Intentional Career

Red Pill, Blue Pill

2012-05-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, I’m doing it! After 11.5 years of working at Microsoft, I’m leaving the corporate world and on my way to build my coaching and consulting business full time. I’m entering the unknown territory of the entrepreneurship, which feels both scary and exciting (one more than the other, depending on the moment).

This is not about jumping from a cliff, waking up one day and saying, “That’s it! I’ve had enough!” I must say, this has been a loooong journey. A journey that involved imagining a lot of different possibilities, testing all sorts of waters, talking to many people, bravely “going for it” and then quickly running back to safety, dreaming, fearing… lots of back and forth. But at the end, the passion won over the fear.

I’ve heard people saying that they hesitate about going for a big change, because that would imply that whatever they’ve done so far didn’t work, and therefore was a failure. Are you kidding me? All I’ve done in life brought me to this place. All the moments where I felt brilliant, humbled, frustrated, inspired, lost, energized, and all the people I’ve met and talked to over the years gave me a better sense of who I can and want to be in the world. So, I’m definitely planning on bringing and using all that worked, giving it a new spin, and watching to see what happens.

A dear friend of mine has compared this leap to “taking the red pill”, a reference to The Matrix. You may remember Morpheus offering Neo to choose between the blue and the red pill. The blue was about living in the illusion and red about embracing the truth of reality. I know what I want to do, and I can choose either to ignore it and surrender to the dreads of uncertainty that would give me plenty of reasons to stay and keep the status quo, or to just go for the truth, knowing that it may be uncomfortable at times, maybe even painful. And I know this is not a one-time deal. I’ll most likely have to make that choice every day as obstacles arise, as I discover parts of what I currently don’t even know that I don’t know.

Wish me luck! And I’ll make sure to send you a postcard from all the places this journey will take me to.

You Can Have It All!

2012-02-13T16:31:00.001-08:00

Imagine this: you are an eager entrepreneur, ready to work hard to make money. Where do you start? Where is the money to be made? If you are really open to anything, you’ll look around for any opportunity. Anywhere from reselling a diet supplement in your overweight neighborhood to writing about insurance policies to help people sort out their options. You may find cracks in the system, where you can insert yourself as a middle man in hopes to get rich. And maybe you will. But you may end up skipping from one opportunity to another, like a puppy chasing a squirrel. You may keep randomly trying possibilities left and right, hoping you’ll succeed, because you are dedicated and you’ve heard it said that it “takes just once for it to work…” OK, so let’s assume it works and you do get rich. Then what?

Why do you actually want the money? So that you can do … what? I think if you dig deep, at the end you want money to be able to do what you love, to follow your passion.

If that’s so, why don’t we start with that? Let’s focus on what you really love doing. Now, I’ve seen enough starving artists understand that just doing what you love will not really build your business. I may love writing, but if all I do is write stories in notebooks that are piling up in my drawer, no money will follow.

What I think we need is to combine the passion inside us with needs that are outside, in the world around us. Simply following a crack in the system where there is money to be made is not entirely wrong, but should not be your #1 priority. If you go for it and your heart is not there, to me that’s desperation and I would love to build my business on something more positive than that. If there is passion, there’ll be will, talent, energy, and drive to overcome the hoops that come your way as you’re working on your business. But you have to come out of your “passion closet” once in a while and see what relevant needs the world out there may have. Then you need to follow up on those possible opportunities, test the waters, see what works and what doesn’t, get inspired by the reactions people may have to what you’re offering, be curious about what others who share your passion do, and be flexible to adjust your approach as you go.

For example, if you like food, you may try volunteering for a food bank, or working in a restaurant, or writing about local farmer’s markets, or inviting people to your house for a gourmet get together, or perhaps looking into how you can learn how to make cheese or import wine from another country… then notice what happens. Is that something you want to do more of? What makes you like it? Where does your passion lead you? What reaction are you getting in the world? Do people like it? Do they want to join you? What are you learning?

People pay for what they value. There are ways to make money by following your passion and connecting to others and to what’s happening around you. You don’t need to choose between following the money versus following your passion. If you manage to mix your passion with a need in the market, you can have it all!

