A Purposeful Pivot: Tips from a Career Transition Expert with Marcy Morrison

Welcome to the Conscious Pivot podcast with international speaker, business mentor, best selling author of Pivot, and your host, Adam Markell. The Conscious Pivot shares the stories and wisdom of people who have successfully reinvented some area of their business and personal life. You'll gain powerful insights into how you can fully embrace new opportunities, increase your performance, and master the art and science of innovation and resilience. So please join Adam as he guides you on your Conscious Pivot.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Conscious Pivot on Pivot Radio. And I'm so happy to be here with you today. I'm Adam Markell and I have an incredible guest with me who's going to be talking about pivoting, of all things. Shocking. Shocking, but it's so cool. And actually, we're both from back East. It's funny living on the west coast and saying that term back east, as though people that live here think of it as back east, but there are a lot of transplants. We met a lot of people from the east coast out here in California. I grew up in New York and then moved. Randy and I got married and we started to have a family in New Jersey. Marcy, I'm not sure if you're originally from New Jersey or elsewhere, but I know you spent a significant amount of time in New Jersey, so. Marci Morrison, thank you so much for joining us on the Conscious Pivot podcast today. So let's get this straight. Are you from New Jersey?

Born and raised on the Jersey Shore.

So then for me and for you, we have a way to greet each other. So I'm going to say this to you. How you doing?

How you doing?

No, how you doing?

How you what? Accent.

That's it. And I have an answer. Do you have an answer? How you doing? What's your answer?

Awesome.

Awesome. Yeah, that's. You know what? That's so much better than. What do we typically hear, Marci? You say to somebody, how you doing? And kind of do that thing back and forth, but at some point, somebody answers the question, how you doing? And what's an answer that you would hear quite a lot when you were growing up?

Good. Kind of bland. Good. How you doing? No energy.

Exactly. Getting by. You ever hear that one?

Yeah, right.

Getting by. Hanging in there. So. So, mezza, mezza. You know, another day. You know, I'm trying to think of some. Some of the old adages, but, yeah, surviving. But coming from that energy, like you say, that low energy place of your, you know, life isn't great and it might be good, but you sort of survive it. And it's almost like, hey, can you. It's like an energy of commiseration.

That's right.

We're in the same club, we get it. Life is tough. And you know, same. What's it, you know, same, same, same, same shit, you know, another day, same thing. And, and that's it. That's a pretty, That's. To me, it's like living in mediocrity. And not just living in mediocrity, but accepting, tolerating it. And I know from my, my own, you know, place and I put my hands here on my heart because I, I can think back to a time when I was in my late 30s, when my body just didn't want to tolerate that mediocrity anymore. I was just going to work every day with a lack of enthusiasm, starting my day with a lack of enthusiasm, just doing my job, fighting the good fight and coming home late and feeling like time was going by and I, and I was losing the juice. You know, I wasn't enthusiast, I just wasn't that dream, that sort of wide eyed kid with a big dream anymore. I was just going through the motions of working, working hard and doing what people around me were doing, which was sort of slaving it at, you know, life and job and making money. And it never seemed to meet a lot of people that had found their way out of that maze or that rat race. And so like fast forward a lot of years, I pivoted first in my mindset. So probably the first significant pivot for me was just realizing that I did not have to continue to do what I was doing, that I could change, that I could change the way I thought to begin with. That and that change in mindset began with, you know, there's more, like, there's more for me, there's more that's possible that there's a potential that I could actually regain that dream, that purpose in my life. And that was the first significant shift for me. So, you know, thank you so much for being on this podcast because I think there's a big community of people out there right now who are either reinventing themselves consciously because they realize that they're not happy, they're not fulfilled, and they want more. And then there's another community of people out there that are among the walking dead or among the people living lives of quiet desperation and they're unhappy, they're miserable, they're angry, they're having trouble sleeping at night. They're just not the expression that they could be as a human being. And they're a bit numb or a bit unconscious of it. And I think that's the purpose of this podcast for whoever's attracted to it. We're going to help people to wake up to the idea that there's more and that's possible for everybody. So I know you have a pivot story that's really amazing. Would you share a little bit about yourself and start with one of your pivot stories?

Well, I'm going to start with what is exactly in alignment with what you just said. Right. And really why I do what I do right now with my business careers with Wings. It is not at all what I set out to do. My background. I know you heard my story just recently at the Youth Success Week. And, you know, I've been really many years working internationally. I always joke that I'm actually a wannabe Latina from the Jersey Shore. Soyna Latina. And what happened was I said I had two beautiful children and I stayed home with them for three and a half years and didn't. When I thought about, what do I want to do next? I didn't want to travel as much as I did before because that would be really hard for me as a mom. I used to travel a Latin America five times a year. And I asked myself, I said, you know, what is the difference that I really want to make in this world? And like you said, the word is almost identical to what you said about the walk. I would literally feel pain in my body to watch people going to work every day like it was a prison sentence. I thought, that's not why we're here. We're not here to be the walking dead going to work every day. I said, if I can even just help one person do what they love and, and make a difference in the world and wake up with energy, enthusiasm, and passion, then that's me living my passion and purpose. So I really honor you for creating a space to help support people in living their best self and their best life.

