What’s the antidote when fear threatens to crush your career dreams before you’ve even begun? First, a story to illustrate how NOT to deal with fear ... When I was leaving NYC, I told my brother of my dream to live in Hawaii…and my concern about finding a place to live. I wasn’t looking for answers. I just wanted to talk it through. No sooner had the dream crossed my lips than he’d pulled up Google Earth and Zillow. Suddenly, we were zooming through the streets of Honolulu, peering into balcony windows and alighting on private pool decks. “How many bedrooms? What’s your budget? What about thi ..read more

There's this pervasive and detrimental idea out there that career change clarity comes in a blinding flash. That if you sit and think about it long enough, the answers will come: • "Once I have clarity, then I'll talk to people." • "I'll start a business when I feel more confident." • "I'll hire a coach when I have a better idea of what I’m looking for." • "Once I land my new career, then I'll have time for..." These limiting beliefs are grounded in the idea that once this external thing happens, then you'll take action. Do you see how disempowering that is? Do you see the false dependency i ..read more

Most of us have an idea of what our dream career would look like. But dreaming and doing are two very different things—especially if you don’t yet have the full picture. Today I’m sharing the importance of taking action before you’re crystal clear on what you want. Remember: all action is not the same. This is not about taking action for action’s sake. That leads to overwhelm, busy-ness, and exhaustion. This is about taking meaningful, strategic action that moves you closer to your goals. Career Clarity Doesn’t Come In a Blinding Flash There's this pervasive idea out there that career change ..read more

I'm always going on and on about reframing your limiting beliefs. I shared one of my favorite reframing tools here: the 3 P's of Positive Psychology.  But when you've been telling yourself the same disempowering story for years, or even decades, reframing can be easier said than done. So here's a trick when you're struggling to challenge a belief that's holding you back: "I can think of this differently." One of the biggest challenges when we're trying to change deep-seated beliefs is coming up with a reframe that actually FEELS TRUE. When we don't get it right, our reframes ring hollow ..read more

I LOVE when my coaching clients get ANGRY. Let me explain... We're taught that there are "positive" and "negative" emotions, and that anger is a "bad" one, especially in the workplace. Not true. Like all emotions, anger is a clue. It’s a bright red flashing check engine light telling us something is very, very wrong. Listening to it is a critical step in going after MORE in your career. The Upside of Anger Turns out, there’s an upside to anger. Several, in fact: ? Anger can be a catalyst for change: that moment when you say, "No more!" When you decide not to settle. When you commit to fightin ..read more

Congratulations for being curious enough to click on this post. Grief is not a fun topic. And it’s probably not a topic you’d expect a career coach to bring up. But it's so important for us to talk about, especially when it comes to your career. Grief is an essential emotion.  And it shows up in people's careers a lot more than you might think. So I want to normalize recognizing and talking about it, so you can process it...and release its energetic hold. Letting go of things—even the things that aren’t good for us—is still a loss. If you’ve ever experienced death of a loved one or pet, y ..read more

Several years ago, I had a strategy call with a prospective client. Usually, I love these calls and bring my full passionate self to them. (#IYKYK) But this call felt off. There was a weird tension that I couldn’t put my finger on. After the call came an email with a ton of questions—many of which we'd covered already. Then a follow-up call with the same questions. I assumed I hadn’t done a good job of explaining and dutifully responded. You know how I talk about making things fun and easy? Well these exchanges were HARD WORK. There was this push/pull of her clearly not liking my answers ..read more

You are NOT your circumstances. Please stop confusing your strengths, abilities, and *potential* with what has happened to you. "Bad" things happen to alllll of us: a lay off, a negative performance review, a boss we just can't seem to align with, an employee we couldn't help, a BIG MISTAKE, even (gasp) FAILURE... And we all make CHOICES that lead to career plateaus, stagnation, and sidesteps. First, EVERYONE has these experiences. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E. Second, you get to CHOOSE what you make them mean. You get to CHOOSE how prominently they factor into your mindset about your value, worthiness, an ..read more

We all get caught in those negative thought loops, when it feels like everything's terrible, all the bad things are happening, and we'll never find a way out. It's PAINFUL to marinate in those thoughts and EXHAUSTING to claw your way out.  The key is to get off the train before you ride it all. the. way. down. Check out this video: How the 3 P's of Positive Psychology can help you stop the swirl, expand your perspective, and see MORE options you simply couldn't see before. Contrary to a lot of anodyne social media sunshine-and-rainbows posts, it's not about telling yourself you SHOULD fee ..read more

In my first year of business, I panicked. Yup. I took a gig working for another coach. The good news: I coached a lot of people! The bad news: I was vastly underpaid. The worst news: For almost six months, I put my time, energy, and creativity into growing someone else’s business instead of my own. I had violated one of the most important “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” principles: I wasn’t minding my own business! Robert Kiyosaki’s concept applies to EVERYONE, not just business owners. And it boils down to a simple question: Are you minding your own business, or someone else’s? Think about all the ways ..read more