making a living with your passion! career workbook · accelerating your career success getting back...

Amy Frost © 2012 www.amyfrost.com

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Making a Living with Your Passion! Career Workbook

Putting You on the Right Track

Accelerating Your Career Success

Getting BACK to Work - Re-Igniting Your Pilot Light!

MBA and MA Spiritual Psychology – www.amyfrost.com National Training Director and Consciousness Officer, NSF

Nonprofit Sector Foundation – nonprofitsectorfoundation.org

Author of When Work Isn’t Working and Drawing Boundaries with Grace

Thriving at Work: Visualizations for People in the Real World (CD)

“I believe that the ultimate in self-actualization is when a person is confused about the difference between employment and recreation.”

—Ken Blanchard

“If you are called to be a street sweeper, sweep even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so

well that all the hosts of Heaven and earth will pause to say, „Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.‟”

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

http://www.amyfrost.com/


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Dedication ―I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.‖ —Mother Teresa I dedicate this workbook to everyone wanting to make a difference in the world. I want to help you do that. Mother Teresa is a mentor of mine. I feel that she has assisted me in taking my life‘s work and sharing it with you. This is my love letter to you.

My Dedication to You I wish you hope. Hope is: To believe in the Sun even when it isn‘t shining. To believe in Love even when you are alone. To believe in God even when he is silent. To believe in yourself even when it appears you are not successful!

Thank You I want to thank my husband Ross Bryant (Retired Army Major and Super Hero) for allowing me to assist him in his career transitions. I honor him for fully stepping into his work of purpose as the Director of University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebel Veterans. I thank him for supporting me with unceasing love and encouragement.

Why Should You Listen to Me? I am the Forrest Gump of career development! My own career has been a wild ride and a great case study. I have worked with the top people in career development for many years. I work with people day in and day out on creating and implementing their unique career path. I have found some exercises, tools, and tips that have worked well, and I want to share them with you. I have taken some pretty big topics and brought them down to a manageable size for you. I have lots of information, exercises, and tips in each area. Let me know if you need help along the way. Also, check out the resource page for more guidance.


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Rules of the Journey I will give you a map for our journey. It is important that you use your own experiences to become anchored in the ideas from each session.

Here are the rules:

Listen to yourself.

Be patient with yourself and open to new ideas.

Just pretend you can put your ―I can‘ts‖ and ―buts‖ aside and go for it!

Do your homework — there will be no one checking your homework except for you and anyone you choose to share it with. The process is most beneficial when you can do it with someone else and have a consistent meeting or time when you share the information you have learned about yourself and the ―aha‖ moments.

The symbol for homework is . When you see it, take some time to do your homework. If you choose to do it later, be sure to put it on your schedule.

At the end of each section I will support you in writing discovery statements to anchor-in what you have learned. This symbol will be your

signal to document what you have learned.

I highly recommend that you use a journal specifically for the work you will do as you go through the workbook.

Have fun!

Taking action can be a challenge. Thinking, planning, strategizing, and organizing can all be procrastination. All you ever need to focus on is your next step! You can‘t do anything about the past except heal from it and learn from it. You can‘t do anything about the future at this moment but worry and plan for it. You can consciously take steps to get to the life you want.

“It’s time to start living the life you’ve imagined.” —Henry James

Buckle up — the ride has begun! Wild curves ahead.


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Map for Your Journey to the Goal of Making a Living from Your Passion

Career Growth Skills

Intentions: Setting the Course

Values: Your Guiding Light

Are You on the Right Path?

What is Your Calling?

Be the CEO of Your Life: Creating Your Own Luck

How to Realize Great Dreams While Maintaining Financial Security

Goal Setting: Action Steps

What Do I Do When I Hit an Obstacle?

