403. A Self-Help Crash Test Dummy Experiment

Amber Beam

After a slew of early career promotions, Amber became a victim of her own success. She reached the top of the mountain, but she didn’t like the view. A key part of herself wasn’t being fulfilled. It was time to try out a side hustle.

Amber Beam is a career and life coach for women who want to get unstuck and start moving forward in their personal lives and at the office. She created the “7 Habits to Increase Resilience Guide” for women who want to live a life with purpose and peace, not perfection. As the voice behind The Art of Personal Growth Podcast, she tests self-help techniques in real life to find what truly works to improve your health, happiness, and connections to others.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

As a child, seeing her father struggle with a physically demanding job, random shifts, Amber recalls thinking, “My dad needs somebody to stand up for him.” Enduring frequent shift changes and lay-offs, his treatment as a blue-collar worker convinced her she didn’t ever want to be in a position where she felt she was not making a difference or being fulfilled in her job. For awhile in middle school, she thought she would become an employment lawyer, but she realized in college that a legal career was not for her. Instead, she chose the path of industrial organizational psychologist.

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

Having reached a pinnacle in her career, Amber began feeling something was missing. Rather than give up her job–which she still liked–she decided to try “a side hustle.” In January, 2016, she launched The Art of Personal Growth Podcast. “We’ve all had the experience of listening to an inspirational talk, thinking, ‘I should try that! I wonder if it works,’ I began what I called my Self-Help Crash Test Dummy experiment – testing these inspiring ideas in MY real life. Initially, I thought, we could make an entire show out of that idea. Then, it dawned on me that we could make an entire podcast out of that!”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“For a long time, as I became aware of feeling I wanted something more, I thought maybe if I just move to another agency, or work for another boss, or just communicate more clearly that I’m still interested in my work but am also interested in something different. That’s where the ‘side hustle’ podcast came from. I had no idea what I was in for. It’s an amazing experience. I remind myself every day, I want to feel challenged, and a little off-balance, but in a good way.”

Steps to Success from Amber Beam

1)Let yourself acknowledge when you are not happy, and when you are no longer OK with that.

2) Don’t let your desire for the perfect career hold you back from a situation that is “good enough.” Be willing to take imperfect action, then be ready to adapt.

3) Notice the ways that you, “numb yourself out” and stay stuck. Notice how frequently you do it.

4) Identify the “time sucks” and the people who suck away your energy, and move away from them.

5) Envision your ideal day scenario and move toward it.

Free Gift

FREE copy of Amber’s Habits Guide, available at:
amberbeam.com/freehabitsguide