Diane LeBleu (left) with one of her first clients, Jennifer Hough. Both are breast cancer survivors.
I am pleased to introduce a story of a multi-talented woman who was inspired to make a life and career change after reading Professional Destiny a few months ago. Meet Diane LeBleu—former management consultant, now breast cancer survivor, entrepreneur and mother of four. According to Diane, the message in Professional Destiny helped her articulate a vision, harness her gifts and remember what she loves to do—which she had forgotten while focusing on her growing family. This is her story in her own words…
“I studied Communications and Business Management in college. I also loved to write. I chose Trinity because of their good communications program and I really enjoyed it. At the time, I did an internship at a TV station thinking I might be a reporter. It was fun… I listened to police scanner, and all that. Then one day one of the producers told me that people made more money waiting tables than he did as a producer. That was sobering. I graduated in 1991 and the economy was in the tank. I had college loans – and I thought to myself, ‘what am I going to do here? What are my choices?’ I had financial obligations, so I took a job at Andersen Consulting. I was a business and technology consultant for nine years. It was fine and the pay was great. My husband and I had no kids and were making a lot of money. Then we had our first child. I tried to keep up the corporate consulting thing with a baby and then my husband got sent to Newport Beach and I got sent to Simi Valley. Between us, we had two apartments, a home in San Antonio, a baby, a nanny, two demanding careers and a crazy work schedule. It was completely unsustainable, so I quit. We decided to move to Austin.
My husband started a business and I joined a company, providing sales support. While I was there, we had more children and I was working three days a week. I wasn’t crazy about what I was doing, but it was a job—it was okay.
Our fourth child was born in May and I realized that I couldn’t go back. With four kids, I decided to use this time as a sabbatical to figure out what I really wanted to do. I had been doing the consulting thing and I was good at it and making six figures, but I didn’t love it.
I finally realized, ‘I can’t go back to IT consulting. It will kill me. Money is a great motivator, but I just can’t do it.’ My husband told me, ‘just figure out what you want to do and go do it. I’m tired of living with an unhappy woman!’
The first two years of being home with four kids under eight, and no family in town, was harder than getting up at 4:00am and helping my husband with his business. I didn’t sit down all day. It was physically hard. I was 110 pounds and up all night with the babies. I knew that staying home full-time wasn’t right for me.
I read Marcus Buckingham’s book, Now Discover Your Strengths, which is a great book. It confirmed for me what I thought my strengths were – achiever, harmony, relator, input, connectedness.
I was serious about this sabbatical – I needed to figure out what I wanted to do. I didn’t want just a job, I wanted a career. Someplace to picture myself in 5, 10, 20 years. In between diaper changes, I used the resources at hand. I read Purpose Driven Life, which I loved and I’m a big Stephen Covey fan. I even spoke with a professional coach who charges $150/hour. I was serious! And then I started writing again.
I had to go back to work, but I faced an inner struggle with need to earn some money and my desire to write a book. I had started the Austin chapter of a writer’s group called “The Writing Mamas Salon of Austin” and I was ready to plunge in. I went to Hungary. I was going to write a story about my best friend Holly Wright’s experience as an expatriate living abroad with her family and I went there to do research. As soon as I returned from Hungary with all my research and notes though, I found a lump. It wasn’t completely unexpected since my sister had breast cancer at 33 and my aunt had it in her 40s, but it totally changed my plans. I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer and was scheduled for surgery in January. I spent the time enjoying my family, meeting with the writing group and contributing to a blog called ‘Mama Bird Diaries’ which ultimately landed me a guest post on the NY Times parenting blog, Motherlode.
I went through the chemotherapy when I found your book through another author at Writing Mamas. I read Professional Destiny and realized I was stuck on the vision thing. As the book says, it all starts with a clear vision—if you don’t have one, you can end up wasting a lot of time. The book helped me determine and articulate my vision. I asked myself, ‘what are your strengths, what do you love to do?’ I didn’t know. I’d been serving my family for so long that I’d forgotten. The discipline of figuring out what you like to do is hard and reading Professional Destiny gave me a mechanism to help do that.
