Do you love your job? Are you happy with your career? Many of us will answer no to both of these questions. And it seems to me we visit these questions at two key moments in life: When we leave the nest, usually around 18 years old Sometime in midlife when we wonder how we got there. Maybe between 40 and 50 years old Lucky for me, I’m almost 50 AND I have daughters who…
At the risk of sounding pessimistic or negative I am sharing my thoughts about a topic near and dear to me. More often than no, I believe people suck at their jobs. I don’t think this suckage is always intentional and I do not believe people WANT to suck at their jobs. I am not here to blame individuals for their suckage nor to suggest this is necessarily related to the individuals. My point here…
We only get so much time on Earth, and it seems to be the most limiting resource there is – except when it doesn’t. At times we’re bored and can’t wait to ‘get there’ or for ‘this to be over’ (I’m talking to you, COVID). And other times we just can’t get enough time in the day to do the things we want and need to do. Work, career, a J. O. B. These things…
I was just talking with my good friend, Paul Gadola, who you may know from KEW Curiosity Interview Series 1, about kids. He and his wife have chosen not to have any and are very happy they don’t, whereas I have four kids. It’s usually difficult for me to relate to non-parents to at least some degree, but with Paul it is not hard at all. The differences reflect life choices, but a foundation of…
In Episode 32: Work/Life Balance I shared my thoughts about how to find time to meet all the various needs we have. In this episode I want to focus specifically on balancing time spent working toward our careers with time spent with our families. And for those of you without spouses or kids, your family can be your parents, siblings, friends, coworkers or any other people you value and spend time with. The main career/family…
Many of us struggle with the amount of time we spend working on our career vs. time we spend with our family. For those pursuing demanding careers we fear we are missing out at home, and some of us who spend most of our time at home long to have a purpose beyond our families. Whether are assumptions are accurate, or our guilt is warranted remains largely unseen because career demands seem to trump our…
After WWII Americans made some major advances in the pursuit of happiness. The 40-hour workweek. Worker protections via unions. Inexpensive plastic goods and TVs in every room. We purchased homes, went to college, and earned pensions for healthy retirements. We had picket fences, 2.3 kids, and stayed married (but not always happily). Our grandparents passed these ideals on to their children, and to each successive generation, changing very little with respect to goals and ideals.…
Since I was a kid I have been obsessed with how to make room for the things I want in my life and the things I have to do to get them. At thirteen I got a paper route and realized part of my life did not belong to me. I was taught (as most of us are) that I would have to trade some of my time working to earn the time to use…