My Lifestyle Career

Reinvent Your Career: Two Free E-Books

Here are two free e-books (you gotta love anything free at this time of the year!) that I highly recommend:

Looking for an Encore Career? The Guide to Finding Work That Matters:  A 28 page guide filled with useful resources, strategies and inspiration for anyone looking to transition into "work that matters."  Although this is targeted to people 50+, most of the information is age-neutral.

What Matters Now: An 82 page e-book featuring insights from major thought leaders across different disciplines.  This little gem, compiled by Seth Godin, is filled with ideas to think about (and do) as we go into the new year.  Topics covered range from fear to enrichment to excellence.  A quick but powerful read -- share it with your loved ones.  Might just be the key to producing a major "A-ha" insight that alters your career planning process.

Reinvent Your Career: 5 Ways to Power Change Through Pictures

 

In my role as a career coach, I am always looking for new ways to produce the "A-ha!" moments that produce real breakthroughs for my clients.  For some, clarity comes as a result of a career assessment, for others it is the by-product of conversation, and for many, it is a result of a combination of strategies.

Over time, I've come to appreciate the power of visualization as a transformative tool for people looking to reinvent their careers.  As human beings, we strive to make sense of the world through pictures --since the days of the cave people, graphic depictions have been an integral part of how we communicate and interpret the world around us.

Timothy Butler, author of Getting Unstuck, explains the power of images as a career clarification tool as follows, "These images are preverbal messages, aspects of self-awareness that have not yet been processed through the language centers of the brain.  In being preverbal they have a premonitory quality.  They bring news: hints about what might be if we are able to get the message and act on it.  They point to knowledge about ourselves and our world that will be known more completely only later, when we have had time to take it in fully and express it in words."

Expressing your career/lifestyle goals through pictures, as opposed to articulating it in words, can be a powerful way to unlock vital clues and patterns that you've been struggling to express.  Fortunately, in our everyday lives, we are surrounded by visual images that can be leveraged for this purpose.  Here are some ways to analyze the images in your life to help create a more vivid picture of your future career direction:

1) Revisit photo albums:  Spend a few hours going through old photo albums and scrapbooks.  What do the photos tell you about your personality?  Are there certain pictures of major milestones or magical moments that reflect clues about your talents, interests or unique assets?

2) Watch old family movies:  Reviewing family videos can be an entertaining reminder of your innate gifts, talents and personality traits.  It also can be a multi-sensory reminder of the distinct personality traits and interpersonal relationships that might be impacting your career path, in either a positive or negative manner.

3) Keep a clipping file:  You know how you sometimes clip articles and photos from magazines for a "dream" file of beautiful homes or vacation ideas?  Do the same for your career. Collect pictures that capture your view of the ideal work environment -- including photos of people, work settings and attractive work clothes.

4) Meditate:  Every day, we are bombarded by so much information that it compromises our ability to focus on what is most meaningful in our lives.  Set aside some quiet time to meditate on the types of activities and work environment that would make you happy.  Notice the images that come to mind.  Do you prefer to be in a fast-paced or quiet office?  City or rural settings?  Happier being with lots of people or working in solitude?  Look for patterns and themes in your mental images.

5) Build a Vision Board:  A a vision board is a collection of visual images (photos, paintings, pictures, etc.) displayed on a bulletin board or poster as a graphic representation of your dreams and ambitions. Once you've designed the board, displaying it in a prominent place will help serve as a daily reminder of your ambitions and career goals. You can read more about the how-to's of constructing a vision board by clicking here.

Reinvent Your Career: From "Weak" to Wow!

 

I was speaking with a client the other day about how to answer that dreaded  interview question, "Name three weaknesses that you have." In my opinion it is a pointless question, because most people have been coached to answer that question by highlighting a strength as a weakness.  (e.g.,"I just can't stop myself from compulsively proof-reading my correspondence three times before sending it out," or some other cleverly contrived response).

But, when it comes to reinventing your career, naming and claiming your weaknesses, is anything but pointless.  Knowing what you don't like and don't do well is equally important as being able to identify your strengths.  

The problem is that most of us don't want to spend time thinking about our weaknesses. It makes us feel uncomfortable.   

So we avoid the issue and muddle along. 

But what if you could frame your weaknesses in a new way?  While we tend to think about a weakness as something we don't do well, I strongly prefer this definition I found while reading Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham:

"The proper definition of a weakness is 'an activity that makes you feel weak.'  It doesn't matter how stellar your performance is, if the activity drains you, bores you, or makes you lose your concentration, it is a weakness.  The thought of learning how to do it is singularly unexciting, wile the prospect of doing a great deal more of it makes you choke with panic.  It's a weakness. It weakens you."

Doesn't this make a whole lot more sense?   

Keeping this expanded definition in mind,  I decided to make a list of my own weaknesses and was amazed at how much easier it was for me to identify my "weak" spots, once I removed the "this must mean I am not good at this" factor.  I won't bore you with the whole list (although I am sure my husband would love to critique it) but here is a sample of my writing:

1. All things mechanical:  This past weekend, my husband and I went shopping for a plasma TV.  Normally, I love to shop, but this time around I couldn't wait for it to be over.  I mean, who cares about 720 vs. 1080, the number of audio inputs or the ratio of black to color lines?  I know I'll be thrilled once the TV is set-up, but the technical details involved with this purchase bore me to tears. (Disclosure: When it comes to mechanical things, even really simple things,  I am not just bored, but also remarkably inept, a lethal combination I assure you.)

1. Investments: While I throughly enjoy the fruits of our investments, talk of stock margins and Morningstar ratings makes my eyes glaze over.  I intellectually appreciate that I should be more engaged and interested, but I am not.  It just isn't my cup of tea.  

Identifying your weaknesses, and eliminating them from your "must-use" consideration, empowers you to focus on careers that play to your natural gifts and enhance your life.  

Remember, YOU -- not your friends, spouse or co-workers -- are the best judge of the activities that make you feel strong, engaged and vibrant (your strengths) and those that make you feel weak, bored and marginalized (your weaknesses).  

Honor that insight.   Eliminate (or at least reduce) those activities that drain you, focus on your strengths and you'll quickly be on the road from weak to wow!