by Caroline Leach | Jul 9, 2023 | Leadership, Work/Life
How can your Sunday routine help you enjoy today and make the most of the week ahead? 🌻
Being intentional. Being present. Being curious.
These mindsets are especially important on Sunday, so the day isn’t frittered away.
And if you can practice them on Sunday, you can bring them to every other day of the week.
Sunday is traditionally a day of rest. This is ever important in our faster and faster world, where so much is coming at us. (Looking at you, ChatGPT, Threads, and the never-ending news cycle.)
It’s also a day to get centered and focused. To enjoy life, and to lay the foundation for the work week ahead.
Here are concepts to consider …
🌻 SLOWING DOWN. Under schedule, do less, and create space. Yes, this can be hard for the hyper achievers here on LinkedIn. But what if you listened to what your body, mind, and soul are telling you? This morning I work up, without an alarm, at the usual 4:30-ish a.m. (Annoying, I know.) But I was still tired. So I let myself sleep a little more.
🌻 SAVORING. Intentionally noticing what you are doing and enjoying it in the moment heightens the experience. What are the sights, sounds, and smells around you? What are the feelings you are having? What else and who else are there? Observing, pondering, and being curious in the moment will also help savor, and remember, the time.
🌻 SPIRITUALITY. This can have many interpretations. Here it’s about seeing yourself in life as part of something much bigger than yourself. You get to define what that means to you. What are your values? What and who are important to you? How can you be a force for good in this vast, interdependent, and complex world?
It seems like work has taken on spiritual proportions. In the United States, we often “live to work” rather than “work to live.” But work doesn’t love us back, no matter how many hours we put in. And there is always more, more, more work to do. At the end of our lives, and every day until then, it’s the relationships and the experiences that we will remember and cherish.
Being a more whole and balanced person also makes us better leaders, employees, and parents. We’re better rested and fulfilled, with more wisdom and perspective to navigate through problems, reach our goals, and contribute to a better world.
What are your Sunday routines? And how much more satisfying could life be with a little Sunday energy, every day of the week?
by Caroline Leach | Jul 7, 2023 | Careers, Corporate Communications, Leadership, Social Media
Don’t apply for stuff. 🚫
Students and colleagues give me a puzzled look when I share that advice.
How are you supposed to get jobs and grow careers without applying?
Applying for stuff:
🔴 Rarely leads to anything good
🔴 Often involves being ghosted or rejected
🔴 Gives a false sense of taking action that will lead to desired outcomes
What works instead?
✅ Getting to know people and being of service
✅ Building a network of colleagues who encourage and help each other
✅ Creating a reputation – a personal brand – for delivering value
A few examples …
In a career change, I applied for multiple jobs in corporate communications in my organization. Initially, I got rejections. Then I met people on the team through professional associations. They helped me get interviews. But I was often the number-two candidate, without an offer. Finally, I interviewed for a job and hit it off with the hiring manager. The role wasn’t right, but we kept in touch. Two months later, he reached out. A senior writer had resigned. Was I interested in the job? Um, yes! More interviews ensued. They wanted to make me an offer, but I hadn’t applied for the job. So I quickly did.
In leaping from the corporate to entrepreneurial world, I wanted to teach as a focus area. My start was serendipitous. A colleague from a volunteer board was a department director at a local college. He asked if I was interested in designing and teaching a new class in digital marketing. Um, yes! It was a blast. Later, I wanted to move to a larger university. I reached out to people in my network to chat about opportunities. While the conversations were friendly, they didn’t lead anywhere. One referral seemed hostile and uninterested in connecting, so I decided not to push it. A few months later, I got an email introduction. It was someone at the university who knew me from my alumni volunteer work and corporate social media work. A department head asked her for adjunct professor recommendations in digital and social media. My contact recommended me. After several conversations and guest speaking, I was invited to start teaching. Oh, and I had to apply after that.
More recently, I applied for an intriguing part-time contract role. It was complimentary to my current portfolio of clients and focus on coaching, consulting, speaking, and teaching. I thought I met or exceeded the key criteria. I excitedly applied online. Two days later, the rejection email arrived. I reflected on what went wrong. Because I thought my experience was a strong match with the requirements, I didn’t reach out to people for advice. This is a mistake I will not repeat.
So, stop applying for stuff. Instead, nurture your network. Help people. Let them know how they can help you. Do great work and tell people about it in the spirit of serving others.
How have you landed new opportunities?
by Caroline Leach | Jul 4, 2023 | Leadership, Work/Life
“Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go.” 🇺🇸 So said Hazel Scott. A jazz pianist and singer, Scott was the first Black woman to host her own TV show. Throughout her life from 1920 to 1981, she was a force for racial equality.
As the United States celebrates Independence Day, what do freedom and equality mean to you?
And what does it mean to seek freedom, walking hand in hand?
To me it means …
🇺🇸 We are all interdependent. The strength and sustainability of our grand but sometimes fraying experiment in representative democracy rests with linking arms and creating freedom and equality together.
🇺🇸 The only thing we control is our own thoughts and actions. We can’t control court decisions (except via future elections) or the news cycle. Yet we ARE free to take individual and collective actions for an equitable world.
🇺🇸 A powerful lesson about the founding Americans is one of taking a huge risk, when the outcome is uncertain. The signers of the Declaration of Independence risked death in doing so. Despite that, they proceeded.
And while the founding Americans weren’t perfect, and there were paradoxes in the Declaration, there is a basic framework and foundation that we can strive to expand and grow.
As the U.S. marks its 247th birthday, my hope for those who are celebrating is a day of fun, family, friends, food, fireworks … and a little reflection. Let’s remember this amazing gift we have been given. How can we be good stewards for greater freedom and equality?
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