I have taken time out this summer to reflect and refresh.
And, the most surprising thing is that I have been more productive, creative, and gotten more accomplished than if I had been working consistently to produce under pressure and within deadlines.
What have I done? I have written:
- blog posts
- articles
- new version of old book
- a manifesto
- new keynote speech
These pieces would have taken me forever, if I had to grind them out.
Instead, I just followed "my flow." What is "flow?" It is following what your inner voice tells you to do. Flow is following what seems fun, inspiring and creative. It's listening to that voice within.
What is it about stepping back and allowing yourself to just get in the flow?
Without the pressure of "I have to get it done," my creativity spigot opened and ideas have just come gushing out.
Tuesday, for example: here is a picture of my dog Pasha on our forest walk.
We walked through the woods, just the two of us, over bridges and next to waterfalls; - it was so beautiful. All of a sudden, I felt very inspired. I began to give a keynote speech out loud, one that I had been mapping out over a period of time. The ideas were flowing, I saw the talk so clearly - and when I came home, I wrote it down. Done!
Of course, it's important to have strategy, tactics, goals and deadlines. But, sometimes giving yourself more space to stay in your "flow" will enable you to do more, to be more productive than if you pushed yourself to complete it. Especially under pressure.
It's a BIG day!
The Jobs Report is issued today, the first Friday of the month. And, like a gypsy who peers into her crystal ball for a glimpse of the future, we look at these numbers as indicators of the health of the economy.
What says the report?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 215,000 jobs were created in March, up from the 205,000 expected.
So, I ask you: good news or bad news? Sounds good. Broke expectations.
It might be weird, but I can't wait for the jobs report to come out. Why? Because it's so much fun to dive into the numbers and to come up with different (and usually deeper) interpretations that you will find in the media.
Here's one of today's headlines:
Huffington Post - America Just Turned In Another Stellar Jobs Report
"Jobs are growing in places where machines can't (yet!) do the work: America's growing industries are construction, health care and retail."
Me: America Just Turned in A (Less Than) Stellar Jobs Report
New retail jobs (47,700) and health care (44,000) make up about 50% of the new jobs created. And, they are some of the lowest paying jobs. So, 50% of the market growth is in low paying jobs. Professional white-collar jobs are still hard to get, while hourly work is on the rise. Is that REALLY good news?
You have to look below the numbers and ask questions.
Think for yourself.
I just got an email from a client. She needed to vent.
Last week my client brought in one of the biggest potential clients her firm had ever seen. She was so excited! And, proud...
And, guess who wasn't invited to the first meeting with the company? My client.
She contacted her boss and requested she be present, thinking it must be an oversight. It wasn't.
Her boss told her the management team felt that four people would be too many and that she would have to "stay home." Even though she brought in the lead and had the connection to the company.
Pretty bad, right? Except it got worse...
After the meeting, she was asked to write a thank you note to the client. But, she wasn't there. What the heck did they expect her to say?
As if there was any question before, now she knows..it's time for her to go. Her company doesn't appreciate her contributions or her talents. Does yours?
If your talents and contributions aren't being recognized, appreciated or compensated, it might be time to move on.
I saw this quote in a Fast Company article last week:
"Think high performers are the 'quitters never win' types? Wrong, says (Paul Rulkens." (He is the author of The Power of Preeminence.) And, he goes on to say:
"Winners quit all the time - they're just more thoughtful about it.
Strategic quitting means ditching the things that you shouldn't or don't want to be doing because they aren't worth your time..."
So, I say to you...
Be a strategic quitter. It doesn't make you a loser or a failure. It make you a winner. Now, I'm not talking about throwing in the towel or giving up when things get tough. That would be capitulation based on weakness. Strategic quitting is different. Strategic quitting is based on strength. It is proactive.
Strategic quitting means you know when it is time to leave work you hate so that you can do work you enjoy.
Remember, winners are quitters. They know when it is time to cut bait and move on. Embrace it. It's the first step to creating work you love.
I just got back from a trip to Peru. We hiked up Machu Picchu and floated down the Amazon. It was amazing...
Traveling gives me a new perspective. On life. On my business. On this blog...
This blog was always intended to be a "work in progress." Not finished. Not perfect. Not set in stone.
Back to Peru...a couple of things happened there...
I finally read Pamela Slim's book Escape Cubicle Nation. Even though she helps people similar to my peeps, I didn't want to read her book until now. Funny, but I didn't want her ideas to influence my thinking before I put together my process.
It's a great book. I'll write more about it in another post.
