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Issue 175 |
December 27, 2007 |
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ChangingCourse.com since 1995 dedicated to helping people like you to: ~Live Life on Purpose ~Work at What You Love ~Follow Your Own Road | |
Inside Today's Issue What Does Gratitude Have to Do With Career Change? Upcoming Workshops and Teleclasses
This ad-free bimonthly newsletter is brought to you compliments of ChangingCourse.com. |
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Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. ~ Goethe |
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Opportunity Knocks: Creative Ways to Make a Living Without A Job What Does Gratitude Have to Do With Career Change?
By Valerie Young As I drove alongside the Connecticut River today, I spotted two snow-white swans gliding elegantly atop still waters. I felt so blessed to have been in that place at that time to experience such a serenely beautiful moment. I feel lucky that way… a lot. I don’t think I happen upon these moments any more than anyone else does. I just "see" them more than others do. I believe that’s because gratitude is so central to both my life and my work. I also happen to believe that maintaining a state of gratitude is fundamental to the process of changing course. Yet, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard another career counselor talk about gratitude as an essential element of career change. Come to think of it, I’m not aware of any career related books that talk about the importance of being thankful either. I think perhaps the reason you don’t hear a lot of career change agents talk about gratitude is that we’re in the business of helping facilitate people moving from where they are to where they’d rather be. Changing your work and life are by definition all about the future. Gratitude on the other hand is very much about the present. I understand that it can be pretty tough to be grateful when what you want is freedom, time, and a deep knowing that the work you do matters, but what you have instead is a soul sucking job that leaves you no time to see, never mind smell, the roses. And yet if you really want to make a positive change, I believe it’s imperative to shift from a state of constant yearning for what you don’t have to being mindful of those blessings, however small, that you do have… right now. Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin talked about this concept in their groundbreaking book Your Money or Your Life. They write, "So much dissatisfaction comes from focusing on what we don’t have that the simple exercise of acknowledging and valuing what we do have can transform our outlook." Said another way, ungrateful people make lousy self-change agents. Don’t get me wrong. I know that there is a lot wrong in the world. Far too many good people dying in too many bad wars… far too many people losing their homes because of bad loans… far too many people with no job at all. I know, too, that during this holiday season that some of you may be faced with dire circumstances. Yet, "Once we are above the survival levels," say Dominguez and Robin, "the difference between prosperity and poverty lies simply in our degree of gratitude." Even during my most financially challenging and emotionally discouraging days of struggling to transition from my corporate job to working for myself, I still knew on any given day that I was blessed. I can see. I can hear. I have all my limbs. I am, God-willing, free of disease. I live in relative safety. I have food. I have heat. I have clean water. I have access to medical care. I have transportation. I have friends and family who love me. And I am blessed to have all of you. At the risk of going all Oprah on you here, to me living life from a perspective of gratitude is not just an exercise in happy thinking. To me it goes much deeper than that. Melody Beattie described the benefits of gratitude well when she wrote:
On the bulletin board at my post office hangs a quote from the Women’s Theology Center in Boston. It reads, "We must go slowly, there’s not much time." Achieving a dream takes hard work, perseverance, and, yes, time. Yet, life is too short to put off happiness until we have achieved our goal. In other words, with a dream, as with life, the journey is just as important as the destination. As you enjoy a drink of clean water, a warm bed or the company of a loved one today and every day, pause and be grateful for what and who is in your life right now. Go after that better future… but also be here now and savor the journey. Add Your Two Cents Want to comment on this article? Click here to hop over to the Changing Course Blog! About the Author "Turning Interests Into Income" expert, Valerie Young, abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at ChangingCourse.com offering resources to help you discover your life mission and live it. Her career change tips have been cited in Kiplinger's, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend, Woman's Day, and elsewhere and on-line at MSN, CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, Valerie has spoken on the topic of How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are to such diverse organizations as Daimler Chrysler, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Harvard, and American Women in Radio and Television. To read more articles about how to work at what you love without a job go to ChangingCourse.com/articles.htm |
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No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams
must be free to flee and fly high. |
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Trickle Up
Trickle Up helps very
poor people make their way out of poverty. They
do it by providing business training, seed capital grants, and support to help
people launch a microenterprise, helping start or expand more than 10,000
businesses every year. Trickle Up offers grants, not loans, to entrepreneurs
because they are committed to working with the extreme poor — people living on
less than $1 a day who are unable to obtain a microloan.
