WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.900 Let me ask you something most career courses never ask: 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:01.899 Should you actually be looking for a new job right now? 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Seriously. Before we talk about your resume. Before we talk about LinkedIn. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:03.899 Before we talk about interviewing. We need to answer the question that comes 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:04.900 BEFORE all of that. 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:05.900 Because here's what I see happen all the time: Someone has a bad week — maybe a 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:06.900 frustrating meeting, a missed promotion, an email that made them feel invisible 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:07.900 — and suddenly they're on job boards at midnight, rage-applying to anything with 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:08.900 a decent title. 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:09.900 Or the opposite: someone's been miserable for months — maybe years — but they 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:10.900 keep telling themselves, "It's not THAT bad," or "I've been here too long to 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:11.900 start over. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:12.900 Both of these are emotional decisions. And emotional decisions about your career 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:13.900 tend to be expensive. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:14.900 So before we do anything else — anything — we're going to do what professionals 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:15.900 do: we're going to use a framework. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:16.899 I created something called the Stay/Go Decision Matrix. It's simple, it's 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:17.899 honest, and it takes about fifteen minutes — but it might save you months of 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:18.899 wasted effort. Here's how it works. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:19.899 You're going to score your current role across eight dimensions. Not how you 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:20.899 WISH it was. Not how it was when you started. How it is RIGHT NOW, today. Each 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:21.899 one gets a score from one to ten. The eight dimensions are: 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:22.899 One — Fulfillment. Does the actual work feel meaningful to you? Not impressive 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:23.899 to other people. Meaningful to YOU. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:24.899 Two — Growth Trajectory. Are you learning? Is there a clear path to your next 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:25.899 level? Or are you just doing the same year on repeat? 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:26.899 Three — Compensation. Are you being paid fairly — at or above market rate — for 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:27.899 what you bring? 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:28.899 Four — Culture and Values. Do you respect the people around you? Does the 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:29.899 company actually live its values, or just print them on the wall? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:30.899 Five — Your Manager. This one's huge. Does your direct manager support you, 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:31.899 advocate for you, and get out of your way? Or are they a daily source of stress? 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:32.899 Six — Work-Life Integration. Can you live the life you want with this job? Think 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:33.899 commute, hours, flexibility, energy when you get home. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:34.899 Seven — Stability. Is the company healthy? Is your role safe? If there's a 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:35.899 layoff coming, you need to factor that in. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:36.899 Eight — Industry Relevance. Are you building skills the market values? Or are 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:37.899 you becoming an expert in something only your current company cares about? 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:38.899 Add them up. You'll get a score between eight and eighty. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:39.899 Now here's the interpretation. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:40.899 If you scored sixty-five to eighty — honestly — you're probably in a good spot. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:41.899 Don't blow it up. Instead, focus on improving the one or two dimensions that 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:42.899 scored low. Maybe it's a compensation conversation. Maybe it's a conversation 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:43.899 with your manager about growth. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:44.899 Forty-five to sixty-four — there are real problems, but they might be fixable. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:45.899 Start exploring quietly. Network. Research. But don't panic. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:46.899 Twenty-five to forty-four — multiple areas are failing. It's time to plan a 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:47.899 structured exit. Keep performing, but start building your escape route. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:48.899 Eight to twenty-four — this role is hurting you. Your career, your health, your 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:49.899 confidence. Get out, but get out strategically. Even urgency requires a plan. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:50.899 And here's one critical rule: if ANY single dimension scores a three or below, 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:51.899 that's a red flag regardless of your total. A toxic manager — a two out of ten — 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:52.899 can poison an otherwise great role. A company that's about to go under makes 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:53.899 everything else irrelevant. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:54.899 Before you fill in the matrix, I want you to do something first. I want you to 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:55.899 build a Career Happiness Timeline. Here's what you do. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:56.899 Get a piece of paper — or open a blank document — and list every significant 00:00:57.000 --> 00:00:57.899 role you've held. Every job, every major gig, even volunteer work if it was 00:00:58.000 --> 00:00:58.899 meaningful. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:00:59.899 For each one, give it a happiness score. One to ten. Based on how you actually 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:00.899 felt during the MAJORITY of your time there. Not the best day. Not the worst 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:01.899 day. The average. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:02.899 Now plot them on a timeline. Earliest on the left, most recent on the right. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:03.899 Draw a line connecting the dots. What you're looking for is patterns. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:04.900 Where are the peaks? What was happening during your happiest work periods? Was 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:05.900 it the people? The independence? The challenge level? The mission? 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:06.900 Where are the valleys? What went wrong? Was it the actual work or was it the 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:07.900 environment? 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:08.900 Do you see cycles? Some people thrive for about three years and then get 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:09.900 restless. That's not a bug — it's data. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:10.900 And look at the overall trend line. Is it going up, down, or flat? Because a 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:11.900 downward trend means something systemic needs to change. A new job that looks 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:12.900 just like the last one won't fix it. 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:13.900 This timeline doesn't tell you what job to apply for. It tells you what 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:14.900 CONDITIONS you need to be happy at work. And that's way more important. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:15.900 Now, I want to talk about the single biggest reason people stay in jobs they 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:16.900 should leave. It's called the sunk cost fallacy, and it sounds like this: 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:17.900 I've been here eight years — I can't just throw that away. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:18.900 I worked so hard to get promoted — walking away now would waste all of that. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:19.900 My pension vests in two more years — I just need to hang on. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:20.900 Here's the thing about sunk costs: they're gone. The time you already spent? 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:21.900 It's spent. The promotions you already earned? They're on your resume forever. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:22.900 Nothing you do now — staying OR leaving — gives you that time back. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:23.900 The only question that matters is: What do I want to invest my time in GOING 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:24.900 FORWARD? So here's the audit. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:25.900 Write down every reason you're staying in your current role. Every single one. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:26.900 Then ask yourself, for each reason: Is this about the PAST or the FUTURE? 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:27.900 I've invested so much time here" — that's the past. Cross it out. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:28.900 I still have great growth opportunities" — that's the future. That stays. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:29.900 When you cross out every sunk cost reason, what's left? If the only remaining 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:30.900 reasons are fear-based — things like "I might not find anything better" or 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:31.900 "Starting over sounds terrifying" — that's important information. Fear is not a 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:32.900 strategy. Here's what I want you to take away from this lesson: 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:33.900 The decision to search is the first and most important career move you'll make. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:34.900 Most people skip it entirely. They either jump too fast or stay too long. Both 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:35.900 cost you. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:36.900 Use the matrix. Plot the timeline. Do the audit. Let the data tell you what your 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:37.900 gut already knows. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:38.900 And by the way — if the data says STAY, that's a win. Clarity is power. Knowing 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:39.900 you're in the right place is just as valuable as knowing you need to leave. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:40.900 If the data says GO — then you're not running from something. You're walking 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:41.900 toward something. And that's a completely different energy. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:42.900 Whatever the answer is, you now own the decision. And that's where everything 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:43.900 starts. I'll see you in the next lesson. **