Author Archives: Darrell Gurney
Author Archives: Darrell Gurney
“I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.” – Anaïs Nin
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Uh. . .yaaaaaaaah! Because by now the “resolved” demands you’ve made upon yourself may have started to reveal the weakness of domination and rigid control.
Look, none of us in our “mature” years respond very well anymore to guilting, shaming or unsympathetic demands being made upon us. And that goes for those being made upon us by us.
Rather than achieve progress, if the proposed changes are too rigid, our inner child may rebel and maybe even go the opposite direction of what our mature self wants.
By this age we know that much of our life is not directed by conscious thought but, rather, the subconcious. And the subconscious — whoo boy! — play carelessly with that fire and it will seemingly burn you just to keep you safe.
Suggestions land softer on the subconscious and respect one’s inner sovereignty with the desire to grow without the firm rigidity of resolutions.
So, if your resolutions have run their course already (as studies show they will by now) without winning the race for you, I suggest that you manage the rest of the year by inviting and entertaining suggestions.
You can find lots of lists out there or make up your own. Considering various ideas and then implementing the ones that resonate for you as a part of your daily/monthly/quarterly practice can have 2024 be an ongoing growth-producing experiment rather than a one-and-done resolution run.
For example, here’s a few iterms from a list I ran across a couple weeks ago which I’m taking as suggestions to have 2024 be uniquely grounded. They come from a therapist host of a favorite radio show, Life Examined by Jonathan Bastian:
1. Create “stop-doing” lists and begin subtracting items from, rather than adding items to, my never-ending growth aspirations. I can find at least a few things to drop that no longer serve me.
2. Create three-person book or listening groups. I actually did this a couple of years ago when The Back Forty first came out: only 3 people. I agree that there’s an intimacy available with a small group that can get dropped when groups becomes less personal and accountable. If you’d like to hear about the reading group coming this spring that will dive into the now award-winning The Back Forty book, let me know.
3. Take a digital sabbath each week. This one will require a LOT of mindfulness on my part! But, then again, that’s the point.
4. Stop asking “What if?” and instead ask “What now?” This is so aligned with the message of The Back Forty that I wish I had coined that phrase! My own growth continues to be in dropping the woulda/coulda/shouldas that still emerge in a past-addicted mind and focusing on what I can experiment with now!
5. Live the 80/20 rule in pursuit of my goals, which is what inspired my message above. Slow and steady support of my goals by consistent and extended daily suggestions rather than only immediate and intense drive will have me grow beyond the hot and passionate moment of “resolution.”
I suggest you reconsider a good and sober grasp of your amazing opportunities for 2024 growth ahead.
Think differently, play better.
Radically,
Darrell
CareerGuy and Back Forty Freedom Flier
“Don’t let the New Year get old.” – Anthony T. Hincks
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The post Feb 7, 2024 – JOLT – Suggestion vs Resolution – A 2024 Restart appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
“In a high-IQ job pool, soft skills like discipline, drive and empathy mark those who emerge as outstanding.” – Daniel Goleman
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And one of the soft skills at the heart of effectiveness in life, career, relationships, etc. is the element of Human Connection.
Understanding the capacity of the soft skill of Human Connection to right wrongs, turn hearts and minds, and build foundations of cooperation that endure lifetimes is something that many folks have still not pursued, even 30 years since Daniel Goleman wrote “Emotional Intelligence.”
Yet, when it comes to your career, it’s never been more important to gain this understanding.
Face it: Artificial Intelligence will soon be reviewing your resume, not humans.
Think of it: ATS systems have been around for years. Do you think it will be long before AI will completely determine who should be called for an interview, if not conducting the screening interview itself, if not even making the final hiring decision??
“Hi, this is the X [Company] recruiting bot, affectionately known as Hedda Hunter. Congratulations! You have been chosen from 133,692 resumes submitted to record a brief initial video interview. Please press the button below to answer the questions included in this email. Be sure your camera and audio are working properly as we do not allow retakes.
Note: Please do not respond or attempt to follow up. If I decide to pass you on to my supervising bot, Slim Pickens, you will be notified. Don’t bot us, we’ll bot you.”
For over twenty years, I’ve empowered executives to manage their own career through an alternative, “backdoor” approach. Your next multi-6-figure role can be enjoyably attained in this way while circumventing the whole front-door hassles of resumes, interviews and bot land.
