Chloe SpillaneYour personal career strategist - start here ↓

5 scary but necessary things you can do today to move your career forward

3 Sept 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:58

In this motivational monologue, Chloe Spillane urges viewers to stop waiting for permission and take bold, uncomfortable actions that can accelerate their careers. She outlines five concrete steps: (1) apply for jobs where you’re only about half‑qualified, (2) reach out to high‑profile contacts who seem out of reach, (3) publish an authentic but imperfect LinkedIn post, (4) discuss an ambitious, “pie‑in‑the‑sky” goal with a trusted person, and (5) have a frank conversation with your manager about your long‑term aspirations, even if you aim to become the CEO. Spillane emphasizes that speaking your ambitions aloud and pairing them with small, brave actions makes those goals more attainable, despite the fear and nervousness that accompany them.

Chapters

If you want to stop waiting to give yourself permission to take that next step in your career, here's some really scary things you can do today to start making that happen. You're going to apply for that role that you're only 50% qualified for. You've got to send that email, do that networking request, or call that person that is completely out of your league, but someone that you really want to work for. You're going to put a post up on LinkedIn and it's not going to be perfect, but it is going to be sharing a real point of view that comes from you. You're going to speak to someone that's really close to you and talk about a really crazy out there pie in the sky goal that you have for yourself. You're going to make it real. You're going to have a conversation with your manager about where you honestly want to go in that company. If you want to be the CEO, you're going to tell them. If you want to be in their role, you're also going to tell them that. Start telling the people around you where you aspire to be and who you want to become, because the more you start talking about it and taking action alongside that, the more likely that it's going to happen. And yeah, it's going to feel scary. Yeah, you're going to feel nervous, but at least you're going to be taking small little steps to actually make it happen instead of being complacent and staying exactly where you are, because who wants that?