Category Archives for "Blog"

May 21, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” –Wayne Gretzky

As great a business person as we might be — business plans, strategic directions, cost/benefit and SWOT analysis — rarely in our personal-life pursuit of dreams can it all be sorted out so diligently beforehand.

Often, there’s no way to see a next step until you take the first one. You can drive anywhere at night with your headlights alone, 200 feet at a time. But you have to start driving to get to that next 200 feet.

Instead of letting our tendency to have it all worked out ahead of time run the show, a healthy course of action might often be “Ready, FIRE, Aim”.

We can always recalibrate once we’re in the actual playing field…yet getting past the paralysis of analysis might be the best and biggest foot we can put forward.

Where can you take a shot today even if you don’t have all the answers yet?

Got FIRE?

“The future depends on what you do today.” –Mahatma Gandhi

Q & A
Media Source: WorkWise.net
Topic: “Job Hunting Roadblock”

Reporter Query: “I’m looking for sources to discuss how highly competent job seekers unable to find the job they want can analyze what they’ve done to determine where they’ve come up short.”

CareerGuy Response: “Hi Mildred, As to your query, I believe a couple pertinent questions should be asked by every job seeker at the end of every day and every week:

1) Did I focus on relationships today/this week or did I focus on my desperate need for a job?

Most job seekers repel folks rather than attract because of wearing their desperate need on their sleeve.

In order to meet more people in positions of influence, industry or thought leadership, you have to have it be about something other than your need for a job. Put the need for a job aside, figure out what you’re really passionate about (something cutting edge in your current field, something hot and fascinating in another field, etc.) and approach people based on that interest. Folks will make time for you and, if you cultivate those meetings and nurture those relationships in a smart way, you will get to know and be known by the people in the know. Then, helpful news, information, and even opportunities can come your way.

2) Did I listen more than I talked when meeting with individuals in my career campaign?

People in transition are often led by their fear to be out only thinking and talking about themselves. This is not the way to get into the hearts and minds of powerful, decision-making folks they want to be known by. Rather, as discussed above, find reasons to contact folks based on passionate research you’re doing and then use the power of human psychology to climb into their good graces by being interestED rather than interestING. In The 5 Stages of a Stealth Interview, where the job seeker has set up the meeting with the thought leader, there is an artful way to get on the good side of this person…and it starts by listening to them, their path, their choices, and their decisions. Subconsciously, when folks are listened to and treated like an “expert,” they naturally start to think that the listener is pretty smart…as well as start to feel a certain beholden to them which silently says “You’ve done so much for me, what can I do for you?”

May 14, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” –Arnold J. Toynbee

I was running between appointments yesterday, with my full list of to-dos guiding my intentions to be productive, effective and efficient.

And then, on the sidewalk, I saw a little styrofoam glider, a child’s toy airplane, just laying there.

In my grand plan to succeed in my day, I simply walked past it…but then caught myself. I used to have gliders like that! And some kid somewhere had used it to gain the same immediate and unmitigated joy I used to, when responsibilities were simpler or non-existent.

Which reminded me that, in the midst of forward movement, play must have it’s place.

So, as a little ritual to anchor the insight, I turned around, picked it up, and gave it a good thrust into the air.

In what way, today, can you bring a sense of wonder or unstructured glee to your career or dream development?

Got play?

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” -– Albert Einstein

May 7, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” –Thomas Edison

There’s a reason why the reset button was created.

Any work or dream of substance will have wiring go awry and need many fresh starts.

The old Apollo rockets were off course 97% of the time on their way to the moon, requiring constant recalibration.

We may be so many years, months, weeks, days, hours, or minutes into our year, career or even fear.

And there’s nothing saying we can’t simply start over and begin again. And again. And again.

Got reset?

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” –-Ralph Waldo Emerson

April 30, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” –Steve Jobs

Things not going a particular way we think they should go at any particular time is not necessarily a bad thing.

Actually, it’s probably a very good thing. Maybe even the source of all true progress.

What’s the other side to what you’re seeing that you don’t like right now?

