Today Amy gives us the opportunity to sit down with her and Deian McBryde for a fun often surprising chat. Deian is an expert in making transitions. Not only has he made a number of career-altering transitions himself, but he has, throughout his many jobs, helped others make their own transitions successfully. Listen as Amy discusses with Deian his unique and fascinating life journey.

As a child, Deian wanted to be many different things, but after watching the Carol Burnett Show on TV one evening with his mother, he told her that he really wanted to be a dancer. After high school, he headed off for a 4-year stint in the US Air Force. There he found himself involved with logistics and some historical work. These skills would come in handy later on in life, but they didn’t translate very well into the civilian work world beyond his military time. After many unsuccessful applications, he landed a job as a typist at a health and life insurance company just to make ends meet. He didn’t remain a typist for too long because he was able to work his way up in the company.

Deian eventually chose to move to New York City to see what life had in store for him there. He decided he’d try for work in music as a singer. He began singing and booking gigs, all while meeting new people and networking broadly. To supplement meager earnings from his vocal career, he found positions with nonprofits, advocacy groups, and cultural projects. He knitted together a busy and fulfilling life with interesting people and travel. As time went on, though, in New York, he longed for a predictable income and the gig-to-gig existence began to wear. As these thoughts were taking form, a family event took place in his home state of New Mexico and he needed to return. His 15 years in New York City had come to a close, but another transition was about to take place.

In New Mexico he found a new role as an organizational-behavioral consultant. He also owned his own yoga studio and worked as a salesperson at Apple, eventually leading a training team of 37 people. It was at this juncture and at the age of 50 that he determined it was time to return to school.

He had attended college classes off and on over the years but never completed a bachelor’s degree. He thus took his transcripts to the University of New Mexico to be evaluated. He was told he had enough credits to be classified as a senior, so he enrolled and finished his degree shortly thereafter. Next on his agenda was a master’s degree. He thought that he would study counseling and he would continue helping people make their own life transitions. This was not to be.

A friend encouraged him to attend law school. After much convincing, Deian took the LSAT and, sure enough, at age 51, he began law school. Today, Deian McBryde has his own legal firm. He finds his work to be the most fulfilling and enjoyable he has yet experienced. He sees primarily custody and divorce cases and, in this role, he finds meaning in helping individuals move safely and successfully from one life stage to another. Today he shares with Amy some of the truths he’s discovered along his way.

 

Topics in this episode:

• How age and the experience it brings can work in your favor in unexpected ways
• How to view your career on a continuum even though on the surface, each job may seem unrelated
• If you are doing things that interest you, there will be a thread that strings everything together
• Why you should apply the “funnel” theory when choosing what direction to take when deciding on your next step
• How success is not always planned for and how to be okay with that
• How to attack every job, even menial ones, with enthusiasm and energy
• Remember, you can never get enough good advice

Links:

www.mcbrydelaw.com