December Cheer & Lifelong Learning!

Holiday time is one of my favorite times of the year - a time for holiday cheer and reflection, as well as an opportunity to plan for a New Year. It is a time where I plan my calendar for Lifelong Learning...are you a Lifelong Learner?

In the last ten days I attended a breakfast on Behavioral Finance and the Mania and Panics of the financial markets, then an event in the evening with a top Astrologer who talked about the tension going on between the Industrial World and the Ecological World. Recently, I also attended a virtual (and free) webinar on Entrepreneurs Journeys with a Forbes columnist.

To look for events, I recommend consulting organizations, universities, newspapers and the library. The internet is also a place to find interesting teleseminars or webinars. By joining Facebook, more people are getting invited to seminars online! The other day I saw an interesting webinar at Harvard on Web Trends for FREE (simply by favoriting the Page for the Harvard Business Review)! If you Favorite a Page (Inc., Fast Company, Ad Age Digital, local news, Chamber of Commerce etc.)...you can then follow the key articles on your Facebook Newsfeed and watch for interesting conferences or events.

Whether you are a business professional looking to network, or someone looking to start something entrepreneurial, or looking to get back into business, I have specific recommendations for you. Contact me via email for more information. You can receive this blog via email (or RSS) at the top of the page. I will have lots of other success tips. So stay tuned.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, Namaste! (I honor you)
Sandra.

Life, Purpose, Legacy...

I have been thinking a lot about where we are in the world as I read the headlines in The Wall Street Journal, the many magazines and world newspapers on my HomePage NewsReader. If you don't have a news reader, I recommend trying http://www.protopage.com/

You can choose your own news URL widgets here and even choose "feel good colors" for your personalized HomePage and the magazines and newspapers you follow. I chose the colors of a Rainbow for my ProtoPage and I was lucky enough to witness one the other day here in Florida.

Have you felt a trend going on? If not, you will feel it more and more. There is an economic shift and reinvention going on. While much of the television news seems focused on the news of fear, there is also also hope with all of the innovation going on around global connectivity, technology, the environment and spirituality. It is a new world taking shape.

If you can take a break from the financial services and Congressional challenges which will need to be worked out with more positive energy shifts, I also sense another feeling in the air among many Americans. When you willow it down to what is most important in life, you have three things: LIFE, PURPOSE and LEGACY.

I was invited to attend a Deepak Chopra filming in NYC for a DVD called the The Happiness Prescription (you can find it at amazon at My Recommended Reading List below right). He pointed out the secret to happiness lies in various factors (according to the new brain research) including your "set point" (are you a positive or negative person by nature-that is about 40% and it can be helped through meditation or coaching).... Next consider your life situation/conditions (actually that is only about 10%--research has shown even people that win the lottery usually come back to their original Happiness level). It turns out up to about 50% of happiness is actually determined by voluntary actions including a few of life's pleasures but also importantly finding something that you are good at (creating fulfillment) that also HELPS OTHERS... When you tie that to Career & Life Navigation, you go from being "fear" based to "possibilities" based....which is in sync with a Universal Law of nature.

If you don't find happiness in your current job or are looking, the good news is there will be more choices working remotely in the future, and there are opportunities for job re-training and learning new skills. Also did you know that over 400 women start a business every day? The key is to find something you are well suited for. On that note, I have finished two interesting books - first is Richard Branson's Business Stripped Bare (if you are thinking about switching industries, here is inspiration from someone who has built seven billion dollar businesses in seven different industries) and the second is called, How to Run Your Business Like a Girl, written by a woman who created a big business out of her home (see Recommended Reading below right). I would also say three things:

1) Try to cut down on on fear-based communication from your everyday life - that may mean turning off the TV news more, and being careful about what you put on your HomePage NewsReader. What you read and listen to makes your world....It is one thing to be informed. It is another to be anxiety and fear ridden....Did you know that there is a doctor in Canada who prescribes listening to Mozart for depression and anxiety... Try listening to Mozart sometime and see how it changes the way you FEEL....Point made.

2) Take Assessment Tests as self-discovery tools including MAPP, Myers Briggs and Johnson O'Connor to figure out what your strengths, skills and abilities are. Call me for more information. You need to understand what you are good at to identify your purpose (and create your legacy).