Trickle Up identifies potential entrepreneurs with help from local organizations that are active in the regions in which they work. They currently have more than 80 such partners, as well as Trickle Up field offices in Asia, East Africa, and West Africa. Once they have identified an entrepreneur, they work with these local partners to provide them with business training and seed capital of about $100 to start a business. They also help entrepreneurs connect with savings and loan groups. This three-part approach ensures that the seed capital grants are judiciously implemented. It also helps entrepreneurs best realize their potential as independent and capable small-business owners, which leads to self-empowerment. Trickle Up focuses their support on women. That’s because the majority report that, once they have launched their businesses, they are able to provide better nutrition, health care, and education for their families. They also focus on providing support to people with disabilities.
Changing
Course is proud to donate a portion of all profits to this worthwhile
organization. I hope you will consider giving
too.
Learn how at
Trickleup.org |
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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. ~ Mark Twain |
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The Changing Course Newsletter Copyright 2007 Lisa Tarrant, Editor Valerie Young, Publisher info@ChangingCourse.com www.ChangingCourse.com 7 Ripley Road Montague, MA 01351
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All About Your Subscription You're welcome to forward this newsletter in its entirety to other dreamers. If someone sent this to you, don't depend on your friend for this great information. Get your complimentary subscription at ChangingCourse.com/ezine.htm Please do not reply to this message. Subscribe or Change Your Address: ChangingCourse.com/ezine.htm Previous Issues: ChangingCourse.com/archives |
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Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. ~ Erich Frohmm
Keeping the Dream Alive
By Thelma Mariano
Like the song by Linda
Ronstadt, "a dream is a wish that your heart makes." To lose a dream is to die a
little yourself. It means closing down the part of you that can soar above the
reality of your current life to see new and exciting possibilities.
Whenever she walks down a street, a friend of mine notices details of
architecture, shapes and colors. As a child she fantasized about being an
interior designer, but her parents, Italian immigrants, discouraged her from
pursuing what they felt was an insecure way to make a living. "I was crushed,"
she says, "and the dream just died."
Our dreams are fragile. It is important not to talk about them at an early stage
to anyone whom we sense will not support them. Often others project their own
fears and doubts onto us.
I have known since my teen years that I wanted to write fiction. No one in my
family supported my dream, because anything in the arts was considered
unreliable. Nevertheless for years I managed to write and sell short stories and
work on novels while holding down a full-time job. As rejection slips started
pouring in, it became more and more of a struggle to keep my dream alive.
By then I realized that I needed positive reinforcement from other writers and
joined one writing group after another until I found the right team. Many
experts in goal achievement stress the importance of getting support when
pursuing a dream. "Isolation is a dream killer," states Barbara Sher, career
counselor and author of five popular books including Wishcraft and
It’s Only Too Late If You Don’t Start Now.
Valerie Young, founder of Changing Course (website and newsletter) points out
that assistance can come from a number of sources including colleagues, mentors
and role models. Although friends can make a difference, she says, "you soar
when you tap into the larger constellation of help that is available."
Listed below are the steps I followed in keeping my dream alive. These can help
you nurture your dream as well, especially when you are busy making a living
and/or raising a family and do not have any resources set up to help you get
started.
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Get support and encouragement
Find others in your field of interest. This could be through discussion groups on the Net, correspondence, or joining an organization. Workshops or seminars are also excellent ways to connect.
A wonderful thing happens once you connect with people doing what you love to do. You begin to see yourself as one of them.
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Find mentors
Speak to professionals who are already living your dream; see how they did it. I wrote to the best-selling novelist, Charlotte Vale Allen and received useful advice in revising my book as well as encouragement.
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Research
Read everything you can about your interest - and APPLY what you learn to your work-in-progress.
