This cultural norm of your job being your only identity can be a dangerous proposition. When it ends—and it will—you have no identity. That is why many of us have such a deep longing for purpose. Ask yourself these questions:
• Do you believe somewhere in your soul that you know there’s more to life than your job, role, or career?
• Wouldn’t you agree that your life is about living a life of joy while we’re here on this earth, and leaving a meaningful legacy when we’re gone?
The challenge is discovering that kind of purpose. So, finding a job or deciding to become a solopreneur like myself, in a company culture that matches your style, is absolutely essential to getting the most fulfillment out of your life.
I’ve spent most of my adult life helping people in organizations reach their full potential and achieve higher levels of performance. For all of us, unleashing that potential depends, to a large extent, on how well we know ourselves—our goals, our talents, our values, and our personalities—and can apply that knowledge to maximize our strengths and minimize our limitations. If I’ve learned anything along the way, one thing is clear: Most of us want to be in a career where we experience joy and feel satisfied that we contribute value to something bigger than ourselves.
When you identify your purpose, you can leave fear, frustration, and fatigue behind. The first step in defining your purpose is to dig deep to unearth who you are, what you stand for and what you believe in.
I’m going to share an excerpt from my Courageous Job Seekers & Entrepreneur Success System™ that I usually walk my clients through.
Take a few moments and take as many lines you need to answer each of the following questions:
Step 1: CREATE YOUR VISION
Regardless of your current situation, write out your goals and your vision for your future. Better yet, you can even create a “Vision Board” which details your “image” for your new career … your future life. … What you’re doing, where it may take you, and what it means for you and your family can all be included.
*My vision board is hanging in my office right where I can see it. It includes photos, testimonials and handwritten key phrases and goals! It keeps me on track and motivated!
The Vision for my Future is
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Step 2: YOUR CAREER GOALS
My Career Goal Is
*Tip: You do not need to know HOW you are going to accomplish your goal! If you focus on the HOW you may get stuck. Just focus on what you want to accomplish—the HOW will work itself out.
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
My Driving Motivators Are:
*Tip: A driving motivator is a fixed, “I have to have this, no matter what” type need. Examples include: relocating to another city, making a certain amount of money, or exiting a particular industry. Most people generally have two to three driving motivators.
1) _____________________________________________
2) _____________________________________________
3) _____________________________________________
Step 3: YOUR BRAND
What kind of work are you doing when you are loving the kind of work you do and at your very best? Once you have identified your “brand” you can “market” yourself authentically!
*Tip: Only concentrate on those skills and strengths you want to use in your next role/business.
I am loving my work when I:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
My Brand Identity Is:
*Tip: What do others know and admire me for? What am I doing when I am “loving” my work?
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
My Choice Company & Title:
Describe the kind of company or business you envision yourself in (or who you’re doing business with, if you decide to go into business for yourself), list all the components that are important to you! Is the environment traditional or casual? Academic? Cutting edge? Are you working in a high-rise downtown, working outside of town or telecommuting from your home? Writing these things down is going to help you in a number of ways.
My Choice Company Looks Like:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Step 4: VALUE PROPOSITION
What are the positive results you can promise your next employer or your clients ( if you decide to be an Entrepreneur) , and what problems do you solve? List ten so you can get really clear on your value and make sure you communicate these in your resume or on your website!
*Tip: Your value proposition also includes your career achievements.
Your career achievements explain what happens when you do what you do – so make sure you quantify wherever you can!
The secret to creating incredible career achievements is: to make sure your stories reflect those things you truly love to do the most, and to make sure your stories are quantified.
1.______________________ 6.______________________
2.______________________ 3.______________________
3.______________________ 8.______________________
4.______________________ 9.______________________
5.______________________10._____________________
Step 5: YOUR MARKETING MATERIAL
Of course you are going to need a really well done resume and a value proposition letter ready to go (and a website if you’re going to go into business for yourself)!
*Tip: Determine if you will design your resume/website yourself or if you should have your documents/website professionally designed.
RESILIENCE – WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?
As you set out in pursuit of your dreams, you will inevitably face challenges, trials, and tribulations along the way. However, it’s how you handle these obstacles that will determine the outcome of your journey.
What every successful woman already has in abundance is something called resilience. As Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Do you have to be born with this trait? Absolutely not. Resilience is something anyone can develop through having faith, even if it is as little as a mustard seed (Luke 17:6).
Resilience Exercise #1:
Your assignment for the next 24 hours is to maintain a positive attitude.
