Over the holidays I rewatched one of my favorite-of-all-time movies, and quickly realized that I had to recommend it to my community of Next Steppers.
The film is Julie & Julia: The story of career-deflated Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams), who is stuck in a job she hates and finds a creative way to pursue what she loves -- FOOD. Intertwined with Julie’s story is the real unfolding of the life and career of Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep), who didn’t start cooking until her 30’s and went on to become one of the most celebrated chefs of all time.
There are two reasons this movie is a must-watch assignment from your loving career coach:
You will be INSPIRED to create a career you love. You will laugh, you’ll tear up, and you’ll feel more optimistic and motivated about the possibilities for your future.
You will learn HOW to create a career you love. Because both Julie and Julia’s stories showcase the exact ingredients required to make a meaningful career change.
What are those ingredients? Allow me to break them down for you…
Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep), realizing her love of food.
The Curiosity: Something that makes you go, “Ooh.. I like that.”
Many career searchers are expecting a job title to hit them like a thunderbolt, accompanied by a heavenly chorus shouting, “THIS IS YOUR PERFECT JOBBB!” In reality, right-fit careers start off much more subtly, with a curiosity that simply piques your interest and beckons you to look a little closer.
To identify your curiosities, start noticing when you're passionately talking about something, or excitedly listening to someone speak about an issue, or seeking out movies or books or articles related to a particular topic, or feeling in flow during an activity. THAT is your curiosity, and it is worth exploring!
Julia finding her flow in cooking class.
The Exploration: The process of looking a little closer...
...by reading about your curiosity, talking to someone about it, taking a course, joining a club, attending an event. Julia Child explored multiple curiosities; she joined a bridge club (which she found boring), she signed up for a hat-making class (unbearable!), but when she enrolled in cooking classes, she quickly learned that food was the curiosity that she had to follow.
To figure out what you want to do, first you've got to explore what you might want to do. The more tiny actions you take, the quicker you’ll learn which curiosity calls to you, and which ones are worth letting go. You’ll learn the variety of ways you could turn your curiosity into an actual career, and start seeing the path to get there.
Julie Powell (Amy Adams) cooking while her husband cheers her on.
The Ally: The person who says, “YES, you could do this! And I will help you.”
For Julie, this was her husband (I love the scene where she asks him, “Is this crazy?” and he replies, “Yes!” with a massive smile on his face). For Julia Child, it was Simone Beck, a cookbook writer who she met in the bathroom at an event. Simone invited Julia to host cooking classes with her, and Julia’s cooking career was off to the races.
You never know who your allies will be, but one thing is certain: you have to talk about your curiosity to find them. Tell everyone in your life what you’re interested in -- some of them are certain to know people who will become your allies and help you along your way.
Julie out to lunch with her friends who don’t believe in her potential.
The Adversary: The person who says, “You can't do this, it’s too [hard, crazy, risky, etc.]”
Julia Child's instructor told her she would never be a talented chef. Julia's first editors were certain that her cookbook wouldn’t appeal to American women. What do these people have in common? They were dead wrong. And mean.
We all encounter adversaries on our journey. They may appear professionally, or they may present themselves as well-meaning family or friends. But don’t let them dissuade you from following your curiosity and seeing where it leads you. Stay close to your allies. They are the people who have enough information to weigh in on what’s actually possible, and who are most likely to lead you in the direction of your authentic happiness.
Julie’s meltdown after spilling her stuffed chicken all over the floor.
The Moment(s) of Weakness: When you think to yourself, “This is too hard.”
It may be your first rejection. Or your 10th. It may be that instant before you walk into the interview room when you’re doubting whether you’re qualified or worthy. It could be a big setback, or a phase of frustration over a lack of progress.
Both Julie and Julia experience multiple moments of weakness and failure (and if you look at the career trajectory of any accomplished person you’ll see a similar track record). But of course, what unites them all is that they found the inner strength to get back up, and as my grandmother would say, “keep swimming.” They saw the inherent value of their exploration, and reframed their moment of weakness as an unavoidable step towards success.
An important mini-breakthrough moment for Julie.
The Breakthrough: The moment it clicks.
The breakthrough is not the end of the story -- it usually happens somewhere in the middle, after at least a handful of rejections or iterations. For Julie, this was the moment a reader mailed her some hot sauce. For Julia, it was when a publisher came on board for her cookbook.
Breakthroughs are not large-scale moments -- they’re the small but significant ones that tell you you’re onto something. They’re the ones that declare, “Someone’s listening, you’re getting there, keep going.” Watch for these. Notice them. Celebrate them! They will fuel your fire and make it impossible for you to turn back.
Of course not every career transition unfolds in exactly this way or order. And you may be thinking to yourself, “Gosh, that’s a lot of work!”
It is.
Yet I always tell my clients that it’s good work. It’s the work you enjoy because it’s focused on something you love. It’s work that connects you to good people who love what you love. It’s work that helps you build new skills, new knowledge, new confidence and insight into where your future could lead.
So cue up Julie & Julia (on Netflix now!) and enjoy!
And please chime in with comments below -- I’d love to know which part of the movie you find most inspiring or what about this breakdown was most useful for you.