Tag Archive - career guidance

“Career Guidance” You Don’t Want To Use

January 13, 2012 in Just For Fun with 4 Comments

“Career Guidance” (Yeah, Right!)

It’s Friday, and everyone needs a good laugh on Friday! Here’s some “career guidance” that’s bound to put a smile on your face.

I’m not sure if these employees are achieving their career goals or career objectives, but maybe they found a second career in “Cubicle Hurdling.”

(Although one definitely didn’t achieve career success in this second career…watch and see what I mean.)

Looking for serious career guidance? Consider coaching with me…I’ve helped a lot of people make the move to the life and work they love!

 

Why I Work With Teenagers

October 3, 2011 in Leadership with 2 Comments

Jason Mraz is one of my favorite artist (he’s definitely in my Top 3). Not only is his music amazing, his lyrics are so authentic and soulful.

One of my favorite songs he sings is also one of the saddest songs he sings. It paints a picture of the incredible challenges many children and teenagers face during their coming of age years. Here are those lyrics, followed by a link to one of the most genuine and insightful online conversations I’ve ever read.

I’m not sure why I’m sharing this with you except to give you insight into my heart as to why I’m so passionate about serving teenagers and young professionals and helping them live it forward in the most important roles of their lives. Also, it’s why I’m so passionate about encouraging educators in what makes great teachers great!

Continue Reading…

You Really Can Make A Difference!

May 10, 2011 in Leadership with 2 Comments

My good friend, Andy Perkins, has a passion for the young people of Liberia.

Why?

Because he clearly sees what is possible, despite how terrible the situation looks!

The young people of Liberia were unbelievably brutalized by a violent civil war. Now they live in a totally destroyed country with few opportunities. In fact…

  • Their unemployment rate is 83%!
  • 68% of the people live on less than $1 per day.

Is it any wonder these young people believe there is no hope, no escape, no future?

Andy passionately believes differently. In his own words:

“The best hope for Liberia is to find and train young leaders who will take personal responsibility for their own futures. I want to instill in them a clear image of how things could be in their own lives and in Liberia. To do this effectively is my passion.”

Two years ago, Andy started the Youth Leadership Conference. He takes top-quality American speakers and leaders to teach young Liberians how to dream again and, more importantly, how to act on those dreams. In 2009, he held one conference with 200 young leaders. Last year, he organized two conferences with over 1,000 attending. This year he is preparing for four conferences in two Liberian states!!!

Last year, the Julian family found out about Andy’s organization and his efforts, and decided to help him out by making a $1,000 matching challenge to our friends and associates through Live It Forward. The Live It Forward community came through beautifully, raising more than 1/3 of the total budget for the two conferences hosted last year.

This year, the Julian family is doubling our matching challenge to $2,000.

My question to the Live It Forward community is:  Who is with us on this?

Oh yeah, one last thing.  Live It Forward and the Julian family receives NOTHING from this effort except the joy of helping our good friend and his organization make an incredible impact in an area of the world that needs so much.  Therefore, please DO NOT send any money to Live It Forward LLC.  Instead, send your tax-deductible check to:

BESTWA
3111 W Ledbetter Drive
Dallas, TX 75233

or give online at
http://bestwa.org/conference

 

Evidence of What You Believe

March 9, 2011 in Speaking with 2 Comments

I love this statement and use it often in my keynote speaking presentations:

What we believe in is evidenced by how we live, not by what we say.

Not much explanation needed here.  We can talk a good game, but if we don’t back up our words with the way we live, we’re frauds.  That’s about as basic as it gets.

So, as we hit the midpoint of our week, my question for you (and for me) is…

Are we living out our values or just talking about them?

Let’s back up our lives today with character and action…instead of just a lot of hot air.

Live it forward today!

 

 

I’m Sick of Common Sense

February 14, 2011 in Career & Business with 20 Comments

Let’s imagine something together, shall we?

Imagine a coach spending hours with a client explaining the ins and outs of a proactive job search. He shares the same strategic steps that have worked for hundreds of his clients.

During the coaching, there is a lot of interaction…a lot of questions…a lot of explaining.

Now, as this particular coaching session comes to a close, imagine the client complaining:  Is that it?  That’s the Proactive Job Search strategy?  I’m not too impressed.  I mean, I’ve heard this all before.

Imagine the coach, who is a bit confused, digging a little deeper.   He asks for clarification and discovers that his client has heard some of the strategies being suggested, but he has never heard of them being applied in this particular way in order to create a Proactive Job Search strategy.

Now imagine this coach digging even deeper and asking several more questions….

  • “How long have you been out of work?”  Answer:  5-6 months.
  • “How many resumes have you sent out?”  Answer:  Hundreds.
  • “How many interviews have you had?”  Answer:  Zero.
  • “Even though you’ve heard of several of these strategies before, have you tried using any of them in your job search?”  Answer:  No.
  • “So why do you have a problem with the Proactive Job Search strategy I just taught you?”  Answer:  Like I said, I’ve heard it all before. It’s common sense.

The client isn’t too happy with his coach.

But as you can imagine, the coach isn’t too happy with his client either.

I’m not sure, but I imagine the client was looking for something more than “common sense.”  Something more dynamic; perhaps something more magical.

But I don’t have to imagine what the coach wanted.  He wanted something that every coach wants from a client.  He wanted his client to follow through with what was learned and take some “common sense action.”

Why?

Well, I imagine this coach has worked with a lot of people who have “heard it all before.”  Of course, some of these people haven’t taken the step of actually applying what they heard, so not much has happened in their lives.  But others did apply the “common sense training” and took “common sense actions.” These are the individuals who achieved the best results!

Imagine that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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