Peak Careers

Professional Development for Career Practitioners

reflection

Ted Talks for Career Coaches

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I reached out to the Peak-Careers Community for TedTalks that inspire, assist or support, or educate us in our work. Some of these are great for our clients and some might be best for career coaches. What I’ve seen, they are great for both.

As always, if you have some favorites, please share them.

Taking Care of Ourselves First.
I realize this isn’t career specific, but I often share with my clients the Ted Talk from KC Davis, because there are times when we just cannot even take care of ourselves anymore. Best, Jessica Edwards

Finding Fulfillment
This Talk is from Alicia Ramsdell’s TEDx Talk in York Beach Maine and a framework for people to find fulfillment in their lives (professionally and otherwise).  Everyone deserves that 🙂. Alicia took my FCD class a few years ago and her business has grown so fast with the great work she does.

Dealing with Rejection
Jia Jiang adventures boldly into a territory so many of us fear: rejection. By seeking out rejection for 100 days — from asking a stranger to borrow $100 to requesting a “burger refill” at a restaurant — Jiang desensitized himself to the pain and shame that rejection often brings and, in the process, discovered that simply asking for what you want can open up possibilities where you expect to find dead ends.

Motivating the next generation.
This talk was given at a Michigan TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. It is about motivating the next generation.
John U. Bacon energizes his audience with the story of the Ann Arbor Huron High School hockey team. This came recommended from a high school classmate I haven’t seen in 50 years. Ann Arbor Huron was one of our hockey rivals in the 70’s and my home town Trenton is mentioned numerous times throughout.

Understanding the next generation.
Here is a link to one I share often with clients in their 20’s. Jon Daniel (recent participant in my FCD class.
Clinical psychologist Meg Jay has a bold message for twentysomethings: Contrary to popular belief, your 20s are not a throwaway decade. In this provocative talk, Jay says that just because marriage, work and kids are happening later in life, doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now. She gives 3 pieces of advice for how twentysomethings can re-claim adulthood in the defining decade of their lives.

Tiny Habits
What if someone told you to floss only one tooth everyday? Or start the new year, not with grand resolutions, but with a simple challenge.. like ONE pushup a day? BJ Fogg shows us that the key to lasting change does not lie in planning big, monumental changes, but in thinking really, really small. Chosen by Fortune Magazine as one of “10 New Gurus You Should Know”, Fogg directs the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University.

Finding Joy.
Cherry blossoms and rainbows, bubbles and googly eyes: Why do some things seem to create such universal joy? In this captivating talk, Ingrid Fetell Lee reveals the surprisingly tangible roots of joy and shows how we all can find — and create — more of it in the world around us.


Self Defining Our Lives.
She talks about intersectionality and how it is at those intersections we find the freedom to create and the opportunity to self-define. Her talk also speaks to the importance of nurturing women, and in her case Black women, who are interested in STEM careers.  Moira (Peak-Careers Communication Specialist).

Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite Ted Talks. I appreciate you.

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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Inhale the Future. Exhale the Past

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Recently, my two backpacking buddies of 40+ years and I hiked a 70-mile section of the Colorado Trail, most of which was around 10,000 feet above sea level. It was, as always, a great trip being with people I have known for

3 men backpacking
Colorado Trail near Tennessee Pass

nearly all of my adult life. We have hiked over 2000 miles of trails together, mostly on the Pacific Crest Trail through California, Oregon, and Washington. We use our hiking time, uninterrupted by our typical daily living, to be together, to reflect, to talk about our lives now, and to set goals. It is a special time that makes me feel more like the authentic me than any other time.

On this trip, we met a woman who was backpacking by herself and had an interesting tattoo on her arm with a saying on it. We asked what it said. “Inhale the future. Exhale the past.” She had gone through a difficult divorce, and this was her mantra as she was dealing with it. It was so powerful for her, she had it tattooed on her arm. She is now happily remarried and backpacks with her husband or alone depending up on his schedule.

I can’t stop thinking about this statement. It resonates for me and for so many clients I have worked with. It is so important to move on from the past and to look to the future. It involves way more positive thinking than being stuck in the past.

Inhale the Future. Exhale the Past

inhale exhale
Photo bykathleenport @Pixabay

The trail provides us the uncluttered space to ask each about our lives over the past two years since we hiked a section of the Long Trail in Vermont in 2021. We each had more than two hours to talk about our past 24 months and ask each other questions or make comments on our stories. When do you get the kind of time to do that?

