Before Drive Your Career had a name, a framework, or a set of resources… it started with a simple observation:
When language doesn’t land, meaning doesn’t either.
And when meaning doesn’t land…
people stay stuck.
This realisation didn’t come from theory alone.
It came from years of working with veterans navigating transition,
and noticing that the difference wasn’t what I was saying…
It was how I was saying it.
It Started with a Question
In 2021, during a breakout session in a Hope Action Theory webinar, someone shared a perspective that stayed with me.
The framework was interesting, they said…
but it probably wouldn’t land with certain groups.
First responders.
Mining industry workers.
People in highly technical, operational environments.
The reasoning?
The language felt too abstract.
The metaphor didn’t connect.
It was a fair comment.
But it also sparked something.
Curiosity… and, if I’m honest, a quiet kind of stubbornness.
💭 Where the Question First Emerged
This earlier reflection explores the moment curiosity (and a little stubbornness) challenged the idea that some frameworks “don’t fit” certain groups:
👉 Read the original LinkedIn post
Was It the Framework… or the Language?
I’d seen this before.
When introducing creative approaches with veteran groups, the responses often sat somewhere between:
- curious interest
- polite scepticism
- or a very direct: “nope… this sounds like hippy sht”*
And yet… when something did land, it landed well.
So I started paying closer attention.
What was different?
The Shift That Changed Everything
It wasn’t the framework that needed to change.
It was the language.
When I began explaining ideas using military language, metaphors, and lived reference points, the same concepts suddenly became:
- more familiar
- more practical
- more usable
And most importantly, they helped people move toward clarity with purpose.
Where Automotive Language Came In
Around the same time, I had already been using automotive language with UK REME (Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers) and ADF RAEME (Royal Australian Electrical Mechanical Engineers) veterans.
Not as a gimmick.
But as a way to:
- explain transferable skills
- reframe strengths
- make sense of complex career transitions
Because for many of the people I was working with, this wasn’t “new language.”
It was their language.
From Instinct to Intentional
Over the following years, that instinct became something more deliberate.
I have continued developing approaches that combine:
- automotive and motorsport language
- creative engagement strategies
- and the structure of Hope Action Theory
Not to simplify the work.
But to make it more accessible without losing depth.
A Moment That Brought It All Together
In 2024, while travelling through the UK and Germany, something shifted.
On one journey, my train to Berlin was unexpectedly delayed near Hannover.
No clear timeline.
No control over the situation.
Just a pause.
A complimentary biscuit from the train staff.
A notebook.
And time to think.
That moment became more than just a delay.
It became a space to notice what I had been building.
A collection of ideas that weren’t “cookie-cutter.”
A way of working that adapted, responded, and moved with uncertainty.
That was the moment Drive Your Career began to take shape.
🚆 A Moment from the Journey
This reflection was first captured in real time while travelling through Germany in 2024, when an unexpected delay became space for new ideas to take shape:
👉 Read the original LinkedIn post
Why This Approach Exists
Drive Your Career was never about just about cars.
It is about connection.
Because when people can engage with ideas through language they already understand:
- curiosity opens
- thinking stretches
- clarity becomes possible
And from there…
Hope becomes something they can build and sustain.
Not a Cookie-Cutter Approach
This approach has taken years of:
- listening
- testing
- adapting
- learning new technical language
- and stepping into unfamiliar environments
From automotive workshops to motorsport events…
from classrooms to coaching conversations.
Because if the language doesn’t land…
the meaning doesn’t either.
And without meaning, there is no movement.
It is a work in progress, as I continue to learn and understand more about the motorsport and automotive industry.
A Different Starting Point
So instead of asking:
“Will this framework work for this group?”
The question becomes:
“How do we translate it so it does?”
That question sits at the heart of Drive Your Career.
Closing Reflection
What language do you already understand…
that might help you make sense of where you are now?
🔍 Explore Further
If you’re curious about how these ideas developed in real time, read:
Jenn Barfield - Holistic Clarity Coaching 