A Bit of Pondering on the Journey of Changing Course

I was on a deadline to finish an article. The words weren’t coming as quickly or as well as I would have liked, so I decided to take a break to walk my dog Cokie. It was the first fall-like New England day of the season. We walked along a wooded trail not far from my house. While Cokie romped here and there, my eyes were to the ground. Deep in thought, I was busily editing the article in my head.

During a pause in the mental action, I happened to look up just in time to see a dazzling display of autumn color across the meadow. “Wow,” I thought, “I’d almost missed this.” That got me thinking about how much we miss when our minds are “elsewhere.”

It is not always easy to stay in the here and now. Our minds race ahead to what we need to do, want to do, can’t do, should do. When we’re not thinking about tomorrow or next week, we are thinking about what happened yesterday, last month, five years ago. We obsess about what we did, what we didn’t do, what we wished we’d done, what we were glad we’d done, and on and on.

There is, of course, benefit to looking ahead. That’s where dreams come from, how goals get set, and our true desires get taken for a test drive. There is also a time to reflect on the past. Thinking about how we might have done something different is often where we learn lessons.

But sometimes we spend so much time either three steps ahead or three steps back that we miss the part of the path we are on right now. I heard a quote once by Eleanor Roosevelt that ends with, “Today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.”

I was reminded of something I had heard from a very wise man named Jim Mendonca. Jim described himself as a life long recovering head injury survivor. Surely his injury was no gift. But from it came some wonderful insight into how his injury has changed his perspective. Here is what he said:

“Sometimes just the way you look at and label things can have a significant effect on how those things affect you. Case in point, while recovering from injuries suffered in an auto accident, I realized that most of the time I was seeing ‘things’ in a very black and white fashion. I was either having a good/great day or a terrible/bad day. And many too many terrible/bad days.

Something told me that if I just looked at or labeled my days in another way, maybe, just maybe, some of the overwhelming bad days wouldn’t be quite so bad or numerous. I consciously decided and began to purposely say and ‘believe’ that I was now having ONLY good days and ‘other days.’ Not even acknowledging that maybe I was experiencing bad/terrible days.

And guess what? I began to have fewer and fewer days that I considered to be ‘bad’ days. After several months of this, I really noticed that the quality of my appreciation of my life had changed, for the better. Then, I took an even bolder step and said to myself, ‘Self, if this is the start of something much better, than NO MORE ‘other days’.’ Now I was only going to have good days and better days.

It has been over a decade since I changed my days to good and better and I can say that my physical, mental, and spiritual health and overall happiness index has gone off the scale. I hope that this simple insight can be of a blessing to others.”

Jim Mendonca

Thanks, Jim. If you are in the process of changing course, dream of a better future – but enjoy the journey as well. After all, it is all we have.

Want to Re-Create Your Life? What Not to Do

You’ve probably read plenty of advice on what you need to do to find and follow the path to right livelihood. Well, I thought it might be time to offer a little counter-intuitive advice on what not to do. For example…

Do Not Automatically Trust the Experts

Even so-called experts sometimes get it wrong. I’m a big fan of the Public Television show Antiques Road Show. If you haven’t seen it it’s basically a roving antique appraisal fair featuring experts in anything from antique or vintage watches, furniture, pottery, paintings, books, and historical artifacts to just about anything else old. People show up hoping to get an expert opinion on the origins and value of anything from family heirlooms to an old movie poster they picked up for a few bucks at a garage sale.

In one recent segment a woman brought in a small green porcelain fish that had been in her family for many generations. According to a local antique dealer its only value was sentimental, adding that she could either keep it or put in a garage sale. Boy was he wrong. It turns out it was the earliest example of American porcelain that the Antiques Road Show appraiser – or any of his fellow experts – had ever seen. That small green fish was worth $30,000.

I once had a big time internet marketing guru tell me in no uncertain terms to change my home page. I did, and in the long run the change ended up costing me probably about $25,000 in sales. I still have the greatest respect for this individual whose results speak for themselves. But again, all experts get it wrong now and then – even me! So when in doubt, get a second and even a third opinion.

Don’t Take On Too Much

I know firsthand what it feels like to desperately want to flee a job that is sucking the life force out of you. I also know, too, that in our frantic attempt to get out of job jail we sometimes make the mistake of taking on too much all at once. “If I can read three books, attend four Teleclasses, sign up for six self-study courses, and listen to ten CDs this week,” we reason, “I’ll be able to reach my goal that much faster.”