More importantly, we have always found ways to look to the future. We often create 3-5 year goals on our hikes and then hold each other accountable afterwards. This year was no different except that I brought a values exercise Brene Brown shared in her book, Dare to Lead. (The exercise can be found on her website if you’d like to do it.)

Brene has identified a list of over a 100 values. The first step is to circle 10 values important to you now. It is harder than you think. I didn’t tell Rees and Howard that after they were done struggling to get their list to 10, they would have to reduce it to five. Ouch. Brene says that to be a leader and to make your best decisions, you must make sure you are focused on what is important to you at all times. (She actually wants people to reduce it to two!)

The next step is to list three things that you are doing that support each of your top five values and to identify three “slippery slopes” or things that get in the way of you living that value. Then describe one activity you have done recently that exemplifies this value in your life at its best.

We then took the next four days (yes, four days) to share our values, what has been working, what gets in the way, and an example of living this value. The exercise gets you thinking about what has worked or is working for you with this important value, but most importantly what gets in the way.

Inhale the Future. Exhale the Past

The things getting in the way are the most thought-provoking as they led each of us to think about what we could change in the future to embrace this value more. For example: one of my five values is “family” and I recognized that my wife loves to veg out at night watching TV, and I don’t. So this means we don’t get as much time together as I’d like. I thought about one of my “successes” last year with this value when we binged watched Ted Lasso together. So this year, when I came home, I signed up for a month of Hulu so we could watch Murders in the Building together. 

It is a small way for me to exhale the past (me not watching much TV) and to inhale the future (identifying a TV show we could watch together).

Tech-Free-Retreat at Messalonskee Lake

Many of you know that I like to take regular “tech-free retreats” inspired by Richard Leider. I am drafting this blog right now on my September retreat. On these retreats, I take time to think, write, read, walk, and meditate. I listened to one of my favorite guided meditations from davidji, “Taking Your Life to the Next Level.” One line is about moving from the past, like lifting your back leg when walking, lifting it up and moving it forward to get anywhere (that is my interpretation). This resonated with me today as I Inhale the Future. Exhale the Past.

We cannot change the past. 

The question is, how do I want to move forward in the most authentic way? 

How are you moving forward in your life? 

Are you embracing and living the values most important to you?

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: An Update on the Hope-Action Theory

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I talk with Dr. Spencer Niles about the Hope-Action Theory developed by Dr. Spencer Niles, Dr. Hyung Joon Yoon, and Dr. Norm Amundson. I’ve always said that hope is what drives career development. We review what Hope-Action Theory is and what are some ways coaches can utilize this theory.

Listen to what Skip says here to understand how hope can be cultivated in our work. Hope requires three things in our work. (1) A goal the client is working toward (2) Strategies on how to achieve and (3) Are they confident they can move forward and motivated to do it?

Skip introduces us to how you can give hope to a client using poetry. He shares two poems that demonstrate using this medium to help our clients. As well as the importance of reflection.

Note: this is my second interview with Skip on the Hope-Action Theory. Watch our first one here.

Watch / Listen to this Interview Now

BIO: Spencer G. Niles Dr. Spencer Niles serves as Professor in the Counselor Education Program at William & Mary. Previously, he served as Dean (2013-2020) and Professor at the School of Education at William & Mary.

Spencer Niles is a Past-President of Chi Sigma Iota International and was twice the President of the National Career Development Association (NCDA). He is the recipient of the NCDA Eminent Career Award. Niles is a Fellow of the National Career Development Association and the American Counseling Association.

Niles is a Fellow of ACA and NCDA. He served as two-term Editor for The Career Development Quarterly, Editor for the Journal of Counseling & Development, and continues to serve on numerous journal editorial boards. He has authored or co-authored approximately 140 publications and delivered over 150 presentations at national and international conferences. His book Career Development Interventions (6th edition) is the best-selling career text in the world. His forthcoming co-authored books are titled Career Flow and Development: Hope-Action Theory and Career Recovery: Creating Careers with Hope in Difficult Times.

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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 recipient of the 2020 Kenneth C. Hoyt Award from National Career Development Association.

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)

My Three Words in 2023 to Guide Me

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My 2023 words did not come as easily to me as they had in the past. As always, I did a tech-free retreat to get out of my house, slow down, write, and think. This was a good starting point, and I felt like two words stood out for me. But the third word had been elusive, so I waited.

