, I know. So what?
David Ralph [24:55]
Yes and no with you, Allison, you, you are a classic.
Alison Cardy [25:02]
So what you’re describing is brilliant. And I think that, yes, the priorities that we have in life do change. But that’s not to say they always change in lockstep, like you go money, fulfillment freedom, I think they’re really they change based on what else is going on in your life, your values, the experiences that you’ve had to date, and I really don’t think that there is a right or wrong for what to prioritize, for example, sometimes I come across people and they say, when I was growing up, we didn’t have much money. And it is of utmost importance to me a huge personal value, that I be financially secure. And for them, finances is in the lead, front and center. And I think that’s okay. Some people say, you know, freedom or time with my family is what is important to me, you can think about that Venn diagram, there’s lots of different combinations, there’s not a right or wrong, there’s just really connecting to and honoring, hey, this is what’s important to me. And then once you recognize that actually taking the actions and the steps to match your life with what’s important to you. And knowing that that may change over time. And that’s really what drives a lot of change is when those changes happen. As another example, I often come across people and in the DC area, which has a lot of nonprofits, government type work as well. And I often come across people in the nonprofit world who have been working for a greater cause greater good, and they are burnt out, tired of not making money unhappy, and they just want a job has a healthier, healthier culture, not to say all nonprofits have a bad culture, they don’t, but sometimes they do. And those individuals, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just okay, I’ve had this experience now. And now I’m want to shift my values are changing all of a sudden, my personal time and well being my finances are becoming more important to me. Does that make sense?
David Ralph [27:10]
It makes total sense. It does make total sense. And we’re going to come back to that. But let’s listen to these words. First Jim Carrey
Unknown Speaker [27:16]
my father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [27:43]
So what makes sense to me, Allison listening to you talk is people don’t know to help what they want, but just got no idea. And they’re just lurching from one sort of crisis to another. With this kind of dream of there’s got to be more to life than this. Have you seen with the explosion in like social media, since you’ve started your business more people reaching out because they’ve it they can see more visibly, or they think they can see more visibly what other people are getting, and they’re not?
Alison Cardy [28:12]
Well, I think there is perpetually that type of comparison going on. Even before social media, something that I hear a lot about is alumni magazines, I don’t know if you have those by you. But in the States, a lot of times people go to university, and then the school will send out an alumni magazine that has bright shiny pictures of all the cool things that your classmates or people that went to your school were doing. And I think that that has probably always been around what I see as almost a bigger change. And I’m still kind of working through this thought. So I appreciate your perspective is the breadth of opportunities that are available, and the total abundance, a choice that people have. In terms of careers, if you think back just a generation ago, I’m a little bit older than than me, my parents are beyond. First of all, women didn’t really have very many career options. You were a nurse or a teacher or a secretary. And in kind of the male working world, there were a certain number of opportunities as well, as technology has changes, as has changed as different. workforce changes hasn’t have happened in terms of women entering the workforce, all of a sudden, there are so many more jobs, so many more opportunities. And I think that this is kind of a new thing. And people are so mobile in terms of career, that as a whole. I think many people are unprepared with how to deal with that, and how to make a choice in the midst of abundance.
David Ralph [29:57]
Yeah, no, I agree with you totally. And I think that is one of the problems, I think there is too much choice for everything. It’s like you, you’ve got 150 TV channels, and you can’t think of anything to watch because there’s just too much and you just don’t know what to do with yourself. I found a clarity once I started this show, but I’d never had before, I’d always been a dabbler or I do a bit of bass. And I do a bit of that. And it kind of almost worked and many didn’t work. This was the first one that I ignored everything else. And I was very fortunate that when I started podcasting, I didn’t really listen to podcasts. So I didn’t realize there was 100 billion of them out there. And that was my competition, I just thought it was three of us. And and that’s the route I took. But I do think that abundance is also brilliant as well that people can create their own radio station, they can create their own TV station, they can create whatever they want. They just need to give it time, know what they’re aiming for. I am people that compliment their weaknesses if I have been and persist. Now, I’ve been a big influence on a film recently that I saw. And I keep on talking about this, but it really affected me. And it was the founder with Michael Keaton, who was the one who took over McDonald’s, and he kind of ripped off the original McDonald’s people. And at the very beginning, he has this little speech and he says, you know, nothing out scores persistence, that is the number one thing and if you’re just willing to keep going, then you will make something happen. Do you see that as the issue though, you’ve got the abundance, you’ve got all the opportunities, but you’re not willing to commit and be persistent in one direction.
