The Perils of Flying Solo

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I used to think that 'successful' people were ‘smart enough’ to figure things out for themselves. So I spent years doing hard things mostly on my own, like: 

Negotiating a promotion. 
Navigating a career change.
Deciding to end a relationship.

Maybe I’d ask a friend or peer for their opinion along the way, but for the most part, I was single-handedly forging my path through life

The thing is, when you try and do everything yourself you're limited to your skills, your frame of refere…

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The best kept secret: Portfolio Careers

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Those people with slashes in their title always used to annoy me.  (Think: Model/Entrepreneur)

But then I became one. (Marketer/Life Coach)

And in doing so I realized, a “portfolio career” (one where you have multiple revenue streams and thus, a slash) is actually one of the best kept secrets to career success and happiness.

It allows you to express the richness of you. 

Because you are more than you current job. You have other strengths and interests and priorities. 

And we’re se…

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Don't play Rushing Roulette

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The biggest mistakes I've made in my career are when I tried to rush the next step.

When I realized what I was doing was not a good long-term fit, I would spiral into deep negativity and frustration - about the work and the people. This would cloud my mind and make every day at work painful.

And in this pain, I'd be looking for a way to get out ASAP. 

Which would then land me in yet another environment that was not a great fit.

A vicious cycle.

Our brains don't operate well from negative emotions. …

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I did a 'Panic MBA'

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Have you ever heard of a 'Panic MBA'? It's a term I've coined based on my own experience.

When I was 30 I realized advertising was not where I wanted to be long-term. But I had no idea what came next.

And 30 was 'much too old' to feel lost.

So I panicked. 🚨

And being the high-achiever that I am, I thought since I don't know what I want to do and because I'm 'so old' I had better quickly do my MBA now before I'm 'too old'.

Within 6 months I'd taken the GMAT, applied to programs, and gotten accepted to…

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What Malcolm Gladwell Forgot to Tell You

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You probably have heard the stat that Malcolm Gladwell popularized in his book, Outliers, that 10,000 hours of practice will make you an expert. 🤓

You may have also heard that deep expertise is what is required to be truly successful in whatever you do: get super good at something and then build a professional brand around that. 💪

And while this advice isn't wrong, it leaves out an essential insight:

Deep expertise from 10,000 hours of practice can only be successfully realized if it's combin…

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The Mario Kart Philosophy

Mario Kart
I have a reputation for being terrible at Mario Kart. 🎮  🍄 

Every time I play with my friends I come in decidedly last every time. I'd come to terms with it. I have other strengths. It's ok.

But then last weekend, suddenly, I was very good.

I was coming in first every time, easily.🥇  Beating my friends who consider themselves quite good at the game.

What did I owe to my new found talent, I wondered.

Then I realized, it was the controller.

We were using Wii controllers which you can tilt t…

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The Importance of Downtime

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I recently read this relatively provocative article titled Darwin was a slacker and you should be too. The two main points that it makes are as follows:

1. No one can be productive for eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. In fact, productivity peaks around four to five hours a day and then is destroyed the longer you work. Fun fact: A study mentioned in the article found that scientists working 35 hours a week were half as productive as those working 20. You may have also heard that …

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Fall in love with your work.

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My friend and fellow coach Stephen Mayo has a great site with thought-provoking quotes and questions. One of my favorites is this one, from Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Pres. Obama: "How did you keep perspective? [after so much success]"
Jerry Seinfeld: "I fell in love with the work. And the work was joyful and difficult and interesting, and that was my focus"

What would it be like to be in love with our work? Imagine if what you did every day not only challenged you and consum…

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