As I sit in my office on this cool spring morning, I can hear birds, planes, and the chug of my computer so easily grinding thoughts into words. I can sit back and feel the pleasure and comfort of my big office chair. There have been so many mornings where I dashed out without breakfast to take a brisk walk to the bus, then felt hot and tired on the walk home. This morning I pause to enjoy the gratitude of feeling comfort, safety and satisfaction in what I am doing. Not everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this kind of pleasure on a daily basis, but I know that I wouldn’t have enjoyed it today if I hadn’t taken a few moments to indulge in feelings of gratitude.
Entrepreneur’s
If you are an entrepreneur
Coach entrepreneurs or
Think like an entrepreneur
Join Us
at Javalicious Café
(Follow Carlson Drive from Sac State to
The little Shopping Center in River Park)
9:00 – 10:00 AM
Share ideas, resources, and network with entrepreneurs
First meeting, “What you do and why you do it”
Share & Collaborate
Networking is more than a business card!
Confessions of an Urban Gatherer
Gather, accumulate, collect, amass. The “urban gatherer” saves for the next storm or disaster. Mainly they save for fear of losing what they have. I have found myself living like an “urban gatherer” storing up for whatever future uncertainty might come my way. Rather than giving, recycling and feeling blessed for all that I have, I find myself holding on.
It's not hard to find myself wanting just another snack or a trip to the mall. I feel like I need an energy boost. I should go have an orange. So I go into the kitchen and see a wonderful array of snacks. I could have some chips or cheese and then have the orange. One snack leads to another and pretty soon I've had too much. I go to the mall to just to get out, walk around and hear some music. I get there and decide that I really need that little $12 shirt at the department store. When I get in the store I see so many things that I would like to have and they are all on sale. The $12 top has turned into a $75 dollar purchase. I'm happy!
I get home and have another snack because I'm really hungry after the shopping trip. Now I'm feeling a little too full and hoping I fit into the jeans I bought on sale. I open my closet to put the new clothes away and find there's very little room. Maybe I need a bigger closet. Or better yet a bigger house. I sit down and turn on the TV. I definitely need a bigger house for the large screen TV I need. My kids are getting large screen TV's, so I'm sure we should have one. There's no point in getting the Wii we want if we have a small television. The possibilities are endless. I realize that I need to get up and go put some things away. But where? There's no room. I need to spend some time organizing, but how will I have time? My computer crashed yesterday and it will take me hours or days to set up all of my accounts and programs.
I have to ask myself, "Am I really suffering from having too little?” Maybe I have so much stuff that I am having trouble managing it. I know that I can't let go of things that I don't need anymore because I may need them later. There's talk of inflation going up or possible recession. I'm not sure when I'm going to get that dream job, and my husband is planning to retire in a year. I picked up some old shoes out of my closet this morning and realized that I probably don't need them anymore. I have two other old pair and would like to purchase something newer. I started to throw the shoes away and then wondered what I would do if I needed them later. There was a time when I couldn't afford to buy new shoes when I wanted them. I remember when I ate food I didn't really like because I was actually hungry. I also think back to just being tired and hungry from long days in graduate school when I got home too late to fix dinner.
Now I seem to have plenty of food that I like. I have clothes, a television, two computers, a smart phone and an iPod. Remembering to keep everything charged and in the proper bag or pocket so that I have it with me is a challenge. I ponder over which breakfast bar I like best so I always have a snack with me in case a meeting or class runs late. I try to keep up-to-date on all of my business magazines, news, politics and the state of the economy because it is an important part of being a personal/career coach. But when I look at the hundreds of emails in my inbox, I just want to turn it off. I have self-study courses, ezines, telecourses and advertisements. My office is cluttered with more books and information than I can ever process much less read. Where is this insatiable appetite for stuff and information coming from? What am I trying to fill?
As I think about it, I realize that I get some sense of security from feeling like I'm smart and I know things. If I keep filling my closet then surely I can make an impression at the next networking meeting or presentation. I can feel assured that I won't starve when we have the next disaster because I started keeping a good supply of canned food, a windup flash light and a windup radio on hand after Y2K. But somehow all of these things don't make me feel satisfied. In fact, I can't always find the things that I really need. I know that it is time for me to quit behaving like a hunter-gatherer always storing up for winter. I want to live in the moment and savor all that my life has to offer.
