My Lifestyle Career

A Cyber Monday Treat: Cards that Give Back

I Hope everyone enjoyed a terrific Thanksgiving holiday.  In the spirit of the holiday season, I am going to deviate from my usual career focus (hey, it's my blog after all) to recommend an alternative to the "just accumulate more stuff" mania espoused by Cyber Monday.

If you're looking for a better gift giving experience this year, take a look at Cards That Give.  This site directs you to more than 100 effective non-profit organizations that sell greeting cards to help fund their charitable work.  Instead of just sending a holiday card to send a card (one more thing checked off your list) your card purchase becomes a donation to a worthy charity -- a lovely way to express gratitude to your friends, clients and family, while making a difference in the world.

Five Books to Help Jump-start Your Lifestyle Friendly Career (No matter what your age)

Happy almost Thanksgiving! As you head into the holiday season, and begin to search for the perfect gift for the hard-to-buy people on your list, why not consider buying a great book to help your loved ones reinvent their careers outside the 9-5 box?  Considering how many hours people spend at work, this is one gift sure to keep giving long after the glow of the holidays have dimmed.

Here are my recommendations of new and notable reads (click here for a list of additional recommendations):

Making a Living Without a Job, revised edition: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love:  This book has been out for a while, but a revised edition of it was just released this year.  One of my all-time favorites!

Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur:  Practical and inspirational read for anyone itching to leave corporate America to join the ranks of thriving entrepreneurs.

Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love:  A serial entrepreneur, Jonathan Fields, shares his expertise on how to turn your passions into profits, including excellent advice on how to leverage the power of the internet to leverage and monetize your expertise. 

Now What?: The Young Person's Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career:  A good pick for the 17-30 year olds on your holiday list.  I have to confess that I have not read this book in it's entirety, but the reviews on Amazon are amazing, and having read Lore's earlier book, The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success  I am willing to bet this book is a winner.  

Don't Retire, Rewire!: 5 Steps to Fulfilling Work That Fuels Your Passion, Suits Your Personality, and Fills Your Pocket :  This is a very insightful guide for people approaching "retirement" age and wondering how to transition their skills from a corporate career to a "second" phase.  A quick read, but offers useful exercises and resources for the over 50 crowd.

Did I forget any of your favorites?  Please share your recommendations in the comments.

The Case Against Retirement: Finding New Challenges Later in Life - BusinessWeek

Over 50 and looking for an encore career?

This fascinating series in Business Week, The Case Against Retirement offers hope, strategies and resources for Boomers looking to shift from corporate into more lifestyle friendly careers Included are:

Entrepreneurial Boomers:  Seniors are finding ways to earn profits, often doing what they love, after closing out their careers. 

Success Profiles: a look at 18 people who have launched new careers, often motivated by a passion, on their own terms. 

Career Advice:  BusinessWeek asked experts for tips to help you start your second act.