How about you?  Can you let go of the things you thought you HAD to get done last year and move on?  It’s insidious, this inner voice that reminds us of what we oughta, shoulda, coulda, done.  How can we silence our negative internal dialog so that we can get clear and focus on creating our inspired vision for 2012?  For starters, we need to become aware of the messages we tell ourselves, witness them but not assume it is the truth.  A terrific book to help with this process is Byron Katie’s; Loving What Is.

Here are some suggestions for you to aid in shifting out of negative thinking into positive being.  Not every path or strategy works for every person so see if something clicks or resonates with you and try that. 

Quieting the mind and increasing awareness strategies:

1. Positive affirmations.  Affirmations are positive statements that describe a desired situation, often generating a positive emotion.  It is suggested that you need to state the affirmation repeatedly to impact the subconscious mind and trigger it into positive action. The key to effectiveness is to be able to express the affirmation with conviction, desire, and a belief that it is truly possible for you. Here is a list of 100+  Self Awareness Affirmations to get you started.
2.  Meditation practices.  Meditation is about creating higher awareness and relieving stress.  There are a multitude of meditative techniques. For instance one style may have you focus on your breath or heart beat, another may provide a saying or mantra to repeat.  Even in the midst of a busy, stressful day, you can tap into your inner quiet and take a moment to re-balance. Here are a couple of books I recommend on the subject:  Instant Meditation for Stress Relief and Leap Before You Look. Both books provide a wide variety of short meditative and awareness building exercises.  Consider taking a meditation class.  Learning from a teacher who has a long term meditation practice can be really helpful and meditating with a group can really expedite your own process.  
3. Self Inquiry.  Sometimes we just have to ask ourselves the right questions and take time to ponder our answers.  For example, in contemplating what didn’t get done in 2011, instead of lamenting your lack of accomplishment, ask yourself what did I accomplish?  Another awareness shifting question to ask yourself is; “am I looking at what is going well in my life or am I focusing on what is going badly?”  Debbie Ford’s book;  The Right Questions is a great resource. I also recommend 344 Questions, “the creative person’s do-it-yourself guide to insight, survival, and artistic fulfillment.”

Ask yourself;  what do I really want to accomplish in 2012?  What is truly most important?  Don’t worry about the hows just yet.  Just get clear on the whats.  Write down your answers and from there, you will begin to create your future. 

Wishing you a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year!

We are fortunate in our family to have two living grandmothers and one of the appreciations shared this year was just that.  Both my mother and mother –in- law are hale and still quite hearty in their mid 80’s.  As they both live in the Carolinas and no longer enjoy flying, we don’t see them often.  My daughter Nicole suggested we organize a “grandmother’s getaway” so that she could spend some time with them.  Last month the four of us had five glorious days together and enjoyed the beauty of Myrtle Beach, SC. 

I took this picture from our hotel balcony on our last morning.  There is something purely magical about witnessing the sun rising seemingly from the ocean.  I love the dawn, the light of a new day.  Each morning is a new start, a fresh slate.  You can set the tone of your day simply by appreciating it.  Every time I see this photo I will remember the great time we four had together.  My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the octogenarians, playing bridge and hearing about yesteryear when the world was simpler.  They find smart phones, GPS, and digital cameras to be “mind boggling” (to quote my mother-in-law).

Nicole and I listened to her grandmothers share their stories and their practical wisdom.  She and I both realized how fortunate we were to be there with them, to still have them in our lives.  As we move through this holiday season, I hope we can hold that sense of gratitude not just for our family and friends but for the larger community of mankind. 

I encourage you to foster an attitude of gratitude and spread it around.  Here are some tips to develop it:

Keep a gratitude journal.  Every day or two write down things you appreciate.  As a regular exercise, I ask my coaching clients to list 3 things they are grateful for each week.  It helps to remember that there are good things happening in our lives despite whatever challenges (like job searching), we may be going through.

Take a walk in natural surroundings.  Take time to breathe in the fragrances of flowers, the earthiness of fallen leaves or the tang of winter air.   It is very soul satisfying to just be very present to the magnificence of the natural world around us.

Write a note or letter of appreciation.  Tell people who have helped you or touched your life how much you appreciate them. Give them a recommendation, write a testimonial, or send them a card.  If you receive some of these, save them and review them when you are having a “black” day or an “off” week.  

