In over 25 years, my job has always been more than a “job”. I’ve loved the work. The people. The companies I work for. I lean in. I read books and take classes on topics I’m less familiar with. I work long hours – early in the morning, in the evening, on the weekend,...
The concept of becoming a MeEO is appealing. A life where we are in control and satisfied with all 8 dimensions of wellbeing. We have a clear vision for our career, solid relationships, and activities that energize us. This is a great vision, but what can we do to...
We all live in bubbles. The structures, expectations, and routines of our life form the bubbles. We know the world from inside these places, but often miss what’s on the outside. The longer we live in one place, work for one company, or stay in one occupation, the...
A couple days ago, we covered “What Just Happened?”. The immediate feeling we get after losing a job. We covered how that moment is the start of a lifequake. Creeping up right behind the start of the lifequake is “Where Did My Identity Go?”. When working for a...
Losing a job is much more than just losing a source of income. We lose our routine. Our daily interactions with co-workers. A piece of our identity. Just like other significant losses, we can go on the emotional journey of grief. Understanding the stages can help...
We’ve been building a career – no matter if we just graduated or are 20 years in. We do our best each day. Co-workers turn into deep friendships. Work is an integral part of life. Until it isn’t. Layoffs have been happening everywhere on a very frequent basis this...
Life is full of challenges. Work. Home. Relationships. Health. Finances. Time. Along the way, roadblocks can hold us back and leave us feeling stuck. For those who are looking for growth, fulfillment, and direction, a coach might be the missing piece. A personal...
On a recent episode of Edit Your Life podcast, Christine Koh interviews Kate Fogarty about reimagining midlife. They talk about midlife shifts like children moving out, caring for aging parents, physical changes, menopause, ageism, careers, and more. One point she...
The word hacking typically has a negative connotation. Many immediately associate the word with gaining illegal access to a computer system. Yet, there are other meanings. I was reminded of this recently. Fred Quijada gave a speech during my MIT Sustainability...
A while back, I wrote about income portfolios. This is when we diversify our income streams to reduce risk. Just like an investment portfolio. I’ve recently read a book that covers this topic. The book, The Search by Bruce Feiler, talks about five jobs that almost all...
The definition of significance is the quality of being worthy of attention. Being important. There is also statistical significance. A deviation from the expected due to random variations. Then there is the importance, relevance, and meaning of something in the grand...
As we move through the third quarter, we may already start thinking about the year ahead. Nothing specific, just ideas. Where might we want to focus? What could we change to make our lives just a bit better. Some ideas will be small. Others will have more of an...
There was a podcast last week talking about returning to the office. One point was a leadership fear of employees slacking off and being “lazy” at home. This statement first made me angry. Then, it got me thinking. Are people disengaged because they are inherently...
Careers are a funny thing. We define them individually and as a society. We talk about “retirement” after 30 years of work. Yet, the math on this equation doesn’t realistically work. If we start work in our early 20’s, retirement would be in our early 50s. Yet, we...
There was a post a while back that touched on our lives happening in eras (or chapters). Here’s a snippet of my perspective from that post: “I think the idea of eras has a more magical feel than chapters. Same concept, different perspective. I wonder what would happen...
Yesterday, I turned 55. To celebrate, I decided to create a list of 55 of my favorite blog posts (from the 385 I've published) to jump start your personal development. The look back reminded me of the topics I’ve dug into in the last two years. You’ll see that...
Fast Company recently published an article titled “The Resume is Dead. Here are 3 Reasons Why I Never Ask for One When Hiring”. The author brought forward resume challenges like the inability to understand soft skills, work ethic, and creativity. Going beyond the...
Our personal brand is all about how we are perceived by others. What do they say when we aren’t around? How do our skills, actions, and attitudes align? What message do we communicate. Sometimes we can tie ourselves in knots trying to figure out how to express our...
Yesterday, I wrote a post about becoming a "Me-EO" The post had me thinking about personal branding and being in charge of our career development. I wondered why this has always been a part of my journey and haven't seen it in others. Then, I remembered an article...
Today, nearly 60% of the workforce is comprised of knowledge workers. By the end of 2023, Gartner predicted 39% would be working hybrid. The pandemic brought on the Great Recession. Followed by Quiet Quitting. And, more recently, Coffee Badging - you swipe into the...
We’ve all heard the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know”. I didn’t realize that this came from psychology. The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when people who lack knowledge and skills have an unrealistically optimistic view of their...