Intensive Workshop with Ann Mehl and Michele Woodward

The rules of work have changed.

No job is secure any more.

But the only person with power over your career is you.

Whether you are looking at a total career overhaul, or simply a mid-
career tune up, join us for a one day intensive workshop on Career Invention.

Give us 3 hours and we’ll give you the tools to:

- Gain clarity and conviction on your goals

- Develop a plan to get started

- Expand your thinking about the possibilities of work 

WHEN: May 15, 1-4pm
WHERE: IGC, 16 West 23^rd Street, 4^th Floor
COST: $179; Refreshments will be served.
REGISTER HERE 

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One of my clients (we’ll call him George) came to me because he wanted to lose weight. He desperately wanted to lose weight. Over the course of ten years sitting behind a desk, he had gradually packed on an extra fifty pounds which, he painfully admitted, had become an encumbrance. His knees and back bothered him most of the time and he was often winded. With a very demanding work schedule involving a lot of travel, room service, business dinners – there was scarcely any time left for his wife and three children, let alone for self-care. I suggested a shift in his priorities might be in order if he was to be serious about tackling his weight loss goal. “But I don’t have time to exercise!” he protested. It’s a familiar refrain that most working adults can identify with.

After looking at some of the reasons why he might like to lose the weight, he confessed that the real motivation was that he was afraid he would not be around for his kids as they got older. Not only that, but he was envious of other dads with greater energy who, unlike him, were able to chase after their toddlers in the park without serious risk of a heart attack. At last, we were getting somewhere. Like a lot of men his age, George was torn between what he saw as providing for his family, and being with his family. “I commute 3 hours door-to-door, I work 10 hours a day, where am I gonna get an hour to spend at the gym?” he asked pointedly.

As a banker, George understood better than most the principles of saving and investment. I suggested he think of exercise as time invested rather than time spent. Why is it that when someone is working themselves into an early grave (as George clearly was), we say they are “investing” in the future? But when someone makes working out a priority, they are “spending” time at the gym? Maybe this is part of the problem. To George’s way of thinking, hours spent exercising was a luxury he simply couldn’t afford. I suggested otherwise: it is a down payment towards his future that he needed to make NOW.

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My old college roommate recently asked me if she still has the  "shine" factor.  On a quest for a new job in this difficult market, she wanted to know if she embodied that "sparkle" she used to have when we were just entering the workforce after graduation.  As a career coach and former recruiter, I advised her that to be a star and advance in this current economy, she may need to pull out some extra glitter and go well beyond the normal call of duty. Here are some other tips I shared with her:

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Often my clients ask me “How do you get motivated to run? How can I get inspired? How do I become disciplined?” I often reply that there is no magic formula. You get it by doing. The mental qualities you need are all linked like a chain. If you give exercise a try and see results, even if it is as simple as feeling good that you got out the door, you’ll become motivated to repeat the exercise. One woman who shares this philosophy is Nicole DeBoom. An ironwoman competitor and founder of http://www.skirtsports.com, I imagine how many times she has managed to “just show up” for her work and her training. (An Ironman distance event equates to a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride plus a 26.2-mile run.) To find out if she is procrastination- proof, I reached out to her with a few questions:

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When I first meet with potential clients, I review their current situations and discuss what they would specifically like to achieve in the first 90 days of working together. Often the goals are lofty: get out of massive amounts of debt; find a partner; locate a different career in a new sector. Most individuals feel stuck and don’t know where to begin. I implement the use of the acronym, S.M.A.R.T. in order to create specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-limited guidelines for motivation between sessions. As their coach, my ambition is to support them in successfully reaching these milestones but I encourage taking initial “turtle” steps.

It is often in the minor efforts where we begin to change and build momentum. Although it takes some time and patience, I believe that it is possible to conquer big challenges just by starting small. 

In the follow-up to their bestselling book, THE POWER OF NICE, co-authors Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval show us how to harness the power of small to improve and transform your life in their new book, http://www.thepowerofsmallbook.com/. From making a connection with an employer during an interview to keeping track daily of personal spending, this book reinforces the benefits of refocusing attention on the little things. Making a decision to outline a plan is the first step, but showing up for the task is the second, (and sometimes more difficult) part. I asked Robin Koval (RK) about the ways that she has managed to stay true to her promises and to “just show up.”

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