I am back in Minnesota and my escape to the paradise of Florida is over. It is time to face my new reality and facing one of my fears – finding a new job, redefining my purpose. Once again, I am filled with mixed emotions – pain, fear, sadness, loss.
Florida was filled with warmth, vibrant colors, and happy sunshine. When I walked outside the warm humid air wrapped around me like a blanket embracing me with comfort and joy. Each morning I went for an energizing power walk on the beach and admired the peaceful “snowbirds” and vacationers strolling along the shore gazing at the ocean and picking up seashells. Everyone seemed so carefree and relaxed; truly savoring the moment basking in the sun while reading a juicy novel, gossiping with friends, or playing with the kids in the pool. I felt like I was on a sabbatical and taking time to recharge my batteries before heading back to my career in Minnesota.
As my days in Florida came to an end, I desperately wished I could find a way to join the retired snowbirds in their lives filled with daily beach walks, tennis, golf, and cocktails by the pool. But, would Naples, FL still feel so peaceful and happy if I had a regular 9-to-5 job that consumed my days? Or, is it so peaceful because it provides a break from a daily life filled with demands and responsibilities?
When I stepped off the airplane into the Minnesota air, the grey skies and bitter cold brought me back to reality. The brown foliage is a stark contrast to the bright greens, pinks, and yellows that painted the Florida scenery.
Perhaps Minnesota represents how I feel inside right now and what lies ahead for me. I feel as if my past self defined by spreadsheets, numbers, and financial results is dead and gone, like the brown trees and grass left over from last summer. I feel like I lost my purpose and sense of direction. Where do I turn from here in order to find my next job and my new purpose?
The end of winter brings a transition period and the birth of spring. The trees, flowers, birds, and rabbits blossom into new life as the sun warms the air. Soon, Minnesota will be filled with vibrant colors and the sounds of baby robins. Slowly, people will emerge from hibernation, shed their winter parkas and get outside to run, walk, bike, and play.
Perhaps just as new life emerges in the spring, my new purpose and job will come to life. Maybe I will be able to find that job that will give me balance, variety, direction, creativity, and the ability to learn and help others grow. The tears and fear I feel inside will soon disappear and a calm, content, and energized heart will emerge.
It all started with a conversation with Carmella, an astrologer in April 2008. Carmella opened my eyes to my creative, intuitive, feminine spirit that I kept locked away in a box deep inside. She opened my secret box and sent me on my path to reconnect with what my heart wants based on how the stars aligned on the day I was born. I wonder what the stars would say today and this is my version of "Emily's Astrological Update".
You are going through a major life transition right now and the next year will bring many changes. The road will be rocky and unstable, but if you trust your creative intuition, you will find comfort, stability, and joy. You crave structure and financial stability and unfortunately, I can not give this to you at this time. Money will come in and out of your life over the next year and I can not give you the financial stability that you desire until the end of the year. Perhaps this financial stability will come in the form of a new job opportunity that shows up.
You are highly creative with many talents. You are smart and have the potential to achieve great financial success using your creative intuition. However, you struggle with a lack of confidence and belief in your creative talents. In order to find the comfort, stability, and joy that you are looking for, you need to learn to trust yourself and lean into your fear of not being good enough.
You are meant to be given things in life and you need to learn to accept the help of others. People will come into your life over the next few months that can help you find new opportunities that will allow you to pursue your creative passions. You must walk through every door that opens and be open to what shows up. Each door will lead you closer to the job that will twinkle your toes and inspire your creative spirit.
Your karmic challenge is to learn how to trust your intuition and your heart. You will be tested over the next year by people and opportunities that will lead you farther away from your path to happiness and comfort. You must resist temptation and your need to please others on this journey. Now is the time to lean into the discomfort and trust your instincts, even if it seems unconventional or different from what others tell you to do.
If you can follow the unconventional path, you will find the job opportunity that gives you all that you are looking for - balance, variety, creativity, financial security, and the ability to help other people achieve success. The journey will be easy if you can shed your old ways of thinking and start following and trusting your heart. The journey will feel painful and filled with resistance, if you choose to continue to let your fears force you to pursue something to fit in order to please others. Over the next year you need to lean into the discomfort and do something each day that scares you. This will build your self-confidence and lead you to a life filled with happiness, comfort, and stability.
"Emily's Carmella Update" may be a fiction of my imagination, but I hope down to my toes that if I follow Carmella's advice, I will find my happiness. So, my first task is to do something each day that scares me.
One of my friends who has an advanced business degree left a job that did not make him happy in order to find something new. He had been looking for new jobs in Finance for a while and recently decided that he didn't have to wait to pursue his "retirement job". He decided that he can go after his dream of working with his hands and becoming a residential contractor today. I am so proud of him for going after his dream. He has re-packaged his education, experience, and interests into a new career. This made me wonder, what is my "retirement job"?
