Words to Live By: Gandhi

"The best way to find yourself, 

is to lose yourself in the service of others."

— Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

HELP! What if I Want to Do It All?

This is the question I get from so many people, but especially from students, who feel that focusing on one single path in life just isn't going to satisfy their hunger for a variety of interests.

But I always have an answer ready for them, which is: If I can settle on a career path I love, so can they.

I've always had so many interests that fascinate me with so little time to pursue them, and I still sometimes wonder why days couldn't be at least three hours longer. So how did I decide on a career path that could satisfy this hunger? Especially one that had a lot to sink my teeth into?

Here are the top five reasons why my career path (which, as you know, involves helping others build theirs) works for my varied interests:

1. Career coaching has loads of variety inherently built in.  My days and weeks vary quite a bit, dividing my time between writing and reading and coaching and speaking. Plus I get to work with fascinating people of all different ages, backgrounds, locations, interests... and career fields, of course. Believe it or not, I feel as if I'm satisfying the explorer in me by living vicariously through my clients.

2. It requires me to solve a variety of complex problems that are similar in nature but never the same. This gets to the heart of what my brain needs to feel stimulated: I need lots of problems to solve that involve people. And I'm good at it too, which is probably why I like it! Success makes everyone feel energized.

3. I decided that the best way for me to be able to experience multiple interests in life was to have my own service-oriented business.  This means that when I want to gradually shift my focus I can, without feeling as if I'm totally losing ground. If I had a manufacturing business, for example, my freedom would be a bit more restricted, as changes would mean wasting inventory.

Another entrepreneurial bonus? Having my own business allows me to quench my thirst for novelty, such that I can invent new ways to do things- and incorporate more interests- like writing, travel, research, photography, art, and whatever else piques my interest. Of course, I don't incorporate everything all the time, because I don't need to.  It's all about prioritizing my interests, rather than trying to do too much and creating a piece-meal, random mess of crisscrossing paths. Which leads me to the next point...

4. Finding an essence is key. I got to the essence of what I enjoyed most about my top interests. Once I looked at all of my seemingly disparate fascinations, I realized most of them centered around psychology, human behavior and personal stories.  Career choices, aptitudes and journeys inhabit the bulk of my work, so it's a perfect match for me. It's like penning a symphony titled, "Variations On a Theme."

5. Wants aren't needs. I realized that there are certain things I like to do and certain things I need to do. In fact, this discernment is key in prioritizing your interests. For example, I like to paint, but one painting project once or twice a year will pretty much do the trick. And singing is another passion of mine, which I really enjoy doing. Performing about once a week plus light rehearsing seems to be a good frequency; however, I found that doing it everyday, on a professional level, proved to be a bit much.

So as far as the needs are concerned: I need to read- a lot.  And reading human interest stories and career journeys (mostly found in biographies) is just something that I do for fun, whether I'm paid to read them or not.  I'm truly drawn to this type of information gathering. My other needs: to write, share ideas and to help people on a personal level. If I don't accomplish these things very regularly it's difficult for me to feel like I'm making a difference.

So you might be wondering, are there other career fields out there-entrepreneurial or not- that have variety built in?

The answer is a resounding "Yes!"

But...

All career paths require the person with multiple interests to think and plan creatively. Beyond finding-or creating- a single dynamic career path, satisfying a variety of interests entails carving out special time to do important activities that really don't need to be done every day, all day, on a professional level, but that still need a place in your life.

And that's okay, because your ideal career, no matter how varied, will never satisfy everything on your ever-evolving list of interests. But it can, if crafted with careful consideration, satisfy the fascinations you want to grow and develop the most.

Photo credit: Creative commons via Flickr

Words to Live By: Andre Agassi

“Remember this. Hold on to this. 

This is the only perfection there is, the perfection of helping others. 

This is the only thing we can do that has any lasting meaning. This is why we're here. 

To make each other feel safe.”

-Tennis champion, Andre Agassi

from his autobiography, Open

Reject a Job Offer?! Maybe.

From salary.com: A very informative article to help you stay objective in deciding whether or not to take that job offer.

-Katie

Consider This

Create Your Space: Cloey Style!

For this edition of "Create Your Space," my dog, Cloey Margaret, will share her wisdom.

That's me and my lovely design

Ever wanted a space to call your own? 
With your own personal touch?
As my mom always says, it's important to celebrate your individuality.Your space should reflect YOU, so make it your own!

Here's what you'll need to get started:

1) A sign.
My human sister made mine for me, since I can't write. I thought it was pretty good.

My Sign

2) A corner of the house.  The kitchen is a good place, as there are many design tools in the kitchen, such as food and paper products.

Me looking for more design tools

3) Pops of Color:

*One bag of lettuce
*One head of lettuce 

*One small pumpkin, preferably freshly plucked from your local pumpkin patch.

4) The Neutrals:

*One old bone
*A couple of napkins
*One loaf of expensive, organic, 12 grain bread

The Design Process

Once you have your sign and your corner, it's time to make you mark!

Step 1: Forage for the above materials.

Cruise the counters. Check the kitchen sink if necessary.  This is where I discovered a treasure trove of items, such as those listed above. (Mom didn't think I'd get stuff in the sink! Ha ha!)

If you are too short to reach counters and sinks, I suggest you hire a Great Dane.

Step 2: Color me beautiful.

First off is the head of lettuce. Once you've shredded it sufficiently, make sure it's strewn all over. 

Caught in the Act! 
Me With the Head of Lettuce

Now for the bag of lettuce. This one's a bit trickier for those of us not sporting opposable thumbs. So open it with your fangs and shake it like you mean it!!!

Greens are all the rage in decorating right now, so go wild with them. But please, spare the label on the bag if at all possible, as you never know if they'll be a product placement opportunity that comes along. (I'm hoping the magazine, "Dog Fancy," will be contacting me soon.)

And oh, that cute little pumpkin. Such adorable, orangey goodness!!
The color orange, which I'm not sure I can see anyway, is the final bright hue to incorporate. Make sure it gets adequately annihilated and balanced among the green.

Mmmm...those pumpkin seeds are good eatin'!

Step 3: But don't forget the neutrals!

Napkins can basically serve as confetti. Shred and sprinkle them accordingly.

A bone anchors the vignette with some weight, and gives an appearance that you do indeed gnaw on it from time to time, as opposed to those other things you shouldn't. Which reminds me...

The loaf of bread: be free with your beige carbohydrate of choice and begin chewing indiscriminately. Please note that the entire loaf might get consumed during the design process, and that's okay. Designers need nourishment while they work.

Step 4: Achieving the "Rampage Look" 

Please ensure you do lots of frenetic tearing, shredding and spewing. You want your onlookers to know that you are an edgy designer, one who isn't afraid of not only pilfering a few odds and ends to achieve the look you desire, but also one who doesn't mind getting down and dirty with design.

And it can indicate you're a just a tad irked that they left you at home.

Step 5: Weathering the "What the ;*@# did you do, Cloey?!!!!" reaction to your masterpiece.

Give your best "I am sooo sssorrrryyyy!!!! it will never ever happen again!!!!" look.

Can you feel my remorse? It's palpable...

And just remember two things:

Great artists are always misunderstood during their lifetime 

and

That loaf of bread will always be worth it.

Could You? Would You?

Via Flickr

...walk away from millions of dollars?
Just curious.

-Katie

NFL football player considers happiness factor

Keep Those Juices Flowing...

The creative ones!
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229424?newsletter=true