The only way to be truly resilient and prepared for disaster is not through gathering and storing things. There is no security in having stuff that can be swept away in an instant. I am ready now to leave a life of the fear of uncertainty and begin filling my life with meaningful relationships, health and spirituality. Come back and join me in finding a truly fulfilling life. I enjoy hearing your thoughts and feedback.
For comments, please send me an email, and I will post it to the website with your permission. I am no longer using comments because of the occasional inappropriate use of the Internet. I want to keep this site friendly for everyone who wants to visit. You are welcome to send me an email that you don’t want posted. Send comments to: lifeworkcoach@clwd-share.org
At first glance it would seem like there are a reasonable number of people who are unemployable due to health, disability, age or motivation. Certainly there are times when a person may not be able to work because of illness or trauma, but are they really unemployable, or are they unable to work at that time? People who lack Career Management skills may find it as difficult to keep a job as to find a job. But real and perceived challenges to employment may be making it difficult for highly skilled, motivated, experienced workers to find a job. In a changing competitive work environment where time, place and workload are totally under the employer’s control, as is often the case in large corporations, a skilled experienced job seeker may feel unemployable. It is important for workers to develop strong skills, ethical work habits and the ability to work in a group, but they also need healthy work environments. In this article we will discuss challenges to employment, career professional roles and accessibility of career services.
Some common challenges to employment are lack of career self-management skills. In a fast changing world, we need to have workers that know who they are and how to adapt quickly to new situations. The ability to learn is more important than what you know. Understanding and appreciating diversity helps people work in a world economy.
To be adaptable, you need to know what your skills are, where you want to work, and how you will get there. But you need much more. A job seeker needs to be a resource person looking for employers who want to work with you rather than a job-beggar complaining about your circumstances and looking for someone to feel sorry for you. Too often people who are chronically unemployed and poor focus on their deficits rather than their strengths.
When people suffer from long-term unemployment due to poverty, disability, past failures or lack of lifestyle management, they are often considered society’s throwaways. Our jails are full of our forgotten throwaways. With the cost of keeping people in prisons, it would be less expensive to have a culture of full employment than a culture full of jails. The question is, “Is anyone unemployable?” Can we have an inclusive system of employment? Are we building support systems to have an educated, employable fully functioning society of people?
Most people have at least one perceived challenge to employment for example they are told they are too old, too young, have a mental or physical disability, too much education or too little. In his book, “What Color is Your Parachute”, career guru Richards Bolles goes so far as to say that because of your real or perceived challenges to employment, there are about three weeks of your life when you’re employable.
Developing Career Management Skills means that you need to know Who you are, What you want, and How to get there. As career professionals we often see people who want to skip to the How. Most people who come to me for career coaching start with a request to review their resume. The exception is the college career center. Students often want a quick assessment and then a list of jobs that will pay well or provide job satisfaction.
In today’s world of work, it is important to start with your strengths or natural abilities and determine what skills you want. Look at your financial needs and evaluate how you can best develop your skills. I you have the financial means, you may be able to spend most of your time in school or training, at the same time testing the waters and gaining some work experience. In other words make it real. Employers are not interested in education without some real experience. Experience helps you try out your skills to see if you really want to use them in the real world.
Career professionals have many roles in assisting people with find a path to a balance of life and work. Career professionals may be able to:
1. Teach Career Management Skills:
• Helping people to better understand who they are and what they want.
• Finding their voice for expressing their strengths
• Discovering learning opportunities to develop their skills
2. Advocate for people:
a. Help job seekers find employers who will be willing to work with them.
b. Help individuals build networks and support systems
3. Learn the skills and character to be entrepreneurs and advocate for themselves.
4. Build supportive systems in their workplaces.
5. Provide counseling to assist people who have been wounded, lost hope, have low self-esteem, etc.
6. Refer a person who has a mental disability to a professional.
7. Model a hopeful positive attitude and a sense of humor.
I believe that anyone can be employable, and everyone benefits from participating in society whether it is through paid or unpaid work.