I did the three-column checklist and wrote down what I love to do, what I’m good at and what I loathe. I realized that I really like helping people and staying in touch—and I’m good at it. I also noted that I remember everything about people—I even remember my neighbors’ and their kids’ birthdays from 20 years ago! I asked myself, ‘how can I harness these gifts, how do I make money doing this? I’m a relationship person and I want to help people solve their problems.
Then I met a woman who’s a partner at Asset Strategies Group and was putting on seminar for women. She talked about Mass Mutual products and I was really compelled. Mass Mutual is a company that is very advanced in underwriting life insurance for breast cancer survivors. Once you have breast cancer you usually become ineligible to get life insurance— and it can be a major problem. I wanted to help people and I realized that a career like this was perfect for me. All my gifts and experiences lined up: I had been an entrepreneur, I had a gift for building relationships with people, I love solving problems—and I had survived cancer. I did some soul searching and decided that representing this company would provide a career that meant something to me.
I feel uniquely suited to do this well. I can remember all my client’s details and make recommendations to fit their lives. It is satisfying to me and beneficial for them. I understand their challenges. What’s more, I enjoy being my own boss with the added benefit of having meaningful interaction with others. I realize that I’m paying my dues right now and my hope is that in 10 years, I’ll look back and realize that I was able to make a nice living, help cancer survivors like myself, and build long-lasting relationships.
This opportunity lets me combine my experiences and put them to use in a positive way. I like that. In fact, I plan to call my business Pink Lemonade Financial Services. ‘Pink’ for the breast cancer survivor aspect, and ‘Lemonade’ because we’re making lemonade out of lemons.
And I might just write a book about this too!”
January 3, 2010
In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I’d change things up and dig out a light-hearted fairy tale I’d written back in 2006, when Professional Destiny wasn’t even yet a manuscript. Enjoy!
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Henri. Henri grew up in the perfect home with adoring parents who met his each and every need. Everyone he met looked at him with love, then cooed and showered him with attention. He viewed his new surroundings with wonder and awe—life was a curious, grand adventure!
When Henri got a little older, his parents brought him to his first musical performance. He was mesmerized by the singing and dancing, and simply couldn’t get it out of his head. He decided right then and there that he wanted to be involved in theatre—and perform onstage. He asked his mother and father for music and dance lessons, but to his dismay, they looked slightly concerned and tried to steer him in a different direction. In fact, he thought they seemed a little upset. He was puzzled. Luckily, on his tenth birthday, his favorite aunt came along and enrolled him in music and dance classes before anyone could object. He loved every moment and his teacher said that he had a gift. Bursting with pride, Henri eagerly shared some of his new dance moves with members of his fifth grade class—and it was a terrible experience. A few of the boys that he thought were his friends, mimicked him and told him he should play football instead. He felt betrayed and silly, and started to doubt himself since his friends and family all thought it was strange. Maybe the others were right. Henri decided never to speak of it again and quickly put his dream out of his mind.
Many years later, Henri went to college and decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. He studied finance and accounting. He didn’t really like finance but that’s what paid the bills, or so everyone said. Henri had learned from his painful fifth grade experience—and strived to be just like the others. During his senior year, though, fate stepped in. Henri had to fulfill one last “arts” requirement in order to graduate, so he enrolled in a drama class and once again was swept away by the thrill of theatre. He began writing musicals on the side as a way to distract him from the dreariness of finishing his finance major.
Henri graduated with honors and moved to New York. He became an investment banker and sure enough, did make money. A lot of it. He bought an upscale apartment, lived the high life and ate out every night. Henri navigated through life well enough, but couldn’t shake the feeling that something significant was missing. On the outside everything looked great, but on the inside he felt achingly empty. It was like his heart had a hole in it. He even considered anti-depressants.
