Don’t get a “job”, create a life and career you love – why not?

I’ve done a lot of complaining here, but of all the things I’ve complained about, I can’t complain about my life…….. And all this time I’ve been paid to say what is on my mind on television, you don’t get any luckier in life than that.
~ Andy Rooney

One of the things that struck me during the coverage of Andy Rooney’s life and passing, was his resolute claim that he did what he loved professionally for 70 years – and in fact he did it right up to his passing at the age of 92. Some would say that he was one of the privileged few, but I say why not do something you love to do professionally? why shouldn’t we all do what we love?

Living your life’s passion can not only be extremely rewarding but can lead to prosperity. Interestingly, most creative professionals that I know, will tell you that they do what they love – why can’t this be true for everyone?

Watch Gary Vaynerchuk’s funny and inspiring video. Gary is a 35 year old New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling author and a self-trained wine and social media expert, and the founder of Winelibrary.com.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!) TED Talk

This video contains (mostly) adult language

Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.
~ Wayne Dyer

Have you asked yourself:  What do you love to do? What do you care about? What sparks you? Find your niche, whether it’s working for a non-profit or becoming an entrepreneur creating a company based on your passion?

1. Is there something you already love doing, a hobby? 
2. Care about your self first – figure out what you love and then do it.
3. Study the market carefully and you will find opportunities. Consider conducting a market survey with potential customers to uncover untapped needs, position yourself to succeed

I am not suggesting that you leave your great paying job tomorrow …. but really think about it, plan it and pursue it. Start in small steps, and work on pursuing your passion after you leave the job you are lukewarm about.

Here are 3 stories of people I know who are pursuing their passions:

People might tell you, you can’t do it, you will starve – well I am here to tell you that you can! Here are 3 stories, of people that I personally know, who are making a go at it in 3 very different ways.

• Molly Butler, someone I know in Atlanta was just laid off – she actually enjoyed her full-time job, but her true love is pets. This past year she started Wag & Purr, a pet sitting services she was growing on the side. Now, it’s a no brainer, the passion she had as a side business will most certainly grow and provide her a great income – because she loves it. 

• I have a friend who has been a writer his entire career – he has written for major publications, the news – you name it. But recently he started working on writing a book about 2 of his great loves – Sports and cooking.  There is no doubt in my mind that this venture will be successful, because his passion makes him a credible source, that and the fact that there are so few cookbooks geared to men. 

• Rob Mazze was a well respected Executive at a large New York advertising agency, who got laid off less than 2 years ago. When that happened, he went through a period of introspection about WHAT to do next, and decided to follow his passion for yoga, (which he regularly practiced for 20 yrs.). He enrolled in the teacher training program at Yoga to the People and is now registered as an instructor by the Yoga Alliance. Keep in mind that he went from a highly paid executive job to being a student and re-building his career and income. In a very short time he has built a private clientele as well as regularly instructing at several studios. I have no doubt that his business will grow, and if he chooses he will soon be running his own studio.  

These are just a few of the stories I know personally, you get the idea …. define yourself by your passion, build your business based on that definition and you will have an instant brand for yourself and your business, and that is something that potential customers are naturally drawn to.

Passion is important, especially in your work life since we spend an average of 8270 hours a year at work – and I will tell you that entrepreneurs typically spend much more than that. Be in control of your own future and create the opportunities to do what you love!

From birth to age 18, a girl needs good parents. From 18 to 35, she needs good looks. From 35 to 55, she needs a good personality. From 55 on, she needs good cash.
~ Sophie Tucker

How do you handle ageism during career reinvention? I say NO!

As part of my career reinvention I went to Grad school and am now, like many other grads, on the job hunt. 

Recently, I was told by a respected recruiter that I was too “experienced” to present to her clients. While she was very clever and PC, I know that meant code for “too old”. Generally, I would say hey I AM NOT OLD, AND I only need one great opportunity – there is one out there just for me. But I have to admit this time it got to me …….and I am re-thinking….

Ageism is making me re-think my job strategy

Continue Reading “Re-thinking your job search strategy – because of ageism”

When I got burned out at my Silicon Valley engineering job, I thought maybe I just needed a change of pace. A breath of fresh air, a new company, a new project. But a few interviews in the same field taught me that a new engineering job wouldn’t make me happy after all. No, what I was truly after, I decided, was a full-on change of direction. It wasn’t that I needed to write new code; I needed to not be writing code. It wasn’t that I needed a new engineering project; I needed a totally different project. Ultimately, I wound up moving from industry to the non-profit sector, and it’s been just what I needed.

But when you’re burned out at your job, how do you know if it’s a new job or a whole new direction that will make you happy? I’ve got some suggestions:

You need a new job if:

• You dread going to work in the morning. We all drag a bit when the alarm goes off, but real reluctance to get the office is a real sign you need a change.
• Your commute is too long. Any commute can seem too long when you’re ready to leave your job. But if working closer to home is a possibility in your field and location, don’t let a long, exhausting commute bring you down.
• There’s nowhere to go. It’s not all about getting promoted and climbing the ladder, but it is about keeping yourself happy and motivated. If there are no other groups or jobs at your company you could move into, can you really see yourself in the same position for the next n years?
• You hate your co-workers. Well, OK, you don’t really hate your co-workers, right? Me neither. But maybe there are a few you don’t want to work with, the ones where you roll your eyes at the mention of their names. If there are too many in that category, get out of there.