First, no matter how crazy it sounds, go to a mirror and yell out loud,
“I am great and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Then, yell out the following phrases, “I can do it!” and “I will get the job of my dreams!” or if you’re considering becoming a ‘solopreneur’ or a ‘mompreneur’ like me, then yell out: “I will start the business of my dreams!” Smile at yourself in the mirror while you are shouting out these affirmations. Second, for the next 24 hours, only try to be around positive people. If someone is negative around you, kindly remove yourself from the room or gently try to change the tone of the conversation to a positive tone. Finally, over the next 24 hours if anyone asks you how you are doing, just tell them “GREAT!” regardless of what’s going on in your life at that time.
If you try this assignment over the next 24 hours, you will feel GREAT and you’ll be ready to proceed with the next steps in finding your purpose-driven journey! I would be excited to know how this exercise turned out for you. So, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn (just Google my name – Leeza Byers – and it’s the first link that will pop up), so that you can share what you experienced with me personally.
SEIZE TODAY: TOMORROW MAY SUCK!
Based on knowledge and experience, you know you can change things by taking re
sponsibility (Be Proactive) , knowing where you are going and why (Begin with the End in Mind) and prioritizing (Put First Things First) . Your next step is to let your drive, passion and enthusiasm propel you forward toward action. Develop a plan based on the previous steps shared in this chapter and then implement it. Plans mean nothing without implementation. Remember, champions become champions by doing.
They maintain a discipline until it becomes a habit. Your daily actions will determine what is next for YOU. I’ll see you at the top in that 3% club!
Favorite Quote that I share with My Courageous Job Seekers™ & Entrepreneurs™:
Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.
~ Oscar Wilde
About Leeza
Leeza Byers is also known as The Career Happy Expert . Her lifelong passion is to help women achieve their maximum potential in life. She enjoys helping ambitious, career-minded women who sense that they were meant for a greater purpose, but are not quite sure on how to uncover and step into their true purpose.
They are serious about having a career they love, that best matches their strengths and interests, and are ready to find their IDEAL career path … their PURPOSE.
She is also a highly-sought-after speaker for top Economic Empowering events, to share her wealth of knowledge on marketing strategies for Executives and Mid-Career professionals in today’s challenging economy. She has shared the stage with notable personalities such as: Michel e Singletary, Paula White, and Bishop TD Jakes.
She has also been featured at “Female Success Factor” events in Atlanta, GA and is the Resident Career Expert for: Women for Hire, Forbes Woman on LinkedIn, and an Atlanta Career Examiner.
Leeza created the Courageous Job Seeker Success SystemTM and the Courageous Entrepreneur Success SystemTM out of a passion to assist ambitious, forward-thinking professionals – Executives and Mid-Career professionals. Her system also has a Christian component and is often the missing piece of a PURPOSE SEEKER’S
puzzle. As Guisela I. mentioned: “Her easy coaching style and passion for helping others was evident from the start of working together.”
Besides exploring their purpose, the women Leeza works with also want to regain that precious balance between work and their personal lives, so that they have a career they love at an income they deserve–and never have to suffer through another
‘Life-Sucking’ day at a job they hate.
• Books: The Confident Woman: Tapping Into Your Inner Power (2013)
• Publications: Gallery of Best Resumes and Cover Letters (2012)
• Nominations: Unstoppable Woman (2015)
• Awards: 3-time recipient of one of the most prestigious Awards in the Career Industry – the TORI (Toast of the Resume Writing Industry) for “Best Technical/IT Resumes,” “Best Sales & Marketing Executive Resumes,” and “Best Cover Letters”. (2011 and 2014)
CHAPTER 17
THE TORTOISE METHOD
—HOW TO RESET YOUR LIFE FOR GREATNESS
BY DESIREE ARAGON NIELSON
INTRODUCTION
Perhaps you’ve heard the fable of the tortoise and the hare. It is the tale of a hare who was so certain of his speed that he takes a nap mid-race.
Meanwhile his challenger, the tortoise, diligently plods along at a much slower pace. Ultimately, the tortoise wins the race simply because the hare didn’t wake up in enough time to cross the finish the line. Over the years, we’ve been told that it is noble and right to be the tortoise, to move steadily forward rather than be fast and careless. Yet, with advancements in technology and increased access to information, it feels like we’re moving faster than ever. What lessons does this familiar fable have for us in this day and age?
It certainly seems like we are all running as fast as the hare. One client, an inspirational entrepreneur, expressed his frustration at having to travel for work and then come home and travel for his children’s competitive sports teams. Weekends are filled with soccer and swim tournaments, wins and losses. Week days are filled with business decisions, sports practices and homework. Customers tell him what services to deliver, sports coaches tell him he has to meet volunteer requirements, and the school teachers want him to lead the children through the Math worksheets and English projects. He is running at full speed, yet there is still not enough of him to go around.
