Billy Keels  0:01  

So the truth about how I found harmony by saying no. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels advisory services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to makeitoptional.com. Once again, that's makeitoptional.com. The truth about how I found harmony by saying no, is for that corporate warrior who is continuing to move up and up and up the path, and each time, it seems to be getting more and more difficult, because there's so much competition, there's so many different options, and at the same time, you feel trapped like that is the only path that you have to go. If you just give me a couple minutes of time, you are going to see that you're going through the frustration, going through the challenge. There is another way where you're going to feel much more fulfilled and much more harmonious. Because I want to take you back to a moment in my life. It was the fall of 2016 I had just closed a very, very large transaction, just upwards of $25 million something like that when you do the conversion from Euros. And I had taken this role specifically so that I could get on the fast track to be promoted. Because my goal was to become the CEO. And although it sounds a bit far fetched, that was really what my goal was. It was going to start with being the CEO of a particular region, and then from there to go on to become the CEO of the company, or that company, or some other company like. That was the thing that I had in my in my mind. But after 2016 and closing this very large transaction and doing it in a different language, Spanish and Catalan language, I realized that things in my life were changing. I went it took a really lot of took a lot of time and effort and energy to get to that point. But once I got to the point, my goal shifted, my dream changed. And so continuing to move up and up the corporate ladder for me at that point in time is I was feeling very comfortable being an individual contributor, meaning I didn't have to go all the way up the ladder in order to feel fulfilled, to be able to contribute, because those are the things that became important to me. Now I wanted to change roles, like I said, because I wanted to get in the fast track. But as my life started changing, I realized that, yes, I enjoyed the work that I was doing, and at the same time, I was realizing that I was falling in love with the title, and at the end of the day, it's not the title, it's the actual role. What am I doing on a day to day basis? That were started to make me feel more fulfilled. So when I started realizing, like, I was working more and more hours, I was just focused on continuing to overachieve just so I could get to the next goal, I started realizing to myself, like, do I want to keep doing this forever? Like literally, there's there's got to be more to this job than just doing more of the same. And so as I started to wonder, that wonder, that question, and start to ask myself that question, is there, is there more to this? Should I be doing something else it? Can I be doing something else with the skill set that I have. And as I started to see that there were other people that were very successful in their corporate roles, and at the same time, they were had other activities, whether they were in running Ironmans constantly, or other people had set up businesses on the side. And some people were spending more and more time traveling. And I started realizing that my particular skill set and the desire and the curiosity that I had, I could actually be doing something too, like doing something additional, aside from being a dad and all that other kind of stuff, which was absolutely fantastic. It's just about saying, Okay, I have this particular skill set. And so when I started realizing that moving up the ladder, that there was something that started happening that I realized didn't really align with what I wanted to do, because to move up and up the ladder, a couple dynamics happen if, and I'm sharing this with you, because I'm sure that you have been through something very similar. The higher that you go on the ladder, the more and more competition there are in fierce competition, like really fierce competition for the very few roles. You know, the company that I worked for had over 110,000 employees at the time, and there was only, well, a couple of times where there were co CEOs, but that was short lived, and there was only one job that is the top job. And so in order to get that top job, you have to be willing to do things that most other people are not willing to do. And I realized, for me, in my journey in corporate that I had reached a level where I was very, very comfortable with the level that I was able to contribute, the level that I was able to give and also receive from the company. I kind of stopped thinking that I needed to be a title. I constantly wanted to figure out what new skill sets can I have. Can I have, can I add, is there a way that I can solve customer and client problems in a faster, more efficient way? Can I have much higher level engagements within client organizations? Could I help to lead people within the organization? In that I was working for without having the title, meaning influential leadership. And as these things became more and more important to me, the dynamics of moving up the corporate ladder and getting to the top of the org chart and what it took, the fierce competition that it took, to actually get those roles I knew was something that I didn't want to do, because when you work so hard to realize that there are so many things that are outside of your control, do you have the right alliances? Did you have the top project that was happening at the same time that the next top role was going or becoming available? So many dynamics outside of my control? I decided that it wasn't for me, which is why I'm sharing the truth about how I found harmony by saying no, because remember, I took this lateral move to be able to move up the org chart faster and be able to be in more promotion roles. And so what I realized was when it was time for that to be in the next promotion role for a larger role, more of a sales leadership role within a region, after closing that big deal, the big surprise was I wasn't interested in joining any more processes for talent selection because I liked being the individual, individual contributor role. I enjoyed being able to contribute. I enjoyed being able to be the the subject matter expert in the area of sales and sales executive space. And so when you start realizing I did a like, I took a bold step for me at the time, which was to say, I'm not going to take the next logical step, because I took the role to fast track to move up. And when you do that, you take the next logical step and saying no to being involved not in one but multiple promotion paths, I started realizing it wasn't about just continuing to take the next logical step. It was what was the next step for me, for my family, for my fulfillment and my personal harmony, and at that time, it meant saying no, I wasn't going to take a promotion. But then inside, I realized that I could use my skills, my talents, my gifts, to be able to give, to contribute to the organization, and also use my excess time to build up my own dream, right? Because I was over performing in my corporate role and being a really, really positive contributor to the overall success of my team the company, and I wanted to be able to do something and build my own dream. So the reality is, I never got the top spot while I was in corporate, I never got there. And so someone look at that and say, well, Billy, you didn't accomplish your goal. Well, I guess you're right. I didn't accomplish that. But the thing is, is what I found along the way was something that is so much more important that just taking the next logical step, because everybody else told me that was the thing to do, wasn't the right thing for me. And so I found harmony between my life and my work, and eventually became the CEO of my own very small company in my own life, which was the thing that was very transformational for me, which is why I want to share it with you. And so if that's not your situation today, but you know, somebody who's feeling like they've got to just take the next logical step, because it's the thing that everybody else does. Share this podcast episode with them, you're going to be the person that helps to bring a positive influence in their life. And while you're doing that, guess what I'll be doing? I'll be right here preparing for the next episode. So until then, go out and make it a great day. And thank you very, very much. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels advisory services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to make it optional.com. Once again, that's make it optional.com. Free.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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