Story Ideas

Any economic related news is going to be a spring board for a conversation about Where Are the Jobs? I contend that the new economy is creating itself by those individuals who are taking responsibility for creating a new way of working. My Book Put Your spirit to Work: Making a Living Being Yourself provides your reader/listener the latest tools and insight into the emerging world of work and empowers them to discover what it is they love to do. This resource will help individuals who need additional sources of income.

Men & Women at mid-life (defined by the boomers ages 45- 65) can use this time to discover work they love to do. For men, who have been defined more exclusively by work, undergoing my process for “finding your true north” will help them identify some aspects of their life that have not been included yet. Women at mid-life, depending on their previous work experience, (inside or outside the home, or a combination) will rejoice in the opportunity to redefine themselves.

Retirees or people seeking an Encore career It’s never too late, we’re all living longer and for some their post-work identity will be longer than their work identity. For some, the need will be driven financially, and for others this is the opportunity to leave a legacy or to give back.

Individuals undergoing or recovering from illness often need to redesign their work lives to accommodate a physical limitation. Chronic fatigue or other immune related diseases can render someone nearly helpless for extended periods of time. When they finally are healed to a degree where they can begin to work, they may have discovered new goals, new values, and even new reasons for living. This work can help them define what is important, and with that the motivation to succeed with realistic goals.

Individuals who have questions about the value of re-training and wonder if it is too late.  The truth of the matter is, it is never too late. But the caveat is, for people to do their homework, to research the field and to make sure there is a good fit with the candidate’s skills, interests, lifestyle requirements and rewards. As well, as to ascertain how viable the job-openings are in this area. Too often, labor market projections come to us too late to be of value and thus, the previously high-demand job opportunities have slowly disappeared. (or the geographical area you end up in doesn’t have the same labor market needs as where you received the training. The world is getting smaller and smaller and people need a road map.

Workplace Bullying and Self Esteem is a topic I have become engaged with over the past year. Since the tragic shooting in Tucson AZ in January 2011, the idea of creating a compassionate community provided the seed for working to create a healthier workplace, and that means eliminating bullying.

I realized much of the work I have done over the years, has been to work with people who have been bullied, though they might never have called it that. But there are places in many of us where we have been slighted, ridiculed, had our work stolen, been criticized publicly and not had the right information to do the job. Simple behaviors on their own, that might not be called bullying but OVER TIME run havoc with people’s boundaries, self esteem and overall confidence.

Writing your story, (one of the exercises in my book) helps in a natural way to bring to light those situations that need the lens of loving objectivity. Who did what? What could you have done? Why didn’t you? All the questions are designed toget to the heart of the problem and to eliminate self blame. Then and only then can we begin to move forward to create with confidence the work that we love.

December 2011.
For more ideas, contact Deborah at
deborah@lifeworktransitions.com