Fake It Til You Make It A Lesson in Work Ethic

Fake It ‘Til You Make It A Lesson in Work Ethic Occasionally it happens. You start a new job, only to realize it’s not what you had hoped. Perhaps the job was oversold by the employer, or it’s a new role you thought you would enjoy more. Or maybe you just weren’t in a financial position to turn down the job offer. Regardless, what’s done is done, and you’re now having trouble finding the motivation to give it your all each day. Before you let your frustration affect your work, or decide to jump right into the next job opportunity that becomes available, here’s a piece of advice â€" fake it ‘til you make it. As someone whose career path has taken a number of surprising twists and turns, I can attest to the value of putting 110 percent effort into your job, only to realize the unexpected rewards months or years later. Of course, we all need some amount of job satisfaction, and I’m certainly not suggesting you remain at a job where you’re miserable. However, as you contemplate the next stage of your job search, here are a few reasons why “faking” enthusiasm by putting in the same amount of effort as you would for a job you love can lead to “making” a positive impact on your career. Good Things Can Happen Right Where You Are The biggest argument for not allowing your work ethic to wane at a job you’re less than passionate about is the uncertainty of what the future may bring. While things aren’t guaranteed to improve, they often do. Upper management may change. So may your job’s responsibilities. Your work on a current project may be noticed by another team or manager that may offer you a position that’s a much better fit for your abilities. One thing is for sure â€" nothing great is ever accomplished with minimal effort. Don’t let an apathetic attitude toward the present affect a bright future. Don’t Let One Mistake Ruin Your Tenure Despite the recent controversy over how much tenure an employee should have before leaving a job, few would argue that leaving after only a few weeks or months never looks good. Resuming your job search immediately after starting a new role is a red flag to future employers that something went terribly wrong. While you may think you can cover it up on your resume or LinkedIn profile with some creative maneuvering, employers know other employers in the same industry, and you may find them reluctant to hire you for fear of a similar outcome. Leave for the Right Reasons, Not the Wrong Ones Employers understand that not every hire will be a perfect fit for their role or the company culture. The best thing you can do is learn from the work, the company and your coworkers before moving on to a job that’s a better fit, while trying your best to contribute as much as possible along the way. The worst thing you can do, however, is to allow your misery and frustration with the situation to affect your work performance and relationship with your coworkers. While your departure may be inevitable, it’s better to be remembered as a team player who tried their best than a toxic coworker who everyone couldn’t wait to be rid of. You Never Know the Impact You’ll Make Ever known someone who did their job so well that once they left, they were remembered, talked about, emulated, and even recruited by the employer of another former employee? Both employers and recruiters consider these people invaluable, as they teach and inspire others to be their best. Make every effort to be remembered this way, as you never know how those you impact will, in turn, impact your future career. On the other hand, have you ever known someone who only does good work when the assignment interests them, but other times is unmotivated and unreliable? Do you want to work with them in the future? Neither does anyone else. Few of us will ever follow a straight and narrow career path without a few wrong turns along the way. Ludwig van Beethoven once said, “To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” Similarly, while accepting a job offer that turns out to be a poor fit for your skills or personality may be insignificant, refusing to perform the job to the best of your ability out of frustration or anger is inexcusable. And while true passion and motivation can’t be “faked,” sometimes it needs to be mustered from where it may not normally exist. Those who can display the same level of excellence at a job they love as at one they hate are the ones who will truly “make” it.

