If you have a nagging doubt that your life should have headed in a different direction, or if you feel it’s time to do something else with your life-but you can’t figure out what – then read on. There are many reasons why people end up in stuck in their career and sometimes it’s impossible to figure out exactly what career is right for you. If you think that you are in the wrong job or feel that your skills could be put to better use then this webinar is for you.
Paul Lanzarotti – CEO of career change pioneers Three Giant Leaps will be discussing how their revolutionary approach to career change is transforming the lives of people all over the world.
As a member of LinkedIn you also qualify for a complimentary ½ hour session with a Three Giant Leaps coach to discuss your challenges and learn about our unique programs.
My work often introduces me to people who are miserable in their job and my great privilege is to help them forge a new path. I also have had the opportunity to meet and interview many people who love what they do as part of my research and find that although there are many unique elements to their stories, they also have many things in common.
The list below is a summary of those things people who have enjoyed sustainable career satisfaction, have reported. In assessing whether or not you are on the path to career fulfillment, see how many of this list of ten things you can check off:
When you are at work, you often lose track of time instead of watching the clock.
You enjoy reading your trade publications or other information about your field.
You can imagine a positive future in your career.
You have colleagues at your job or in the same field who you respect and admire.
Either you are doing your dream work currently or the work you are doing now is a necessary step in creating dream work.
Your love ones including the young people in your life know what you do and have a sense you love it.
You don’t cringe when people ask you what you do. You enjoy talking about your work.
You know what you love to do.
You are willing to take risks to do what you love.
You have a sense that no matter how long you are on this career track you have more to learn and master and that prospect is exciting to you.
Ideally, you can identify with most of the list but most people will find that there are very few things they resonate with. If that is the case for you, you may be ready for a change in course. The good news is that the sooner you work on creating a new path the more likely it is you will have more career satisfaction the future, here are a few suggestions for next steps:
Seek out people who love their work and learn from their experience in how they found “thing”
Begin researching projects, jobs and educational opportunities that will expose you up to new fields.
Watch movies or read books about people who found and followed a calling such as the documentary Sketches of Frank Ghery
I remember when I was a kid I used to love bikes and especially BMX. I would spend days and nights learning how to wheelie, bunny hop and jump over things using make shift ramps. I loved riding but I was always under the impression that the hours I spent learning new stunts and tricks was time wasted and that if I wanted to get on in life I should have spent my free time studying more (and playing less)
So let me introduce you to Danny MacAskill. Not only does he make a living from “messing around on his bike” but this guy has taken the art of trick riding to a level that renders people speechless.
Prepare to be amazed – this is one guy who definitely didn’t listen to his teachers!
Gerry Mattios was a junior level consultant at an international consulting firm based in London when he engaged me to be his coach. Four years later he has been promoted four times, is living in China and after growing with one firm for years recently moved to work for another established multinational company in Beijiing.
His story demonstrates how our program can be effective within an organization and how the principle of courage and the practice of being a visionary works within an institution.
Gerry originally did our One2One program beginning in the Spring of 2006 to help him clarify his vision and build confidence and then later did an advanced program which he completed in the Spring of 2008 . This second program supported him in developing his leadership skills while he continued to take actions on his vision. . He paid for his programs out of his own pocket, investing in his own development rather than solely depending on his company’s leadership programs and gives the one-to-one coaching a lot (maybe too much) of the credit for his accomplishments. In addition to developing his career and moving to Asia, Gerry married and had his first child while we worked together. Our collaboration has been extremely rewarding for me and this morning, I interviewed him on skype to hear him reflect on how the experience working with a coach helped him.
Gerry had spent some time contemplating this before today and was able to give me a very succinct and thoughtful response. Here is his report on the 5 ways The Three Giant Leaps Method helped him:
1. Gave him confidence and a better understanding
of the value he brings to an organization.
2. Helped him reconcile his past family and work history in a way that gave him an deeper understanding of what he has accomplished in his life and how.
3. A clear long term career vision that included going to China, being involved with aviation, and having his work have a social service component.
4. A more positive outlook that gave him the courage to aggressively look for opportunities and communicate his aspirations to colleagues and bosses that were in a position to help him manifest his goals.
5. Tools for visualizing a better future state for meditating on this future and making it real.
I have long been a fan of Woot – a company that sells just one thing a day very, very cheaply. They have always been a little Maverick and a touch anarchic….so when they got bought by Amazon many people felt they had sold out.
