The comparison struck me.

“What do you think?” I asked my client.

“I love it.” Her enthusiastic reply was quickly followed with details reinforcing her evident flattery at being compared to Katherine Hepburn. “I love donning crisp wool trousers, a silk blouse and pearls and wielding my Monte Blanc pen. It’s who I am.”

My client is in her element.

Clearly grateful for the transition from the required black suits she wore every day for thirteen years in the finance industry, she’s even more thankful she had the guts to make a major career change. Transitioning from the competitive industry of finance to a more creative pursuit had always been her dream. She’s an artist, or in her words “was a painter,” who’d always held fast to the vision she would return to a more creative world—someday. Now she finally has. Now, she manages a blossoming art gallery nestled in between a law firm and bakery in a quaint seaside village.

Career transition can be daunting.

Any change is peppered with fear. But a decision that requires abandoning a successful climb up the corporate ladder to pursue a “creative dream” can riddle one with doubt. Creating a plan that assesses your risk is imperative and by doing so, you’ll flesh out options, establish goals and discover potential obstacles. Armed with this information, you can then develop the steps required to realize your vision.

Creative Careers are all the rage these days, often because they involve freedom of expression, but also because they are high-income earners. That’s right. You heard me. When you pursue what you love, you’ll reap higher rewards. You’re driven by the creativity this new career provides because you’re fueled by passion and purpose. And that, my friends, is the catalyst for success.

As we worked together through the career transition process, my client discovered that her only potential obstacle was confidence.

Not that she would succeed, but that the art world would once again embrace her. After conducting crucial conversations with the gallery’s clientele, she discovered her finance background was an unrecognized strength. Leveraging this with her passion propelled her motivation and she took a leap of faith. Although my client doesn’t live in Philadelphia, she resides on the East coast.

And much like her alter ego in “Philadelphia Story,” her story ends with Career Happiness.