Brenda's Blog

This is a re-tweet from Twitter:

A conductor makes no sound, but awakens possibilities in the musicians to create beautiful sound...maybe teachers should act like conductors. ~ @eduinnovation

On Twitter? Follow me at:http://twitter.com/brenblackburn

On today's (June 28/10) Career Success Radio show, the theme and ensuing question posed was, "What is my favourite strategy to help people find or follow their passion and purpose?" I'll share here and expand on what I talked about briefly on the show (along with the many guests of the "Global Round Table"). (The recorded show is available at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/careercommunique).

Keith asked me to reiterate a bit about me and my professional experience in this field:
My background has been facilitating Personal Development and Career Development workshops with government funded employment centres in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley areas of South West B.C., Canada for the last 15 years. (The last few years have been as a freelancer/contractor, which has been amazing!) These centres provide employment services/programs for people who are unemployed or underemployed (meaning working 20 hours per week or less). In addition, I do private and corporate facilitation, which I started prior to being in the career field.

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To paraphrase Ryan Ray, (wonderful guest speaker on the show), he mentioned that sometimes unemployment can lead to amazing opportunities, which I completely agree with. So often in our work-life it's like we've been running on a treadmill, with little time to stop, get off, re-examine and evaluate where we're at and if it's still where we want to be. While transition and unemployment can initially feel frustrating and challenging, it can also be a time of great self-renewal and opportunity.

The question: "What is your favourite strategy to help people find or follow their passion and purpose?"

The answers:

For people wanting to follow their purpose there are a few strategies:

1) Reframe negative thinking. What are the negative thoughts holding you back? Are you practicing positive affirmations or negative self-talk and sabotage?

In addition, sometimes our dreams and passions may not always seem rational to us. Our analytical mind comes up with "what-ifs" and tries to rationalize ourselves out of doing the very thing we'd love to do. Being still enough to listen to your intuition and exercise some "right-brained", creative thinking can be extremely beneficial.

Sometimes you might be thinking, well, my idea is simply not realistic so I may as well forget it. However, we have to look at the difference between being realistic vs. being practical. To give you an idea of what I mean, here's a quote I love from Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the bestseller, "What Color is Your Parachute":
"One of the saddest lines is 'Oh come now--be realistic.' The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride."

2) Uncover any negative emotions (i.e. FEAR, doubt, worry, embarrassment of what others will think, etc.) and face them square in the face and then let them go. When you have negative thinking and/or negative emotions, what actions do you think that will lead to? You got it....probably negative in some form or fashion! Negativity begets negativity, so how can you turn it around? It's amazing how easy it is to get on a negative bandwagon, and how challenging it can be to stay positive while exploring a move to follow your passion. So that's my challenge to you! Reframe negative emotions with more positive ones. If you're not there yet, a great start is to feel hope...that will lead the way. And this isn't something you practice/do for a little bit and then give up or think, "Why bother?" You have to be persistent! I think fear and doubt can be complete dream killers. Do you want your dream dead? Or alive? It's up to you. It's your choice.

3) Take positive, intuitive, and creative action.

What can you do to bring you closer to creating and living your dream RIGHT NOW? (Whether your positive action is emotional, mental, physical, or spiritual. Any of them is good! Go with what you feel. Let your intuition and your creative illuminations be your guide.)

What small steps can you take to put you on the right path, facing the right direction....RIGHT NOW? Reading this blog posting this far is a step. Following your intuition is a step. The people, places, emails, internet pages, media, mail...everything, that you are drawn is for a reason. Pay attention to everything you are paying attention to! If it feels right and good, and is reaping great results, keep doing what you're doing. If something feels wrong, take a positive shift. Find a support network, even a buddy or two, to talk with as you are transitioning. Connect with people who are unconditionally supportive and who cheer you along your journey of life-changing, evolved, and positive steps.

For people wanting to find their purpose:

I would suggest all of the above! :)

Then, after having had a good workout of your right brain, I would suggest next exercising your left more, by taking stock of who you are and what you love to do, at this very moment in time. These assessments can be of your personality, values, needs, wants, purpose, passion, meaning, and skills (those that you do well and those you would love to use, or would enjoy if you could.)

To help in this process, many assessments can be found for free on the Internet, as well as in the library or local employment centres. (Please note, this is written from a North American perspective.) For one-to-one paid support there are a lot of great, qualified career coaches around the globe, who provide service by phone, virtually, or in-person. (Due diligence task: always check credentials.)