Alison Cardy [31:36]
Okay, you just threw a ton out. So let me acknowledge a couple things. One, I think that it I agree with you that it can be a problem to have abundance, but it’s a problem that I am so happy to have, like, I was talking to a friend coming from a culture that is more family driven, and more you do what you’re told you follow the family direction for you, you work for the good of the family. And that’s really contrasted with the culture that I am, which is a lot more individualistic. And I think that she was saying that in the context of a more social, familial driven society, there are fewer lows, because the family is there to catch you and to kind of keep you steady. But there are also fewer highs, it’s just kind of more steady. And I think with the more individualistic perspective, there are bigger lows, you can totally mess it up. And there are also bigger highs. And personally, I’m really glad to have the opportunity to mess up and to also hit those highs. So I’ll give him on to that. And then secondarily, in terms of persistence, absolutely, totally 100%. I mean, there’s more to it than but I do think that, particularly for my clientele which which tends to be very educated, very capable people, bright, wonderful, conscientious. I love our clientele, if you if you can’t pick that up. And they have been through an education system that has told them what to do that they could excel in. And they have never really had to think about, okay, this is what I want. And then also to be persistent and trying to get it. I think so often, in probably the people that I see, but also in the broader context of the world. We hit a bump where if something doesn’t go right, and I think people take it as a sign of Oh, that wasn’t meant to be that can’t happen. My experience after spending seven years being terrible at marketing. And finally breaking through to the other side is if you are just persistent, if you stick with it, if you keep showing up, if you keep asking for what you want. Good luck, your probability of achieving it becomes almost certain but you really do need that resilience and that persistence to get there.
David Ralph [34:09]
Yeah, no, I agree. I agree with you. You see, when you say something I just say I agree. When I say something is yes and no. I’m How do I get to a straight? Yes with you, Allison so that you can say David You are like a dream host who knows everything? How do I do that? COACH me in my career?
Alison Cardy [34:29]
I agree. Yes, you are a dream host and you are a wonderful podcaster I think you’re on the right track for you.
David Ralph [34:37]
I see you easily led you say I’ve just pushed you into that position. That’s what I do I Rambo people. So where are you heading now? Because going up and down your site? There’s a lot of testimonials. And it kind of blew my mind, really. And he probably blows your mind. But yeah, Harvard University, Duke University loads the university’s which is kind of so surprising, surprising, really, that these guys in university haven’t already nailed what they want to do. Because they’re, they’re studying towards something. Why would they need you?
Unknown Speaker [35:10]
Oh, my goodness, they’re the worst bunch. Why? Why
David Ralph [35:13]
are they studying 17th century architecture? And a degree and stuff? You know, there’s a question for you. First of all, the amount of people that I’ve met, who say, Oh, yeah, I studied so and so at Cambridge. And I think to myself, What a stupid thing to study. It’s never going to be any good for you. Why do people do that? Why do people study these weird things? But it’s never going to be any good?
Alison Cardy [35:38]
I don’t know that I can speak for every person.
David Ralph [35:42]
As you can you want this podcast? You are the spokesman for every person out there studying 15th century sheep sharing, but you’re never going to use?
Alison Cardy [35:52]
Yeah, I think they have an interest in it. And they don’t have an understanding of the marketplace.
David Ralph [35:58]
Yeah, I have to agree with you. You say these beings, your master and I just agree with you straight away, didn’t have to go sort of in reverse ggV. They have to go in reverse and actually live life before they go into education? Because I think they do. I know it’s not possible. But I think for example, I would study so much harder when I was at school. If I’d already seen the other side and then had to go back and do it. Do you think that life is is difficult going forward? Where we should be able to go backwards?
Alison Cardy [36:27]
Really interesting question. So I have a couple of thoughts on that. One, I when I said that it’s the worst bunch people who are getting higher education. What I really mean is people who are pursuing advanced degrees, oftentimes, not totally, but definitely the population that I see. They go back to school, because they think that school is going to help them figure it out. Or they think that they don’t know what else to do. And school is familiar and prestigious. So that’s what I meant by that they many times people are hiding in school, because they don’t really know what they want to do. Another point is that I do not work with people who are just out of undergrad, or who only have like a year in the workforce, because they don’t have enough experience yet. They really can’t totally know what they don’t like or what they do. Like, they’re still just getting acclimated to being an adult and in the working world. And then the last thing that I would say is yes, a full yes to your idea that I think it could be really helpful. If people did have real world experience before utilizing school. If you think about it, if you’re a kid, you’re going through the education system, you go through college, hopefully, it can be a wonderful thing for many people. But you don’t really know much about life other than doing what you’re told, not everybody is as doing what you’re told as I was. But still there’s really a mismatch between your perception of the world and to reality. So I agree, I think getting real world experience as soon as possible and as young as possible, is mega beneficial in terms of utilizing the resource of education thoughtfully and in a way that’s actually going to lead you somewhere that you want to be?