This video is a fantastic example of how marketing and communications has changed through the use of the web and social media.
Well done to everyone at Woot – you deserve a well earned break.
Recently, I began receiving acupuncture treatments from a team of two gifted interns named Amy Woods and Beth Mershon who are both completing masters degrees here in Austin at a school called Texas College of Traditional Oriental Medicine.
Both women are extremely happy with their choice to pursue this career at this particular school where most of the teachers are originally from China and their satisfaction is reflected in the careful and thorough way they take care me and all their patients.
When I meet people like Amy and Beth who love their work, I always ask them how they made the decision to pursue what they do and so I asked and am delighted to share their answers which demonstrate how a contrast of approaches to career choice can help you end up at the same place.
Before Amy chose this path, she dabbled in business in her undergraduate work but found herself more fascinated with her anatomy class than her accounting class. In addition, she was exposed to the rewards of acupuncture through watching her cousin who happens to be a navy seal heal from a traumatic back injury with assistance from this healing modality. She was mentored by another cousin’s wife who was at school for acupuncture and then died suddenly before her own graduation. After this blow to her family, Amy was unsure she could pursue her dream but in a way, draws strength from the spirit of the woman who guided her to her calling.
Beth’s story involves trusting her intuition. After attending junior college for a while and getting a degree online in graphic design, Beth worked in a variety of odd jobs and learned that office work was not for her so she made a vow to herself figure out what she really wanted to do. The answer came in the form of a bumper sticker. Beth has a bumper sticker curiosity and one day she saw a red bumper sticker on a van up ahead that when had to read. She sped up to see it and there was her answer in bold letters: ACUPUNTURE WORKS. In addition, she noticed the driver of the van was a Native American woman with long braids and since Beth has some Native American roots, that sealed the deal. Without any experience or exposure to acupuncture, she took a leap of a faith and has never regretted it.
As you can see, Amy’s process is more analytical while Beth’s decision was more spontaneous which I think fit their personalities but both are very much following their hearts and pursing a calling. If you are ready to find your calling, we have webinars each week where you can learn more and our next one is on July 22, 2010 at 10:00 am PDT, 1:00 pm EST. Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/441469146
If you would prefer a private conversation about your circumstances, you may arrange a ½ hour complimentary session with one of us to discuss your challenges and learn about our programs for teens, adults and coaches, Send your request one at laurel@threegiantleaps.com. Learn more about us, our team and take our free career change assessment at: https://www.threegiantleaps.com
Are you a Mac or a PC? This is question has been discussed for years over blogs, in bars and even in the offices of Three Giant Leaps. Personally, I prefer PC’s but for many years I have admired Apple products for their design, functions and the sheer love that is lavished on every single product they make. Apple are pioneers in their field and had Bill Gates not spent a year working at Apple only to brazenly copy their Operating System and create Windows, then perhaps 95% of you who are reading this now would be doing so through a Mac instead of a PC,
Steve Jobs pioneered the way software and hardware worked together, turned the music industry on its head, changed the way music is consumed and revolutionized the wireless industry.
What is also kinda interesting is that Steve Jobs never graduated college.
Here is a video of Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Address that took place in 2005. His vision, drive and raw enthusiasm for pursuing a path that he was passionate about is an amazing example of the incredible potential a person can realize if they take the leap and follow their heart.
Wow – we made it! Three Giant Leaps is proud to announce the launch of our brand new site! Exciting isn’t it? Well I thinki it is…I mean look at it….you can almost see the corners glistening in the cyber sunlight, you can smell freshly soldered wires…..you can hear the engine in the back buzzing away.
You can’t..? What…? Oh – perhaps websites don’t work on gas these days….however, what I do know is that a big shout out and an enormous ‘THANKS” needs to go out to Sean, Karen and the rest of the folks at Savvy Pro Web They built this site from the ground up and a lot of blood, sweat, tears and many nights and weekend went into making it all works like a dream. If you ever need any web related work dopne I cannot recommend SPW enough.
This book is the first step for anyone serious about changing careers and moving into work they love. If you or anyone you know hates what they do or just needs a new career buy them this book as we have already been hearing lots of positive rave reviews from people who have read it.
More news to follow as and when it happens – I will write again soon…