But all too often just the opposite happens. In the process of trying to absorb too much information we become overwhelmed, with the result being the mental “memory full” message. And when that happens, just like when our computer is full, our brain actually starts to run slower. Even if you are a master at taking in massive amounts of information when you try to go in too many different directions at once you can end up going nowhere… fast.

Realizing a dream does require you to take action – lots and lots of action. Just not all at once. “For fast acting relief,” says Lily Tomlin, “try slowing down.”

Don’t Make It Harder Than It Really Is

A client named Billy wanted to start his own syndicated radio show. The problem? Like virtually everyone else on the planet (including me) he had no idea how to go about it. “Did you Google ‘how to start your own syndicated radio show’?” I asked.

This simple query led to a site called Syndication.net which offers consulting, a self-study kit, and other resources on how to launch a radio show. From here I hopped over to Amazon and found a well-rated book called The Radio Producer’s Handbook by Rick Kaempfer and John Swanson. I haven’t researched either of these resources, but still it is a great example of how something that feels so hard can be so easy.

Happily, that’s what fellow subscriber Andi Arndt just found out for herself. Andi wrote to say she’d started her own home recording studio this summer and had already found a regular client. “My realtor wants me to be the voice of all their listings, including virtual tours, HomeVoice call-in property info, their voicemail system, and narrating the weekly real estate show!”

But it gets even better. Andi says, “I also Googled ‘travel’ and ‘voiceover’ and found a great company in Brussels, Belgium that does audio city tours for iPods.  I’m writing their New York City audio guide, and then narrating it when we record, and I’ll get a 50-50 split of what is sold on his impressive delivery platform.  I’m pretty psyched.”

She adds, “I had such a great result from Googling the ingredients of my ideal job, now whenever I have a free moment I put my daydreams into browser language and follow my mouse through cyber-wonderland, picking up leads along the way!” Now how hard it that?

Don’t Do What You Usually Do

Sometimes the best way to jumpstart a dream is to not do the usual. If you usually listen to music while you drive or jog, next time you’re in the car or out for a run don’t turn on the radio or take along your iPod. Instead use the time to visualize your ideal life and the small steps you can take to get there.

Then, instead of rushing home to create yet another To Do list create a “NOT to do” list. Getting rid of things you feel pressured or obligated to do will free you up to spend time on the things you want to do… you know, like change the course of your life.

You’ve heard it a million times before, but small steps really do add up. The hardest part is getting started. “Whenever I get your newsletter,” says Andi, “it always makes me ask myself what I’ve done today to get one step closer to making my and my family’s dream a reality.” Now that’s a bit of advice you do NOT want to ignore!

“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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Comments from Previous Certification Attendees

 While Valerie’s been off at the lake, I’ve received a lot of emails from people who would like to hear from last year’s certification graduates. Here are a few of the many unsolicited emails Valerie received from recent grads: 

I wanted to thank you for everything you have included in our certification course. At first, I thought this was a costly course but you truly continue to over-deliver. Already our Website is looking the best it ever has (as we continue to implement the great marketing techniques we learned from your information and teleclasses). My business is steadily growing and I can see a huge leap about to occur as I launch another “profit center” thanks to your materials, classes and leadership! You really have put together a package that works. Keep up the great work and inspiration!
Teresa Proudlove

I just wanted to say that I love the classes… For years I have been clipping articles and writing down a slate of business ideas – many more than I can launch in one lifetime…but now I realize that these may be good for my clients at some point and I now see that I have been an “opportunity analyst” for a while – but your exercises are forcing me to stretch my limits and think even bigger and they’re also giving me what I have been lacking – the knowledge of how to move my ideas forward and help me help my clients figure it all out too – I love it!!! Thanks!
Susan Baker

I just wanted to take minute and let you know how much I am enjoying this course… I have been circling around it for years and for various reasons and fears haven’t moved forward full steam. Somewhere inside I think I still didn’t believe that people would actually hire me or find me believable.  I am so impressed with all of the information we have received and the caliber of guest hosts that you have included in the curriculum. I feel so much more prepared and informed than I ever have before. Of course I suspected I would feel this way because I have watched you for years and have always been impressed, which is why I signed up in the first place, because I knew I would learn lots, especially about marketing and sole proprietorship.
Lynn Burkholder

I’m totally pleased with how everything is going even though it all needs tweaking – this is such fun!!!  I just got a call from a group of stay-at-home moms who want a 2 hour program at one of their monthly meetings. 
Jane Kirsch

Again, we have temporarily closed registration for the program while Valerie’s at the lake; however, if you just can’t wait to reserve your spot, contact me at Lisa@ChangingCourse.comTo your dreams,
Lisa Tarrant
Vision Implementation Manager

Is This the Right Career Change for You? Questions and Answers About the Outside The Job Box Career Certification Program

Your Emails Answered

I’ve been fielding phone calls and emails from people who are interested in the Certification Program all week. I was going to try to summarize things into one coherent (and shorter document). But then I thought it might help to read the questions written in their actual words.