David Ralph [38:20]
So you’re saying these kids in India working in sweatshops at the age of five? It’s a good thing I could have that as a strapline Allison cardi says that’s a good thing.
Alison Cardy [38:29]
I think I’m gonna have to go with a hard know that.
David Ralph [38:34]
It’s out there, though, it’s out there. I’ve said it now it’s in people’s minds, I don’t remember if I’ve said it, or you’ve said it, they’re just three weeks later, I think that’s a shocking thing to say. So let’s play some words now. But a really worth Yeah, we’ll ignore what I just said, listeners is not a good thing. Kids shouldn’t be there. Although it does give you very cheap trainers. Here’s some words that were said by Steve Jobs back in 2005. And let’s hear them again Steve Jobs
Unknown Speaker [39:00]
course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards. 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [39:34]
Now what graduates understand those words when they’re going through Harvard? And that, would they look at that and think know, what a load of rubbish do you do? You have to believe that life and Lyft, you know, had experience to actually understand what Steve Jobs saying there.
Alison Cardy [39:47]
I think people can understand it. And I definitely appreciate what he’s saying there. I do think in the career world, one idea that can actually be quite problematic for people, the idea of purpose and passion as kind of some on high perfection in life, that if they could just find it, then everything would be perfect. And I think that that can be problematic and trip people up where they’re like, this doesn’t feel like Angel singing, and I’m walking on clouds. So maybe this isn’t right. But it really is a matter of degree of while some things are definitely wrong for you. And some things feel better. So let’s move in the direction of the things that feel better without putting such a high expectation, particularly as a new grad, that you are going to know everything and just step right out of school into your purpose. And give yourself some patience and some time to let those experiences add up. And to continue to maneuver as you go to hopefully wind up in a place where you feel completely on track. But to expect on day one, I think is misleading. And it gets full in kind of a bind. They’re like, okay, I can do anything more. What do I do with that? Again, I just found my passion and follow my passion. But I don’t feel super passionate about something I just kind of like numbers or whatever I start with what you like and let it build. That’s what I would say,
David Ralph [41:23]
yeah, I think if I think if I, my daughter is 12. And today as we’re recording this, she’s dancing in Euro Disney. And it’s all she wants to do. She just wants to dance and be an actress and stuff. She’s so focused now my son. I mean, he has a clue what he wants to do other than his girlfriend, he’s got this new girlfriend and he is wrapped up above all the time. It’s strange how you can live in the same household and one person seems totally focused on on a passion and living the purpose and the other person just hasn’t got a clue.
Alison Cardy [41:54]
Yeah, that’s going around. It’s definitely going around for sure.
David Ralph [41:58]
So what we’re going to do now, we are going to send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. But before we do, and following in the words of Steve Jobs, can you take those words and make them stepping stones? Can you project into the future? Now? Can you see where your thoughts are heading?
Alison Cardy [42:18]
Yeah, I think I can see some of where my dots are heading. I am somewhat by training, the training that I didn’t totally want in terms of math, science and computer science and a little bit of accounting. I was trained to be an analytical and systematic thinker. And that essentially proving to be enormously helpful in terms of scaling a business and growing it. And I think another historical thing I was actually just thinking before we hopped on is I really don’t crave the spotlight, I’m happy to be here happy to share happy to hopefully be helping somebody listening. But it doesn’t need to be always focused on me. And I think that to that kind of childhood thing is part of what’s going to help my business scale because I can step out of the way and let other people deliver our services and do a phenomenal job. So that’s what I see kind of moving forward.
David Ralph [43:15]
And does that excite you that ability to separate yourself from everything and the company still grows without you?
Alison Cardy [43:22]
Oh, man, that’s so cool. It totally excites me. Yeah, I love it. I’m I’m really interested in the journey ahead and wholeheartedly looking forward to it and curious to see where it goes.
David Ralph [43:36]
No, I agree with you with join up dots if I could just walk up and turn on the microphone and do the hosting duties and everything else was taken care of that that’d be utopia. That’d be utopia, because there was so much that every job but even if you think it’s a sexy job, there’s rubbish attached to it, isn’t it?
