How to Take Control of Your Career In 2025

Too many people manage their careers like they are an extra in their own movies.

They just roll with the punches and hope for the best.

They dream of the career they want, but they assume it's out of their control, so they never take action.

But that’s the equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming to knock on your door... It only happens in fairy tales.

Here’s the good news:

Even if you have been on the sidelines of your career this year, you can change it!

You can stop outsourcing your success and waiting for someone to save you, and start managing your career like a CEO.

You can take control of your journey and start directing the movie.

Stop Outsourcing Your Success

The most successful people I know have one thing in common:

They were all entrepreneurs with corporate jobs. Here’s what I mean:

Even though they are employed, they manage their career and life like they are running a business.

So instead of taking a passive approach and observing their career from the sidelines:

"It’s just the way it is"

"I hope one day my boss will notice me"

"I’ll just wait for my turn…eventually, I will be promoted"

They act like CEOs of a one-person company:

"I'm in control of my future"

"How can I get on my boss's radar?"

"What can I do to make a case for a promotion, even without the headcount?"

(This last one got one of my students a Director promotion this year, despite a promotion freeze!)

It's exactly what I did to get 10 promotions in my 20-year career, working on two different continents.

I stopped outsourcing my success and waiting for someone to come save me and instead created the future I wanted to see.

And guess what? You can do it too.

Here is your guide to becoming the CEO of your career.

How To Take Control Of Your Career

If I had to guess, I'd say most of us end up on the sidelines because we assume we don't really have agency over our careers.

After all, someone else is in control: Our manager, the company, the economy…

We assume we can't fight the system, so we accept the circumstances.

But that’s a misconception. A false belief that costs us years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost opportunities.

Here’s how I know.

Have you ever heard of the 4-minute mile?

For hundreds of years, people thought it was physically impossible to run a mile in under 4 minutes. Doctors actually thought a runner's heart might explode if they tried.

Because no one had ever done it before, it seemed like an impossible mission, one that was more than the human body was capable of achieving.

So for years, no one tried… Until Roger Bannister decided to go for it anyway.

On May 6, 1954, he ran the mile in just under 4 minutes, and guess what? He didn’t die! And on that day, made the impossible possible.

The most amazing part of that story, however, is that within 4 years of running that 4-minute mile, 20 more people recorded a mile in under 4 minutes.

Think about it: For centuries, not one human ran a mile in under 4 minutes and then once one person proved it was possible, 20 more people did it.

Now, did the human body magically evolve over those 4 years so that people could run faster?

No, people finally BELIEVED it was possible because someone else had done it. And in their minds, the switch flipped from impossible to possible

A mindset shift made all the difference.

The same principle applies to your career.

If you believe you have no control over your career, you won’t even try.

But once you realize you can manage almost every aspect in your career…

That’s when you:

↳ Receive two promotions in one year

(even though everyone told you it was impossible)

↳ Get promoted outside of the promo cycle

(even though it’s against the ‘rules’)

↳ Are offered a leadership role without asking

(when there is no headcount or job description)

↳ Level up from Director to VP while changing employers

(even though everyone said you can only move laterally)

These are all real examples from our students, by the way.

If you want to take control of your career in 2025 it starts with your belief system.

Realize that you have control, the power to make it happen, and you don't need to wait for permission.

A CEO wouldn’t hope, wait, or dream of making their company a success. They would do whatever it takes to make it a success.

They would set up goals, find creative solutions, and take action.

This is how you build a billion-dollar company, and it's how you build a successful career.

The First Step to CEO

What the 4-minute mile story teaches us is that our brains need proof to change our belief system.

It's not enough to tell ourselves we're in control, we need to prove it.

There's a simple solution. Find a role model. Someone who has done what you want to do.

Maybe they leveled up really quickly, maybe they are an exceptional leader. Maybe they started their own business. Find a real human being who defied the odds. Use them as proof that it can be done.

Because if even one person can do it, it is no longer impossible.

And if it is possible, there’s nothing stopping you from taking action.

We recently spoke about this idea inside of Success Builders and just one week later people came back with amazing examples.

A Director who assumed they wouldn't be promoted as long as their manager was a Sr. Director found:

A colleague who changed departments to make this jump

Another who left and got a promotion elsewhere

A Sr. Director who thought she'd need 5-7 years to reach the C-suite found:

C-level executive who jumped 2 levels with one move by going to a smaller company

A Senior Manager who thought they needed an MBA to become a VP found:

A colleague who proved their strategic skills through cross-functional projects and skipped the MBA.

Another who pitched a new role and got promoted by building senior sponsor support.

Want to know why it works?

Because we can't argue with facts.

Your Next Steps

While most people choose to outsource their success and let someone else decide for them, successful executives own their journey.

Instead of downgrading their dreams, they upgrade their reality.

You can go through 2025 hoping and waiting, or take control and create the future you want to see.

The first step? Find proof.

One person who did what you want to do. Because if they did it, you can do it too.

I believe in you, and I’m rooting for you.

Maya ❤️