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My Books in 2021

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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.

The Adventure of Finding Me in New Zealand

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 Elephant 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.

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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INTERVIEW: Books, Books, and More Books

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What are the benefits of reading for career service providers?

This is my annual December interview where I invite fellow book-lovers to talk about books we have read in 2021 and also discuss why we think it is so important for career service providers to read books in our field.

My guests today are Margie Cherry, (Associate Director of Alumni Career Services at Lafayette College), Elizabeth Craig, (Certified Master Career Strategist), and David Lee, (Career Coach).

Here are my questions:

– As a career coach, what is the best book you read in 2021?

– Do you have any other favorites this year that might be more recreational?

– What do you see as the benefits of reading as a career coach?

Note: Below the Bio’s is a list of all the books mentioned in this interview

Watch / Listen to the interview now

https://youtu.be/3ddL74Ehn9s

BIO: Elizabeth Craig, MBA, Master Career Change & Job Landing Specialist is the Founder and CEO of ELC Global, LLC (https://www.elcglobal.com)  Elizabeth is a multi-certified National Career Development Association (NCDA) Certified Master Career Strategist-CMCS as well as FCD-Instructor. She has received multiple awards for her work in the field including the * Jules Kerlan Lifetime Outstanding Achievement Award – Minnesota Career Development Association * Distinguished Alumni Award – University of Minnesota College of Education & Human Development * Outstanding Career Practitioner Award – National Career Development Association. For more than 25 years her private practice has helped hundreds of career clients with career change, job landing strategies and career advancement. 

Margie Cherry, has been a happy career professional for over 20 years. Her multiple identities include being the current Associate Director of Alumni Career Services at Lafayette College, speaker, reinvention guide, former long-running cartoonist, and short-lived stand-up comic. She adores empowering people to discover and manifest their best selves for life and work. Margie holds an MA in Counseling Psychology and is the author/illustrator of “Mom’s Comedy Coloring Book“. She brings her humor how-to “The Comedy Cure” to organizations in need of stress relief and a good laugh!

David Lee,  is the founder of HumanNature@Work and  a career coach with Heart At Work Associates. Much of his work  focuses on career changers and young professionals trying to decide on a career direction. His approach is influenced by his previous career in the trauma and mind/body medicine fields as a hypnotherapist, as well as his interest in health, wellness, and resilience. A lifelong lover of reading, he grew up in a family that would bring home a large box of books from their monthly pilgrimage to the library. You can connect with him on Linkedin here.

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)

Books we discussed

  • Help Wanted: An A to Z Guide to Cope with the Ups and Downs of the Job Search by Karen Litzinger. (Jim)
  • Designing Your Life: Burnett & Evans (Margie and Jim, and probably David too- I think he nodded in affirmation. haha)
  • The Poacher’s Son by Paul Doiron (Jim)
  • John C. Maxwell’s, 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them & Reach Your Potential. (Elizabeth)
  • Lean In – Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (Elizabeth)
  • Don’t Slurp Your Soup:A Basic Guide to Business Etiquette by Elizabeth Craig is available at https://www.elcglobal.com
  • “Live Smart After 50! The Experts’ Guide to Life Planning for Uncertain Times by the Life Planning Network (Elizabeth is a contributing author)
  • Think Again: Adam Grant (Margie)
  • Recalculating: Pollak (Margie)
  • How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Michael J. Gelb (Margie)
  • Life Launch: Hudson & McLean (Margie)
  • Is Your Genius at Work? Dick Richards (Margie)
  • Tales of a Female Nomad: Rita Golden Gelman (Margie)
  • Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers — and Seize Success by Dawn Graham (David)
  • You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, and Design Your Dream Career by Ashley Stahl (David)
  • SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient–Powered by the Science of Games by Jane McGonigal (David)
  • The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions To Guide You To An Extraordinary Life by Debbie Ford (David)

INTERVIEW: With a Few Book Lovers

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This is a follow up to my blog last week on my 2019 Book Reviews my annual blog for book lovers…like me.
 
Typically, I do an interview related to my blogs each month, and this month is no different. What is different about this interview is that I interviewed three people “live” while attending the Mid-Atlantic Career Counseling Association Conference (MACCA) 2 weeks ago and then “discovered” another book lover on LinkedIn and just had to add her!
 
Special thanks to Jane Finkle, Karen Chopra, Paula Brand, and Lametra Off for talking with me about books…one of my favorite subjects.
 
Book lovers interview with Lametra and Jim
Also special thanks to Jessie Parsons, my Virtual Assistant, who edited three videos together to make one 🙂

Watch Now 

Bio’s of interviewees

Karen James Chopra, LPC, CCC, NCC, is the founder of Chopra Consulting for Consultants , which helps therapists, counselors, coaches and other consultants create thriving businesses.  She also has a well-established career counseling private practice in Washington, D.C. (www.ChopraCareers.com), and has helped hundreds of clients with career exploration, job search, and career management.  A former U.S. Government trade negotiator, she is the author of Coaching Career Clients on Salary and Other Workplace Negotiations and numerous other articles on the business and practice of career counseling. MCDA has honored her with both their Outstanding Career Practitioner and Lifetime Achievement awards

Lametra B. Off, MS, GCDF, CCSP, Life and Career Coach, is the principal coach, founder, and owner of LBO Career Coaching & Consulting LLC. LBO Career Coaching & Consulting LLC is a career discovery and career development firm that offers individual and group coaching and leadership development seminars for small businesses to solve career needs and employee training or development initiatives. With a diverse background that brings a facilitative, mindful, holistic approach to career coaching, Lametra is unique in the career development world and offers a different perspective to coaching – essentially “coaching from the inside out.” In her spare time, she is working on her first book, tentatively titled, “YOU?!”  Lametra reads (and writes – check out her blog) about topics related to personal and professional development. She enjoys assisting others to accomplish their goals through self-discovery and self-efficacy. Lametra also loves to spend time with family, run “Rock n Roll” half marathons, eat good food and laugh with Interesting people.    https://lbocareercoaching.com  

 PAULA BRAND founder of Brand Career Management (BCM), is a Global Career Coach & Consultant, LinkedIn Expert, Speaker, Trainer and Facilitator with more than 20 years of experience in workforce development, education, human resources and career counseling. She helps professionals strategically manage their careers, apply effective job search techniques and leverage social media tools to secure their best career options with ease. Paula has a passion for empowering mid-career to executive women. You can find out more about her and BCM at https://www.brandcareermanagement.com/

NOTE: The book Paula reviews is What’s Mom Still Got To Do With It? by Illana Tolpin Levitt http://www.whatsmomthebook.com/  

JANE FINKLE, MS, NCC Jane has over 20 years experience in helping individuals with career assessment, planning, job search strategies, and workplace adjustment.  Prior to founding her practice, Jane served as Associate Director of Career Services at the University of Pennsylvania, where she designed and administered career programs, developed resources, and provided career counseling and advice on employment trends for students and alumni of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School. Jane created and led the “Wharton Career Discovery” seminar and served as liaison to recruiters from major corporations. She has been published in Huffington Post, Psychology Today, mindbodygreen and SmartBrief. Author, The Introvert’s Complete Career Guide: From Landing a Job to Surviving, Thriving and Moving on Up  Learn More at http://janefinkle.com/

 

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. 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 newsletter which includes a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. https://peak-careers.com

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