Running Towards versus Running Away

2012-01-22T17:26:00.001-08:00

All of us have been in a situation where we realized at some point that we wanted out. It could have been a relationship, a job, an exercising routine, community, anything. Things are great and then, suddenly, the balance tips over and the bad becomes increasingly heavier than the good. Your partner doesn’t seem good enough, job tasks are annoying, the daily bike ride feels boring, and you don’t want to belong to the same circle any longer. You want to run away to a better place. But where? Knowing what you DON’T want is not the same as knowing what you DO want.

If you ask me what I want for dinner and I tell you I don’t like beans, absolutely hate fried stuff, spicy food upsets my stomach, and I’m trying to avoid carbs, you may think there is still a lot of dishes I’ll like. But even if you serve something that avoids my DON’Ts, what are the odds that I will actually like it?

When you want to move on and be somewhere else, you may think that it’s because there is something wrong with the people, the job, or the neighborhood around you, and that if you simply change the exterior, all is going to be great again. However, you may not realize that the main reason behind why you no longer want to be where you are may lay inside of you. Maybe you’ve evolved and need something else. Maybe there is nothing wrong with the exterior and you’re simply ready to explore new territories and to play with your life a little.

Getting in touch with who you are and what you want is very powerful. If you’re leaving because you can’t take it anymore, you don’t know where you’re going, and the only thing on your mind is to run, you are in a survival mode. If you operate from fear of staying, everything seems better than the current situation. You feel desperate and weak and you may settle for the first thing that crosses your path.

On the other hand, when you know what you DO want and you move towards it, there will be joy, anticipation, and excitement inside of you. You’ll feel stronger, able to enjoy the journey and adapt as you go. You can be present and curious about all that is around you. You can decide based on what you like and what you want with each step that you take. So, where do you want to go next?

Your Inner Landscape

2012-01-19T17:03:00.001-08:00

Last night, I was driving through the city, admiring the lights, the scenery created by the buildings and bridges, the lights that gave it life, and I started thinking about the time before people settled in. Originally, the land had a certain landscape – the hills, lakes, forests, meadows, beaches, rocks… and the settlers needed to work with that natural environment – they crossed rivers using bridges, they looked for solid ground to build houses, and settled near the ocean, bringing in more supplies from abroad.

Each of us also has a natural landscape. Your “hills” may invite you to build great things, your “oceans” may inspire you to search for new inventions, or your “meadows” may create a strong desire to gather groups of people with a common purpose. Whatever that natural landscape may be, we need to be aware of it and use it to our advantage, just as those old settlers and architects did. Only then we can make the best of it and build the structures that will work well with our “natural resources”.

So, if you found yourself climbing the corporate ladder while dreaming about serving the needs of your community, maybe it’s time to take a trip to your inner self and explore the scenery. Are you building houses on sand? Maybe there is a place that inspires fun and exploration, like a waterfall. Maybe you just got lost in the woods and forgot about the fields around that offer amazing views of sunsets that may inspire you on your journey.

Take your time and explore who you really are. I’m sure there is a lot you can do with what you find, whether it’s a warmer climate offering places to collaborate, or a cooler one, where you would sit by the fire and concentrate on detailed work. However you end up crafting your life, building your career, or pursuing your passion, it’s going to be as unique as the world around us – there are no two places on Earth that are the same. We love traveling to beautiful places, because they somehow inspire us. So, if you are sensitive to your inner landscape, you are more likely to create a life that is naturally beautiful. A life that you will love living; a life that many others would like to join. And some may just choose to join you forever.

Career Move

2011-01-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

How did you end up in your current job? Do you like it? Or do you feel trapped?

When I was 18, I had to decide what I wanted to study. Computers were the hot thing, and I was always good at math, so I chose that career path. My parents encouraged me as well; they could easily envision my future in a clean and quiet office, surrounded by smart, intelligent people. What could be better than that?

Well, I ended up living up to that vision, but I must say it didn’t excite me much. As I got my hands dirty on variety of projects, I started realizing how much I enjoy working with and for people. I would happily trade my clean and quiet office for a classroom full of people eager to learn something.

I’ve changed jobs several times and always craved that next one, thinking “this is it!” But after a while I wanted something else. Looking back, I’ve been thinking whether that means that my choices were all wrong and whether I’ve been wasting my time. But I don’t think so. Career is an evolution, a journey, so I think career moves are just natural parts of that journey. It’s kind of like when you are on a trip, deciding at some point whether you want to go right or left, whether to change your plans because you’ve hear of that great beach nearby, or whether to go to a different hotel to get a better deal.

