Change (both those unanticipated and the ones we seek–like reinvention!) is stressful. When you’ve finally made the decision to leave your old career, the first 30 days are pivotal. What you do during that critical time period can determine whether you get stuck in a quagmire of doubt and despair, or move forward filled with energy and hope.

My good friend Ariane de Bonvoisin, change coach and CEO of The First 30 Days, has just written The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Any Change (and Loving Your Life More). The definitive how-to guide for successfully navigating an initial transition through any life change, her book teaches you nine key principles that help you discover ways to develop a positive mind-set, combat your ‘Change Demons’, and build a network of support.

Ariane’s book helps you not just with your career, but the whole spectrum of changes you might face in your life. She has built an incredible community of change optimists and experts at First30Days.com, and is endorsed by top personal growth leaders including Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra and Marci Shimoff (from The Secret). Check out her book and learn valuable tips that will help you manage change and reach your goals!

I ran across In Transition many years ago when I was looking to leave Wall Street and find a job in the entertainment field.  Its authors, Mary Burton and Richard Wedemeyer, teach a popular seminar on career management at Harvard Business School’s club in New York.

This book, which looks at career change from both a practical and profound perspective, very quickly became my bible! In Transition emphasizes the importance of integrating your personal priorities into your professional goals.  It contains well-thought out exercises for exploring the internal aspects of career satisfaction, such as creating a life mission statement and identifying your priorities and acceptable trade offs.  It also stresses the importance of applying business skills to the job search, such as working with a ‘Board of Directors’ and creating a ‘personal marketing campaign’.

The trials I faced as I moved between completely different industries taught me other key concepts that were specific to career reinvention, including:

1. Exploding the ‘myths’ about what life would be like when I landed my ‘dream’ job
2. The value of having the support of a ‘reinvention team’, a group of like-minded peers who were also looking to change careers
3. The importance of becoming ‘fluent’ in the language of my target career

In Transition provided me with a conceptual foundation that I could modify to my own particular situation, which helped me successfully land my first job in the entertainment field.  Although it was written a number of years ago its advice is timeless, and it remains an essential part of my career reinvention reference library!