Thank you. Yeah, no, it's. I did hear your story, but that's part of what I really wanted you to share. And would you share a little bit about how you. You created a bit of a difference in what you did. Like you were watching those people going to work with lack of passion and purpose. And then you decided that you wanted to help people to find their passion and purpose. So would you just explain that? Because I know you probably, like me, went to high school and did your best to get good grades, and then Thought, well, I'm supposed to go to college because that's what everybody is. That's what we've been trained to believe. We're supposed to get good grades in high school, go to college, get good grades in college, and then come out and somehow be ready for life and to do the things we're here on this planet to do. And that's just not the way it works out for a lot of people. I know that certainly wasn't the way it worked out for me.

Yeah, well, I mean, if we wanted to take it back to the beginning, I always thought I was going to be a veterinarian. I mean, because I just love animals. I'd be one of those like, cat whisperer people. Like, I go to the house and people will be like, that's the mean cat ever. And then it would be sitting on my lap and I'd be having this bonding moment with this cat. And so I just thought that's what I was going to do. And it's, I, you know, as, as I shared, it's about life. How are we supposed to really honestly know what we're supposed to be doing as a kid? Right. So it's kind of like life gives us these experiences and we're collecting information along the way. Right. And so my last year of high school, I went from Jersey to, to Australia and was an exchange student for a year. And I just really love that experience. But when I came back, I was still on my mission to go to Trenton State. You know, Trenton State in Jersey, went there for pre med to be a veterinarian. And I don't know why it never dawned on me at the time, but I really actually sucked at science. And I was like, I had this like, total crisis. Like, I was like, my childhood dream is going down in flames. And so I honestly didn't know what to do. Right. And my engineer father was like, you know, he had his past figured out and when, like, did it all the way through his life, he's like, what are you going to do now? And I'm like, I don't know. And so I dropped out, went to community college and I asked myself the same questions that I asked everybody I work with. When are you happiest? What is it that you love doing? And I realized how much I really love being in another country with 250 people from all over the world and how much I actually was kind of jealous that they learned English as a second language and I learned an accent. I mean, I still had a Jersey accent, but now I had an Australian accent. And so it's these defining moments in life, right, that we go, I can either curl up in a ball that my dream that I thought was supposed to happen didn't work out, or, or how do I take this opportunity and turn it into what I really want to do? And so that's what led me down the path to study international affairs in Spanish. Ended up living in Spain, learning to speak Spanish really fluently. And then my first job was working in El Salvador. And because I had said that I really want to use my Spanish to make a difference in this world, and it was a recession and people said to me, you're going to be lucky enough to find any job, let alone your dream job. And I said, no, I'm choosing not to listen to that. So I networked, pounded the pavement, found this great company called the Inter American foundation, worked in El Salvador. Somebody down there said, can you help us write a business plan? And I was like, what? What's a business plan? And so this light bulb went off. You know, I could save the world better if I actually had some business experience. And then that's where destiny led me to San Diego to study at UC San Diego for International business and Latin America. So my path has been many pivots because then at graduate school I decided that if I want to understand business, then I should actually work in business. And so I did an internship up in San Francisco at Bank of America Latin America Finance. And then I also interned at Qualcomm. And that turned into a full time job in international marketing. And then that's when you sort, you start to realize that it's not just a job. It's like for me, it's how I couldn't see where I was making a difference in other people's lives. And I also really am about work, life balance. So all of a sudden, like you, I was working on Thanksgiving. I remember I flew to Malaysia on Thanksgiving Day and I go, you know what? This isn't how I want live my life. And it just, it just felt, I felt so out of alignment. And then the universe delivered an incredible gift, which was that my division was sold to Ericsson and 2,500 of us lost our job. I know that sounds crazy that that's a gift, right? Like most people don't want to lose their job. But I was, I was like. And so this outplacement firm came in. What are the top five things you want in your next step? And for me, I realized I need to be doing something that's making a difference. I need to be working with people that are making a difference. I need to be using my Spanish. I need to be traveling. And then ended up at the Institute of the Americas up at UCSD and traveled to Latin America five times a year. And I just loved it. And then I had my kids. And then we're back to. We're back to this where we are right now. So. And it's funny because I know that you probably experienced this in many other people, too. It's like, okay, now I have my passion and purpose, but how do I do that? Right? I'd never been an entrepreneur before either. And I was like, wow, this is crazy. And my really good friend had won an award for, like, Alumni of the Year at ucsd, and he was speaking to, like, hundreds of students. And I had just started my business, like, two weeks before, and he had been an entrepreneur, like a social entrepreneur for, like, five years. And I said, paul, I don't. I don't know what I'm doing as an entrepreneur. He goes, you just got to do it, Marcy. Just get out there. He goes, come and hear me speak at UCSD to all these students. And I go, okay. And so he. He stops his talk. He goes, hey, everybody, I want to introduce you to Marcy Morrison. She's a fellow alum at ucsc, and she is the best career coach in San Diego. And I'm like, oh, my God, I just started my business, like, two weeks ago. And so then, next thing I know, the head of Alumni Services from UCSD comes up to me. He goes, if Paul Lamb says that you're the best career coach out there, then I want you to come join us to help me help UCSD build an alumni career program. And I was like, okay. And so I always tell that story that when you are living your passion and purpose, that the stars start to align and crazy things happen like that that you could not make up or even predict are going to happen. Right?