Here's what made an impression on me. In her book, Pamela recounts how she she explained her blog to her mom. She told her that a blog was basically like writing a letter. But, instead of writing to the letter to one person, she could share her letter with thousands.
I like the idea of having a blog that is like writing a letter to you.
While I was floating down the Amazon, looking for birds and monkeys, I would periodically get cell phone coverage. During one of these "connected to the grid moments," I saw a tweet from Alexis Grant, Twitterer extraordinare, who tweeted that blog posts were about "a-ha moments."
I also like the idea of sharing "a-ha moments" with you.
So, instead of sharing my expertise through "how to" articles, I'm going to write you little letters and share insights. So much fun. Think of them as love notes. I'm hoping you'll write notes back and share your insights with me. This is an invitation to you to talk to me. Talk soon, OK?
There are four ways of finding work in today’s economy. That’s right. Just four ways.
The other day, I shared two approaches with you: traditional and targeted. Traditional is when you package yourself up in a resume and put yourself out there, hoping to be seen and hired. Targeted is when you determine exactly what position or role you would like to be hired for, and then package yourself (resume, LinkedIn profile, conversations) as the perfect person to fill that role or position.
You might notice that each of these ways is what I call “reactive” or “responsive.” What I mean by that is that you are reacting or responding to a position that has been created by someone else.
In this article, I will share two new approaches for finding work in today’s economy. They are “proactive” ways of creating work, based on who you are and what you have to offer the marketplace. Here they are:
1. Consultative: This approach requires that you know who you are and what you have of value to offer the marketplace. What do you do? What do you have to offer that is valuable to the marketplace? The key is to figure out who has a need that you can fill? Who has a problem that you can solve?
EXAMPLE: Early in my career, I coached a client in the marine insurance industry. There had just been a legislative change in Washington, DC and companies were scrambling to figure out what it meant for them. He had helped his company to navigate through these regulatory waters and so reached out to other companies – in a consultative way - to see if they needed help. This approach is so effective because you are essentially identifying a problem and offering a way to help.
You will need first to identify what you have to offer and then determine who needs what you have. Once you identify a potential client/employer, you need to have a consultative conversation where you articulate who you are, what you do, how you think you can help them, and share proof of where you have done this in the past.
2. Make it Up and Charge For It: This option is my favorite. This is where you create something for sale to the marketplace. It can be a product or a service, such as, in my industry, a book, coaching program, online course. You create it and determine how and where to sell it. Leverage your intellectual property.
These proactive approaches to the marketplace are the most effective. If you can either use your talents to help a company solve a problem, or sell a service or a product to inform, your chances for finding paid work are great! Create your own way in today’s economy. That is the secret sauce to success!
And, if you need help with this, reach out and let’s set up a strategy session. Click here to apply.
For those of you who don’t know…
There are four ways of finding work in today’s economy. That’s right. Just four ways.
Today, I will share the first two with you. Here they are, along with my recommendations:
1. Traditional: This is how most people look for work. They write up their resume as a history of everything they’ve done and put it out into the marketplace, hoping for a reply. A reply that never comes. And, they wonder why.
This method doesn’t work, for several reasons. First of all, if you are writing your resume as a history of everything you’ve done, you are expecting the prospective employer to take the time to translate what you’ve done into what they need. No one has the time to do that. Your resume will land in the trash. It’s not strategic.
Secondly, if you are not targeting what you have in your resume to the job specs, you will never get hired. The job market is way too competitive. Companies can afford to hire exactly what they are looking for. If they want to hire an owner of a three-earred hamster, they can. (I’m being facetious, but you know what I mean.)
Finally, if you are just putting yourself out there, applying everywhere, hoping that your resume will stick, I can tell you, it won’t. You have to be very strategic about where you are applying in order to be seen above the fray.
2. Targeted: This option is where you get very focused and targeted about how you present yourself. For example, if you are looking for a copywriting position in the advertising industry, you will know exactly what the companies are looking for at your level, and include examples in your resume of how you demonstrated the important skill sets.
It may sound counterintuitive, but the more focused your resume, the better chance you have of getting it read. This flies in the face of what most people want to do. Most people want to make themselves as broadly appealing as possible so as to be considered for the widest number of jobs. Sounds good, but in reality, this strategy produces the opposite result. The more broadly appealing you make yourself, the less chance you have for finding any job.
Be bold, take a stand for what you have to offer, figure out who needs what you have, and make your case of providing value to them.
And, if you need help with this, you might want to set up a strategy session with me. Click here to apply.
