As a career coach, therapist, and educator, I also firmly believe that I must utilize the skills I teach throughout my own professional and personal life. I recently had a fortuitous and surprising opportunity in my family life to apply my own career coaching mission statement (if you haven't memorized it- here it is: I work with people to move them from feeling stuck, lost, or lacking confidence in their careers to feeling inspired, excited, and on a path towards personal engagement and financial fulfillment.)
Here's how I went from stuck to inspired, event style: After the birth of my second child, my wife and I were planning to have a baby naming celebration to welcome our daughter to the Jewish Community. We love bringing our community together in meaningful, fun, and affordable ways. We are not actively engaged in a synagogue which is where most people host these kinds of events. For weeks I called multiple restaurants, breweries, and churches which were all either too expensive for a rental, had a high price food minimum, or void of the intimate atmosphere we were seeking. Finding an affordable venue in Boston that could host 60+ people (including many small children!) left me feeling frustrated with almost no promising leads. I ended up throwing my hands in the air and we said we would do the event at a local park that was free, but did not meet many of our other goals. In short, I was settling.
And then after I sent out the location, I attended a Momma & Me Yoga Class at Muscle & Flow Studio in Milton. Housed in a former factory, this gym is unlike any other. I carried my car seat up with my newborn several walking flights and entered a room with exposed beams, a robust speaker system, and a glossy, bright room covered in mirrors. I knew that this would be an out-of-the box spot for a baby naming event. Never afraid to be straightforward, I asked the teacher if they ever hosted a Jewish Baby Naming or any kind of ritual ceremony there. She explained that they hadn't (yet), but were very open to new ideas and especially events focused on rituals. I was able to connect with a fantastic team there and the event wheels were set in motion!
I moved from feeling stuck and uninspired by the event location we had settled on to feeling delighted and eager to partner with a small, local business. The event was spectacular! It was intimate and all of the guests, including myself, felt like we had discovered a new spot in our own backyards!
Why do I write about hosting an event here on my career coaching site? The journey I took for planning this event is not radically different to what I do in my coaching work. All too often when we are stuck, we look to (overwhelming) job boards and craft our resume and cover letter based on the jobs we see. I help clients reverse engineer their job search. We focus on who you are, what matters to you, and then find jobs, organizations, and people that are looking for someone with your skills (and that also align with your values!) Is it easy? No. Does it take perseverance? Yes. I've found that in my work with clients, they are often burnt out of the traditional job search. If you are feeling stuck or looking for support on your career journey, I'd love to schedule a complimentary exploratory call!
Comentarios