Self-Care Strategies: Relax, Renew, Reenergize

Creating a Life of Balance: The 7 Fs of Life

Time Management 101

A Life of Conscious Action

Having a Support Team: You Don‘t Need to Do It Alone

Being an Effective Networker

Creating Your Way

Creating Your Action Plan

Recalibrating Your Life: 90-Day Getting-Back-to-Work Program

Resources

Testimonials

Career Growth Skills

―Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.‖

—Dale Carnegie Most people don‘t think about their careers until they are in crisis of losing the job they fell upon in the first place. I want to support you in tapping into your

passion, Igniting or Re-Igniting Your Pilot Light, using your gifts and talents to live your mission while making a good living. Impossible? I beg to differ!!! Careers are like kites. They can be hard to get off the ground. You run and run and run and the kite still bumps along in the dirt behind you. When the kite finally lifts up into the air, sometimes coaxed by a random gust of wind or a little dumb


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luck, then you‘ve done it—you‘ve taken it to the next level. Get ready to hold on, because it‘s a whole new life. But if you never try to fly the kite—if you never take action—then you‘ll never know the thrill of achievement you could have experienced when all your hard work pays off and you end up in an amazing place you‘d never even dreamed about. Bethenny Frankel, A Place of Yes If you‘ve already gotten your kite off the ground, great. If you haven‘t, get it up there. From time to time we all need to make sure we have the right kite flying and to see if we need to be flying someplace else. I have outlined what I believe are critical skills to a vital career. You never know when you will need to change your path by your choice or by circumstance, so I want to keep you prepared to make a change when you want to and/or when it is thrust upon you. Here are the skills we will be discussing:

Critical Skills in Your Career

Setting intentions and clear goals for where you want to go in your career Knowing and using your gifts, talents, abilities, values, and mission Having a sure touch when dealing with other people Creating strong business relationships Being an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, and/or nontrepreneur Having a clear view of the obstacles you face and a plan to overcome

them Creating a work/life balance that suits you Effectively using skills in communication, networking, emotional

intelligence, decision making, problem solving, time management, change management, stress management, and living optimistically

Having a support team and a personal board of directors (mentors) Creating a career development plan that outlines everything above as well

as the required education, training, experience, and mentoring you need to create your ideal life and work

Intentions: Setting the Course

The Role of Intention

Intention statements set the direction of your life. These statements are your north star and your compass. They will give focus to what you want now in your work life and will help point you toward it. They put the "molecules of attraction" in motion, bringing you closer to your desired goals.


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Setting Intentions “When you create a clear intention, you create an electric field of possibilities that pulls creativity out of you and those around you.‖ —Hendricks and Ludema, Business and the Mystic Write an intention as though it were already real. Make them at least 50% believable, specific, and colorful. Use powerful adjectives to propel you to your vision. Be clear about what you want and ask for it. Unclear intentions result in unclear outcomes. Get clear about what you want, state your intentions in a positive way, and be open to other possibilities. When you get clear options, resources start appearing and your visions become your reality.

Here‘s my intention: ―My intention is to support individuals in Getting BACK to Work - Re-Igniting Your Pilot Light!, career development, by making the work fun

and approachable while helping them clarifying their next steps and motivating them to take ACTION.‖

What are your intentions for working through this workbook?

My intentions for working through Making a Living with my Passion workbook are:

Write your intentions in your journal. Refer to your intentions as you do the work, especially if you get stuck along the way, to keep yourself motivated! You are a detective on your journey to live your passion and purpose. A good detective is unbiased in the search. So work to be neutral in your investigation.

After each section, I will ask you to write ―discovery statements‖ documenting what you discovered in doing the homework. Discovery statements enable you to assess where you are. They are a record of what you have learned.


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Discovery Statements

Declarations of what you want.

Descriptions of your attitudes, such as ―I‘ll never get a job I love!‖ or ―I deserve to do work I love!‖

Statements of your feelings, such as ―I‘ve always hated telecommunications! I want to go into teaching.‖

Chronicles of your behaviors, e.g., going to a networking event or talking yourself out of going to the event.

Through discovery statements you can:

Discover what you really want.

Record what you learned and how it felt.

Suspend self-judgment.

Tell the truth — the more honest you are with yourself, the better the information you will have as you consider changes in your life.

With your intention in hand, let‘s get to your guiding light: your values.

Values: Your Guiding Light

An important part of an effective job search is focus. Setting clear goals will help you focus. Your values influence your decisions about how to spend your time, money, and energy. Your values will guide your goal-setting and your life. When your values and actions are not in alignment, you have stress.

Which Values Guide You?

Look over the following words. As you read them, underline 20 that describe

what‘s important to you at this moment. Don‘t spend too much time pondering just keep underlining.


