Conventional or Not, These Tips Can Help You Change Careers

'Paradigm change.' "Do not forget those words. You will need those one day."

That simple but sage advice from one of Bill Leingang's clients has rung true in his mind for years. Bill was the second generation of Leingangs to work in the grueling film industry. Notorious for long days, short pay and little forgiveness, the film industry can do a number on an individual -- but Bill earned his way into a steady career working consistently as a steadicam operator and other prominent production positions.

For Leingang, the most grueling ordeal of his career came from a tainted water bottle in 1996, leading to dysentery. This would bring on a career change he didn't fully anticipate, although he had considered making changes for himself in the industry before. The bout would last over two years.

Finally healthy enough in 1998, Leingang knew he needed the fresh air and self-reliance of the outdoors to fully recharge. Those trips into nature began the outdoor excursions he would take his family on that would eventually lead to a complete shift in careers heading up his own camping trips, Rough Riders.

Complete in a sense, Leingang and his new career officially took off in 2001 -- but it is a shift that he says continues to this day.