How a Side Hustle Can Supercharge Your Skill Set and Effectively Future Proof Your WorkLife

I wanted to learn how to enable people to learn and grow through self-development. That was my growth and development plan.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Steve Jobs. Those were Saoirse’s opening words at her university’s annual alumni day. But let’s hear Saoirse’s full address to understand her story:

A How a Side Hustle Can Supercharge Your Skill Set and Future Proof Your WorkLife Case Study:

Saoirse’s Alumni Address:

Sage Wisdom

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Steve Jobs.

In my earlier talk I shared how a side hustle saved my WorkLife and my well-being, and how I instinctively knew that sharing my experience would help other people.

I took the following approach to understand how I could do this:

• I evaluated what I enjoyed about both my work and side hustle;
• I considered learning I wanted to undertake — areas of my WorkLife in which I wanted to grow and develop;
• I thought about how I could combine skills from both to create something that was truly my own.

I’d begun my WorkLife as a freelance copy writer. When I had more work than I could handle, I outsourced it to fellow copy writers. This was reciprocated. This led me to founding a start-up business: a cooperative for freelance copy writers.

I enjoyed writing, I enjoyed bringing people together, I enjoyed working solo on smaller projects and I enjoyed collaborating on bigger projects.

I enjoyed the immediate and continuous sense of well-being and serenity I’d experienced by tidying my home. A weekend project which I soon became to think of as a side hustle because I felt it had greater scope. I enjoyed the enlightenment, inspiration and creativity that came to me through clarity in my thinking and from having a focused mind.

I wanted to learn how to enable people to learn and grow through self-development. That was my growth and development plan.

I asked myself: “How can I make a difference in people’s lives?” “What action will get me closer to the reality that I have just envisioned?”

The answer that came to me through reflection and self-feedback was that I could develop a mentoring programme for people who wanted to declutter their WorkLife.

I focused on people who had founded start-ups. After all, I knew their pain, so I knew there was value in teaching what I had learnt to other people, and I wanted to do something that made a difference for others. That was my marketing plan: to Market to a specific group based on a shared identity.

Book Wisdom

I re-read Give and Take by Adam Grant, the book that helped me when I was figuring out how to shift from freelancing to establishing a business that aligned with my values. The book enabled me to articulate what honouring my core values meant in this WorkLife transition. I wanted:

• To build a successful company from the collective energy, intelligence and contributions from all team members;
• To practice a win-win practice with our team and our clients, by treating everyone with respect, fairness and integrity, and expecting the same in return;
• To serve and support our community by developing relationships that make a positive difference in people’s lives by enabling continuous learning, development and growth.

For me this book holds the key to a more satisfying and productive WorkLife, better relationships and fairer profits. It’s helped me to play my part in creating a society in which people do better by being better. It provides an inspiring perspective on how to do better by being better.

I began by utilising my experience to teach what being a self-organiser is really like. I created a virtual declutter mentoring programme for people who wanted to take a DIY approach to organising their WorkLives — instructional videos and work sheets. I made my course accessible by charging only £19. I thought this was a good price point for adding value to the course while also making it available to more people.

Next, I developed a 4-week organisation mentorship programme: for people who wanted to establish a business in professional WorkLife decluttering. I put together short-term training packages, to educate people on how to handle their business from the initial start-up through to the developing stages of growth. I followed my principles of wanting to make the course valuable and accessible by charging only £79.

Finally, I contracted with a team to support high-end clients; people looking for onsite WorkLife professional organising. The cost for a 4-hour session is £299, which I outsource to my team. I take 20% commission from each job.

Words of Wisdom

In managing your own WorkLife learning, growth and development, ask yourself: “What do I want? and “What will make me more fulfilled?” Reflect on what comes up for you, then identity how you can make that happen, and from there develop your plan. Pay attention to what you discover along the way: I discovered I enjoyed empowering others rather than being on-site doing the physical work myself. This allowed me to adjust and adapt my plan.

Epilogue

You can view my earlier talk How a Side Hustle Saved My WorkLife and Well-Being on the university’s intranet to help you understand what led me to these simple steps of evaluating what I enjoyed about both my work and side hustle; considering the learning I wanted to undertake; the areas of my WorkLife in which I wanted to grow and develop; and thinking about how I could combine skills from both to create something that was truly my own. This had a significant and positive impact supercharging my skill set.

Each and every one of you can do the same. By taking responsibility for your own learning, growth and development, you can design your WorkLIfe transitions around investing in a diverse set of skills, and in so doing you can effectively future-proof your WorkLife. Thank you.

In a recent post I shared Saoirse’s story of How a Side Hustle Saved My WorkLife and Well Being.

Today’s featured book is: Give and Take by Adam Grant

How a Side Hustle Can Supercharge Your Skill Set and Effectively Future Proof Your WorkLife … is part of a series of people’s stories of how a side hustle allowed them to: utilise their skills beyond the scope of their industry; create opportunities outside of their main work; use the skills they already had to take the initiative to get things done; build confidence in a new skills set; create an additional income stream; make connections; practice authenticity; develop independence; spread risk, and much, much more.

WorkLife Book Wisdom Stories:

The intention of the stories I share is to inspire you through people’s stories of their WorkLife experiences. Through these stories, you will learn about people’s dreams and ambitions, along with the challenges, obstacles, failures and successes they encountered along the road of their WorkLife journey. And how they used the power of book wisdom to help them find the inspiration and guidance to navigate their path to live their WorkLife with passion, purpose and pride.

