This is the second installment in international relations expert Catherine Lee’s unexpected journey back into the workforce. Read part one here.

“Think you can, think you can’t, either way you will be right.” 

-Henry Ford

Going into the fear ridden, confidence consuming, excluding world of reentry is all about attitude.  It is not easy to sport an I-can-handle-anything- walk when your stomach is droning  ‘one more step and I’ll vomit.’  I have a two-year old granddaughter with a real ‘tude’—hilarious to watch yet formidable.  When she decides to go after a toy, no matter who has it, she takes a strutting, confident pose with shoulders arched, elbows synchronized outward, eyes focused on her goal—nothing stops her.  And she remains appealingly lovable—a lesson to be learned from a feminist toddler.

Two rules: 

Set no limits

Un-cuff yourself from assumptions until the offer is on the table.

The gnawing thoughts of being out of the work place too long, of being ignorant to the current issues, and of being jaded not contemporary, should be hung out to calcify. Search and find new courage.   Courage is fearlessness.  Confidence will be born out of each small step—an email, a letter written, a phone call, a meeting.

Go to the place that brings you comfort.  For me, it is the streets of Chicago crowded with anonymous people purposefully rushing to the next block—being connected with no responsibility to each other—silent energy.

Turn it around—your advantage is the uncluttered mind of an outsider’s ignorance, to see more clearly than your employed counterpart. You have nothing to lose, and that is your power.  And ultimately the detours will expand your view to opportunities never before considered. 

There are no limits.  My husband and I lost everything and we had 4 children anticipating college.  In the middle of our mental turmoil a friend, Bernie, came to visit while on a business trip.  We were having dinner and I was relating to him my goal and my plan.  We needed money and business had the money.  I was going in search of a job in corporate America.  Bernie, chief legal counsel for World Bank, said:  “Let me understand, you have been out of the paid work force for almost 20 years, you are well over ‘mid-life’, your entire background is in Medieval French and Spanish Literatures, and you have never worked in business.  You’re crazy!  Teach.”

I heard Bernie.  The pessimistic fear saturated me, yet my anger trumped my fear.  I must do it.  I need the money—a weak, pathetically capitalistic goal, yet a realistic one.   Without it I wouldn’t have abandoned my fear and gone head first into a cold, dollars dominated environment like business.  Nothing could stop me—like my granddaughter, she is so singularly focused on the objective, she doesn’t even recognize obstacles.  Find your objective—focus on it with an intensity and confidence will frame your steps.  Courage will obliterate fears.

You have knowledge, experience and management of real life on your side—speed of advancement and success will be your reward.

Next:  How do I get started?  Who will open their door to me?