Tag Archives: community

De-Lurker Invitation Update

by on March 22, 2005 in Life, Media

I’ve been overwhelmed personally by the response to my invitation for readers to de-lurk. Over the past few days, I’ve received both comments and emails from folks who have so openly shared themselves to me and the rest of the readers of Alchemy. To those who have de-lurked, my humblest thanks. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you through your comments and your own blogs. If you haven’t had a chance, check out these blogs and spend some time getting to know these friends a little more…

Jay @ Renaissance Girl
Jeremy @ headspaceJ and lifestylism
Cyn @ iridescent spoke
Dewayne @ Dewayne Mikkelson and Shadow his Web Dog
Robin @ Ramblings
Steven @ The Asia Pacific Headhunter
Garth @ Musings of a Wandering Mind and ExplorePlay
Louise @ Blue Sky Resumes

The real fun is just starting.

The Career Change Blues (and Other Colors): Find A Support Network

by on February 14, 2005 in Career, Life

As I email and chat with some folks who’ve responded to my first post in the Career Change Blues series, I realize just how important it is to have a support network. Family and friends are a vital part of this group, but I think its equally important to find others who are going through the same job hunting issues. Sometimes its good to have an empathetic rather than sympathetic ear to gripe, cry, cheer, whatever you need. Someone who is experiencing similar emotions and issues or has experienced them recently can understand your excitement, disappointment, sadness in very specific ways. And you can do the same for them.

If you have a support network, great. Check in with your network regularly. Share what you’re going through. Feel it and then let it go. This is important because it can be easy and dangerous to wallow around in the more negative emotions that can come with the job change process. As others in your network to keep you accountable. Finally, grow your network. Look for others who need you and your group.

If you don’t have a support network, make an effort to find one. The beauty of the internet and new technology means that the rules for cultivating a network have changed. You no longer are tied to your locality for support.

If you’re currently searching for a support group, here’s what I’m proposing: join me and my growing online network. I’m not sure what this is going to evolve into, but just communicating with other souls has been extremely helpful for me. And I believe its been just as helpful for those with which I’ve been communicating.

I’ve become a big fan of Skype as it’s free and combines the best of chat and voice-over-the-internet. It also has the capability of conferencing multiple users together (did this last night and it was great). If you want to talk with Skype, you’ll need speakers and a microphone set-up; I bought a fairly inexpensive headset at Best Buy. If you’re interested, go to Skype, download the software, then come back here and click the “Skype Me” button on the left column. If you have any questions, just email me.

Whatever you do, don’t go through the career change blues alone.

On Curt’s Post: Create a Sangha

by on December 13, 2004 in Career, Creative, Life

Curt Rosengren’s latest post is a brilliant reminder that we don’t have to take the journey toward more purposeful and soulful work alone. It’s sometimes easy to forget, though, particularly when we blaze a path where few have gone before.

Consciously creating your Sangha, both by identifying the people currently in your life that will support your journey and by reaching out and creating new connections, can have an amazing impact on what you are able to achieve.

If it’s a matter of just getting started in creating your support network, find a couple of people who will be your biggest fans. For instance, my wife is my rock. She’s both my most vocal supporter, but also my source for reality-checks. I can be a very "blue sky" dreamer-type and she offers the kind of "green grass" practicality that helps me assess my decisions. Yet, most importantly, as my rock I can hold on to her when everything else in my life seems to be caught up in the maelstrom. I have a spouse, but it could easily be a good friend, sibling, mentor, or parent.

Probably the harder part of creating your support network is developing new connections. Putting yourself, your ideas, your dreams out there to new contacts can be frightening. One place to start is with the folks you already know and trust. Ask them to suggest other individuals they know with whom you might connect. You’ll continue to build your network steadily outward from your core of biggest fans above.

And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can take more dynamic action and create more networks outside of your familiar contacts. This is going to those places where other people who share your passion hang out. You might find these as networking events (a word on ‘networking’ below) or professional society meetings or a local coffee shop. The point is that creating a bold life of passionate work means getting out of your comfort zone and taking a risk. Consider the words of Andre Gide, French critic, essayist, & novelist:

One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

And that word on networking…the concept has developed a kind of nasty connotation which is unfortunate. Rather, consider networking to be an act of relationship building, one that may not exactly bear fruit immediately. Purposeful networking is an act of cultivation, of nourishing the relationships with your contacts. It means that you give as well as receive, which is where we circle back around to Curt’s posting on creating your own sangha. As others support your dreams and work, it’s up to you to do the very same for them.