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Achievement Friendship Pragmatic Actualization Fulfillment Recreation Adaptability Genuine Recognition Adventure Goal Oriented Relaxation Agitator Harmony Respect Appreciation Healing Risk taking Assertive Hopeful Safety Autonomy Humor Security Balance Innovative Sensitive Calm Insightful Service Certainty Integrity Spirituality Change Intuition Teacher Commitment Joy Teamwork Compassion Leadership Tolerance Communication Learner Transformation Community Listener Triumph Confident Love Understanding Courage Making a Difference Unfoldment Creative Mindfulness Vision Education Mission Warriorship Empowered Motivator Wealth Enlightenment Nature Wholeness Equality Newness Wisdom Excitement Open Minded Work Fairness Organizer Family Passionate Faith Patience Fellowship Peace Focused Perfection Forgiveness Planner Freedom Power

From When Work Isn‟t Working by Amy Frost

Now circle 10 of the underlined words that are really important. From the circled list, put a star next to the five that truly describe who you are now.

Now choose the most important value and brainstorm with a ―buddy‖ on how you can bring this important value into your current work. Are you living your values? Where do you spend most of your time and money? Make a quick list. Then compare. Are your valuable resources of time and money supporting your values?


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My Five Values

1.________________________________________

2. _______________________________________

3. _______________________________________

4. _______________________________________

5. _______________________________________

Write how these values related to your previous work and how they could relate to your work and life now: Write 3 steps you will take toward living your values:

1._______________________________________________________________________________________________

2._______________________________________________________________________________________________

3._______________________________________________________________________________________________

Get out your journal. Take some time to reflect and do your discovery statements.

Are You on the Right Path? Your path is totally unique to you. You will be asking yourself along the way what is right for you with each step. Being on the right path is one action after another.


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―There are ways, but the great Way [your way] is uncharted.‖ —Tao Te Ching

Here are some questions to help you on your journey:

1. What are your talents?

2. What do you like to do?

3. What have you always been good at?

4. What is my personal mission? (A great resource is The Path by Laurie Beth Jones.)

5. When you were working on an assignment or project

and you felt like your soul was fully engaged, what tasks were you doing?

6. What are your dreams? What were they when you were a kid? Are you

living them? If not, why not?

7. Envision your perfect job…

8. How can I bring more meaning into my work?

9. How can I make a difference?

10. What do I want my legacy to be in this assignment?

11. How can I bring more soul into this moment?


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What Is Your Calling?

James Hillman in The Soul‟s Code: In Search of Character and Calling, says that we are ―born with a character; it is a given; a gift.‖ An acorn will grow into an oak tree. No matter how hard it tries, it will never be a pine.

What do you want out of life? The earlier you know the answer to this seemingly commonplace question, the quicker you may get on with living your dreams. There is no road map; you must create your own path.

What do you believe in? What are your values? Is your work in alignment with your values? Does it bring you energy or deplete your energy? What is joyful about your work?

Let the answers unfold, just as the rose unfolds its petals.

―The questions we ask determine whether we will be superficial or profound, acceptors of the status quo or searchers.‖ —Sam Keen

Get clear on what your acorn is to do. Discover your talents, what brings you joy, what brings you energy. Set intentions that these things will be a part of your work. Do the things you love and are good at. How? Through volunteer work, part-time work, a hobby, or your current job. I volunteered to be a trainer in my government job, which was above and beyond my work duties. I got lots of free training and joy. I did hospice volunteer work and discovered through this that I had a strong desire to help people deal with grief.

Don‘t push the river. Make wise, calculated choices and have goals. Create an action plan and get support to see it through. Watch for signs of your next steps. Take action dealing with fears that may come up. Know that it‘s all about what you are doing right now. There is not an end point. The top of the mountain you are climbing today will be the base of the one you are climbing tomorrow. Enjoy the journey and be grateful for what you have, while being willing to have more.



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Be the CEO of Your Life: Creating Your Own Luck

Whether you have your own company or work for someone else, ultimately you are always the CEO of your life. Adopting an entrepreneurial mind-set toward life can help you achieve this goal.

Stepping into Being an Entrepreneur, Intrapreneur, and/or Nontrepreneur

In today‘s world of rapid change and layoffs, we have to take responsibility to plot our own pathway. We need to create and step onto our paths. One way to do that is to live and work with an entrepreneurial mind-set and life-style.

