At the top of my list? ELF, starring Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf. ❄️

One scene always sticks with me: Buddy’s adoptive elf dad, played by Bob Newhart, hands him a snow globe with the Empire State Building inside. It’s Buddy’s map — a clear visual of where to find his biological father.

Buddy has a burning desire to connect with his dad. He has a vision: leave the North Pole, traverse the unknown, and arrive in New York City. ☃️

But the journey to fulfill that vision? Not so simple.

Buddy must pass through seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest, the sea of swirly twirly gumdrops, and walk through the Lincoln Tunnel.

Sound familiar?

When we set a bold career vision—whether it’s a new role, more flexibility, or becoming a leader—it’s like standing at the North Pole. The goal is clear, but the path ahead?

Messy and unpredictable.

From Career Desire to Career Vision Realized: The Messy Middle

The key to creating your Career Vision isn’t about avoiding the mess—it’s all about accepting it.

Here’s the truth about the messy middle:

• You’ll feel confused and uncertain.
• Naysayers will show up, telling you to dream smaller.
• Obstacles will appear—ones you didn’t plan for.
• Doubts will creep in, making you question if it’s even possible.
• You’ll feel tempted to distract yourself with anything else.

But once you accept the mess as part of the process, something shifts. You find calm certainty — a knowing that you can handle whatever the mess brings.

Once you have accepted the mess then you can begin to take action.

The 3 Essential Steps to Navigate the Mess

In November inside the Career Alchemy Academy, we’ve been focused on turning career desires into clear visions. As we move into December, it’s time to connect those visions to aligned action.

1. Define the 3 Essential Steps.

Identify the actions that matter most right now to move closer to your vision.

2. Take aligned action.

These steps should resonate with your authentic self because alignment makes everything easier.

3. Embrace the mess.

Know that obstacles will come, and when they do, adjust your steps. You gain new information and with more information you’ll get stronger results.

What Comes Next

As you take consistent, messy action, something incredible happens:

• Your vision becomes sharper.
• Confidence replaces doubt.
• You move faster and smarter.

And one day, you’ll look back and realize: every detour and gumdrop-filled step was worth it. You didn’t just survive the messy middle—you mastered it.

The best part? Now you know you can handle any journey, any mess, and create any vision.

And when you achieve that next career dream, someone will turn to you and say:

“You did it! Congratulations! World’s best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody!”

IYKYN.

P.S. Join Career Alchemy Academy,

• Watch the 2 Vision webinars and the Career Core Values Workshop videos that took place in November but are available to all the alchemists when they join.
• Begin to take action on your Career Vision, create goals that are connected to your authentic selves,
• Join the conversation with our December Guest Speaker, Michele Kelly, co-founder of K+L Storytellers, as she helps us build a powerful, authentic brand story
• Connect with a community of women pursuing their bigger career dreams and supporting each other in the messy middle.