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Becoming by Michelle Obama

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From the South Side of Chicago to the Whitehouse. What an amazing journey. 

What I loved about this book was the insight into how Michelle Obama thinks and her passions. Along with her thoughts and passions, you also get a taste of President Obama’s thoughts and passions. Both of these people are passionate about helping under-served populations get a leg up.

Her South Side upbringing was fairly typical middle class and a blue collar working class family. Nothing special and also not poverty. The things I loved about her description is that it could have been my family…loving, supportive, caring about education. Of course, my life was easier being caucasian.

Her constant drive to do her best and challenge herself is impressive. But even more impressive is her desire to help underserved populations which she did as a lawyer in Chicago and also as First Lady in the White House. Her ideas were big and far-reaching and her commitment to getting them done through collaboration impressive as well.

This book was very enjoyable and I have more admiration now for both Michelle and Barack Obama than I did before reading this. I can see why it is a #1 seller.

My Career Inspiration for 2019

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career inspiration

My career inspiration for 2019 starts by choosing three words to guide me throughout the year.

By choosing 3 words to guide and inspire me, rather than creating specific goals, I get career inspiration in a variety of ways, both personally and professionally.  When I think about “career” it is in its broadest definition as defined by Donald Super.

A career is defined as the combination and sequence of roles played by a person during the course of a lifetime. It concerns an individual’s progression through a series of jobs over his or her lifetime and includes that person’s education and unpaid work experiences, such as internships and volunteer opportunities.  Donald Super.

How I choose my words

I go on ‘tech-free’ retreats about once a month where I turn off my phone, stay off email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram for the day. It is my day to write and think and read.

On my retreat in December, I spent time reading my daily journal for the entire year looking for themes, words, or ideas that keep appearing.

What I am looking for are words or ideas that can inspire me. Sometimes I find a repetition of negative words.  What I then explore is their opposite meaning to offer me career inspiration for the next year. I struggled this year choosing my third word and had to “call a friend”. (Perfectly fine way of doing it, as well as using a thesaurus).

I was trying to articulate a feeling I had but struggled to find a word that captured it. My friend Rees helped me describe my feeling with a word that felt right. I actually had four words this year and he also helped me narrow my list to the below three words.

By choosing a word, rather than one goal, I can utilize the meaning of that word to offer career inspiration throughout the year. Here are my words I used in the past three years.

2016 – Health ★ Mindfulness ★ Focus

 2017 – Intentional ★ Authentic ★ Wellness

 2018 – Reach ★ Capacity ★ Consistency

career inspiration

REFLECTION

This word came to me as I realized how beneficial it is to take time to slow down and think. Each day I start by doing some QiGong (like Tai Chi) to calm myself and then I journal. By writing with pen and paper it forces me to slow down and think through what is on my mind.

Each afternoon at 2:30, I take a meditation break. These routines give me time to pause the fast pace of life and in return, I find creativity and inspiration for my work and personal life.

PURPOSEFUL

One thing I noticed in my journal and also from my business coach, is that I tend to use words and phrases like, I will try and write this week. Or, I need to or should do something. What I will be saying (notice I didn’t say try to say) is I will be more purposeful with my intentions this year.

     i.e. I will finish my book for Career Coaches this winter.

     i.e. I will write my blogs at least one month ahead of time to allow my Advisory Board more time to review

GRATITUDE

I wanted a word that made me happy. I struggle with all the crazy news coming at me daily, sometimes hourly, and wanted a word like “laugh” or “joy” or “smile” but it just didn’t feel right. As I talked it out with Rees, I realized that the word ‘gratitude’ is all about the many things in my life that make me happy. It’s not just that I want to laugh or smile, but I want to look at all the positive things going on my life that keep me going.


Are you inspired to choose 3 words for 2019?
If so, please share them here or email me your words and why you choose them.

May 2019 be a rich and fulfilling year.

Read more on “reflection” here.

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a weekly career news 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

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Brain-Based Career Development Theory by Imants Jaunarajs, Jodi Pavol, and Erin Morgenstern

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Attended the Maine Career Development Association workshop in November 2018 on the Brain-Based Career Development model. It was a very informative workshop by @Imants Jaunarajs and @Erika Kirk Peyton from Ohio University. I was so interested that I ordered their monograph from NACE.org when I got home.  (Order your own copy)

Big takeaways from the workshop and this monograph are:

1. Brain can only handle 4 pieces of information in the prefontal cortex, two is best. This means we need to work hard to focus on 1 major task at a time. Most of us have many more thoughts going on at once.

2. Remember our students/clients are coming with lots of things on their mind and we need to help them focus. Don’t overload them with lots of tasks. Narrow the issues down to 3 or 4 and then focus on 1 at a time. Even if it means more meetings.

3. Keep the focus on the student/client “what would you like to accomplish today?”

4. Set clear expectations for the time you have with them. (again don’t overload them; your role; checkin about halfway;)

5. Help them find their solutions with your coaching. Goal is for you to talk 20% of time.

6. Assign action steps that can be accomplished in 2-5 days.

The book includes 3 pages of great coaching questions that keeps the ownership with the client as well as case studies demonstrating how the coaching session looks, and their 4-quadrant form they use. All very helpful.

