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Picture this: A poster of me, at the age of 16, modelling sunglasses in Hong Kong, looking glamorous with them perched stylishly on top of my head. Not protecting my eyes, just making a fashion statement. [Click this link to view my 1975 poster]

Fast forward 50 years to last Wednesday, and I'm recovering from painful pterygium surgery with my bandaged eye, staring at that very poster on my wall. The irony? I spent decades with the solution literally on my head, just a few inches too high to do any good.

What has this to do with Career Success? Listen to this compelling episode which will make you reflect on the choices we make early on in our lives and careers, and the consequences of bad choices (or avoiding what we must do for future success).

Key takeaways from episode 274 of Your Career Podcast:

1. Prevention is Always Better than the Cure

The most striking lesson is how much easier, and less painful, it is to protect yourself proactively rather than fix problems later.

My 1975 sunglasses story perfectly illustrates this: a simple daily habit of wearing eye protection could have prevented surgery, seven weeks of recovery, multiple medications, and significant pain.

This applies to every area of life: career, health, relationships.

2. Physical Health and Career Success Are Inseparable

You can't compartmentalise your wellbeing. When you're running on empty physically, you can't show up fully in your career.

Job searching requires stamina, resilience, and clarity of mind. Career transitions demand energy for networking, interviewing, and decision-making.

If you haven't been taking care of your foundation, sleep, nutrition, exercise, boundaries, you're essentially trying to climb Mount Everest with a broken ankle.

3. Self-Care Is Strategic, Not Selfish

The biggest mindset shift is viewing self-care as protection rather than decoration. Just like networking shouldn't be something you only do when you need a job, taking care of yourself shouldn't be something you postpone until "things calm down."

Your future self is counting on the choices you make today, and time moves faster than we think. What feels like a distant future becomes today in the blink of an eye - sometimes literally.

Listen to my personal story which we all can relate to, especially those considering a career change when unprepared.

What will YOU do to ensure you don’t leave your metaphorical sunglasses on top of your head instead of what they were designed to do?

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>>> For career clarity and confidence, download Jane's career resources at janejacksoncoach.com

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