Tailor-Made Career - Insights From a Motivational Speaker

my name’s Julian Mather

a sincere welcome to the start of something new

here we are in episode 1

 

I’m part of a workplace revolution that’s coming

and it is at odds

with what I hear when I switch on the radio.    

It’s all doom and gloom about the changing workforce,

robots taking people’s jobs,

workers over 50 are deemed unemployable

the suicide rate of over 50 year olds is climbing fastest of all age groups.

 

Yet I’m 55 and I wake up every day

feeling my best years are ahead of me.

I’m experiencing more opportunity now

than I’ve ever experienced before

and I’ve gotta say I’ve had a really good run so far.

 

I feel anything but a victim of a changing workforce.

I feel I have so much more to give

and I’ve found a way to give it.

 

So what do I know that you may not know?

 

That’s what this tailor made career podcast is all about.

Letting you know what I’ve discovered

that has changed my life

that has put me back in control of my life

that lets me go to sleep every night feeling fulfilled

 

This first episode is what I call my opportunity manifesto

it outlines my ideas

and my arguments

lets you know who I am

and whether you think you can benefit from any of this.

 

let’s get right into it

 

Have you ever looked down the barrel of a rifle?

If you have you’ll have seen what’s called rifling.

These are curved lines etched into the hard steel

 

these curved lines

they spin the bullet before it leaves the barrel because …

 

The first 100 yards of a bullet’s flight is the most unstable

before it settles into it’s trajectory.

It’s like the bum of the bullet wobbles

This spinning helps it regain it’s stability

 

so it starts to fly smoothly to the target

 

Life’s sort of like that.

We are blasted out of the school system

and it’s all a whirl

and a lot of us have shaky starts

until we find our feet and settle into our careers

on target for a comfortable retirement.

 

But let me tell you things don’t always go as planned,

bullets have a tendency to ricochet off things before they ever hit the target

and if you’ve ever been around a ricocheting bullet

I can tell you

it’s scary and unpredictable

 

How would you handle that?

If all of a sudden your life headed in an uncertain direction.

Your health went? You were laid off? Circumstances changed?

 

That’s what the Tailor Made Career podcast

is here to help you answer

Maybe there’s a new career for you

that right at this moment

you don’t even know exists

 

and to help you transition

from the one job for life mindset

that most 40 to 60 years olds

were indoctrinated with

when they entered the workforce

 

You can now, quite literally, tailor make a career unique to you.

I’m doing it. I’m living it.

and I’m excited

to be able to introduce you

to this new life / work mix.

 

Right now is like no time before in history

especially for 40 to 60 year olds.

you can leverage your life experience,

your hard won knowledge,

your relative financial stability,

your wits

and your deep down belief that you have more to say,

more to give,

more to ‘be’

than just a cog in this big post industrial workforce.

 

And it is very real that you can,

bit by bit,

in a satisfying way,

create multiple streams of income doing something that fulfils you.

I’m doing this right now.

 

So let’s break this down

why am I 55 and experiencing more opportunity

than I’ve ever experienced before ?

 

It’s certainly not because I’m particularly clever, I’m not.

it’s not because of any business or financial prowess.

I have no connections or privilege or pedigree.

 

It’s because I’ve noticed something

 

For the past ten years

that I’ve been making money online,

 

I’ve noticed that

counter to popular opinion,

there are as many,

if not more opportunities for the older generation

than there are for the younger generation.

 

The young lions in their 20’s and 30’s

they’re forging ahead building new platforms

for the 7 billion of us on planet earth

so you and I

we can socialise, transact, create and learn.

That last word is the key. … learn

Teaching and learning online is exploding.

 

This is the area I am currently tailor making my own new career in.

 

and this is where it gets interesting and exciting.

 

the under 35 generation have created these online platforms

 

they’ve breathed life and soul into these platforms

 

they’re changing the world with these platforms

 

they’re taking over the reins from us over 50’s

and galloping off in a new direction

 

but

in doing so

they’ve created a monster

 

a monster that needs to be fed on content:

stories, anecdotes, experiences, knowledge

 

the paradox is

 

these creators are young.

 

and the young

by definition means

they have less stories, less anecdotes, less experiences

 

The over 40’s , the ones who often feel excluded online, by definition:

have more stories, more anecdotes, more experiences, more knowledge

 

So I reckon

if you are over 40,

you have the VITAL ingredient

that will fuel much of the online learning over the next decade:

LIFE EXPERIENCE.

 

But that’s just the start. It gets better because over 40’s have assets they can trade on.

 

This is a very general list

but there’s a truth to it

certainly from what I’ve experienced

 

There’s

 

life assets:

financially stronger,

you maybe own your home or have good equity in it,

maybe you have some investments,

your kids are probably more independent

 

knowledge assets:

technical expertise,

career expertise,

life experience,

travel knowledge,

emotional experience

social experience

you could be a passionate hobbyist who says

with what I know

I could write a book on this stuff

 

time assets: maybe you’re retired,

maybe you’ve been laid off,

your kids have moved on,

maybe you are looking for something to fill your time

and just haven’t found it yet.

