Any transition serious enough to alter your definition of self will require not just small adjustments in your way of living and thinking but a full-on metamorphosis. ~ Martha Beck How would you think about your life and world events differently if you saw breakdowns as worthy of celebration rather than something to be feared, distrusted or avoided? Okay, it’s true. It’s hard to celebrate something that doesn’t FEEL good. If they did they wouldn’t be called “breakdowns”. And when you’re in the middle of one it’s hard to see beyond it to the gift it has in store for you.
Read More
Archives for Home Page Recent Posts
The Long and Winding Road
There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way. ~ Christopher Morley When I was unexpectedly laid off my corporate job, the route to my future was FAR from planned out. I had to start where I was with what I had… A LOT of uncertainty A passion for coaching An idea that I wanted to make a living helping people like me who were going through an unanticipated career transition. Beyond that, I didn’t have a clue how to get started. It’s been a long and winding road. I’ve come to appreciate
Read More
Staying True to the Power of a Dream
Being on a tightrope is living; everything else is waiting. ~ Karl Wallenda Did you watch? Were you transfixed as Nik Wallenda walked across Niagra Falls on a tightrope with almost nothing between him and catastrophe but his faith in the power of a dream? Everything I believe in when it comes to staying true to the power of a dream was right there. He had a vision that came from his heart He had a purpose and a passion He was WILLING to take risks and overcome whatever obstacles got in his way His vision kept him strong and focused
Read More
Yes! You Can Be an Entrepreneur!
Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can be what you want to be. – W. Clement Stone Have you been thinking about, dreaming about, or speculating about what it would be like to be an entrepreneur? Have you put the thought aside because you aren’t sure you can do it? Me too…once upon a time. However, after spending most of my life in corporate and after going through a career transition, I’m living proof that – as self made billionaire entrepreneur Reid Hoffman says in this article – ANYONE can be an entrepreneur. And everyone
Read More
You Are Never Too Old for One More Adventure!
“When I dream, I am ageless” ~ Elizabeth Coatsworth My heart sings whenever I see a video or hear a story like the one about a woman 104 years old who reclaimed her record for being the oldest female to tandem paraglide. You just have to love her spunk! It takes spunk to create an Encore Career or Lifestyle! It’s so easy to get caught up in one or more of the following ways of thinking: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks It’s too late for me to go back to school Technology is just too hard to
Read More
Learning the Encore Career Lingo
A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Something fascinating happens in language when a new paradigm arises. Think about the lingo that’s cropped up with the advent of social media. A whole new lingo was created so that we had a way to talk about it. Now a whole new lingo appears to be surfacing to give us a way to talk about activities associated with
Read More
Enchantment Really IS What It’s All About
Life is short and opportunities are rare. And we have to be vigilant in protecting them and not only the opportunities to succeed, but the opportunity to laugh, to see the enchantment and to live. Because life doesn’t owe us anything, in fact, I think we owe something to the world. ~ Haley James Scott. I haven’t yet read Guy Kawasaki’s latest book “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions”. It’s definitely going on my list after finding this infographic (based on the book) about how to increase your likability factor. I’ve always loved the word “enchantment”. The definition
Read More
Dancing with Crazy
A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free. ~ Nikos Kazantzakis I think the the most challenging lesson on the journey to creating an Encore Career is learning to “dance with crazy”. I was on a marketing class conference call recently where a participant requested feedback about what to do with responses from interviews she’d conducted with several clients. She wanted clarity about how she could use the feedback to differentiate herself in her business. One of her customers remarked that she’s a “goddess” in her field and that totally threw her for
Read More
Designing Your Encore Career – Locating the SA-WEET Spot!
I think we each have a personal sweet spot as well. It’s the state of mind in which we experience the most joy and satisfaction in being ourselves. And from that place of pleasure and joy in being ourselves, energy arises to flow out into our day bringing with it the depth and resonance of our own beingness, bringing with it blessing. ~ David Spangler I love sweets. I’ve had an incurable sweet tooth since I was a kid. And so when I find something I love I’m likely to say…SA-WEET!!! Like NO KIDDING! I’ve been saying it a lot
Read More
Designing Your Encore Career – Embrace the Zigzags
“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination. ~ Don Williams Jr. A friend reminded me recently that the beginnings of big shifts in our lives are hardly ever momentous. They most often begin with one small action step. My one small action step this month was to read a book called “The Big Shift” by Marc Freedman. Little did I know that reading it would rekindle the spark that had gone out of my coaching practice and make it burn more brightly
Read More