Exactly. Exactly. And look, I heard you saw you training two different groups of high school students just last week at Youth Success Week, which is up in Oceanside. And it was a beautiful program that you were delivering along with Stedman Graham and Steve Farber. And I would love it if you would share with our listeners right now some of the strategies that you were. That you were sharing with those high school students around that idea of creating and becoming aware of your passion and purpose. And then what do you do once you have clarity about that?

Yeah. And you know, in that first year of starting my business, I started really realizing that I was working with steps with people, looking at my own journey, like, how did I learn to live my passion and purpose? And then looking at other people like, what are the steps that they took to do that? And so in that first year, I kept recommending books that were out there, like, read what color is your parachute? And all of that. And people would look at me like, I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than read that book. It's so painful. And then I said, okay, well, what do you really want? And they said, I want an easy to use workbook. And I actually had created that. I worked with an inspirational speaker too. So I knew about how to publish a book. I talked to his literary agent and I said, listen, so many people are frustrated with the books that are out there. What do you think about this easy to use workbook? And so what I was sharing with the kids and what I share with people that I work with, is that really the step to uncovering and living your passion and purpose is first really know who you are and know what you love, obviously what you're good at. And how do you learn to trust your gut and believe in yourself? Right? Like when I started my business too, like I started on all these journeys, there were a lot of naysayers out there that said, it's not possible, you don't have enough experience, whatever it is. And that's what happens when I work with a lot of clients too. You got to push through that. Right? And I'm sure with your journey too, it's believing in yourself is key. And then the other piece of that is how important it is to have mentors and a support team, because we all hit walls, we all want to give up, we all want to stop. And we need people there that continue to believe in us even when we don't believe in ourselves, and that have the practical skills. Like my friend Paul Lamb, that invited me to speak at that event and then gave me his business plan so I could see how that was done too. And then how do you really market and sell yourself, right? Like, what is your unique value that you're providing and how do you communicate that to the world and then really creating a vision. I mean, the truth is we have this vision and it may evolve and change over time. But for me, my mission is to help as many people as I possibly can, live their passion and purpose. And I never expected to work for UCSD on that, help them with that project. I never expected to write a book. I never expected to be on stage with Stem and Graham. I never expected all this. But it doesn't matter as long as I'm helping as many people as I can. And so when you have that vision and that clarity, the opportunities come in and then the ability to network and meet the right people to make it happen as well. So those are the steps.

Beautiful, beautiful. So with the couple of minutes that we've got left, Marci, will you share a little bit about what your success rituals look like? What are some of those things that you do on a daily basis to help you keep to the plan? Because as you said, you know, creating a vision, then having those support teams around and people that'll, not only, you know, who are the stakeholders that those are people that I like to call the people that directly are going to benefit from your success, and they're going to be rooting for you. And then who are the mentors, the people who have been there before that have wisdom and can guide you and not so much coaching you as they are showing you a bit of a path, you know, et cetera. And then obviously, coaching is. Is super important as well, to have that support people that will kind of not just support you, but hold you accountable. That's what a coach is great to do. And then, of course, who are the people that you collaborate with? Who are the people that you mastermind with that kind of thing? So it's all part of the process. And to me, everything, once you have your clarity and once you have these sort of actions that you take to get momentum, you also have to have things that are habitual that support you. And I call those master habits. I refer to them as rituals. So what are some of the rituals that you have that support you in all that you're doing for your business and for the world?