My hope is that these book wisdom stories will help you throughout the chapters of your WorkLife Story.

I believe stories are a powerful mechanism for teaching, a powerful medium to learn through, and a powerful way to communicate who you are and what you stand for.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

How To Use Your Voice To Express and Protect Your Identity

Your Voice Comes From Who You Are and Who You Are Not. It Grows Out of Your Identity, Out Your Own Unique Brand.

Image supplied by author

Carlos’s Story — Speaking Up Why? A Simple yet Profound Question

Carlos works in the hotel and leisure industry. He is quite an easy-going person, gets on well with people and is a good team player. Some time ago Blair joined his team, and from the very beginning she just did not gel with Carlos. It was actually more than not gelling: she seemed to go out of her way to be uncooperative, and was openly critical of any ideas Carlos put forward at meetings. He found her disrespectful and difficult to work with.

He tried to get on with his work by interacting with her as little as he needed to. But it was a small team, and being the hotel and leisure industry he spent long hours in his job, which meant long hours in her company. It soon came to a head and he knew he had to do something about it.

One day when they were alone, he asked her, “Why?” Blair stopped what she was doing and with obvious irritation asked, “What do you mean ‘Why?’ Why what?” Carlos answered, “Why do you behave in the way you do towards me?” “What are you talking about?” she snapped. Carlos answered, “Why do you behave in the way you do towards me? I get a sense you’re irritated by me, as you seem to be now. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ve done or said, but it would help to know, because then perhaps we could find a way of working together. Our work means we spend a lot of time in each other’s company, and I think it’s important we try to make this work, not just for us but for the morale of the team.”

Now Blair did not suddenly open up her heart to Carlos, she did not offer an explanation or apologise for her behaviour, she actually did not say anything. Maybe she did not know what to say, who knows. Even so Carlos was glad he had addressed the matter. It was a brief interaction, and he felt he had handled it in a professional way; and more importantly, he got it out in the open by letting her know her behaviour was unacceptable to him, and that he was willing to find a way to work together.

Although Blair did not respond initially to Carlos, her behaviour towards him did change. She was not so critical of his ideas, and they began to work together in a more cooperative way. While I do not think they will ever be the best of friends, they are actually getting on OK.

The situation Carlos found himself in is not so unusual, and it is one I hear in some shape or form time and time again in conversations with people. Some people will think: “Well I’ll put up with this person or situation while I’m in work, and then I can put it out of my mind once I’m outside of work.” The thing is we spend so much time in our work that it is not always possible or indeed good for our health and well-being.

Working with someone who has a demotivating impact on an individual or team can ruin morale, and it is important not to let a bad situation fester. I think by asking the simple question “Why?” we can open up an awareness to there being a problem, and get the message across that it is not acceptable, and that something needs to change. All of this from one simple question is quite profound, I think.

Develop Your WorkLife Story

This is your WorkLife. You get to decide who you want to be part of that. You have the power to shape the characters in your story through your voice, through what you say, and through what you do not say. Words are powerful, and so is subtext. You also have the power to write people out of your story.

Your Speaking Up Story Assignment

Do you have a story of when you needed to speak up to protect your identity and did?

What was the situation?

What led you to knowing you had to speak up?

What did you say?

How did it go?

What was the outcome?

Are you glad you spoke up?

In hindsight, is there anything you could have, should have, would have done differently?

What did you learn from this?

This story is one of the stories featured in my book: How To Use Your Voice To Express and Protect Your Identity. From The School Of WorkLife Book Series.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles and successes. In some stories I share my own experiences, and with permission stories of people I’ve worked with, whose names have been changed to protect their anonymity. Other persons and companies portrayed in the stories are not based on real people or entities.

How A Side Hustle Saved My WorkLife And My Well-Being

Three Years Ago, I Was Feeling the Burnout From Working the Long Hours Required As Founder of a Start-up …

Photo by Mo from Pexels

Three years ago, I was feeling the burnout from working the long hours required as founder of a start-up … those were Saoirse’s opening words as guest-speaker on WorkLife Well-Being at her university’s annual alumni day. But let’s hear Saoirse’s full address to understand her story:

A How A Side Hustle Saved My WorkLife And My Well-Being Case Study:

Saoirse’s WorkLife Well-Being Alumni Address:

Three years ago, I was feeling the burnout from working the long hours required as founder of a start-up. I was feeling overwhelmed and I knew I needed to reorganise my WorkLife. I lived in and worked from a small studio flat, and it was messy, it was disorganised, it was full of so much stuff, I could never find anything. But I didn’t have the time, energy or motivation to tidy it up, or so I thought.

Sage Wisdom

My dear and wise friend Anne came to visit, and over a few beers I shared my woes, telling her how I no longer had the same clarity of thought in my thinking, and how I was struggling to focus my mind. “Tidy your home, and you’ll tidy your mind,” she said. But I don’t have the time, was my argument. “You need a side-hustle,” she responded. I think you’ve had too many beers, I said. I don’t need to take on something else, I need to let go of something.

“That’s exactly my point,” she said. “You need to declutter, and you also need to reframe. You need to shift your focus from all the reasons why you can’t do something to emphasising what’s possible. By shifting from a negative mindset to a positive mindset you’re implicitly acknowledging that it’s possible. And I have the perfect book that’s going to help you,” she continued “It’s an easy, yet insightful read.

