Why I Don’t Want to Have It All

Class started off slow. Instead of sitting cross-legged on our mats, hands resting palms-up on our knees, we rolled up blankets and placed them — lengthwise — beneath our backs. We stretched out, our heads propped up on blocks, our arms flung out to our sides, our eyes closed. We concentrated on the rise and fall of our stomachs. Our chests.

After coming under the gentle spell of our own breath, we rocked forward onto all fours, and then leaned back into child’s pose. Then we slid forward onto our stomachs, where we were told to stretch our arms out above us and rest our foreheads on the floor.

That’s when I felt the tears burning behind my eyelids. They were so sudden, they took me by surprise. I pressed my forehead and nose into my mat, hard. I rocked my head from side to side, allowing my hair to fall around my face. [Read more…]

Pinpointing Dream Job #328

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a ballerina. I loved the tutus, the leg warmers, and the ’80s dance movies. After a few months of ballet lessons, however, in which I was subjected to an itchy flower costume and an inordinate number of bourrés, it was clear that the American Ballet Academy was not in my future. (I still love the tutus. And the ’80s dance movies.)

In Test-Drive Your Dream Job, Brian Kurth wrote of the fears inherent in throwing yourself into a new career. “What if I pursue the ‘real me’ and then I don’t like it?” he wrote. “Or, scariest of all, what if I pursue the ‘real me’ and then I fail?” A valid fear, but I’ve found that acknowledging the fact that career goals and dream jobs change–and understanding that this is perfectly normal and okay–somehow makes those small leaps less scary.

[Read more…]

Link Love: March 19, 2010

It’s been a long, ridiculously busy week and, I must admit, I’m feeling a bit burnt out. Which is why, last night, I forced myself to step away from my laptop and indulge in an evening of Netflix+hot cocoa. Still, work goes on, and I completed a copywriting project for a new client, had my very first career coaching appointment, and got back into the bloggy swing of things. I’d still like to write up a guest post, organize the content for my new online portfolio, and make some headway on my e-book but, you know…we’ll see how that goes. 🙂 In the meantime:

[Read more…]

7 Things I Learned About Career Success From My Mom

My posting has been a bit all over the place this past week. I apologize. I was swept up in wrapping presents, baking xmas cookies, and stockpiling posts in preparation for my long weekend away.

You can see some of the fruits of my labors above. They’re tassies, a recipe I learned from my mom when I was young, a delicious bit of heaven made up mostly of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla (yum!).

As I uphold the traditions my mother passed down to me, I marvel at how much of her is in me. Though there was a good amount of resistance in me, I’ve learned a lot from my mother.

After the jump, 7 things I learned from my mom about career success, despite myself:

[Read more…]

6 Things I Like About My So-Called Freelance Life

In the midst of blogging, Christmas shopping, and tree trimming, I’ve been sneaking away all week to steal some alone time with My So-Called Freelance Life, the most recent freelance survival guide from alt-work guru Michelle Goodman. And let me tell you. It is good.

Which is why I’m taking a break from our usual Thursday interview to introduce you to a true source of infinite wisdom, in paperback form.

Honestly? This is the book I wish I had a year ago.

[Read more…]

My 5 Favorite Things In: Test-Drive Your Dream Job

When I first stumbled upon Brian Kurth’s Vocation Vacations website, I thought it was just about the best idea I’d ever seen. As someone with so many interests, she doesn’t know quite what to do with them, the opportunity to go on a vocation vacation and experience an entirely new career for a limited period of time was incredibly attractive.

Of course, vocation vacations sound an awful lot like internships, and you don’t need to pay for the opportunity to intern. Reasonably enough, Kurth agrees that there are other  (free) options for checking out the viability of a new career path, which is where Test-Drive Your Dream Job comes in. After the jump, my five favorite things about this book:

[Read more…]