This theory supports so much of what I already do…nice to know my intuition was correct and actually based on theory 🙂

INTERVIEW: Reading Books for Professional Development

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Watch or listen to this interview with a number of different career service providers who are also book-lovers. Below the interview, you will find the books they recommended in the interview.
 
(1) Why do you think reading books is important for your own professional development?
(2) What is your favorite book in 2018 that helped you professionally?

I hope you are inspired to read one of these books, I know I am. This interview is a follow up to my blog Are You Faster Than 300?

 

Brian Hutchison, Department Chair and Associate Professor at New Jersey City University and the Global Career Guy – follow me at Global Career Guy Channel on youtube.

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas

The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity by  Nadine Burke Harris M.D. 

For fun, Brian reads a lot of books by Deon Meyer

Carol Pelletier, School to Career Coordinator at Camden Hills Regional High School

The End of College, Creating the Future of Learning in the University of Everywhere, by Kevin Carey
Teach, Breathe, Learn by Meena Srinivisasan

The Quiet American, Graham Greene

Intention, Critical  Creativity in the Classroom, by Amy Burvall and Dan Ryder
 
Belinda J. Wilkerson, Founder of Steps To The Future, LLC  www.steps2thefuture.com
Her STEM Career: Adventures of 51 Remarkable Women by Diane Propsner
 
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
 
Becoming by Michelle Obama
 
Edward Lawrence, Training Coordinator for MassHire Metro Southwest, which comprises MassHire Framingham and MassHire Norwood, two Massachusetts-based American Job Centers. By night, I offer coaching and career services through my business Getstarted LLC  (www.getstart-ed.com).
 
Grant by Ron Chernow. A study Presidential leadership styles.
 
The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman
Recommended by my boss; has enabled us to transform the message for job-seekers.
 
The Work of Leaders by Straw, Scullard, Kukkonen, and David
Excellent summation of how Vision and Alignment and Execution are used by leaders.
 
I met the author Elizabeth White. She told me, “Ed, the cavalry isn’t coming through that door!”
Her experience echoes the philosophy of Hoffman. We are responsible for our careers.

Barry L. Davis, MS, CTC, CMCS, Career Coach at Gift of Self Career Services and Adjunct Professor for Concordia and Huntington Universities

Steal Like an Artist – 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

Barbara Janssens, 
Living Nonviolent Communication: Practical Tools to Connect and Communicate Skillfully in Every Situation.  By Marshall Rosenberg
 
Marie Eddy, CCSP, GCDF, Eddy Career Services eddycareerservices.com
Career Kred. 4 Simples Steps to Build Your Digital Brand & Boost Credibility in Your Career. By Ryan Rhoten
 
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. By Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
 
Alease Copelin, CT/Academic Counselor, Center High School Career Center
[Read more…] about INTERVIEW: Reading Books for Professional Development

It’s Your Ship by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff

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I have been doing some research into “stay interviews” which are done while employees are still working at your company versus “exit interviews” when you ask them “What went wrong? What could we do better?”

This book is what was recommended by someone in a Facebook recruiter group I am in as one of the first books that talked about putting employees first and asking them what they think. This Captain of Benfold ship challenged longtime Naval leadership by giving responsibility to the crew and talking with the crew about what they thought could be improved. It was remarkable how it affected his retention. Before he came aboard 80% of the people who could leave at the end of their time, left. When he left, it had completely flipped. They loved working there.

According to a Gallup poll, 65% of people leave companies because of a manager. And when Cpt. Abrashoff arrived he reviewed the exit interviews of sailors on his ship and found that the reasons people were not reenlisting was:

  1. not being treated with respect/dignity
  2. being prevented from making an impact
  3. not being listened to
  4. not being rewarded with more responsibility
  5. pay

So his philosophy of leadership changed to listening, actually “aggressive listening” is what he calls it and asking them “is there a better way of doing this?”

This is a great book about leadership and motivating employees by respecting them and listening to them. He bucked quite a few rules and I am guessing he wasn’t loved by everyone in the Navy because of it, but it certainly sounds like his crew loved it. And the results are pretty amazing.

Chip the Dam Builder by Jim Kjelgaard

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I was talking about my love of reading books with my brother Mark and asked him what his favorite book was. He said, “Chip the Dam Builder in 4th grade…it changed my life!”  He even stated he’d tried to find it and could not… so I found a copy and sent it to him and then I found my own copy via inter-library loan.

It is a great story about how the ecology is so interrelated and humans have an impact on it even when they don’t realize it. There are all kinds of animals in the forest, some are predators, and some get eaten, but they make it better for everyone but making the deer faster, and baby beavers stronger.

The author does not sugar coat the fact that some live and some die. I love how he demonstrates how the environment is so intertwined. Loggers came into this area and clear-cut and then there were floods. Then beaver moved in and suddenly the floods diminished because the streams had small ponds all along.

I devoured this book and can see why Mark liked it so much.