Alison Cardy [43:55]
Well, hey, I have to give you a little magic David you can make that you doesn’t need to bring Hi there people in to help you.
David Ralph [44:01]
Control Freak. I’m a control freak. Allison, I couldn’t let it happen. I could not let it happen. I actually hired my wife. And I was paying her and I didn’t actually let her do anything. And she said, Well, am I actually going to be doing anything like oh, yeah, we do it next month we’re doing next month, she said, Well, you’re paying me. I go just at the money, just have the money. And, and and treat me kind when I come home. That’s all I wanted. I just wanted a little bit of adulation from the wife when I got home. And Did I get it? Did I get it? Because I didn’t wasted money, every single penny of it. Right? Okay, this is the end of the show now. And this is the part that we’ve been building up to that we call the Sermon on the mic when we send you back in time to have a one on one with the younger Allison. And if you could go back in time and speak to her, what age would you choose? And what advice would you give? Well, we’re going to find out because I’m going to play the theme. And when it fades, Europe, this is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [45:00]
Go with the first bit of the show.
Alison Cardy [45:14]
All right. Well, this is going on to my younger self and her late teens, early 20s, where I was the most clueless and the most scared and the most worried about how everything was going to go, I was thinking that I was going to become an accountant. And that was going to seal my fate, I would never get out. I would just be stuck crunching numbers, doing things that were pretty boring to me. And I would say to her, that one. I love you, too. I’m proud of you. Because I see that you are really trying to do the scary things. And trying to figure out a way way to get on to a path that feels good to you. I would want to let her know that the habit that she has have and has only just recently adopted at this point in her life of doing things that scare her of finding something that is worrisome and trying it out nothing that is going to be life threatening. But trying out okay, what happens if I don’t go on this path? Or what happens if I raise my hand and speak up? I’m so proud of you for doing that that habit is going to pay off majorly over time. And then the last thing that I would say is that in the midst of all of this where things are not feeling right, and you’re concerned and worried, and I’m happy to try to remember that life is an absolutely beautiful gift. And the whole thing is just a journey. So anywhere that you are, it’s going to pass, you’re going to get out to the other side, you’re going to really figure this out and live an incredible life. But don’t spend too much time worrying about things right now. Look around, see the sky, see the sunrises and sunsets, try to be present and be grateful for what you have.
David Ralph [47:24]
Right advice. Great advice for everybody. So Allison, what’s the number one best way that our audience can connect with you?
Alison Cardy [47:32]
The number one best way is to go to Cardy career coaching. com that’s kar di ca r d y, career coaching.com. And if you are feeling like you are kind of stuck and uncertain and not sure what to do, I run an international coaching team. So we work virtually wherever you are listening, we can be of service. And I would really encourage you to pop in an application to set up a time to potentially move forward working with us. So you can get on with your life. I always say you know, once you figure out your career, you can move on to more interesting problems.
David Ralph [48:07]
If somebody is slightly the polar opposite timezone, say, Australia or whatever, they could still connect with somebody.
Alison Cardy [48:15]
Absolutely. We have worked with people in Australia, in Europe, pretty much anywhere we can handle it.
David Ralph [48:23]
Perfect, perfect. Well, thank you so much for spending time with us today, joining up those dots of your life. And please come back again when you got more dots to join up. Because I do believe that by joining up those dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures. Alison, thank you so much.
Alison Cardy [48:39]
Thank you David it was a real treat to be on your show.
David Ralph [48:44]
So if you are in a slump, if your career is not going the right way, if you’re just spinning, lack of energy, if you’re thinking Oh god, it’s Sunday, I gotta go back to work tomorrow. Maybe you need to find your purpose. Maybe you need to pivot, maybe you need to find the thing back energizes you. So you don’t actually want to go to sleep. You actually don’t want to stay in bed you want to bound out and grasp the world. If that’s the case, benefit Alison’s got a great business there and you can go over to coaching platform as we say find the links on join up dots and check it out. Because it’s not just about careers. It’s about the whole Ying Yang. It’s about feeling good about yourself, which helps in the career and the career helps in your physical well being all comes together. I think she’s doing a great job and it’s great to see somebody who’s gone on the journey, learn from our mistakes, brought it all together and he’s doing remarkably well. Well thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for sharing me your is if you liked my episode of join up dots and you think there’s somebody could benefit from it, just share the link with them and it will be great to have even more is listening to us. But until next time, hopefully we see you is again cheers see
Unknown Speaker [49:56]
David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant seller if you were wants to become so he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to join up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on join up dots.
