Let me ask you something honest.

Have you ever looked at your effort and thought, "There's no way I should still be here?"

You show up. You work hard. You try to do the right things.

Yet your career, your goals, or whatever you want still feel out of reach.

I've coached thousands of people through this exact frustration.

The problem is almost never effort.

Most people work plenty hard.

That isn't what keeps them stuck.

It's something else.

In this lesson, I'm sharing a personal story from 2019.

It starts with me sitting in my favorite chair, coffee in one hand, my dog Harley 🌈 🐾 next to me, and a strange idea about doing an Ironman race even though I couldn't swim a single lap in a pool without wanting to faint.

(I signed up for the race and swimming lessons on the same day!)

That moment taught me one of the most important lessons of my life.

It's a lesson I want you to hear today.

Inside you get:

✓ Why hard work stops being enough.

✓ Why your progress stalls even when you want it badly.

✓ What separates people who grow from people who stay stuck.

✓ How to start living your goals before you reach them.

Listen now!

If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings:

1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums.

2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel.

3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page.

4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook.

5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here!

--Andy

Everyone is trying to predict the job market right now.

Most of them are staring at headlines and waiting for someone to tell them what's going to happen in 2026.

That's the slowest way to build your career.

There's a much better approach, and that's what I'm teaching in this off-schedule Sunday lesson.

You'll learn why I never chase trends and how I make decisions that stand the test of time.

Then, you'll understand how to think the right way and why that beats any tactic or tool you use in your search.

If you feel stuck or confused by mixed job market messages, this lesson will give you a better direction.

I'll show you:

✅ The two timeless forces that always tell you where opportunity is hiding.

✅ How to spot industries that will stay strong in 2026 and beyond.

✅ Why your thinking matters more than any job search strategy.

✅ How to realign your search when you feel like nothing is hitting.

✅ How to read connections between industries so you can see around corners.

This approach changed the way I make decisions in my own career and financial investments.

It'll change how you navigate yours too.

Once you understand this way of thinking, everything in your career gets easier.

You'll stop reacting and start directing.

You'll stop guessing and start choosing.

Enjoy the lesson!

If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings:

1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums.

2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel.

3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page.

4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook.

5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here!

--Andy

Job searching can be brutal. It tests your patience, your confidence, and your resolve.

But if you shift your focus from results to wisdom, everything changes.

That's what I'm teaching in this week's lesson, how to use your job search to make you a better professional.

In the podcast, I share a personal story about recently finishing my new book. It's now off and running with the publisher, moving through the production process.

The moment I hit send, I sat in my favorite Pottery Barn Wells swivel chair and thought for 20 minutes about nothing but the "agony" I'm going to endure over the next 12 months.

Kidding aside, I genuinely did this. I didn't think about how many copies I might sell or what it'd take to make a bestseller list. I focused on something more important, the skills I need to strengthen over the next year as I market and launch this new book.

You might think that because this is my fifth time around, I'd have mastered it by now. But if you assumed that, you'd be completely wrong.

Yes, I've done a lot right and built some great skills when it comes to marketing a book. But many efforts have fallen short of my hopes. Some were dead ends. Others just confused the heck out of me. Which means only one thing, I need to try new things, keep learning, and keep building.

Does this sound like your job search?

The things you think will work don't. The things you don't expect to work do. It's effort, surprises, ups, and downs. That's just life in a nutshell.

And what I'm about to say might sound like common sense. But I'm guessing it'll only sound like common sense after I actually say it.

If you're going to go through a job search, why not gain the benefits of the experience?

If we agree those benefits come in the form of new experiences and better skills, then it's time to ask yourself...

👉 What skills do you want to build throughout your job search?

If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings:

1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums.

2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel.

3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page.

4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook.

5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here!

--Andy