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation”.  -Brian Tracy

Wishing you all a warm and wonderful holiday season!   -Dee 

Are you tired of your work routine, burned out on your occupation, or struggling to please your boss or coworkers?  Maybe it is time to seriously consider a career change.  Here are 5 Action Steps to help you get moving:

1. Evaluate your current life situation and how your work fits into it.  Do you live to work or work to live?  Are you staying in a job that you don’t like just to pay your bills?  If so, how is that impacting your family, your health, and your precious time?  How do you want to spend your days?  Where you do want to live?  What lifestyle is desirable and what are your most important values?  Optimally, you want to have meaningful, purposeful, satisfying work that energizes and enlivens you as well as pays your bills.
2. Look beyond your occupation.  Just because you’ve always worked in an office as an administrator doesn’t mean you have to stay in this field.  What are you passionate about?  What are your hobbies and interests?  What are you doing when you feel most exhilarated, alive and engaged?  Do you love to cook and fantasize about being a personal chef or having your own restaurant?  Well maybe you can!  Just don’t go after “hot jobs” because they might be lucrative unless they are truly a fit for your skills, talents and personality.
3. Do the research.  One of my favorite sites to share with clients is http://www.onetonline.org/  You can browse occupations by industry, by employment outlook, by how much education or training it requires, by industry or career cluster.  This Department of Labor website links with others to provide wage and data info, hiring trends, and growth patterns.  You can even find out the prevailing salaries of workers in an occupation in your geographic area.  (Handy to know when you receive a job offer and want to negotiate your paycheck).  Another consideration is the physical demands a new line of work may require.  For instance, it may not be practical to become a massage therapist if you have joint problems. Find out before you enroll in a program.
4. Identify your transferable skills.  What skills and abilities do you already possess that are valuable in a different line of work?  We all have them but often overlook them.  I’m talking about non-occupation specific skills such as public speaking, writing concisely, gathering resources, implementing new systems, mentoring others, translating complex information, and building consensus.  Here’s a checklist for you. 
5. Examine the market.  The bottom line here is who needs what you have?  Where is there a problem you can solve?  Does your community need another coffee shop or chiropractor or whatever it is you plan to do next?   Consider the timing.  If you need to go to a 4 year degree program to enter a new field, better be sure it is in a growth mode.  New occupations are arising all the time.  Five years ago “Social Media Consultant” wasn’t an occupation.  Today, it is a promising field along with distance learning coordinators, GPS systems developers, nanotechnology engineers, and about anything in the green industry.  Again, check out Onet for info on emerging careers, as well as the outlook for careers you are considering.

            “You don’t have to do any kind of work, there is choice.  Get the information you need to chose well.”

                                                                                                                    —Dee

Work, is it a labor of love?

Today is Labor Day in America.  It became a national holiday in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland reconciled with the labor movement following the deaths of workers during the Pullman Strike.  Fearing further conflict, the bill was rushed through Congress a mere 6 days after the strike.  Much has changed in the workplace since then.  Now we largely look at Labor Day as the last weekend of summer and the kickoff of the football season, a day off for fun and relaxation. 

If we view this occasion as it was originally conceived, it is a day to appreciate those in the workforce and celebrate employment. I ask you; do you feel celebratory at work?  Are you fully engaged and joyfully expressing your talents and skills?  Do you really like your job? Are you appreciated and rewarded for your contributions?  Do you feel energized by the work you do?  Sadly, I don’t think the majority of workers would answer yes to these questions. 

When my daughter graduated college, she had a hard time being motivated to get that first job.  I asked her what came to mind when I said the word:  work.  She thought a minute and then said; “I get a picture of a sweaty bald guy in a warehouse pulling a huge chain.”  My internal response was “yikes, she views work as drudgery!”  Sadly, I think many people view work from this perspective. (Happily, my daughter now loves her work as a blogger, freelance writer and social media consultant in Denver).

For many people, a job is tied to the idea of being in servitude to get a paycheck.  I’ve had coaching clients tell me they are miserable in their jobs but are locked into the “golden handcuffs”.  They feel they cannot leave their jobs for fear of losing health insurance and other benefits.  I ask them, “If you really can’t leave your work, can you find a way to be more satisfied with it?”

What would happen if you shifted your perception and viewed work as a creative expression of yourself?  How might you bring your natural talents and skills into your work life?  Can you see how your work could then become a “labor of love”?  I believe that each and every one of us can find or create work that is inherently fulfilling.  If you are currently in a job, consider how you can experience it with more joy.  Ask yourself:   

• What is one thing I can do this week to find more pleasure and satisfaction at work?
• How can I make the best contribution to my workplace, my co-workers, or my employer?
• What can I change in my daily routine to make my job more interesting?   

