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Shary Raske

Hope:
The Other Four Letter Word!

August 2009

Need a guide to be fully alive in your career?  Call for details!

Congratulations to Kimberly who decided to re-launch her career in a different direction.  After conducting multiple career research meetings, she determined that becoming a registered nurse would be a great fit for her talents and temperament.  Way to go, Kim!

When does hope begin?

I grew up on a farm in Northwestern Ohio.  When I was just a little kid, maybe four or five, our combine machine mal-functioned, leaving ¼ of the crop still in the field.  My parents, my three older brothers and I put on our wool coats and faced the brisk Fall day to manually pick up the corn that the combine had left behind.  I remember the exhilaration of being included in such an important task.  Each row had the possibility of many treasures to be found.  My little kid glee over flowed, as I exclaimed, “I found one!”  Then I’d triumphantly drop another ear of corn into the bushel basket.  I never tired.  I had found my place in the world.

One might think this to be an arduous job, the repetition of going up and down hundreds of rows of corn.  But for me it was my first sense of doing an important job and being included.

Little kids and even grown-ups observe and conclude what is important and what isn’t.  Then we form opinions that either limit or expand possibilities.  Sometimes we continue our life on automatic pilot and never revisit those earlier choices.

As an example, when I was a twelve, two professional violinists came to our church and performed very exquisite and complex music.  I had never seen or heard violin music before.  Our country school had a band, not an orchestra.  Even after I grew up and had children who played in the orchestra did it occur to me that violin music was something I could allow myself to enjoy.  

Recently while listening to an interview on NPR, my soul broke open to the intense beauty of Laurent Korcia 's violin music.  I wept. I was dazed.  Everything changed for me that day.  How was it possible for a country kid like me to be so moved by violin music?  That day, I realized that many years ago as a child, I formed a belief that violin music could not be an option in the way I ran my life. 

Who made up that rule?  I did.  How did I draw that conclusion?  Mostly by observing other people’s behavior.  How many times do we limit our career options because of some unexamined rule that we formed many years ago?  Inside of each of us is a doubter that says, “That might work for you, but it won’t work for me.”  Unfortunately, when we say that to ourselves, that’s usually what happens.

A Career Transition Strategist can provide you with a format to help you pay attention to what part of your past still works, and what interests and aptitudes you’d like to develop.  But first it takes HOPE.

Many of us live our lives stuck in four-letter words like:  Fear, Can’t, Won’t, Stop, Wait.  What four-letter words are guiding your life?  Hope is another four-letter word that will opens doors to other possibilities.  Hope is a decision, not an action.  What would it take for you to decide on the side of hope?  Without hope, there cannot be courage to look within. Without courage there is no action.  Without action, new possibilities for a better life stay dormant.  Choose hope.

A Courageous Change
I worked with a business owner going through a contentious divorce that had gone on for years with no resolution.  The lawyers were going back and forth in how to divide up the business.  The writing was on the wall that the business would not survive the marital break-up, or at least not in its present form. 

An unwelcome external change, can present a chance to make an internal transition for the better.  Even though this was an immensely painful time in his life, he took the time to plan for his positive future.  There were weeks when we had to put our work on hold, and other weeks where he could focus his full attention on his future.  Eventually a career transition plan emerged.  By the time the divorce was finalized he had already decided and implemented new work that was a better fit than the work he had done before.

One Secret for a Successful Career Transition 
Contact your alumni association and see if there is a local chapter in your area.  For instance, there is a Michigan State University Alumni Chapter in St. Louis.  Another way is to register for Linkedin.com and after you have at least 20 people linked to your account, you can do a key word search on your university and see what alumni in your area show up.  Alumni are more likely to help other alumni.

Does your career need a CPR diagnostic session?  Are you stuck or confused about what’s next for you? Well, I fix that.  I work with career changers who want to get to where they want to be faster and easier!  A Career Planning Readiness meeting will immediately identify ways to get back on track.  Leave with a preliminary plan on how to fix your career situation.  Available nationally through tell-coaching or one-on-one in the St. Louis region.  Call today for details (314) 560-1088.

Next Issue:  Is Career Satisfaction Even Allowed in a Bad Economy?

Shary Raske, Career Strategist,
Courage to Change Enterprises
(314) 560-1088

We offer career transition coaching, to get you where you want to be.  We help you figure out where you want to be, too!.  Enjoy reading, and  please forward to others,  particularly those who are job searching. 

If you received this in error, our apologies; see column on your left for options.