Obviously you’d like to hear the answers too, so I have cut and pasted my replies. Again I wanted to spiff these up as well but you know what it’s like before leaving on vacation and an old friend from my corporate days is driving up from DC to spend the night so there is much scrambling to clean the house and get dressed in real clothes instead of the sweat pants and slippers I live in!

All of this is to say — this post is bound to have some typos and my replies are definitely is not grammatically correct to never mind proofed. But I hope you find these questions and my answers helpful.

QUESTION

A bit of context… Karen (not her real name) is a career counselor at a large university. Following last year’s Work at What You Love workshop, Karen sent me a box of gourmet chocolates and a note that read, “Thanks to you I can never think about work the same again.”

Karen was on the fence about the Certification last year and ultimately decided to wait. Once again she is considering signing on but had a few questions:

Dear Valerie,

One of my questions is: I’ve been to a Work At What You Love workshop, and I’m a member of the Fast Track community. So, I’ve got access to a lot of resources already. How much more will I gain from doing the certification program? I’m sure part of the answer to that is “tons of support,” and that’s certainly worth a lot.

Are there testimonials available from the people who were in the first certification program?  How many of these individuals are on their way to making a living at career consulting? Are any of these people mothers of a small child?  🙂

I’m also just really curious to know how many hours a week (average) you work. Or is that one of those personal questions, right up there with asking someone how much he/she makes? You seem so incredibly busy, and yet happy with your quality of life.

I really admire what you do, and I’m very happy for you that you’re so successful at it.  Thanks for your hard work.

ANSWER:

Hi Karen,

I will definitely be reinforcing concepts you learned at the workshop and via Teleclasses I have conducted as part of Fast Track. It is my experience that just because you learn something once, it doesn’t always stick. There are certain concepts that are just ingrained in how I think and therefore how I work with clients. Unless you are working with these concepts day in and day out as I am, they take a while to integrate into one’s consciousness.

Specifically I am thinking of the “5 Sources of Ideas for Income Streams,” the “Life First-Work Second Approach,” and the “20 Ways to Quit Your Job and Get a Life.”

I’m not sure if this is spelled out anywhere in Fast Track or not, but also central to what I do and therefore teach, is something I call simply The Formula. It’s a series of 4 questions clients need to explore (1. What do I want? 2) What do I have? 3) Who wants what I have? 4) How do I turn my ideas into actions?) Personally I think one of THE most important techniques to master is becoming adept at helping clients ask and answer the third question, “Who wants what I have?” beyond just customers and clients.

Since you are already a career counselor (or frankly even if you weren’t) there is no reason why you could not take everything you learned at Work at What You Love and in Fast Track, integrate key concepts into your own approach (obviously crediting any of my work to me), and start seeing clients next week if you wanted to. And maybe that is a way for you to test the waters to see if you even like this work!

I work at least 40 hours a week – occasionally less and often more. I am an idea person and I have this habit of acting on ideas which of course creates a steady flow of projects! Career consulting is one of 7 income streams for me. Part of what we’ll be covering in the Certification is how to create multiple income streams. The consulting is a place to begin. But as Barbara Winter reminds people, “The business you start out with will not be the business you end up with.”

As for the current consultants, I would say about half are on their way to making a living at this work. For many “life” got in the way – three people relocated, one is taking care of aging parents, one was planning a wedding… Much of what people are focusing on now is developing their blogs, or we sites, or newsletters and other means to make people aware of who they are and what they have to offer.

Several have realized that they would rather focus on doing workshops than working one-on-one. One has decided to actively pursue a lifelong love of black and white photography and is at a 10 week training program as we speak before moving to the mountains and will do consulting on the side. Two are creating an information product together. One is going to specialize in people who want to live and work abroad. And another is an introvert who is going to work with other introverts. Several have young children.