An entrepreneur is an enterprising individual who builds capital through risk and/or initiative, a person who is willing to help launch a new venture or enterprise and accept full responsibility for the outcome.

Intrapreneurship is the practice of entrepreneurial skills and approaches by or within an established organization. Employees engaged in a special project within a large firm are supposed to behave as entrepreneurs, even though they have the resources and capabilities of the firm to draw upon. Capturing a little of the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial management (trying things until successful, learning from failures, attempting to conserve resources, etc.) is claimed to be quite valuable in otherwise static organizations.

Nontrepreneurs are nonprofit entrepreneurs.


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What are some steps I can take to be more entrepreneurial


How to Realize Great Dreams While Maintaining Financial Security

If you aren‘t where you want to be in your life, no worries. Below are some steps to help you recalibrate your life and work.

Here are some steps to realize great dreams while maintaining security: 1. Reflect on your childhood. What did you naturally love to do? What got your

attention? These are important, early glimpses of your authentic self—your acorn.

2. Explore daily what your purpose is. Meditate. Set intentions. 3. Find people you connect with who will support your purpose. Here‘s an

exercise to help you with this:

a. Take out a piece of paper and draw a circle in the center the size of a quarter.

b. Draw several spokes radiating like sunbeams from the circle. c. Write on each spoke in the diagram a role you play: mother, wife, teacher,

brother, father, son, director, cook, volunteer, writer, etc. d. Write down the names of people who are involved with you in that role. e. Put plus signs (+) or minus signs (-) next to each name to signify whether

that person supports you in that role or is a stressor for you. You can even differentiate further by assigning some people more than one ―+‖ or more than one ―-‖ sign.

f. Reflect. Are your roles balanced? If a role is not satisfying to you nor fulfilling your vision, can you delegate it or decline to commit to it any longer? How about the people involved? Try to spend most of your time with those who support you, and minimize as much as possible your time with those who drain you.


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4. Use your intuition to guide you each step of the way. Be open to symbols, conversations, and people who come into your life. Write about these experiences in your journal and review them on a regular basis. You‘ll be surprised at the guidance you will find in those pages.

5. Create a financial plan. Set financial goals. Eliminate debt. If the thought of this exercise makes your eyes glaze over, get help from someone who actually loves this stuff. Simplify your life as much as possible.

6. Look at your current job and see if you can bring some of your passion to it. Career coaches find that many people don‘t need to leave their current jobs to find fulfillment but can fine-tune their position to make it more rewarding. Here are some questions that can help you discover and create more fulfillment in your current work:

What brings me joy in my current job?

How can I bring my talents more fully to my current work?

Why is my job important to me?

What do I like about my workplace and the people I work with?

What can I learn in this job that may help me in the future?

Envision your workplace and job as you desire it to be.

7. Get support. Develop a community of friends. Bounce ideas off another person to see how you really feel. I recommend you meet weekly with this person to discuss your personal, professional, and spiritual goals.

Are you planted in a place where you can become your full ―oakness‖? Odds are pretty good it is a better location to grow in than you might realize. What can you do from where you are currently planted? ―Every step of the journey is the journey.‖ —Zen saying


Goal Setting: Action Steps You should be clearer now about who you really are and what you want. Let‘s do some goal setting.

"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start." —Nido Qubein


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Guidelines for Goals 1. Envision your goals. You have to be able to see it and see yourself doing it

to make it happen. 2. You have to have a strong desire to make this happen or you are wasting

your time. 3. Make your goals specific and measurable so you can monitor your progress. 4. Set challenging and realistic goals. You must stretch without making them

out of your reach or beyond your talents, strengths, and abilities. Small victories lead to big successes!

5. Your goals should be flexible to allow for unplanned changes. 6. Set a time period or target date for each goal. 7. Write them down. 8. Prioritize in relation to their importance to you and your short-term and long-

term objectives. 9. Make them happen by taking action. 10. Monitor your progress and your feelings about what is happening. You may

have to adjust your direction if you discover that a goal isn‘t as important to you as you had originally thought.

Let‘s start at the top level. Write down your top ten goals for this year.

