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INTERVIEW: Our 3 Guiding Words for 2022

January 17, 2022 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

Another Peak-Careers INTERVIEW talking about what are our three words to guide us are in 2022? Why do this? and How do we do it?

In 2016 I heard about Chris Brogan’s annual activity he did choosing 3 words to guide him throughout the year. Ever since then I have been choosing my words, writing them down in my journal daily, posting them in front of me, and thinking about them every day. Since then, a number of people in my network have joined me in this yearly process.

Guests today are (Sue) Soon-Lan Lee Switzer, a certified career development practitioner in Canada and Sheila Taylor, a nationally certified career counselor.

*Read my blog on my 3 words. (Read Now)

Bio’s

Sue. Her full name is Soon-Lan Lee Switzer was born and raised in Korea and moved to Canada in November 2007. Sue is a certified career development practitioner, human resources management, and essential skills training as working at a college on the west coast of Canada as an educator and research project facilitator. Sue is currently completing her own studies in the field of student-centered leadership in higher education. Sue serves as Vice President of the United Nations Association of Canada in the Vancouver region. Sue is highly dedicated in the community to achieve the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. [Her words are Hope, Presence, and Connection].

Sheila Taylor is a nationally certified career counselor. She works with high school and college students, and early career clients that are struggling to identify their vocation. By helping her clients move from frustration and confusion to become energized and hopeful, they are empowered to pursue careers that complement their strengths. For leisure, she and her husband enjoy traveling in a small RV in search of beautiful vistas and hiking trails. [Her words are Finish, Optimism, and Community].

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a weekly email for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.

He is the author of A Field Guide for Career Practitioners: Helping Your Clients Create Their Next Move and The Adventure of Finding Me in New Zealand. He is also the recipient of the 2020 Kenneth C. Hoyt Award from the National Career Development Association and the Mid-Atlantic Career Counseling Association’s Professional Contribution’s Award in 2020.

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Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives our Success

January 5, 2022 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

By Adam Grant

Very thought-provoking book which challenged some of my thinking on who winners and losers might be. His premise is that people are either “givers, matchers, or takers.”

Givers: People who are willing to give of their time, network, expertise, and money to others with no expectation of receiving anything back.

Matchers: Pretty much what the name implies…people who will give but are expecting something in return.

Takers: They tend to plow you over on their way to the top. There have been some very successful “takers” over the years like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and such, but they may not have been the most well-liked that is for sure.

Adam Grant gives numerous examples supported by research throughout the book. The most amazing statistic is that givers often end up at the bottom of the success ladder…and at the top. It depends upon what type of “giver” you are. If you give too much, sometimes it is at your own detriment and some people will take advantage of you.

Bottom line though, Grant makes a persuasive argument to support the idea that “givers” will come out ahead in the end. Sometimes it will take a few year before you see the results, but it is best to “give” with no expectations of return, build your reputation, and give more. People will remember you and support you as you move forward and in times of need. (I think of It’s a Wonderful Life with George Bailey).

One example is how “givers” in Med School often did poorly in their first two years as they spend more time helping others which means less time for studying. But the final two years of Med School requires more collaboration and this is where they truly shine. By the end of their studies, they are often at the top of their class.

My mother always said it was better to “give” than “receive” and I think she was on to something. Thanks Mom, RIP.

My Three Guiding Words in 2022

January 3, 2022 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks ago, I took my “tech-free retreat” which I try to fit in monthly. My focus was on choosing my three guiding words for the upcoming year. December’s retreat was scheduled on a day that turned out to be our first real snowstorm of the year. Hence, it became a half-day retreat, not my typical full day one. I’ve lost access to an office I was using for my retreats, so I spent the morning at Selah Tea Cafe downtown Waterville where I worked on my three words for 2022.

I had planned to move to my other favorite coffee shop, Jorgenson’s Cafe, at noon, but they closed early. My next back up plan was to hang out in the Waterville Public Library on the 3rd floor which has a wonderful room with lots of windows looking over downtown Waterville…but alas, they closed due to the storm as well.

All was not lost as I still did lots of thinking and writing, and came up with my three guiding words for the year.

First off, let me share my words from past years. Each word still resonates with me at some level. They were important to me then and still are now as a clue to who I am and who I want to be.

2016 – Health ★ Mindfulness ★ Focus

2017 – Intentional ★ Authentic ★ Wellness

2018 – Reach ★ Capacity ★ Consistency

2019 – Reflection ★ Purposeful ★ Gratitude

2020 – Philanthropy ★ Rebalance ★ Strategic

2021 – Be ★ Kindness ★ Understanding

Here are my three guiding words for 2022 and a little of the reasoning behind each one.

Balance

In 2020 I used “rebalance” which is similar, but as I looked ahead to 2022 and reflected back on 2021, I kept coming back to the guiding word of “balance.” A few years ago I was trying to rebalance, to make a bigger change. Now looking at this word the meaning feels more like balancing with smaller more permanent changes.