Then one day, he met a girl on the subway. Her name was Rose. Rose wasn’t the type Henri usually dated but she looked happy and had a sparkle that he hadn’t seen in a very long time. He felt drawn to her—so he asked her to lunch. She told him that she worked at the Children’s Hospital and was in charge of entertaining the children who were treated there. Many of them had serious, life-threatening diseases like leukemia and cancer. Two nights later, Henri went with Rose to a watch play at the hospital. As he looked around and saw the children laugh, he realized that his heart felt full for the first time since he was a child. Before he could stop himself, he volunteered to write a musical for the next show, and she accepted.
Henri didn’t know what had come over him. He was a busy, important man and now he’d committed himself to this time-consuming project. He thought about backing out, but something made him go on and finish.
Several months later, as Henri sat with Rose on opening night, he was a bundle of nerves. The musical began and Henri looked around and saw himself surrounded by hundreds of brave, young children who had momentarily forgotten their illness, and sat mesmerized and laughing. In that instant his heart felt so full that he thought it would burst.
Henri became a changed man. He found himself writing more musicals and plays and he found himself spending more time with Rose. Soon he realized that she was the one for him and within months they married in a small church nearby. They decided to pursue their dreams and with a little trepidation, Henri gave up his job on Wall Street.
Life became a bit more challenging for Henri, and he and Rose had to make some financial sacrifices to get by. His friends and parents were concerned about him. Those same doubts came back, the ones that made him put aside his dream so long ago—only this time, he refused to give in to them.
The more energy Henri put into the musicals, the better they got. Soon they were beginning to be produced off Broadway and critics were taking notice. His shows attracted larger and larger audiences, until one day his favorite musical ended up on Broadway. It was a dream come true! Henri never looked back after that. He became an “overnight” success in New York (of course, we all know it wasn’t overnight!) and he brought laughter and entertainment to thousands of people.
Night after night as the theatres were packed, Henri and Rose reserved front row seats for the children who had inspired this journey. As he sat watching those little faces fill with joy, Henri experienced a sense of satisfaction he had never known before… and with that feeling deep in his heart, he and Rose lived happily ever after.
It’s this sense of joy and contribution that motivates each and every one of us. And for this holiday season, I wish you all this same kind of deep fulfillment that Henri and Rose journeyed to find.
December 22, 2009
A great leader grants greatness. He or she recognizes the natural ability of each person and allows them to practice their gift. Too often, leaders are chosen by their pedigree and/or ability to perform well on their feet. In reality, this only covers a small part of the leadership criteria. The more important part is whether the leader can get his/her entire organization to thrive and can effectively inspire them to do their best. The activity of leadership is not about looking good behind a podium. It’s about fine-tuning an organization so that individuals uniquely master their trade, while fully contributing their gifts to the larger whole. Think of an orchestra—it’s not how the conductor looks on the stand that matters. It’s how the conductor inspires each musician to play his/her individual best to create a harmonious, splendid and orchestrated sound.
I once knew of a leader in an organization who had multiple Ivy League degrees, dressed and looked like the one in charge, was good in front of a crowd, and was certainly smart—but made uninspired and unimaginative business decisions time and time again. He selected an elite few on the executive team who had his ear and couldn’t rally the rest of the team together. Needless to say, it wasn’t too long before capable people shut down and the organization began to fall apart. The chosen model of the future became “efficiency,” which called for massive centralization of all critical functions—even the thinking! In this model, all “thought leaders” would be at the headquarters location (heaven help the organization if a local disaster hit!) and the rest of the offices around the world would execute “the-thinking-that-was-thought-of-elsewhere.” No big ideas required outside of those glass walls! Well that might seem like a way to drive efficiency and lower costs—but what about the concept that a good idea can come from anywhere? And what about inspiring people to be inventive and do their best? What happens to the motivation of a capable leader of another location when he/she finds out that the “good-idea patent” is owned solely by headquarters? You can just feel the inspiration and enthusiasm melt through the floor. The best people don’t need to be managed or thought for—and you want the best people in as many places as you can possibly find them.
True, there is a balance between centralization and anarchy. I would argue that leadership at the most profound level is the kind that empowers greatness, leads by example and then lets capable people shine. It is this type of leader that is hardest to find. One who listens for passion and commitment, takes responsibility if a team is not flourishing and makes a decision that goes against the grain.
