A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from a friend. She shares some bad news: the stress on the job had grew enormous. As a result, she felt forced to resign from her position, which had at one point in her career showed great promise but now is her worst nightmare. She was deeply discouraged. Where do I go from here?, she thought. She even started to question whether she was in the right career field. I knew I had to step in and say something. Her thought pattern reflected a common symptom of … [Read more...]
Life’s a Blizzard
In the Northeast corridor of the U.S., we've been battling major weather conditions. In the Washington, DC metro area alone, we've seen as much as four feet of snow and thousands of people are currently without power. Meanwhile, wind gusts are reaching speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, sweeping blankets of snow everywhere. As I sat inside my home, all warm and cozy, I couldn't help but compare how life is much like this blizzard. Such as life, weather conditions can suddenly take a turn … [Read more...]
Your Dream Career Awaits, Start Here
A few months ago (literally) I sat on my couch pouting about how I wanted to more aggressively pursue my writing dreams and gain greater traction in the publishing world. But then I realized (with the help of some trusted friends, and lots of trust and prayer) that if I fail to take a step of faith and actually put myself out there to claim my destiny, then how in the world was I ever going to accomplish my life-long goals? After mustering some courage, I got rid of the self-doubt and … [Read more...]
Belief Is Just the Beginning
Over the weekend, my husband and I went to the movie theater to watch the documentary The Providence Effect. The movie chronicles the journey of Paul J. Adams III, a black man with activist roots in the 1960’s civil rights movement, whose mission was to turn Providence St. Mel, located on Chicago’s west side, into a “first rank college preparatory school, and its African-American student body into a corps of driven, disciplined, high achieving students.” Inspiration It was inspiring to … [Read more...]
It’s Official: The 30th Day of The Career Pioneer Blog!
It’s been exactly 30 days to-date that I launched The Career Pioneer blog. And I must say that it’s been an interesting, somewhat difficult, and self-revealing ride to say the least. When I started this blog, yes, I wanted to help other people discover their own passion and true career path, but at the same time I secretly used it as therapy for myself, as I decidedly made a more concerted effort to pursue my own career dreams. Thanks for joining me on this journey. It honestly felt like a … [Read more...]
Are You Driving Your Destiny? Or Is Something (Or Someone) Else?
Growing up in Southwest Georgia, my family primarily used a riding lawnmower to cut the grass. Our yard was pretty large, and although my older brothers had at times mowed the lawn with a push mower, it was an obvious relief when they were old enough to use the riding version. As I grew older, my dad also allowed me to drive it in order to cut the grass. It was actually pretty fun and I enjoyed navigating up and down the yard, and maneuvering through bushes and underneath low tree … [Read more...]
Loose Lips Sink Great Ideas: Flesh out your new venture before announcing it to the world
One of my life-long goals is to write a book. There. I said it. I put it out into the world. There’s no turning back now. Have you done something similar to this lately (or ever)? Have you confided in someone (or several people), telling them of a future plan, project, or goal that you’ve wanted to accomplish, but have simply been too hesitant to jump into with full speed? Did you tell them irrationally, without any forethought or planning? Or did you take deliberate steps to announce your … [Read more...]
How a Country Boy Achieved Success: Lessons from a Georgia Hog Farmer
As I sat and began thinking about my next blog post, so many ideas ran through my head. But then I started to really feel an urge to take you guys back a little bit. Take you back to that little girl who grew up on a farm in rural Southwest Georgia. As I share with you my ongoing journey to success and career fulfillment, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the people who’ve incredibly shaped my life into what it is today -- my dear mom and dad. For now, I’ll share about my dad. My parents both … [Read more...]