INVENTING YOUR NEW JOB

Tom Friedman recently wrote in his column in the New York Times that Boomers had it easy when they first started out in their careers. All they had to do was “find a job.” He contrasts that with today’s recent college graduates who may be lucky enough to find a job, but more than likely will have to “invent” their own job. The internet has alleviated the need to know or memorize facts.  After all any internet connected device (I-phone, Blackberry, Droid, I-Pad, tablet computer, etc.) can access facts on the internet. The key however is not to know the facts, but to know what to do with the facts at your finger-tips.

 This has become the challenge of the mature worker (defined as anyone over the age of 40).  If they can’t find a job, they must invent one and become an entrepreneur, or an outsourcing agent for someone’s business.  Let’s say you are 60 years of age.  You were forced to retire early.  But you still need an income because the retirement savings you planned on were used to pay for your child’s education, your Mother’s eldercare, and the new car to replace the old one that just died with 200,000+ miles on the odometer. Starting your own business isn’t easy especially when financial resources are slim.  What do you do now?

A significantly important ingredient to a successful career “invention” is to identify your DRIVERS before you start something new.  DRIVERS are the emotional rewards we derive from work, play, fun that gives us a significant level of satisfaction and holds our interest.  We conducted research with pre and post retirees.  We asked one question: “Why do you work beyond the paycheck.”  We got back 85 different reasons: to have accomplishments, to use my skills, continuous learning, make a difference, mentor, etc.  The length of the list surprised us.  The responses were so impressive that we wrote a book about them.  Don’t Retire, REWIRE!  Knowing your DRIVERS and aligning them to the work you do or business you start is a major key to success.  The opportunity to get driver fulfillment is usually the difference between toil and drudgery or looking forward to getting up in the morning to do something that satisfies, stimulates, excites, and engages. 

If you need to find work or “invent it,” make sure your DRIVERS are getting fulfilled. Take the DRIVERS test.  Don’t worry about the facts.  You can download them!

NEW INSIGHTS FROM OLD MATERIAL

I had lunch lunch yesterday with a retired 82 year old friend who happens to be a psychiatrist. We covered a lot of topics and I wasn't surprised to hear him say how stress was at the highest level he had ever seen. In fact he told me that old clients were calling him just to "check in."

I often say that the work I do is rather like therapy but without the couch so to that point today's blog is a list of practical things we can all think about in these evolving times.
People will often ask me "what can we do to get through this?"

I know that the "this" they refer to runs the gamut from work, family, financial, to emotional challenges, based on their circumstances so here is a list of thoughts and ideas that I have been compiling. MOST OF THESE IDEAS ARE NOT NEW! What makes them new for you-- is is you use them!


So as the world is looking to create The New Normal so should you be! So here goes...
1. If you will change, everything will change for you.

2. Spend time and money to do things that count.

3. Don’t spend too much time or money on things that don’t count.

4. Instead of getting through the day, think of what you get from the day.

5. There is no such thing as "perfect."


6. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Practice makes permanent.


7. Get yourself on some type of an activity or fitness plan.

8. Clean up your neglect--of your body, your spirit, your skills.

9. Spend money on the inside of your head if you need it.

10.Get out of your own way.
Short sentences can carry a lot of "punch."