The moment you need to manage someone tightly, or limit their ability to think independently, is the moment you’ve either made a hiring mistake or have clamped down on innovation. Hire well, grant greatness to your team—and then watch the orchestration of something truly remarkable unfold.
December 8, 2009
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d celebrate with a different type of blog post. It’s about being grateful. I discovered many years ago that being grateful is a magical force. It’s a gift to the person you’re grateful to and it has the unexpected benefit of being a huge gift to YOU!
If you think about it, it’s impossible to feel lousy and grateful at the same time! If you want to come out of a negative space—if you are feeling drained, or you’ve been in an upsetting situation—you can quickly change your outlook and how the rest of the day unfolds by thinking of all the wonderful things in your life (down to the tiniest detail) and saying thanks. Get serious about it and see for yourself if it isn’t true. Spend the first few minutes of your day giving thanks for the nice things that happened (a sincere smile in the grocery store, an unexpected surprise or a thoughful gesture) and see how your mood and outlook changes. And when they change, you’re ready to take on remarkable things.
As I mention in my book, Professional Destiny, your head is the home of rational thought and logic. Your heart is the home of intuition and your true essence. Both are essential, but in the day-to-day grind, it’s often easier to stay in your head. Gratitude and thanks are a path straight to your heart. They take you out of the mentality of right and wrong, good and bad, and an unsatisfying place of judgment. They put you in a more positive space and magnetize you to the great things in life—the things you want. When you give thanks, you attract more.
So as you prepare to celebrate on this day of Thanksgiving—spend an extra few moments to recognize even the smallest blessings—and see how good you feel.
November 26, 2009
The journey into doing what you love is not all airy-fairy. The beginning can be downright tough. It takes strength, discipline and an unwavering commitment. At times, it even can feel like you’re pushing a massive boulder. In the beginning you need to clearly set your vision and become focused intensely on self-awareness: taking stock of your strengths, your interests, what you are good at and what you are not. You commit to being authentic with yourself, knowing yourself so completely that you become immune to self-deception. Then you get to the hard work…
The following is an excerpt from Professional Destiny…
“Imagine a large boulder sitting right in front of you and you need to move it to get started with your business and on your path.
In the first stage, the formulation stage, you define your vision and become self-aware saying, ‘This is who I am, this is where I am going and this is what I’m about.’ You begin the creation process.
In the second stage, the concentration stage, you need to give a concentrated amount of energy to make it happen. It is a time to prove to the Universe that you are committed and that you mean what you say. It is about discipline. If you say you are going to make ten calls today, you make ten calls. When you don’t feel like it, make the next one. You show confidence—you tell the world ‘watch out, I’m coming, don’t mess with me. I am absolutely the right person to make this happen.’
The concentration stage is no fun. It is when you start pushing the boulder and there is inertia—total resistance—at first. It hasn’t moved for a long time, but you need to push it, drive it and not give up. You may feel like you are fighting the Universe because you put a lot more energy out than you get back. You’re working hard, yet there are not a lot of results. It takes grit, determination, strength of will and persistence. You don’t see much progress in the beginning, but you keep your shoulder to the boulder and keep pushing. You refuse to become a victim and insist ‘I will make this happen. I’ve got the power. I can do it.’ Eventually the boulder will budge and begin to move. Slowly at first. But keep pushing, concentrate on pushing.
In the third stage, the momentum stage, the boulder gradually begins to move a little easier. It generates momentum and begins to take on a life of its own. Things start happening and you begin seeing the fruits of your labor. At this point the boulder moves without much effort. The forward movement is exciting and motivating. You experience the beginnings of success. The secret to continued success, however, is to keep pushing—calling, networking and managing so that the boulder doesn’t slow down and force you to overcome inertia again.”
Moving a boulder takes equal amounts of vision and discipline. Your vision must be strong enough to inspire you when the going gets tough. And you must have discipline to overcome the obstacles on your path. The moral of this story is that when you feel like there’s a massive boulder in your way – the only way to gain momentum is to power through.