You need a new direction if:

• You listen wistfully to other people’s job descriptions. I did this a lot when I was looking for a change. You work for a non-profit/the government/at an art gallery? That’s amazing—tell me more!
• Interviews in the same field feel like the same place. When you go on an interview for the same kind of job you already have and it feels like you just went into your current office, that’s a sign you need a real change. New possibilities should seem exciting and different, not old and stale.
• Working late on a Friday sucks. Working late always sucks a little. But when you find yourself asking “What am I doing this for??,” you need a good answer.

Have you been in need of a new job lately? How about a new direction?

When you think of IEEE, you tend to think of conferences, standards, and publications, right? A professional organization for scientists and engineers, pretty typical and pretty science-focused. Until recently, I didn’t know that IEEE has a slick, professional public policy arm as well. Their political operatives whose advocate for science and engineering policies at various levels of government. IEEE is one of several organizations that participates in Congressional Visit Day (CVD), an opportunity for scientists and engineers to have an impact on science policy issues.

If you’ve never had the chance to visit your congressional representatives, I highly recommend it—though it sounds a little wonkish, it’s actually a really fun time. For this year’s CVD, I visited Washington, D.C., along with around 50 other members of IEEE from all over the country. I’ve written to and called my congresswoman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, before (and she always writes back), but being backed by IEEE, with 40,000 members in my home state of California alone, definitely added some gravitas to my visit. I didn’t quite know what to expect at CVD, but the congressional staffers definitely took us seriously and it felt like we got to have a real impact.

IEEE split us into groups based on our home states. My three-person California delegation met with staffers from the offices of Senators Feinstein and Boxer, and Representatives Waxman and Pelosi. It was especially exciting to visit Nancy Pelosi’s office. She’s been a strong supporter of scientific research over the years, as well as of women in science issues, and it was kind of a trip to see the Speaker’s office in person. We even got to leave behind the congressional offices and venture into the majestic Capitol Building for that meeting. (My excitement was dampened a bit when it took me three tries and twenty minutes to get through security. No food or drinks allowed, and who knew how many squished-up granola bars were hidden away in my laptop bag?)

Accompanying us for all the meetings was an IEEE staffer, a professional lobbyist named Russ who really knows his stuff. He was a great help through the whole thing—the calm, knowledgeable political operative surrounded by spazzy engineers. We mostly advocated for the America COMPETES Act, which aims to double funding for basic scientific research in three federal agencies. It initially passed three years ago but is up for reauthorization. By the end of our meetings, the COMPETES Act had been approved by the House Science and Technology Committee—and since we left it’s been introduced on the floor, pulled from the floor, and reintroduced. I don’t know what’s ultimately going to happen with the bill, but it was exhilirating to depart from my usual Silicon Valley engineer role to play a small part in advocating for it in Washington.

Have you ever met with your congressional representatives? Would you like to? What would or did you talk about?

Today, I had the pleasure of hearing Tim Ferris, Author of the bestselling book The 4-Hour Workweek, speak at the Mediabistro Circus event.  Tim shared his “secrets” on how he leveraged Social Media to create a global best seller product….book or otherwise.

Data is KING

Tim measures and tests EVERYTHING… He says “from wording to read time…test it all”…learning as much as you can about your user will help you serve your audience better and help you make more sound promotional decisions. Tim uses Crazyegg.com tool to figure out user click patterns on his sites.

Determine your target market

Before he started marketing his book, Tim decided on the demographic he was going after…first, 18-25 tech savvy males and secondly 18-25 tech savvy females.  He advised to identify your demographic well because if you try to target too many people you won’t sell anything.

Go Where the Bloggers Go

Tim spent $25,000 on the book launch. $18,000 was “wasted on a PR firm”…the PR firm he worked with was not “accountable or measurable”. He spent the rest of his budget meeting people in person as “the e-mail channel is too crowded”.

To learn about blogging, he attended the CES expo.  He would join blogger conversations by listening and if he did not understand a term, he would ask.  Although that made him seem ignorant, eventually people asked him what he did and he would tell them that he was writing a book.  He would not pitch the book or himself and in fact, never asked the them to review the book….he just elicited questions and EMPHASIZED that he did not think the book would appeal to them, except for about five pages of it.  Tim says “Nobody has time to read the whole book but everyone has time to read 5 pages”.  His goal was to obtain 20,000 evangelists — not customers but avid fans, 3 months before the launch of the book.

Sell around the product

To create a fast-acting meme, Ferris says you need to do the following:

• Phenomenize: “identify and name a legitimate societal shift or new phenomenon….to best spread a message or product, sell around it by discussing larger issues surrounding its creation: the person (himself in this case), the changing social landscape, and emerging trends.  No one cares about your new software, but the reasons it needs to exist might ‘make for a great TV segment on 20/20.’”
• Polarize: “Good stories and trend-spotting, told unapologetically, will create both supporters (”That’s the solution!”) and attackers (”It’s a fraud!”). The battle and ongoing debate this generates is the fuel needed for word-of-mouth wildfire”.
• Communitize: Ferris encourages community creation for your online users. He encouraged his readers to create their own communities on the social networking site Ning and there are currently 12 different mini-communities that were formed to date.

Tim left us with two inspirational parting thoughts “Plan big but test assumptions and Doing the unthinkable is easier than you think”.

This session set the tone for what would turn out to be a great day 1 at the MediaBistro Circus hearing great insights about open source publishing, the future of books, magazines, newspapers, blogging, and the distribution and consumption of content, how customer behavior is evolving around technology, the best way to employ data so your company makes money, integrated marketing partnerships and of course meeting some really great people.