06 Jun Are You Ready to Take the Plunge?
This image says it all when it comes to trying something frightening. I find the dare to try a new method for work is like falling off a boat into shark-infested waters. It takes courage to get honest about what we love, especially when it comes to earning a living.
Even if you are much older than someone graduating from college, I bet you can relate to at least one of their stressful dilemmas. Ask yourself:
- Will I be broke forever unless I get some job I hate?
- Will I feel hopeless year after year being chased by debt?
- Will this general vagueness about what I want to do with my life dog me for the rest of it?
- Will I watch my friends prosper and build lives that look fun—at least half of the time—whereas I’ll still be wondering what I want to be when I grow up?
- Do I know even one person who is living within their means and doing work they really like?
- Will I ever be able to be like those people who seem to make money so easily that they can donate it toward a cause they believe in, even if they’re not as rich as Warren Buffet or Oprah?
- Do I think I’ll have to find out on my own what I have to offer this world?
If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” we need to talk. Number one, I feel ya, and number two, I never got traction on what Buddhists call “Right Livelihood” until I let myself receive support from those who’ve made progress on these same concerns themselves. My mentors are Molly Gordon, Valerie Young, and Barbara Winter. Each of these women, in her own way, taught me you can do work you love to do—especially if it’s good for others—and live within your means; you just have to begin. All of these women also taught me the value of working with someone who’s gone before you.
The most common way people give up their power of career choice is by thinking they have to make it alone. ~ Jennifer Manlowe
Do you feel stuck between a rock and a hard place?
I bet you’ve wondered: “Hey, wait a minute, finding my work in the world doesn’t have to be this hard.” NOTE: I agree 100%
My work as a systems therapist is all about supporting you to experiment with being who you want to be when you grow up.
Together, we will find what’s next for you and the small steps necessary to support your experiment doing work that doesn’t even feel like work. Even if that work is what you are currently doing; there are multiple ways to bring more of who you are to what you do.
Whatever you can do or dream, you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. ~ J.W. von Goethe
Because my own journey has taken me over a broad continent of professional experiments before finding my way, I have a ton of tricks and games to play to uncover your direction.
To practice Right Livelihood, according to Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, “Find a way to earn your living without transgressing your ideals of love and compassion. The way you support yourself can be an expression of your deepest self, or it can be a source of suffering for you and others.” ~ Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching