Season 2, Episode 01: Are Careers Broken? What the New Data Reveals:

From Job Hugging to Career Ownership: Exploring the gap between what we know is possible and what we’re afraid to pursue.

New national data reveals a stunning gap between what people believe about Career Ownership — and what fear is stopping them from doing about it.

If you have ever sat at your desk wondering how much longer your job will last, you are not alone. Millions of Americans go to work every day carrying a quiet worry: “Is this career path really taking me where I want to go?”

Layoffs. Reorgs. AI. Toxic workplaces. Managers who change direction every quarter. The old promise of “get a good job, stay loyal, and retire comfortably” is quietly breaking down for workers across the United States and Canada. And deep down, most people already know it.

That knowing — without the tools, the guidance, or the courage to act on it — is exactly what fuels today’s career confidence crisis.

At The Entrepreneur’s Source®, we have spent decades walking alongside people at this crossroads. We understand the fear. We understand the conditioning. And we know there is a better way forward. You just need the right guide to help you see it.

What the Numbers Are Telling Us

The TES Generational Career Confidence Survey for the Career Compass podcast revealed a striking contradiction at the heart of how Americans think about work and Career Ownership.

Here is what respondents said they believe:

• 83% believe owning a business is a viable career alternative.
• 70% think Career Ownership offers more stability and growth than jobs.
• 66% see more job security in Career Ownership than being employed.
• 80% say business ownership offers greater career control (86% among Millennials).

And yet, when asked what they actually prefer?

A full 66% of Americans still say they would rather have a traditional job working for someone else.

“This is where logic and emotions are in conflict.” — Tamara Loring, 

That gap between what people believe and what people choose is not a knowledge problem. It is a fear problem. And it is one that Career Ownership Coaching™ was built to solve.

Why Smart People Stay Stuck in Jobs That Are Not Working

Most Americans were raised with the same career script: go to school, work hard, get a good job, climb the ladder, earn a pension. That script ran in the background for decades, shaping how we think about safety and success.

Even when the old model starts to crack — even when layoffs happen in adjacent teams, even when leadership changes direction again, even when showing up feels more draining than rewarding — most people default back to the familiar.

Dr. Mike Smith, a 26-year Air Force veteran, former senior leader at a Berkshire Hathaway company, and now an entrepreneur and career coach, explains it this way:

“We’re really good at justifying the comfort and the safety of the space we’re in. We have that false sense of safety and security because that’s what we’ve been taught to know.” — Dr. Mike Smith.

The job feels safer because it is known — not because it is truly secure. That distinction matters more now than ever before.

The Three Career Threat Zones You Cannot Afford to Ignore

According to the TES Generational Career Confidence Survey and real-world conversations with thousands of workers across North America, three major threat zones are driving today’s career confidence crisis.

1. Ageism and Career Longevity

Ageism is real—and widely felt by workers across the U.S. and Canada. Many professionals say their age counts against them in hiring, promotion, and pay. Decades of experience and wisdom are reframed as a cost rather than an asset.

But Dr. Mike Smith offers a powerful reframe:

“My age is actually an asset, not a liability. It speaks to years of experience, school of hard knocks, and different jobs — things that make me more relatable and have given me stories I can share to help other people.” — Dr. Mike Smith.

2. AI and Automation

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concern. It is reshaping roles and industries across North America today. But the real risk may not be what most people assume.

“Don’t fear AI replacing you. Fear people who are using AI replacing you.” — Tamara “T” Loring, The Entrepreneur’s Source®.

Tamara “T” Loring, with 24 years at The Entrepreneur’s Source®, sees AI as a tool to free people from repetitive tasks and enable higher-impact work. Adapting to and leveraging AI—not avoiding it—is key.

3. Toxic Workplaces and Constant Change

Many workers face poor leadership, politics, and constant restructuring. This erodes confidence and energy, making people feel stuck.

As Tamara puts it, waking up each day to face that toxicity — on top of everything else — comes at a real cost. People often tolerate it, not out of desire but because they see no alternative.

Change Before You Have To

One of the most important ideas in Dr. Mike’s work — and in the mission of The Entrepreneur’s Source® — is the difference between proactive and reactive change.

“Change is inevitable. We can either change before we need to, or change because we have to.” — Dr. Mike Smith.

Changing before you need to means exploring your options while you still have time, income, and mental energy to think clearly. It means making thoughtful, informed choices rather than desperate ones.

Changing because you have to means your back is against the wall. The layoff already happened. The burnout has already set in. The window for calm, clear decision-making has already closed.

The invitation from The Entrepreneur’s Source® is simple: do not wait for a crisis to force your hand. Start exploring now.

How Career Ownership Coaching™ Makes a Difference

 

 

Here is the truth: most people who stay stuck in unfulfilling or at-risk careers do not lack information. They lack the right framework, the right questions, and the right guide.

That is exactly what a Career Ownership Coach® provides.

The Entrepreneur’s Source® has developed a proven methodology built on three pillars: Education, Awareness, and Discovery (EAD).

• Education means learning what options actually exist — the full spectrum of Career Ownership models, risk profiles, support structures, and financial realities that most people never discover on their own.
• Awareness means uncovering your own strengths, transferable skills, values, and goals — the superpowers you may have lost sight of inside a corporate routine.
• Discovery means exploring what is truly possible without pressure or premature decisions — treating your future like a science project, not a verdict.

A Career Ownership Coach® is not there to push you into entrepreneurship or tell you what to do. Their role is to challenge assumptions, clear away fear-based thinking, and help you see your options clearly.

“A coach will never tell you you’re right or you’re wrong. We challenge, we nudge, we help you unpack — so you arrive at a place of, ‘Now I get it. Now I see it.’” — Dr. Mike Smith

Tamara shares her own story as proof. Coming from a demanding hospitality career, she initially dismissed Career Ownership entirely, telling herself, “I don’t have a big idea. I’m not an entrepreneur.” A coach asked her a question that changed everything:

“Do you think that — or do you know that to be true?” — Tamara Loring.

That one question cracked open a world of possibilities she had been too quick to close off.

Career Ownership Coaching™ works because it meets you where you are — in the fear, the uncertainty, and the confusion — and walks with you through it. Coaches operate under two simple but powerful ground rules: keep an open mind, and make no decisions prematurely. This approach removes pressure and creates the space for real clarity to emerge.

You Are Not Alone in This

If you have been carrying quiet doubts about your career, if you have felt the weight of ageism, AI anxiety, or a toxic work culture, if you have looked at the data and thought “There must be something better” — you are not alone.

As psychologist Carl Rogers once observed: “That which is most personal is most universal.” The very worries that feel most private are often the ones most widely shared by Americans across every industry, age group, and background.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel — and it’s not a train.” — Tamara “T” Loring.

The Entrepreneur’s Source® exists so that you never have to figure this out alone.

Your Next Step Starts Here

You do not need to quit your job tomorrow. You do not need a big idea. You do not need to have it all figured out.

You just need to get curious.

Take 10 minutes today to complete the free Career Threats and Confidence Assessment. This quick step will help you identify where you stand, recognize the career threats most relevant to your situation, and determine your best first steps toward Career Ownership.

Next, visit YourCareerRevolution.com to discover how to work with a Career Ownership Coach®. Download your free guide to learn how Career Ownership Coaching™ can help you take control of your career journey.

Because the data is clear, the need is real, and the path forward exists. All it takes is one conversation to begin seeing it.

About Your Career Revolution

 

Our mission is to help individuals explore self-sufficiency as an alternative career.

We help them define their Income, Lifestyle, Wealth, and Equity goals and provide education on the best ways to achieve them. We don’t sell franchises – we help people achieve their dreams of self-sufficiency through business ownership. The approach is different, the experience is different. And it works.

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Dedication:

We dedicate this book to the tens of thousands of clients who have allowed us to guide then through their Journey of Discovery – courageous people who have made their dreams come true by taking the path less traveled. You inspire us every day. May you, the reader, also achieve your dreams and may this book empower you and assist you in your journey.

—The Entrepreneur’s Source Career Ownership Coaches

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