November 19, 2009
In earlier posts, I’ve written about the unfortunate problem of homogenization in the workplace when corporations fail to recognize the natural gifts of their employees, or try to round out their “spiky” skills. Now, it’s time to tackle another favorite subject – empowerment (or lack thereof!). As I’ve said before, homogenization is good for milk, but not for people. It’s a killer to creativity and a person’s ability to produce remarkable results. And it doesn’t help the company much either.
“Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant. Strategy equals execution. All the great ideas and visions in the world are worthless if they can’t be implemented rapidly and efficiently. Good leaders delegate and empower others liberally, but they pay attention to details, every day… Good leaders understand something else: an obsessive routine in carrying out the details begets conformity and complacency, which in turn dulls everyone’s mind. That is why even as they pay attention to details, they continually encourage people to challenge the process.” – Colin Powell, excerpt from 18 Principles of Leadership.
Have you ever been hired into a position because of your ability to think strategically, your remarkable leadership skills and/or your repeated prior success in a similar role, only to have the rug pulled out from under you six months down the road? That’s when you hear the dreaded words “this is the way it’s done, your role is to just execute.” Ughhh. If you’re anything like me, this is an instant energy and enthusiasm sapper. I shut down. I lose my desire to go above and beyond. Whatever insight, or creative approach to solving a problem I have, instantly retreats. I become less motivated, and my mind and contribution are dulled. I’ve often joked that if I’m not empowered I quickly eject myself, or get ejected, from a company. There’s no faking it… it just doesn’t work. Perhaps I’m extreme, but I’ve seen it happen all too often in the sea of cubicles around me. Another name for this is marginalization and its definition is “to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position.” I’m sure you’ll agree, this is not what we aspire to be. It’s not very motivating. And unmotivated employees do not produce the best results.
I know many articles have been written on this subject, but in the name of simplicity, I’ll reduce it to two fundamental ideas:
- Empowerment invites people to step up—and keeps them sharp.
- Homogenization or marginalization sucks the creativity and commitment right out of people—and keeps them dull.
An organization of people primed to give their best is an organization that maintains a competitive edge and stands above the rest. Best of all, people want to work there. A great leader will strive to keep people sharp and will focus on three things:
- Let people make their own decisions within their area of responsibility. Be generous unless a specific experience with the person indicates otherwise.
- Give them the ability to affect change.
- Allow people to gain the knowledge, skill sets and training to thrive and grow professionally.
The moment a capable person loses the ability to make a decision related to their area of responsibility and experience, they begin to disengage and their contribution becomes less. Yet, the opportunity to exercise personal discretion and complete meaningful work keeps employees engaged. When employees are engaged, great things can happen. You get the best of their minds and they work harder because they are motivated. Breakthroughs occur. It also makes them more resilient to setbacks.
If you hire a capable person, let them stay capable. Bring out the best in them, don’t shut them down. Remember empowerment increases people’s skills and contribution—homogenization shrinks them.
November 11, 2009
When you’re in the midst of change, or venturing into unknown territory, it can be a fragile time—you’re in transition. I call this the incubational stage and it can take a little time to build yourself up. At this stage, you’re at a crucial, sometimes vulnerable, point and it’s important to surround yourself with people who support your vision. Think of yourself as a little seedling that has just sprouted—you’re full of potential, but still fragile, so you need to protect yourself from being trampled before you’re fully established. The best way to do this is to surround yourself with support and avoid the naysayers!
Naysayers can be people close to you. As I write in Professional Destiny, “There are people who support you and help you to feel empowered, positive and on the right track. When you are with them you feel supported and energized. Then there are people who operate from a negative space, the naysayers, the ones who bring you down. You’ll know them by the feeling you have when you are with them—you feel deflated, like the wind was just taken out of your sails. You feel drained when you are around them. Try to clearly identify the people who have your highest good in mind and surround yourself with them.”
