Invincible Career - Claim your power and regain your freedom Larry Cornett, Ph.D.

“I’m putting in long hours and working harder than ever. Why am I not getting promoted?”

Do you know how many times I’ve heard that complaint?
Sure, working harder than your peers can get you promoted during the early years of your career. But you will soon find that what got you where you are today won’t get you where you want to be tomorrow.
Most people play checkers with their careers. They hop around the board, marching ahead, step by step, and don’t think more than one step ahead.
The game board looks similar. In the early days of your career, you and the other pieces are making the same moves—trying to get head, space by space. But you eventually find out that strategy won’t cut it.
Your career growth is limited when you behave like a checker piece on the corporate chess game board. Unfortunately, many people experience that. They think more of the same will continue to move them ahead.
* Working harder
* Working longer hours
* Taking on more work
Sadly, that is the path to stagnation and abuse. Yes, abuse. I’ve watched many people get used by their employers. Many managers love dumping work on the people who work hard, don’t complain, and never ask for raises or promotions.
So, if you want to avoid being stuck in checker mode, there are five things you must do:
* Become a valuable chess piece
* Use strategic long-term planning
* Leverage pattern recognition
* Make sacrificial moves when necessary
* Play leadership chess, too
1. Become a valuable chess piece
If you want to play chess, you must qualitatively change how you work and transform the value you deliver. Leaders don’t get promoted because they work harder than their peers. They get promoted because they think differently, add unique value, get results, and know how to make 1+1=3.
World-class chess players don’t randomly flail away moving pieces on the board. They never think one step ahead and hope things work out.
So, stop behaving like an interchangeable checker piece. In the game of checkers, every individual piece has the same capabilities (i.e., hopping one space forward). You can easily be replaced if you are a commodity with the same skills as everyone else. Heck, maybe they can even find a cheaper piece to replace you! And if they can do that, they will.
I watched that happen many times over the decades of my career. A senior employee was often replaced with a more affordable junior employee who could do the same work.
I remember an executive saying, “Why should we pay this much for a U.S. employee? I can hire three designers in country XYZ for that salary.”
A basic U.S. checker piece was often replaced with more affordable international pieces. Basic pieces were also frequently put on the inevitable layoff lists about every six months.
However, the employees who had leveled up to provide unique strategic value were never replaced. Their cost was never questioned. Instead, they were assigned the best and most challenging projects. They were the ones promoted when the review cycles rolled around every year.
I often ran into the unfortunately common belief that tenure will eventually lead to a promotion. Some employees thought they would keep moving up the career ladder if they stayed with the company long enough. I’m sorry, but higher-level promotions simply don’t work that way.
A pawn that has been with the company for 5 years—but still acts and performs like a pawn—won’t be promoted to knight simply because of tenure. Level up and transform yourself, or be stuck where you are forever.
2. Use strategic long-term planning
Professionals who end up succeeding in their careers are thinking many, many steps ahead. They aren’t simply focused on their next career move. They have a vision for where they want to be several years from now—sometimes even decades. Every move they make is intentional and sets them up for the next move and the next.
They use strategic thinking instead of scattered and min

In this episode, I share an overview of my upcoming course. Play the audio to hear my description of each of the steps below.
10 Steps to Prepare for a Successful Job Interview
* Research your target employer
* Identify their biggest problems
* Map your expertise
* Tune your resume, LinkedIn, etc.
* Find your inside champions and connections
* Prepare and rehearse
* Setting the stage
* How to crush your interview
* Follow up
* Maintain relationships
By the way, if you need some 1-on-1 coaching to help prepare for an interview, you can schedule time with me here.
As I mentioned, this article's actual content is in the podcast audio. So, scroll up and hit play to hear it.
Do you know someone who will soon interview for a new job? They might find this episode helpful! Hit the button below to share it with them.
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.




This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newsletter.invinciblecareer.com/subscribe

