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Notes, observations, commentary, news and photos from our communities. I'm the general manager for the YourHub.com operation, the citizen journalism site for the Ventura County Star. And I'm glad you are here, too. My wife Joanna and I live in Simi Valley with our two sons, Matt and Joey. We've been in Ventura County for more than two decades and feel privileged to be here. Please comment on this blog and post your news and musings, too. See you around the county!

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People making transitions

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Contributed by: Michael Hoffman on 6/1/2007

Stephen Willmont knew it was time to make a change. He felt it in his gut.

After two and a half decades with the YMCA in California, including a 12-year stint at the Conejo Valley's Y, his health was telling him that he needed to make a switch.

"I had just run out of gas," he said.

Today he works as a financial representative for the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.

People who had made transitions abounded Friday morning at the monthly networking breakfast organized by the Thousand Oaks/Westlake Chamber of Commerce. While we often think of the business world as filled with long-term stability, there was lots of evidence of the need for change. The desire for something different often brings positive benefits.

The breakfast was sponsored by Del Jensen, another man in motion. In 2004, Jensen had three secretaries and oversaw a department of hundreds at CitiBank. In November of that year, he realized that he had cancelled each of that year's family vacations for business reasons. For a man with nine children, that fact exposed a profound gap between the values he placed on his family and on his career.

After some study, Jensen and his wife moved to California where he now represents Nouveau Riche University, a company designed to train real estate investors. Now he sets his own schedule. Last December, he took the month off to celebrate Christmas.

The most difficult thing about making change is taking that first step. We all grow secure and somewhat content even in conditions that are less than optimal. But there is usually a voice deep within that alerts us about the broken link between what we are getting and what we want.

One way to resolve that conflict is with additional clarity, which is where the morning's speaker came in. Greg Spaulding of Spaulding and Associates helps businesses distill and refine their marketing messages. Create a unique selling proposition, he told the 60 people there. Define your business, he said.

"You can either brand or be branded," he said. "Where will you be?"

The same advice applies to us as individuals. For Willmont, his career change represented a shift in how he made his living. He sees now that what he did in working for the YMCA was to serve others. His new role as a financial advisor still fulfills that fundamental goal. When we clarify our personal selling propositions, we decide what values motivate us and find work that suits those principles.

These days, Willmont's gut tells him that he's in the right place.

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