I play golf.

Not particularly well, and not frequently, but I’ve played long enough to appreciate one of the nicest positions you can find yourself in on a golf course.

You’re just off the green.

You don’t need a 250-yard drive.

You don’t need to clear a lake.

You don’t need to pull an unfamiliar club from your bag and attempt some heroic shot you’ve never made before.

You need a chip shot.

A shorter, more controlled shot that relies largely on skills you already have.

And I think that describes where many experienced professionals are when they begin thinking about creating portable income.

They simply don’t realize how close to the green they may already be.

Think about everything you’ve learned during your working life.

Perhaps you’ve managed people, solved difficult problems, worked with customers, led projects, taught others, written reports, sold products, analyzed information, organized complicated work, negotiated agreements, advised colleagues, or developed deep knowledge of a particular industry.

Those abilities didn’t disappear when you left a job, changed careers, retired, or decided you wanted a different kind of life.

In fact, they may be more valuable than ever.

You have already moved the ball a long way down the fairway.

Yet when people begin thinking about earning money differently, they often assume they have to go all the way back to the first tee.

They start thinking:

Maybe I need to learn an entirely new profession.

Maybe I need another certification.

Maybe I need to master some complicated new technology.

Maybe I need to become a social media personality.

Maybe I have to become someone I’m not.

For most experienced professionals, I don't think that is the best place to begin.

One of the most overused pieces of career advice is that people need to “reinvent themselves.”

Sometimes reinvention is appropriate.

But very often, what’s needed isn’t reinvention at all.

It’s recognition.

Recognition of what you already know.

Recognition of the problems you already know how to solve.

Recognition of the people or organizations that might value those abilities.

And recognition of how your experience could be packaged differently from the way it was during your traditional career.

Someone who spent years managing projects might discover that small businesses need part-time project-management help.

Someone with decades of experience in healthcare might become a trainer, consultant, researcher, writer, or subject-matter expert.

Someone who spent a career in sales might help younger companies improve their sales processes.

Someone who has managed teams might coach first-time managers.

Someone who understands a specialized industry might discover that businesses will pay for knowledge they once considered simply part of the job.

That’s the interesting thing about experience.

When you’re surrounded by people who know what you know, your knowledge can feel ordinary.

Outside that environment, it may be quite valuable.

Before deciding what your next career or income move should be, it helps to stop thinking about where everyone else is playing.

Look at your ball.

Where is it lying?

What experience have you accumulated?

What kind of work do you still enjoy?

What problems are you especially good at solving?

What do people tend to ask your advice about?

How much income would you actually like to generate?

How many hours would you like to work?

And perhaps most importantly, what kind of life do you want that work to support?

Portable income shouldn't simply reproduce the job you were trying to get away from.

For many people, the real goal is greater flexibility.

They may want to work 10 or 20 hours a week instead of 40 or 50.

They may want to travel.

They may want more control over whom they work with.

They may want interesting projects without corporate politics.

They may want to keep learning and contributing without building another full-scale career.

Once you begin with those questions, the possibilities often look very different.

Another mistake people make is assuming that the first step has to be a big one.

It doesn't.

Your first consulting project doesn't have to replace your previous salary.

Your first freelance assignment doesn't have to be glamorous.

Your first online course doesn't need 10,000 students.

Your first coaching client doesn't need to become a massive business.

Often the smartest next step is simply to test an idea.

Take one small project.

Talk with several potential clients.

Offer your expertise in a slightly different way.

Learn one useful technology that makes the skills you already possess easier to deliver.

See what happens.

A good chip shot isn't spectacular.

It simply moves the ball closer to the hole.

And after enough well-chosen shots, you may find yourself somewhere you couldn't clearly see when you began.

This is the thinking behind the Next Chapter Challenge, a six-session working experience Heidi and I created for people who want to explore how their professional experience might translate into portable income.

The emphasis is not on throwing away everything you've done before.

It's on looking at it with fresh eyes.

We explore professional backgrounds, interests, goals, possible markets, and different ways knowledge and experience can be turned into income through freelancing, consulting, coaching, training, content creation, and other flexible models.

For people who aren't yet sure what their own “chip shot” might be, we also created a Focused Portable-Income Assessment. It helps us understand someone's experience, interests, goals, and the type of life and income they hope to create before suggesting possible directions.

Because the right answer is rarely the same for everyone.

One person's next shot may be consulting.

Another person's may be a small freelance project.

Another may discover an opportunity to teach, coach, write, research, or advise.

The important thing is to start from where you are rather than where you think you are supposed to be.

You may be farther along than you think.

Perhaps the next chapter of your working life doesn't require going back to the first tee.

Perhaps the first step is simply figuring out where your ball is lying—and making the next good shot.