Great Occupations

This week I spoke to a gentleman on the west coast who told me that at the age of 51 and having struggling with health issues for the last year, he’s ready to just get a job – forget what he’s passionate about. Mmmm…. Well, if you’re familiar with my take on things, you know I didn’t let that pass. I told him about a... Read the rest of this entry »

In part one and two I talked about the first ingredient of your brand – your skills, talents and traits. In part three, I’m going to tell you about the last two ingredients that go into making your individual brand... Passion and Accomplishments. So, you have the whole recipe now. Take your Skills/Talents/Traits, add in your Passion and top it off with your Accomplishments. Okay, so you do know what you’re passionate about, right? Hey, maybe you're not. I’ve learned to not make assumptions that folks know this stuff. I mean, it’s hard to find the time to sit around and self-reflect. Life is busy. Life is distracting. I asked someone recently what she enjoys doing in her spare time, and she remarked, “What spare time?” If you don’t know what you’re passionate about... Read the rest of this entry »

To optimize a client’s investment, I give homework during personal consultation sessions. So when a client comes to me for my expertise, he or she will definitely walk away with some action steps to create forward momentum. However, sometimes I work with clients who get stuck. They have trouble getting their homework done. This can happen with folks who are doing a straightforward job search, but, more commonly, the stuck clients are the ones trying to change careers. Why does this happen? For some... Read the rest of this entry »

A friend recommended a very interesting book called The Power Years: A User’s Guide to Rest of Your Life. The primary contributor, Dr. Ken Dychtwald, is a psychologist, gerontologist, documentary filmmaker, entrepreneur and best-selling author of sixteen books on aging-related issues. In my first perusal of the book, the following main points really stood out for me. We'll be living longer and healthier than we used to. In 1800 the average life expectancy was less than 40 years. Today, the average lifespan is... Read the rest of this entry »

I’m reading Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney, which is about the founding and subsequent success of the 450 year old “company” of the Jesuits. Beyond simply feeding my love of history, this book is opening my eyes to how leadership principles of the business world compare with what Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Catholic religious order, used as pillars in the forming of his organization in the 16th century. But even more fascinating to me is learning about Ignatius’ meandering career path and how it didn’t come together for him until what was then considered the twilight of a man’s life. Did you know... Read the rest of this entry »