After a lengthy career in marketing, I’ve had my highs and lows. My best day was spent at an advertising photo shoot on a hillside orange grove in (appropriately) Orange County, California. It was an idyllic 70-degree day in January. The...
YOU CAN BE HAPPIER AT WORK... START TODAY!
Seeking the Holy Grail: Achieving Satisfaction, Balance and Grace at Work
After 30 years as a corporate marketer, a few years ago I decided to do something different. I wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but I felt a higher calling. I had had a successful career leading divisional marketing teams for two leading corporations.
It was fulfilling developing strategy and directing teams and agencies to execute on plans that drove revenue, built brands and created...
Of Orange Groves and Wild Ponies: Career Highs and Lows
In a career spanning more than three decides, I've found that our best and worst days at work can be a road map to future career satisfaction.
Say No in Order to Say Yes for Career Success
It's one of the shortest and most powerful words in the world, yet why do so many of us have a hard time saying it?
Humans are social animals. We like to be liked. We like to fit in. We like to help our fellow humans. This is basically a good thing… until it isn’t. Many of us have a tough time saying no in a professional capacity. We feel that if someone asks us to...
Happiness News Flash: You Cannot Make a Mistake
I want to share a big secret with you: You cannot make a mistake! Take a moment to let that sink in.
Wow! What if that were really true? How would you feel? Take a moment and take a deep breath and close your eyes and FEEL what that would feel like.
Maybe you feel relieved and free. Maybe you feel unburdened and feel a little bubble of happiness rising within you. Wouldn’t it be...
3 Stubborn Career Myths That Block Your Success
Myth #1: Being all work and no play will put you on the fast track to promotion.
You work hard from 9 to 5 or maybe even 7 to 7 with few breaks and no chit-chat so you can get your work done. You don’t hang out in the break room or go to lunch with your co-workers because… duh, work! When the team convenes at the local watering hole for happy hour, you decline because you...
How I learned to live happily with my gremlin, Ralph
I have a gremlin and his name is Ralph. Ralph is my inner critic who sits on my shoulder and whispers sweet little nothings in my ear. He truly thinks that he’s protecting me by telling me not to try, never to take a risk, always to take the safe road, and to keep myself secure by playing small.
He sees no advantage to risking anything. His primary objective for himself and me is...
Should I stay or should I go: Career advice from The Clash
Should I stay… or should I go? I cannot consider that question without The Clash’s 1982 punk rock anthem1 ringing in my head. All it takes is a couple notes of the classic opening riff and next thing I know I’m transported back to the Sigma Chi house jumping up on the coffee table with Rob Lee, my regular dance partner/ freshman crush. We'd thrash around in as punk rock of a...
I hate my job and I can't find the corkscrew!
People come and go, time marches on and things change, then one day you wake up and find yourself in a job that you don't like. Maybe it happened gradually as responsibilities morphed or maybe it happened suddenly with the arrival of a new boss, a change in industry regulations or a merger. All you know is that you are not happy and are not sure what to do about it.
One day you wake up and...
The Five Harsh Truths About Micromanagers
Have you ever worked for a boss who checked up on your work progress, seemingly worried that that it wouldn't be good enough and will reflect badly on them? Your boss might have had the underlying belief that if they didn't watch their employees like a hawk, things wouldn't get done correctly.
If you've worked for a boss like that you know how demotivating it can be....
9 Reasons Not to Hire a Career Coach
According to the International Coach Federation, coaching is defined as “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” What’s not to like about that? Well, as it turns out there are several preconceived notions about coaching that prevent some from exploring it as a path to...
