Bust The Fear. Move Forward…

Delighted to speak with Northern CAribbean University 2021 graduates on April 20th. How can graduating students Ditch the Fear that is holding them back so they can move forward?

Looking forward to diving into some insights.

Cheers!

That Fear. Ditch It…

To Live a fulfilled life, we need to keep creating the “what is next” of our lives. Without dreams and goals there is no living, only merely existing.

– Mark Twain

9 Things To Do By Yourself…

Dr. Shelly's avatarSuccess Strategies

Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get, you’ve got to make yourself.” – Alice Walker

Reflection, Rest, Relaxation & Renewal

Self-care is important, and so is doing it alone ..yikes! But time alone is important. It Evokes reflection, rest, relaxation and renewal.

Here I share my own favorite list of 9 Things to do by yourself.

Self-Care

  1. Give yourself a mini retreat weekend–eat healthy food, go for a massage, spoil yourself, and really relax!
  2. Meditate. Sit. Be still and devote time to listen to your spiritual thoughts. Breathe.
  3. Have dinner on your own in a nice restaurant… take time to really enjoy the food
  4. Go somewhere in the city where you have never been
  5. Study. Sign up for an online course in any topic you have an interest in and learn something new
  6. Sip a cup of tea and look out…

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Experiencing On-The-Job Nightmares? 5 Ways To Ditch It…

Hate your job? Feel sick just getting up in the morning to go (virtual or in-person)? We certainly understand. Many have been there. Just don’t jump ship yet. Here are 5 Strategies to do it right when you are at that crossroad and wondering what to do.

5 Strategies To Do It Right

  1. Don’t leave (yet)
  2. Start your search to see the job options available in the market place
    • Like your current career? Stay with it
    • Hate your current career? Plan an escape
    • Take into consideration your current skills, qualification and experience.
    • Upgrade skills if needed to suit your new role
  3. Update your Resume to match the job you’re looking for and review your social media profiles to make sure nothing unprofessional exist
  4. It’s time to begin your search to Ditch it for the ideal career you want
  5. Keep Motivated. Prepare yourself psychologically. The going can get rough especially while you are still in the same miserable job. So plan an escape while you wait. This can be:
    • Bathroom run (to breathe while on the job)
    • Mental escape to your happy place (vacation getaway, home reno, time with family, time alone, time with your favorite hobby)

Above all, be flexible. Sometimes you may need to take an interim role to get to where want to go. This may come with lower pay, entry level path or internship to get on your new career path. It’s the sacrifice you must take to get to where you want to go.

Good Luck and Happy hunting!

Need help? Lets connect.

Cheers!

Job Hunting? 7 Ways To Prepare For Your Next Career Move…

The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

A colleague in the industry asked me to address concerns about the unemployment situation during the pandemic. So what do we recommend to people who are job hunting? To those who live from pay check to pay check and now feel frustrated because they have hit rock bottom? Here are 7 Ways:

1. Build Mental Capacity

Build your mental capacity. Be honest about your circumstances. Keep yourself motivated when the going gets rough.

2. Ditch that Miserable Job

Go for that change. Need a career change? The best time is now. Interested in starting a business? It the right time. Go ahead and do it.

3. Do your Market Research

Consider the job you like

Be flexible, take what you can get (for now). It might be lower pay and benefits. But build it as part of your strategy. Just don’t let it be a permanent thing like a lot of people do. Then later they look around and realize years have passed. What should have been temporary slowly became permanent in the rat race of time.

4. Clean up your Public Profile

Recruiters and Hiring managers will check you out. So lead them to what you want them to see. Clean up that LinkedIn, Facebook and any other social media profile that you are active on.

5. Prepare

Prepare your Resume. This should be tailored to the job you are looking for and not the job that you had before. Get professional help from a coach if needed or get tips from the book: Your Career: Ditch It. Creative careers in media and entertainment industry such as artists and content-creators need a professional website. Simple will do. Just get it done

Do contact your references. Ditch the surprize. Nothing worse than one of your referees receiving a phone call for someone they haven’t heard from in 5-10 years or more. I know because that’s what happens to me time and again. Then you are expected to provide a good reference. No surprizes guys.

