Authenticity in Your Journey
I just looked back on my last post and can't believe that it has been almost a year since I felt inspired enough to write something on my blog. Instead of beating myself up about it, I realize that it is indicative of who I am and what I am all about.
Yes, there were many times when I had an idea that I wanted to write about, but didn't feel a strong reason to do so. This past year has allowed me to experience so much growth on a personal and professional level. If I had written something, I think I felt that it would have been forced. After all, how could I comfortably sit here giving advice about travelling an authentic journey when I wasn't feeling that I was doing the same.
Why the Rearview Mirror is Small
I thought it was time to break radio silence since it's been 2 months since my last blog post. Coincidentally, I was inspired again by Joel Osteen this morning. He used a driving analogy that I, of course, couldn't pass up.
He talked about the rearview mirror being small and the front windshield being large because your past is not nearly as important as your future. Have you been stuck in the past and looking to it for meaning too often in your life?
Have You “Gotten Lost”?
I was watching Joel Osteen's Sunday service this week with my family like we do on most Sunday mornings. The message title was "#533, Go After the Prodigals" and focused on bringing back those who have "gotten lost" and are no longer going to church. I'm usually tuned into his messages of prosperity and abundance, but this one rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe because I felt like he was talking to me and I disagreed!
You see, I used to be an avid churchgoer. I went through a good part of my teenage years proselytizing and witnessing to others about the word of God. I'll spare you the details, but somewhere along the line I decided to take a different, more spiritual path not connected to a particular religion. I think of myself as a freelancer when it comes to religion, taking philosophies and approaches from different beliefs in order to shape my world.
A Football Analogy for Shifting Your Perspective
March 2012 Update: Congrats to Peyton Manning for signing with the Broncos. Glad to have you on my "hometown" team. 
I had a chance to watch an interview with Peyton Manning on NFL Today yesterday morning. James Brown asked him about his rehab progress. Peyton made some great comments that sparked my interest. I'll paraphrase below.
He said that he's always had pre-season goals and post-season goals. Now he has rehab goals. Also, he mentioned that he needs to be patient with getting better and not look too far ahead to predict the future of his career.
There are many times in our careers where something happens that throws us for a loop. In Peyton Manning's case, he sustained several neck injuries that have taken him out of the game for 12 weeks. Prior to that, I'm sure he had set goals on how many games the team would win, yards he would throw, and touchdowns he would help make. Now circumstances have caused him to throw those goals out the window. Instead of focusing on goals related to winning, he has had to shift his perspective to focus on getting and staying healthy.
Can You Handle the Seasons of Your Professional Life?
I recently re-discovered the song "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. Although this song is about personal relationships, there's one line that resonates with me because it also can relate to our careers: "Can I handle the seasons of my life?".
Our professional lives go through seasons that don't necessarily correlate with seasons of the year. Unfortunately, we often get fixated on the sexy side of Spring and Summer and dread the slower times of Fall and Winter. Can you handle those slower seasons of your professional life?
I was recently chatting with a friend about her business. She mentioned that she was really busy now after somewhat of a dryspell. I mentioned that there is a feast or famine side to being in business for yourself and that the famine part is no fun.
It's true. I am guilty of feeling that way as well sometimes.
One-Year Anniversary of Driving to Success
I'm excited to say that today marks one year since Driving to Success: Let Your Spirit Take the Wheel was published! It's been a wonderful year. While I'm not making any best seller lists, I'm happy with the community I've created and the feedback I've received from those who have read the book.
Have you read Driving to Success? Do you know someone else who would like it? Well, you can still buy it online. It's almost time to think about presents for the holiday season and New Year's Resolutions. Driving to Success would give you (or your friends and family) a great jump start on both!
As a thank you, if you buy the book from my Web site, use coupon code 2011DTS to get 20% off. Hurry because this coupon expires on October 31, 2011.
Thanks to everyone for their support over this past year!