3) Commit to your family and friends that you are going to need their help as you look to reposition yourself be the best you can be in a shifting economy. But first, you need to do the homework to know what you are good at in order to ask them for their assistance as appropriate on introductions to the types of people you might need to meet. And you may want some coaching to tie that to growth industries and market trends. If you can't afford a private coach, there are community and small business associations as well.

This is just Part One of the homework. Part Two comes next time. So stay tuned via RSS feed or widget on your HomePage....just add this URL http://www.sandrarupp.blogspot.com/

Best wishes til next time,
Sandra.

Career & Life Navigation now at Amazon.com

I was asked to put together a list of Recommended Reading (& Viewing) at Amazon.com and I want to share the official link with you. Click here to view:

CAREER & LIFE NAVIGATION AT AMAZON

The lists were put together with both Career and Life Navigation in Mind: you will find Ken Robinson's new book "The Element" on education and life purpose... as well as James Canton's look at "The Extreme Future" ...leadership and innovation books of note by Daniel Pink and Malcolm Gladwell, as well as John Eldredge's book "Wild at Heart" and Deborah Norville's book "Thank You Power."

There is so much change and economic reinvention going on in this world that I highly recommend weekend reading these days! Have a great holiday, Sandra.

An Event for Mind, Body & Spirit

I am putting together some Recommended Reading Lists for 21st Century Career Navigation hosted at Amazon.com:

CAREER & LIFE NAVIGATION AT AMAZON

As I finalized these lists, I had the opportunity to attend a very inspiring event focused on the connection between mind, body and spirit...held at an arts organization in Florida.

The theme was essentially Creating a Masterpiece of Your Own Life....Before dinner we broke off into seminar groups to discuss a variety of topics including how to financial plan in this economy, reinventing your life perspective, dressing like a god or goddess with what's in your closet, and managing life change. It was an inspiring night with a positive spin, and something you might want to consider organizing with speakers in your local community.

The guest speaker at dinner was Lorna Kelly (see her photo ar right). Lorna had a very successful career at Sotheby's (their first female auctioneer) and has published a book on her spiritual quest including a bout with cancer and her friendship with Mother Theresa. As you can imagine, there was a lot to take in....Lorna got on a plane to Calcutta not knowing if she would meet Mother but after volunteering there, she did eventually meet her and it led to a special friendship. My favorite part of Lorna's talk was when she said if she could not afford a masterpiece (like the Master Paintings she auctioned), she decided she was going "to make her life a Masterpiece"- well said!

As you think about your life or career, I invite all of you to think about the ways in which you can make the world a better place with your God-given talents.... One of the key things I promote in my coaching is to tap into what I call your "Core Strength" to create a brighter future. Some of the most successful men and women I know are keenly aware of both their strengths and their "developmental areas" (note how I do not use the word weaknesses)....

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: Think about your Core Strength (what everyone including you would agree you are best at - if you need help identifying that, try a coaching session) and then write down three ways you can use that strength in the service of others. Wait.... NOW you need to follow through on those three things over the next three weeks. One per week. And lastly, and importantly: please write down how you feel after you engage in this process. I am focused on identifying and engaging your innate talent in both your life AND career.

Have a service-oriented week! And feel free to read our prior blog entries for additional fun homework items,
Sandra.

Grecian Wisdom...

One of my favorite places to travel to was Greece & Turkey. I was mesmerized by the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. When you look at this beautiful universe God has created, you know you must help take care of it for future generations....

My curiosity about Greece continued when I chose the name Parthenon Advisors....as a symbol of wisdom & knowledge. I liked that it was considered the birthplace of democracy (and that the goddess Athena, which the Parthenon was dedicated to, was the helper of heroes). Following are two of my favorite photos, one of the Acropolis (right) where the Parthenon stands in Athens and one of Ephesus in Turkey (below).

I encourage you to look back to history as you navigate the changing tides of career or life navigation. I ask everyone to think for a moment about their contribution as it relates to creating new industries, new ideas and new approaches right now....When I saw these beautiful buildings created long ago in Ancient Greece, I saw right before my eyes that inspiration & manpower combined can go a very long way....

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: Pick a favorite place and time in history and research its meaning, its inventions and its people. Figure out how to apply that as inspiration to your current career or life changing pursuits. As a history major, I remember reading Harry Truman said "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know."

Have a history filled week,
Sandra.