Can’t Think of a Career? Use the Right Tactics.

If you have just started reading, here’s what you’ve missed:

There’s this intrinsic problem with identifying work you love: It’s really messy. I imagine that is why more people do not focus on the task of helping you identify what you would love love to do.

Crawling back into your own body and learning more about who you really are, which is what finding the right job for you is at the core, is not like creating a business plan or learning marketing techniques.

Identifying the work you are basically born to do is really personal. It requires self-reflection, honesty, and things are going to get a little touchy-feely up in here. There’s no way around this – and it’s enjoyable, don’t get me wrong. But there is no quick and clean plan to neatly provide you and so we can call it a day.

But there are better ways to get to where you want to go.  I am systemizing work that has worked on me and others successfully so that you can sit on your cozy couch and think up a career that truly fits who you are.

By going through each of the six steps to career success in light of the question at hand: How do you come up with a career that you will love?

I am thawing out a framework that will guide you towards the right career for you by taking it one step (out of six) at a time. Sound good? Great!

I hang my work this week on the framework of Seth Godin’s “Hierarchy of Success” posted last week.

1. Attitude
2. Approach
3. Goals
4. Strategy
5. Tactics
6. Execution

#5 Tactics

Your tactics are key and I will discuss some…

But first, I find the distinction between #5 Tactics and #4 Strategy a little fuzzy. For clarification, a strategy is a plan, method, or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result. Tactics are the maneuvers themselves that form the strategy when strung together.  Your strategy is a plan that is chocked full of tactics.

The tactics are the pearls, and the strategy is the pearl necklace.

Here are some tactics to help you on your career search: (more…)

Why We Eat Too Much & Tips to Regain Control

Have you ever had a day where you found yourself eating much more than is typical for you but you were not very clear on why?

This CNN article on some common reasons people overeat is fairly accurate, plus it sites the science to back up the common pitfalls.

Stress, lack of sleep and weather are scenerios that increase the likelihood that our desire to comfort ourselves outmatches our desire to lose weight and feel healthy.

While recognizing these common instances for “messing up” is important, there is something MORE (much, much MORE!!) important: (more…)

Self-Employment = Your Yellow Brick Road?

I think we all know (I think) that there are no really and truly secure jobs (thanks for the reminder, recession) and therefore staying in a job, mindlessly, because of it’s alleged “security” (scoff!) is not going to end well.

Instead! Let’s all recession-proof our jobs by

(1) thinking about maybe doing something we like (doing the stuff we like very, very often means that we do it VERY WELL, and when the recession hits, we’re one of the people more likely to be cool on the other side) and ALSO

(2) definitely having a Plan B thawing out in the fridge for those rainy days when the Lay Off man comes ‘a knockin’.

Let’s tackle #1 and #2 in one fell swoop – something that we LIKE that is also a very self-controllable a la our very own Plan B…

…now, what on EARTH could that BE?!

IT’S IN THE NEWS!

According to USA Today and the NYTimes, being “self-employed” routinely ranks as the happiest and most satisfying of all careers.

Well, now. That sounds appealing!

It means that if you are living in your own personal job crisis hell, working for yourself is an option that you really seriously may want to just look into and evaluate whether it might be right for you.

Let’s hash out some of the details as provided by guru Rhonda Abrams – who I know NOTHING about, so I’m not recommending her to you at this point, but I did JUST order her book, so I’ll let you know my review —  to get you started:

• Fastest Route To Self-Employed-dom.  If you like what you do, you just loathe the environment, the hours or the lack of autonomy, consider leveraging your traditional job into a small business of your own.  If you don’t love your current job or hobby enough to launch into a full-time business with it, look at other skills acquired on the job, and interests that are innate. (more…)

Advice from the Pros

A few weeks back in New York City, my Escape from Cubicle Nation buddy, Pam Slim, and her friend, Jonathan Fields, presented useful information about finding your passion and turning that into a career.

If you missed it, click here for a tidbit from the workshop that may just be what you need to take a step forward in your own passion search.  You can also check out both of their books (Escape from Cubicle Nation and Career Renegade) on Amazon.

Just two more great resources to support your leap from so-so job to the work you were born to do!  Let me know what you thought about it.

Tricks of the Trade

Never exercise when you feel affirmatively hungry.

RATIONALE: Your body will not willingly let go of calories when your tank is empty. Your brilliant body is built to survive.  If you were still living in a cave and moving a lot, i.e., exercising, in times of famine, you’d thank your genius self for conserving energy, i.e. calories, this way. To your body, there is no difference between self-imposed restrictions and exercise by volition, and a real food scarcity combined with flight from a lion.

SOLUTION: Instead of eating food and postponing your workout while you digest, consume something nutritious and liquid to satiate your appetite sufficiently and prevent feeling a nauseated while working out.  Your body digests liquids much quicker than your stomach can break down food, and there is no reason to push back your workout.

I like Boathouse Farms fruit and veggie juices, soy chai and regular lattes for on the go nutrition when I’m a little peckish prior to gym time.

If you’re going to exercise, maximize your results.  Keeping your appetite in check!

Can’t Think of a Career? Work on Approach.

Can’t think of a career? Let’s tackle this problem using the framework of Seth Godin’s “Hierarchy of Success”.