No one is earning a living at it nor would I expect them to be – especially since none of them either chose to or are able to be building their business full time. Here is a link to an audio recording of an interview I did with 7 consultants. I gave them all the master so they can turn it into their first free bonus product or sell it if they like:

http://ChangingCourse.com/dreamteamfall06.mp3

I am also giving the CD of this away as a seminar bonus to give them more exposure. Their URLs will be on the version I’ll be handing out at the seminar. I did not put it on this version because a) some of them are still scrambling to get their sites up in time for the workshop – pressure works and b) I did not want to put them in the position of having to field a bunch of emails or calls from people with questions about the certification. (Separately I have included Carrie’s phone number – you and she attended the same workshop so she would be good to talk to.)

I have also invited the 9 consultants who are coming to the Work at What You Love seminar to design and run a Friday night brainstorming session. They’ve been meeting via conference calls to plan the agenda. Again it’s about giving them practice and exposure.

You are right I should have added more testimonials – I just ran out of time. If it helps, here is an email I received from Lynn B. this morning:

Valerie,

I am so grateful to you. I have heard from 4 people via email, and 35 people so far have signed up for my newsletter. This is exciting. I knew taking your course would be the right move. I just knew it on so many levels. I will definitely document this because it is a perfect example of what happens when you follow your strong instincts.

And not only the course itself but all the directions it has lead me in because you have exposed us to so many different people and possibilities. So thank you again my guru. Have a great day.

Lynn

Update:

Karen and I spoke my phone today. She is still undecided in part because the fall is a really busy time on campus. And yet, it seems to me that if she knew this was right for her that she would know it. I think she was relieved to have someone give her permission to consider other paths and decided to schedule an individual session with me instead.

Letters from People Who Have Found Their Calling

Like I said, I’ve been fielding some great questions all week from people who are interested in the Outside the Job Box Career Consulting Certification program but need a little more information before signing on.

I’ve heard from an introvert, a “scanner,” an engineer, a college career counselor, a military recruiter, even a Christian missionary. I’ll be spending the better part of tomorrow writing up what I hope to be thoughtful responses to all of your questions.

Questions like…

“Do I have the skills or characteristics to do this kind of work…?”

“What if I’m an introvert…?”

“Are the people who took the 2006 Certification program making a full time living yet…?”

Since I know a lot of you are as inspired by real life stories as I am, I thought I would share a few of the letters I received this week from people who answered already answered the question: “Is this my calling?”

Dear Valerie….

It seems you are indeed having a profound influence on my life!  And it just sort of sneaked up on me!

First of all, after reading my intro, you sent me an email about the up-coming Pet Photography Workshop in Hershey, which I signed up for, and am really looking forward to, as I did that for about a year, and am dying to get back into it. (Rich Wagner lives about a half hour away from me, although I have not met him, as yet…)

Then, I find myself getting into the Membership Program, and NOW,  Outside the Box Consulting Certification!  WHEW!  

That’s three THREE STREAMS OF INCOME RIGHT THERE!

I work for the government at the moment… and I can’t WAIT to say au revoir, bon chance, and I’ll see ya later!   I’m burned out, traveling constantly, one hotel after another, blah, blah, blah.

So you have thrown me a life ring, which I am swimming toward and will grab onto for dear life!

Thanks!
Scott

Then there was the letter from the very enthusiastic New Yorker!

Priority Notification List Registration Day and Time Announced. Plus, the Angry Letter You Really Need to Read…

Well, after months of hard work and planning, it looks like we’re finally ready to start registering people for the 2007 Outside the Job Box Career Consulting Program. (Woo Hoo!)

Before I get into the registration details, I need to say a quick word about the cost. I know some people were rattled when I talked about how much attendee’s paid to attend last year’s Certification and about my early predictions as to what the program might run this year.

If you kept reading, you also heard me say how hard I was working on finding a way to make the program as accessible to as many people as possible.

Well, I thought you might like to know that since my last update I’ve figured out a way that you can get started for as little as $333. You’ll hear all about this and other payment options in a matter of hours.

Which leads me to the point of this update…

The Outside the Job Box Career Consulting Certification Program is designed to be up front and personal. You will be working directly with me (and with a small tight-knit group of other students) over a period of many months. Unfortunately, that means that I have to limit the number of training slots available.

So, in order to make the process as fair as possible, I’ve set up a specific time for the registration process to begin. That way everyone has pretty much an equal chance of signing up for one of the slots who wants to.

The registration process will begin Monday August 6, 2007 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.

“But Valerie, I hate deadlines!”

I know whenever there is any kind of time factor, that some people get anxious. In fact, some get downright mad about it.

Since there IS a legitimate time factor involved with the Certification Program, I want to address this issue right up front. If for no other reason than to let you know where I’m coming from on the whole issue of deadlines in marketing copy.

