Happy Monday all!
I thought I would share three articles I have read in the past week that I found inspirational and interesting
1. Taking the Big Leap
Ken Jacobs wrote about his big leap at the age of 50 on Lisa Gerber’s blog. Ken tells his story of leaving a senior position and not having another senior position lined up. He had a family to care for and no job. His solution was to open up his own consulting firm.
I want to have just a slice of Ken’s courage and open up my own shop one day. Not yet, though, I don’t have nearly enough experience to venture on my own. Having said that, Ken’s story reminds me of a statistic I continue to read: professionals nowadays can have up to six different career changes in a lifetime. What does this mean for company loyalty and corporate knowledge? It takes a considerable amount of effort to re-train and regain corporate knowledge after a long-time employee leaves. Will this career shift hurt companies? Or will the continuous renewal of new blood help companies stay fresh?
2. The Exodus
Geoff Livingston just released his newest book, the Exodus. Geoff confronts America’s worst fears with a world destroyed by technology and dominated by Christian fundamentalism.
I read the “warning” page and knew I had to get the book. Luckily, Geoff is an awesome guy and is practically giving away his book, which is always nice for someone who spends way too much money on books. Here is a quick preview of the book. I am so excited to start reading it!
3. The Double Standard in Women’s Equality is Alive and Well
Gini Dietrich talks about the double standard in women’s equality on Spin Sucks. She talks about the recent Vogue photoshoot of Marissa Mayer, the new chief at Yahoo!.
Gini is right, I am surprised we are still discussing this 60 years after the movement of women’s equality started. Will we ever be able to win?
Instead of getting too worked up about this issue, I remind myself of a valuable lesson my mentor gave me regarding my own career. He said: “you can only control the good work you do. If you do good work, then you will reap the benefits in your career.” So I have decided to take the same approach here. I will continue to do good work, volunteer and try and make a difference in my community. I will do it as a human. I try and avoid the “young successful woman” title and just remind people that I am a successful individual because I work hard at it, it has nothing to do with my gender, race or age. What do you think?