Speaker #0Hi, welcome to The Pulse, the podcast where we explore the heartbeat of life and work. I'm Julie, your host, and I'm thrilled to have you join me on this journey. Every two weeks, I will bring you a regular dose of inspiration, practical tips, and regular stories about personal development, wellness, and career growth. Whether you're looking for motivation, fresh perspective, or just a reminder that you're not alone, you are in the right place. So welcome and let's dive in. Hi, welcome to the polls. Happy Saturday for me, at least it's Saturday for you, I think. Sunday or maybe another day of the week. I hope you're doing well today. We are doing episode 29. It was expected to be another one. This is... being recorded in February, but this is for the episode the 1st of March 2026, in case you're not listening in 2026. But overall, I had planned based on the newsletter to have another episode out. But unfortunately, it took me longer to edit because this is our first guest episode. So we'll be coming out next, next once on the 15th. And I've decided to do another episode this week as I said First of all, because of the fact that I needed more time to edit. But also, this episode came out of the blue. It was not the one that was planned or that was in the next couple of episodes that I have planned on my list. It came up last month, I think, in January, when I saw quite a few reels and a few posts about career minimalism. And that made me have a bit of a thought process about... this topic and understanding what is carrier minimalism, what's the opposite, and then is it really truly linked to behavior only, and also is it linked to generation. So I just wanted to talk about the topic and I made a bit of a research on it and look at different terms and different insights that we can consider. And I also would like to talk about why should we not make it a generational topic because I think we can be all. But anyway, let's talk about this. I hope you're having a great time and let's go for our episode 29. We can basically put in a spectrum four different type of categories of career paths or a way of viewing career. And the first one on one side. is the basic job for living approach. Then you would have a bit further down the career minimalist. Then again, career driven approach. And then you would have finally the career maximalist. So just to explain a little bit the different type and what each represents. So the first one, the basic job for living approach, it's viewing work primarily as a means to support your lifestyle. Rather than a source of identity or passion, it's about more focusing on stability, simplicity, and maintaining time for personal interest outside of work. So usually it's someone that is looking for a stable job over ambition. Work is a tool for them in order to get what they want or mean to get what they want outside, meaning usually it's financial means. It's allowing you... to have free time for other activity or passion. And it's low stress. There is less interest also to invest in career development, in career growth. And it's about having a job that creates that flexibility that when you're done working, you can focus on your personal life and have time for yourself. Then when it comes to the career minimalism, It has a bit of a similar sense, so I think it's also being used in a bit of a similar way in, for some reason, in social media, online, in whatever I'm seeing. I feel like there is a bit of a differentiation or misunderstanding. So the difference here compared to the basic job for living approach is that the goal here as a career minimalism is intentionally simplifying your professional life to focus on what truly matter. with the dishes Personal fulfillment, work-life balance, reducing stress. So there will be also similar intention than the basic job for living approach, where you want to have low stress work, you want to have a form of work-life balance, having a certain form of flexibility. But here, the idea is to focus on the essential, but also to have the flexibility to change. when basic job for living approach, Most likely we want to stay in the same job, in the same company, doing the same thing. When it comes to the career minimalism, it's more one job, but that job can evolve in order to ensure that you're still fulfilled, that you continue to have this work-life balance. It's quality over quantity. So you're looking at having a job that has a high quality of work, of opportunity, of capacity. Thanks. intentional growth as well and financial simplicity. So there is some overlap in some ways, but I think it goes beyond just the basic job for living where this person may still want to grow and develop, but instead of making it their full career path, they're going to choose a certain intention to have that one thing at a time approach to avoid that work. and their career is taking over everything. Then the third path, as I mentioned earlier, is the career-driven approach. And here it's definitely going way out compared to the first two, where it's someone that is career-driven, prioritizing professional growth, achievement, advancement. It's often someone that is involved in having ambitions. ambitious goals and seeking challenges and actively working toward long-term success in their fields. And in this case, I also want to highlight that doesn't mean automatically someone that's going to go up the career ladder. Sometimes it's also someone that doesn't have or will not go for those C-level of VP role, but it's someone within their field that is going to grow and develop. And that is including, for example, for law, for medicine or other topic, you usually have more of those people who have this career-driven approach. So those people are about goals, about continuous learning. They have a high engagement in their job. Their identity is tied to work. It's not automatically everything, but part of their