How to Politely Say No to Extra Work at the Workplace - Classy Career Girl

How to Politely Say No to Extra Work at the Workplace Every employee wants to impress his/her bosses to stay in their good books. And there’s nothing wrong with that! It constantly pushes you to deliver your best work and proactively work towards achieving organizational goals. You may want to help the boss whenever asked for, but you also need to draw a line somewhere. In your attempt to become the go-to person for the boss, you will often find yourself feeling overworked and stressed. In the long run, this will start affecting your productivity, and your overall reputation at the office will also suffer. If youve been feeling overworked lately, sit down and analyze the daily tasks youre involved in. Chances are the amount of time you spend on extra tasks exceeds the time you spend on the tasks you were initially hired for. This is a sign that it’s time to start saying no to taking on extra work. Saying no to the boss, especially when you have never said so earlier, takes courage. However, its not impossible if done the right way. This article lists five polite, yet effective ways to say no to your boss without offending him/her or sabotaging your work reputation. How to Politely Say No to Extra Work at the Workplace 1. Explain Your Current Workload Your boss probably keeps giving you more work because they dont know about all the other tasks you have at hand. This is especially true if you have multiple people assigning work to you. In that case, its impossible for the boss to be aware of all the work you already have on your plate. Had s/he known earlier s/he wouldn’t have bothered you in the first place. The next time your boss asks you to work on an additional project, just inform him/her about your current schedule. Instead of bluntly saying no, just say that youll get back to him/her on the new project as soon as you can as you are currently occupied with other projects and have deadlines to meet. 2. Appreciate The Opportunity Whether you do an additional task or not is secondary. What’s primary is to express your appreciation to the boss for considering you capable of the task. Its always better to start a conversation on a positive note. Show that you are enthusiastic about the new work/project and would love to assist after you complete your current job tasks. 3. Talk About The Priority Tasks Is it just your boss who assigns tasks and projects to you? Great! Despite giving you a number of tasks with set deadlines, s/he asks you to take on additional work. Chances are either s/he has forgotten about the tasks already assigned to you or the priority has changed. Its important to communicate openly with your boss and discuss the priority of each task assigned to you. Once youre clear on this, youll be able to work more productively without feeling burdened or worried about missing deadlines. [RELATED: 10 Ways To Impress Your Boss And Further Your Career] 4. Suggest an Alternative You may have too much on your plate already and simply don’t have the bandwidth to give immediate attention to a new task. However, stating your own problems (even when they are genuine) to the boss when s/he is seeking help from you is definitely not the right approach. Bosses appreciate problem-solvers, and even if you can’t assist directly, you can help in other ways. For example, you can propose to share your input instead of completing the whole task yourself or suggest a colleague’s name whom you know is eager to take on additional work responsibilities. 5. Acknowledge The Request Tactfully As humans, we love being acknowledged and heard. The same applies to your boss too. Appreciate the opportunity and explain to him/her your current work deadlines. Discuss the new work requirements with your boss and buy some time to respond to the request. Understanding what they want you to do will help you gauge how much time youll have to dedicate to the new project. Youll establish an effective dialogue with your boss regarding your daily work commitments and how theyll be affected after taking up the additional work. Setting healthy boundaries in the workplace is important to avoid unnecessary stress and excessive workload. Saying no to your boss wont ruin your reputation as a hard worker if you do it the right way. Instead, it will establish your reputation as a high-value employee who is good at prioritizing tasks and believes in delivering quality work within deadlines.

An alternative path to self-acceptance

An alternative path to self-acceptance This post takes place in Beverly Hills. I’m just going to tell you right now that I go there to get Botox. If anyone is surprised, I’ll be surprised. The path to self-acceptance is paved with injectables. Step 1: Try to change yourself. I was going to write a big post about how I’m confessing to getting Botox and then I thought better of it, that it would make me look too old. Then I thought maybe it’ll make me look rich. Because honestly, Botox is really expensive and it’s not just Botox but also fillers. I don’t even know what the brand is. I just go to the dermatologist and say “make me look younger.” Well, actually it’s not the dermatologist. It was the dermatologist in West Hollywood  but then she found Jesus, which I am not opposed to. After all I married a guy who dumped me because hes a Born Again Christian and Im not. Jews in general are not militant about religious decisions because if we were, most Jews would not qualify as practicing Jews and then the religion would be .02% of the world instead of 0.2% of the world. So my dermatologist found Jesus. Fine. But then it wasn’t fun anymore to talk with her about bulimia.  