Then we have the personal fulfillment dilemma. We are faced with more research than ever before, telling us on how to live our best lives. We can read this book, learn about the value of body movement, healthy food intake, and emotional well-being. Yet, instead of feeling better, these easily accessible data points can actually make us feel worse. Another client, an energy artist, shared that she knows that she should be doing more for self-care, but feels as though there simply “isn’t time” to work on her basic physical and emotional needs. She feels like if she stops long enough to take care of her basic needs then she will be letting somebody down. She is so busy tending to everyone else she is unable to actually do what’s best for her overall well-being.
In Western culture, we seem to have become addicted to doing more and doing it faster and better than the rest. Addicted to being like the overly confident hare, our desire to get more done has caused many of us to lose sight of the deeper meaning in our actions and ultimately in our lives. Too many of us are habitually behaving as if there is a finish line, a destination to arrive at where we can be complete, done, finished.
We’re so attached to getting over the finish line that we forget that there really is no beginning or end. In our fable, the hare doesn’t make it to the finish line and becomes the loser. But is it possible that maybe he really won something incredible? A fresh perspective? A humbling start of something new?
Maybe you are feeling a bit underwhelmed with your life? Or maybe you’ve achieved all of your set goals up to this point, but you’re wondering if there is something more? This is where the tortoise can be our guide.
In the fable, we celebrate the tortoise for winning the race through her diligence. Maybe, we’ve missed the vital factors that actually contributed to the success. What if the tortoise actually won long before she got to the finish line? What if the tortoise’s real success came from just accepting the challenge set forth by the hare? We all know that traditionally, a hare is faster than a tortoise. It would have been so easy for the tortoise to simply walk away from the race altogether. But, the tortoise actually looked at the hare’s challenge and saw an opportunity. Something new to try.
When it comes to personal growth, we’re never really done. There is no final destination. Instead, we experience times of resetting. When the tortoise accepted the challenge, she reset herself from a common tortoise to a racing tortoise. . . . same inner self, new outward expression.
And amazingly, in becoming a racer, our tortoise did not try to race like a hare. Instead, the tortoise brought all of her own unique skills and abilities to the race. She was diligent, thoughtful, and persistent in getting to the finish line, already knowing that this was just the start of her journey, not the end.
When we hold the belief that there is only one answer, one way to be, or one destination – we miss out. Thinking we need a quick fix (like traveling less, or magically getting more time) is just a way of avoiding our intrinsic truth. In reality, no matter how much success we achieve we may never feel fully satisfied. Like the tortoise and the hare, humans are meant to grow. We are designed to stretch beyond our comfort zones and introduce ourselves to new challenges. Despite the outward appearance, the clients introduced earlier were not frustrated by their circumstances, they were frustrated with their lack of growth. They were stuck in the status quo. The discomfort had become enough for them to seek out support and encouragement, but not so uncomfortable that they could immediately see where an outdated pattern was holding them back.
Isn’t this also what happened to the hare? He became so used to his capabilities, he just kept racing the same race and forgot the feeling of truly being c
hallenged. In the absence of a real challenge, he began to look at his situation with frustration and contempt. H-m-m-m.
The hare, like so many of us, looked externally for a challenger. We want others to show us what’s next. We buy into cultural norms, bigger houses, fancier cars, more possessions and lose sight of ourselves.
Small moments of happiness begin to get replaced with obligations and responsibilities – mortgages, car payments, childcare, and clutter. They all require more and more time, attention and money. While these things may appease us momentarily, the feeling is fleeting.
Whatever success you have achieved up to this point, there is always room for growth. The opportunity for the most driven of us is to heed the call and step into the possibilities of greatness. It can be a little confusing to work so hard, to become competent and prove ourselves in one segment of our lives only to turn that upside down and start again. Imagine our tortoise telling her family of her plans to race the hare, “You’re out of your mind!” they might say. Or, “Why would a tortoise want to race a hare?” The tortoise knew why. Having looked inside herself, the tortoise felt compelled to go beyond what had always been the norm – to go for something new.
Having earned a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Organizational Development, I spent over a decade coaching and consulting leaders to achieve peak performance. I held a Director-level position within a healthcare system and worked with the organization’s Executives to grow and prepare the next generation of senior leadership. It was great, I was applying everything I’d learned up to that point, engaging in thoughtful dialogue, facilitating some of the best training content available, and watching leaders grow. One day, I began to notice that the work which I had previously loved, began to feel routine and unfulfilling. I had become the hare. My leaders were making great strides, but my sense of connection to the corporate process was fading.
Ready, Set, Go! (Special Edition) Page 15