Let me come at this by way of a recent true life example…

BURNING QUESTION 3: What will the Outside the Job Box Certification Program cost and how much can I expect to earn doing this kind of work?

I know a big concern for a lot of people is cost. But since the whole point is to train people how to think outside the box, let me come at this by first turning this around for a minute and asking you a question. Namely…

How do you determine the cost of freedom?

What would you be willing to invest – not just in terms of money, but also in terms of your time – to build a business that could lead to the ultimate freedom of becoming your own boss?

The reason I’m bringing up the time issue is because I just heard from a woman who is totally dreading going to back to her fall teaching job. She wanted to know if she could earn enough by September to be able to resign. I’m really glad she asked because it would have never occurred to me that someone would expect to start and build a profitable business in a few weeks.

So, let me be really clear. If anyone is looking at the Outside the Job Box Certification program as a fast, easy short cut to freedom, you should unsubscribe from this Priority Notification list right now.

Learning any new skill set takes time. Starting any new business takes time. Succeeding at a new business takes time. There are ways to go faster of course… which is the whole point of this Certification. But still, it does take time.

Some of you will take what you learn and run with it. Others will absorb it more slowly. The point is that the more you put into growing your business, the faster it will grow.

Fall 2007 Outside the Job Box Career Certification Burning Questions 1 & 2

Like I was saying, I spent all day yesterday pouring over hundreds of survey results. I was impressed by both the quantity and the caliber of questions and comments. I can already tell this is going to be an amazing class.

Not surprisingly, your most burning questions fell into 3 main categories:

~ Training and support (what’s covered, program length, ongoing support)

~ Marketing and getting clients

~ Investment (i.e. time and money) vs. expected return (i.e. how much can I make?)

There’s a lot to say about each of these questions. In fact, I’m actually in the process of putting together a Certification description to answer these and other questions in depth. But let me at least touch on these questions now so you can begin to decide whether it’s the right program for you.

Before I answer some of your burning questions let me quickly address a few other simmering questions and concerns:

QUESTION: What if I miss a Teleclass?

ANSWER: All calls will be recorded so you can easily catch up on anything you may miss.

Considering that 71.3 percent of survey respondents said they are “Very interested” in this training program and 75.3 percent want to get started “the sooner the better,” it’s looking more likely that I’m going to have to add a Tuesday morning session to meet the demand.

When you register, you’ll be asked to select which session you want to attend. However, if you can’t make your scheduled session, you are perfectly free to drop in on the other session whenever you like. In fact, you can listen in to both sessions if you want.

Career Change Consultation Certification Update

Apparently last week was a big vacation week. I know because
when I came into work yesterday morning there were a pile of
messages from people who just got my email about the Outside the
Job Box Certification Program survey and were upset because they
missed the deadline.

I know what it’s like trying to catch up after being out for a
week. So, to give everybody a chance to complete the
Certification Survey, I’ve extended the deadline to this Sunday,
July 29th.

Here is the link again:

http://ChangingCourse.com/survey2007.htm

I know a lot of you are chomping at the bit to get into this
program. But I want to make sure that when I do answer all of
your frequently asked questions that I haven’t missed anything
really important. So I’m going to wait another week to get all
the surveys back.

But there is one really important thing that came up in the
survey that I need to clarify right away….

Good News and Your Free Gift

Maybe it’s the “pathological optimist” in me. But I’d rather deliver good news than bad news any day.

So after telling you on Tuesday that the Fast Track Your Dream Community was going to close to new members tonight (Thursday) at 9:00 I’m happy to be able to deliver both good news AND a free gift.

To quickly bring everybody up to speed…

Apparently my announcement that we are on track to fill all 200 member seats caught a lot of people off guard. Since then I’ve been bombarded with requests to open up more spaces.

Just to be clear, I’d like to help everyone who wants to get out of job jail to do so. Helping people like you to figure out what you love to do and then coming up with a concrete plan to make that happen is the whole reason I started the Fast Track Your Dream Community.

Again, the main reason why I had to limit the number of people who could join Fast Track was to make sure that the Outside-the-Box Career Consultants could handle the volume of questions on the Q&A Forum. After all, the whole point of making a team of consultants available was to make sure that everybody’s individual questions get answered.

Well I’m happy to tell you that despite a whopping 338 posts in less than a week, the “Dream Team” has been able to rise to the challenge… and then some. In fact, in most cases they’ve been able to answer individual member’s questions in less than 24 hours.