Naysayers can also be business contacts. A friend of mine told me, “I was disheartened when I first moved to Austin. Everyone said Austin was harder to make it as an independent contractor than Dallas. I was more expensive. For almost a year I had to say ‘no, no and no’ to lowball compensations offers. It was almost a year, before I said yes. People didn’t value my service and didn’t want to pay me what I’m worth. An advisor asked me ‘why do you even stay when this happens? Get up and leave. I wouldn’t have the success I have today, if I stuck around with the naysayers.’ So, I chose to love myself and value my work, and leave. Now it has paid off.”
It’s hard enough staying on top of the fear, uncertainty and doubt that takes root in our own minds, so we certainly don’t need anyone else feeding it. When you’re fostering an idea, it’s such an incubational time that it’s critically important to block out the naysayers. If you allow the naysayers in, every time you listen to what they’re saying, you hand your power over and dishonor your gift. And, if you’re going to dishonor your gift, the question is do you really want to do what you love? To do what you love, you have to put your big girl (or big boy) pants on and honor your potential. This also means clearing the negative voices in your head, listening to your heart and marrying the two. In my book, I call this the “Killer Combo.” When you’re listening to your head AND your heart, you’re functioning as a more powerful force – you become so strong you deflect the naysayers and the negativity. Then you’re freed up to accomplish great things. Your heart gives your head the signal and you’re clear enough to do what you really love.
November 3, 2009
The following is an article that I was invited to contribute to More.com about my reinvention from advertising executive into author of Professional Destiny.
Many of us have achieved success but find ourselves yearning for fulfillment. For me, an uncomfortable sense that something was “missing” in my life was a turning point that led me to write a book devoted to the topic of purpose and how it relates to your working life. The following excerpt from Professional Destiny®—Discover the Career You Were Born For, explains how my own personal story of reinvention began…
“I reached a pivotal turning point during my mid-thirties. I remember a distinct moment when I was sitting on the porch at my house in Boulder, Colorado, looking across the street at the stunning Flatiron mountains thinking, “to everyone else I look like I have it all: two beautiful daughters, a good husband, friends, a great career, high income, a wonderful house and excellent health—yet deep down I am completely miserable.”
Something was missing inside.
It was at that time that I began to yearn to move from a life of success to a life of significance.”
This moment on my porch in Boulder began my search for my “professional destiny.” Although I was successful by all outward measures, I couldn’t help but feel that there was something bigger I was meant to do. I had a purpose to fulfill and needed to find it. The search became my mission. It took several years (with a few detours along the way!) for me to transition from a marketing and advertising executive to an author, speaker and coach. But that poignant moment marked the beginning of a wonderful, challenging and fulfilling journey. It was my time of rediscovery and reinvention.
This story was originally published on More.com
I became fascinated by the idea that there’s an “ideal career” for everyone, but only a small percentage of us manage to find it. I came to realize that for many, true fulfillment only comes after some period of disappointment or disenchantment—and I had mine on the porch. I started questioning people to see if I could find any common traits among those who had a real passion for their work and discovered that the most highly motivated and fulfilled were those who were making use of their natural gifts. In effect, they were working in the career they were born for. For these people, work isn’t about money or title. It’s about satisfaction, empowerment, feeling energetic about their work, making an impact, fully exercising a talent and inspiring others.
The journey is not for the faint of heart. It may mean leaving a familiar sense of security and stability. It may mean leaving behind an impressive title or professional identity. Almost always, it means venturing into the unknown. But if your days become routine and you find yourself in a position that saps your spirit, the move to energizing, fulfilling work is well worth it. There is a difference. A job is something we do to earn a living, our “professional destiny” is a mighty undertaking that challenges us, taps into our creative energy and reawakens our spirit. Our passion and creativity are ignited. If we’re not feeling it today, perhaps it’s a call for reinvention!
October 27, 2009
“Intuition teaches us from within. It is our unerring guide. In our heart there is the hint of the next step. You must remain attentive and receptive to all possibilities, even possibilities that don’t seem logical to you at the moment. It may be something simple, such as making a phone call or having the idea to set up an appointment with someone. Intuition is a great tool in your profession and in your life. It will give you a sense of who you can trust, who is ethical, who has your best interests at heart and who you should avoid altogether.” Excerpt from Professional Destiny—Discover the Career You Were Born For
Have you ever gone against your gut and made a hiring decision that sooner or later came back to bite you? Or gotten burned in a business deal because you ignored that little clause in the contract that nagged at you, and signed it anyway? Did you feel that deep down you knew better, but you did it regardless because all the “data” said it was the right thing to do?