Come over on Sunday and while you get started on it, I’ll make us lunch.” You really have had one too many, I responded, if you think reading a book is going to help me. “All I ask is you give it a try,” she answered. Knowing she wasn’t going to give up, along with the fact that her Sunday roast is the best in town, I agreed.

Book Wisdom

On arrival at her home that Sunday morning Anne took me directly to her wonderfully relaxing courtyard patio. Awaiting me was The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo and soon to follow was a pot of her home-brewed coffee. Informing me lunch would be a couple of hours she left me alone. Wanting to make good with my promise to give the book a try, I got stuck in.

Anne was right, it was an easy read, and more importantly it was insightful. It elicited self-feedback through self-questioning. Such as asking myself:

Why do I want to tidy?

I want a space that’s not cluttered was my response.

In preparation for getting started, I had to visualise my destination by asking myself:

What do I hope to gain through tidying?

I discovered my goal of wanting a space that’s not cluttered was too broad.

I had to think about it more deeply, so that I could vividly picture what it would be like to live in a clutter-free space.

Wanting a more serene lifestyle was what came to me. Closing my eyes, I saw myself in my home:

My bookshelves were choc-a-bloc, with the overflow on my windowsills blocking my view across the rooftops of London, and London life in the streets below. I had more books and magazines all over the floor of what is my workspace/ living room during the day, and my bedroom at night. When I’d go to bed I’d have to move the clothes which wouldn’t fit into my already stuffed wardrobes from my bed to the floor, and then in the morning put them back on the bed, so I’d have a pathway to move around. My lifestyle could not have been called serene by any stretch of the imagination.

The book prompted me to go more deeply into what I meant by a serene lifestyle. I wanted windowsills and floors that were clean of clutter, to make my home a calm space to work from during the day, and a peaceful space to relax in at the beginning and end of my day.

In the morning I wanted to be have my first coffee sitting in my window seat (which was covered in clothes), slowly waking-up watching the sun rise on a new day. At night, I wanted to sit and read looking out at a moonlit sky as the day came to a close.

I wanted to be enlightened, I wanted inspiration, I wanted creativity, which has always come to me through imagination. I wanted to day-dream — I’d been feeling blocked, and my night-dreams were troubled — I wanted to be carefree.

Going deeper into knowing my Why (Why I want to tidy), led me to know what I wanted. This also allowed me to know that tidying would allow me to have the enlightenment, inspiration and creativity I wanted and needed to live my WorkLife with the serenity I deeply yearned. I had all of this knowledge by the time Anne came back to let me know lunch was ready.

With this knowledge came energy, the energy I needed to tidy my home. The book stipulated making tidying a special event, thinking of special events reminded me of early morning hikes I always liked to take whenever I wanted to explore somewhere new and different, or when I simply wanted to be alone with my thoughts. I decided I’d make the following weekend my special event of tidying, and take the same approach as I did with my hikes by rising early when my mind was at its clearest, and my power of discernment sharp.

And it worked, I got everything I wanted. But what was perhaps most profound was the immediacy in which it worked, together with how what I wanted remained with me over the coming days, weeks and months, actually that never left. I now live a WorkLife filled with serenity.

The enlightenment, inspiration and creativity I gained, or actually regained, gave me back the clarity of thought I needed in my thinking, and allowed me to focus my mind. This was integral in saving my WorkLife because without that I risked losing everything. While I didn’t explicitly set out seeking well-being in my WorkLife through tidying, this came about as a natural, holistic and powerful by-product for which I am truly grateful.

Words of Wisdom

If there are times in your WorkLife when you feel overwhelmed or you’re reaching burnout, I encourage you to reframe. By shifting from a negative mindset to a positive mindset you’re implicitly acknowledging that it’s possible, and that’s the beginning of a pathway to your WorkLife well-being.

Epilogue

What began from a place of feeling burnout and being overwhelmed in my WorkLife, took me on an unexpected path to not only overcoming my challenges but also coming through with a strong sense of knowing that my experience could help other people’s WorkLife well-being. This has led me to develop my weekend project of tidying into a side-hustle. I’ll share more about that in my talk later today: How A Side Hustle Can Super Charge Your Skill Set and Effectively Future Proof Your WorkLife. Thank You.

Next time Saoirse will tell her story of How A Side Hustle Can Super Charge Your Skill Set and Future Proof Your WorkLife.

Today’s featured book is: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, by Marie Kondo

How A Side Hustle Saved My WorkLife And My Well-Being… is part of a series of people’s stories of how a side hustle made a positive impact in their WorkLife. Stories of how a side hustle helped: their well-being; take ownership of their WorkLife; enable opportunities; build financial security; utilise existing skills; develop new skills; connect with their community; establish their reputation; to stand out; to distinguish themselves and their uniqueness; bring new opportunities their way, and much, much more.

WorkLife Book Wisdom Stories:

The intention of the stories I share is to inspire you through people’s stories of their WorkLife experiences. Through these stories, you will learn about people’s dreams and ambitions, along with the challenges, obstacles, failures and successes they encountered along the road of their WorkLife journey. And how they used the power of book wisdom to help them find the inspiration and guidance to navigate their path to live their WorkLife with passion, purpose and pride.

My hope is that these book wisdom stories will help you throughout the chapters of your WorkLife Story.

I believe stories are a powerful mechanism for teaching, a powerful medium to learn through, and a powerful way to communicate who you are and what you stand for.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

Interviews #3 The Closing: Do You Have Any Questions You Would Like To Ask?