A career move doesn’t necessarily mean that the previous job was bad. More likely, your previous job was the right thing for that specific time. Actually, a variety of experiences will give you a better sense of what you really like doing.

If you pick a school solely on what is easy for you, it may not necessarily bring you happiness at work. And the more years you spend in that field, the harder it is to compete with people who spent that time gaining experience in the field of your passion. For that reason, we sometimes feel trapped in our current occupation, feeling like we’ve lost the train and got stuck somewhere where we thought we would be happy forever.

So, my advice to all of you is this: listen to your intuition, to your passion, and to your interests when deciding on a certification, or on a major at school. Help your children and your friends to make the right decision as well. And for those who are stuck, your sales pitch should be something like, “If I was able to succeed in what I don’t even like doing, can you imagine me in something I love doing?” It’s never too late to start from scratch. Good luck in your next career move!

Just for the money

2010-11-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

We all have good and bad experiences with restaurants. I guess what makes them really bad is a combination of bad service and high prices. We don’t mind paying more if we see the value, and are willing to compromise for paper plates to save a little. But we can definitely feel when the staff is there for the money and doesn’t really care for us – for those customers who pay. And it goes in any business –tanning salons, car repair shops, banks…

Now, we always talk about those uncaring people in different businesses as if they were from a different planet. They are not our friends, or our neighbors. We don’t know any of them personally. But I would argue that they are not just the same people as us, they are us. You may be thinking, “How can you say that? I’m not like that!” Well, if you have a job and are there just for the money, doesn’t it make you the same kind of guy as that owner of the dry cleaning on the corner who just cares about the money he gets from you?
It all boils down to being somewhere you don’t want to be. If you don’t like what you do, but you want the money, the customer will ultimately pay the price. You may not face that customer, but I guarantee if you don’t put passion into what you do and you don’t care about those people who you ultimately serve, the customer will feel it, just as you felt it in that bad restaurant.

Big companies are a great place to hide and provide enormous opportunities for many people who are there just for the money. But I think that even if you are one of 10,000 employees, if you don’t care, it’ll have a different impact than if you did care. We all know what one negative and passive guy on a team can do to the whole group. So, what CAN you do if you don’t like what you do, but you really want the money?

I’d say, stop whining and make yourself care! I know, I know, you have your dreams. Please, don’t throw them away. But if you really feel like you need this job right now, this is what you can do:
#1 - Think about the bigger picture. What does that company that you work for actually provide to people? Do you like it? Do you agree with it? Do you care? If not, you have to get out of there. Come on, you value yourself more. You don’t want to get paid for something that goes against your own principles, do you?
#2 - If you agree with the big picture, then connect what you do to it. Very often we feel that since we are such a small part of the whole operation, we can’t even see the link between what we do and how the customer benefits in the end. If you genuinely care about what you are a part of and you see the importance of your piece, it makes you care. And when you do care, it’s a win-win. The customer is happy and you are also happy. And not just for the money, but for the feeling that no money can buy you

You are your company

2010-11-08T17:22:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a boy. He went to school, studied well, received good grades, and went off to college to get a degree, a proof of his worth. This boy, who became an adult in the process, went on a quest to look for a company that would graciously give him a job. He hoped to find a place that would see him as good enough to give him an opportunity to play on their playground. After getting a job, the boy was happy. It gave him a sense of accomplishment and a sense of belonging. After all, what would he be without this company anyway? He would be nothing…

Or would he be? I just read a really cool article about building a personal brand, and one particular sentence stood out for me: “I was Scott Monty before I came to Ford, and I’ll be Scott Monty after I leave Ford”. We each have our own company – ourselves. All those years spent in school, all those experiences we encounter in life – they are a part of building our own corporation, our own brand. You don’t have to be Oprah Winfrey to have a personal brand. Each of us has a brand, by default. The question is how can we nurture and build it up, how can we make the most out of it.

Going back to the boy in our story, most of us these days are like him- hoping that we’ll be good enough for someone to give us an opportunity. My 9 year old daughter asked me the other day, “Mom, would you be mad if I didn’t go to college and wanted to bake cookies for a living?” I told her that if she is passionate about baking cookies, she’ll most likely do all she can to have the best darn cookies in town. Her passion will be her fuel to overcome obstacles, to feed new ideas, and to give it all her best. And in that case, if she finds college classes as something helpful in her pursuit of being the best cookie maker, she’ll want to attend those classes. But if she doesn’t find the value, the alignment with her dream, then why should she?