If you are looking at career options, consider these questions:   

• What am I passionate about?  How might I express my passion through my work?
• Is my work an expression of me?  Is the work I do in alignment with my value system? 
• What kind of work would energize me?
• Who could utilize my natural talents, skills, education, etc.?  Where is there a need I can fill?   

If you can’t find a way to “love the work you’re with” it’s time to look elsewhere. You might consider creative self employment, starting a small business or a combination in income producing endeavors.  Remember you don’t have to do a particular kind or work, you have choice!

“Follow the path of your potential and live the work you love”  –Dee

Are you making enlightened decisions about your career?

Are you doing work that is fulfilling and rewarding? Does your current work give you an outlet to make a difference, to feel alive with purpose? If not, you might want to consider making some changes. You don’t have to do a particular job, work in soul deadening surroundings, or be “chained” to a desk in a cubicle. YOU have CHOICE! If you want to create a different career path you need to make choices that will propel you to new actions.

How do you typically make decisions? Are they based on:
• Shoulds – doing what you believe you should do
• Pleasing others – doing what others want or expect you to do
• Fear – choosing the safe route, or being afraid to make changes
• Habit and reaction – you don’t even think about what you’re doing–you’ve always done it this way

Or, are you consciously considering each decision and maintaining an awareness of these factors:
• Feeling empowered – to choose truly for yourself, not to please others
• Authenticity – you know who you are and choose in alignment with your core values
• Creative expression – you have talents and skills to share, and seek to express these through your work

To make more enlightened, conscious choices:

1. Clearly define your wants and needs. Get in touch with your sense of purpose. Listen to your intuition. Ask yourself; “Does this choice feel empowering or disempowering?” “Is this decision in my highest good?”

2. Consider your current situation and ask yourself; “Why am I doing this? What do I want to achieve?” It may be helpful for you to write down your answers and ponder them. Be more conscious of how you are spending your precious time, because this is your life passing by.

3. Stay out of the victim mindset. You alone are responsible for your life. When you accept this, you will claim your inner power and make better choices. Change often comes from nothing more than a shift in perspective.

4. Be open to new possibilities for yourself. Select one area of your life where you are unsatisfied, and choose something new, something more for yourself.

5. Simply notice opportunities as they show up. We miss so many options because we just don’t see them! Wake up and look around. You have an opportunity right in this moment to choose something new or different.

If you find you spend a lot of time in a job that leaves you tired, frustrated and discouraged at the end of the day, it may be time for “Plan B”. You have gifts, talents, work and life experiences, skills and expertise to create your next career! Identify them and search out how who needs them. Then you can make a plan to move in a new direction.

Career Independence

What do you love to do that you do really well? For instance, are you a terrific organizer who excels at keeping everything running efficiently and timely? Do you enjoy re-doing closets and cabinets to make the contents more orderly and easy to find? Do you get energized by this kind of activity? If you answered yes to these questions, one of your skills may be in organizing. What can you do with this talent?  Here’s an example: Nancy McKinney launched her business; Successful Organizing Solutions in 1999 and loves being a “solo entrepreneur”. She added some coach training and received certification through BCPO, a professional organization in her field and has turned her talent into a successful business. Whatever you really enjoy doing and have competency in is worth exploring whether or not you could turn it into a business.

Who needs what you have to offer? Once you’ve identified your skills, talents, and passions it is time to determine where they may best be useful. Is there a need for whatever product or service you want to share with others? You may be the greatest cookie baker in three states but if there isn’t a need for a cookie store in your area it may not a good idea to start a bakery. Then again, there are many avenues to market products beyond having a bricks and mortar business. Gail Ambrious took her passion for chocolate and launched her business in 2004. Laid off from her “steady job” with the state, she decided to pursue her dreams and has since become known for “the best little box of chocolates” by the Food Network.

Besides what you are passionate about, think of all the life experience you’ve had, how might that be useful to others? How can you be of service in the world? Bottom line:  who needs what you have to offer?  Answer this question and you’ve identified your customer base.

Is there someone else doing the kind of business you are considering? Identify those people and organizations. For instance, if you are thinking of doing a doggy daycare, see who else has one and check it out. Note what you like and don’t like about their advertising, facility, customer service, etc. How do they get customers? How might you approach your target customers differently? What might you improve on?

Is being self employed or starting a business a right fit for your personality and lifestyle? If you’ve been an employee for years, you may find it challenging to switch your perspective to being the boss.  It can be tremendously fulfilling to create your own business, work when, where and how you choose to, and not have to get someone else’s permission. It also entails self motivation and requires you to be willing to accept failure, learn from it and keep moving your business forward.