Bulimics are like alcoholicsyou never stop being one even if you are not practicing at the moment. So while she put needles in my wrinkles, we’d talk about how nice it is to come home at the end of a hard  day and throw up. But then she found Jesus and we had to talk about that instead. Step 2: Deflect self-criticism onto other people. And then she got a divorce. And she has twin girls, and I know you already know what I think about divorce. But besides being immature and selfish and awful for the kids, divorce is so boring. All divorces  are all the same. So all we had to talk about was how much she hates her ex-husband. I nodded sympathetically because, after all, I’m depending on her to make me young and I don’t want uneven lips. But if I were single I’d date him. So now  I don’t go to a dermatologist. I go to a nurse practitioner. I like talking to her. She  put fillers on the bridge of her nose so  glasses dont slip off. But I don’t notice  her wearing   glasses. I asked where else people get fillers. She said there are lots of places to put fillers but the  most surprising one she has done  is knees. If you are a movie star and the director tells you your knees are sagging and you don’t have time for surgery before filming starts, then you can do fillers to fix your knees until you have time  for surgery. She says, “The best thing is to do surgery proactively so the  sagging never happens. I slip back to thoughts  of dating my ex-dermatologist’s ex-husband because hes a plastic surgeon. Step 3: Focus on demographic trends instead of personal tendencies. This is a good time to tell you that I think nurse practitioners will revolutionize health care. Doctors hate being part of a system that is inefficient, litigious, and rife with liars and cheats. Doctors want to go off on their own, but the skills that made them ripe for medical school make them terrible for entrepreneurship. So doctors sit where they are, in their hospital-affiliated jobs, moping about the system. Nurse practitioners, on the other hand, are corner cuttersafter all, they didn’t go to medical schooland they are great entrepreneurs. They will change how medical care is administered 85% of the time. Because most medical care is not in a hospital. We can do things differently. Nurse practitioners will lead the way. For now, it’s in Botox. I like my nurse practitioner for Botox. So I was in Beverly Hills for Botox but I was early, so I wandered around feeling fat and poor, because that is the only way anyone can feel in Beverly Hills. How rich you feel is relative to your surroundings.   If I had enough money to buy clothes in Beverly Hills  I would not be shopping myself. I’d send my stylist. Which makes me certain that every single person walking the streets of Beverly Hills feels fat and poor. Well, maybe the stylists feel less fat, but they feel more poor so it evens out. I took this picture at Cartier. Isn’t it cool? They curled paper clips into gorgeous shapes and hung them in a spotlight so the shadows spell phrases like, To be irreplaceable you must be different. I became inspired. I went into a glasses store because Melissa says my glasses are bad. She told me to go on Warby Parker and get better glasses. Step 4: Buy things. I said  okay because I want to be cool and I know Warby Parker is cool. I never actually knew they sold glasses. I didn’t know you could buy glasses online. I think I thought it was pens. You know, Parker? But then it turns out that you can’t get bifocals on Warby Parker. And of course then I feel like I’m going to die if I can’t buy anything on Warby Parker because who wants to say they are too old for Warby Parker? So I buy frames for the Farmer. He refuses to wear new glasses. Melissas frustrated sigh  rings in my ears. So, I walk into the glasses shop and say, “My assistant says these glasses aren’t stylish. I tell him my assistant because I never know what to call Melissa. Friend seems too casual and distant to me. I want the guy to know that I’m talking about someone I’m really close to. The guy is  tall dark and gay so I trust him to dress me, and he says, “Your glasses are on trend for your age,” and then he shows  me a photo of Diane Keaton or someone who looks like her, wearing the exact cat-eye glasses I am wearing. The woman in the photo looks like she needs fillers. Then the guy says, “Your assistant must be in her 20s.” I say, “Yeah, she is.” He says, “I bet this is what she wants you to wear.” And he hands me glasses that are exactly what Melissa wants me to get: Square, heavy frames. I send a photo. Call her to get approval. She says, “What brand?” “I don’t know.” “Ask him.” I ask him. It’s Oliver Peoples. “Great,” she says. “Buy those.” And she tells me only a Gen Xer would not know the brand of glasses they are trying on. In the past I’d have told her only a Gen Yer would care. But today I am tired of being old and I am willing to be a brand whore because in the era of Gen Y, that’s what being young means. Step 5:  Accept shortcomings, one narrow arena at a time. In order to write this, I had to call Melissa to find out how to get something to write with on the laptop I’m using because there’s no Word and there’s no Internet to write in WordPress or gmail. “Command space bar.” she