10 Top Goals for 20__

1. ___________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________________ 4. ___________________________________________________ 5. ___________________________________________________ 6. ___________________________________________________ 7. ___________________________________________________ 8. ___________________________________________________ 9. ___________________________________________________ 10. ___________________________________________________

Creating Action Steps: Three-Foot Tosses Use the three-foot toss metaphor to begin creating and implementing your goals. Visualize that you are playing a carnival game that includes a ball and three buckets. The object of the game is to throw the ball into one of the buckets. The first bucket is three feet away from you, the next is six feet away, and the last is nine feet away. You want to get the ball in the farthest bucket, but the larger the


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distance between you and the bucket, the lower the chances of your successfully getting the ball in the bucket. So you try to hit the bucket closest to you, the one three feet away. Once you get good at the three-foot toss, then you can move to the six-foot toss and so on. Action steps are much like that. You can be more successful trying to get the ball in the bucket three feet away. Taking these three-foot tosses will keep you motivated and keep you from getting overwhelmed. Start small and keep working up till the nine-foot toss is an easy action. Bonus Exercise: Space three buckets 3 feet, 6 feet, and 9 feet away. Using 3 softballs, you and a partner get 6 tosses each, with 3 points for a 3-foot toss, 6 points for a 6-foot toss, and 9 points for a 9-foot toss. See who can score the highest. You can start creating action steps for your goals by asking yourself: ―What small but challenging steps can I take to make my goals my realities?‖ Take some time to brainstorm as many ideas as you can. Make a commitment to three ideas from your own brainstormed list or a list your team members helped you create.


What Do I Do When I Hit an Obstacle?

Where there are goals, fears and obstacles are usually right around the corner. It is part of the process. Here is a tool to help you!

Facing Our Fears ―We hide in jobs we hate, in relationships that don‘t satisfy us. We pretend to have it all figured out, yet we struggle and experience fear. The number of closets we hide in are countless. Leaving the closet means entering the battlefield of life, walking headfirst into our fears and transcending them.‖

—Darren John Main, Spiritual Journeys along the Yellow Brick Road


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See and Release Your Obstacles

1. Pick one of your goals. Make a list of all the obstacles to making that happen.

Include your ―yeah, buts.‖ 2. What benefit(s) do you get from not accomplishing this dream? 3. Discuss this list with your support team members who want only the best for

you, and have them support you on working on each of your obstacles/excuses.

4. Now, make a list of all the reasons why you can live your dream. 5. Take some action toward reaching your goal. I use this tool whenever I start struggling. It can help you now. Struggle is optional! One of my favorite tools is choosing to be happy.

Choosing to Be Happy (Optimistic/Hopeful)

“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” —Martin Luther King, Jr. Hundreds of studies cite that optimists are:

Healthier

Persistent—they don‘t give up easily.

More successful in school, on the job, on the playing field, and in relationships.

Depressed less often and for shorter periods of time. If you want to be happy, optimism is the thinking pattern of choice.

Some Ways to Stay Hopeful Monitor self-talk.

Stay away from excessively negative media, people, or groups.

Read inspirational stories, talk to inspirational people, and watch inspirational shows.

Take risks; ask for what you want.

Use imagery to create a vision of the future. Barbara Dossey suggests you ask yourself: ―Can you imagine...?‖ and ―Could it be possible...?‖


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Value yourself. Ask questions such as: What do others like about me? What is it about myself that I am most proud of?

Surround yourself with hopeful and happy people.

What are some ways I can be more optimistic?


Self-Care Strategies: Relax, Renew, Reenergize

The demands of day-to-day work can overwhelm our good intentions to care for our most valuable asset, ourselves. You can find yourself so busy making things work and managing the grind of getting money in and out that there is no time left over to take care of you.

Develop skills to be your own caregiver. Create action steps in all four areas of self-care: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Here are some things you can do:

Breathe: Take in a nice, soothing breath and let it out with a strong exhale. Breathe in to the count of five, hold to the count of five, and out to the count of five. Do this in your own rhythm for at least three breaths and then go back to regular breathing.

Journal: Write down your feelings, your intentions. Document what is happening around you and to you, set goals, and write your book one page at a time.

Emotional Checkup: We all have a roulette wheel of emotions, spinning and stopping and spewing every moment. Get to know your wheel and give your emotions a chance to catch up with you. Pause often in your day and ask: What am I sad about? What am I joyful about? What am I mad about? What am I fearful about? What am I grateful for?