Leaving a (Little) Legacy – Inspired by Steve Jobs
With the passing of Steve Jobs this week, I felt compelled to write about the legacy he has left behind. After hearing about it yesterday I wondered if there has been any other individual or company who has directly, and often indirectly, affected so many lives in our generation. My first computer was an Apple IIc. Back in the 80's I wouldn't have recognized Steve Jobs' name, but already his vision had an effect on my life. It sparked my lifelong love of computers and all technology.
Obviously the "little" reference in the title of this post does not refer to Steve Jobs in anyway. He left a huge legacy that will forever change the way we interact with each other and the rest of the world. I don't know how many of us will be able to leave such a large legacy. And that's OK, because I don't think that is the point.
When thinking about our Mission in life, we often feel that we have to do something big in order for it to be meaningful. You'll remember my prior post about Career Advancement Option #3 which allows you to Drive with Purpose: find a career that is meaningful and make changes as needed to fit your changing personal, professional, and spiritual goals in life. I also discussed A Hierarchy of Career Fulfillment that helps us to see if our career is meeting our needs.
One of the questions from that Hierarchy related to changing the world for the better. It's easy to get stuck on this question. Sometimes I look at what I do and wonder if it is making a difference. Does making a Web site for a nonprofit or small business really help anyone in the grand scheme of things? What I've realized is that we are here to serve others in some way and the work we do can make a difference even if it is in a small way. So much of the work that my company does involves creating the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that helps our wonderful clients do their work.
Here are just a few of the items from my list over the years:
- Connecting individuals to locations where they can donate goods for cancer patients
- Providing access to downloadable voter resources to promote democracy in underserved populations
- Creating a hub for disabled workers to find work and support
- Showcasing events and resources for healthcare professionals working in developing countries
- Helping low-income parents find clothing for their children
When I look at it this way it brings a tear to my eye and gives me a renewed passion for my work. Sure, I'm not saving lives or winning Nobel Prizes, but my work is helping someone somewhere every minute of everyday. And that's enough for me.
Thanks to Steve Jobs for inspiring an industry and multiple generations of individuals and businesses!
An Assessment for Career Fulfillment
When it comes to your career, it's easy to take one of two Career Advancement Options:
- Go through your career blindly, taking whatever comes your way
- Overanalyze your career until you find the perfect fit
Career Advancement Option #1 means that you fly by the seat of your pants. While this can be freeing, it means that you aren't in the driver's seat taking control of your career.
Career Advancement Option #2 means that you are working so hard to find the right career, you aren't trusting that the Universe will present you with appropriate career options.
The most difficult one is the yet-to-be-mentioned Career Advancement Option #3. It is a middle-of-the-road and often underused option. Option #3 allows you to Drive with Purpose: find a career that is meaningful and make changes as needed to fit your changing personal, professional, and spiritual goals in life.
After going through a few different careers myself (biomedical sciences, high finance, insurance, and now information technology), I know what I'm talking about when it comes to those three options. I have adopted (and continue to adopt) all three at different points in my life.
- I fall into Career Advancement Option #1 when I am fed up with what is going on and think that my efforts won't make a difference.
- Career Advancement Option #2 becomes a reality if I feel absolutely certain of what I should be doing and want to orchestrate it for myself.
- Career Advancement Option #3, although requiring more effort, brings the most career fulfillment for me and does the best job of meeting my personal, professional, and spiritual needs.
Our human needs can best be described via Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The lower level needs are the more basic ones that need to be satisfied first:
- Physiological Needs
- Security Needs
- Social Needs
- Esteem Needs
- Self-actualizing Needs
Career advancement would most likely fall in Level 4 or 5. In a nutshell, if you haven't eaten, you aren't too worried about personal growth activities!
Until now, I hadn't seen a similar model for assessing our career needs. I came across an article called "Beyond Wall Street and Sand Hill Road: Career Fulfillment for Bright Young Things" by Don Fornes, Founder & CEO, Software Advice. He has a nice breakdown called "A Hierarchy of Career Fulfillment". The article is geared toward young adults entering high finance. I encourage you to read it even if you're in a different industry since it contains some key insights on why we do the work that we do (i.e. it isn't (and shouldn't be) just about money.)