View from my "office" in Myrtle Beach, SC

With summer in full swing, many of us have trips and vacations planned, or are dreaming about long days on the beach. If you’re tied to an office job or have limited time off, this can be a challenging season, and one that gets a lot of people thinking about working for themselves.

It sounds great, doesn’t it? You could be working from home, or – better yet – poolside somewhere. Maybe you could design your schedule so you have the best parts of the day free to be outside and enjoy the sunshine. Or maybe your ambitions are bigger – a lot of people who want to work for themselves picture life away from the office as one full of adventure, traveling to exotic places, having the freedom and flexibility to just pick up and go. If you’re one of those people, then this series of posts is for you.

Whether you want to live abroad or just travel from time to time, there are ways to make a living on the go. Over the next few weeks we’ll explore the pros and cons of location independence and go through some of the how-to’s.

Thanks to things like laptops and wifi, being location independent is far more feasible now than it ever has been before. But that flexibility only exists if you’re not still tethered to one place, which means being very deliberate about the type of business you start for yourself.

If you want location independence, you probably aren’t looking to open a restaurant or a storefront. There are dozens of ways to have a virtual business by selling a product online, or offering a service that doesn’t require you to physically be present to do the work.

Thinking up a business that can be done from anywhere that you have a laptop and wifi can be a challenge, but with a little creative thinking you can find a way to take your skills and passions and make a living from wherever you are. Often times it is simply a matter of looking at the business you want to start or the work you want to do from a slightly different angle, or finding the niche within it that allows you to be on the move. You can also create a business that is partially location independent, allowing you to travel frequently but still having a home base.

Many savvy entrepreneurs are successfully doing this:

• Chris Guillebeau is traveling to every country in the world and writing about it and making money doing it.
• Barbara Winter ventures across the country and around the world speaking, writing, and teaching.
• Lea and Jonathan Woodward have been making a living from Mexico.
• Corbett Barr has built an online business that supports him regardless of where he happens to be from one day to the next.

My daughter, Nicole, enjoys a lifestyle where she’s got a home base and an office in Denver, but she travels at will – last weekend she was working from a resort in the mountains, and this week is sending me emails from funky coffee shops in Minneapolis. I took the picture above a few weeks ago while enjoying time with my mother at a Myrtle Beach resort (and still serving my clients’ needs) and will be traveling to Denver and Rochester, MN in coming months and conducting workshops.

Some of these people are writers, some are teachers, some are techies. There are many more examples out there, of people who sell crafts or products, do design or consultations – I’ve even heard of a woman who teaches remote voice lessons using a program like Skype! The thing they all have in common: they are inspired, innovative, and determined to find creative ways to earn a living while jet-setting, living abroad, or spending more of their time away from their offices than in them.

What do you want to do for work? How can you begin to reconfigure it to support your wanderlust?

Create a strong LI profile.  Think about why you are on Linked In.  Are you looking for a career change, trying to attract customers or clients, or are you just creating a network of colleagues and potential collaborators?  If you are in the job market, you want to be sure your profile includes key words commonly found in your ideal position description.  Demonstrate your abilities and highlight your accomplishments as your profile is like a mini-resume. Do put that you are open to career opportunities under the contact settings unless you are concerned that your current employer may see it as a red flag in which case, indicate you are open to “expertise requests”. Be sure to get your profile to 100% completeness by adding a picture, your education, specialties and recommendations.

Build your network. When you send emails to people you’d like to add to your network be sure to personalize your request and remind the person how you know one another.  LI offers to search you email address book and send a generic request to all.  It sounds like the easiest way to gather a network but there is the quality vs quantity issue.  There is some debate over whether to ask to link to everyone or just people you have some personal connection to. Linked In Open Networkers (LIONs) for instance, link to anyone who asks which is how they have those prodigious numbers!  I think it is more productive to approach individuals who are well known in your field and have a large network.  You are more attractive to recruiters if it appears that you are connected to leaders in your industry.  Additionally, you are much more likely to show up on recruiters’ searches if you have 500+ connections.

Join and participate in Groups. If you have been out of the workforce for a while, creating a group can be a good way to fill your gap in employment.  Greig shared an example of a marketing professional who started his own association on Linked in and subsequently listed his role there as Vice President under his work experience. Another advantage to being in groups include meeting new people with similar interests, learning from what others share in the discussions, and enlarging your sphere of influence though your contributions.

In summary, if you want to be found on Linked In, you need to be perceived as having expertise, providing value to others, and being well connected.  If you’d like more information on using Linked in and other social media resources for finding a job, I recommend this book:  How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other Social Networks by Brad and Debra Schepp.