Got frustration?

“You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.” –Ralph Marston

April 23, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible.” –Hannah Arendt

Every morning I have a 10-15 minute call with my “Action Buddy”. We play a game of being “cause in the matter” of our day…vs. at the effect of whatever winds might blow around or over us.

Making a promise of what I’ll get done to someone else is a lot more powerful than making that same promise to myself. I’ll lie to myself. And given nobody is watching, I’ll get away with it.

It’s not about a “to do” list as much as putting our butt on the line in particularly challenging areas — the things that we really want to make headway in (e.g., growth, dreams) — which, left unpromised, would go untended. Therefore, those gardens would never grow.

Sometimes we eat the bear. Sometimes the bear eats us. Yet, with a daily, diligent practice of “calling the ball”, we move forward way better than otherwise.

Which reminds me of a story of three professional baseball umpires with varying levels of experience. They were being interviewed by a reporter in the locker room about their profession, how they determine balls vs. strikes, and what makes for a great umpire.

Umpire #1, the greenest of the three, stated “What makes me a great umpire is that I call them the way I see them.” Umpire #2, a bit more senior, stated “Well, that’s how I felt in my early years too…but what makes me a great umpire is that I call them the way they are.”

Finally, Umpire #3, the most veteran and seasoned of the three, stated “I appreciate both of these young men, and felt the same way as they did way back then. However, now I’ve learned that it ain’t nothin’ until I call it.”

Got accountability?

“You cannot live on other people’s promises, but if you promise others enough, you can live on your own.” –Mark Caine

April 16, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Our intention creates our reality.” –Wayne Dyer

Our dreams–around career, purpose, and life in general–are just that because they don’t currently exist in reality.

Perhaps there are several elements involved in creating an environment in which dreams actually come to pass and merge with reality.

One, undoubtedly, is unspoken INTENTION, which carries a huge, hidden power back of it. The whole “law of attraction” movement is based on this unseen but highly determinant initiator of what comes our way.

Yet, perhaps another element is what takes place in our speaking…a declaration of not only a possibility but an actual investment into that possibility: COMMITMENT.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.” –William Hutchison Murray

Nonetheless, all talk and $1.95 will get you a cup of coffee. Therefore, the third critical element to creating a dream-magnet playing field is obviously ACTION.

Question: in this holiday week of joy and celebration, can YOU apply these three ingredients to something important in YOUR life? I’ll bet you can!

Got trifecta?

“Enough words have been exchanged; now at last let me see some deeds!” –Goethe

Q & A
Media Source: WomansDay.com
Topic: “10 Things Not to Say on a Job Interview”

Reporter Query: “Hi! I’m working on a story for WomansDay.com called 10 Things Not to Say on a Job Interview. I’m looking for a few different types of sources: 1. Have you ever hired for a position and heard a candidate say something that totally ruined their chances of nabbing the job? I’d love to speak with you! I can, of course, change your name. 2. I’d also like to speak with recruiters about why you should never say certain statements during an interview, plus what to say instead in order to succeed. Thanks! Amanda”

CareerGuy Response: “Hi Amanda, As to your query, realize that what I’m about to say will sound downright preposterous and even counter-productive…but hear me out. The worst thing to say in a job interview is that you really, really, really, really, really need/want/must have/are desperate for this job! Need and desperation work in job search as well as they do in dating!”

April 9, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“When all is said and done, more is said than done.” –Lou Holtz

One of the “rules” to break that I outline in my recent book, Never Apply for a Job Again: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest, when it comes to not only career but life as a whole is “Do it Right!”.

Not to besmirch the quality of excellence, and yet how many grand plans and worthy ambitions never even peek at the light of day because of our wanting to do it “right”?

Very often, our penchant for perfection renders us paralyzed.

Just consider for a moment: how many have told you they are going to write a book “one day”? Learn a language “some day”? Volunteer for a worthy cause “when I get a chance”? Make a career/life/relationship change “when things settle down”?

Last time I checked, things have yet to “settle down”.