 

What leveraging these assets gives you

is flexibility and wiggle room

you can mix and match your assets

you can diversify your income

you can free yourself from being chained to a job you don’t like

 

This is exactly what I’m doing

I have money from a previous career in superannuation

so I have a bit of security there

 

Now our kids have moved out

we rent out spare rooms in our house on AirBnB

 

My wife works cause she loves to

so we have her income

 

I run my online businesses from home

and generate income

and I plan to create additional online businesses

because once you have the formula

this is repeatable

 

It gets better still.

 

The barrier to entry

to earning income online

is low.

Very low.

A handful of thousands of dollars type low.

Go back 20 years

and your opportunity to change career

came at very high price

and it was very risky.

To start an offline business - probably in a field you had no love for -

something like a franchise

meant going to the bank for a loan

which essentially meant having a mortgage over your house

which meant you lived with anxiety.

of course it’s the same now

the difference is back then you had no alternative

 

Now, online, is so different.

No one loses their house doing this.

If you don’t succeed financially first time

you are educating yourself,

keeping your vital life spirit fired up

equipping yourself with skills and knowledge

so you are better placed to be in control of your future.

Simply have another shot at it.

I did.

I didn’t get here first time around.

 

and you don’t have to jump all-in either

you may want to experiment with this on the side

test the waters so to speak

while you have the financial security of your job

this is how I began online

 

And of course you may just want tips and ideas

on how you can switch careers that have nothing to do with online.

Certainly you will get a lot from listening to these podcasts.

 

The rewards of my own tailor made career are sweet.

and the sweetest is the freedom I have

I love doing what I do

so it never feels like work

I operate from home,

I take my laptop with me to the coffee shop.

Anywhere there is an internet connection I can apply myself to this.

 

I’m in control, in the drivers seat, I’ve got my hand on the tiller.

I’ve invested in myself and leveraged my knowledge

and I feel good about this

so now I don’t have to simply cross my fingers behind my back

and hope my managed funds don’t tank

or house prices stagnate.

I’m actively diversifying my streams of income for my future.

I have options.

I have opportunity.

I have hope.

and I’m not making this up,

this is exactly what is happening to me now

 

 

all the nuts and bolts

on how to do all this

that will come later.

Right now there are two more pressing questions.

 

Question 1

Is this for you?

Easy one to answer.

If you are 100% in love with what you do now

then this is not for you.

you don’t need it. You’re there. all kudos to you.

 

however

If you don’t absolutely love what you do now

to the point that it simply doesn’t feel like work

then you should

and I mean really should

investigate this further

I don’t want you to get 5 years down the track

and wish you had looked at these ideas and insights 5 years earlier.

 

of course

this is not going to be for everyone

as much as I’m NOT going to be for everyone

which brings us to the second pressing question

 

will you and I be good travelling companions on this journey?

 

Let me take a few minutes to explain

why I think you’re not being provided with the best information you should be

why I think I can provide you with something better

 

Where I live in Brisbane, Australia

when you’re 16 years old you can get your learner’s permit

and start supervised driving

until you are 17

when you can go for your driving test.

 

In that one year period you have to log 100 hours of supervised driving.

That task usually falls to the parents.

So I did 100 hours of white knuckle passengering

while my daughter was a learner driver.

Imagine if you had 10 kids. a thousand hours.

 

We were on a busy main road coming up to a crossroads with traffic lights.

My daughter waits until the very last moment until she brakes and pulls up

with a l-u-r-c-h-i-n-g stop behind the stopped cars waiting for the red light.

 

Hey sweetie, you’ve got to anticipate

when see the brake lights on the cars ahead

and start braking earlier.

 

Ok, sure she said

 

Next set of traffic lights the same thing

we come to a lurching stop as she brakes very late

 

Hey sweetie, you’ve got to anticipate

when see the brake lights on the cars ahead

and start braking earlier.

 

Ok, sure she said

 

Third set of traffic lights she does exactly the same thing

and I go sweetie, what don’t you get here?

when you see the brake lights on the cars in front

already stopped at the traffic light

that’s your warning that you need to start slowing and braking

 

and she says

what are brake lights on cars?

PAUSE

and I had to concede that what I thought might be common knowledge

wasn’t

that was my mistake

and when I thought about it

she had never expressed any interest in cars or traffic

she has never been mechanically minded

every time she hops in a car with her friends

they talk and stare at their smart phones

when she’s been in a car

the outside world just passes her by

Why should I have have just assumed everyone knows this?

