Blog List – Classic

With seven out of every ten workers in America emotionally disconnected from their job, there’s a high likelihood you may not be in the right job for you. But then, what is the “right” job for you? Here are five questions to consider. Since 2000, the Gallup Business Journal has been keeping track of what it calls “employee engagement.” Here are the findings as of the end of 2020: Engaged employees stand at 36%; this means employees work with passion, feel connected to their company, and drive in...Read More

When we read a novel, most of us begin on p. 1. But when we encounter a person, we’re usually starting in the middle of the story. If we don’t pay attention to that, we’re liable to misread everything. In 1935, a Japanese man collecting seaweed came across a bottle that had washed up on the shore. Inside were thin pieces of wood from a coconut tree with a message carved on them. The writer identified himself as Chunosuke Matsuyama. He turned out to be a Japanese sailor who, along with 43 compani...Read More

The cliché of the starving artist is commonplace. But what if you really are a creative person who just can’t make a living at your craft? Here are ten options to consider. Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” Indeed. When you grow up, you have to take care of yourself. That means earning a living. And that’s where artists routinely struggle. I’m not going to get into the whole matter of whether you “really” have what it takes to...Read More

Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the American economy. They’re the only people who know how to create jobs. So if we want to grow our economy, we need more entrepreneurs. Does that mean you should go into business for yourself? Here are five questions to ask. 1. Do I need to be in control? The number-one trait of an entrepreneur is that they need to be in control of the process by which they get results.So if having a high degree of control is part of your giftedness, then running your own bus...Read More

“I’m three years out of law school and I’ve made a terrible mistake. Law is definitely not for me! Can you help me find some other options?” I could make a full-time practice out of people in that boat. People who went to grad school for all the wrong reasons. There is one—and only one—reason to go to grad school. But before I get to it, let me review a few of the wrong reasons to pursue a graduate degree. These are not just my opinions. These are what the people whose graduate degrees turned ou...Read More

Last week we explored five telltale signs your job isn’t for you. Lets go over a few more! 1. Emotional storm clouds There is a direct correlation between job-fit and emotional health. Let me put it another way: there is a direct correlation between job-fit and sanity. I’m completely serious. People who are in poor job-fits invariably display emotional dis-ease. Among the possibilities I’ve personally seen people experience and/or exhibit are: chronic anger, depression, cynicism, boredom, ...Read More

Can’t stand your job? Maybe the problem’s not the job, but the job-fit. Here are ten symptoms to check out. Job-fit By definition, a job that fits you is one that energizes you and brings satisfaction because it calls for strengths you enjoy using and allows you to work in conditions where you thrive. In short, job-fit is about energy. If you gain energy doing your job, it’s a good fit. If you lose energy doing your job, it’s not a good fit. Here are some obvious signs of misfit: 1. You hate you...Read More

Two ways of doing life Which of the following two statements is a goal? (1) Clean out and organize the garage.(2) Develop more patience. How you answer the question says a lot about how you do life. Hard-target goals In my experience, somewhere around 60-65 percent of people will say that (1) is a goal, whereas (2) merely expresses an aspiration. For these people, a “goal” is a hard target to aim for. Anything less than that is just a good intention. Indeed, anyone who has ever attended a worksh...Read More