tells me. Do you work closely with people twenty years younger than you? Because if you do then it’s certain they bemoan  your technical skills  behind your back. If you know what they say  then you are a step ahead of your demographic. I know, for instance, that Cassie and Melissa can’t believe how often I call someone instead of texting them. But it’s hard for me to hear because I was the girl so ahead of everyone else that I got paid $75/hour from a Fortune 50 company to launch their website by hand-coding HTML. I was the Lewis and Clark of online technology. Ten thousand years ago. Now I am the Lewis and Clark of bringing Botox to rural America. Melissa says, “Why aren’t you posting?” “I dont know. I hate the pictures I take.” “You sent me really good pictures.” [This is Melissa talking as my photo editor.] “Stop paying people to take pictures of your life. Only you can take pictures of your life. Only a Gen Xer would pay someone to take pictures of their life.” I think of all the Gen Y wedding pictures that annoy me. “What about weddings?” “That’s the only time Gen Y hires a photographer. Go look at the photos I edited. You’ll be happy. It’ll make you want to write.” Okay. Send me a link. “Send you a link? What are you talking about. They’re in the Picassa folder.” “I can’t do shared folders on my phone. “ “You mean you can’t do shared folders anywhere.” “Shut up.” I’m sending you my favorite one in email so that you want to write a post to put it in. I check email.  The photo is good. I am happy  that I can take pictures like Gen Y  even though  I’ll never be as technically competent. And to be honest, it’s harder to admit to that than to admit to Botox.

How to Become a Career Counselor or Career Coach - VocationVillage

How to Become a Career Counselor or Career Coach - VocationVillage Dear Dr. Civitelli,I think I might want to do the same type of work you do, but I don’t know how to become a career counselor or career coach. Can you please tell me how to get started?Thank you, Future Career Counselor or Career CoachDear Future Career Counselor or Career Coach,One reason this can be a confusing career path to figure out is that there isn’t just one way to pursue it. People come to this career from a variety of different backgrounds and with diverse skills. Some characteristics that predict success in this career are: An intense curiosity about people and a desire to help them better their lives Strong communication skills Empathy and patience Willingness to learn about evolving workplace dynamics and change Comfort with technology Marketing skill to convince clients that working with a career development professional is a good idea (this one is relevant even if you work for an organization…for example, career services offices on college campuses are constantly engaged in outreach to bring students in)You will find lots of statements online about career counseling vs. career coaching and those statements are often misleading and inaccurate. For instance, many articles claim that career counselors deal mainly in the past and career coaches deal mainly in the present. This doesn’t fit with my observations of the work I see being facilitated by many of my counseling and coaching colleagues. Another common claim is that career counselors mainly help clients with self-assessment and career coaches mainly facilitate the action-oriented part of career development. This, also, doesn’t fit with my experience of my profession. I see counselors and coaches choosing a focus and style of working that is congruent wit h their training, personality, and chosen niche.Here are some ways to explore a career as a career counselor and/or coach. As you gain experiences, you will be able to make decisions about whether this career is right for you.Take classesIf your interest in career counseling is just one part of a desire to become a licensed professional counselor, you will need to complete a masters degree in counseling. For this path, you will want to look up the state laws for counseling in your state and follow the requirements.This site links to the requirements to become a counselor in all U.S. states.Some masters programs offer a specialty track in career counseling. These are usually housed in the colleges of education at universities. Here are some examples:Colorado State University M.A. in Counseling and Career DevelopmentPenn State University M.Ed. Counselor Education with a Career Counseling EmphasisSacramento State University M.S. in Counseling with a Specialization in Career Counseli ngSome masters programs in education or counseling don’t offer any specialization in career development, so their students have to seek specialty training via continuing education. Here are examples of ways to gain career development expertise outside of a masters program in counseling:UC San Diego Extension Certificate in Career AdvisingUC Berkeley Extension Certificate in College Admissions and Career PlanningUniversity of Central Florida Certificate in Career CounselingBefore you invest a lot of money in any type of education, interview a few people who graduated from the program. Try to find people who finished 2-5 years ago so that their experience is more relevant to you than people who graduated last week or graduated 20+ years ago.Join a professional organizationSome people choose to join a professional organization such as the National Career Development Association or the International Coach Federation. This is