Archive for February, 2012

A Vision of Trouble and Hope

Feb 20th, 12 / 0 Comments

 

A Vision of Trouble and Hope

Ever had something that you wanted so badly that you started to imagine what it would be like having it?  Come on now?  How about that high school crush? Didn’t you dream what it would be like to be with him/her?  That vision probably made you make decisions on your actions.  Those actions moved you forward.

Visions are like that.  They give you direction and energy – two things you need in your career.  Most of the time we work on small visions like a new car or an outfit for a special occasion  but for a career you need a big vision and it can be scary to want something that big and that important.

My friend Sheila has a vision and it has given her energy to move forward even in adversity and has made her resilient and determined.  Sheila has had several careers during her life- first in the travel industry, then as a restaurant owner and briefly as a coach.

She also has two passions –dogs and children.  I actually think it is more that she is driven to help those who can’t help themselves. One way she has done that is by rescuing and placing dogs.

Her vision however came about while she and her niece watched the telethon for St Jude’s hospital. Her niece was moved by the sick children and wanted to give them hope.  She drew a picture of a cute dog and named him Trouble. “Where there is trouble there is hope.”  Sheila picked up on the idea and developed several products including a really loveable stuffed animal based on her niece’s drawing.

She sells these products but Sheila also has a big heart and has given many Trouble dogs away to children in the hospital and to veterans.  Yes veterans who love them as much as the children.  So what is her vision?  She wants to get Trouble into an animated cartoon series and for him and his message of hope to become a recognized brand.  To that end she has been busy networking her way to companies like Disney and PBS.

Undaunted by setbacks she keeps plugging away at it.  Her resilience is unbelievable.  Her formula for that resilience after a setback is:

  • To get quiet and listen to her inner voice
  • To let her inner voice find a way around the setback
  • To develop a plan of action based on what her inner voice tells her

The journey has had its moments of joy too.  She tells many stories of sick children who clasp Trouble when they go to bed at night or when they need to have painful procedure.  Bringing Trouble to veterans also gave her pleasure.  Some were concerned that the soldiers would think this was silly but they were very grateful.  Sheila never doubted this outcome for a minute.

Take a look at the pictures of Trouble with children, veterans and dogs on her website http://www.troublethedog.net.

If you have time listen to an interview with Sheila by Sally Felton.   The energy I spoke of is there in her voice. http://contacttalkradio.soundwaves2000.com:8080/ctr/salliefelton020812.mp3  http://tinyurl.com/78cyrw5

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Career Changers, Lawyers, Vision

Building a Law Practice? 10 Questions to help you

Feb 8th, 12 / 0 Comments

Are you looking for a way to build a law practice? If you want to build a more satisfying law practice one way to start is by creating a vision of your life and practice.  By having a clear picture of what you want, it will be easier to find the steps to get there.  It is worth spending time visualizing your law practice so that you can see more clearly what you need to do. I often do visioning with my clients by asking them to close their eyes and see themselves in their ideal workplace, home and community. If visualizing is difficult for you answering these 10 questions will provide another process to find your vision.

 

  1. What is most important to you?  If you have not defined your values yet, you may still request the TruValues assessment by sending me an email (asparker@asparker.com) or just think about what is most important to you.  You will want your vision to be aligned with your values so your life is focused on what is most important to you.
  2. What are the different roles that you have in your life (Father, son, brother, lawyer etc.)?  What changes do you want to bring to these roles?  How can you make these roles more satisfying?  Include these roles in your vision so you can see how your work and family life fit together.
  3. Where would you like to be in three years?  Five years? Ten years? Twenty years? What changes in your life do you anticipate over the next 20 + years?  How do you see your life evolving?  If you’ve never thought about this before, now is a good time to start.  It will give you a picture of what you are aiming for.  Notice I said “life” not just “career”.  Your career is only part of your life.  Where does it fit in?
  4. If you only had one year to live, how would you want to live it? This is another question to help you see what is most important to you.  Whether you want to complete something you are working on,  travel the world, or relax and enjoy your family the answer to this question will let you see what matters most.
  5. What would you do if there were no risk to doing it? This is a great way to see what you really want to do.  Your vision is your dream.  You don’t need to know how you will accomplish it.  You just must keep the dream in your mind as you make choices.  The actions you will take to achieve the dream will come later.
  6. What theme consistently runs through your life? This is an important one.  You may be known for something in your family.  Maybe something comes so easily to you that you do it for everyone.  There may be something you have done consistently over time in your work and in your leisure starting when you were young.  These themes are often hidden unless you think about it.  Take some time to uncover the themes.
  7. What kind of work exhilarates you? Your vision will include the kind of work that gives you pleasure-that energizes you.  As you uncover your vision look for examples of work that exhilarated you in the past.
  8. What would you like your legacy to be?  Your vision needs to be big enough to be challenging to you and memorable to others.  It also needs to be so attractive to you that it energizes you every day to make progress on it.
  9. What do you wish were different in your life today?  What would your perfect life look like? If you know what a perfect life would look like, you have your vision.  Start with the changes you would make today and then ask yourself if with this change life would be perfect.
  10. What gifts do you have that you are not currently using that you would like to use?  Not only do you want your vision to be aligned with your values but you will want to be using the gifts you have that you enjoy.  .