When the interview is about finished, the typical interviewee is relieved and ready to make an exit.  Not surprising then that many candidates respond to the interviewers; “Do you have any questions you’d like to ask?” by saying something like, “no, I think I got a good overview of the position, thanks.”  Skip refers to this as the “kiss of death” for your candidacy.  What the interviewer wants to hear is why you should be hired.  You want to finish the interview expressing your value, your intelligence, and your ability to assert yourself.  Here’s the answer Skip suggests:

“Mr./Ms. Hiring Manager, let’s assume for a moment that I am your candidate of choice and that I become your next (position for which you are applying). It is one year from now. You look back over the past year and say, ‘I made a good hire.’ What is it that I would have had to have done over the year for you to be able to say that?”

Talk about getting inside info!  Not only have you impressed the interviewer with your question, you now have a better idea of what the job entails and the employer’s performance expectations.  If you aren’t comfortable with the above question, here are a few others you may find beneficial to ask:

1. In six months, what would the successful candidate have accomplished?”
2. What is the most important and pressing problem for the new hire to tackle?
3. What would you like done differently by the next person who fills this job?
4. I noticed on the company website that your firm’s mission is to ___________. How do you see the successful candidate contributing to that mission?
5. How does this department affect the company’s profit?
6. How would you describe the organization’s culture and personality?
7. How are risk taking and creativity rewarded?
8. How does the company recognize outstanding employees?

Now let’s look at how to answer the second question; “What is your salary expectation?” If your inclination is to name a salary that your want, stifle yourself!  Here is the answer Mr. Freeman recommends to his clients: “I am very interested in this opportunity.  If I am your candidate of choice and, in turn, you are my company of choice, then I know the salary will be more than fair.”

In this instance, you have let the interviewer know that salary isn’t the deciding issue on whether or not you’d accept the position.

It is also important to know what the average salary range is for the position.  Often the salary is not divulged in the job listing and it is up to you to do the research.  Check out onetonline.org and identify the job title, ex:  Sales Manager.  See if the description is a match to the position you are applying for and then scroll down to “Wages and Employment Trends”.  The Dept. of Labor provides the median national wages and employment outlook.  You can find out the local median wage by plugging in your state and then county or city.  Armed with this data, you can also answer the salary question by saying:  “the average salary range for this position is ______, I would entertain an offer in this range. Keep in mind the DOL data is usually a year or so old so adjust the rates accordingly. The salary information is critical to know if you are offered the position and chose to negotiate your terms of acceptance.

Bottom line for going into interviews is: Be Prepared!  Research the industry, the organization, the employment outlook and the nature of the job itself.  Use your social media contacts and network to identify and connect to employees in the company you are considering and do some informational interviewing.

May you land the job you want!

Dee

You may spend years in school studying to become a ___________ (you fill in the blank) only to enter that career and discover it’s not what you really want – or worse – that you just aren’t good at it.

Some folks chase the money and plan their career trajectory based on what work yields the highest paycheck, but even if they end up making the big bucks, most don’t report feeling they have the “work of their dreams.”

So the question is, how do we discover what the perfect career for each of us is?

The keys to determining what might be fulfilling work  for you are pretty simple:

1.     Identify what work tasks you both enjoy and do well

2.     Identify work tasks that you don’t like BUT do well

3.     Identify work tasks you enjoy BUT don’t do well

4.     Identify work tasks that you both dislike and don’t do well

Here is a video explaining this further:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEcpsIn441Q

The challenge is that most people get stuck in jobs where they have several tasks that they do well, but don’t really enjoy. In order for us to be fulfilled at work, we need to be engaged doing things that we both are good at and therefore can be successful doing, but that also connect us to our passions and have an intrinsic value to us. This is what makes work truly fulfilling. By identifying the things above, you are taking the first step toward determining what the best work for you may be.

Bottom line:  you’ll never find that dream job without first determining what you’re naturally talented at and enjoy doing.  You must to be willing to take some risks in following your heart’s desire for doing work you’ll really enjoy.  You may need to take a less than perfect job to make ends meet while you return to school to increase your knowledge or get training to learn new skills.  You may experience criticism from friends, family and colleagues if you decide to “leave the mainstream” and significantly change your career path.  You are the only one who truly knows what that great work will be and it won’t be found in a job description written by someone else.

If you’d like some support and resources to begin this process, check out the exercises and inventories in my free “Discover Your Calling” e-course.  Sign up on the top right of this page.