Journaling helps. Reading helps. Thinking helps. Slowing down helps.

Probably one of the best things I did this fall was to read Brene Brown’s book,  Atlas of the Heart. I love how she broke down so many emotions and explained some of the subtle differences. It’s possible that all three words this year are because of this book. Yes, I had been thinking about some of them, but the book clarified what they mean to me and encouraged me to think deeper about them.

I struggled with the third word until one day when I sat down, pulled out my pen and journal, and just free-wrote for a few minutes:

I want to keep writing ◊ I want to stay humble ◊ I want to keep helping career coaches ◊ I want to slow down ◊ I want to keep working ◊ I want to keep playing ◊ I want to keep learning ◊ I want humor in my life ◊ I want to be outdoors as much as possible.

What I discovered was that the free writing confirmed the three words I had been considering…and it felt great. So much of this process is trusting my instincts and being authentic. So here are my three words for 2023 and why I chose them.

Joy

As I read Brene’s book, her definition of the word joy really stood out for me. It is “the good mood of the soul” and an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure, and appreciation. While experiencing joy, we don’t lose ourselves, we become more truly ourselves. 

She talks about how joy and gratitude are closely connected and can create an “intriguing upward spiral.” The opposite of what I call the “vortex of negativity” when people focus on the negative and all that happens is they get more and more negativity.

Gratitude was one of my 2019 words, and I’ve discovered that my yearly words never really leave me. I try to spend time thinking daily about what I am grateful for. So when I read about the connection between joy and gratitude it really resonated with me. Probably the phrase that really hits home for me is “good mood of the soul.” Yeah, I want some of that every day!

Orange flower with green background and the words, exploration, humility, and joy

Humility

Although I list it here as second, this was the final word I chose. It didn’t really make the list until I did my journal purge and it came out almost immediately. Maybe it’s because I was just visiting my 96-year-old dad in Michigan and have watched him deteriorate from a healthy, vibrant, intelligent, successful man to his small world today. But he still remains thankful and gracious for all Jean (his wife) does for him and for all the times his children visit or call.

I’ve also seen some people in various fields who think they know everything. I am not one of those people and never want to be. I always feel like I have more to learn and that I am never the smartest person in the room. I might have more knowledge about a topic than others, but there is so much to know about any subject and there are so many people I know in the career field doing great work. I never want to lose my humility.

In Atlas of the Heart Brene describes humility  as “openness to new learning combined with a balanced and accurate assessment of our contributions, including our strengths, imperfections, and opportunities for growth.” And most impactful is this quote: 

“I’m here to get it right, not to be right.”

Exploration

This is an interesting word for me that has many meanings already. The word brings with it more questions than answers. Where do I want to spend my time this year? How can I explore new ways of working less while still providing quality? What are some ways to grow Peak-Careers in areas in which I want to do more in? (i.e. workshops) How are all my roles in life going to grow (husband, father, grandfather, mentor, friend)?

Exploration could be my continued effort to explore my 2022 word, balance. This past year I worked to balance my life more by looking at work and life. Exploration seems to be less about balance and more about exploring options to keep my brain growing, me learning, and experiencing new experiences.

We have some travel plans this year too and my curiosity about cultures and meeting new people is always strong. Exploring new environments, a new backpacking trip someplace, and the always present book on my shelf, seems to fit me well for now.

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If you have tried the New Year’s Resolutions and they have not worked well for you,  you may want to try this activity of choosing three words to guide you each year. You can watch some interviews and read some blogs I’ve written on this topic here https://peak-careers.com/?s=three+words 

My strongest piece of advice is to write them down regularly. Not just print them off and post them, but to physically write them down with a writing utensil. There is something kinesthetically magical about that process where it seems to embed the word in my head better when I write it.

Below are my past words. FYI, I feel like they don’t ever leave me, they just are not forefront in my thinking.

2016 – Health ★ Mindfulness ★ Focus

2017 – Intentional ★ Authentic ★ Wellness

2018 – Reach ★ Capacity ★ Consistency

2019 – Reflection ★ Purposeful ★ Gratitude

2020 – Philanthropy ★ Rebalance ★ Strategic

2021 – Be ★ Kindness ★ Understanding

2022 – Community ★ Balance ★ Positivity

If you have chosen three words to guide you for the year, I’d love to hear what they are and what they mean to you.