optional because lots of successful professionals forego membership in these organizations and instead focus on joining the organizations where their clients are.In the early years of my career, the organization that supported me the most was Webgrrls (which was an amazing organization when Aliza Sherman owned it). By attending events in my industry niche, I stayed current in the types of problems that my clients were tackling and I met prospective clients. There was a time when the majority of my clients were members of Webgrrls.Consider a specializationCareer development professionals can be generalists or specialists. Here are examples of some specialties: Vocational clarity coaching focusing on helping clients to choose a  direction Job search coaching, including interview practice Salary negotiation and other types of negotiation Career advancement coaching to move up within organizations Entrepreneur coaching, including identifying business ideas and implementing them Work/life integration, creating a better harmony between various life spheres A specific industry, such as tech, law, or finance Career coaching focusing on a specific demographic (like lawyers who want to change careers, software developers who want to move into management, or stay-at-home parents who want to return to the workplace)If you are self-employed, one advantage of specializing is that it is easier to master the skills required for a narrower niche and to then market it well before deciding whether to add a second niche.In organizations, people tend to have a broader set of job responsibilities depending on the needs of the employer.VolunteerVolunteering is a smart way to do a  reality test about your interest in career development. This is how I started when my job was in the software development industry and I had zero professional experience or education in psychology or career counseling. Job search support groups run by community nonprofit organizations and churches are often looking for facilitators and often someone with experience will be willing to mentor you in the beginning. To find them , use the city where you live in a Google search. For example, if you live in Dallas, you might use this search:Dallas job search groupWhen I ran this search, I quickly found this list of list of job search support groups. Note that some religious groups require a statement of faith before they will allow you to be a volunteer at one of their events.

Russ Eanes Turns the Walk of a Lifetime into a Writing and Consulting Career #143 [Podcast] - Career Pivot

Russ Eanes Turns the Walk of a Lifetime into a Writing and Consulting Career #143 [Podcast] - Career Pivot Podcast #143 â€" Marc interviews Russ Eanes on how Russ pivoted from religious publishing to finding his path while walking the Camino de Santiago. Description: Russ Eanes enjoyed a long career as a publishing executive for the Mennonite church in the U.S. and Canada. With the disruption of the publishing industry and the decline in church membership and attendance, Russ found himself downsizing staff and merging locations until he was exhausted by it, so he downsized himself and took a sabbatical, including a walk on the Camino de Santiago. On that sabbatical, he found a new purpose. He is now publishing the story of his walk and starting a journey of teaching other walkers how to self-publish books chronicling their experiences. Marc is asking for your financial support for the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Please Donate monthly at Glow.fm/repurposeyourcareer to support this Podcast. Key Takeaways: [1:32] Marc welcomes you to Episode 143 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot is the sponsor of this podcast; CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [1:59] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors and colleagues. The more people Marc reaches, the more people he can help. [2:17] Marc’s expenses to put this podcast on are about $400.00 a month. After nearly 150 episodes, Marc is grateful for his growing audience. Marc needs help continuing to provide entertaining and mindful content. Marc is asking you for a donation of $5.00 a month but you can contribute as much or as little as you like. Every penny counts. [3:27] If the Repurpose Your Career podcast is a part of your week and you love what Marc is doing, please support the podcast today. Go to Glow.fm/repurposeyourcareer/ to give. This link will be at the top of the show notes at CareerPivot.com/episode-143. [3:55] Marc has uploaded the manuscript of Repurpose Your Career, Third Edition to KDP Amazon, the self-publishing arm of Amazon.com. Proof copies of the paperback edition are in the hands of the volunteers of the Repurpose Your Career release team to review for fit and finish. The soft release of the book is days away, on September 12th. [4:24] On September 12, the Kindle edition will be available for $.99. On September 16th, the paperback version will publish, but you can pre-order it now! Go to CareerPivot.com/Launch to find all the links to order your book, now. [4:45] Marc has recorded many podcast guest appearances, some of which have already been published with more to come. Go to CareerPivot.com/launch you’ll find all the links of all the podcast episodes. [4:58] Marc will be in Austin the week of September 22nd, the New Jersey area the week of September 29th, and D.C., the following week. Marc would love to meet his readers and listeners. Listen to the most