Sep 8, 2019
Rhys is a young man who had his heart set on making an impact in the world. He initially thought this might be through an organisation such as "Engineers without Boundaries", so he set out to study engineering at Monash University in Melbourne. What looked like a certain career path initially, turned into a ‘no go’ zone when he graduated at the start of the global financial crisis. Try as he might he could not get a start in his chosen path. Disappointment and sadness naturally set in. Embracing a growth mindset he eventually decided to experiment with other roles and ended up in a well-regarded law firm. Even though he was not a lawyer by training, he found that his double degree in engineering and arts could be repurposed to pursue this new career. He is now skilled in explaining complex insurance and superannuation documents to the public in plain English. He loves helping people make claims that they were not aware of and thereby often changing the direction of their lives. Rhys talks about being single-minded and stationary when he was continually rejected trying to get a graduate engineering position. However, when he opened up to other options and was prepared to try them out he found that new doors open that he could not have foreseen. "A body at rest tends to stay at rest. A body in motion tends to stay in motion.” Clearly the skill of being able to change direction and repurpose one's training and experience is not just important for those in the 50, 60, 70, but also those in their 20, 30, 40's as technology makes routine work redundant. A great listen for all and very inspiring.
Rhys can be contacted at RChamberlain@mauriceblackburn.com.au, or 03 96052757, or https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhys-w-chamberlain/