HELLO FRIENDS!

Even though the connection to my cancer journey and my current career is clear to me, I know it is a bit fuzzy for others. I hope this blog post helps to clarify…

One of the biggest things cancer has given me is an understanding of what matters to me, who my people are, and what I want to do with the time I have. Don’t get me wrong, I hope I have years and years of time. But when you are living with an advanced cancer you know time isn’t a given and you recognize the preciousness of it. This fact is at the heart of why I have changed my career to match my journey.

I have been working for 20+ years. My career hasn’t always made me happy 100% of the time but I can tell you with honesty it has 90% of the time. No joke.

My career never turned out the way I had envisioned it when I graduated from high school. Here is my actual yearbook graduation photo from 1991 including my “too cool for school” year-end quote which hinted at where I thought my career was going to end up.

“I won’t bore anyone with initials of people you don’t know or memories you don’t care to know. Just thanks to all for the fun. See you in Stratford!”

That’s right, I thought I would end up on stage in Stratford. Did my BA with a double major in Theatre and English go to waste then? Heck no, I use it every single day. #Facts.

It only helps to illustrate the very well-known fact: who really knows what they want to be when they are 18 years old? There is always an exception to the rule, like my bestie for instance. I met her when we were 14 years old and she knew she wanted to be a journalist. Almost 35 years later she is one, a really good one, and has been her entire career. But I am sure she will also agree that her journalism dreams turned out a bit differently than she first imagined them as a young NKOTB obsessed teen. 

Most careers aren’t linear. They zig, they zag. The more life experience you get the more you start to realize who you are, and what you want. That fact can change what you want to do with your life and career.

My career has always been my everything. I never married (don’t feel sad for me I am a-okay!) I never had kids (Don’t worry, I am surrounded by kids who bring so much joy, and of course…I had/have my boys Wilf and Chip!) My career has always been one of my proudest accomplishments.

I have worked hard my entire life; some might say I am a workaholic. #Guilty

I am a strong, thoughtful, and resilient independent woman. I bought my own condo. I bought my own car. I support myself. All of these things made me feel very accomplished and satisfied with my life.

Then three significant life events changed everything. The first two slowly made their mark in my life and career but the last one shook my world and changed EVERYTHING. Take a watch of the first episode in my IGTV video series Your Career After… on Instagram that will give you the inside scoop:

IGTV @JAYEMBarrie

Your Career After … for me is Cancer, but for someone else, it could be a Divorce, a Separation, a Job Loss, a Death, a PANDEMIC…you get the idea!

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I have always been happy in my career. But now, I am doing EXACTLY what I am meant to be doing. Does that mean it is easy? Heck no! Does that mean I am happy 100% of the time? Absolutely not! That is not how real life works. I still work hard, and things don’t always go the way I want them to, but that’s life, isn’t it?!

As a Life Enthusiast, I am living my calling. I am helping people through their “after” whatever that may be. Whether it be through my workshops, or my coaching, or writing a blog post or recording a video, I am trying my best to show people that although life can suck sometimes, there is always a light. (As illustrated in the beautiful photo for this blog post by @thesocial.focus) You just have to know how to find it. That’s where I can help.

My mission is  “To inspire others so that they find fulfillment in their lives/work.”

I hope I am achieving this with my career rebrand.

Follow me on my social @JAYEMBarrie or check out my website JAYEM website to stay informed on what I am doing. Share your questions or comments either in the comment box of my Instagram posts or in a DM. I am always happy to chat with you about my cancer journey and/or my career journey. I hope now you can see their connection to each other.