If you have recently found yourself out of work you are most likely feeling somewhat overwhelmed, a little lost, and afraid that you will never find work. I know this because I coach people who are looking for a job. I also know this because that is how I feel every day. In some ways I’ve been out of work for almost nine years. That’s when I decided to start my own business as a business coach. In the past few years I have worked with quite a few people who lost their job and needed support and help in finding a new one. That’s when I noticed that being unemployed and being self employed have quite a few similarities. I wanted to offer three few words of advice that have helped me succeed and I believe applies to those who are in transition.
GET OUT THERE!
Those were the words I heard from my coach about five years ago during a particularly tough period for my business. I was in my comfort zone in my office on my computer looking for clients. It wasn’t working. Here is what my coach had to say; “Get yourself out there and get exposure. You don’t have to have the perfect elevator speech, brochure, etc.” He was right. There is a strong link in my business between getting out there and getting business. (What a surprise) This is true with those looking for a job. You will not find a job from your computer. About 80% of jobs are never advertised. The only way you will find them is to network and tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job. Don’t worry if your resume is not perfect, your elevator speech is the pits, or you don’t even know what you want to do. If you wait until you figure it out you may never find a job. I am an imperfect coach and yet people hire me all of the time. You are an imperfect job candidate but you will find someone will want you. Just get yourself out there!
What is your focus for 2009? What do you want to accomplish? How much money do you want to make? What are the best goals to set for 2009?
Here is a thought, it is my experience that one of the most important goals you can set for yourself is to improve the quality of relationships you have with those close with you.
In my work in organizations I can tell you that in almost 100% of the cases, when the company was struggling or stagnant it was because of struggling relationships at the top of the organization. In one case the relationship with the GM and owner was so strained that it threatened to put the company out of business. It was one of my first clients and in the beginning I tried to ignore some of the relationship issues and focused on strategy and operational issues. I quickly learned that until the two improved their relationship with each other the company was going to continue to struggle. Over the next year we worked on improving how the two worked together. I am happy to say that years later the company is not only surviving but has tripled in size and the owner and GM are clearly responsible for the company’s growth. The company, which is in the construction industry, had it’s best year ever in 2008 and is poised to surpass this in 2009. Yes, this is happening in a down economy where most of his competitors are struggling. If you ask the owner what was the key to the company growing he will tell you it was the work that was done to improve how he and his GM worked together.
I will cover how we got there in future blog posts but for now I want to make it clear that in all the companies I have worked with the strength of relationships at the top was the number one reason for the company’s success or struggles.
Finding motivation is one of the biggest differences between people who survive and people who really make something out of their lives. One way to find motivation is to better understand your link to your family’s past and your role in creating your family’s future. Here are some thoughts.
1. Looking at your family’s lineage
Years ago I remember a phone call with one of my older brothers and we were discussing what it meant to be a “Turi”.Being ten years older than I am he has a different take and is more in touch with our heritage and closer to our relatives than I have ever been. Here is what he told me.“The Turi’s have always been survivors.Most have never achieved a lot of success but they have found ways to survive.” I found that comment both liberating and motivating. It was liberating in that I understood that some of my struggles to succeed might be rooted in a family culture and perhaps even our DNA. It was motivating because I decided I wanted to change that. I wanted to change it for myself and for my children.
Years later that phone conversation continues to drive me. I think about what it is that “Turi’s” need to learn to make more of an impact in life and to be more successful.I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to learn to be more risk takers and to have more confidence in ourselves.My Dad was a great man who owned a deli in Hoboken New Jersey. He was a strong Catholic and did a lot for those less fortunate. He started a program where once a week he brought sandwiches to the homeless people in the Bowery in New York City.That program continued for years after he died. Yet I get the feeling that if he was more motivated and willing to take more risks he could have accomplished even more.
I think it is important to take a step back and look at your family lineage. While you may not know all of your relatives you have been shaped by the culture of your family heritage and their DNA.A part of who you are is based on great grand parents you may never have known.
There are three questions that could be helpful in understanding your heritage and finding motivation in it.
1. Looking at the generations of your family what is one word to you use to describe them?
2. What is it that your family (think not just your family but your family lineage) needs to learn to make more of an impact in the world?
3. What can you do today to begin changing your family’s heritage?
What this will do for you is to help you find motivation in your life.It will drive you to act and think in ways that you have been reluctant to do in the past. If you focus on this and keep this with you it can be that motivation that gets you to do a little extra everyday.