identity is their work and their career. But they're also someone that is going to go... taking some risk as they grow in their career they will look for opportunity and try to develop in that direction the last one is career maximalism and those people are also highly focused on having a certain form of ambition or challenges they also definitely prioritize professional life in some ways in their life but In this case, it's more about a mindset to focus on accumulating achievements, responsibilities, material success, often at the expense of personal time. But at the same time, I would almost want to say that it's more of a blend in those cases. So you see sometimes people who have multiple jobs and multiple roles, they might be volunteering in some ways, they might... do a side hustle, they may have a main corporate job. However, this is linked, but they are accumulating and they are interested in accumulating the different roles and responsibility. And therefore, it's very often that those roles that tend to be seen as the only focus or their persona is work, but it's not always the case. I think nowadays you see more and more of those people who accumulate. but also ensure that they have a work-life balance. It's more blended in some way in terms of their personal and professional together. And here you see those people are definitely ambition-driven. They have high outputs. For them, more is better in their mindsets. And they have also diverse experience. So that's the difference with a career-driven. Usually they are in their fields. They stay in their fields. They grow in their fields. And you can be for sure maximalist within your fields by accumulating degree, accumulating experience, etc. But the career maximalist is more like looking broader in some way. So those are the four types of... career that you can have or that people tend to have overall. Now when we talk about those four types, you don't have to be one type specifically, but I think it can help you understand how you view life, how you view your career, and the fact that there is multiple paths and one is not automatically the best or the better choice for you. You also are able to evolve and change. And just to give you a bit of an understanding from my side and my personal stories, I would say I used to be heavily career driven. Primarily, I was definitely looking for this growth in my fields and to develop in a certain direction and to grow in the different role so I was very goal oriented I was doing a lot of continuous learning. I was highly engaged also with the company I was working in. And I would say that today I'm still very engaged with the company I work in right now. I'm also very much into goal-oriented, but I have become more diverse and I would call myself today a maximalist. And I don't think it's anything negative, but it's more that I want this accumulation of responsibility, I want the flexibility. of having potentially multiple roles, multiple income in some ways, and be a bit more flexible of choosing where I put more or less time in my life and my career. And yes, for sure, you would look at, most likely me, I think my friend would say that I'm heavily, my career is important in my life, and it is, but that doesn't mean my personal life is not. It's more that the two are blended. I would say overall that I am a maximalist in experiences overall and not in the sense of experience for work but more experience of life I like to spend time and do a lot of things in my days I'll do a lot of running I have my dog I have this podcast I have my work I read books I have my challenges I have right now I'm working on my master degree and many many other things and it's not that one takes over the other or that one is creating an imbalance with the other says that I need all of those to create me and to be me in a way and yes it's maybe many at the moment and maybe too much some time but it's not that one is taking precedence over the other or that my work is so much important or it's my whole personality that the other ones comes with us But in a way, you also can say that my master's degree is related to work. This podcast, in some ways, is related to work. My job is related to work. And you could say, OK, this is her personality. But trust me, and I hope that's OK. I have a lot on the side and I enjoy a lot of things. And for me, it's not automatically about career anymore. It's more about enjoying what I do. Yes, I have some goals and some aspiration when it comes to leadership, to growth in terms of my main job. But it's not everything. I need this sense of fulfillment. And this is where I would like to go now in this portion, is to talk about the importance of fulfillment. Fulfillment is maybe what is the most important, no matter which one of those four paths you choose. I would recommend no matter what, that your job and your time at work has to have a form of fulfillment. And I know it's not easy. If you take someone that will have this basic job for a living approach, they may just want a solid job that is working. I don't know, I've heard some people working in accounting in order, they have their clear hours, they have their clear salary, they know they will be needed forever, etc, etc, etc. That makes them feel comfortable. I mean, forever, who knows with AI, but you know what I mean? It's like they have the feeling of comfort and of structure. And while it's definitely important to feel safe, I think no matter what, you can take risk and you can be someone who wants to challenge yourself and take risks financially or anything else. We know the economy today can be difficult, so some people want or don't want to take the risk financially with their financials or with their livelihood. In general, what is maybe the most important to me is to remind everyone that we spend roughly 40 hours a week at least. And that is, of course, if you're career driven and do extra