What are some ways I can take care of me?


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Creating a Life of Balance: 7 Fs of Life (The 7 Fs are taken from Achieving Authentic Success by Ron Jenson.) I do this exercise every Sunday to help stay in balance. Focus on creating habits that create your life and on the roles you play in the 7 Fs of life. The seven areas are: family, friends, finance, firm (career), faith, fitness, and fun. No particular order. For good measure I have added a C, which is contribution (causes and community). Envision weekly where you want to be in six months in each area. Take at least one action in each area every week toward living your authentic success.

Family Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Step I will take this week toward that vision ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friends Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________



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Finance Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________


Firm (Career) Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________


Faith Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________


Fitness Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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Fun

Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________


Contribution (Causes and Community)

Vision Six Months from Now ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________



Time Management 101 Once you know where you are going, how do you have the time to live the life you already have and work toward your dream life?


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I can‘t give you more time; I can help you rearrange the time you have. If minutes were dollars, what is the rate of return on your time?

What do I do now? First off, here is a question to be asking yourself often: “What is the best use of my time right now?” Before using your time, take a moment to think and feel before deciding what to do, and then take action.

Effectiveness is doing things that get us closer to our work and life goals. ―Stress is when my actions don‘t match my life goals.‖ —Mike Carson, So What‟s Your Price?

Where are you using your time now? l. My biggest time consumer is... 2. My three biggest time wasters are... 3. If I had more time, I would spent it... Look at your answers to the first and second questions. Evaluate them and look for ways to delegate, eliminate, and change the way you use your time to free up more time and energy to do your #3!

Setting Priorities

Are you procrastinating? Find out by asking yourself questions. If you are, ask why and work on those issues. Perhaps you‘re incubating instead of procrastinating, allowing time for answers to come to you. Make incubation, planning, and self-care priorities.



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A Life of Conscious Action

All my life I have been drawn to images of hearts with wings. In preparing to present at a national career reboot event in 2009, that symbol came to life. For me it signifies living with heart by taking conscious action. I mentor others on their quest to live a life of conscious action. It is part of my unique path. To live a conscious life you need be reflective and take action. Your heart is in the lead and uses the head as needed. Being too reflective leaves you ungrounded, and doing too much has you running like a hamster on a wheel. If you make one conscious action after another, you have a life you have chosen and you can live with no regrets.

In reflection you meditate, visualize, and relax. You also learn and set up your plans for effectively using skills in communication, emotional intelligence, networking, decision making, problem solving, time management, change management, stress management, and living optimistically.

In action you take your plans and ideas and put them to work in the world.

What are some steps I can take to live with my heart and act consciously?


Having a Support Team: You Don’t Need to Do It Alone


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Get Support: In person, on the phone, and via email. Get a team of people who support each other — meet weekly

Get a support buddy — meet when needed

Set your goals and update weekly

Get support for every aspect of your life

Get professional help if you need it

Create and implement a self-care plan

Get help building up your inner coach to support yourself from the inside out

Creating Your Board of Directors (Mentors) Create a board of mentors who support you in living the life of your dreams. These people will help you as you navigate your career and life. Call on them for support each step of the way. Know that they will change as your life changes. They must be people whose opinion you respect, to whom you can turn for advice, steady counsel, insight, and an honest assessment of your options. They are people who will set aside their own agendas and concentrate on your needs. Think about the areas you currently need advice, counsel, and support. Here are some ideas:

Identify Areas of Development/Support Affirming your competence Overcoming your challenges Celebrating your achievements Challenging your beliefs and priorities Evaluating your performance Financial planning/management Career advice People skills Crisis management Public speaking Technology Time management Writing Having a role model Spiritual advice Life skills Business skills __________________________________


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What would you like, in an ideal world, from each mentor? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

List of Potential Mentors 1. _________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________ 6. _________________________________________________ 7. _________________________________________________ 8. _________________________________________________ 9. _________________________________________________ You need a mentor who can be supportive and also honest. Now, for today, write in the five people you want on your board. Go for it!

Your Personal Board of Directors (Mentors)

ME


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Go to these people in the next week. Share with them your business goals and life dreams. Ask them to be your mentor and on your personal board of directors.


Being an Effective Networker How are you as a networker? Networking involves the attainment of contacts for mutual support, as well as developing and using those contacts for information, advice, support, and opportunities.

