Wow, time sure flies!
Can you believe that I started entrepreneurship at age 24 after I’d put my head through a window in a car accident, and the injuries made it impossible to return to my PR agency job? I’m forever grateful that my boss and mentor, John Moscatelli, nudged me to service the agency’s smaller clients with my virtual PR firm. It was a perfect solution for a terrible problem, and my unplanned entrepreneurial journey was born.
NINJA TIP – develop a strong network and trust your champions, those advocates who will actively support your success (even when you are not in the room).
That was my first unexpected career pivot, with several more to follow. I earned my master’s degree and did the corporate/agency path in my 40’s. My last full-time job imploded as I turned 50. We’d lost our funding with no severance or vacation pay. As I went from hero to zero in the middle of menopause, with two kids in college, I sunk into a deep depression and had suicidal thoughts.
Yes, I had truly hit rock bottom.
Through career soul-searching, I reexamined my non-negotiable priorities and my mess became my message as the Rock on Success brand was born.
Now, whether I speak from the stage in front of thousands, or coach an intimate group of executives, I preach:
It’s time to rock your career, and your life, without selling your soul or losing your mind.
Amid my rebirth, my brother died from colon cancer at age 56. It’s scary; my hubby and I decided not to wait until we’re too old or sick to truly live. We bought a condo overlooking the ocean in Myrtle Beach, SC. Commuting as needed between New Jersey and the Carolinas offers the best of both worlds. Work-life integration takes on a whole new meaning as I coach executives and teams around the world, thanks to Zoom video conferencing and a nearby airport.
As I celebrate my company’s 32nd birthday, here are 32 lessons to help you sail into a happier and more fulfilling career:
- God taps, sometimes gently and other times in tornadoes. Listen to the lessons either way.
- Embrace change; prepare to pivot more than once.
- You have to let go and leave the shore to sail across the ocean.
- It may not always be a smoother ride, but enjoy the journey anyway.
- Like eating and breathing, careers evolve as you’re never truly done growing.
- Learn to float with ease and grace by breathing into your situation.
- The best way to swim out of a riptide is to acknowledge where you’re at, set a goal, and swim diagonally toward the shore. Flailing arms or brazen moves to take it head-on will only wear you down faster and suck you under.
- A light grip holds more sand than squeezing tightly.
- Take time to step off the grid when you can. It’s easier to think clearly with salty air and the wind blowing through your hair.
- Beach-walk brainstorming gets the creative juices flowing.
- If you let sand and saltwater wash over broken blue glass long enough, it goes from a hazard to a happy treasure.
- Start your day with a cotton-candy sunrise; end it with a magical sunset.
- Food is fuel, use it to run your body for optimal performance.
- Be kinder to yourself.
- Start and end every day with gratitude
- Unplug to recharge.
- Walking barefoot on the sand grounds you to the earth; it’s nature’s pedicure.
- Read a book (or listen to audiobooks) to broaden your perspective.
- A 15-minute catnap or daily meditation works miracles.
- Noise-blocking headsets enable calls while walking or working outside.
- Speak your truth, but pause and breathe before you open your mouth.
- If you’re not sure about sending a message, write it but do NOT send it until you’ve had a good night’s sleep.
- You’re not supposed to be great at everything, but your collective team should be!
- Delegate more = struggle less.
- Do once, use many.
- Inertia is not your friend. No decision is indeed a decision.
- NO doesn’t always mean forever; it may simply mean “not now.”
- A NO is a gift, freeing you to stop wasting time and move onto folks who appreciate and want what you have to share.
- Drive with the car top-down/windows open and sing on the top of your lungs.
- You are enough.
- Just. Be. YOU.
- Celebrate why YOU rock!
To get your free copy of the Rock on Success 90-day Fast Action planner and celebrate why YOU rock, go to www.rockonsuccess.com/planner.
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