333: Give Yourself Permission To Have the Career You Want with Mitch Matthews
Job Search, Promotion, and Career Clarity: The Mid-Career GPS Podcast
Permission to Not Have All Answers
John asks about AI-era pressure; Mitch reframes leadership value as asking questions and inviting collaboration.
Feeling successful on paper but disconnected from your work at mid-career? You are not alone.
In this episode, I sit down with Mitch Matthews, success coach and host of the Dream Think Do podcast, to unpack what real career change looks like when you stop waiting for permission and start creating it yourself.
We talk candidly about that moment when you are busy, accomplished, and respected, yet no longer energized by the work you are doing. Mitch shares a powerful personal story about accepting a promotion that looked perfect on paper but felt wrong almost immediately. Instead of making a reckless leap, he honored his responsibilities while quietly building a new path through small, intentional experiments.
This conversation is especially relevant if you are a mid-career professional seeking greater career clarity, questioning what is next, or feeling stuck in a job that no longer fits. We explore how progress does not require a dramatic exit or a master plan. It requires permission, curiosity, and consistent action.
In this episode, you will learn:
- Why permission at mid-career is an internal decision, not something granted by a boss or organization
- How small, low-risk experiments can help you test new career directions without blowing up your current role
- The 15-minute rule and how five short blocks a week can compound into more than 60 hours of focused progress each year
- Why the safest place to explore new ideas is often outside the high-stakes environment of your day job
- What it looks like to lead without having all the answers and why saying “I don’t know, let’s figure it out together” builds trust
- How to use AI as a practical thinking partner instead of a buzzword or replacement for judgment
- Why automation is increasing the value of authenticity, clarity, and human leadership
- How to spot perfectionism when it is disguising itself as procrastination
- Why starting small and messy creates more durable career change than waiting for the perfect plan
Mitch is also sharing his free training, Finding Time for Your Next Chapter, designed to help you carve out focused time for what matters most in this stage of your career.
Access it at mitchmathews.com/time and use coupon code GPS for free access.
Connect with Mitch Matthews
Visit https://johnneral.com/resources to:
- Grab my free 15-minute audio briefing about why doing good work at mid-career is no longer "good enough."
- Subscribe to my free leadership and career newsletter
- Get The Mid-Career Clarity Code to help you figure out whatever is next for you and your career
Please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts here.
Connect with John on LinkedIn here.
Get John's New Mid-Career Journal on Amazon here.
Follow John on Instagram @johnneralcoaching.
Subscribe to John's YouTube Channel here.
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