Next Chapter Launchpad
4.9 (8)
4 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
For ambitious people who want more mastery, autonomy and purpose from their work
Next Chapter Launchpad
4.9 (8)
4 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
For ambitious people who want more mastery, autonomy and purpose from their work
Course overview
Engineer the work life that you want
Get the skills, frameworks and tools to engineer the work life that you want.
Challenge the beliefs holding you back, discover and quickly validate alternative paths, and build a support system to make it happen.
Is this you?
01
You're an aspiring founder, but you feel overwhelmed and need some structure, advice, a plan, and a nudge or two to finally take the leap.
02
You're doing the 9-to-5 right now, but you're looking for something more flexible and more rewarding, like freelancing or coaching.
03
You've been impacted by the recent tech lay-offs and see this as an opportunity to ask yourself: what do I really want to do next?
After this course, you'll...
Stop being complacent
You'll remember the way you are now is not the way you always were. There was a time you were happier and more energized by work.
Trust your own inner compass
You'll have pinned down what you're optimizing for now, paving the way for you to move forward with intention and make those hard trade-off decisions.
See possibility after possibility
You'll have dreamed big and let yourself go there in a way you never have. You'll have discovered things you've wanted at your core but never let yourself admit. And believe it or not, those possibilities will start to feel... not only possible but within reach.
Make decisions based on data, not fear
You'll have validated key assumptions and de-risked the path forward. You'll have a better sense of what you'll gain and what you'll forgo, and what that might mean for life outside of work.
Have a personal board of advisors
You'll have assembled a small but mighty board of people you can trust to be 100% in your corner, willing to be a sounding board, and also unafraid to call you out when you need it.
Have a plan and a system to follow through
Whatever you decide your next chapter should be, you'll have a direction, a step-by-step plan, a support system, and the momentum to see that plan through, with flying colors.
Next Chapter Launchpad
Taking part in this launchpad is an investment in you. You're committing to finding a career path that is authentically you.
Meet your instructor
Maria Wang-Faulkner
Entrepreneur, Mother of 2, Ex-Google, Career Coach, Design Thinker - aka ambitious person living authentically
In my 20 year career, I’ve alternated between two tracks. There was the high-paying, ‘safe’ track - being a corporate attorney, management consulting, and launching cutting-edge products at Google. And then there was the ‘high risk, high reward’ track - being a human rights advocate, global public health with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and founding several early-stage start-ups.
Two years ago, I knew that as rewarding as the first track was, the second was where I was meant to be. I left my high-paying job at Google to return to start-up life, and I haven’t looked back. Today, I'm the founder & CEO of my own VC-backed company. And I've grown more, learned more, and felt more alive in my last two years as a founder than in all my years working before that.
There are so many reasons to just stay the course – there's the worry about leaving behind a steady paycheck, the anxiety that comes from leaving behind a job that you thought was “the one” before you had it, and that voice that says "what if the next role isn't that great, anyway?"
Sometimes, the harder you worked to get your current job, or the more you've gotten used to the pay, the perks and/or the power, the harder it is for you to listen to that niggling feeling that maybe this job just isn't for you anymore. That’s only human.
I’ve experienced this niggling feeling firsthand, listened to it and acted on it - several times. And each time, I’ve landed on my feet, I’m more fulfilled than ever, and I’m not eating ramen every day. I know firsthand that taking the leap is worth it.
There are many alternate paths ahead of you, and I've had a mix of so many:
- switching roles internally
- founding my own venture-backed company
- freelancing
- coaching
- teaching as an adjunct professor
- starting an Amazon reseller business, and
- other 'failed' start-ups and side hustles.
Whatever your path ends up looking like, I know from my own experience that you can find meaningful work, get paid, grow and do it on your terms.
If this sounds like what you're after, this course is for you.
A message from your instructor
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Course outline
8 sessions over 4 weeks, 3 hours/week
4-week cohort-based course
Jan 26 - Feb 23, 2022
Challenge the beliefs that are holding you back. Get clarity, firm up a direction, and formulate a concrete plan you're excited to make happen.
This sprint includes 8 x 1-hour sessions. Most of the coursework happens in-session. You'll refine and gather data between sessions.
Session 1: Get in the mindset
Thursday, Jan 26 - 5pm PT
In this first session, I’ll lead you through some exercises to help you step out of inertia, and step into a mindset of agency and urgency.
Deliverable: A commitment to yourself and to the others in the cohort.
Session 2: Audit your energy bank
Monday, Jan 30 - 5pm PT
In this module, I'll show you how to audit your career history, hobbies, life, family and social network, for credits and debits to your energy bank.
Deliverable: A truthful, complete picture of “You at Your Best".
Session 3: Articulate your reason for being
Thursday, Feb 2 - 5pm PT
In this module, we'll name and stack rank your values so that you can move forward with clear-eyed intention and navigate trade-off decisions.
Deliverable: Guiding principles you can count on one hand.
Session 4: Take 'but' out of the equation
Monday, Feb 6 - 5pm PT
In this module, we'll suspend all beliefs that don’t serve you and ask yourself: “what if?” Invent multiple alternate universe you's. I'll get you past your discomfort, so you can go wild and have fun with it.
Deliverable: At least 3 alternate versions of what could go right.
Session 5: Befriend risk
Thursday, Feb 9 - 5pm PT
In this module, we'll unpack what risk means to you and reframe it to be empowering, rather than paralyzing. I'll show you how to calculate risk and reward - financial and non-financial.
Deliverable: A risk/reward analysis - financial and non-financial.
Session 6: Assemble the board
Monday, Feb 13 - 5pm PT
"You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with." So we'll architect a process for being exposed, in the best possible way, to role models, trusted advisors and others living their best life.
Deliverable: A personal board of directors & terms of engagement.
Session 7: Craft 12-week action plan
Thursday, Feb 16 - 5pm PT
In this module, I'll show you a framework for a 12-week Action Plan that you’ll construct and present at Demo Day so you have concrete next steps that you and the class will hold you accountable to.
Deliverable: A 12-week action plan you'll have committed to.
Session 8: Demo Day
Wednesday, Feb 22 - 5pm PT
You'll each commit to making a decision or taking an action, and you'll present the 12-week Action Plan that you've crafted to see that through. Commitments made in public see better follow through and your peers can lend support.
Weekly office hours (optional)
Every Tuesday - 5pm PT
Drop into office hours with me for additional support if you hit roadblocks.
Sign up for a free workshop
Not ready to commit? Join me for a free workshop to preview what it's like to work with me.
Learning is better with cohorts
Active learning, not passive watching
This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects
Interactive and project-based
You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams
Learn with a cohort of peers
Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you