Welcome to The Career Advantage Show
I am your host, Tony Pisanelli
On this show, we dive deep with our guests to uncover real stories, practical insights, and proven strategies that will help you reclaim your career power, navigate transitions, and design what’s next with confidence.
Welcome to the Career Advantage Show, where we help you reclaim your career power and design your working life on your terms.
I'm Tony Piscinelli, and each week I sit down with leaders who have faced career-defining moments, such as a devastating job loss, burnout, stagnation, or even workplace harassment, and being able to turn these difficult circumstances into powerful and greater opportunities.
The 12 words that empowered my career.
It was 6.30 on a Tuesday evening, after a long, gruelling day in Corporate Australia.
I was walking down a narrow corridor from my office toward the elevator.
I exhaled. I'm finally going home.
Home to my family, a warm, delicious meal, and a moment to breathe, after a day of following one order after another.
Then, a voice cut through the silence behind me.
Where do you think you're going?
I haven't finished with you yet.
It was Doug, the Deputy Chief Finance Officer.
Doug was ambitious, desperate for the top job.
He worked long hours and expected everyone beneath him to do the same.
So, instead of stepping into that elevator, I turned around.
It felt like I was being pulled by an invisible chain.
I sat down at my desk, fired up my computer, and gave Doug another hour of my life.
And in that moment, it hit me.
I was powerless.
A servant to someone else's demands.
You felt it too, haven't you?
Maybe your Doug is your boss, your company, or the system itself.
Someone else decides how late you stay, how much you give, and how much of yourself is left at the end of the day.
Welcome to the Career Advantage Show.
I'm Tony Piscinelli.
If you are facing a major obstacle in your career, a demanding boss, impossible deadlines, burnout, or even the looming axe,
this show is about rising above it.
Here's the truth.
If you don't manage your career, someone else will.
And their plan will not be about your growth, your freedom, or your future.
It will be to serve their agenda.
That's why so many people become trapped, burnt out, and powerless.
Living someone else's story instead of their own.
There is another way.
Most people think the only way out is to quit and find a new job, a new boss, a new company.
That's what millions did during the pandemic.
The phenomenon was called the Great Resignation.
But for many people, the Great Resignation turned into the Great Regret.
Because they traded one employer for another.
The poor problem never changed.
Someone else still held the power.
So I took a different path.
I stayed.
But I changed how I operated.
I asked a career advisor one powerful question.
Who stole my power?
His answer stopped me cold.
No one, he said.
Not even Doug.
You gave it away.
And he was right.
We all do it.
We trade power for a paycheck, for benefits, and for our security.
If I had given it away, then I could take it back.
That's when everything began to shift.
I accepted responsibility.
I stopped seeing myself as a victim.
Because in the victim chair, you're powerless.
Instead, I moved into student mode.
And Doug became my teacher.
That extra hour I gave him, that was my wake-up call.
From that night forward, I refused to be a passive player in my career.
I would begin to manage myself, my career, and most importantly, my life.
That was the turning point.
And years later, it became the foundation for my coaching system.
Helping others reclaim their power.
Because I believe power, or the lack of it, is the core issue underlying almost every career problem.
When you reclaim your power, the dugs of the world no longer control your destiny.
So how do you start reclaiming your power?
Firstly, recognise who holds the power right now.
Is it you or someone else?
And secondly, if it is another person, begin to take it back.
Because it won't be simply handed back to you.
And thirdly, stop seeing yourself as an employee trapped in a system.
So, start becoming the leader, the designer, and the owner of your career story.
Because if you don't, nothing changes.
You'll keep living under someone else's rules, sacrificing your nights, your energy, your future, for their ambitions.
But if you do reclaim it, everything changes.
You create leverage.
You attract opportunities.
You'll live a career that serves you, and the life you want to build.
If this story resonates, don't let it fade.
The first step to rewriting your career story is reclaiming your power.
Download your free Career Confidential Kit.
You'll find the link in the show notes.
It's your starting point for designing a career on your terms, not Doug's.
I'm Tony Piscinelli.
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About The Show
Too many smart professionals feel powerless at work—burned out, boxed in, and living by someone else’s rules. But here’s the truth: no boss, no company, no system owns your power. You gave it away—and you can take it back.
The Career Advantage Show exists because the world of work is shifting faster than ever. People everywhere are questioning their careers—feeling vulnerable, uncertain, and searching for real answers.
Each episode will show you how to reclaim your power, redesign your career story, and build a future on your terms. Because in today’s world, if you don’t take control of your career, someone else surely will.
👉 Subscribe now—and start taking your power back.
Also, visit https://thecareeradvantage.show to subscribe and to grab your free "Career Confidential Toolkit"
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