Write Your Career - 30 Day Course

Hello and welcome to episode 128 of the podcast.
I’m Mark Crossfield—career coach and author—here to help you navigate your mid-career with hope, clarity, and action.

In today’s solo episode, I want to share something that’s been quietly shaping my own career for years now—and is about to take centre stage in the book I’m working on.

It’s the simple, surprising power of writing.

Not the kind of writing you learned at school—essays, reports, polished emails.
I’m talking about personal writing. Messy writing. Writing just for you.

You might describe it as journalling—or career journalling.

Because I’ve found that when you make space to write about your work and your career, you often discover things you can’t reach any other way.

And the beauty of it is—you don’t need special tools. You always have a pen and paper, or a keyboard to hand.

At a time when so much attention is on AI and technology, writing brings you back to something simple, human, and under your control.

And that’s what I want to explore today.

👉 And stick around until the end of this episode, because I’ll share a simple but powerful writing exercise with you. It only takes a minute, but it will show you what I mean about writing—and it will help you start to see your career in a different way.

So, let’s get into it.

Story

When I was working in civil engineering, I often felt like something wasn’t quite right—but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

In theory, everything looked fine: good job, solid career path, plenty to be grateful for.
And I’ve talked about this before—in my first book and here on the podcast.

But inside, there was a restlessness.
Questions I couldn’t answer.
And I didn’t know how to think clearly about my career.

Not at first.

I tried thinking harder, making pros and cons lists, and talking it through with people. But the fog never really lifted.

And then—almost by accident—I started writing.

It was just a few notes in the margins of my notebook. Scribbles on a train journey. Thoughts I couldn’t quite say out loud.

And to my surprise, something shifted.
Writing gave me a way of seeing what was really going on. It helped me notice patterns, fears, and longings I hadn’t been able to articulate.

Later, during my coach training, I got more intentional.
I tried free writing, timed writing, journaling prompts.
I read widely. I experimented.

Some techniques clicked straight away, others I had to grow into. But the more I experimented, the more I realised:

Writing wasn’t just a private outlet. It was a genuine tool for clarity, confidence, and change.

And it became a steady companion.
Helping me decide when to stay and when to move on.
Helping me make sense of setbacks.
Helping me take bolder steps forward.

Over time, I introduced it to clients—and again, the results were powerful.

Research & Influences

That personal experience was powerful—but I wanted to know more. Who else was using writing in this way? And how could I make it easier to access for anyone in their career?

So I read widely, experimented with approaches, and even enrolled in training to deepen my understanding.

Writers like Eric Maisel and Lynda Monk, in The Great Book of Journaling, showed me how journaling can improve wellbeing, reduce stress, and bring clarity during transitions.

Mark Levy, in Accidental Genius, showed me the power of freewriting—keeping the pen moving to bypass the inner critic. That principle has shaped my own practice.

Alison Jones, with her work on exploratory writing, describes it as a “Hogwarts Room of Requirement”—a flexible space you can always return to.

I also learned from Nancy Kline’s Time to Think and More Time to Think—her idea of incisive questions and creating thinking environments links beautifully with journaling.

And of course, I’ve been inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, with its Morning Pages, and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, with its message of curiosity, courage, and trust in the creative process.

Together, these influences have given me a much richer toolkit—not just for myself, but for clients and readers too.

And it’s from this mix of experience, coaching practice, and research that Write Your Career, the book I’m writing now, is taking shape.

Introducing the Course

The book is all about how you can use writing to navigate your own career.

And alongside it, I’ve created a 30-day journaling course so you can try these tools for yourself.

It’s not about becoming a writer. It’s about using writing to think differently, to get unstuck, and to take steps that feel right for you.

Over 30 days, you’ll explore free writing, timed writing, highlight reels, and prompts that help you uncover what you really want.

By the end, you’ll have a toolkit you can return to whenever you need clarity or momentum.

It’s designed to help you find clarity, build confidence, and take meaningful steps in your career.
Just 15 minutes a day, on your terms.

Now here’s the exciting part.

This is the pilot version. It’ll be priced at £99, but right now, I’m inviting podcast listeners to take part for free.

All I ask in return is your feedback—what you found useful, what surprised you, and any stories or insights you’d be happy for me to include in the book.

It’s your chance to be part of shaping Write Your Career before it comes out in April 2026.

And of course, it’s also a way to shape your own career and reconnect with what really matters to you at work.

👉 Sign up at bravocoaching.co.uk/write-your-career-30-day-course and use the coupon code PILOT25 to get free access.

The Five-Word Future Exercise

Before we wrap up, as promised, I want to leave you with a simple exercise.

Grab a pen—or open your notes app.

👉 If you could capture the career you truly want in just five words, what would they be?

Don’t overthink it. Just write the first five words that come to you.

It might be about how you want to feel, the kind of work you want to do, the impact you’d like to make—anything that matters.

Take a moment now and write them down.

Now, read them back to yourself.
How do they feel? Do they excite you? Do they feel far away, or close at hand?

That’s the power of writing. Just a few words can reveal so much about where you are now, and where you want to go.

And if those words feel important, keep them somewhere visible—on a Post-it, on your desk, or in your phone. Let them guide you as you think about what’s next.

Wrap-Up

So that’s what I wanted to share today.

Writing has been a quiet but powerful companion in my own career. It’s helped me find clarity, make decisions, and take action when I felt stuck.

And now, I want to pass that on to you.

If you’ve been circling questions about your work—wondering what’s next, or simply wanting to feel more connected—give this a try.

You don’t need to call yourself a writer. You just need a pen, some paper, and the willingness to show up.

👉 Join me for the pilot course—link’s in the show notes—and let’s explore what writing can do for you.

Thanks for listening today.
I’m Mark Crossfield, and this has been the Mid-Career Change podcast.

Take care—and I’ll see you next time.
Bye for now.