Seth posted an interesting blog about what he calls “The Hierarchy of Success”(alternate titles could be “How to Get What You Want” and “How to Structure Career Objectives”, amongst others):

1. Attitude
2. Approach
3. Goals
4. Strategy
5. Tactics
6. Execution

I am going through each of the six steps to career success in light of the question at hand: How do I think of a career? Thaw out a framework that will guide you towards the right career for you by taking it one step (out of six) at a time. Sound good? Great!

HERE’S A RECAP SO FAR: You’ve assessed your career goals which provides you with a direction to move towards. Your goals may be broad when you have not identified a career (e.g., life-work balance, creative components, team work, advancing meaningful cause).

This is not only okay, it’s great! Big picture goals serve a different and equally valuable purpose that specific goals (e.g., be promoted in 1 year, lead sales pitch, draft credit agreement) do not: The information you generate from this exercise will continue to guide you as your situation changes.

You can look back on your work here and use it as a rudder, no matter which career you find suits you best.

#2: APPROACH

To find the right career for you, you need the right approach for your search to be successful.

I have learned from personal experience that when you are thrashing about in the throws of mental confusion, the best place to start sorting out what you really want is by getting out of your own head: Start with your body. You’ll finish by using your mind.

START AT THE BEGINNING: (more…)

Feelings are not for Eating.

Feelings are for Feeling

You may not know it yet, but you are trying to eat your feelings. Don’t believe me? Fine – if you want to keep that rubber tire or your perpetual anxiety about fitting into your fall wardrobe, you can keep it.

Not that fun to keep, is it? I know that from personal experience.  I have found in my own life that whenever I had a weight issue, it was NEVER about the food. Not the food tasting good, not me loving the food and not the food being out to get me.  Food is just food.

We make it into the enemy: food becomes something to control and use discipline to resist.  This is actually a clever decoy – all of it – to distract us from one thing: our emotions.

Ask yourself these questions: (more…)

Can’t Think of A Career? (meets the Hierarchy of Success)

Having trouble thinking of a career?

Don’t be so hard on yourself, your overwhelm is understandable! You are definitely not alone in your struggle, and you’re amongst friends.

Thinking through the job opportunities and careers that you know of, what you might conceive to be all of your “options”, plus considering your own preferences (not to mention all of your fears (which are natural) around making big changes), is a LOT to handle… especially when you’re just using your head. (I’ll explain more about the obvious inference that there is more to be used than just your head later )

RELAX – YOU’RE AHEAD OF THE GAME

Be pleased, first of all, that you’re struggling with the question. Seth Godin posted an interesting blog today about what he calls “The Hierarchy of Success” (alternate titles could be “How to Get What You Want” and “How to Structure Career Objectives”, amongst others):

1. Attitude
2. Approach
3. Goals
4. Strategy
5. Tactics
6. Execution

While Seth complained that most blogs focus on #6, Execution, which, alone, without the other steps, he considers insufficient, I am delighted to report that my blog focuses on all of his hierarchical stages. Hooray!

Using the structure provided through Seth’s post, I am going to teach you an analytical model to use when approaching the question:

How do I come up with the right career for me?

First stop: #3, Goals.

Because you are not clear on what job or type of career is perfect for you, you may think you cannot identify your career goals.  In reality, identifying your goals is key.  It’s akin to picking the correct cardinal point on the compass when you’re navigating a boat. Your boat (i.e. you) is always moving, due to the nature of the water (i.e. life) it is in, so it is smart to point your vessel in the general direction of where you plan to go.

Because I’m engaged in work that I am passionate about, my goals might be more specific than your goals if you are trying to identify the nature of the work you want to do.  Here are some examples of some big-picture type goals to help get you started:

What are your work criteria? Be as specific as you can, and write this down on a piece of paper. Put it somewhere you can see it. Remember: Even broad, big-picture type goals will help you rule out work that does not meet your most basic criteria and align yourself with work that does.  And EVEN if you are unable to propose an iota of criterium, asking yourself the question gets your gears turning in the right direction whether you’re conscious of it or not.

You’re off to an excellent start! Happy sailing.

Life Line #5: Ask Laurie

As my blog is still relatively new, I want to be sure to produce content that is helpful and practical for solving the issues you’re facing in uncovering the work you love and enjoying your life outside of work.

Now presenting ASK LAURIE – your opportunity to ask me literally anything. Most of your questions will be answered here, on my blog, for your (and everyone’s!) benefit.

Email me, laurie (at) blueprintbalance (dot) com, with your particular brand of “stuck” and watch for your answers to come.

Excuses in Exercise are LAME

Excuses are still lame.
When it comes to exercise, establish a minimum baseline. You need to commit to it no matter what. There will be times when you will want to justify missing your appointment – and that is never acceptable, no matter what.

As Brooke Castillo likes to ask her weight loss clients: if you’re struggling with making the commitment to a minimum baseline, ask yourself: would you make that commitment to a doable weekly baseline if I offered you $500,000?

Exactly. It is possible.

For that amount of money, would you sell your health? Of course you wouldn’t! Commit to doing your baseline for something worth half a million dollars – your physical and emotional health.

You may feel yourself coming up with good reasons for missing your baseline appointments – be sure to call these reasons what they really are: Excuses.

There will always be a reason why you cannot do it, and things will come up that capture your attention that seem more important than your 10 minute walk. It doesn’t matter! Don’t ever let those things take precedence before you and your well-being.

Excuses belong on paper, not in your life. Here are some examples of excuses that look really good on paper: (more…)