I really hope our kids will see themselves as their own companies. Scott Monty is no smaller or less powerful than Ford. Actually, he’s more powerful. Because if all the employees leave Ford one day, there won’t be any Ford to talk of anymore. But Scott Monty will still be Scott Monty with all his potential, skills, ideas, and passion.

All in

2010-09-19T16:59:00.001-07:00

Why are we so afraid of changes? Looking at the transitions of the seasons outside, nature is clearly telling us that changes are essential. And even if you are living in sunny California, and you clearly don’t get what I mean, you have to agree that life would be pretty boring if all the days were the same and nothing new ever happened.

Life is all about changes! OK, yes, we like some changes. But only the kind of changes that we look forward to – a new baby in the family, a new job, a new house, a trip to a part of the world we’ve always wanted to explore… but what if we are just fine with what is and someone wants to mess up with our world? Oh, no, we don’t like that!

Try to think of when the time is when you are usually most resistant to change. For me it’s times of stress. I have everything carefully planned, I’m working at full speed, anticipating the excitement of crossing the finish line at some point, and then something comes up. One more project “due yesterday” pops out of nowhere, an annoying process I’m been used to, is changed by someone who is paid to do things like that, there is a re-org in my company… and crash! My meticulously engineered machine is disturbed, and it feels like all those plates balancing on the sticks above my head are all going to fall down… or are they?

I’ve heard a really great poker analogy. If you play with a lot of money, and you are willing to risk some cash, well, what the heck, you have plenty to lose but you’ll still have some left for the next round if it doesn’t work out. But, oh boy, when you have just a couple of chips left, you really think about your next move. When I’m stretched to the limits of my abilities and a change comes up, it feels like being “all in” while someone else just exposed their four-of-a-kind. All my efforts so far (my “chips”) are lost.

But guess what? In life, we all have our own chip producing machine. It’s called self-esteem. We can never run out of chips as long as we believe in ourselves. So, when the next change catches you by surprise, stop and reflect on all of those good games you’ve played before. Fill your pockets with some more chips and get ready for the new round.

Loyalty

2010-09-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

I’ve just attended a training session with couple of great people who’d been working for a big company for a long time (it was kind of fun to point out that I was still in grade school when they got hired). Anyway, as we were discussing topics, such as how to discover our core values, what the essential skills of our jobs are, and the importance of being on the same page with our managers, the word “loyalty” came up.

What does it mean to be loyal to the company you work for? If I work for someone, they expect me to give my best, be innovative, grow my potential and help them grow their business. We all agree on that. Then I said that I see my work for anyone as a mutual deal. I’ll give you (the company) all my best while you support me and reward me appropriately. And when the time comes when either the company or I make a decision to part, then that’s OK. The long term employees didn’t see it the same way. They said that if they’d dedicated years to be loyal to the company, it should be nice to them. They’ve given the company decades of their lives and it would be unfair if the company let them go, leaving them vulnerable in the wild world.

Does it mean I’m not loyal if I see my deal with the company as something that can change at any time? I am loyal to whoever I work with now or will be working with in the future. That’s how I see it. I’m a capable person who has a deal that benefits both the company and me right now. And that can change any time. I may decide to go somewhere else and the company may decide it doesn’t need me anymore. And when we part, I’ll take all my learning, experience, successes, and people I got to meet along the way with me to new adventures. No hard feelings. As far as I’m concerned, the company doesn’t owe me a thing. And if you feel otherwise, you’re probably sacrificing too much for a false sense of security. I understand; it may feel scary imagining yourself looking for a job in your late 50s. But you know what? Just believe in yourself. You’ve been helpful to these guys for all these years. You are good. Period.

Essential Slacking

2010-09-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

So, here you are, working through your daily tasks, balancing e-mail, files, meetings, phone calls, deadlines. You are trying to make a meaningful progress with your work. Over the months or years, you’ve been trying to perfect the routines to achieve the highest efficiency possible. You are a multitasking master, you know plenty of time saving tricks, and you can seamlessly follow the processes. In spite of all this, you feel like you’ve been working really hard, making each and every minute count; you are exhausted at the end of the day and you may still be just as frustrated. Frustrated because certain tasks took you longer than you expected, or because you’ve realized that if you had only teamed up with that guy from the second floor you wouldn’t have needed to do so much research on your own, or because they told you that they really only needed that table on page 13 of your 25 page long report, thank you very much.