I’ve recently struggled through a period where I lost the enjoyment and sense of fulfillment that I used to get in my work. What used to be fun now was a chore. Teaching college students now became a chore. Networking… a chore. Working with clients… a chore. It hit me when my wife one day made the comment that I wasn’t acting like this was my dream job anymore. What happened? What I realized was that I had stopped focusing on the excitement and fun of what I was doing and began looking at everything as a chore. Something that had to be checked off the list.
How did I get myself out of this? I began to to ask myself one question in everything I did; ” Where is the fun and enjoyment in this?” What i realized was that it was still there I just wasn’t paying attention to it. For example instead of focusing on the fun and excitement I got from teaching and opening peoples minds to new ideas I started to focus on the chore of preparing for class and grading papers and tests. While both are a necessary evil of teaching it isn’t everything. I love when I come up with creative ways to get a point across or I say something that clicks with students in a way that they have never thought before. When I started to refocus on that part of the job I became more energetic and excited about what I was doing.
So what’s the point? When we are feeling stale, tired and stressed, it is important to focus on the enjoyment that you get from what you are doing. It may sound too simple of a solution but I have found it really works. It takes practice and isn’t a miracle cure but if you stay with it over a couple of weeks it can have a big affect on mood and energy level.
If you are not happy with your job you are not alone. In a recent survey almost 50% of those surveyed claimed they planned on looking for a new job within the next year. Unfortunately, a new job is not always the answer. Sometimes you have to make the best of where you are. Many people really get stuck in this type of a situation. They want to find ways to find enjoyment in what they do but can’t seem to make it happen.
Click on the link below to get some excellent and non-traditional advice on how you can learn to improve your job satisfaction with the current job you have. ( I know it works because it worked for me.)
In my blog today is the video of Jimmy Valvano giving his famous speech at the Espy awards in 1993. If you haven’t seen it you need to take 10 minutes out of your day to watch this video.
Jimmy V’s Famous speech is a lesson in leading with Emotional Intelligence
As I was driving to work today ESPN sports (the only station I listen to) was replaying a famous speech given at the Espy awards (a sports award show) back in 1993 by Jim Valvano. Every time I hear it I am so moved and inspired that I thought I would share this with you.
If you are not familiar with Jim Valvano and the speech he gave at the 1993 ESPN Espy awards it is something that you will want to watch. If you have seen it before, watch it again. It will change your day and will only take 10 minutes of your time.
Jim Valvano was a famous college basketball coach who in 1983 pulled off one of the greatest college basketball upsets when his team North Carolina State won the NCAA basketball tournament. In 1992 Valvano was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He gave this speech in 1993 knowing that he did not have much time to live. He died less than two month’s after giving this speech.
What I take from this speech is Jimmy’s comments that every day you must do three things;” Laugh, think, and have your emotions be brought to tears. Think about this, if you laugh, think, and cry, that is a heck of a day.” Jimmy understood a big part of emotional intelligence. He allowed himself to experience a full range of emotions every single day and that is what gave his life meaning.
As leaders of others we should not only encourage ourselves but those who follow us to laugh, think, and to be moved emotionally every day. We sometimes get so caught up in what we are trying to accomplish that we forget what is really important.
Take a look at this video and leave a message on what it means to you.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our site. After 8 years as “Turi Business Coaching” we have changed our company name and our web site. In the coming weeks you will see more content, free downloads, and exercises to help you in your growth and development as a leader. If you have comments or suggestions we’d love to hear from you.
Ed Turi the President of Emerge U just completed teaching the Emerge U Leadership program to MBA students at Anderson University. The students gave the class fantastic reviews, many calling it one of the best classes they have taken. Here are a few of the comments;
“This was a great class. I will use what I learned not only in my career, but also to be a better father and husband.”
“I have found this class to be a great learning experience.”
” Going into this class I thought I had a pretty good understanding myself, my goals and who I am. Little did I know that in the first night of class I would be given so many new tools and an understanding of how to use and implement those tools.”
“Before starting this leadership class I had no direction on my career. The tools presented in this class have helped me more clearly define what I need out of my job in order to be happy. In the end I have obtained knowledge that will lead to large gains in the future for both my career and personal relationships.”
Emerge U will be sponsoring cub scout pack 198’s float at the Carmel Fest parade on July 4th. Pack 198 is afffilated with Woodbrook elementary school in Carmel. If you are interested in attending the parade you can find information at www.carmelfest.net