Watch this interview with three of us talking about our Three Words to Guide Us in 2023

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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Another Tech-Free Retreat

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I can’t tell you how much I missed doing a tech-free retreat this summer. I had plenty of time off this summer—I always do—but I had not done a real tech-free retreat until last week. For those of you who know me, you know what I’m talking about. For those who don’t know me, I have been doing tech-free retreats since 2016, inspired by Richard Leider’s book, Repacking Your Bags.

This is a day (preferably a full day 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) where I turn off my cell phone and do not check social media while I read, plan, think, meditate, and “retreat.”

For a number of years I used a friend’s office space downtown Waterville along the Kennebec River, but she sold it last year and I have been struggling to find a new place. I used the local library and coffee shops in the past but always wanted to find a cabin or camp on one of the lakes nearby. Well, I found one.

I spent Last Friday at a friend’s camp on Messalonskee Lake here in Central Maine. The weather was fabulous (although that is not a prerequisite), and I spent the morning on the camp deck looking over the lake. I watched a loon swim by and a fish jump as I began writing in my journal. The peacefulness of the day was helpful in slowing me down.

My view from the deck

There is something special about these retreats. They take me away from jumping between tasks and wondering how I am going to get to the third task on my list. This day was about slowing down. After writing and thinking for awhile, I picked up a book recommended by a friend, The Earned Life by Marshall Goldsmith, and began my journey into his thoughts on what is important.

After a short break for a morning meal and coffee, I returned to the deck for more reading and writing on my retreat.

I forced myself to stop and look at the water and forest around me, thinking of my mother who loved our camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan which looked similar to this camp. Mom could sit for hours and enjoy the moment. But I was always looking for things to do and struggled with sitting quietly and thinking. Not anymore. Now I relish the moments; but it took practice.

My day started with walking meditation which helps me focus and slow down. Most days, I take a mid-afternoon meditation break which helps me re-energize myself and refocus myself for the remainder of the day. This day was no different.

After taking some time to just reflect, I took out my editorial calendar and began planning my next 90 days. Turns out, I planned nearly six months of weekly emails and made numerous decisions about the kind of content I want to share with my followers. What a relief to get so much planned!

Journaling on my retreat
Selfie of me journaling on my retreat.

I know you are busy. We all are. But I encourage you to find time to slow down. Take a half day to turn off technology and let your brain think instead of react. Here is my blog from a couple of years ago, Tech Free Retreat and the Benefits of Turning Off the Tsunami of Information. If you try a retreat, please let me know how it goes.

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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Survey Says…Engagement!

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Survey Monkey

On my 8th anniversary of being full-time with Peak-Careers, February 3rd, I sent out a request to complete a short survey seeking insights to where people engage with Peak-Careers.

One of my 3 words to guide me in 2020 is “Strategic”, and I wanted to gather some information to help me be more strategic in my efforts.

Survey says “engagement”

A special “shout out” to the nearly 70 people who took the time to fill it out. Thank you so much.

The survey says I have strong engagement in these top 4 areas…and lessons learned in a few others.

  1. Many people do indeed read my weekly career emails that come out Tuesday mornings
    RESULTS: I will continue to send you career content each week.  (see below if you want to be added to the list).
  2. 55+% of the respondents follow me on LinkedIn and read my posts.
    RESULTS: I will make sure that I continue to share quality content to help you do your job and serve your students / clients / customers.
  3. 55% have watched at least one of my monthly career interviews! I am thrilled at this outcome.
    RESULTS: I love doing these interviews with other career practitioners and will definitely keep identifying experts and topics to interest you.
    REQUEST: Do you have topics or people you’d like to hear from in future interviews? Let me know and I’ll work at setting it up.
  4. 40% of the respondents have taken an online seminar
    RESULTS: I know that not everyone is interested in online learning, so I am actually very happy with this number and will continue to offer and develop more subject areas.

LESSONS LEARNED

Facebook Live has not been as popular. I will do one more FB Live and then reevaluate if I will continue them.

  • Tuesday March 3rd at 8:00 pm (Eastern)
  • I will talk about private practice
  • Tips on what has worked for me
  • Recommendations I have for anyone who wants to go into private practice.

Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram are also not where many of you are hanging out. I need to put more thought into whether I want to invest more into each of these to grow them or to “let some of them go”.

If you are interested in the graphic / chart results you can see them here.

Gratitude journal

Regardless, I am grateful for the many people who took time out of their day to give me feedback.

Knowing that so many people support me and find value in following me is wonderful to know.

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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