Well, what you need, my friend, is “essential slacking”. I can imagine people having really bad images of slackers – they imagine someone in a messy office drinking soda while playing solitaire on the computer, or girls in the café downstairs, chatting about personal issues. That’s not really what I mean, although perhaps a bit of that wouldn’t hurt. We get caught so much in our daily routines and in perfecting our moves that we often forget about the big picture; we may forget the real goal, and we may become isolated work bees without creativity. Innovation may seem like something only scientists and researchers can do.

What I mean by this “essential slacking” is simply a deliberate pause in your routine. Notice yourself spinning the wheel, working hard, multitasking… and just stop. Sit for a while, walk around, talk to someone, and do whatever it takes to take you out of your routine. And then imagine your work from a higher perspective. Remind yourself of what you’re doing, why you are doing it, and what the whole purpose is. Imagine what you would do if you had only 2 hours to finish what you are working on instead of a week. Forget about the process and think about the goal. Maybe you will suddenly remember a person who has some expertise that you may use instead of doing everything all by yourself. Can you team up? Maybe you’ll stop worrying about the colors or fonts. Is there a simpler way to do this? And maybe you will just focus on the most important parts and streamline your original plan into something short and crisp. What is really necessary and why?

Getting into essential slacking is difficult at first. Whenever you‘re focused on something, you feel the rush and working on a task may give you a great feeling of self worth. It’ll feel uncomfortable to stop. You may fear that if you stop now, you’ll lose the momentum, you’ll get distracted, and you’ll lose the thought. Come on! Have a little trust in your ability to go back to whatever you are doing after some time. And risk a little too. Maybe you’ll forget an idea that you have right now. But with essential slacking, you may come up with even better ideas, that will actually save you time and create a bigger impact.

Essential slacking allows you to stop and rethink your approach. There will always be more work than we can do. But the point isn’t to work the hardest. Let‘s face it. What’s behind being successful in anything that people do? It’s getting the right things done. And essential slacking will prevent you from losing yourself in your own world, from getting blind to the reality, and from wasting time trying to spin your wheel faster and faster.

A job is just a job!

2010-09-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

You may wonder, “Why all this fuss with career, anyway?” You don’t want to build a “career”, you want to go to work every day, do your hours, get paid and enjoy the other aspects of your life. A job is just a job! Well, there’s nothing wrong with that, really. If that’s what’s working for you, then go ahead.

Let’s take a closer look at this scenario. It seems that you want to have a stable job, not worry about it too much, somehow go through your workdays, and focus more on what’s happening in your life after you come home from work. If this is true, then I guess we can say that that’s your intention, your desire, your goal, or whatever you want to call it. Now, how will you make sure you can really get that job and keep it? I don’t think you want to refresh your resumés all the time and move around a lot. You want to get something that fits your skills, is kind of easy to do, and pays OK. Then you want to keep that job, right? You want to prevent being told that they don’t need you anymore, because you‘re not fast, up to date, efficient, or creative enough.

A career doesn’t necessarily mean climbing the corporate ladder, or switching jobs to gain a variety of experiences. It varies for each of us based on what our intentions are.

So, if your intention is to keep your job, then it’s in your best interest to at least keep your eyes open. Ask what’s happening with the business you are in. Be aware of how it’s evolving as you are punching your hours over the days, weeks, and months. If you want to feel like your job is stable, so you can focus more on those other things in your life, you must at the very least be alert and flexible. And guess what? If you are doing that, you are definitely building a career. Your career.

Why you want what you want.

2009-09-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

I once attended a networking event for new employees. As we were practicing speed networking skills, one question kept on coming up. “So, what do you want to be in couple of years?” I was surprised how many of the newly graduated and eager to achieve youngsters responded that they would like to achieve VP or CEO positions. Well, I could see they weren’t lacking high aspirations. But I really wanted to dig deeper, so I asked “Why?”; If you could watch a video with their answers in a slow motion, this is what you would see:

It’s important to think really hard why we want what we want. You may say that you would like to be a CEO, because you want to have enough money to ensure that your family doesn’t ever need to worry about paying bills. But what exactly is “enough money”? By the way, not all wealthy people are CEOs, so there are many different ways to get where you want be. Maybe you’re limiting your options by dreaming about becoming a CEO one day. Another reason I heard was that people want to have a position where their opinions are taken seriously. But isn’t it kind of backwards? You will most likely have to have many great ideas and be influential in the first place to get up there.

