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.