My good friend from college, Phil Saken, recently switched careers.  How he pulled this off actually makes a pretty remarkable story, which I’ll be sharing in more detail in the next week or so.  But anyway, he had decided that his job as an evening news producer for a top network in Columbus, OH, wasn’t floating his boat anymore.  Phil is naturally a passionate person, and when he began to dread going to work and found himself counting the minutes until his next day off, he knew something was wrong.  

Phil looked for, and accepted a new job that leveraged his existing skills in communication, organization, and writing and took advantage of his nose for news and his interest in politics.  He became the Director of Communications for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus.  In his new role, Phil manages the message and image of the 46 Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives.  He is loving every minute of it.

Then, something interesting happened.  Phil received an Emmy for his evening newscast at the Midwestern Regional Emmy Awards.  If you can believe it, this is actually Phil’s SECOND Emmy for news excellence.

Some people might question why Phil left a career he was so clearly successful in.  And the answer is that just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you should spend your life doing it.  The key to happiness in a career is to find a path that combines your natural skills – or skills you can develop – with genuine interest and enthusiasm.  Kudos to Phil for having the strength to walk away from a field that was rewarding him professionally but not personally, in order to seek out one that does both.