Maria Shriver asks Just Who Will You Be?
Maria Shriver has been everywhere from Larry King to Oprah talking about her new book Just Who Will You Be?: Big Question.
The book is a genuine heartfelt look at a question millions of people all over the world are wrestling with — Am I creating the person I want to be?
Each week, people ask me some version of this question. Typically, it starts out with a question about work, career, balance, happiness, even retirement. I am asked – How do I know what I want to do? How do I find what makes me happy when I have so many responsibilities? How do I explore what I believe and want when I am so afraid?
What emerges, however, is a true desire to be heard and understood; a desire to create a way of life that reflects the person we are and the person we are becoming.
As a society we are conditioned to consider our vocation and success in terms of wealth, prestige, prominence and the like.
But something is happening. Slowly, quietly, we are starting to question this norm. We are beginning to realize that true success is achieved when we design our lives and careers around who we are, rather than contort ourselves to fit a societal image of success. Revolution Me! is testament to movement.
I invite you to take a look around, you will find inspiration and motivation – from Chester Pitts to Markéta Irglová. And for exercises to get you into motion, you may want to check out some of our recent postings:
Consciously Crafting Your Career
Making a Life vs. Making a Living
How Gaps Grow and Consciously Creating Commitments
Memory Muscle: Part I and Memory Muscle: Part II
Take twenty minutes today to start planning your own personal Revolution!
A New Way to See the World – Pangea Day
Where will you be on May 10, 2008?
If you haven’t heard of filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, The TED Conference and Prize (Technology, Entertainment, Design), or Pangea Day – the post is for you!
In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize, an annual award granted at the TED Conference. She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish to change the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish.
To get a better idea of her vision, take a look at her acceptance speech:
On May 10, 2008, Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones. Twenty-four short films will be featured to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person’s eyes. The films will be selected in late April, but a few short promos and anthems are available on the site now. One anthem – Imagine! – Kenya Sings for India is featured below:
(more…)
Add Women, Change Everything – The White House Project
That’s the mantra of The White House Project!
What a rallying cry – Add Women, Change Everything!
If you haven’t heard of The White House Project, it is a national, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization, with a mission to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors, even the U.S. presidency. The White House Project aims to “create a culture where America’s most valuable untapped resource—women—can succeed in all realms.”
The White House Project website offers a plethora of resources, tips and programs to inspire, motivate and move you into action! Great places to start include:
Vote Run Lead for information about the political process. You’ll learn how to be more active as a voter, activist, even a candidate!
Enterprising Women for resources to boost your business prowess! Increase your visibility, raise your voice and claim your seat at the table!
Invite a Woman to Lead let’s you send a postcard, like the one below, to the powerful women in your life! Who are you going to invite to run for President?
For some quick tips on how to get started, The White House Project highlights
14 Ways to Lead in Your Life (more…)
Randy Pausch Asks You to Dream
I am watching Diane Sawyer’s interview with Randy Pausch and find myself amazed, moved and inspired by the man and The Last Lecture
I have no words, so I will simply let you watch to the Last Lecture, provide you with a few links and let Randy do what he does best – tell his story.
Links: (more…)
NBC4 News Highlights Compass Point & Career Shaping!
What an exciting start to spring for Compass Point Associates! First, we were invited to participate in the Association of Cable Communicators Forum to coaching participants. It was wonderful event and a great opportunity to meet with a dynamic group of executives!
A few days later, the things got even more exciting! Compass Point was featured in a NBC4 News segment, A Paycheck with Passion. The piece was about changing careers and featured the Compass Point Career Shaping Workshop. A big thank you to the ladies featured! We had a fabulous time and somehow NBC was able to capture the amazing energy in the room!
Check it out for yourself!
If you are interested in learning more about shaping your success, check out the Consciously Crafting Your Career post from earlier this month or find out about the next scheduled Career Shaping Workshop on the Compass Point Calendar.
Consciously Crafting Your Career
When you are young, your ideas of about what you wanted to be were based on an image – perhaps from a book or television. Maybe going to see the Nutcracker planted the seed of being a ballerina or a watching The Lone Ranger led to visions of being a cowboy. Perhaps The Cosby’s inspired ideas of becoming a doctor like Cliff or a lawyer like Claire. While these ideas weren’t necessarily based on personal strengths, you weren’t yet making career decisions. You could enjoy such flights of fancy, as they had little impact.
Growing older, you began to receive input from a greater number of sources including family, community, peers, teachers and counselors. Your career began to unfold based on the images of success designed based on these external, familial and societal factors. As the years progress, you may have found yourself getting restless, feeling less challenged, perhaps even bored. Maybe you attained success and were shocked to find it didn’t feel or look like what you had imagined, or you began to wonder, “what’s next?”
Management guru, Peter Drucker offered the idea that it is up to the individual to be the CEO of his or her career. Drucker suggested that,
It’s up to you to carve out your place, to know when to change course, and to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years. To do those things well, you’ll need to cultivate a deep understanding of yourself—not only what your strengths and weaknesses are but also how you learn, how you work with others, what your values are, and where you can make the greatest contribution. Because only when you operate from strengths can you achieve true excellence.
Taking the time to engage in this exploration will help you to be prepared for opportunities, and to consciously shape a career that reflects your personal definition of success.
You can start by determining: (more…)