Bonus for Blog and Newsletter Readers

Would you like to try a visualization exercise with me?  I use a meditation like visualization in my coaching sessions that most find very helpful.  Join me at 12 noon Eastern Time on Wednesday February 15th for a 45 minute session on my conference telephone line.  We’ll do the visualization and then share our thoughts on the process.  Please email me at asparker@asparker.com to let me know if you would like to participate.  I’ll send you an email with the telephone number to use for the call.

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Lawyers, Vision

Need a New Career? 10 Questions to help you

Feb 8th, 12 / 0 Comments

Are you searching for a way to do meaningful work?  Do you need a more meaningful career?  If you need a new career one way to start is by creating a vision of your life and career.  By having a clear picture of what you want, it will be easier to find the steps to get there.  It is worth spending time visualizing your new career  so that you can see more clearly what you need to do. I often do visioning with my clients by asking them to close their eyes and see themselves in their ideal workplace, home and community. If visualizing is difficult for you these 10 questions provide another process to find your vision.

 

  1. What is most important to you?  If you have not defined your values yet, you may still request the TruValues assessment by sending me an email (asparker@asparker.com) or just think about what is most important to you.  You will want your vision to be aligned with your values so your life is focused on what is most important to you.
  2. What are the different roles that you have in your life (Mother, son, brother, manager etc.)?  What changes do you want to bring to these roles?  How can you make these roles more satisfying?  Include these roles in your vision so you can see how your work and family life fit together.
  3. Where would you like to be in three years?  Five years? Ten years? Twenty years? What changes in your life do you anticipate over the next 20 + years?  How do you see your life evolving?  If you’ve never thought about this before, now is a good time to start.  It will give you a picture of what you are aiming for.  Notice I said “life” not just “career”.  Your career is only part of your life.  Where does it fit in?
  4. If you only had one year to live, how would you want to live it? This is another question to help you see what is most important to you.  Whether you want to complete something you are working on,  travel the world, or relax and enjoy your family the answer to this question will let you see what matters most.
  5. What would you do if there were no risk to doing it? This is a great way to see what you really want to do.  Your vision is your dream.  You don’t need to know how you will accomplish it.  You just must keep the dream in your mind as you make choices.  The way to get to the dream will come later.
  6. What theme consistently runs through your life? This is an important one.  You may be known for something in your family.  Maybe something comes so easily to you that you do it for everyone.  There may be something you have done consistently over time in your work and in your leisure starting when you were young.  These themes are often hidden unless you think about it.  It may take some time to uncover the themes.  If the theme is something you like, your vision will include the theme in some way.
  7. What kind of work exhilarates you? Your vision will include the kind of work that gives you pleasure-that energizes you.  As you work on your vision look for examples of work that exhilarated you in the past.
  8. What would you like your legacy to be?  Your vision needs to be big enough to be challenging to you and memorable to others.  It also needs to be so attractive to you that it energizes you every day to make progress on it.
  9. What do you wish were different in your life today?  What would your perfect life look like? If you know what a perfect life would look like, you have your vision.  Start with the changes you would make today and then ask yourself if with this change life would be perfect.
  10. What gifts do you have that you are not currently using that you would like to use?  Not only do you want your vision to be aligned with your values but you will want to be using the gifts you have that you enjoy.

Bonus Offer for Newsletter and Blog Readers

Would you like to try a visualization exercise with me?  I use a meditation like visualization in my coaching sessions that most find very helpful.  Join me at 12 noon Eastern Time on Wednesday February 15, 2012for a 45 minute session on my conference telephone line.  We’ll do the visualization and then share our thoughts on the process.  Please email me at asparker@asparker.com to let me know if you would like to participate.  I’ll send you an email with the telephone number to use for the call.

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Career Changers, Vision