Like a few years ago, I am still interested in reducing the actual number of hours I spend working each week. My wife retired this past year and I am trying hard to spend more time with her. We have already gone to a number of matinees during the week, and occasionally taken some time off “just to hang out.” I want to explore this balance more in the upcoming year while continuing to add value in the career field.

Positivity

Ted Lasso inspired me on this one. Special thanks to my backpacking buddy, Howard who turned me on to the Ted Lasso show in September. I came home from our backpacking trip in Vermont and my wife and I watched both seasons this fall.

Ted Lasso is positive, unassuming, funny, and has a HUGE heart. Each episode had me laughing, crying, and often surprised at what happened.

Humor has always been a big part of my life. I want to BE a positive influence on others and I want to be as upbeat as I can every day. Life is too short to be any other way and the past couple of years have been difficult daily to navigate…sometimes I just have to stop reading articles and move on.

Community

As I think back to what I loved working on this past year, I found myself reflecting on the many zoom calls with people in the career field, many of who were thinking about going into private practice or exploring their own career development related to our field. I really want to continue to help other career practitioners and love the idea of figuring out where I want to spend my time in the career community.

I am also looking at my local community here in Central Maine to figure out where I might spend some time and energy. Of course, I also have a community of family, cousins, and friends that I want to continue to nurture.

In February I will share the process I used in choosing these three guiding words. Yes, it happened mostly on my retreat, but this year I did something a little different. I will also write more about what each word means to me in the coming months.

Have you chosen three guiding words for 2022?

If so, what are they and what do they mean to you?

Where the Crawdads Sing

December 27, 2021 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

By Delia Owens

I loved this book. It is about an underdog who, in many ways, does not have a chance to survive, but then continues to figure out how to survive. She loves nature, is all alone, searches for love, has been left to fend for herself so much she trusts no one. But she still survives.

A beautiful book about people, survival, and filled with surprises. There is a reason this book has been on the Best Seller list for so long. I don’t want to write too much more so will simply say…read this one.

My Books in 2021

December 13, 2021 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

Each December I share the books I have read in the past year and also interview other bibliophiles as a way to share even more books. Check out the interview for 2021 here.

Besides all the books that I’ve read, I am still excited that my second book came out this year too! The Adventure of Finding Me in New Zealand is about my near death experience while traveling in New Zealand in 1983-84.

Here are the books that I’ve read this past year. First I list the books I read to be a better career coach, next historical & nonfiction books, and then my recreational reading. Each of the books will link to a short summary of the book. I do this so when someone asks about one of these books, I can send them the link to get the title and author correct. I also do it to remind myself of which books I’ve read. More than once, I bought a book only to find that I had read it already. Now I can check my list 🙂

Books to make me a better coach

Help Wanted: An A to Z Guide to Cope with the Ups and Downs of the Job Search by Karen Litzinger

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

Switchers by Dawn Graham

Designing Your Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness at Work. By Burnett, B., & Evans,D.

StoryTraining: Selecting and Shaping Stories That Connect, by Hadiya Nurriddin.

Your Stories Don’t Define You. How You Tell Them Will. By Sarah Elkins

Historical & Nonfiction

To Wake The Giant by Jeff Shaara

Elephantoms: Tracking the Elephan t by Lyall Watson

Journey on the Crest: Walking 2600 Miles from Mexico to Canada by Cindy Ross

Greenlights By Matthew McConaughey

Mountain Madness: Scott Fischer, Mount Everest & a Life Lived on High. By Robert Birkby

Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner

Books to entertain me and make me more interesting…I hope.

The Poacher’s Son by Paul Doiron

Bad Little Fall’s by Paul Doiron (and soon his book Trespasser)

Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre

If you are still reading this and want to see my book reviews from 2020, you can check them out here.

I also enjoy talking with other bibliophiles, so I recently interviewed three others in this interview on their favorite books in 2021. Watch/Listen to the interview.

Books by Paul Doiron

December 7, 2021 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

I plan to read a bunch of Paul Doiron’s books so I will simply list them here like I have done with a couple other authors rather than write a review of each book.

The Poacher’s Son -Doiron’s first book and first one I read. Loved it. (November 2021)

Trespasser – A woman dies. Somehow it is tied to another woman’s death a few years before…and somehow Mike Bowditch the Maine Game Warden is involved. (December 2021)

Bad Little Falls – Another great story of Mike Bowditch the Maine Game Warden who finds himself in trouble again. This time he is Down East near Machias in the winter with a couple of frozen guys in a bog, one lives…or maybe he doesn’t. I love that Doiron writes about Maine in the woods and he tells a great crime scene style story and I spend most of the book trying to figure out “who done it”…only to be surprised again at the ending. (December 2021)