To quote Gilda Radner’s Roseanne Roseannadanna from the 70’s Saturday Night Live: “It’s always something.” The overall question is: who are we going to be in the face of that something?

Forget, for the moment, the overwhelming and monumental project of the book, the language, the cause or the change. What can you simply do for 15 minutes today to forward even one of those goals? And guess what? 15 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 15…starts to look like action and change to me!

Got chutzpah?

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” –Jordan Belfort

April 2, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“I never made a damn dime until I started doing what I wanted.” –Carroll Shelby

Speaking of a dime, have you ever really considered how fast life can turn on one?

Yesterday, on April Fools, a mild-mannered, late-50’s gentleman walked into the Sacramento Lottery headquarters to claim the largest California jackpot ever, $425 million.

He bought his winning ticket six weeks earlier at a gas station while out on a sandwich run. It was the second ticket he bought…deciding to turn around and get another one after buying the first. He’s now going to live a discreet life while establishing a foundation for pediatric health, child hunger and education.

We can say “Wow, how lucky is that guy!!” And yet, we discount the fact that he was a regular lottery player. Described as a retired, “well-educated professional”, he kept putting it out there, time after time.

I have no opinion on the lottery. That’s just a metaphor. However, I do have an opinion on us playing full out with persistence.

If we expect, or even desire, our ships to come in, we might look at how much we’re sending them out to get filled up!

Where, today — no, but really, today! — can you send out a ship on what you really want? And can you do it again tomorrow…and tomorrow…and tomorrow?

Got launch?

“Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.” –Cathy Hopkins

March 26, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Pick the day. Enjoy it – to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come… The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present – and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.” –Audrey Hepburn

There’s stuff we have to do today. And there’s stuff we had to do yesterday. And there will be stuff to be done tomorrow.

And the hanging on to what did or didn’t, will or won’t get done is a terrible day to waste.

We get the chance every day to ask ourself, “Am I a human DOING, or a human BEING?”

No doubt, we will interact with lots of other folks in the course of our day. And it’s been said that people will forget what you say, and they’ll forget what you do. But they’ll never forget how you make them feel.

Do you feel present, and in the present, for yourself and others?

Often, simply stopping for a moment and identifying the mind chatter that has us either back then or over there can serve to get us right here. And that can be very refreshing!

You can sigh that again!

Got refreshments?

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” –Jim Rohn

March 19, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” –Mahatma Gandhi

One of the suggestions I make when coaching folks on career transition is to think bigger, to consider your deepest-down areas of passionate interest, and to create connections out in the world based on a mission rather than simply needing a job.

That will often get you in front of more people at higher levels to create more profound relationships that can take your “career” to whole new levels than you ever imagined.

I put “career” in quotes because, after all, what is that? Is it simply your job, a series of jobs…or is it something bigger than job(s)? Is it perhaps a leave-behind of a difference made: for others, for the world, and mainly, for yourself and your own highest self-expression (which, btw, equals joy).

People make a difference large and small and, no matter what you do, if you do it with a sense of mission, of a bigger game being played beyond the apparent doing-ness, I believe you tap into a real “career”.

I spoke for a group yesterday morning and, turns out, several people there were on this inspiration-letter list (there’s little “newsletter” about it!). One of them came up and said that she reads it each week and gets uplifted.

You know, I get about 15-20 unsubscribes each week, and rarely hear many “atta boys”…but that’s not why I send these out. It fits my self-expression. That’s why I do it. And yet to hear someone acknowledge that self-expression as making a difference for them is, of course, heartening.

So, given that 10 negatives generally outweigh one positive, I invite you to look into your own “career” and life today and find those difference-making things that you’re doing — maybe seen, maybe unseen — and get acknowledged for them: from others or, mainly, from yourself.

Yes, you can acknowledge yourself. You won’t go blind. And you can also simply ask others, whether they’re involved or not, to acknowledge you. It may seem weird, but just hearing it from another’s mouth can make a difference…for you in making a difference.

Got impact?

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” –Martin Luther King Jr.