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Search Results for: three words

INTERVIEW: Choosing 3 Words to Guide You

January 27, 2020 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

Another Peak-Careers Interview

Choosing Three Words to Guide You

Watch this Peak-Careers interview and learn how three people go about choosing three words to guide you throughout the year, what we choose for words, and what they mean to us.

My guests today are:

Belinda J. Wilkerson, Founder and Principal Counselor at Steps To The Future
and
Claire Peters, Owner of Aha! CareerCoaching

In this Peak-Careers Interview we will explore / talk about:

(1) What our words or phrases are to guide us in 2020 and what they mean to us

(2) How we go about choosing them

Read my blog on this same topic here

WATCH NOW

BIOS

DR. BELINDA J. WILKERSON, the founder of and principal counselor at Steps To the Future, LLC, helps families eliminate random acts of college planning. A lifelong educator, she held teaching, school counseling and counselor educator positions in Rhode Island before relocating to North Carolina. Active in her community, she currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Cumberland County Public Library and information Center. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Learn more at Steps to the Future.

CLAIRE PETERS, Owner of Aha! CareerCoaching. With a master’s degree in counseling and an emphasis in career counseling, Claire has worked with thousands of college students and adults to help them clarify their career dreams. In addition to one-on-one career advising, she has led dozens of workshops on major and career exploration and decision-making. Using a combination of empathy, powerful questions, and gentle confrontation, Claire helps students and clients explore their beliefs, attitudes, passions, and purpose, and motivates them to take action and find their direction. Learn more at Aha! CareerCoaching. 

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 Sign up to receive my TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON. You can also receive the career practitioners weekly career email which includes a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more.

Peak Careers - Professional Development for Careers

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: 3 words to guide me, 3 words to guide you, three words to guide you

INTERVIEW: With Chris Brogan on choosing 3 words to guide you

January 15, 2018 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

INTERVIEW with Chris Brogan

I had the pleasure to interview Chris Brogan from Owner New Media Group who has been doing this practice of annuallychoosing 3 words to guide him. He’s been doing this now since 2006.

– Do you struggle with New Year’s Resolutions?
– Do you find developing goals to be cumbersome?

Learn more about “Why and How” Chris chooses three words each year to guide him

Look for my blog on this same topic https://peak-careers.com/3-words-to-guide-me/


Chris Brogan

BIO: CHRIS BROGAN provides strategy and skills for the modern business. He is CEO of Owner Media Group, a sought after public speaker, and the New York Times bestselling author of nine books and working on his tenth. Ask him about it!
He offers webinars, courses, podcasts, and great advice.
Learn more about him at chrisbrogan.com

Learn more about Jim Peacock and Peak-Careers Consulting at https://Peak-Careers.com

Special thanks to Chris Brogan for doing this interview

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: chris brogan, goals, my 3 words, new years resolution

Interview with Scott Woodard on creating our 3 Words to guide us

January 9, 2017 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

January 9,2017 Exploring and discussing the value of coming up with 3 words each year to guide us with Scott Woodard, Leadership Coach.

I’ve known Scott Woodard, a leadership coach, for a few years now and he turned me onto this activity of doing 3 words for the year which was inspired from Chris Brogan who has been doing it for 10 years.

When we video-conferenced I could see his whiteboard behind him that had a week view of his activities, his goals for 2017, and his 3 words…a constant reminder of where he’s going. I loved it.

Scott has been doing the “3 word” activity now for 3 or 4 years. He writes the 3 words in the front of his journal so that whenever he takes notes, the 3 words are there as a reminder of what is important. The 3 words really resonates with Scott (and me) as a way to give focus to the work we are doing without being laser focused like a specific goal. It provides a vision but also gives us the flexibility to interpret the words as we look ahead daily, weekly, and over time.

It really is a framework that also allows some flexibility throughout the year.

We talked about how so many people live life reacting to what life gives us with no plan. We as sole practitioners need to be more proactive, less reactive, and I would argue that everyone should be more purposeful in their lives. The 3 words helps give us a framework of where we want to go and also helps us to filter out what what we don’t want to do.

We both felt that Boomers who have this “second adult lifetime” ahead of them, now have a chance to be more purposeful. Lots of people have a hard time saying what they want to do. By taking the time to think about where you want to go, what you want to do with your time and energy, people can be more purposeful.  The 3 words can help get them to focus and provide a framework to move forward on things that are most important. They are broad enough to allow us to do a lot of things but still keep in mind a proactive direction, not simply a reaction to what life gives us.

How do you go about choosing?

Scott said, “Typically I do not put a lot of thought into it, they seem to come to me. But this year was tougher. I think it was because my work is pivoting and moving to more leadership coaching, not job search as much, and I am focusing on ascending leaders. It took me about 3 or 4 days.”

