Longing for a New Career? Become a New Radical and Help Save the World

After a lifetime of listening to others and helping them turn their visions into words, author and consultant Julia Moulden began to see an emerging trend: ordinary people desperately wanting to leave successful careers to tap in to their desire to do something more meaningful with their lives. Though the media often focuses on celebrities who are helping to save the world, what Julia discovered is that there are thousands and thousands of ordinary men and women who are choosing to change their careers, transform their lives, and devote their time to making the world a better place. Julia coined the term New Radical to define these people and their role in the growing movement based on a powerful idea: that doing good can mean more than volunteering and philanthropy

In her inspiring new book We Are the New Radicals: A Manifesto for Reinventing Yourself and Changing the World Julia presents the experiences and insights of the New Radicals she spoke to and provides practical advice and examples of what you can do to join the New Radical movement too—whether you want to embark on a completely new path, or just reinvent yourself in your current career.

As Julia points out, New Radical transformations range along a continuum from “mild” to “wild.” Some New Radicals make a relatively simple transition—for instance, someone who’s worked in corporate finance becomes CFO of a non-profit organization. Others upend their lives and do something completely different—such as selling everything on eBay and starting a one-woman NGO in Africa.

After interviewing numerous New Radicals, it was clear to Julia that each had different motivations and embarked on different journeys. But she also noticed that there were three distinct roles people typically chose to fill: Innovator, Entrepreneur, or Activist. Each “reinvention” was a deeply personal experience, and for most people the process was a long and difficult one.

It definitely was for me. As someone who made the transition last year from corporate executive to founder of a website for social change, I followed many of the processes Julia outlines in the book, finding myself identifying perfectly with the role of Entrepreneur.

Are you feeling the stirrings of discontent in your work these days? If so, Julia’s book is an excellent resource for helping you through what may be the most important and rewarding transformation of your life.