The Paradox of Career Coaching

Most career advice gets it backward. We chase fulfillment at work hoping it’ll make life better. But it’s the other way around. Life fulfillment fuels career fulfillment.

That’s why my stories on LinkedIn aren’t lists of tactics or productivity tips. They’re stories about being human — the inner conflicts, the self-doubt, the moments of clarity. Because until we understand the person living the career, we can’t change the career itself.

Traditional marketing would tell me that’s the wrong approach. Focus on pain points. Offer solutions. Keep it professional.
I don’t buy it. Authenticity isn’t a strategy — it’s the only way this works.

Here’s the paradox: most coaching frameworks treat “career” as one spoke on the wheel of life, separate from things like health, relationships, and purpose. But that’s never been how it works. Who you are in life is who you are at work. Always.

We’ve all seen the hard-driving leader who appears fulfilled but leaves a trail of burnout behind. Their office becomes an escape from the parts of life they can’t control. They’re chasing achievement instead of peace. Outwardly successful. Inwardly exhausted. That’s not fulfillment — it’s survival with a corner office.

My own career had its traps too. I wanted to be respected, to look composed, to stay above the mess. It wasn’t arrogance; it was self-judgment disguised as professionalism. I didn’t see it then, but that distance held me back from being fully courageous at work. I wasn’t aloof — I was protecting an image.

No coach focused solely on my work habits would have touched that. Because the issue wasn’t my time management or my communication style — it was my relationship to myself.

That’s why I laugh when I see the usual advice:

Ten ways to procrastinate less.
Seven steps to run better meetings.
The 5AM power move that will transform your day.

Such silliness.

The truth is simpler — and harder. When you know what you want and why, when you understand your values and your vision, you can begin shaping yourself into the person capable of living that vision. That’s the real work.

And that work happens everywhere.
How you manage stress at home is how you manage it at the office.
How you handle priorities in life is how you handle them at work.
The context changes. The pattern doesn’t.

Because wherever you go, there you are.
And when you change how you show up in life, you’ve already changed how you lead.