What is your Networking Profile? Use the following guidelines to determine your strengths and areas for development.

Making the Most of Networking

Personal Networking Assessment: Check the statements that represent you. Know Yourself _____ I know my values and my mission. _____ I can list my major accomplishments. _____ I know my abilities and talents. _____ I have written down my short- and long-term goals.

Be Courteous As You Network _____ I am at ease in groups and can talk comfortably. _____ I introduce myself first. _____ I remember people‘s names. _____ I am open and kind to others.

Leverage Your Business Cards _____ I give out my business cards everywhere I go. _____ My business cards are professional and represent who I am and what I

do. _____ I ask others for their business cards.


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_____ I make notes on the back of the others‘ cards.

Take Care of Relationships _____ I acknowledge others. _____ I give positive feedback to others immediately. _____ I stay in contact with my network via cards, calls and emails. _____ I support others when I don‘t need anything.

Manage Your Network _____ I have a networking database _____ I connect to my network of people - consistently, providing value to them. _____ I have and use an effective system for organizing and retrieving my

network. _____ I return phone calls and emails within 24 hours.

Be Clear About What You Want _____ I introduce myself clearly and concisely. _____ I organize my thoughts before making a call. _____ I set my intention for the meeting, call, or e-mail. _____ I visualize the ideal outcome before taking action.

Expanding Your Network _____ I belong to several professional organizations. _____ I give referrals to people in my network. _____ I continuously look for ways to open up my network. _____ I am committed to the success of my network.

Taking the Extra Step _____ I trust and follow my intuition. _____ I ask, ―What can I do for you?‖ _____ I am an active, caring listener. _____ I know I am a powerful networker.

What have you learned about your networking skills? What do you need to do to be a more effective networker?


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Creating Your Way

Know who you are and why you are here. Use your intuition and build it up. Set up action plans and let the answers unfold. Find ways to live in faith and to build your hope skills. Get resources and support. Be as loving to yourself as you would be to a child you love. Be bold. Be courageous! And take action! "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." —Anais Nin

I am walking away with: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Creating Your Action Plan

My Action Plan for My Career Development: “Making a Living with Your Passion” Review all your homework and discovery statements. Review the critical skills list below. Use what you have learned to create your career development.

Critical Skills in Your Career

Setting intentions and clear goals for where you want to go in your career


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Knowing and using your gifts, talents, abilities, values, and mission Having a sure touch when dealing with other people Creating strong business relationships Being an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, and/or a nontrepreneur Having a clear view of the obstacles you face and a plan to overcome

them Creating a work/life balance that suits you Effectively using skills in communication, networking, emotional

intelligence, decision making, problem solving, time management, change management, stress management, and living optimistically

Having a support team and a personal board of directors (mentors) Creating a career development plan that outlines everything above as well

as the required education, training, experience, and mentoring you need to create your ideal life and work

Actions I will take toward living my passion: l) Create a Vision Board ―What we think and what we do matters. What we envision, we can manifest.‖

—Jeff Klein, Working for Good

2) Go through everything you learned in this work and get it into action by _____________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Now, it‘s your turn… 3)___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4)___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5)___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

―Action steps are life-changing movements. They transform energy into matter and possibility into experience.‖ —Gary Zukav, Spiritual Partnerships


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Step I will take today!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Creating action plans and next steps doesn‘t create change. Taking action changes your life…one step at a time! Each day take a step toward your ideal life. Congratulations! You have worked hard. Thank you for spending this time with me. If you want one-on-one or group support, let me know. Email me at [email protected]. My recalibration program can help you keep this work going.

Recalibrating Your Life 90-Day Getting Back to Work Program We start with a session to see where you are in your life and where you want to be. We create a plan for you together. We set up a weekly phone session, which includes guided discussion, exercises and time-proven techniques. Participants (individuals or in a group) will walk away with an "Intention Action Plan," outlining goals with action steps, and the ability to keep the plan going. Here are some of the topics covered in the sessions:

Who Am I

Defining and Living to Your Values and Mission

Defining Success

Identify Professional, Spiritual and Financial Goals

7 Fs of Life: Creating a Whole, Balanced Life

Seeing Your Dreams

OATS: Project Management for Your Life

Creating Your Support and Mentor Teams

Evaluating the Terrain of Your Life Map

Creating Your Life Vision

Seeing and Releasing Your Obstacles

Stop Listening to Negative Self-Talk

Skills to Be a Positive Self-Coach

Locking-in Action Steps to Create the Life of Your Dreams

Committing to Your Future Success

mailto:[email protected]


