The One Thing More Important Than Your Career
Sunday, February 21st, 2010
Every now and again, I like to bring you short interviews to give you a new perspective on work happiness. During my study of work happiness I have found that there are many paths to the same goal. Some people believe that loving what you do is a must, while other people believe that relationships are vital to enjoying the work that we do. Interviews are a great way to get out of your own perspective and see what other people are doing to be happy at work.
On this blog I try to push myself outside of my comfort zone to a place where I’m a little afraid. I have to admit that I was a little afraid of interviewing Penelope Trunk. Not because her blog is űber popular or because she was the CEO of Brazeen Careerist a popular career networking site.
I was afraid because of how honest she is. She wouldn’t be afraid to call me out.
She wasn’t afraid to tell me that career happiness really is a crock of shit. Her words. She actually said it a few times. She explains how we overcomplicate life in the audio interview that I posted below. You’ll just have to listen to the audio to find out why she believes so strongly in her ideals.
How to Use the 5 Whys to Discover Your True Needs
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
There are many great business processes that the rest of the world doesn’t know about. One of my favorites is Toyota’s “5 Whys.”
The idea is to ask yourself “why” 5 times in order to get to the root of the problem.
For example, a couple of years ago I didn’t want to go to a meeting.
I was having trouble figuring out why, so I used the “5 Whys” method.
1. Why don’t I want to go to this meeting? – Because it’s going to be worthless.
2. Why: Because everyone always talks about the same problems.
3. Why: Because I want to lead the meeting to be more productive, but I’m scared.
4. Why: Because I don’t want to get laughed at.
5. Why: Because my speaking confidence isn’t as strong as it should be.
10 Ways to Unclutter Your Mind
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
The clutter in our minds can prevent us from feeling good. We can’t focus. We feel like we are just spinning our wheels.
I know that when the clutter covers my brain like a fog, I feel like just giving in and surfing YouTube. After countless times of just giving in, I decided to create a plan.
So how does a person unclutter their mind?
I have some tools you can use on a daily basis that will help you obtain clearer thinking. The more you use these tools, the easier it will be to maintain a clear mind.
1. Eliminate noise
I know I have a hard time focusing when there is a lot of noise around me. You probably are easily distracted by noise too. So, try using noise canceling headphones or ear plugs to eliminate the noises that can pull you away from your work.
2. Find a way to laugh
A laugh releases endorphins. These endorphins are like dead cell sweepers. They increase the blood flow and push away the clutter. Try going to a secluded spot, thinking about a recently funny moment and chuckling to yourself. Once you get that laughter going, you’ll notice the lighter feeling. This may feel strange at first, but I promise it helps.
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How to Use Your Skills and Passion to Create Success
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Sara Lopez
You never quite realize how much your job affects your happiness until you have had a truly terrible job, or a truly phenomenal job. Just think about it, you spend 2/3 of your awake time at a place, surrounded by certain people, working for a specific cause– this is called your career.
My name is Sara Lopez and I am the Brand Ambassador and Social Media Strategist for 8th Continent Soymilk. I quite possibly have the best job in the world, however it was not always this way.
At one point I worked for a consulting firm in San Francisco that was so unappreciative I would trudge home considering where I went wrong on my career path and how I would ever fix it. I dreaded going in to work in the morning because I knew my skills were not utilized, nor did my employer notice them.
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Hard, Fun and Beautiful – Blasting Heater Edition
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Where we are free to talk about the hard, the fun, and the beautiful of our work week. The best way to learn from our experiences is to step back, be honest, and reflect on pain and joy of our work week.
Ahh time. Why do I view time as such a fickle substance?
I’m in one meeting where the time globs by, slowly burning me as each second passes.
There are other days when I look up and it’s 4 pm and I feel like I’ve been gliding on a big fluffy lazy chair made out of clouds that hug my body just right.
I had the extreme of both cases this weekend.
Let me explain…
Hard
Sludge time.
Time is a very important substance to me, except when I’m being tortured by it. 
I was lost for what direction to take my business. I want to help people with their careers (motivation, productivity, self knowledge, etc), but I also want to help small businesses and managers. I felt like my articles in the leadership/business culture were getting lost in the shuffle.
I felt lost and time dripped by. I wasn’t able to take action when I felt in limbo.
That’s why I created my How can I help you in 2010 post.
I’ve come to a conclusion that I will share with all of you very soon.
Please feel free to fill out the survey if you have a chance. Click here to help me do a better job of helping you.
Fun
Writing an amazing article that resonated with my soul.
The words were pouring out of me. Time has no meaning.
I have no idea where all the words came from, but it felt like the universe opened up a portal in my brain and just poured all this goodness in. The words poured out from my fingers into my computer.
It’s a magical feeling that doesn’t happen very often, so I enjoy it tremendously when it does.
Beautiful
The heater in my office.
We had a cold bitter day and I had just come in from outside. I felt my fingers and cheeks tingle as they warmed up.
I never really took the time to just sit and feel this sensations for a minute. It was a really cool 1 minute bliss relaxation that I will write down after I’m done with this article.
I could feel the rush of blood going to these cold areas, regulating my body temperature. My body wasn’t able to do this outside. It was too busy trying to keep my core warm.
