🎥 The secret of the mini montage

I love a good movie montage.

You know the ones – where the main character trains hard, usually to adrenaline-pumping music and a good amount of sweat, to level up. Think of Rocky leaping up the stairs, Mulan preparing to defeat the Huns, Chris Penn's character learning to dance in Footloose (yes, I am a millennial).

These sequences are such fun because they compress all the hard work into a big, quick payoff. It's exhilarating! It's entertaining! It's...well, it's Hollywood. Which is to say, not super realistic.

Look, most of our working lives are not spent celebrating wins, whether it's landing the "dream job" (cough cough, not real), getting an award or wowing the boss. Mostly, we're in montage mode – slowly building toward what comes next, bit by bit.

And unlike a movie montage, time doesn't fly by. We may not even know exactly what we're working toward. We certainly don't always see predictable progress along the way.

That's why I encourage you to become the director of your own movie, and make a mini montage of your work.

Making mini montage 🪄magic🪄

Here's all you need to get started on your mini montage:

• Short, defined time period. Momentum can be hard to create when you're in the long game, whether it's looking for a job or earning a promotion. Break it down into a smaller component that could eventually lead you where you want to go.
• Success=learning. Instead of waiting for a Big Cinematic Win Moment, anything you gain from this deserves to be celebrated. Found out that you don't particularly enjoy something? Great! What a time saver.
• Control. Look for what you can get started on, using what's available to you.

For example, as I work on my Career River book, I was recently told it's important to connect with published authors. So I set a goal: talk to 20 published authors by the end of the year. (I'm just 6 people away from reaching my goal, so if you know anybody, lmk!) The time period is short, I've learned a ton, and best of all, I wasn't waiting for anyone's permission to get started.

Writing a book, just like trying to land a job, is a slog. When you break the process down and give yourself credit for challenging yourself in a new way, the smaller wins along the way become easier to spot and celebrate.

This shift — from waiting for external validation to taking control — is the core philosophy behind my upcoming job-hunting course, From Applicant to Explorer.

I know the end of the year is chaotic, and I don't want to add to the noise. But I do want to be helpful. So, instead of just asking you to "join now," I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks sharing specific details about how the course works and who it’s really for.

I’ll be sending a few focused emails breaking down the curriculum (and the logic behind it) so you can make an informed decision before the Jan. 5 registration deadline. Look out for the first one later this week.

Happy navigating,
Bridget