In my case I read many books and magazine articles on writing, covering topics from plotting and character development to marketing and used much of that information in my work.
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Fit a LITTLE into your life, as often as you can
Too many of us wait for the perfect time to do the things we are dreaming of. It is far better to feel the satisfaction of doing something now.
I went through a period where I was stretched between work demands (a reorganization at my company) and family needs. No longer able to find time to write fiction, I discovered tanka, a five-line lyric verse that conveys powerful emotion. This allowed me to fit creative writing into a very tight schedule.
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Use visual reminders
I pasted images in a scrapbook to remind me of my writing goals. I also gave myself a date when I would leave my office job to write full-time and put it on my fridge. Seeing these visual reminders on a daily basis motivated me to make things happen!
To develop a dream you also
must make room in your life. This may require sacrifice – whether it’s a smaller
income to buy time or fewer social engagements or outings with your family.
I believe that by paying attention to your longings, you are steered towards a
more fulfilling life. Pursuing and achieving dreams is not for the select few.
If you give your dreams the attention and support they need to flourish, you may
be surprised at the results.
About the Author
Thelma Mariano, life coach and author, is
dedicated to bringing clarity and direction to people’s lives. See her on-line
coaching programs, articles and column at
U-Unlimited.ca,
email at
thelma@u-unlimited.ca
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Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live. ~ Dorothy Thompson |
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Upcoming Workshops and Teleclasses Here are a few featured workshops and Teleclasses; you'll find a complete listing at ChangingCourse.com/courses.htm Turn Your Everyday Snapshots Into Cash This January in Austin, TX, You Can…
The Ultimate Money-Making Photo Workshop Visit: ChangingCourse.com/recommends/photographyworkshop for more details or (866) 415-1425 or local at (202) 370-6459 from 8:00am -5:00pm Eastern Standard Time. Spaces are limited.
Broaden your horizons as you expand your bank account! Help the poor and gain more fulfillment and fun.
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Learn from
professional photographers the techniques they use to shoot pictures
that sell for $150, $400, $600 -- and even higher… 
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Barbara Winter |
Learn what it takes to live the joyfully jobless life from the master − Barbara Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job. A vivacious and wildly popular speaker, Barbara will address such topics as the power of multiple income streams… how to stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like an entrepreneur… why starting small is the smartest (and most profitable) way to launch your new enterprise… and much more.
Like mini-workshops, these monthly Joyfully Jobless Teleclasses are interactive, which means you get to ask questions and benefit from firsthand feedback from the woman I call the "Muse of Self-Bossing."
This series is free to current members of the Fast Track Your Dream Community*. Non-members are welcome to attend for $19 with all proceeds going to the non-profit micro-grant organization TrickleUp.org
*To learn more about how you can fast track your dream of working at what you love - and get a two month membership FREE - go to ChangingCourse.com/fasttrackyourdream.htm
**A portion of all revenue from this Teleclass will go to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of impoverished people in the US and internationally via the micro-grant organization TrickleUp.org
With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity. ~ Keshavan Nair
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"It’s not just my story. It's the story of a lot of people who grew up and took a lot of crap – and decided, 'I'm going the other way.'"
~ Chris
Gardner in his autobiographical book, The Pursuit of Happyness, which was
turned into a major motion picture
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Here are four resources for people who want to turn their love of wine into an income stream
Wine Across America
The Sommelier Society of America offers a 20 week certification program focusing on wine regions of the world, varietals, viticulture specifics, techniques of tasting, food and wine pairing, and distilled spirits, business, legal aspects, and licensing in the wine business, etc. Classes are held in New York City and Long Island. (SommelierSocietyOfAmerica.org) Canadian Wine Studies courses (ESYUrl.com/3vm) are offered through the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and elsewhere through Fine Vintage Ltd (ESYUrl.com/3vn) SommelierJobs.com lists jobs internationally for sommeliers, cellar masters, and wine directors. Recent listings included a sommelier for a five star hotel in Bombay, India and a wine director for a French resort.
Note: Changing Course does not accept
paid advertisements from any of the resources listed here. This list is
provided to expand your thinking about just how many interesting ways there
are to make a living without a job!
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