Daisy Swan - Los Angeles Career Coach, Career Counselor and career strategy


Don�t you love that you get a fresh start?

We tend to look at January 1st as the beginning of a new year in all regards, but in actuality, we can have a fresh start at any time. I love that! Every morning when I look at the sun rising I wonder, “What’s going to happen today?”

sunset

And I also love that I so frequently hear, “I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” While this is often said with a tinge of embarrassment, to me it means that person still possesses a sense of adventure. I understand that it’s nice to know what our ‘path’ is, but isn’t life really about the continuous unfolding of opportunity and challenge? If we know exactly how everything is going to go every day, don’t most of us eventually become bored?

And really, when it comes down to it, it’s almost impossible to know how everything will unfold. That’s the mystery of life. We are growing, changing, living beings in a world that throws the unexpected our way, on a regular basis. How we respond to the changes is what makes for opportunity - or stress-induced retraction.

Where are you in the process of life? Are you in for a fresh start or holding steady? What do you want for yourself in 2012? Again, we really don’t know what’s coming, but setting our intentions for what we want does (in my experience) help to highlight the opportunities that show us the way to the larger target of our choice.  We have to take action at some point.

Here’s what I’ve found: Knowing and focusing in on what we want is the hardest part of this process.

I find that it’s much easier to know what we don’t want. Imagining what you haven’t had experience with, is quite difficult - we don’t even know that we ‘can’t’ or ‘aren’t’ imagining it.

That’s where we at Daisy Swan & Associates can help. We’ll listen to your answers to questions that we’ve posed to many, many clients, and we’ll help you focus in on and really analyze those answers, so that you’re able to not only imagine what you want, but will also be able to take the steps to uncover where this seemingly unknowable thing is - and how and when to go for it. We’re not magicians, although it may sound like it. We’re honestly very pragmatic. But there is that element of surprise. This is an adventure, after all.


News from Daisy's Desk

I�m excited to announce my biggest and newest development: My first book, �Making Work Work: Secrets from a Career Coach�s Office�, is going to be available at the end of January. This e-book will be available on my web site as well as on Amazon.com and other major on-line retailers. This book is useful for anyone, any age and LifeStage, going through a career and life transition. This is also a great resource for other coaches and professionals who work with people who are going through transition. We�ll be sending out another announcement when the book is available.

We’ll also be starting our next “Career Reinvention and Job Search Strategies Group” on Wednesday, February 8th. This group program is a wonderful way to meet and learn with others who are similarly stepping up and out to include a new dynamism in their work lives. The program meets for four (4) consecutive Wednesday nights from 6:45 PM-9:00 PM, and will be led by my associate coach, Christine Nagle. The fee is $199.00 for all four meetings, and the group is open to only eight (8) participants.

For those of you who are dusting off the old résumé as we enter the New Year, we’re also holding our “One-Night Resume/Cover Letter Workshop” on Wednesday, February 29th, from 6:45 PM-9:00 PM. The workshop fee is only $59.00 per person and like our coaching groups, the event is limited to a small number of participants. For more information about the groups or the résumé workshop, and to register, please visit our web site.

And don’t forget, with our one-on-one coaching services we’re here for your individual needs, as well. Annika, Christine and I are all equipped to hold you accountable so that you can move past the place you’re holding on to, for fear of not knowing what’s next.

If you have any questions about any of our coaching services � or simply want to provide some feedback or suggestions - please know that you can always reach out to us at [email protected], or at our toll-free phone number:
1-877-872-3929.

And as always, I have a few book recommendations for you:

I'm loving reading the Steve Jobs biography for lots of reasons….especially being a parent (“Steve Jobs”, by Walter Isaacson). Michael Ellsberg’s book, “The Education of Millionaires: It's Not What You Think and It's Not Too Late”, supports the idea that some passion and street smarts can amount to a lot of great work and money.

Also along the money lines, Barbara Stanny's book, “Overcoming Underearning®: A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life”, is a practical and useful read which includes a workbook to help you really understand your obstacles regarding earnings.

I've also had several requests from clients lately for good books about leadership and communication (they’re the same thing, on some level). I like Ph.D. Susan Campbell's book, “Saying What's Real: 7 Keys to Authentic Communication and Relationship Success”. Reading this will help you realize just how much good communication can do for your life! And in the leadership realm, I enjoyed reading Fred Kofman’s book, “Conscious Business: How to Build Value Through Values”.

You can also find a wealth of resources on my site, from other suggested books, links to helpful sites, a Q&A with me, newsletter archives, and more. You can even sign up to receive a FREE résumé template from Daisy Swan & Associates; the signup box is located right on our home page. And please feel free to tell your friends and colleagues about our FREE résumé template, or any of our other services and offerings.

If you have any questions about any of our coaching services � or simply want to provide some feedback or suggestions - please know that you can always reach out to us at [email protected], or at our toll-free phone number:
1-877-872-3929.

We look forward to working with you on your fresh start, in this New Year!

Daisy Swan & Associates



Keep up with Daisy

Daisy Swan



Daisy S. Swan, MA, CPCC
The Los Angeles Career Counselor and Coach
11620 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900-034
Los Angeles, CA 90025
1-877-872-3929
www.daisyswan.com

© 2012 Daisy Swan