The Closing — Creating a Positive Lasting Impression — The Art of Good Questions

Photo by Llkka Karkkainen on Unsplash

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.” Voltaire

Asking a genuine question allows you to convey something you haven’t already brought up. For example: “According to your quarterly report, your revenues grew by 20%. What was that attributed to?

You bring value to yourself through the questions you ask — but only if they are good questions. The best questions provide insight for all parties concerned.

Examples of good closing interview questions to create a positive lasting impression:

1. What are the top priorities in your business at the moment?
2. What challenges do you envisage in making this happen?
3. If we were to work together on this, what are the top two or three outcomes you would like to see?

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

Quote #2 That Helped Shape The Chapters My First Book

To Give People an Understanding Into What the Chapter Was About. To Open Their Thinking without Telling Them How or What to Think

Image supplied by author

Chapter #2 Discovering Or Rediscovering Your WorkLife Purpose

Quotes #2 “If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.” Marc Anthony. “The truth is you will work harder than you ever thought possible, but the tools will feel light in your hands.” Tim Cook

Followed by my Chapter Introduction:

Discovering or rediscovering your WorkLife purpose will give you a true sense of fulfilment. It is the thing that will get you up in the morning, ready to take on each day with energy and motivation. Without it, your WorkLife will have less meaning: you will lack the sense of direction to help you make good decisions and to achieve your goals. Your values play an important part in helping you to understand your purpose, and when you do, it is your purpose that will drive you to live your best WorkLife.

As a WorkLife Learning Practitioner and Writer, I know the importance of serving people’s preferred learning style. Some people like the bigger picture — quotes allow that. Other people like more detail — the chapter introductions allow that.

I like the bigger picture, to begin with, then I like detail. So I like both.

What’s your preferred learning style?

Bigger picture, more detail, or both?

First shared in my book: Your WorkLife Your Way.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You

The Hardest Workers Always Get Rewarded. By “Rewarded” I Mean Both Financially and in Terms of Responsibility

Photo by Burak K on Pexels

The hardest workers always get rewarded. By “rewarded” I mean both financially and in terms of responsibility. Those were Elaine’s opening words at her university’s annual alumni day. But let’s hear Elaine’s full address to understand her story:

A Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You Case Study:

Elaine’s Alumni Address:

The hardest workers always get rewarded. By “rewarded” I mean both financially and in terms of responsibility.

Sage Wisdom

Tim Cook said: “There is a saying that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. The truth is, you will work harder than you ever thought possible, but the tools will feel light in your hands. He added something equally powerful: There’s nothing more beautiful than trying.”

As you prepare to go out into the world, wherever your WorkLife takes you you’ll want to stand out, you’ll want to be recognised, and you’ll want to be rewarded. But how do you achieve that? The answer to that question came to me through the superpower of:

Book Wisdom

I learnt lessons and drew inspiration from Setting the Table by Danny Meyer. It’s essential reading, not just for people in the restaurant business, but for people in any business, people who want to play an integral role in integrating the success of a business and the success of its community.

In the book Meyer asks: “To imagine if every business was a lightbulb and that for each lightbulb the primary goal was to attract the most moths possible. Now what if you learned that 49 percent of the reason moths were attracted to a bulb was for the quality of its light (brightness being the task of the bulb) and that 51 percent of the attraction was to the warmth projected by the bulb (heat being connected with the feeling of the bulb).” He said: “It’s remarkable how many businesses shine brightly when it comes to acing the tasks but emanate all the warmth of a cool fluorescent light.” He went on to say: “That explains how a flawless four-star restaurant can actually attract far fewer loyal fans than a two- or three-star place with soul.”

Like Meyer, in my WorkLife I wanted to be a hundred-watt lightbulb, whose work is the sum of 51 percent feeling and 49 percent task.

I learnt that hospitality is present when something happens for you. It’s absent when something happens to you. These simple concepts — for and to — express it all.

I learnt to err on the side of generosity: You get more by first giving more.

This wisdom allowed me to know what I needed to do in order to stand out: I needed to work hard to be the best I could be; I needed to commit myself fully to always go the extra mile; I needed to pay attention over and above the task, to what was going on around me, to the people, the situation, in order to notice what else I could do that would allow me to go that extra mile.

I also knew I wanted and needed to be in this for the long-haul. As a graphic designer straight out of university, I had so much to learn, and because of that I knew I needed to work with and for people I admired, people I could learn from. I knew I couldn’t compromise by taking something less than my ideal job, I knew I couldn’t settle for a place where I wouldn’t accomplish anything. I wanted and needed to make an impact with my work, to stand out for reasons that gave me a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction. To be so good they couldn’t ignore me.

I encourage you to do the same. Do work that makes a contribution, work that gives you a sense of purpose, passion and pride. Work with collaborators who respect you, this is very important. You most likely won’t make a lot of money straightaway, but if you work with people you think are great, and you actually learn from them, that will be more valuable than immediate financial reward. But that will come too, along with greater rewards in terms of responsibility as you travel down the road of your WorkLife.

The principle of working hard is an old-fashioned principle, a principle that has stood the test of time. It’s a principle that you can all live your WorkLives by. It’s a principle that leads to many rewards. It’s a simple principle: the harder you work, the better you’ll become. The greatest reward: You’ll be so good they can’t ignore you.