By the way, when we dream of something, we tend to see only the glamour – as a CEO, I can imagine myself giving a powerful speech in front of my 10,000 enthusiastically clapping employees, or driving a luxury car… but what about the downside of being a CEO? I wonder if any of those college graduates thought of how they would blend a family life with having a highly stressful position like that, or if they would like the frequent business trips or being criticized by the media for their decisions.

Anyway, whether you are a college graduate or have 20+ years of career on your shoulders, I encourage you to ask yourself “What do I want to be when I grow up?” And then keep asking “Why?” You may realize that your reasons or motives may only be kind of related to the job you envisioned for yourself and you may open up to new possibilities that would bring you the same outcome.

Corporate career development – is it really about you?

2009-05-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

If you’ve ever worked for any company, you’ve probably had one of those career development talks with your manager. It’s great if a company that you work for cares about your development and not just about what you can deliver. You should definitely appreciate it. However, the career development within a company is, of course, focused on the company. How can you grow so that the company can get more of you? The best companies out there will try and focus on your strengths, passion, interest, past experiences, and so on. They know that if they provide an environment where you can grow more and more into what you love to do, you’ll be motivated to produce, innovate, and motivate others to do the same. But still, even with these very intelligent organizations, thinking about your career development is somewhat constrained.

What if you are a school teacher and you’d like to grow into a people development specialist? Can your company, in this case the school, help you get there? Or, imagine that a company hired you as a localization project manager and that you’d like to become a marketing consultant some day? You may think that these are rather strange examples. Believe me, they are real examples. Specifically, these are about my husband and me. And I have many more when I talk to my friends and family. For example one is about a software engineer dreaming about becoming a movie music writer. The career development discussions, tools, and opportunities that are available to you where you currently are may help you a little, but it’s very likely that they will not make your dream come true.

I remember taking to my manager about what kind of work I’d like to do. She listened, and then asked me, “OK, so what job title are you talking about here?” Like many in her position, she was trying to fit my dream into the company’s structure. Into the current company structure, to be precise. She didn’t even consider that I may be talking about something new that may not currently exist, but that I can create if there is a need. Have you heard of a “social media specialist” position ten years ago? No, of course not. And yet, it exists today.

So, what’s the point? Go ahead and have all those career development talks with whoever is who may be interested to talk about your career and future. Use all the tools that make you think about your possibilities, your passions, and your interests that you’ve never considered. But don’t be constrained by what a company has to offer.

What’s Intentional Career about?

2009-05-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my page full of ideas related to building your career. Now, let’s get some things straight. What do I mean by the word “career”? As you grow up, you go to school and once you are done (and maybe even before that), you may start doing other activities. You may get a job, you may create a company, you may start volunteering for various groups, and so on. The common denominator is that you start doing something that is somehow useful. You will try to fill the demand with whatever you can supply. And it can be for the fun of it, but most likely it’ll be to earn some money. You may start doing one thing and then switch to something else, you may be doing the same thing for many, many years, or you may somehow seamlessly move from one activity to another. All of these are examples of what I call “career”.

Now, the dictionary tells you that career has something to do with a lifelong or a long-term activity. We, however, are talking about how you are willing to spend your life. And I’m sure you don’t want to feel like your life has just kind of happened. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Career is what happens while we are making other plans”. We like being in control of our life and being able to decide how we spend our years. I’m sure you don’t want your career to just “happen”. In order to get what we want, we first need to know what exactly it is that we want and then try to get it. That’s what I call an intention. If you don’t want to wake up one day and wonder why you are who you are, and why you spend your days doing something you would never pick for yourself, then you must have a vision, and you have to intentionally make your strategy to get to what you want.

Intentional Career is about living your career day by day in a way that has meaning or purpose for you. It’s not about dreaming that one day at some point in the future you’ll do what you always wanted to do. It’s about doing things every day in a way that makes sense for you. You can feel your career is happening each day. You are making it happen; it’s deliberate. That’s Intentional Career.