recent episode [5:13] Marc has multiple events planned for Austin, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Marc will then have a meet-and-greet in D.C. You can find the events on CareerPivot.com/launch. [5:26] Next week, Marc will interview Nikki and David Yeager on the podcast. Nikki is David’s daughter and she wrote to Marc about her father’s decision to donate 100% of his children’s book proceeds to KIND, an organization that offers pro bono legal services and policy education to families who have been separated at the U.S. border. [5:59] Nikki lives in Thailand. Her dad lives in Florida. Nikki is illustrating the books that her father wrote when she was a child. You can hear more at DavidYaygrrBooks.com. Marc was really touched by the story Nikki shared. Marc is way too familiar with what is going on at the border, having lived in Texas for many years and now living in Mexico. Now on to the podcast… Download Link | iTunes|Stitcher Radio|Google Podcast| Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast [6:44] This week, Marc interviews Russ Eanes. Russ is a member of the Career Pivot Online Community who left his job more than a year ago at the age of 60. Russ suffered a double whammy: both his industry and his career path were disappearing. [7:04] Come listen to his story of getting lost and finding his way to writing a book and starting a business to help others self-publish. Marc hopes you enjoy this episode. [7:16] Marc welcomes Russ Eanes to the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites Russ to relate what he did in the first half of life. [8:01] Russ worked in ministry for several years in the Mennonite Church. Russ also has worked many years in publishing, which is his “real love.” Russ has also been a University administrator. He has explored several career paths. He is most interested in publishing, writing, editing, and anything literary. [8:29] Most recently, Russ was at the top of his career, Executive Director for MennoMedia, the publisher for the Mennonite Church in the U.S. and Canada. They publish books, curriculum, music, and magazines. It required a lot of work and contact with the constituents, managing a sizeable staff at multiple locations in both countries. [9:03] The publishing business and churches today are going through tremendous changes. Churches are decreasing in number. The publishing industry has been disrupted over the last few decades. A church publisher is at the nexus of that decline. After 11 years of downsizing, Russ was worn out and downsized himself, at age 60. [10:53] Marc talks about his first tech startup being bought by Lucent and then spun out as Agere Systems. Marc was on the team picking who would be laid off. [11:32] Russ needed a sabbatical. His wife suggested he take a year off and live on savings before getting back to work. Russ visited his son in South America, then biked across the UK. He fulfilled a long-held dream of walking the Camino de Santiago across Spain. He used that walking time to set a new pattern and pace for his life. [13:24] Russ completed the walk in May of 2018 and then went home. He had an idea to start a business to help people self-publish. However, he felt that he no longer fit into the fast pace of American culture. He decided to write a book about his experiences walking on the Camino. [15:00] During his walk on the Camino, his love of writing had re-awakened. He wrote letters home, emails, and social media posts. When he started his book, the writing poured out of him; it wasn’t like work. He had never wanted to write a book but now it came naturally. He worked with an editor and developed a style of writing by narration. [16:16] He chronicled the journey of 500 miles over six weeks, telling of his experiences at different stages of the journey. [16:51] For over 20 years, Russ had kept meeting people who had walked the Camino, and that created in him a desire to walk it, also. On the Camino, the unexpected happens, all the time. There are no schedules and no lists. You just take your bag and guidebook and walk about twenty-five kilometers a day. [18:13] As a young man, Marc talks about the five weeks he took off, to hike Colorado and Utah. He hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It took Marc almost two weeks to lose track of the day of the week, and not care. Russ never had any idea of the day of the week on the Camino, but he did have a calendar. [18:36] Russ only kept track of the day his wife was going to meet him â€" Friday, April 27. [19:00] Marc has found, by living in Mexico, that there are a lot of things that used to be important to him that are no longer interesting. He is uncomfortable in the U.S.. Russ notes that everything you need is in a 16-pound pack on your back. Russ missed family on his trip, but the only material possessions he missed were books. [19:29] Whenever Russ would stop and spend the night, if he found a book in English, he would devour it. He carried only a guidebook and a book on the history and culture of the towns on the Camino. [20:06] After Russ started the book, with an editor, he was surprised by the amount of rewriting he needed to do. He ended up working with two editors. They kept pointing out patterns in his writing. After nine months of writing, by the time Russ started the last chapter, he had weeded out most of his bad writing habits. [20:46] Russ found that writing is tough mental work, and it exhausted him to write day after day, after