[CREATIVE CAREERS UNLEASHED] Career Q & A http://ezezine.com In this issue, more Career Q & A’s raised by you, my readers. CREATIVE CAREERS UNLEASHED! From Turning Point Strategies and Lyle T. Lachmuth Please do FORWARD Creative Careers Unleashed to Interested colleagues in your network. You’ll find links to join and leave this newsletter at the end. CAREER Q & A This issue will focus on two very interesting questions raised by readers. Here goes … ======================================================================= HOT LINKS Recapture your zest and your life. Learn how to Manage Your Energy™ http://www.uc.dianalindstrom.com Richard Nelson Bolles companion site to What Color is Your Parachute --> http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/ Explore your interests. Discover your Occupational Type. Are you an Artistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, Realistic, or Conventional type? --> http://www.careerkey.org/cgi-bin/ck.pl?action=choices ======================================================================= CAREER Q & A A reader asked, “what are the 3 biggest mistakes people make when it comes to their Careers?’ What a super question. Here are my thoughts. #1 Hanging on too long Most of you know when you’re not happy in your job. Your families probably know even better – they’re the ones who hear all the moaning and complaining. But you stay. Often long past the time when you should have left. Why do people hang on too long? One word says it all. Fear. I use myself as an example. I was unhappy in my job. I even interviewed for another job. I was miserable, depressed, scared… but even more scared to leave. I was afraid that because I didn’t have a degree I wouldn’t be hired. Somehow I managed to negate the 15 years of experience and focused instead on what I didn’t have. In the end, I got a severance package but it was at a very high personal cost – I call it “hitting the wall at 100 mph.” All because I stayed too long. I don’t recommend it. So, if you’re not happy figure out why. Then see if you can change what’s bugging you or stressing you. If you can’t and can’t live with it then start looking elsewhere. Get yourself a career coach who can help you figure out what you really want to do, help plot the journey, and help you keep your courage. By the way, the preceding advice applies equally to independent professionals who are working on contract opportunities. Fire your clients sooner – you’ll feel better for it. #2 Failing to Risk I sometimes get a lot of resistance when I suggest a client try something new. “Why?” “Do I have to?” “That sounds stupid.” They act very risk averse. There’s a saying in Alcoholics Anonymous, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” Some people suffer from career insanity. They want a new job or a new career but they don’t want to do anything different. For example, they might resist doing networking or they might not want to try a different type of resume or maybe they don’t want to try cold calling. It’s particularly hard to try something new if you’ve been doing the same thing for a lot of years. Even a small change can seem huge, threatening. But, to move your career ahead you DO have to take risks. If you don’t you’ll stay where you are… and is that what you want. If you want to change your life and your career you have to change what you do. And, finally… ======================================================================= QUOTES "To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time." – Leonard Bernstein "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." – T.E. Lawrence ======================================================================= CAREER Q & A – continued #3 Underestimating strengths If I’ve seen one consistent factor with my clients, it’s been their tendency to underestimate their abilities. Yet, most of them have phenomenal talents and gifts. Why does this happen? Sometimes it happens when we work for a particular company for a long time. We buy into their ratings and appraisals. So, we think, “Well. If they think I’m average then I guess I’m average.” Maybe their standards are ridiculously high. Or, maybe their evaluations are just BS. Sometimes what we do is so easy for us that we underrate it. It’s often that way with inborn talents. They just come naturally. We might reason that if it’s that easy it must not be worth much. Sometimes, the talents people have are unusual, unique, and not part of the ‘normal’ skill set. How do you rate those? I find that generally they get underrated and are less valued. So, the message is this. Sit down. Make a list of the unique things you can do. Talk to a career coach or ask others their evaluation of your talents. Don’t sell yourself short. The second question looks at the flip side of the first question, “What are the 3 biggest career Success Factors?” #1 PASSION My bias is that work is so much more rewarding and enjoyable when we feel passionate about it. So, one of the things I most like to help my clients figure out is what their passion is. You’d think that should be obvious to everybody. But, its not. Too often my client’s passion has been ridiculed, shamed, and denigrated. So, they bury their passion. My job is to help them rediscover it. To take it out, dust it off, shine it up, and then show it off to the world. So, what’s your passion? And, are you expressing it? Need help? Send an e-mail to mailto:lyletlachmuth@gmail.com?Subject=I_Want_To_Find_My_Passion #2 SUPPORT Those of us who are eldest children and entrepreneurs know all too well the tendency to ‘go it alone.” And, you can. You can figure it out all yourself. You can do it all – yourself. But, I’ve found that people do better, their career advance smoother and faster, when they seek out and utilize support. What kind of support should you seek? Well, if you decide to hire a career coach make sure they have experience, they share your values, they teach you techniques and skills, they give you the honest feedback you need, and they keep you accountable. If you decide you’d rather find support in a friend or colleague, that’s works too. Just make sure they a number, if not all, of the characteristics I listed. A solo dance can be a wonder… but it takes two to Tango! One more answer in a minute… but first a word from a valued affiliate. ======================================================================= DO YOU WISH YOU HAD MORE ENERGY? Do you drag your butt through the day? Do you wake up tired? Go to bed exhausted? Has your life lost its zest? Sadly you’re not alone! More than 20,000,000 Americans and 1,000,000 Canadians lack the energy they need to live their lives. Are you one of them? You can get your energy back. And, you can add more zip to your life. I know because I did. And, I did it through the simple, easy to learn, tips shared with me by a wonderful colleague Diana Lindstrom. Diana knows what it’s like to have to carefully watch every step and monitor every move. You see Diana is a Post Polio Survivor. If she doesn’t manage her energy… she doesn’t walk! She doesn’t get out of bed. And, she doesn’t get to do what she loves. Over the last year Diana was kind enough to share he story and her secrets with me. And, now you can learn how to manage Your Energy™ Read more about the Manage Your Energy™ program here: http://www.uc.dianalindstrom.com ======================================================================= CAREER Q & A - continued #3 PERSISTENCE If often takes years to become an ‘overnight success’. Robert Pirsig had 134 rejections before he sold “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” And, the book of Matthew tells us to ‘Keep on asking.’ I believe that you need persistence because if you follow the path to your dreams it is NOT a straight and easy road. It’s a road that follows a unique course and direction – set by your heart and your Calling. If it were a broad road that lots were following, then where would You be? Just one of the masses. What does it take to be persistent? Passion – knowing what you want and why. And, courage. Tune in next issue when I’ll talk about Finding & Nurturing the Courage to Change. I hope you found these answers useful. See you October 1st, Lyle Lachmuth MSOD, CDP, CRT (Hons) The Unsticking Coach (TM) Your Talents > Your Career >> Your Life >>> Your Way! Turning Point Strategies Box 72140 RPO Glenmore Landing | Calgary, AB CANADA T2V 5H9 T: 403-390-4768 | E: LyleTLachmuth [at] Gmail.com =================================================================== ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER Join or leave this list here: http://home.ezezine.com/72/ Past issues here: http://home.ezezine.com/72/ PRIVACY POLICY: I collect your name and contact information solely to enable me to send you this newsletter and other information on a periodic basis. I will not rent, trade, or sell your name and contact information to anyone, at any time, for any reason! CAVEAT: CREATIVE CAREERS UNLEASHED and its publisher, are not engaged in providing therapy. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. CREATIVE CAREERS UNLEASHED may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety only, including copyright, legal, and contact information and with live links. Copyright 2005 Turning Point Strategies and Lyle T. Lachmuth