When I got back inside with the blasting heater, my extremities warmed back up. It was a beautiful reaction that I usually take for granted, but not this time.
What about you?
What has been hard, fun and beautiful in your life? I’ll see you in the comment section.
* Want to be able to Kick Butt at Work and Be Happy Too then check out my teleseminar on February 23rd to help you do amazing work that doesn’t stress you out. Click here to find out more details.
* Alexandra Levit’s blog Water Cooler Wisdom has a great article called Practice Good Karma at Work. You can probably guess how much I resonated with this piece.
If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:
- Work Happiness Tip – Tag Your Co-Worker
- How to Deal with Goals You Don’t Reach
Welcome Forbes Readers
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Welcome Forbes.com readers. You will see articles based on building a better career, but what separates me from others is my core belief.
I believe that to do work that we love, we must develop our skills at our present jobs. Too many of us jump ship only to hate our next job.
A new job isn’t going to solve our problems. More money won’t either. What does make us happier is connecting to the work that we do. We have to learn discover our strengths and passions then figure out how to mold them into a career.
It comes down to doing work that we believe in.
Once we can connect our hearts with our minds, we then can pursue the career that excites us.
Here are a few articles that will help guide your career:
- How to Write a Career List
- How to Build Better Relationships at Work
- The Ultimate Guide to Dealing with Anxiety at Work
The article Bring Joy Back To Your Job was published at Forbes.com today. Originally it was published at Megan’s blog It’s All About Joy. Thanks Megan. I promise I’ll buy you a latte next time you are in Austin.
Walk to the Bathroom Very Very Mindfully – Work Happy Tip
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Every week I like to bring you a work happiness tip that can help improve your mood, relationships, productivity, or reduce your stress. The idea is to put you back in the driver’s seat. This week’s tip: Walk to the bathroom very very mindfully.
Our minds love to follow distractions. It makes sense.
We like to be distracted. So even when we are walking to use the bathroom, we notice a co-worker’s cough, which makes us think about our own throat, and this leads to a reminder to go to the doctor for a check-up, then we are done.
We finished in the bathroom and we are back at our desk. 99% of our focus is not about enjoying where we are, but rather random thoughts.
I advocate developing your mind at work because it will help you to become happier and more productive. The reason this works is because you are focusing your energy on the part of you that matters the most. Without developing your emotional intelligence, you are flatlining your ability to feel good.
It works like this…
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How Can I Help You in 2010?
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
We are 1/12 through 2010 and how much happier are you at work?
February marks the two year anniversary of this blog. My main reason for creating this business was to help other people who feel tired and weary of the grind.
I rarely feel stressed out, trapped and alone at this stage in my career. Instead of continuing to be pushed around I took control of my own work happiness. For the past two years I’ve researched stress, relationships (self, co-workers, and boss), and productivity.
The same conclusions keep coming back. If we want to get our desired results, we need to be happy now. The more we delay our happiness, the more depressed and disconnected we become.
Help Me
I want businesses to build a work environment that encourages career and personal growth. The only way to get the most amazing results is to allow people to shake their fears.
We all need to believe in who we are and recognize our unlimited potential. This is a process that every organization needs to help with. The more an organization can help their employees reduce their stress, build better relationships, and expand creativity, the happier they will become.
We are not here to live quiet lives of desperation. We are here to make a difference in people’s lives.
I created a questionnaire that will help me help you. 
Please fill it out and let me know what I can do to make your 2010 dreams a reality.
Work Happy Now Questionnaire:
Here is the link to the Work Happy Now Questionnaire. If you have time I will would really appreciate it. If I get over 100 people to fill out the form I will give you my Work Happiness Dance. It’s a little embarrassing because I probably dance worse than your grandmother. You know, the one with the bad leg.
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Hard, Fun and Beautiful – Calming Tea Edition
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Where we are free to talk about the hard, the fun, and the beautiful of our work week. The best way to learn from our experiences is to step back, be honest, and reflect on pain and joy of our work week.
Using my blog to meet amazing people has been a huge perk. I’ve interviewed Steve Pavlina (Personal Development Master), Jonathan Field (Career Renegade), Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos) and many others.
I’m saying this because I’m interviewing someone else that I’ve admired for a long time. She is an amazing writer and business woman. You’ll find out very soon. I can’t give it away yet. A little suspense is good for the soul.
Without all my hard work this never would have happened. None of these interactions would have happened.
We create our own luck. The harder we work, the more opportunities arise.
Let’s begin…
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How to Build Better Relationships at Work
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Relationships are built on trust. If I trust you to help me finish a project and you flake out on me, that trust is gone.
If you are a stand up person who sweats, bleeds, and cries by my side and also encourages me to be great than you’ve earned my trust. I’ll love you until the end of time.
This video was shot on my lunch hour because that morning I worked on a project with a group of guys I would go to business war with. They are smart, fun, and we get a lot accomplished. Yes, I’m talking about my day job. Hey, I’m doing this for you, so I can learn first hand how to make people happy at work.
We need to learn to build trust with our co-workers, bosses, and clients. That means being there and supporting them when they need it the most.
Now it’s time to watch the video and find out one more way to build better relationships at work.
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