Scott went back to his marketing plan and looked at his vision, the role he wanted to have with clients, and what he wanted to put out there as a message about himself. After reviewing his marketing plan and thinking about what is important to him, he came up with his 3 words. (See below for his full description).

Personally, I went through my journal notes which includes summaries of books I’ve read this year and numerous daily thoughts, and I looked for inspiration there. For example my word “authentic” came from Richard Leiders book Life Reimagined when he talked about not focusing on money or success first (i.e. It should not be, “If I have the money, I will live the life I want”) but rather to be authentic first and you will DO the things that are right for you and then you will be successful.

I also looked at my 2017 budget, marketing plan, and business plan for what is important to me. What I am changing or emphasizing this year. As I reviewed all of this my 3 words emerged. (Read my blog with My 3 Words)

We both agree, it doesn’t matter how you get there. It can be very organic, it only matters that you do something to help you focus. Three words or thoughts seem manageable. They are easy to remember, simple to write down and are constant reminders of a direction we want to go.

The key is to not get hung up on whether you DO your 3 words every day, the power is in the big thinking and your ability to reflect back and say “Yes I did keep these thoughts in my thinking this past month or year and here is how I did it”.

Thank you, Scott, for taking time to discuss this process, I had a great time talking about this with you.

Scott A. Woodard, Scott Woodard Coaching
Helping leaders transform from strong to superb.
www.scottwoodardcoaching.com
I work with leaders to reach new levels, where they achieve their greatest impacts — for themselves, their communities and their organizations.

—– Read more below on Scott’s 3 Words for 2017 —–

(I have adapted this from his December newsletter with his permission)

This is the time of year when we tend to take stock of our goals and accomplishments. How did we do? Did we achieve what we set out to do?

We also begin the process of looking forward. Identifying our goals for next year, 2017.

Three Words

One way I look forward is to pick three words that will guide me through the coming year. I’ve done this for about four years now after reading Chris Brogan’s blog. Since 2006, Brogan has encouraged people to choose three words that will frame their goals and intentions for the year. Last year my three words were focus, connect, launch.

Focus referred to understanding what it is I do well that serves clients; articulate it and not get distracted from it. Connect referred to reaching out to and learning about people in my community, and how I could help them be successful. Launch meant to make things happen; overcome the inner mutterings that keep me from doing what I want to do.

These words helped guide me through what has turned out to be a pretty tumultuous year, both professionally and personally.

My 3 Words for 2017

So, my three words for 2017? I want to be of service to leaders as they seek to transform from strong to superb. I want to help them frame their actions that will have positive impacts for themselves, their organizations and their communities. And I want to coach and partner with them as they take the actions that make their world – and ours – better. My three words, then, for 2017 are:

Serve

Engage

Partner

These words will frame the work I do in the coming year as I develop tools and programs that help you reach your goals for 2017. Whether you’re a client or a collaborator, I look forward to continuing to do great work together. If you’re a friend, thanks for your support it’s meant a lot to me; I hope to continue to build on our relationship in 2017.

You can sign up for Scott’s newsletter by clicking here.

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a monthly newsletter 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.

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You can also receive the career practitioners newsletter which includes a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. 

Filed Under: Career, Interviews Tagged With: 3 words to guide, goals, inspiration, Scott Woodard, vision

What Brings You Joy?

April 11, 2022 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

One of my three words to guide me in 2022 is positivity. I thought about using “humor” or “laughter” but ended up on the word positivity because it is a word I can connect with daily. It is broader than laughter and I can look for ways to simply be more positive in my daily life and to find joy in my life. (Read more about my words)

The impact of the pandemic over the past two years has permeated my life in so many ways. I feel more fatigued and I truly miss human contact.  Before March 2020 I could attend in-person conferences and live concerts with hundreds of people without giving it a thought. Now I have to think about whether it is worth taking the risk… Staying positive has been more challenging than it had been before the pandemic.

So how do I work on positivity? 
How do I find joy?

Here are a few things I do to help me look at the brighter side of life. Some are subtle and small, others make me smile just thinking about them.

