Chris's Story

How would I describe to someone the work you do at Centerpoint? I tell them that Centerpoint takes a holistic approach to career exploration. You use a model of transition that helps one realize that changing careers is a process, and that it’s important to be at peace with where we are in that process. And when we do the work that needs to be done for that stage of the journey, we can move on to the next stage. Centerpoint provides a structure of support for doing that work, in solidarity with others who are also making transitions and with the guidance of facilitators who are well versed in the process. The work itself takes a variety of forms—there are times when the work is inner work; there are times when the work is outer work.

The work entailed by Passion Search™ was not at all what I would have necessarily conceived career work to be. It was demanding. And it was necessary. I must say that I would not have gotten nearly as much out of the course if I had not spent the time that I did on the homework—and I spent a lot of time on it. At the end of the course, I had written a work vision statement that truly resonated with me—though it contained not even a hint of a job title in it. Ironically, in the midst of finally forgetting about the search for a job title, and in doing the work of Passion Search, a job title did begin to emerge in my mind. I tried to just ignore it, but it kept coming back. And I gradually began to realize that I didn’t need to ignore it any longer—that it had emerged for a reason and that it made sense to explore it. That was my next step after the course, and it was in following that next step that I obtained the job in which I now find myself.

Passion Search was the course where the real magic took place. Yet I probably would not have had the patience to do the work of Passion Search nor would have understood how in the heck some of that work was relevant if I had not first taken Lifework Renewal™.

It worked for me. I’m in my fourth week at a new job in a completely new field, and it feels great. I’m using the skills I wanted to be using. I’m contributing to an endeavor I believe in. And I love it. And funny thing, that work vision statement I wrote at the end of Passion Search… it’s uncanny how well it describes my new position. Imagine that!