From there, you can do research on the various occupations of interest through research of the industry, related companies, media coverage, job descriptions, visits, etc. Utilize social media, as soon as possible, to share professionally relevant information with others and build relationships with potentially partnering individuals, hiring companies and interesting, inspiring people in general! Network, network, network. Tweet, email, phone. Get out there and talk to real live people. Conduct information interviews. Go to relevant conferences. Learn about about your dreams and passions from other people who are living them. Ask if they would mind sharing with you how they began their journey. The results can be inspiring and fascinating!

Learn about your local labour market and what the current demands and supply are. Where are any gaps in supply (service or product)? In what areas does the demand/need meet your passions? How can you fill gaps and needs with your passions and pursuits?

Create the new story of your life. Create it while you're living it. Live your passion!
Brenda

Join me and special guest, Keith Keller (coming all the way from Australia for these events!), as we present Social Media Savvy on Sat., Sept. 18th/10. Keith is a Social Media Job Search Specialist, Career Change Coach, Founder of Career Journeys Australia, and Co-Host of the widely acclaimed Career Success Radio.

The morning is for Career Development Practitioners. As Career Development Practitioners it's our job to stay on top of trends in our field and stay ahead of our clients' needs regarding up-to-date strategies. Now, more than ever, the use of social media is quickly becoming the norm for career exploration and job search, as well as for career maintenance, advancement, and business growth in many fields. Whether skeptical or not, we must move forward with technology and demand, by role modeling and sharing knowledge to aid in client self-sufficiency and career success. (All materials...facilitation guide, slides, etc. are provided on a USB...all included in the price!) For more information and registration: http://www.brendablackburn.com/events/smss/index.php

The afternoon is open to the general public. Whether you're looking for a new career, a new job, or new business ventures, you'll want to use up-to-date strategies. Now, more than ever, the use of social media is quickly becoming the norm for career exploration and job search, as well as for career maintenance, advancement, and business growth in many fields. A great deal at only $47 (Early Bird rate!) For more information and registration, see: http://www.brendablackburn.com/events/smss/job-seekers.php

(Limited seating.)

Hope to see you there! :)

“The future belongs to a different kind of person.

Designers, inventors, teachers, storytellers—creative and empathetic right-brain thinkers
whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn’t.”

Daniel Pink, Author of "Whole New Mind"

Today I was watching an interesting TED Talk with Simon Sinek on The Power of Why and how this relates to marketing, branding, and so on. This can be easily applied to our career growth, networking, etc.

Here's how he explained it:
* He drew a few circles on a flipchart: the outer circle being WHAT, the circle inside that being HOW, and the very inner circle being WHY. This diagram is called the Golden Circle.
* He mentioned that most people/companies operate from the outside in. (They talk about WHAT they do/make, HOW they do it, and lastly WHY they do it.)
* He explains how the best innovators instead do it in the reverse and work from the inside out.

(You can check it on the video at: http://www.startwithwhy.com/)

Here's how it works:
* first the WHY: why you do what you do which includes: your purpose, cause or belief; driving motivation for action
* then the HOW: how you're different, how you do it (how you deliver your "why"): strategies, principles, actions you take or environment in which you work best
* and lastly the WHAT: what you offer and/or do

You need to promote to and attract people who believe what we believe. People buy what you believe.

Interestingly enough, I was a call-in guest today on Career Success Radio, and a live example of the Golden Circle was used. Co-host Keith Keller FIRST asked author Karen Adamedes about what the inspiration was behind her book. In other words, what he first cared to know about was the WHY. A great real life example of how valuable this marketing perspective can be.

I thought about it and decided to give it a try with my own business...

* WHY I do what I do: I believe that people enjoy personal and professional growth and development if the process is one of self-discovery or re-discovery. I believe that we learn best when our minds are illuminated, when we feel inspired, when the learning is interactive and we can immediately integrate our learning into real life application for positive results.

* HOW: By facilitating a fun, dynamic, and experiential process. By delivering a level of service that is transparent and authentic, enthusiastic and engaging, personable and professional.

* WHAT: Powerful Personal Enrichment Workshops on a variety of topics: http://www.brendablackburn.com/training/race-training-topics.pdf

I think this is a great little exercise that you can use to aid in your own career. For example, whether you are exploring new careers, job searching, wanting career advancement, or strategizing for your business, you can use this WHY, HOW, WHAT model for your branding, marketing, promotion, and networking.

Please feel free to comment by sharing your examples of your WHY, HOW, WHAT!

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