  • Walking every morning. Some mornings my wife joins me to start our day. On other days I plug into a walking meditation app and begin my day focusing on the here and now. I pay attention to the birds singing, the wind blowing, the feel of my feet on the ground, my legs, my torso, my arms, and my head. All things to be present and in the moment. It slows me down, centers me, and makes me happy.
  • Journaling. Most days I start by writing down my thoughts and emotions in a journal. First, I write down my three words for 2022 to keep them in front of me and will sometimes note what a word makes me think of in that moment. Then I write whatever is on my mind. Sometimes it is work-related. Other times it’s personal. But the act of writing down these thoughts helps me “look at them” and it makes me feel better just knowing what they are and how important they are to me.
Book Reviews
  • Thank you notes bring me joy. My three-month calendar is lined with thank you notes. Recently, I received one of the nicest thank you emails and decided to put it into my Google calendar so that it pops up once a month and I can reread it. It makes me feel SO GOOD—I can’t tell you how much. Then I got another one. So now on the 4th Tuesday of every month my calendar “pops up” a reminder at 5:00 pm titled “comments to make me happy.” Most of the time I have forgotten about it and I reread the thank you notes and it makes me smile.
  • Reading about happiness. I’ve loved Greater Good Magazine ever since I took an online class on happiness through the organization years ago. The class was one of the best I ever took and the regular emails/newsletters I get are wonderful. Here is an article that came out recently about doctors who prescribe happiness to their patients. I love it! As the article states, sometimes writing a thank you note is all we need to make us feel better. I had some Peak-Careers notes made up at the local print shop to have on hand whenever I wanted to send a thank you. 

What do you do to make yourself feel
happier, more positive, or bring you joy?


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.

Sign up to receive my TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON. You will also receive the career practitioner’s weekly email on a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. (Sign up)

Filed Under: Career Tagged With: joy, positive, positivity, what brings you joy

Why My Career Community Is So Important to Me

March 7, 2022 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

Each year I choose three words to guide me, and one of mine this year is “community.”  (Read all three and what they mean to me). The word “community” has multiple layers in its meaning to me, and  as we come out of Covid my need to be a part of a community has probably never been stronger. I think about my hockey community which consists of about 8 or 9 guys who all love to play hockey outdoors here in Maine. And a high school friend and college roommate and his brothers who are all in a fantasy hockey league together.

Other personal communities include my backpacking buddies, my fishing buddies, and my family who are spread out across the country and stay connected via zoom for most of the year. All are important people in my world who add value to my life.

The other important community for me is that of the career professionals that I know. I have always been professionally involved, from my student activity days (1981-84) to my school counselor days (1990’s), and for the past 25+ years in the career development profession.

Often when I think of my career community, I think about things like:

  • What can I do to improve others? 
  • Who are my “go to” people I can learn from?
  • Is there a role I could fill in my career development professional associations?
  • What else can I learn to better understand career issues?

As I think about what I can do to help improve others in my field, I think about my weekly career emails, or sharing great content I discover online, or writing articles, and more. I get great satisfaction from doing this and love it when I hear from others that whatever I shared, somehow connected or resonated with them.


CHALLENGE: What can you do to help improve our career community?


My “go to” people are many in this field and I see each one of them adding value in my life professionally and often personally. My “go to” people include: Hannah Morgan a.k.a. Career Sherpa who has nudged me to do more videos including a LinkedIn Live recently, Bob McIntosh who inspires me to write more, Barry Davis who shares my love for reading, and Sabrina Woods who has helped me realize the power of mindfulness and importance of slowing down. Others like Mark Danaher have helped me see the importance of sharing content with others with no expectation of getting anything back. (But the universe remembers). Thank you each for being such an important part of my community. There are many more and I hope you know who you are.

CHALLENGE:  Who are your “go to” people? 


career community

I am finishing up my 6-year term (actually two 3-year terms) for National Career Development Association (NCDA) on the Training & Education Council in September. This has been a wonderful experience where I have learned more about NCDA, met people from all over the country, and have made a positive difference in the training programs we oversee. For many years I have been involved with the Maine Career Development Association and still keep a “finger” in the association, although not in an official role. I am not sure what I will do next but I am sure I will find something to keep me engaged in the career development profession.

CHALLENGE: What do you do, or could you do, for our profession?


book reviews.Books on a bookshelf

Libraries mesmerize me. I still remember the Seattle Public Library years ago when I first walked through it. All these books and so much to learn. I feel much the same way in our profession, there is so much to learn about helping people with their career decisions. What don’t I know?

Well there is plenty I don’t know and I am always looking for ways to continue my learning which is why I read daily, listen to podcasts, attend conferences and webinars, and network. I feel like each person I meet is a person who can help me learn a different tool or perspective that I hadn’t known before.

CHALLENGE: What do you do to improve your own skills?

My career community helps me in each of these “challenges” and I hope you find value in your own career 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.

Sign up to receive my TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON. You will also receive the career practitioner’s weekly email on a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. (Sign up)

Filed Under: Career Tagged With: career community, community, grateful

My Career Inspiration for 2019

January 7, 2019 by Jim Peacock Leave a Comment

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

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You can also receive the career practitioners newsletter which includes a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more.

Peak Careers - Professional Development for Careers

Filed Under: Career Tagged With: 3 Words, 3 words to guide me, career inspiration, gratitude, purposeful, reflection

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