This skill, like Bitcoin, will continue to grow in value as the technological world expands to eliminate the personal touch from the firm and iron hand of the Matrix.
But, if you learn it, you’re always assured of rising above the automation of the Matrix when it comes to driving your career dreams to reality.
Human Connection is aspirational intelligence, and you can learn it.
Radically,
Darrell
CareerGuy and Back Forty Freedom Flier
“I really reject the idea of soft skills. There is nothing soft about them. We have hard skills and we have human skills. We need more human skills in business today.” – Simon Sinek
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The post Jan 17, 2024 – JOLT – Your Million Dollar Soft Skill for 2024 appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
“Making progress on longstanding challenges requires a different lens and a new approach.” – Ayanna Pressley
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The quote above, and “looking differently” applies not only to problems we face in the world today but also the problem of personal career evolvement, whether it be upleveling our roles or growing our business.
For those wanting to grow, looking for that next career move or business self-expression the same way everyone else does has you appear just like everyone else: an indistinct commodity.
In the job seeking world, it’s being just one in a pile of resumes. In the business development world, it’s just a smile-and-dial “me too!” effort. (Consider me too! Consider me too!)
In job seeking, we all grew up inside the resume/application/interview/I-need-them-more-than-they-need-me career model. Basically, we learned to “spray (our resume all over the place) and pray (that it gets noticed).”
This kind of activity is based on a false power-dynamic premise which holds that the company is in the catbird seat and the employee is in the place of need.
Maybe that was true when you first began your career, when you simply needed a bit of experience and to land a paycheck.
However, for more senior professionals and veteran executives, it’s important to graduate from that indistinct-commodity paradigm because your thought-leadership — and even “statesmanship” — can have you in the catbird seat. . .IF you look differently.
This goes for business building as well when you replace “smile and dial” with creating value-based relationships first.
What’s required for atypical career expansion is “a different lens and a new approach.”
Warren Buffett is a big proponent of taking a contrarian approach. He says to look and see what most others are doing and to do the opposite.
God bless everyone looking to land their next role or build their business.
Yet, a Buffett-esque approach to what most others are doing would have you, as the seasoned, stripes-earned, senior leader play the career-shift or business building game in a much cooler and demure way than how “most others” do.
That way is to turn the table on organizations in your areas of fascination and interest to become the belle of the ball, having them chasing you to get on your dance card versus the other way around.
The keys to that approach are:
As you begin to close out 2023, take stock of where you are now in terms of joyful career self-expression. If it’s anywhere short of fascinated and passionate, consider 2024 as an opportunity to “look differently” at both what’s possible for you as well as how you’ll go about finding a sweet-spot career change which is not only a perfect fit but you’re, literally, “the only one for the job.”
It’s called aspirational intelligence, and you can grow it.
Radically,
Darrell
CareerGuy and Back Forty Freedom Flier
“It’s a new season. A perfect opportunity to do something new, something bold, something beautiful!” – Anonymous
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The post Dec 7, 2023 – JOLT – 2024 Can be Different if You Look Differently appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
” Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Traditionally, there are a couple major times of the year when folks crank up their aspirational intelligence and think bigger for themselves, their career and a purposeful path forward:
Yes, there will be a lot more activity — and competition — in the coming month or so as folks get situated back at their desk to reevaluate their career situation after summer distractions. Being smarter than the average bear and positioning yourself as uniquely different than the crowd can net you better than average results.
But, even beyond the next couple flurried months of upleveled career quandaries, there will come a time toward the end of the year that will truly be the celestial “Holy Grail” of cosmic career elevation possibilities: the Holidays.
When most will figure that “nothing happens during the holidays” and check out, those who’ve positioned themselves uniquely for all the natural elbow-rubbing that happens during the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years will cash in on backdoor relationships that will be ripe for the pickings.
So, why talk about those career-shift best-of-times now vs November? Because it takes preparation to be ready to capitalize on such a windfall, along with a whole new mindset of non-traditional career expansion methods to be grokked.
Therefore, if you have the fire-in-the-belly to affect a conscious career shift before 2023 shows up in your rear-view mirror, here is your Fall mission (should you choose to accept it):
Here’s a prompt that you can use to direct ChatGPT (or similar models) to provide information about a particular industry:
“Provide a comprehensive introduction to [specific industry name]. Cover its history, major players, current trends, future outlook, and any notable challenges and opportunities.”
