The Someday Warehouse

Most people breathe a sigh of relief once they land a new role.

Finally…a paycheck. A title. A new beginning.

But before you know it - here comes the quiet trade-off:
You double down to “prove your value.”
You take on the crap work without complaint.
You hide your real ambition because “it’s too early to ask for more.”

And within 90 days, your dream job has quietly morphed into another trap.

You are back to being a workhorse ploughing the crops you will never eat.

After a while, it becomes another flavor of burnout.

Just another place you don’t feel seen.

You strategic thinking and analytical mind are boxed up and sent to the "someday warehouse".

The Hidden Shift

If you’re not intentional, the job shapes you. You don’t shape the job.

Remember that decisions are always made - but sometimes people decide for you.

That’s why most employees - and even leaders (especially the good ones) slowly fade into background roles they never signed up for.

I used to think the goal was to be indispensable.

Turns out, being indispensable is the easiest way to get stuck doing low-leverage work that no one else wants to touch.

So I flipped it:
On day one, I started planning my exit.
Not to leave but to build leverage.
I wanted to own my time.
I wanted to use my role as a launchpad, not a prison.

Misalignment

Most people aren’t burnt out because they work too hard.

They’re burnt out because they work on the wrong things, for the wrong people, with no clear path forward.

That’s not a hustle problem. That’s a strategy problem.

The fix isn’t another certification or another night doom-scrolling job boards.

It's not to learn another tool or become good at writing data extracts.

Those don't hurt, but they can keep you in "doer" mode.

The fix is a system:

– A plan to reshape the perception of your value
– A habit of weekly time investment in YOU (minimum four hours)
– A schedule that prioritizes lunch with your kid and meetings that show your strategic brain
– The guts to turn your boss into your peer - not by force, but by proof

This is how we become the obvious choice for high-impact roles they actually want.

Let Me Show You the Map

Much career advice tells you to wait your turn.

Keep your head down. Work hard. Hope for recognition.

Some tells you to keep jumping your way up. And that works - if you have 10 years.

These paths are broken.

The people I work with don’t “wait their turn.”

They make their turn the obvious next step.

On day 1, start thinking about who will replace you.

Everything else follows.

Matt

PS:

This is what I teach inside the Obvious Choice Workshop - a free deep-dive session where I walk you through how to rethink, re-position, and re-present your career in a way that gets you hired into roles that pay well and make you proud of your work again - and rediscover who you are.

You don’t need to grind for another 18 months doing the wrong work for the wrong team.

You need to spend a few hours learning how to play this game differently.

→ https://www.obviouschoicesystem.com/workshop​

Make your next move the obvious one.

MK