6. Upgrade Skills

What skills will you need in your new career? Will you need to upgrade? If so, go do it. Take advantage of Free training that has become available during the Pandemic. This includes the government’s re-employment assistance. They offer Free training for many career options. All you need to do is register.

7.Avoid Toxic Friends

Align yourself with a network who is going in the direction that you would like to go. Avoid toxicity.

Apply these 7 tips and have fun while you do it.

Cheers!

Cicely Tyson. Pioneer

I could not miss the launch of Pioneer and Award Winning Actress Cicely Tyson’s New Book titled “Just As I Am” tonight. Two hours later the news broke that she had passed.

She had marked the occasion with an inspiring discussion led by fellow award winning actress Whoopi Goldberg.

I enjoyed the soul-searching private virtual share between both …as Miss Tyson shared her mission which was to make a difference in how women, especially women of color, were portrayed on screen.

Cicely’s life mission depicts how to recognize when to Ditch a career and switch into one of purpose.

The book is definite Read.

Cheers!

HBR’s What Happens When Your Career Becomes Your Identity?

Is Your Career your identity?

What happens when your career becomes your identity? This Happens to so many of us? Here are 3 of the Questions HBR’s contributor Janna Koretz suggest asking yourself.

1. How do you think about your job outside the office?

2. How do you describe yourself? How much of this description is tied to your job, title, or company?

3.How would you feel if you could no longer continue in your profession?

Great questions. Read the article for the full analysis.

You may also listen to tips as I chat with Patricia Reid-Waugh or get a copy of my book ‘Your Career’ Ditch It? Switch it?’ Both provide a deeper dive into how you can ditch it and gain the identity that brings lasting satisfaction.

Cheers!

That Wretched Year…

My uncle sent me a New Years greeting that all my dreams will come through. Got me thinking about him. Retired, does he have a dream? Sure. We all have dreams. Then it took me back to a sports newscaster who retired the day before after decades in the business. It was his life. He loved it. And we love him.

But what’s next?

I thought about this wretched year as most people would describe it. Ravished by loss of life, hope, shame as most middle-class experienced wants and needs in a world rocked by a mysterious pandemic. Never before has cleanliness been so top of mind.

But what’s next?

Year Of Innovation & Creativity

Personally, 2020 was one of innovation. Creativity soared as mankind tried to survive. Children became computer wizards as they had to learn to use the tools that adults used in business to get things done. Seniors did the same. Those previously fearful of computer are now experts at zoom able to turn on or off their videos depending on whether or not they want to be seen during church services. Entertainment became virtual from tik Toc to Instagram and Facebook lives. Innovation Soared.

But what’s next?

There Is Hope

As we step into a new year, 2021, most are hopeful. They’re hoping that the wretched 2020 year will not repeat itself. For me hope is the most important thing. That being said:

I wish you health.
I wish your needs satisfied beyond what’s required
I wish you leftovers to share with others
I wish you smiles that goes deep within
I wish you a year filled with extravagant laughter
But most of all I wish you peace that only the spirit can provide.
I wish you solace that you will be able to stand firm holding onto the only one with strong support.

So as we wave this wretched year goodbye, we join together to welcome the new filled with renewed goals, dreams, aspirations. A future bright and beautiful beyond compare.

Cheers to you and yours as you cross over into a bright future.

Muah!

That Goal…Clutch It Up

My mom clutched it up! That’s what Jakob shouted when the news came of the neighbor’s new born baby on Christmas Day. To 10-year old Jakob, his goal is not to get just one gift at Christmas for birthday and Christmas. He wanted separated gifts. So he cheered his mom for clutching him up and giving birth early January.

