Here's an action plan for career change if you are really committed to building a life for yourself, a life that revolves around who you are... while allowing you to become who you want to become...
It's not for those seeking a quick fix, but if you are really determined that you want to have the experience of your own life, and want to know how to make decisions so that you deliberately and with intention choose your own path and stay on it, read on...!
Learn to make decisions to keep step one intact. Decisions that come from you, that are aligned with who you are, and that will allow you to manifest yourself in the world.
Until you learn how to make decisions in this way, the rest of the steps in this action plan for career change will be of little value. In fact, without knowing, any action plan for career change will be worthless in terms of your living your own life.
Establish what you are passionate about. If you are over 12 years of age, this will be obvious. If not to you, then to those close to you. There's something that you love doing and already you're probably very good at it. For many people it will be something that they don't think they could make a living at.
This stage of the action plan for career change is one that catches many people. They want to know how exactly the next 5 or 10 years will go before they do anything. They want to know the specific steps that they are going to have to take along the way.
But you can't even know what the second step is going to be until you've taken the first step! This especially applies to this action plan for career change...
Decide if you want to transition into this new career all at once or more slowly over time. Doing it all at once means that you will learn faster, start to earn income from it more quickly and you will no longer be compromising yourself in your own life.
Doing it more slowly feels safer for most people. They consider there will be less financial concerns, they won't have burned all their bridges, and it feels like it might be easier. The downside, of course, is that you might be doing things you don't want to be doing for several more years.
Start doing things, things that you think will get you from where you are to where you want to be. This does not mean gathering more information. It does not mean discussing it with more people. It does not mean writing out another action plan for career change.
It means taking deliberate action.
If you need to learn something, read a book or take a class. If you need help from somebody, go and ask them. If you need a career change cover letter, write one. If you want a particular job, send them your CV or go and visit your potential boss. If you're thinking of setting up your own business, make an appointment with an accountant.
Go and do things!
It doesn't really matter if they're not perfect. It's much easier to modify what you're doing than to initiate something new.