Hiring based on resume, MBA and “qualifications” alone is only one part of the equation. That’s the stuff that looks good on paper. But looking good on paper doesn’t cover someone’s work ethic, ability to make the right decision under pressure or think out of the box—sometimes all it means is that they are great at taking tests.
In Professional Destiny, I talk about the difference between “head” and “heart.” Head—is the home of our rational thought and logic. Heart—is the home of our intuition (some also call it our gut). It is the source of our inspiration and guides us to new possibilities that would not be found by logic or planning.
In the workplace, intuition is especially useful for making all-important employee hiring decisions, or for choosing a business partner. For example, during the interviewing process some people are polished interviewers and present themselves well, but then turn out to be much less impressive when they’re on the job. Others are less polished, but you have an inexplicable sense they will be great contributors on a day-to-day basis. Often it all comes down to intuition. It’s an inexplicable sense that you have, but you often can’t pinpoint the reason.
When meeting with a person, if you suspect a possible flaw, note it, and don’t rationalize it away. Ask yourself if it is something you could live with. Keep two lists – one of qualifications (rational) and one of impressions (intuition). As I have practiced this technique over the years, I have found that my impressions almost always prove to be accurate (even more so than the “qualifications”). In fact, when I intuit the weakness (lack of eye contact at important questions, or a trace of defensiveness) it almost always plays out in bigger ways later. The only unpredictable variable seemed to be my judgment of how much, or how little, that “weakness” would impact the person’s performance in that particular role.
We are given the gifts of rationality and intuition, head and heart. Rationality helps us with survival, intuition helps us with breakthroughs that are genuine, unique and fresh. Having too much in the head, is just a cause for headaches! Find the harmony in the combination of head and heart, and you’ll uncover the most powerful mix.
October 19, 2009
Trevor Romain telling his story
At my book signing in Austin last Thursday, Trevor Romain (bestselling children’s author, speaker and TV personality whose story is featured in my book) made a comment during his talk about moving from his career in advertising to becoming an author of children’s books. He said he had “grown tired of trying to sell things to people that they didn’t need” and decided to do something that made a difference.
This spurred a lively discussion afterward with a close friend who asked me, “What if your ‘professional destiny’ is in something like advertising?” What if you’re meant to be the world’s best creative director and you get great joy from that? Are you making a judgment that you need to leave everything behind and go change the world?
It’s a great question. But, the answer could be different for each one of us.
My premise in Professional Destiny is that we all have natural gifts—things we are uniquely good at and love to do—and that we are happiest when these gifts are expressed and shared. There is nothing like the feeling of tapping into our gifts every day and applying them to something that we feel is genuinely making a difference.
This brings me to the subject of “career dissonance.” If you are in a profession, feeling great joy and are in line with your values, that’s awesome—keep going—full steam ahead!! You could be a trash collector feeling that you’re cleaning the earth while supporting your family, a lawyer representing people who genuinely need help or in advertising, promoting something that you believe in—it really doesn’t matter. But, if you are in a profession and you feel dissonance between your gifts, values and what you are being asked to do—then change is needed.
Using advertising as an example: Let’s say you are very health-conscious and only eat natural, organic foods. You work in an agency, loving what you do, until suddenly you are assigned to the new fast-food account that your agency just won (like Wendy’s or Dairy Queen). At this point you encounter career dissonance. You have amazing creative gifts and you love to apply them, but you’re at odds with working on this account. An option for you might be to ask to be assigned somewhere else or, if that’s not possible, change agencies and work on an account that resonates with you. If you apply your magnificent talents to a company who sells products you believe in (like a local, organic market or Whole Foods), you can experience tremendous joy.
Bottom line: if you’re doing what you love and believe in, and getting to practice your gifts every day, then go for it—there is no career dissonance happening in your world!
October 8, 2009
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