hours, then it's your choice. But no matter what your contract, I mean, maybe 35 or some 38, 39, 40, whatever is the amount. This is the amount of hours that we spend at work during a week. Thanks. If you're not fulfilled during this time or if you don't enjoy in some way this time, think about is it really time well spent or is there something that would be more fulfilling to make your day? And yes, you need to make the money. Yes, you need to be able to have the means to live your life. But life is short. So being fulfilled in some ways might be, in my opinion, is a... It's a good idea. So I'm not saying every day is an amazing day. I'm not saying every day you have to be happy, but you have to feel like this is having a certain meaning for you. And trust me, I am in a very difficult project right now. I would not go into details. And some days I don't feel good at all. And it's not because I don't feel good or I feel sad or I feel stress or I feel the struggle. That there is still not a form of fulfillment. Yes, it's hard. Yes, I wish I was happy every day. But there is a form of fulfillment in terms of what I'm achieving at the end of the day with what I'm working on. And I know I'm not saving the world. I'm not saving people. But I'm helping in some ways. I am bringing things forward. And I'm contributing. And that is where I feel fulfilled. And it's the same thing with everything that I do. Why do I do this podcast? Because there is a form of fulfillment in doing it. There is a form of enjoyment. But I think it's about thinking to ensure that whatever career path you choose, don't forget to feel fulfilled, to enjoy it, and to have a certain feeling of happiness during those times. So whatever... Direction you choose, I also see the value in care minimalism, to be honest. Having a bit of simplicity in today's world where we are always more, it can be very difficult for some people when you look at others online or you look at what people accomplish and sometimes it's too much. It's almost similar to when you see people buying and buying and buying and filling their home with things. Is it the same way when you're a maximalist that you're like filling your CV with things? Is it really adding value or truly adding value? And as long as you can justify why you do this career path, why you have this approach to your career, to your life, I think that's what matters. But you have to be clear for yourself of which direction you're going. That is my opinion. I hope you liked it. I had to re-record it. in. Definitely a bit of a tough one. Not because I'm not clear on the different type and not because I'm not clear on who I am and why I'm doing this, but more because I don't want to, I really didn't want to offend anyone. And I think I want to ensure everyone feels understood and feel like there is no right and wrong. It's your life, it's your choice. It's not if you are one type that if you are... If career is important to you, that doesn't mean that you're not taking care of your well-being or that you are not balanced or you're missing out on something. I think you can definitely balance it out. It can also be unbalanced sometimes, so you have to just have the awareness. And it's not being a career minimalist or just having a job that is for your living lifestyle. And it's just a... job for food basically for for your means it's not in any way negative either it's a it's a choice that comes out of a of potential necessity in the first place and comes out of a way we've been living in the last years the economy what we've dealt with the the pressure and the constant visibility of what's out there so I also get people who don't want to takes those risks and today they want safety. There has been some difficulties in the past for some people. So I just want to... I just wanted to open more the doors for people to understand the different type and figure out where they are sitting. And without really not offending anyone and saying everything is okay. It's just about being clear of where you're sitting. And potentially you're neither of those four and you are an in-between. And it's totally fine as well as just knowing where you want to tend and what's important to you. So always consider what the balance for you looks like because... I've talked about it before in previous episodes. Work-life balance, is it really just work and life? I mean, there is multiple components in life. So it's not a 50-50 between the two. And there is multiple pieces to balance together. And well-being is what is important to you. Some people have more adherence or capability to deal with stress and like some form of stress. Some people do not want any stress. So it's really depending on you and none of them. are wrong but I feel I'm ranting I hope you liked it it would be as I said yeah I had to re-record it so we'll see what I do with social media but it was important for me to ensure the message come out right and that everyone feels okay so now I will go to edit because it's 9 30 p.m and this episode comes out tomorrow morning at 9 so I will have a fun evening but I'm happy. I know it's short notice, but as I said, it's fulfilling. It feels good. And I'm not unhappy to spend the next hour editing to get you that episode out there tomorrow morning. So have a great day. Enjoy. And yeah, we talk very soon. Bye. And that's a wrap for today's episodes of The Pulse. If something resonated with you, I would love to hear about it. So drop me a message on Instagram, LinkedIn, or leave a review wherever you're listening. Your feedback fuels this community and I much appreciate it. Make sure to follow The Pulse on your favorite podcast platforms and on social media so you never miss an episode. And if you're craving for more, check out the show notes for links, resources, and ways to connect. Until next time, keep trusting your journey because growth happens one step at a time. See you soon. Bye.