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Keeping Motivated for the Long Haul

Achieving Authentic Success by Dr. Ron Jenson Authentic Happiness by Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D. Awakening the Corporate Soul by Eric Klein and John Izzo Delivering Happiness by Tony Heish, and www.deliveringhappiness.com Drawing Your Boundaries with Grace by Amy Frost Fearless Resumes by Marky Stein Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face

Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn Get Clear. Get Connected. Get a Job. How to Make your Job Search

Easy by Lin Morel Heart at Work by Jack Canfield and Jacqueline Miller ―Hope Skills,‖ Sep 1999, Nursing. Springhouse, Frost, A.L., & Smith-

Stoner, M. How to Get a Great Job When You Don't Have a Job by Marky Stein Instant Income by Janet Switzer Living in Balance by Joel and Michelle Levey Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and

Career by John D. Krumboltz and Al S. Levin Pain to Passion by Eileen Joyce, www.eileenjoyce.com Rain on Me: Devotions of Hope and Encouragement for Difficult Times by

Holley Gerth Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey The Game Called Life by Kay Gilley The Job-Loss Recovery Program by Dr. Lynn Joseph;

www.joblossrecovery.com The Wholehearted Journey: Bringing Qualities of Soul to Everyday Life

and Work by Denise Bissonnette Thriving at Work: Visualizations for People in the Real World (CD) by Amy

Frost www.wabisabicounselor.com – tools and support by Dr. SuzanThompson What Color Is Your Parachute by Dick Bolles When Work Isn‟t Working by Amy Frost Working for Good by Jeff Klein www.lisalynne.com – Relaxing music

http://www.deliveringhappiness.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Full-Catastrophe-Living-Wisdom-Illness/dp/0385303122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256147724&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Full-Catastrophe-Living-Wisdom-Illness/dp/0385303122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256147724&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Luck-No-Accident-Making-Happenstance/dp/1886230536/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256074063&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Luck-No-Accident-Making-Happenstance/dp/1886230536/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256074063&sr=8-1

http://www.eileenjoyce.com/

http://www.joblossrecovery.com/

http://www.wabisabicounselor.com/

http://www.lisalynne.com/


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Testimonials ―I found myself in a position where I wanted (and needed) a Life Management Coach who would: 1) take me seriously, 2) not take me too seriously, and 3) provide encouragement, guidance, tools and support. Amy met and exceeded my expectations in all of these areas by customizing a 90-day recalibration process through her Getting Back to Work/Re-Igniting Your Pilot Light programs. ―Amy served as the match that relit my pilot light, and while I provided the fuel necessary to make the changes, Amy was the ever-steady hand turning up the knob as we worked together using tools Amy has created over the years. Amy customizes the 90-day recalibration process specifically for each client and that client‘s goals, and then allows you to work on your ‗stuff‘ independently while providing gentle support and guidance along the way. This personalized and unique approach combined with one‘s own desire to change and become the person you truly want to be is a formula for success, not to mention a lot of fun. The tools and wisdom Amy shared with me will be used over and over again and will stay with me for a lifetime and will create a lifetime of change!‖

—Noelle Butler, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles ―Amy‘s books and workshops have taught me to become more in tune with who I am and to believe in myself. They have taught me that all the qualities necessary to be a better person, employee, leader or manager in the workplace come down to focusing on ourselves and our principles centered in truth. Only from this base level can we learn to change ourselves and tap into our unlimited potential to be better human beings and employees.‖

—Gary Oliver, U.S. Navy, Strategic Systems Programs

―Amy has a warm style and inspires trust and sharing among her workshop participants. Speaking honestly from her own personal experiences, and tapping into her extensive knowledge of interpersonal and workplace dynamics, she touches people in a deeply meaningful way. She deals with life‘s challenges from a very real-world perspective, helping her audiences to use their own experiences to solve problems and change life perspectives. Amy‘s work has truly added a unique dimension to our workshop offerings.‖

—Ned Cooney, Director, Resource Center for Nonprofit Management

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