A Hierarchy of Career Fulfillment. Created by Don Fornes, Founder & CEO, Software Advice.
Are you able to answer "yes" to all of these questions about your career? If not, which ones are a "no" for you? Are there other questions that you would include? Or maybe you would place the questions in a different order.
Remember that you won't always be able to answer "yes" to all of these questions. Even if you have a "dream job", there will be days when you wonder what you got yourself into! That isn't always a reason to bail, however. Look at your current situation as a whole. Only you can decide what you need to feel fulfilled.
Try using this model to make it easier to adopt Career Advancement Option #3 allowing you to Drive with Purpose and find a career that is meaningful.
What September 11th Means to Me
On this 10th anniversary of September 11th, I am struck by many things. Today I'll talk about my personal reflections. I can't believe what a different life I lead now. And I can't believe how that event indirectly shaped my career path and personal life.
Please know that I always feel weird telling this story because it seems trivial in light of the tragedies that happened. Yet, it is something that I feel compelled to share. I hope this inspires you to find the many more powerful, inspirational stories that can help you make sense of the day.
A little over ten years ago, I was working at a mutual fund company in Denver whose headquarters was in the World Trade Center. I worked for the quality assurance team in their call center. I wasn't entirely happy with my job and wanted something different. After researching the different opportunities that were available in the company, I settled on applying to become a call center trainer. It looked like a fun job to me and I knew I had the qualifications.
On that Monday, September 10th, I turned in my job application to the local Human Resources Department and felt confident about the possibilities. Then, Tuesday rolled around. Of course, the office was chaotic. We were preparing for an onslaught of phone calls from shareholders wondering what was happening with their money. Instead, the call center was eerily silent. We were all glued to the televisions as we wondered what was happening to our fellow employees in the North Tower. Somehow all of our co-workers made it out of the building before it fell. Our bosses told our department to stay home the rest of the week because there really wasn't anything for us to do.
So, there I was at home staying glued to the television with my fear of leaving the house increasing every minute. My boyfriend at the time used to travel around the country as a corporate trainer for a different company. He was supposed to fly out to St. Louis on September 11th. But the training class was changed, so he flew out the day before. Since air traffic was grounded for over a week, he wasn't able to fly home as planned at the end of that week. It was strange being at home by myself all that time without being able to share this experience with him. That weekend, he rented a car and drove over 12 hours to make it home.
Things at work somewhat settled down after several weeks. It was around that time that I saw an announcement about the new trainers that were selected for the call center trainer positions. My name was not on the list. Being the overachiever that I am, I decided to check in with HR to find out why I wasn't selected and why I didn't even get the chance to interview. The HR associate looked through her paperwork and found that she didn't even have my job application on file. She asked when I turned it in. I told her it was on September 10th. She paused and then apologized saying that it must have gotten lost in all of the chaos.
I was upset, but after reflecting on things, I realized that this must have happened for a reason. It was also at that time that my boyfriend and I felt like we shouldn't waste time in our lives. We had been talking about getting married. Once he got back that weekend, our talks started to become more of a reality. We were married the following year and are still going strong. We also talked about what we really wanted to do career-wise and began to take steps toward becoming entrepreneurs. That became a reality in 2003.
Now that I look at my life as an a stay-at-home mom, wife, entrepreneur, and author, I can see several events that helped to get me where I am today. I am so thankful for my life.
On this anniversary, I was glued to the TV again, but this time watching the memorial events. As I listened to the stories of families and friends affected by the tragedies, I am reminded of many things:
The "stresses" in my life that really aren't that stressful
How quickly your life and the world can change
How important it is not to waste time on trivial things, but focus on your dreams and how you can achieve them
The importance of family and friends during the happy and sad times
I hope that my story can help you find a glimmer of hope and positivity today to help you move forward in your life.
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About the Author
~ Leila Johnson, Founder of Spirit Driving Institute and Creator of the Drive. Align. Shift. Program
~ author of Driving to Success: Let Your Spirit Take the Wheel
~ co-owner of Data-Scribe, digital branding specialists for professional service firms
~ wife, mom, foodie
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