Words of Wisdom

Why do I do this every day? This is a question I regularly reflect upon. Through self-feedback the answers I’ve received include: it’s helping me achieve a goal that’s important to me; it’s helping me create freedom, independence, confidence and security. All good things to help me create the WorkLife I want. It’s about getting rewarded both financially and in terms of responsibility, it’s about what that allows me to do, who that allows me to become, how that allows me to serve others, and how through that I can achieve my dreams.

That’s a value that I try to live out every day. I encourage you to do the same, by following this simple practice of asking yourself: Why do I do this every day? Then take time through self-feedback to reflect by way of understanding how it can help you achieve your dreams to live the WorkLife you want.

I can’t wait to start work every day, and I hope all of you will get the same type of pleasure and reward out of what you choose to do.

Thank you.

Epilogue

Elaine’s grounded approach while following her bright star to live her WorkLife with passion, purpose and pride has led to her giving motivational talks at her university, her workplace and at events within her industry.

Today’s featured book is: Setting the Table by Danny Meyer

Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You … are people’s stories of how they carved out a WorkLife that was rewarding, fulfilling and meaningful, how they worked with people they admired, how they contributed in ways that was valuable, and how their WorkLife allowed them to make a difference in a way that had a positive impact.WorkLife Book Wisdom Stories:

The intention of the stories I share is to inspire you through people’s stories of their WorkLife experiences. Through these stories, you will learn about people’s dreams and ambitions, along with the challenges, obstacles, failures and successes they encountered along the road of their WorkLife journey. And how they used the power of book wisdom to help them find the inspiration and guidance to navigate their path to live their WorkLife with passion, purpose and pride.

My hope is that these book wisdom stories will help you throughout the chapters of your WorkLife Story.

I believe stories are a powerful mechanism for teaching, a powerful medium to learn through, and a powerful way to communicate who you are and what you stand for.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years?

It Can Be Difficult In Today’s Economy to Know Where You’re Going to Be In the Next Five Months, Let Alone the Next Five Years!

Photo by Sindre Strom from Pexels

What do you say when you’re asked that ever-recurring and somewhat annoying question: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” We’ve come to expect it at interviews, but what if it comes up in conversation at a networking event or a cocktail party?

It can be difficult in today’s economy to know where you’re going to be in the next five months, let alone the next five years and even if you do know, it’s a challenge to communicate your worklife goal, and if it comes up in a social setting, it’s up there in the annoying category of questions along with ‘What do you do?’

Is our worklife really defining us? And is that such a bad thing anyway? I suppose not if it’s deemed to be interesting, but what if you find your work uninspiring and you’re not motivated to talk about it.

And just how honest can you be? What if your five-year plan is to be semi-retired and living in the south of France with a little consultancy work to keep your hand in, and your real goal is to spend the next five years building a good network of contacts to facilitate this. Hmmm, perhaps it might not be such a good idea being completely honest in this instance, or you might be suspected of intending to run off with the company clients!

However, all that said, sometimes it does pay to be honest. For example, take a person working in the operations department of an Investment Bank. She’s finding the work completely mundane and goes nowhere to fulfil her creative spirit. Does she share this at appraisal time?

This did actually happen to Moira, and she choose to share in the knowledge that it could be the beginning of the end in terms of her career– but no, her faith in humankind was completely redeemed, if not blown out of the water when her manager suggested setting up a meeting with the head of Marketing and long story short she’s now planning a side step within her organisation. They’re even funding some of her training.

I expect now more than ever; organisations want to keep their good people, and giving them what they want will instil loyalty — the old adage of by giving you’ll receive eh!

It’s also worth noting if you are considering a change into something new and you can effect that change within an organisation where you’re known and respected, it’s a lot easier than getting your foot in another door.

And the moral of the story, well, I guess honesty can be rewarded, and it may even be the best policy!

I first shared this story some years ago on my original, now-defunct blog: Evolving Careers. I’m sharing it again because I believe it’s as relevant today, and it was all those years ago.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

Build It And They Will Come, Do A Great Job Building It And They’ll Stand In Line To Get In.

“Life Isn’t About Finding Yourself. Life Is About Creating Yourself” George Bernard Shaw

Photo by Marcos Araujo from Pexels

Build It And They Will Come, Do A Great Job Building It And They’ll Stand In Line To Get In … are people’s stories of how they carved out a WorkLife that was rewarding, fulfilling and meaningful, how they worked with people they admired, how they contributed in ways that were valuable, and how their WorkLife allowed them to make a difference in a way that had a positive impact.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw. Those were Marco’s opening words at his university’s annual alumni day. But let’s hear Marco’s full address to understand his story:

A Build It And They Will Come, Do A Great Job Building It And They’ll Stand In Line To Get In Case Study:

Marco’s Alumni Address:

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw

Two years ago, I interviewed for my dream job of advertising artist at my dream company. The process was really intense, but I got through the four rounds of interviews and reached the last stage — the dreaded “interview task”. You all know the drill: I had 4 hours to design a product that had a great UI (User Interface), was slick, and really stood out.

Now you also all know the actual time that goes into that 4-hour task is considerably more. The reality was I spent 40 hours preparing. But I was OK with that. This was my dream job, with my dream company, and I really wanted that job.

I didn’t get it. I was told it was a close call, and to re-apply in another year. I was totally gutted, and it took me time to pick myself back up. As I went through what I call my Rejection Recovery Resilience phase, I was reminded of something the actor Vince Vaughan said that helped me, and I believe will help you too. So I’ll share Vince Vaughan’s:

Words of Wisdom

“When you’re rejected, find a process where you allow yourself to feel disappointed. It is important not to turn off those feelings, but it is important to understand how to do that as quickly as possible to then become productive again, and start doing the things that are going to give you a better opportunity. The sooner you get back to your own growth, and what can enhance it, the sooner the chance of having what you want in life becomes greater.”