 

I tell you this because there is a tendency

for online training to assume

that you know things already

they teach fast

and they gloss over things

quite often these things are fundamental

and if you’ve never been told them

you end up struggling along

feeling frustrated and inadequate

and it really bugs me

because it happens way too much

 

so I am quite passionate

about creating a place for 40 to 60 year olds

to be able to learn and grow

a place that has information delivered in a clear way

in a voice that resonates

 

and this is what I find is missing

for me

personally

as a 55 year old

who just like you is learning online

and listening to podcasts

 

So many of the voices are 30 year olds

and while the information might be very useful

I don’t resonate with ‘them’

it’s not that I don’t like them

or value them

or respect them

I do

 

It’s just that ??

there’s a connection missing

which is understandable

30 somethings are a generation apart

I’m a crusty old 50 something

 

I’m using a broad brush here but this paints the picture

They are having their first child / my children are grown up

They are building a career / I’ve had a career, quite a few actually

They are often financially overwhelmed / I’m reasonably secure

They have less life experience/ I have deeper life experience

They willing to give it everything and take on the world /

I don’t need to give it everything and take on the world

 

So I want to offer an alternative voice

I don’t want to live every day at 110%

I don’t want to be totally awesome and super excited every time someone asks me a question

I just want to speak

about real tangible things that are making my life better

 

and temper it all with a good dose of reality

cause every day’s not a great day

 

and integrity is important to me

I’m not going to ask you to do anything

I haven’t done myself

 

Everything I will tell you is born of my own hard won experience

I am a serial career changer

that started with me being a high school failure,

an army sniper,

a globe trotting TV cameraman for 2 decades,

a professional magician for 8 years

now online entrepreneur

and I’m still changing

 

 

My latest career challenge

I want to be an author / speaker

 

and this podcast is your ringside seat

so you can watch up close and personal

as I employ everything I know and do

to tailor make my new career.

 

Can I be an author?

Will I be a speaker? Don’t know

 

I have ideas in my head. I think they’re worthy of sharing.

Will others?

Am I just deluding myself?

Have I got an inflated opinion of myself?

 

I’m putting myself out in the open here

to say that we all have these ambitions

but we so often never act on them

because we are crippled by the fear of what others say and think

 

is that you ?

It’s been me a lot of my life

but no more

I’m not going to grave

wondering

whether I can do this or not

 

so if you want change in your life

but something is holding you back

then if you can get just one thing to help you

from listening to my journey of change

then this whole thing has been worthwhile

 

Is this podcast about becoming an author speaker? No

This podcast is about the process of changing careers

I am like a guinea pig in cage that you can watch and take notes on.

 

I’m going to try-on-trouble for you

you get to share in my wins

learn from my mistakes

fast track your learning

maybe even have a laugh along the way

 

I’m not talking about taking on the world,

I’m talking about taking control of my life,

that’s all I’m doing,

imperfectly I might add.

But it is happening

and I want it to happen for you to.

 

so if you want a sugar-coated feel-good ride then stop. I’m not your person.

 

If you want an honest guide who’ll listen

and who understands what you’re going through. I’m your person.

 

If you understand that results OUT

only come from effort IN. I’m your person.

 

If you want someone to hold you accountable

and not let you get away with perpetuating lies that you tell to yourself

Lies that will keep holding you back. I’m your person.

 

If you want someone that speaks common sense, not academic jargon. I’m your person.

 

If you want someone who has done,

who has lived

the very same things that are asked of you. I’m your person.

 

If this sounds even half right for you

then stick around.

You and me, we’ll be a formidable team.

 

So let’s get started

 

I’ve put together 9 episodes

that are full of information

inspiration

actionable tactics

and ripper stories

 

 

this is Series 1

 

it’s called

 

encourage-mints

that’s m-i-n-t-s

 

Delicious cores of truth

covered in layers of hard won experience

and all wrapped up in enthusiastic encouragement.

encourage-mints

 

So series 1 is like a starter series

It’s designed to challenge some convenient truths

that we like to tell ourselves

convenient truths that hold us back

 

In this next episode you’re going to hear

the story of Jimmy and the choice he had to make

 

A lot of people say they can’t change.

Or is it they wont change?

This is a disturbing story

that made this distinction very clear to me.

 

Summary:

In this introductory podcast episode, Julian Mather reflects on the widespread negativity surrounding the changing workforce, particularly the fear of job loss and ageism for people over 50. At 55, however, Mather feels optimistic, having discovered ways to harness his life experience and create new opportunities. He emphasizes the unprecedented chance for midlife professionals to take control of their careers, especially by leveraging the online learning industry. Mather highlights how the over-40s, with their rich life stories and experiences, have an untapped advantage in today’s digital economy. His message is one of hope and action, encouraging listeners to reject the one-job-for-life mindset and explore diverse income streams and new career paths.

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Lessons Learned:

• Embrace Opportunity at Any Age: Midlife can offer more opportunities than earlier stages, especially if you leverage your experience.
• Adapt to Change: Transitioning from the mindset of a single lifelong job to a more flexible, multi-career approach is key to thriving in today's workforce.
• Leverage Online Learning: The digital world offers vast opportunities for teaching and sharing life experiences, which the younger generation's platforms need.
• Life Experience is a Valuable Asset: Over-40s have a wealth of stories, knowledge, and expertise that can fuel new career paths.
• Diversify Income Streams: Using a combination of assets—financial, knowledge, and time—can create fulfilling, sustainable careers.
• Take Control of Your Career: Don't wait for external validation or fear failure; take proactive steps to shape your future.
• Be Willing to Learn and Evolve: Career reinvention requires continuous learning and adapting to new ways of working, especially online.