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It’s just a ‘Tunneling Problem’
One of my favorite things to do as a kid on my summer holidays was to build sand castles at the beach. If I was lucky (and brave), I might even make a friend or two to make quick work of it. If not, I’d toil away on my own until I either had something to be proud of, the sun set, or, as kids do, lost interest and... -
Staying on Track
If you’ve followed the advice in parts one and two of this series, you’ve picked your focus and made a proper plan. You’ve probably even started executing it. Despite this focus and organization, however, you’re eventually going to run into frustrations. Why? The only sure thing about any plan is that it isn’t going to go according to plan! This doesn’t mean that there’s no point in making one... -
Taking the Time to Plan
You’re smart, successful and ambitious. You work hard. You’re obsessed with being productive. So why do you always find yourself wondering where the time goes and if you’re really making progress? Last month, I introduced the first of three reasons smart, successful people struggle to progress on their goals and maximize the ROI on their time: they want too many things. To build a life where you can thrive,... -
Getting More Life for Your Time
In our scramble to trade our time for money, we forget something: it’s not money that’s your most precious non-renewable resource. It’s time itself. You can save money to use in the future, you can invest it and it will grow, and you can get a second job or start a side business to increase the amount of money you have. But time is the great equalizer. We all... -
Finding Your Calling
In this final installment on the meaning of work, I explore the words that describe the work people most long for – calling, vocation, purpose, and mission — and how even they can cause barriers to pursuing, achieving and sustaining meaningful work. Vocation/ Calling: Vocation and calling are often used interchangeably because they have similar definitions. Vocation is defined as a strong desire to spend your life doing a... -
The Rise of the Portfolio Career
In past posts, we explored the terms “work,” “job,” “occupation” and “profession.” In this installment of “The Meaning of Work,” we’ll explore the changing nature of careers and the notion of the portfolio career. Do you have a job but dream of building a career? You might be out of luck, at least in the traditional sense. Why? The conventional definition of what constitutes a career is becoming obsolete.... -
Potential Pitfalls of Professional Careers
In this third installment of my series on the meaning of work, we look at one of the more prestigious terms people use when describing their work: profession. The Good and Bad of Pursuing a Profession: The term “profession” has two definitions that give insight into the mindset this term carries with it; 1) a type of job that requires special education, training or skill; and 2) the act... -
Expect More from Your Work
This is the second in a 5-part series on the Meaning of Work — where we explore how the words you use when thinking and talking about work influence your performance and fulfillment. Catch part 1, where we explore the idea of work as a necessary evil and the meaning of “job,” here. What is an Occupation? An occupation is an activity that a person spends time doing. People... -
Transform Your Work From Miserable to Meaningful
Most people look forward to summer vacation precisely because they can forget about work. I, however, find that being away from work provides a great opportunity to gain some perspective on it —and develop strategies to make it more productive and fulfilling. Work is a huge part of most adults’ lives, taking up roughly 90,000 hours over a lifetime. For some people, work is a bountiful source of joy,...
