Lessons from a Quitter Ep.15: How Lauretta Ihonor quit numerous careers, including as a doctor and journalist, to finally find her true passion
So many of the people that I talk to that feel stuck and want to quit have the same fear: What if I quit this stable career and the next thing I try doesn’t work out? Or, even if it does work out, what if I don’t like that career either? It seems like staying in what you know, even if you are unhappy, is a better decision.
Well, that is why I’m so excited to have the inspiring Lauretta Ihonor on the show today. Lauretta didn’t quit one, or two, careers. She has quit 5 different careers in order to find her true passion and lead a life she loves.
Lauretta started her professional life as a medical doctor after graduating from University College London in 2008. After working as a junior doctor at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London for a year, she left medicine to find a career that felt better suited to her. This turned into an almost decade-long journey, that involved four degrees, five career changes and six careers (including working as a fashion stylist for Net a Porter, and as a TV journalist/producer for the BBC and CNN International). After noticing the lack of support for career changers in the UK, she founded The Ambition Plan - a digital career change platform for ambitious women who are eager to do fulfilling work, but unsure of what they truly want to do with their lives - in May 2018. The Ambition Plan now provides career clarity coaching, masterclasses and online expert-led resources to help women across the globe get clear about what they want to do with their lives and create a plan for doing so.
Lauretta’s journey is a testament to the fact that you don’t have to have it all figured out. Once you take that first jump, you gain the courage and confidence to know that you’ll figure it out. And you also realize that you never have to settle, no matter how many jumps it takes.
Here is what we chat about in this episode:
- How Lauretta walked away from being a doctor, even when her supervisors thought she needed a psychological evaluation for deciding to leave.
- How she went on a decade long journey, including working in fashion, journalism, and nutritional consulting, to find her true passion.
- Why Lauretta feels that she is luckier than most people.
- How a career coach was pivotal in helping her gain the clarity she needed to find her calling
- Why she developed The Ambition Plan and where she hopes to take it.
- Why you should never make a decision from a place of fear
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- The 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss
- Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
- Mind Valley, Christie Marie Sheldon.
Where to find Lauretta:
- Website: theambitionplan.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/theambitionplan
- Twitter: twitter.com/theambitionplan
- Facebook: facebook.com/theambitionplan
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/theambitionplan
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