The time I spent in my Rejection Recovery Resilience phase brought me the fourth ‘R’: Reflection. I’m a firm believer in effective self-feedback through insightful self-questioning. I asked myself the question: “How can I use this experience to move forward in my WorkLife?” Through self-feedback I had an idea: I took the prototype I’d developed for the interview task, I added features, and I built it into an app which you may have heard of: NOQ. An app that allows people to queue remotely for the best restaurants in town. (People applauded — NOQ was a much talked about alumni success story.)

I built the app into a business I love. That wasn’t in my plan. That wasn’t the plan I had when I was starting out, when I was sitting where you’re sitting now. My plan then was to get a job as an advertising artist at my dream company. And you all know how that worked out.

Building the app into a business I loved actually happened quite organically, but because it wasn’t in my plan, I did need help along the way. I’m a firm believer in the:

Sage Wisdom

“When the student is ready, the teacher will come.” Buddha

This is exactly what happened. The help I needed came to me in many ways to include through the superpower of:

Book Wisdom

I discovered Principles by Ray Dalio. In the book Dalio shares the unconventional principles of life and work, that can be used by anyone to achieve their own goals. The book became my bible, I learnt so much from it. In particular I learnt how to make decisions in the best possible way. I learnt that having the courage to make them comes from: a) going after what I wanted; b) failing and recovering well through radical open-mindedness; and c) changing/evolving to become ever more capable and less fearful.

I didn’t have all the answers. I didn’t need to. I asked people what they wanted, and they told me. I then found a way of giving it to them.

You can do the same. You can build a business you love, by letting your community build your business with you. Try doing something that’s good for you, good for other people, good for your community, and then let them co-write it with you.

I began from the simple principle of wanting to use real demand in the form of bookings. I built it and they came. Did I do such a great job building it that they stand in line to get in? Well as you know NOQ means no standing in line, instead they queue remotely for the best restaurants in town.

That’s my last plug I promise.

Now go build it and they will come. Do a great job building it and they will stand in line to get in.

Thank you.

Epilogue

Marco’s story of how he let his community build his business struck a chord with the university. They asked him to develop a class that would help future students model what he had accomplished. The class was developed into an online course which has been made available to all alumni.

Today’s featured book is: Principles by Ray Dalio

WorkLife Book Wisdom Stories:

The intention of the stories I share is to inspire you through people’s stories of their WorkLife experiences. Through these stories, you will learn about people’s dreams and ambitions, along with the challenges, obstacles, failures and successes they encountered along the road of their WorkLife journey. And how they used the power of book wisdom to help them find the inspiration and guidance to navigate their path to live their WorkLife with passion, purpose and pride.

My hope is that these book wisdom stories will help you throughout the chapters of your WorkLife Story.

I believe stories are a powerful mechanism for teaching, a powerful medium to learn through, and a powerful way to communicate who you are and what you stand for.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

How To Build Your True Personal Brand Identity

Your True Personal Brand Identity Is Who You Are and The Characteristics That Define You. Today’s Stories Look at This From the Outside In

Image supplied by author

Joan and Lila’s Stories: Headscarves and Tutus

Joan was preparing for the interview stages of a significant progressive career change. When she was selecting the clothes she would wear for the various stages of the process she met with a personal dresser who said she has never failed in dressing a client for success at interviews.

She went on to say that she was fascinated by identity, fascinated by how people, organisations and communities express who they are, and that clothes played an important role in designing their brand identity. She said that it was about more than clothes: it was about cultural statements, tribes, businesses, individuals and who we are or who we think we are.

The interviews were representative of the very different work environments across the world, where Joan’s work would take her: from a multi-cultural and community-relations perspective. She needed and wanted to be respectful of this, and wearing headscarves was part of this. She wanted to do this while retaining her own style, identity, personality and uniqueness. Joan’s dresser was true to her word, in helping her to Dress For Success in securing the role.

Lila’s Story:

Lila wore a pink tutu to her interview. It matched her pink hair. She also considered it her lucky colour, and it brought her luck that day, as she got the job. The role was within the design industry.

Lila brought an element of surprise and unpredictability to her WorkLife (in a good way). She redefined what is appropriate and goes by her own rules. Her unique style plays an important role in her life, using it to tell her story. Her character shines through in how she presents herself.

Alexander Isley — a graphic designer, whose work and thinking I admire and respect — shares a different perspective to mine on Lila’s Dress To Impress success story. He believes that people should be able to demonstrate their creativity, nonconformity and ability to think outside the box, through their work, conversation and within their personality.

This reminded me of actors in training. Many schools require them to wear blacks throughout their training, usually T-shirts and pants, clothes that are comfortable to move and work in. Long hair has to be tied back, and no make-up or jewellery (apart from wedding bands) can be worn. The purpose is to allow everyone to begin from the same place: a blank, or rather black, canvas, from which to build. Where the perception of their own characters and the characters they are creating are not affected by their clothing.

Interestingly I read an article by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, who said when interviewing people she wants to know what they have read, the films they are interested in, and why they want to be at Vogue. She is more interested in finding out who they are more deeply, than anything they have put on to wear that morning. She said it is more important to be honest about who you are, than concerned about surface appearances. The advice she gave was ‘Be Yourself’.