Microwave Society

Caused me to reflect on our goals. Sometimes we give birth to our goals prematurely and it doesn’t last. Our microwave society want degrees in weeks. Marriage before couples meet. We have become so hastened that we find it hard to wait on the 30 second microwave heat. Yep. We have become an impatient society.

The Race Is Not For The Swift

But remember, the race is not for the swift. The race is for the steady. For those who are consistent in what they do. We are not talking about procrastinators. We are talking about consistent effort. Consider marathon runners and athletes, They work hard consistently and in the long run become winners. So let’s be patient and clutch up those goals. We too will achieve and experience success that lasts.

Cheers!

What Gets Measured…

What gets measured gets done

William Thompson, Scottish Physicist

What’s Your Why? Here’s Mine…

Dr. Shelly's avatarSuccess Strategies

Actions are visible, motivesare secret. ~Samuel Johnson

Affluent, distinguished, go-getter one day she suffered a stroke. In an instant Alice’s life changed. Weekly physical therapy became routine to return to normal. Sadly, the job she previously had also left her.

Despondent she wanted to know what to do. She decided to search before the end came. Sad and down she called. We talked and talked for days, weeks and after several rounds of coaching she excitedly announced to her peers that she got another job….one directly related to her dreams. She felt alive again.

Sheryl, a journalist for well more than a decade was tired of her job. But each time we talked about her career change… it seems she got pregnant. Two children later she decided she had enough. It was time to take the leap. She acted. Today she’s excited about her new job and her career change.

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My Writing Journey…

My writing journey began when I was 10 years old doing an important entrance exam to enter high school. I wrote a fiction story and was so engulfed that I did not realize I was doing an exam. Suffice it to say, I excelled. I went on to writing policies and procedures in the Pharmaceutical and healthcare industries in my International Human Resource Leadership Career.

Finding Meaning

My journey found meaning during my dissertation writing process as I pondered what to do for a 3-year writing project to meet the requirements for my doctoral studies. I wanted to do something that would make a difference to society. After deciding on researching the topics of Leadership and Success, my dissertation received outstanding recognition.

Challenges Along The Way

I was thrilled to have achieved my personal goal and Published my first book from my dissertation title Success Strategies of Leaders. The process was longer than anticipated and challenging as it involved translating the research from academic writing to storybook form in anticipation of public readership.

As many inquired about how to achieve success, I wrote Success Strategies Workbook to show them how. I was then recognized by the University for writing books based on my research as an example to other doctoral students. I was later invited to advise Doctoral students on the process I followed.

Community Leadership Initiatives

Along the way, I got involved with the Institute of Caribbean Studies in Washington DC doing work within our community, and was appointed as Chief Judge for the 30 Under-30 Millennial Change-makers. It was an initiative held at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) annually.

Same Goal–Different Paths

I subsequently published Books on Motivation to encourage New Entrepreneurs and individuals along their Career Success Journey. A few years later, I went on a slightly different path and published GreenLight, a book which contains stories of encouragement, inspiration, and exhortation. In response to reader request, I obliged and converted GreenLight into my first Audiobook. A different path but the process was enlightening and boosted my creativity.

Book Coach

As my writing journey progressed, aspiring new and longtime authors reached out asking for help. It transformed by role as coach for organizational Managers, employees, and Career Changers into my most enthusiastic role as Book Writing Coach as I responded to private and public calls for help. I also became a member of the writers community of South Florida for Authors of Color.

Satisfaction From New Authors

It brings me great joy and satisfaction as new writers experience novel personal growth when their first book has been released. My greatest pride is having worked closely with Reggae Music Matriarch Patricia Chin as she wrote to leave her legacy of a lifetime contribution, initially working close to Music Icons like Bob Marley while nurturing the careers of artists, Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Sean Paul and more.

With more books on the horizon, my Writing and Book Coaching Journey continues. Thanks for allowing me to share my journey with you. Do share yours.

Cheers!

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