Should I Stay or Should I Go?

“Should I Stay or Should I Go” is a famous song from the 1980s by the English punk rock group The Clash. Aside from the significance of being included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, I find much wisdom contained in the provocative question asked by that song title.

In a recent post I referred to the journey of creating or repairing your personal brand when you are engaged in a search for new career employment. Sometimes, however, a person needs to take a literal journey to different physical location where searching for new career employment will be augmented.

I will share my own personal and professional experiences to help you if you are currently engaged in a search for new career employment. I relocated from Phoenix, Arizona in 1995 to take a Washington, DC executive speechwriting career job. I am one of those people who loves living in the Desert Southwest, but the career employment opportunity in DC had to become my main priority.

Relocating from the desert to DC was one of those famous Life Changing Experiences, to say the least. I believe that there is very little that DC shares in common with life in the western deserts of the United States. For me, living in the desert developed a deep and enduring bond between myself and the physical environment. The simplest way to explain this is to say that I created a spiritual connection with the earth while living in the desert.

After the Great Recession hit in 2007, although I could continue to make a living in the DC market, I started feeling as though my life path needed to take me back to the Desert Southwest. My answer to the “Should I Stay or Should I Go” question was to stay in DC. During August 2012, however, I answered “Should I Go” with a clear “yes!” and I relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada.

What can others gain from my lessons learned? Most importantly, you must accept that staying where you presently live may not be the best thing for your life and your career. Believe me, it is not easy to pack up and move 2,500 miles across the country. This relocation already feels like another of those famous Life Changing Experiences.

Only you can answer your own “Should I Stay or Should I Go” question. If you are like me, you may discover after weighing all the factors that choosing to stay where you are is not the best for your career. Choosing to go is very difficult and when you get to the actual moving away day, you will encounter both emotional and financial challenges that are not fun. But, if you are like me, you may discover that augmenting your personal brand requires you to move your life and your career to some other place. One’s personal brand may need such a reboot or restart from time to time. I urge you to face this kind of life change bravely and with determination all the while knowing that there will be experiences in this journey that are not fun.

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