Being Successful in Your Second Career

Mastering The Second Innings – Part 5

(A dozen years ago, I made a difficult exit from a twenty year career in advertising. My wife and I started Bullzi Inc with the idea of following my passion and her experience – in developing and mentoring people. We survived and today Bullzi Inc works with organisations across continents and the work has morphed and grown. I am living my Second Innings. The definition for that, given to me by someone is ‘one where a person reinvents into a new direction’.

Many friends, business associates and acquaintances keep asking me how I managed to make the switch into a second career. What could one expect?  How do you choose the time?  How do you know what to do? And if you have decided all that how do you gather the courage to make the leap? I talked to 15 other people who had successfully made the switch. Others who are great Second Innings batters. In this part the focus is on what constitutes Success).

Before deciding to become a personal wealth consultant, he was the CEO of an iconic consumer brand’s India operations. On the road for 15 days a month, frequent flyer miles that paid for first class international travel for his family, more cars than family members, each car nudging the other in size and worries about where to invest his surplus money! Alongside he had a stubborn hypertension that caused even more worry, a relationship with his wife that was headed south and children who had suddenly ‘grown up’.  Despite his success, he was experiencing a deep dissatisfaction and felt disconnected with what he was doing.

Today he is happy to travel in taxis and smaller cars, takes a number of small breaks a year with his family (often travelling by train) and plays a sport 3 times a week at least. His laptop and smartphone are his office. His business works on referrals and on pitching. He leaves his ego at home when he seeks business and looks about 10 years younger and his BP rarely shoots over 135/85. If you ask him, he will tell you his second career has been a huge success.

He still does not make the money he made when he had quit his job.

Here is the story of another successful Second Innings batter. This person grew up in a middle class household in small town Gujarat. Was academically gifted. Was conscious of wanting to do something to affect positive change on the ground in the country. Went to the US for higher studies and earned a PhD. Started teaching, with the objective of making enough money to come back and start his own mission-based organisation in India. Before he realized, years had flown by and he was on the brink of getting his ‘tenure’. That is what every college teacher in the US aims for. It is when your job is ‘permanent’, you can choose what you want to work on and life becomes great. He could see the ‘American Dream’ turning into reality.

Then, it happened. A congenital heart problem recurred and he was days away from kissing this world goodbye. It was as if the ‘universe had sent me a message’.

Even though he did not have as much money as he thought he needed, he came back to India. The organisation he founded works at strengthening free market and democracy in India. He is happy working with think tanks, policy makers and other stakeholders to see that there is real change on the ground. A lot of the work is at times truly frustrating and cynicism is just a heartbeat away. Not so with him.  He is absolutely living his purpose. The ticker, (touch wood) is fine and he is bounding around with the energy of a 20 year old.

Every story of a successful Second Innings player has similar strands.

Success is not defined in the same way as you would in your First Innings. The narrative is quite different and it would be very useful for you to ponder on these if you are thinking of making the switch. Power, job title, money, perks etc. are not the key determinants of success.

Some of the ways in which the success definition is different are:

1. Its about YOU not others

The successful Second Innings player is really playing by his own rules. The external manifestations of what is accepted as success are not that important. Hence the size of car, how big the office is, how much billing and other such measures that the old world where she/he comes do not apply. My little outfit – Bullzi works with clients across continents. When people ask me where my office is, I take great pleasure in informing them that my global headquarters are at the same address where I live. It’s fun to watch people’s reactions to that one.

Is the work ‘meaningful’, ‘high quality’, ‘the kind I wanted to do’ are more important criteria. ‘Am I being authentic?’ was an important yardstick that they judged themselves by.

2. Not all about Money, honey

Don’t get me wrong. None of the successful Second Innings players have said they do not care about money. Most of them are family people and had EMIs, school/college fees, entertainment needs, medical emergencies and often aging parents to take care of. However, they did not measure their success by how much money they made. Many did not even make as much as they did in their last jobs but made more than enough to enjoy a life where they did not feel deeply deprived. The measures continued to be about meaning, quality of life, relationships and quality of work.

One of the things I have observed is that their incomes increased over a period of time. That was because they did the work they enjoyed. They worked with passion and focus. Over the long term, that pays off in life.

3. Growing from Inside

‘I am back on the learning curve’, said with a sparkle in the eye and a smile on the lips. The act of reinventing their careers meant that Second Innings players had to focus on learning all over again. They found the whole journey fulfilling as it exposed them to new ideas, new people and new facets of their own selves. The fact that they could learn again, so much, was empowering. You will notice a sense of childish excitement and positivity in them, when they are talking about what they do now.

As a result, they are more open to learning and less dogmatic, which of course will help you become more successful any time any place.

In my observation, the successful Second Innings players were more at ease with their own selves, handled relationships better, had interesting points of view and were a source of inspiration to others.

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.”
― Albert Einstein