Develop Your WorkLife Story

Being Different and Being the Same

Deep down each of us is different and deep down all of us are the same — we all want to feel we are unique, and we all want to feel we are part of something that is bigger than ourselves. When I was a teenager, I wore both Levi 501s and Wrangler jeans. This made me feel unique, and also that I was part of something that was bigger than myself. It resolved two things: it made me feel I was a non-conformist person; and it also made me feel I was part of a movement (more of Alexander Isley’s thinking which resonates with me).

Understanding Who You Are from the Outside In Assignment

Questions to Ask Yourself:

Is there anything about my clothes or image that gives an insight into my personality?

Do my clothes or image allow me to express myself in any way?

How am I different?

How am I the same?

There are no good or bad ways of dressing. From minimalist through to flamboyant, it is about honouring and respecting who you are, it is about being you, it is about expressing yourself, and letting your personality and uniqueness shine through.

This story is one of the stories featured in my book: How To Build Your True Personal Brand Identity. From The School Of WorkLife Book Series.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.

The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles and successes. In some stories I share my own experiences, and with permission stories of people I’ve worked with, whose names have been changed to protect their anonymity. Other persons and companies portrayed in the stories are not based on real people or entities.

It Was The Worst Of Times And Then It Got Even Worse, But It Did In Time Get Better

Is It Ever Too Late Or Too Difficult For Your Next Work Life Chapter?

Photo by Lachlan Ross from Pexels

One year ago I wrote this:

We’re living in very difficult times right now, with countries throughout the world introducing the toughest measures affecting how we go about our daily lives, ever seen in peacetime. We’re anxious and fearful for vulnerable loved ones. Almost overnight our lives have slowed down dramatically, nearly to the point of standstill.

We’ve all become more observant of what’s happening around us. Through the stories being shared we have learnt we need to take Covid-19 seriously, and that we need to take responsibility for our own behaviour, because we’re all key players in fighting this as an army of individuals.

Through our observation and the stories being shared we have also learnt about the greatness of humanity through the care and kindness being shown towards fellow human beings. And through our observation and the stories being shared we are also seeing hope and recovery.

It is the worst of times, and it will get even worse, but it will also in time get better. And when this time comes, we’ll need to focus on our next WorkLife chapters, for now we can use this present time to learn through observation to help guide us in knowing what we want the next chapters of our WorkLife to be.

I had revisited and revised a blog post I wrote some years ago, based on the TV series The Waltons, which I included in my book Your WorkLife Your Way. The chapter is titled:

Is It Ever Too Late Or Too Difficult For Your Next WorkLife Chapter?

I’ll begin with a little:

Book Wisdom

The book Good Night John-Boy by Earl Hamner & Ralph Giffin. A celebration of an American family and the values that have sustained us through good times and bad.

The book includes a description of each episode of the TV series, which combined wonderful stories and “teachable moments” in which adults and children alike learned the importance of honesty, hard work, respect, responsibility, self-sacrifice, kindness, compassion and humility. As is true in most families, the Waltons faced many challenges, occasionally stumbled along the way, but they struggled to live their lives within the framework of the values they believed and taught.

The book introduces readers to the Hamner family members who later became characters on The Waltons. Richard Thomas who played John-Boy said: “It’s significant that the Waltons celebrated familism and healing during the tough times of the Great Depression.”

The Story Of The Waltons In The Most Difficult Of Times. Is It Ever Too Late Or Too Difficult For Your Next WorkLife Chapter? Case Study:

There have been many difficult times throughout history, perhaps none more so than the Great Depression followed closely by WWII. The Waltons TV series set during these times demonstrated how the family navigated their WorkLives during these difficult times.

When The Waltons first came to our screens it was set in the time of the Great Depression. Jobs were scarce, companies were closing down, and people needed to be creative in their thinking when it came to finding themselves a job or set up in business. Not so different to how it is now, really.

Then the storyline moved to World War II, which deeply affected the family. Their WorkLives became very different. It forced them to put aspects of their WorkLives aside or on hold. They had to diversify in line with the demands of the time. It was also formative in charting their immediate and pursuing WorkLife chapters.

What might have made it even more difficult for the Waltons was that they lived in a very small community, and so perhaps there wasn’t a lot of scope for enterprise. However when they did venture further afield to the bigger towns, there may have been more opportunities, but there was also more competition, again not so different to how things are now.

And yet they all managed to find work when they needed to. They were quite inventive about it really and managed to utilise, embrace and nurture their unique talents, skills and attributes, whether that was in their small community or when up against the competition in the bigger towns and cities.

The grandparents and parents instilled strong values in the children, along with a strong belief that they could achieve their heart’s desire. They recognised and encouraged the unique talents, skills and attributes within each child and gave them a supportive push in striving towards their goals.

They didn’t have the financial capacity to fund their education, but the belief they instilled in each child provided a greater capability to achieve the WorkLife they aspired to, far more than funding their education would ever have done. Each one worked hard for what they wanted, which resulted in even greater appreciation and gratification. I think the old adage of “give a man a fish and he’ll eat well today, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat well for the rest of his life” is appropriate here.

The grandparents, parents and in turn the siblings were a great support to each other along their WorkLife journeys. They were, I think, both mentors and mentees at various stages as they all supported each other in their learning, growth and development. As much as we’ve evolved since the time of the great depression, and WWII, and organisations are becoming more international and global, many things remain the same.

