Tag Archives: goals

Don’t Let Fear Camouflage Your Passion

Trusting God in Your Job Search
Last year, I read Pete Wilson’s book What Keeps You Up at Night. What an amazing encouragement to identify and forge ahead with your passions and trust God to guide you through making each next right decision. This excerpt from the book I felt is so refreshing and relevant to career transition that, with his permission, I wanted to share it:

I am convinced that fear defeats more dreams than all other causes combined. Many of us find fear standing between us and the pursuit of our passion. On the other hand, many of us surrender to fear and resign ourselves into a life that is so much less than it could be.

But what if we could learn to lean into the fear, into the transition? What if we could take the first step toward pursuit of the dream, and then the next, and the one after that?

Certainly, doing that requires going forward in the face of uncertainty. None of us ever gets 100 percent clarity about the finish line while we’re standing at the starting gate. Only by moving forward are we able to begin to see what might be next.

Without a doubt, leaning into transition requires much of us. It will mean encountering stress, uncertainty, cost, discomfort, and a certain amount of temporary chaos. It will require us to learn new skills and acquire new relationships. None of these processes is without risk.

Leaning into transition may even require a certain amount of “fake it until you make it.” You may need to learn some improvisation skills. After all, you are taking steps into the unknown—the untried. You may have to wing it for a while.

Remember the story of Jesus walking on the water? Just before this takes place, He had performed a great miracle, feeding 5,000 people with only a little boy’s five loaves of bread and two fish as His starting point. After that, He sent His disciples in a boat across the Sea of Galilee while He went away from everyone to spend most of the night in prayer.

Just before dawn the next morning, He went out to the boat, walking across the water. The disciples weren’t making much headway in their craft because there was a strong headwind. As they saw Jesus approaching, they were frightened at first.

Peter—possibly the owner of the boat since he was a fisherman by trade—called out, “Lord, if it is really You, let me walk on the water to You.” Jesus told him to come ahead, and Peter started climbing out of the boat.

Why would Peter, this experienced fisherman, do something like this—something that makes absolutely no sense, based on a lifetime of experience? I think it is because of the desire burning in Peter’s heart: to be near Jesus. At that moment, the thing he wanted most in all the world was to stand next to his teacher, atop the waves.

So, he clambers out of the boat and takes off, headed toward Jesus, but then something happens: fear gets in the way. The Bible says Peter “saw the wind” and was afraid—and he began to sink. Peter realized he was completely off-script. He was in a situation that no previous experience of his life had prepared him for. He was on uncharted ground—oops, I mean uncharted water. And he became afraid.

Fortunately for Peter, he was in the vicinity of the only Person in the world ever known to have walked on water. Jesus grabbed Peter’s hand and helped him back into the boat.

We can talk about Peter’s lapse in faith, of course. We can discuss how his fear got in the way of the pursuit of his goal, but we have to give him credit for getting out of the boat, don’t we? And from this story, we can also learn that leaning into transition in the pursuit of a dream will often put us in situations we never expected. In fact, the unexpected seems to be a basic element of taking those first steps.

So, the first fear we often have to face is our fear of the unexpected. And it’s in the midst of that fear that we have to find the courage to accept every experience—including the negative ones—as merely steps on the path. Then we have to proceed.

You may face a long and complicated time of uncertainty before you see your passion bear fruit, and you may spend a lot of time wandering in your own “desert” of obstacles, opposition, and unexpected difficulties. But if you commit to the long haul and lean in to the transition—trusting God to equip you for whatever you need to do—you will one day see your purposes fulfilled and your fears conquered. It may not take the shape you imagined for it in the beginning, but it will be perfect, as with all things God designs.

–Pete Wilson

Pete Wilson, the founder and former senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee, a frequent speaker at national and international church conferences, and an avid blogger, and author of Plan B, Empty Promises, and Let Hope In. Pete’s fourth book, What Keeps You Up At Night?, will challenge you to take steps of trust along the path toward God’s best for your life and enable you to withstand doubt, opposition, and worry.

Don’t miss a thing. Subscribe to receive updates by email.
Looking for a new job? Want to get the one you want faster? Check out my new book, Here Today, Hired Tomorrow.

GUEST BLOG: What’s On Your Bucket List? (Why You Should Make a Bucket List Instead of New Year’s Resolutions)

bucket list, goals, achievement, travel, me time, resolutions, new year’s, ambition, planning
© 2008 Warner Brothers

As Christmas 2014 closes and the New Year approaches, where did the year fall short?  Maybe this was a great year, and you would rather stay in the moment; but for others, turning the calendar can’t happen fast enough.