I have always loved psychology and helping other people work through problems and sometimes, I think it would be fun to become a psychologist when I retire from the business world someday. I would open a small practice and help people work through major transitions in their lives, such as leaving a career, dealing with the loss of a loved one, leaving a bad relationship, processing a health issue like cancer, or building self-confidence. Perhaps I would set up a little booth on the beach like Lucy in the "Peanuts" cartoons offering my psychiatric services for $0.25 a session. It would feel amazing to have a job where I could say "I make people feel better one hour at a time". I worry about how to make this dream a reality. Do I want to go back to school and pursue further education when I recently invested a lot time and money in a MBA? How will I make enough money to have the financial security that I desire? Is now the time to make such a drastic career change?
Then I dream about starting my own little business called "Cupcake Dreams". I picture a small shop filled with bright colors where kids, parents, and friends could come together to create their own cupcakes. Since I have a passion for health and fitness, I would differentiate myself by developing healthy cupcake recipes and using only the finest ingredients. "Cupcake Dreams" would be a safe place where you are free to express your individuality one cupcake at a time. Chocolate, vanilla, marble, cinnamon, strawberry, peanut butter surprise, just select your yummy cake flavor. Then you mix up the ingredients and pop it in the oven. Now the fun begins as you ice your cupcake with chocolate, vanilla, whip cream, or strawberry frosting and decorate with fun sprinkles, fruit, or candies. After all, who doesn't love to be creative, get dirty, and eat sugar with the ones they love. Once again I question if I really want to start my own business and invest many hours planning and running the operations, when I really crave a balanced simple life. Do I have the ambition to start my own business? Would I want to invest the time and money into something that may or may not be a success?
Like my friend, I am looking for my "residential contractor" job. I am searching for something that will allow me to re-package my education, experience, and interests into a job that will twinkle my toes and inspire me to wake up each day. I am want a job that will allow me to work with smart, talented people who respect my values for balance and simplicity. I am looking for something that will give me variety and allow me to express my creativity, as well as provide financial security. Now, I need to start the search and see if I can make my "retirement job" whatever that may be a reality.
At times I like to dream about who I would be and what I would do if I could step into an imaginary world and have a new life. The answer is simple. . . I would be a dancer. First I would make my debut as a corps dancer in a small ballet and jazz company. Then I would leap onto the stage as a member of a Broadway Musical like "A Chorus Line", "Cats", or "Fosse". Finally, I would waltz into the ballroom and take a spin on "Dancing With the Stars".
I love to dance. The music comes into my body, awakens my soul and inspires me to express myself through movement. I love the fluidity and grace that comes with dance. I took ballet and jazz lessons as a child. I wasn't the best dancer, but it didn't matter. I found pure joy in each plie, jete, and pirouette.
I never wanted to be the star dancer, rather I loved being a strong member of the corps. I like to create harmony and bring color and life to the stage by supporting the prima ballerina. I believe each dancer has a role to play in any performance and I strive to be the best corps dancer on the stage.
In life I believe there is a need for stars, the leaders, and supporters. My goal in life is to help make the "star" shine brighter.
Today I applied for a job that I have no relevant experience for, but believe that I have all the required skills that would be needed to be successful. In order to figure out what I want to do next, I need to stretch myself, dream big, and apply for jobs that sound interesting, even if they seem outside the realm of possibility. Today I applied to be the Features and Entertainment Editor for the Naples Daily News.
I have never written for a newspaper and I have never been published. However, I LOVE to listen to people's stories and inspire others through writing. Editors need to generate innovative story ideas, direct planning of editorials and reviews, and adhere to tight deadlines. Newspaper readership is on the decline and budgets are tight. In my opinion, a newspaper needs an Editor with a non-traditional background to come in and bring new life to the paper on a shoestring budget. I believe my education and experience make me a great candidate for the job.
I worked on a major brand repositioning for a kid yogurt brand at General Mills and can transfer this skill to the editorial world. I am full of ideas that would bring stories of hope and inspiration to the Naples community. Stories that feature new entrepreneurs who are following their passions by opening new restaurants with tantalizing dishes, creating lively music that inspire people to dance, and writing engaging novels. I believe heartwarming stories are needed to bring hope back to Americans who have stopped reading the news due to the extreme focus on the dismal economy and rampant job losses.
I am highly disciplined and detail oriented and was known to develop and manage project timelines while I was in MBA School. I also learned the importance of data accuracy and how to respond quickly to changes in order to meet tight deadlines while working on the Financial Planning and Analysis team at Best Buy. Discipline, flexibility, and integrity are three skills that are needed in order to be a successful Editor.
I am a quick learner who is motivated to work hard and bring a new perspective to the Naples News or whatever next job that I land. I am looking for a person to take a chance on a creative spirit who has a passion to write stories about people, brands, financial results, and to help others be successful.
While I know that this job opportunity is a long shot, it taught me how to open my eyes to different types of jobs. I have always taken the road less traveled and believe that the right job for me is something I have yet to discover. I believe in order to get what I want, I must dream BIG and reach for the moon. If I cast my net wide and remain open, I will surely capture a STAR opportunity.