No one ever said the job market was fair. That’s even more true in the current economy which has been plagued with layoff after layoff.
Now, in this race for a new job, some candidates are clearly driving race cars, while others are struggling to make it around the job search track with an underpowered engine or even a flat tire.
Why is that?
Let me play with this metaphor for a bit, starting with the diagram below. Note: I go into a lot more detail in the podcast recording. So, scroll up, hit play, and listen.
You can think of “Capability” as the engine of the race car. It includes:
* Talent
* Skills
* Knowledge
* Experience
“Drive” is one of the tires. It includes:
* Grit
* Determination
* Persistence
* Confidence
* Consistency
“Reputation” is the second tire. It includes:
* Your professional brand
* What people say about you
* What you’re known for
* Your proof
“Interview” is the third tire. It includes:
* Your job interview process
* Your interviewing skills
* Communication skills
* Presentation skills
* Questions asked
* Follow up
Finally, “Champion” is the last tire. It includes:
* Your inside champion
* Inside connections
* Inside influencers
Lighting it all up to get hired
Three of my clients and community members recently landed new jobs:
* One leveraged networking, finding an inside champion, and my 1-on-1 coaching to create a new role that hadn’t existed before. They also negotiated a higher level and a lot more compensation!
* Another used networking, my coaching, and my Career Accelerator to land a job with a former colleague that was in the “hidden job market.”
* Finally, the last person used my Career Accelerator, some of my coaching, and an inside champion to land a great new job in Silicon Valley.
Weak engine of Capability
Sometimes, your engine is underpowered for the role you’re seeking. I always encourage people to stretch themselves, but do so within reason.
Flat tire of Reputation
You may have everything else going for you, but people know you’re a pain to manage and worth with. The industry is always smaller than you think, and people talk. However, you can repair your reputation and get back in the game.
Flat tire of Drive
Grit and determination will often carry the day. But, if you lack confidence, don’t consistently put in the work, and give up too soon, you’ll find it hard to land jobs that others do.
Flat tire of the Champion
I frequently talk about the power of having an inside champion. Champions, influencers, and insiders can tip the balance of a job interview in your favor. Just ask my clients who leveraged them to land great jobs quickly! But, if your Champion tire is flat, be prepared for a long, slow crawl in the job search race.
Flat tire of the Interview
You could have everything else set up, but still bomb the interview. No champion can save you if you don’t prepare well enough. Your capabilities and reputation won’t matter if you can’t demonstrate your knowledge, experience, and wisdom while speaking with the interviewers. I don’t care how much drive you have. It won’t help if you can’t communicate well, present well, and generally interview strongly.
Winning the job search race
Light up your engine, and all four tires, and you’ll be well on your way to speeding around the track and landing your next great job!
As I said earlier, most of the content of this article is in the podcast audio. So, scroll up and hit play if you want to hear it.
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newsletter.invinciblecareer.com/su

In this podcast episode, I share a sneak peek at my recent Invincible Career Job Search workshop I hosted on April 1st.
In the previous podcast episode, when I shared a preview of the workshop, I talked quite a bit about the Connecting strategy.
In this episode, I discuss positioning (e.g., LinkedIn, resume, cover letter) a little more and then dive into the Broadcasting strategy. If you want opportunities to come your way, the professional world has to know you exist.
Enjoy!
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newsletter.invinciblecareer.com/subscribe

In this episode, I share an overview of the presentation materials to give you a sense of the 2-hour workshop I’ll be hosting on April 1st. So, make sure to play the audio since I’m not including 2 hours of text material in this newsletter article.
➡️ “Find a Better Job Using 3 Essential Job Search Strategies”
The price for the workshop goes up again next week. So, if you're interested in joining us, grab a ticket now. Or, use the advice I share in this episode for free!
​⏰ This is the last time I will host my Invincible Career Job Search workshop this year. I won't offer it again until 2025! So, join us now or wait until then.
​Note: I record video of myself and the presentation, which I share with all the attendees after the workshop. So, if the time doesn’t work for you to join us live, you will have the homework document and the video material to use later, just like a course.
The Workshop Agenda
* Who is this Larry Cornett person?
* What’s going wrong — with your job or job search?
* Breakout discussion 💬
* My 3 essential invincible job search strategies
* All about you (so you can sell yourself for your ideal job)
* Defining your ideal job
* Defining your ideal employer
* Defining your ideal boss
* Breakout discussion 💬
* The Connecting strategy
* The Broadcasting strategy
* Breakout discussion 💬
* The Targeting strategy
* Q & A for the last 20 minutes
Play the audio for this newsletter and podcast episode to hear my description of each part of the agenda.
Win a Free Coaching Session!
​​Refer your friends to join you in this workshop, and you could win a FREE coaching session. Share the link to the workshop with your friends and ask them to provide your name when they register.
​​Winners will be determined by the total number of referrals.
* ​​First place wins a free 1-hour coaching call worth over $300!
* ​​Second place wins a free 45-min coaching call worth over $240
* ​​Third place wins a free 30-min coaching call worth over $150
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newsletter.invinciblecareer.com/subscribe

This is one of the worst job markets I’ve experienced in quite some time. It seems like new layoffs are being announced every day.
In this podcast episode, I talk more about what’s going on, how to tell if a layoff might be coming, what to do about it, and how to get back into the game after one happens.
I’ve linked some of my past articles you might find useful if you’re concerned about a layoff or recently went through one.
Have you ever considered starting a business to escape the stress of worrying about layoffs?
I know that sounds strange, but that’s exactly why I launched my first solopreneur business. I had just lost my job, needed to support my young family, and wanted more stability. So, I put my trust in myself instead of leaving it in the hands of a fickle employer.
If that sounds interesting to you, I'm hosting my next live workshop on how to build a lifestyle business on Feb 26th!
"Build a Lifestyle Business to Escape Your 9-5 Job"
I'll record the workshop and share the video with you later. So, if the time doesn't work for you, you'll have the workbook exercises and video to use just like a course.
Grab your ticket now, because the price goes up next week.
Would love to see you there!
Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newsletter.invinciblecareer.com/subscribe