Well, I think for me, I really do have a clear vision of my life and what my priorities are. And really, for me, I've got to make sure that I'm. And with that, for me is body, mind, spirit. So we live in San Diego, right? So we have no excuse to not be. I am outside every morning, hiking Mount Soledade or being in the trees or going down to the beach at wind and sea, meditating, connecting to the higher source. You know, turning my life over and just saying, like, just help me be the best that I can today and be of service wherever I can. So I've got that clear from. And the physical part, too, right? The working out and I really work on trying to eat as healthy as I can. You know, maybe some ice cream here and there, but. And then I have two beautiful boys, Cameron's 15 and Logan's 12. And they are. I can't do Youth Success Week if my own kids are not successful, right. So they are really an important priority to connect with them, to be surrounded, like you said, to check in with my support team, my friends, my family, my colleagues. I really believe in reading. And right now, by the way, I'm reading Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run biography, which is awesome, and the Dalai Lama's spiritual journey. And I love, still really love to learn about other cultures. I'm actually reading right now about Native American spirituality and all the ceremonies talk about rituals. I mean, I've learned so much from Native American rituals. So for me, it's making sure that all those areas are being tapped into throughout my day and having systems in place too, to make sure that I am on point with everything that I need to do now.

It's so key because there's so many. I mean, there's pressure and there's pressure in every business. It doesn't, you know, to me, people think that, you know, if you live in, like, certainly people from New York and New Jersey, where I grew up, they think you move out to California and all of a sudden, you know, things will be easier or you've got the life. And the truth of the matter is we take ourselves with us wherever we go. It doesn't matter whether you're under palm trees, you're under snow, you still have to deal with, right? And you have to deal with you and you have to deal with others. And in order to have a really fulfilling life, I believe you have to be in service, you know, and service is draining. I mean, you give, you give, you give. And my own sense of how it is that we're able to serve greater is that we're also willing to receive, willing to fill up, you know, and then we have to make sure that we fill ourselves back up. And so what I heard you saying was rituals that involve sort of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well being. So getting to the beach, hiking, walking, putting good food in your body, taking time with your kids, all of those things are refilling your cup so that you have this overflowing cup and you're able to then give that much more in the work that you do, because your work is very much in service to people that want to find their clarity, you know, create clarity about what they're what they're here to do and what they want to do, what they're passionate about doing and help them to get about doing that.

So that's it. You summarize that perfectly.

Checking my listening skills, I guess. Right. Awesome. It's so cool to be on with another fellow Jerseyite. And I love. I haven't read it yet, but I was reading just something about Bruce Springsteen's book, and I am gonna pick it up, because I think it's wonderful when somebody who's an icon. He's certainly been an icon to me forever, you know, since I was a kid. And we were listening to, like, Greetings from Asbury park and Born to Run and, you know, the Wild and the Innocent. Anyway, for him to sort of be vulnerable, as I believe it's been said, he's quite vulnerable in this book about depression. Yeah, I think is just incredible. So it's a blessing when people reveal themselves. And I want to thank you for being willing to reveal something about yourself today. And I know it's. It's. It's really important that for myself and for everybody, that we get to learn from where other people have both made mistakes and where they've succeeded. And that's what I look. I look at pivoting as a bit of an analogy for how to turn the things that are going on in our lives, how to take the things that are going on in our lives and utilize them so that nothing goes to waste. So it's a bit of alchemy, if you will, taking, you know, sometimes the things that are going on in our lives, we absolutely love, and we want to just continue to make that happen. Right. Duplicate that. But oftentimes, I think the toughest thing is not. Is not really in how to deal with our success, although that can provide challenge, but how to. How to deal with our failure or how to deal with the things that we call failure and then alchemize that into the thing that ultimately becomes, you know, one of the. One of the. One of the things we're most pleased about, proud of, and becomes our legacy. So it sounds like, you know, you've had a life that's enabled you to have challenges, and you've turned those challenges around, and you continue to do that on a daily basis, and that's an inspiration to everybody.

So thank you, Marci, and thank you for everything that you're doing to really support people with pivot and all the other work that you do. That's uplifting humanity. It's really great. I feel really honored to be on this call with you and to know you.

Yeah. Sending you love.

No Samos.

All right, everybody, so hope you enjoyed Marci Morrison. And Marci, what's the website where people can find out more about your brand of coaching and counseling?

Careers with wings.

Say it one more time if you could.

Careers with wings, calm.

Perfect. Careers with wings, calm. Awesome. And for everybody else that's out there listening, definitely check in for the next installment of our Conscious Pivot podcast. You can also go to AdamMarkel.com and check out the blog on Facebook. Follow us there. Lots and lots of resources. We're just having. I hate to say it, or I don't even want to hate to say it. I don't hate to say it. We're just having so much fun. So come and join us and have fun. Learn some things and get out there and move yourself. Move yourself forward. That's really the deal more than anything else. So we love you. Ciao for now, everybody.

Thanks for listening, everyone. We hope you now have the tools and greater insights to navigate your own Pivot. Help help us inspire others by sharing this episode and leaving your comments over@adammarkel.com podcasts for more tips, strategies and support as you consciously pivot into a new business and lifestyle you love, Join our Pivot community on facebook@pivotfb.com.