A client recently shared that she was working a lot of hours on the very work she wanted to get away from. ‘The projects just keep coming so I can’t get away from them’, she shared. I can’t walk away from the work. ‘I feel like I’m getting further away from my creativity,’ she sighed. ‘It’s making me depressed.’ Yep. That’s right. That’s exactly what happens when we aren’t being who we really are. Period. The best thing any of us can do when that feeling of dark dread shows up is to get curious, to pay attention and then get down to creating our real strategy for movement from what’s taking us down, towards what really motivates us. I’m very familiar with depression, and I’ve learned a lot from mine. Those days when I went to work feeling myself armored in clothing that didn’t feel like me, tucking my… Read More
Career
Ready for a September Re-Set?
Ready or not, summer is officially over with the upcoming Labor-Day Weekend. I remember when I lived in NYC years ago, and had a share in a summer house on Shelter Island; I remember the slow, hot crawl of a bumper-to-bumper trafficky drive back into the city on Labor Day’s Monday night. We were all feeling the so-called Sunday night blues…knowing that we were going back to work the next day… those summer days behind us. Maybe you’ve had your pedal to the metal all summer long, but even so summer just has a different vibe. So now it’s time for that September re-set. How about a re-set that inspires you so that as September glides into place we come back to school (it always feels like school again, right?) and regular schedules feeling re-energized, with our sights set on ending this year with personal and professional goals accomplished?What’s Your… Read More
How Are You Resisting Change?
Nobody likes Change. Period.I’m pretty good with change. I think. But when I really, really think about it, I see that I’m pretty good with change that I initiate. Move the furniture, shift my eating habits, start a new exercise routine, buy and wear new glasses…all good! But what about the other stuff that makes up most of life? You know, the real stuff of life: anything from the tiny ‘papercuts’ we endure… those incessant schedule changes, delays in flights departures, or wacky changing weather patterns, to the more profound changes of loved ones changing ~ any part of growing up, moving away, dying. Maybe, for better or worse, someone enters your work or personal life who you didn’t see coming. In these cases, how do you move with, or against, the changes? Most of us are going to resist change…change is inevitable but we humans aren’t really wired for… Read More
What Stage of Mom Life are You In?
I’ve lived through many stages of life as a Mom. Right now I’m the Mom of a guy who’s almost 23 years old; he’s launched into a life he thrives in, doing work he finds challenging and rewarding after graduating from college a year ago. Luckily, I get to see him about every 6 weeks or so. And we text now and then. Believe me…I’ve had to adjust to this amount of contact, and this new stage of life as a Mom.The Mom Juggle Begins When my son was 4 I started my side-hustle…working with career coaching clients at home while I worked with MBA students during my day job. At that time, I wanted my own business so I’d have a flexible working life, and be available for my son’s day-to-day life. We all know that being a Mom is a full time gig – whether or not you… Read More
Managing Your Career Path: Use The Bridge Job to Take You Where You Really Want to Go
The Real Career PathIt’s so motivating to see yourself making it to your dream job—having that vision that propels you forward; it’s that inspiration that keeps driving you even when you have a bad day or week. But sometimes the path to get you where you want to go isn’t as straightforward as you might have thought. Maybe you think that path has a straight line trajectory, but reality tells you that things aren’t quite so simple. My experience with thousands of career transition and executive clients makes me certain that the uninterrupted upward, straight line to success isn’t what most people experience. Once you have a vision, think backwards. Life often doesn’t go as planned so I want you to think as flexibly and creatively as possible. If you become too fixated on what you expect the next job needs to be you may end up frustrated at a… Read More
At a Career Crossroad? Ask Yourself These Questions NOW
You’re on your way to work and you find yourself wondering how did I get here? The job you thought was going to be so great has become so laborious you find yourself wanting to turn around and go home, to get back in bed, to pull the covers over your head. Your boss, your to- do list, even some of your team mates are sucking you dry. This is not where you thought you’d find yourself. Where do you even start when you don’t know what you want to do? Do not do what most people do! Most people will start idly scrolling through job postings online! This is one of the most disheartening things you can do to yourself. I say this because I hear it all the time. Most people will spend way too much time reading job descriptions, focus on the one or two things they… Read More
What’s love got to do with work?
The venerable Tina Turner used to belt out those powerful lyrics, What’s love got to do with it? You’ve probably heard the adage Do what you love and the money will follow…Or that famous one, If you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life. I know both of these to be absolutely true so indeed it turns out that love has a lot to do with WORK! What does loving what we do look like? Think about what love means to you. When I love something or someone I give my full attention. I’m all in. I listen, I look deeply to understand what’s happening. I want to know more. I do what I say I’m going to do and I do it with a willingness and a feeling of generosity and care. I want to know how to be able to love even better… Read More
Love Money?
How are you loving your money? It’s no understatement to say that our relationship with money is one of the most complex relationships we’ll ever have. When I’m working with clients we are, at some point, talking about money – the desire to make more of it, to spend less of it, use it more wisely in a department or on marketing a new business. We research potential salaries, we strategize about negotiations for raises, or consider service pricing, or new capitol costs. Often times, as we go through all of these scenarios the anxiety about and around money is high. We quickly learn what isn’t known about money, what’s hiding in plain sight, and then start to navigate a new relationship with those unknowns. One way or another, the relationship with money shows itself, and its eye opening! If we love money, like we love the people in our… Read More
University of Chicago – Mind Your Career – Webinar Series
University of Chicago Mind Your Career – Webinar Series Thursday, September 20, 2018 12 pm (Central) In case you missed it, you can view it HERE… Read More
How to Shift Your Energy to HIGH When You’re Running Low
You know those days when you’ve got a big meeting, or you’re heading to an interview or a networking function and you just don’t really feel like you’ve got the juice?? I know those days and times, and I’m a pretty cheerful person most of the time. No matter if you’re an extrovert or introvert, there are just those times when you’d rather crawl into your shell and lay low rather than step into that bright light and SHINE. Here are a few tips to help you successfully be your best self even on those low-luster days… Remember a few of your favorite things…Yes. Just like in Sound of Music. When we bring to mind the people or activities that make us feel good we can actually start to feel better. Thinking of a loved one and imagining giving them a gift that they are happy about, or… Read More
