You Shouldn't Have to Wonder If You're Wasting Your Best Years
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Hello Friend!
I’ve coached a lot of smart, capable people.
And one of the most painful things I witness, over and over, is this:
They’re working hard. They’re loyal. They’re not complaining.
They’re just... disappearing.
Not fired. Not failing. Just fading. Into a role that stopped challenging them. Into a company that stopped seeing them. Into a version of “fine” that feels like slow suffocation.
You shouldn’t have to spend your best years in a role that’s taking more than it’s giving just because leaving feels risky.
So here’s the filter I use with every client who’s stuck:
Are you learning? Are you earning? Either is fine. Both is best. If it’s neither, that’s not comfort. That’s a trap.
Learning isn’t just about courses or certifications. It’s about whether the work you’re doing is making you more capable, more confident, more valuable. As a human being, not just an employee.
Earning isn’t only about your paycheck. It’s about whether you’re being compensated financially, emotionally, relationally, and in proportion to what you’re giving.
Compensation without recognition is hollow. Recognition without compensation is exploitative. Real earning is both: you feel valued, and the numbers reflect it.
Neither is not neutral. It’s a signal. Most people respond by waiting for the economy, the manager, or the moment. But waiting in a role that returns nothing is a slow drain on your confidence, your creativity, and your career capital.
And here’s what most people miss before they ever make a move: they assume the right environment is out there waiting to be found. It’s not always. Sometimes you have to build it.
That shift changed everything for me ten years ago. And it’s changed everything for the people I coach now.
For Corporate Insiders
Ask yourself: Does executive leadership know what you’re capable of? Do they invite you into the conversations that matter? Do they advocate for you when you’re not in the room?
If your answers are no, you’re not stuck because of your skills. You’re stuck because of trust. (By the way, my forthcoming book shows you how to overcome this.)
But here’s the harder question: what if the environment you need doesn’t exist where you are and never will?
That doesn’t mean you blow up your life tomorrow. It means you start building something on the side. Something you’re passionate about. Something that’s yours. Not recklessly but intentionally. Because the worst version of this story is spending five more years waiting for a company to value what you could be building for yourself.
Try this: Write down the thing you’d build if you weren’t afraid of wasting time on the wrong thing. Then ask: what’s the smallest version of that I could test, without leaving my income behind?
For Entrepreneurs
You’ve already made the leap. But if the business isn’t earning as predictably as you expected, the problem probably isn’t the idea.
It’s likely your offer.
Most entrepreneurs have solid expertise and a real solution. What they’re missing is the clarity to package it in a way that makes people say “I need that,” and the confidence to price it like they mean it. If you’re undercharging, over-explaining, or constantly attracting the wrong clients, your offer is doing the wrong job.
The answer isn’t to abandon the business. It’s to run experiments. Test a different framing. Repackage what you know. Raise the price and see what happens. Learning and earning aren’t just career filters. They’re the levers of a healthy business.
Try this: Describe the problem your offer solves in one sentence without using your job title or industry jargon and without naming the solution itself. If you can’t, your ideal client probably doesn’t get what you do. That’s where you start.
Whether you’re still in corporate or already out on your own, the question is the same: are you building something or just surviving something?
The filter doesn’t lie. And neither will you, if you’re honest with yourself.
What’s one thing you wish your work gave you more of?
Your coach,
Chris
P.S. Whether you’re still in corporate, wondering what you could build, or already entrepreneurial and trying to figure out your offer… The Unignorable Business Studio was built for exactly where you are. Click here to learn more and apply.
