Marina’s Blog

It’s just a job–or is it?

Feeling stuck, unhappy, or bored at your job drains your precious energy.  Consider this:  you probably spend more time at work—including preparation, commute and unwind time—than you do in sleep.  No wonder an unfulfilling job can suck the life right out of you.

One of my mentors helped me to stop complaining about a job and didn’t like and throw myself into it instead.  That’s right.  He said,  “what you focus on you become.”  Since I was focusing on how much I disliked the job, I was only extending my stay at the dreaded job by whining, whining and whining.

Rather than complain, I focused on the things I liked about the job (there were a few things) and did those extraordinarily well.  I also saw where I could expand my skills and take on more responsibilities.  I tested myself.  By doing this, I was building personal power that I then used….to get a better job.  By continuing this process over and over, I rapidly rose in my profession.

If job-seeking is your job right now, how’s that going?  If you’re focusing on how much you dislike it, consider changing tactics.  Put your energy into doing an extraordinary job of finding a job.  Develop a fantastic network.  Impeccably look for work.  And do fun things for yourself along the way.  By doing so, you will build your personal power to meet just the right person or to ace the interview–even in THIS economy.

I went to see Hurt Locker a week before the Oscars because the buzz was that it would win Best Picture.   It left me feeling acutely depressed.  But why?  What was it about the movie that made me feel, not only depressed, but lacking?

I returned to the theater two nights later to answer the puzzle.  The answer came in the last scene, when the main character, played by Jeremy Renner, put on his “space suit” to detonate another bomb.  It’s the first day of another year in Iraq.  Renner‘s face registers satisfaction bordering upon ecstasy.  Why?  Because he’s a cowboy addicted to war?  No, his happiness came because he found and worked at his passion.  He was born to detonate bombs.  He discovered that, and loved doing it despite the risk.

He was doing his dharma, as we say in spiritual circles.

In comparing my passion for what I’m doing against Sgt. James, I came up short. And that’s depressing, when life is so short and so much of it is spent working.

I vowed to change this.

My first step has been to step up and begin re-inventing The Pink Edge.  No longer am I content to center on career, with self-discovery as a side-focus.  Instead, I’m morphing my business into self-discovery as the main course.  You’ll be hearing more about this—a new website, new offerings, and a new business strategy—launching on the Summer Solstice.

The second step was to work less (hence fewer newsletters).  60 hours a week has been too much, I realized.  But perhaps working less doesn’t have to mean accomplishing less.  Maybe I’m learning to effort and push less and to surrender more, to work more easily and effortlessly.

Back to you: my challenge to you is to watch or re-watch Hurt Locker.  How does your love of what you do compare with Sgt. James?  If you find yourself lacking, what one little step can you do to change?   (My steps were big; they came on the heels of a week spent in India, meditating.)  Since it’s hard to see clearly in the midst of a busy life, make your first step small, like taking the Aunt Clara visualization in Chapter 7 of Make Every Day A Friday! But the good thing is, one small step leads to another and another and another….

7 Career Resources originally published in the Jan. 2010 Pink Edge newsletter:

1. Looking for a flexible job? http://www.flexjobs.com has 50+ categories of telecommuting and freelance jobs, from part-time to full-time, as well as lots of opportunities to earn supplementary income. I have not used this service myself, but apparently they have staff that weeds out the scams and ads, leaving those who use it with the best of the legitimate jobs. Cost: $15 per month of use.

2. Want to check out a company you are interested in to make sure they treat their employees well? http://www.glassdoor.com gives job-seekers the inside scoop about companies by compiling massive amounts of data including salaries, interview techniques, and CEO approval ratings. You can view three ratings for free before you’re prompted to supply your own information about companies.

3. Technologists: everyone knows about http://www.dice.com, but what about http://www.net-temps.net ? Postings cover a wide range of skills. Of course, networking is far superior to a job board any time. Are you networking through Linkedin? If not, please exit your cave.

4. Monsters (the job site) sponsors an online professional networking group for women. It’s http://excelle.monster.com. See what you think; I’m iffy as there’s a lot to wade through, but I’ve seen women reaching out with questions and getting quick and relevant responses from other women.

5. Preparing for interviews? Elinor Stutz, author of Nice Girls Do Get the Sale, now has an e-book called Hired! How to Sell Yourself on Interviews. She breaks apart the interview process and prepares you for it step-by-step, with the graciousness and common sense that I’ve come to expect from her. And what better coach for a job interview than a sales expert? Check out the book at http://www.smoothsale.net/ My favorite chapter is called “Sell Yourself Not Your Soul.”

6. We can’t have a resource guide without mentioning Changing Course, http://www.changingcourse.com. It’s for people with the entrepreneur spirit. Founder Valerie Parker’s specialty is helping people monetize their passion. The site is resource-full and idea-rich—plus you’ve got to love this quote by Jon Stewart: “The big break for me was deciding that this was my life.”

7. If you are a coach or self-employed practitioner wanting to expand, you’ll appreciate Sharon Good’s latest book, Creative Marketing Tools for Coaches. Sharon, a successful NYC Master Coach, walks you through do-able marketing steps. She’ll help you to recognize the marketing techniques that work for you, so that you can use them naturally. See http://www.goodlifepress.com/Business.html#MarketingTools. Sharon is also teaching the principles of the book via a tele-class. If you are marketing shy, Sharon is the person for you.