day. [21:01] Marc worked with Susan Lahey, who also worked with Russ. Marc says, “It doesn’t make any difference what you think â€" it’s what your readers think.” You have to get outside of your own head. A good editor will point out inconsistencies, redundancies, and problems that you don’t notice. [22:00] Russ is publishing the book himself under the imprint he created, the Walker Press. He hopes to do more books and also help others through the process of self-publishing books about walking. Russ will publish the book on Labor Day. He is opening it on Amazon and IngramSpark, the main self-publishing channels in the U.S. [22:31] Russ is working on promotional ideas, advertising, and a few events. Russ loves talking about his walk on the Camino. He took about 3,000 pictures, so he shows pictures when he makes a presentation. [22:54] Russ has started working with the first few clients for self-publishing and hopes to find his capacity of how many people he can work with at a time. [23:06] Russ has learned that he has a lot of fun in writing. It is a tremendous creative process. When Russ finished a chapter, he sent it out to a team of readers for their feedback. About 25 readers have given Russ excellent feedback, which was very valuable. Russ is very happy he has been able to fulfill a dream. [24:11] Russ has also learned how much longer it takes than you might imagine. He originally thought he would have the book published five months ago. Russ has had to learn how to be his own boss and obey his boss. He realized that to get serious work done, he had to leave the house to escape the distractions of home. [25:02] Russ went to a local coffee shop, three days a week, and hunkered down for several hours. Russ found it was a good atmosphere for writing. [25:40] Russ chose readers from among his friends and family and from posts he put on Facebook, and on a forum for people who have an interest in the Camino de Santiago. He found a dozen readers who had walked the Camino. Russ says these are his best readers because they know the experience exactly. [26:50] Marc says a lot of people don’t get started writing because they are not willing to go get feedback. They don’t want to hear that their writing needs work. Feedback is very important. [27:24] Russ asks you, if you give feedback to a writer, to try to frame it in a positive way. The authors are writing about themselves! Russ’s wife is ruthless in marking grammar and punctuation errors and striking out words! Sometimes an editor or a reader is off, but mostly they are right. [28:03] Russ set the publishing date of Labor Day, September 2, 2019, because he has a trip planned for the end of September to do a two-week walk between Rome and Florence in the Umbrian Mountains, with his wife, for their 40th wedding anniversary. Russ wanted the book out of the way to get ready for the walk. [29:31] To learn more about Russ and his projects, go to RussEanes.com or TheRustyWalker.Wordpress.com, or see the book, The Walk of a Lifetime: 500 Miles on the Camino de Santiago. [30:30] Russ has been in the Career Pivot Online Community for about six months. He has found a lot of people like him, who hit the second half of life and are ready to take life and work at a different pace and try something different. Some have tried several different things. You discover you’re not alone. It gets Russ out of his own head. [31:58] Marc thanks Russ for being on the Repurpose Your Career podcast and for being in the Career Pivot Online Community. Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode. Russ is on an interesting journey that is not over. If you are interested in his book or other projects, go to CareerPivot.com/episode-143 for the links to his book and website. [32:35] The Career Pivot Membership Community continues to help the approximately 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project to grow and thrive. The community has moved on to the next phase where community members who have experienced success get to share their successes and teach others. [32:51] This is a community where everyone is there to help everyone else out. They have been hovering at about 50 members for a while. Members are experiencing successes like going back to work, starting new businesses â€" even someone buying a franchise. Some leave the community when they’ve found success, while others stay. [33:13] Their legacy stays with the community as they have built an extensive library of forum entries and discussions. Marc will be publishing shortly testimonials of what they got from being part of this community. There are successes in just about every week. [33:44] Marc is recruiting members for the next cohort. If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. [33:59] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it’s a community where you can seek help. Please go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. [34:22] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you listen to this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [34:39] Please come back next week, when Marc interviews Nikki and David Yeager from David YayGrr Books. [34:49] Please support this podcast by going to Glow.fm/repurposeyourcareer. [35:02] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-143. [35:18] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app. Marc will add to this list soon as he is finding new places to listen! Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...