At the beginning of each New Year, people automatically turn to goal setting and thinking about where they “fell off the wagon” again on losing weight, getting organized, saving money and exercising more—all in the Top Ten Resolutions each year according to USA.gov. Maybe you got the promotion you wanted, and you lost the 45 pounds you needed to take off.  Now you are wondering how you repeat it again next year.

If you are like my friend Dave, you can’t wait to start a new year.  Dave had major surgery and was in a car wreck, causing him to miss more than a month of work and setting him back thousands in medical bills—plus having to buy a new car.  2015 can’t get here fast enough for him, but how do you reset and start to think about the upcoming year?

I totally changed my mind a few years ago after watching the movie The Bucket List.   The main plot follows two terminally ill men on a road trip with a wish list of things they want to do before they kick the bucket. I was thinking about my New Year’s Resolutions and why it takes a death sentence to get us thinking about travelling to exotic places, courage to go sky-diving, and spending quality time with loved ones.  I decided to forego New Year’s Resolutions and make my own personal bucket list each year.

Before you start thinking I’m morbid, I put together a few parameters for developing my list each year.  I promise it’s tons more fun and insightful than a New Year’s Resolution list.

  1. Target items that are relational:  I try to target 1-3 groups of people or individuals who are especially important to me but due to distance or busyness, we don’t get to spend the quality time we’d like.  For instance, my friend Sarah moved out-of-state ten years ago.  She is a special person to me and my entire family, so I wanted to carve out some time for just the two of us to spend time together as well as with our families.  We planned a long weekend together in Florida, courtesy of her frequent flyer points and going during the off-season to save money. It allowed us to have hours of conversation catching up instead of just text or emails.  We had our families spend time together at her house one weekend too. Once, I planned a “Cousins’ Reunion Weekend,” realizing that we had not seen each other since our parents had all passed away.  It was such a great time that we decided to make it an annual tradition.  So you see, you just need to be intentional about the relationships you want to give attention to.
  2. Make your list no longer than five items: This requires you to put real thought behind everything on your list.  Make a couple of them more achievable so you can check them off or give yourself a pat on the back.  A few need to be a stretch goal, where there is time allocation, logistics, or financial challenges involved with achieving the goal.  Just the anticipation of planning and preparing for something adds excitement.
  3. Include things that involve personal growth: Ask yourself is there is something you have always wanted to do or destinations you’ve wanted to see?  Maybe you have always wanted to play the piano or visit the homeland of your immigrant grandparents.  Schedule the lessons, or plan the travel.  You will feel twice the satisfaction because you are doing something for yourself—something most of us neglect.
  4. Put your bucket list items on your calendar early: Go ahead and schedule a date for each bucket list item.  You are half way to accomplishing something if you get it on your calendar, even if you still have to finalize details.  If your bucket list item involves scheduling time with others, this step is even more important because schedules tend to fill up as the year progresses.

Don’t wait till January to start thinking.  Put your bucket list together, and get moving.  It will be more fun and meaningful than New Year’s resolutions. I would love to hear some of the bucket list items you put on your list for 2015.

Ruth Smith
authorruthsmith@gmail.com
authorruthsmith.com

 

Don’t miss a thing. Subscribe to receive updates by email.

MUCHO MONDAYS – Gold In The Desert: An 18-Point Sample Action Plan

action plan, planning, plan, action, forethought, priorities, job search, preparation, mucho Mondays, action items, goals
Photo by Mark85306 at flickr.com

The most important thing for any job seeker at this point is to craft an Action Plan. I’ve carefully crafted and sequenced the sample below, but you can modify it as you see fit. Replace the example info in the Plan section with your own; then begin to accomplish the Action Items as a part of your daily activities.

ACTION PLAN

Planning:

  • Goals: Secure a full time marketing management, creative services, or project management job in the greater Denver area with a stable industry, working with internal customers—not the public at a for-profit company not in healthcare or music business with <15% travel., $45k+/yr. + benefits, within to 5 miles from my home by [date.]
  • Relocate: no
  • Job Titles: Project Manager, Marketing Manager, Creative Services Manager
  • Direction: Seeking the ideal job (for the first 5 months) until [date]; then after [date], seek B or C jobs at ($35k+/yr. offers.) Get up daily at 8:00am. Job search/network: 9:30am-3:00pm. Read 3:00-3:30pm, & gym 3:30-4:30pm M-Thur.)
  • Focus: Doing the action items below to achieve your Goals. Take a few minutes out of your day to find positivity, and you will find yourself having less stress and an open mind towards your job hunt. Think of this job transition as an adventure & about all those that are supporting me. Be thankful as opportunities arise and things go well.
  • 4-5 Strengths/Unique Selling Points on Me:
  • B & C Level Job Options:

