Forget Ladders. Build a Playground.
Careers used to be ladders: one job, one path, one direction.
Simple. Predictable. Kind of boring.
Now? They’re playgrounds.
Slides, swings, monkey bars, and the occasional face-plant.
For years, I thought I was broken because I didn’t want to specialize.
I liked doing lots of things. Still do.
Turns out, I’m not broken. I’m just not climbing a ladder. I’m playing a different game.
Recently, I found out this actually has a name:
A little consulting here. A personal project there. Some stable income, some risky experiments.
Basically what I’ve been doing for the last 17 years—but now it sounds official.
What does it look like in real life?
A part-time gig (less burnout, more time)
Freelance or consulting work (aka getting paid for your brain)
A side project (your sandbox, your rules)
Digital stuff that sells while you sleep (if you sleep)
Coaching, teaching, or helping others do their thing
Creative work for no other reason than you want to
It’s not about being scattered.
It’s about building a career that makes sense to you.
Not a blueprint. More like a sketchbook.
The old playbook says: “Find your niche first.”
The new reality: You start, stumble, tweak, and discover it along the way.
So if the career ladder feels rigid and claustrophobic, maybe it’s time to stop climbing.
And start swinging.