We all have the capacity to be both mentors and mentees, to share our knowledge, wisdom and expertise, along with our kindness, compassion and humility; and even among the international and global organisations there is space for the values and beliefs demonstrated in the Walton family. Simple perhaps, but as I think many of us have come to realise in an increasingly complex world ‘simplicity’ is becoming a key value.

Earl Hamner Jr. based the characters in The Waltons off his own family.

John-Boy: From a young boy he had a passion to become a writer, and began by recording his thoughts about his family, friends and circumstances, writing stories in a journal. He wrote and published his community and college newspaper. On graduating he moved to New York to fulfil his dream of becoming an author. After the attack on Pearl Harbour he enlisted in the military and wrote as a war correspondent for the U.S. Army’s newspaper Stars and Stripes. After the war ended, he returned to New York and turned his attention to reporting news. He went on to become a novelist.

Jason: Enjoyed composing music for harmonica, guitar and piano. He attended the Kleinberg Conservatory of Music. He joined the National Guard, and during the war became a sergeant in the army. He landed a job playing honkytonk piano at a local tavern, which he later came to own.

Mary Ellen: Followed her ambition to go into medicine, gained an education as a medical worker and became a nurse. Ending up taking care of people out in the country by herself, she concluded they needed more medical expertise than she could offer, and so she continued studying medicine until she succeeded in becoming a doctor.

Ben: Had an entrepreneurial spirit and embarked on various schemes, some more successful than others. He too fought in the war and was taken prisoner by the Japanese. Between times he ran the family sawmill in partnership with his father.

Erin: Worked as a telephone operator while finishing school. She struggled to find her place, as she wasn’t an academic like John-Boy, or musical like Jason, interested in medicine like Mary-Ellen, or entrepreneurial like Ben. She took a part-time job at a business college. When the owner saw her helping out at the unattended front desk answering and assisting callers, he allowed her to work her way through the business school. She went on to become an executive secretary, then personnel manager, going on to become the plant’s assistant manager. Later in life she earned a teaching certificate, leading her to become a school principal.

Jim-Bob: Was fascinated by aeroplanes and aspired to become a pilot. However increasingly poor eyesight forced him to give up this dream. He went on to become a mechanic and opened his own business.

Elizabeth: Had an inquisitive mind and a talent for writing. She joined the Peace Corp. A free spirit, she struggled to settle down and travelled the globe looking for adventure.

Like the Waltons, we will come through this difficult time, not unscathed, not without sadness and not without loss, but hopefully with a strong resolve to appreciate the simple things in life: spending time with family and friends; being involved in our local communities; passing the time of day with strangers; walking in the great outdoors; appreciating the beauty of what’s around us; and everything good that remains with us.

Sage Wisdom

1. Remember you will get through this, and things will be alright again. No matter how difficult and uncertain everything is right now, darkness never prevails;
2. Be kind, look out for each other. You won’t be the only one worried. Talking will help, sharing will help. Look out for your friends, your neighbours, people you hardly know, family, because in the end we’re all family;
3. Stay strong, stay positive, you’ve got this.

During this enforced active WorkLife pause be open to experiences that require deeper thinking, let this guide your self-feedback to learning what you need to learn, and to knowing what you can do with the learning you already have within you, in a new and different context. Being observant will allow you to know what to do next to make the most of this WorkLife experience. Ask yourself:

What do I already know that I can adapt to this WorkLife experience?

What parts of this WorkLife experience are best suited to teach me what I want and need to learn?

Words of Wisdom

You are the author of your WorkLife story. This is not the end, it’s just the beginning.

One year on: I’m struggling to know what to add. I’m thankful that I and those close to me have come through it safely, but yet I’m anxious in writing that, I feel we’re not out of the woods yet, and I don’t want to tempt fate. So, for now, I don’t have anything to add … for now …

Instead, I leave you with the same poem from last year, which still feels relevant.

Epilogue

I leave you today with a poem by Laura Ding-Edwards

It feels like things are not ok

And this “thing” will never go away

Like all around is caving in

And no-one knows where to begin

What-ifs and fears are on the rise

And nobody’s able to disguise

The sadness of this sudden change

To life, routine; it’s very strange

But sit a moment with that thought

Forget the things that you’ve been taught

For a while there’s no rat race

A slower life put in its place

We suddenly have the space to stop

Appreciate the things we’ve got

The cusp of spring still breaks its sleep

Our birds return to trill & cheep

And hope and kindness start to bloom

And we find ways to life the gloom

And so in this uncertain time

Take stock, reflect and redefine

Keep in mind it’s not forever

We’ll make it through with love, together

Today’s featured book is: Good Night John-Boy by Earl Hamner & Ralph Giffin.

The story has been adapted from chapter 26 of Your WorkLife Your Way Is It Ever Too Late Or Too Difficult for Your Next WorkLife Chapter.

WorkLife Book Wisdom Stories:

The intention of the stories I share is to inspire you through people’s stories of their WorkLife experiences. Through these stories, you will learn about people’s dreams and ambitions, along with the challenges, obstacles, failures and successes they encountered along the road of their WorkLife journey. And how they used the power of book wisdom to help them find the inspiration and guidance to navigate their path to live their WorkLife with passion, purpose and pride.

My hope is that these book wisdom stories will help you throughout the chapters of your WorkLife Story.

I believe stories are a powerful mechanism for teaching, a powerful medium to learn through, and a powerful way to communicate who you are and what you stand for.

If you enjoyed this, please hit the *Clap* 👏 button as many times as you wish.