Action Items:

1) Watch or read The Secret. Consider doing a career assessment.
2) Set up regular reminders in your calendar such as:
Daily – Reading
Weekly – Certify for unemployment pay.
Weekly – Apply for 3 jobs (or whatever the minimum is for your state). See WEEKLY REMINDER* example below.
Weekly – Post something helpful to your LinkedIn wall—for example, events, articles, or job openings.
Monthly – Decide which networking mixers to attend during the next month.
Every other month on a Friday – Post reminder about job search on your Facebook and LinkedIn walls. If you’re a Twitter user, tweet this as well. Samples:
a. “Hope everyone is having a good week. Just an update on my job transition. I’m still seeking a full time marketing or graphic design job in the greater Denver area in case you hear of any openings. Thank you.”
b. (Alternate): “Happy Friday! The job hunt is going well–I’m finding and have applied for some good positions and am networking like crazy. Just a reminder, I’m still seeking introductions to recruiters and opportunities in marketing or graphic design in the greater Denver area. Any referrals would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!”
One Off Dates – Log the dates you need to reevaluate and possibly move to your next alternate choice for positions from your Action Plan above into your Calendar.

*WEEKLY REMINDER:
Every MONDAY:
– Login & manually run a fresh search at www.creativegroup.com to see what jobs they have.
– Check Craiglist (http://nashville.craigslist.org/search/mar?query=+ AND http://nashville.craigslist.org/search/jjj?is_parttime=part-time) AND Monster.com for job postings.
– 2nd & 4th MONDAYS, see AAF (American Advertising Federation) board – www.aafnashville.com/jobs AND these 3: http://part-time.jobs.net | nashvillechamber.com | https://beta.governmentjobs.com
– 1st & 3rd MONDAYS, manually check Career Transition Group’s LinkedIn Group – http://www.linkedin.com/groups?jobs=&gid=881437&trk=anet_ug_jobs AND Vanderbilt’s site – https://vanderbilt.taleo.net/careersection/.vu_cs/mysearches.ftl
– Daily, as usual, see emails from those where alerts are set up to email me: LI (LinkedIn) groups, Indeed, professional associations, beyond.com.

Other job postings:
– www.simplyhired.com
– http://www.jobalot.com
– Surf my target co’s web sites.

READ:
MarketingNews magazine
underconsideration.com/brandnew
sethgodin.typepad.com
prdaily.com

3) Take an online free webinar such as http://premium.linkedin.com/jobsearch/webcasts.html to familiarize yourself with how LinkedIn currently works.
4) Establish a relationship with a Career Coach at your local Department of Labor or a recommended life coach.
5) Update: Elevator Speech, Exit Statement, Resume’, html Resume’, LinkedIn Profile & status, interviewing SARs (Situation/Action/Result), Strengths/Questions/Tell Me About Yourself sheet, References page
6) Set up folders on your computer. Create (or update), and assemble all templates, scripts, etc.
7) Print some resume’s (run 10 copies to keep on hand and use as needed) and business cards (start with 150).
8) Change your “LinkedIn Headline,” and check your LI Preferences.
9) Make your Target Company List.
11) Get recommendations; then request meetings to get set up with 2-3 headhunters (independent recruiters.)
12) Create, then start using 2 Excel documents (Job Search Log and Networking List) and your scripts/templates to start networking and tracking daily action items.
13) Set up, reactivate (or turn off filters that automatically trash) regular job posting alerts from indeed.com, and a few top sites like beyond.com or glassdoor.com/Job/jobs.htm.
If your city has a career transition group (for example: http://tinyurl.com/nashcareer) with regular job postings email blasts–be it through their LinkedIn group, yahoo groups, or just email messages–sign up for those.
14) Update your online resume’ at indeed.com, careerbuilder.com, your outplacement service’s site (for example RightEverywhere.com) if you have one, and while you’re there, update your profile. Post your resume’ at any association sites.
15) Regularly check job postings at professional organizations’ sites. Or even better, set up a job filter at those sites so you get an alert by email.
16) Invite some of your closest colleagues to lunch. Start the Targeted Networking process (which we’ll discuss in a later post). Use Facebook or email to individually (as much as possible) alert your friends of your job search. Google around, and compile a list of regular networking events.
17) Stay abreast of news in your industry.
18) Volunteer:
a. With an association in your field.
b. Occasionally with events that have to do with your field (ex.: Podcamp, Barcamp).
c. If you have time, volunteer a couple of times a month or so with a local organization of your choice. See volunteermatch.org.

Just a reminder, if you have family, friends, or colleagues that are on the job hunt, please share this blog with them. Don’t miss the next topic in this series.