Replace “[specific industry name]” with the name of the industry you’re interested in. For example, if you’re interested in the automobile industry, the prompt would be:
“Provide a comprehensive introduction to the automobile industry. Cover its history, major players, current trends, future outlook, and any notable challenges and opportunities.”
By using this prompt, you’ll be able to gain a broad understanding of the chosen industry.
Here’s a tool to incorporate into your online meetings:
tl:dv – https://tldv.io/ – Records and transcribes Zoom and Google meet meetings.
Automated meeting transcription ensures that no crucial details are lost, allowing you to revisit important discussions to access and review content at your own pace. It transforms verbal exchanges into searchable text, making it easier to locate specific topics or decisions. This ensures that information remains consistent and accessible, fostering improved communication and reducing potential misunderstandings or oversights.
“It’s a new season. A perfect opportunity to do something new, something bold, something beautiful!” – Anonymous
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The post August 16, 2023 – JOLT – Is the fire in your belly for Fall? appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
“I like chance meetings – life is full of them. Every day, without realizing it, I pass people whom I should know.” – Krzysztof Kieślowski
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Don’t Bother PeopleThis is a major voice of early programming that ensures that “salespeople” will always have a special place in society–because they transcended this voice! Whether it was a busy parent we felt intimidated to make requests of or some particular incident that had us believe we were a nuisance, the idea that we shouldn’t bother others took hold.
The truth is that, outside of our deeply ingrained fears of rejection, we all love to interact and participate with one another! The point, yet again, is that folks live inside their safe little worlds and don’t reach out or let in what could help. Your “bothering” someone to start a conversation with them in the line at the grocery store may serve to transfer some information between you that could be helpful.
I’m not saying go out begging for what you need, or become the do-or-die Boy Scout forcing a reluctant old lady across the street. Just keep in mind that when we’re out pointedly finding ways to interact with others, we discover resources, knowledge, and information that moves everyone forward. Plus, we have an opportunity to be continually amazed at the profound truth of the simple statement: “It’s a small world after all.”
(Excerpted from Never Apply for a Job Again, Career Press, 2012, p. 34-35)
NOTE: always check the facts and data provided by ChatGPT.
Prompt Tutorial – get advice from the best experts in your area of research.
To begin your research, start with a general prompt asking ChatGPT to provide information.
For example, put this prompt into ChatGPT:
“Imagine you are an [insert subject you are researching] expert with 30 years of experience and awards for excellence and achievement. Please give your best advice on [insert subject you are researching], drawing on research and best practices. Write your advice as an article using plain English and subheads to make it more readable.”
“Even chance meetings are the result of karma. . .Things in life are fated by our previous lives. That even in the smallest events there’s no such thing as coincidence.” – Haruki Murakami
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The post July 12, 2023 – JOLT – A JOLT of Summertime Connection Savvy appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
“Our future success is directly proportional to our ability to understand, adopt and integrate new technology into our work.” – Sukant Ratnaker
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Making a career transition can be a difficult process if you don’t have support.
Similarly, NOT making a career transition (when you need to) can be a difficult process if you don’t have support.
So, what’s the common key? Get support!
Too often, we think that pondering our navel in the solitude of our closet will provide the answers we need. Look, I don’t knock a good spiritual check in. The “know the truth” of yourself element of being set free is critical.
Yet, your best insights and next steps will often unfold out of interacting with folks outside of your own head: trusted colleagues, mentors, and (if you’ve cultivated one) your “career tribe.” Sometimes they’ll provide valuable info or direction completely outside your wheelhouse of knowledge and, at other times, they may offer the kick in the butt needed to wake you up.
Don’t wait to get your ducks in a row to begin cultivating connections that can open new awareness for you. But also don’t go out in “need.” Rather, tap into the psychological tendency for humans to want to give (advice, information, direction) and feel helpful when they can do so with no strings attached.
Reach out to others based on similar interests and fascinations, and watch the world open up for you.
One of my books offers a great deal of inspiration and strategy around this.
With all of the hubbub around AI (the artificial, not aspiration, type of intelligence), here are some tips on how you can incorporate new gadgets into your career management toolshed.
They come from my wife, a talent & leadership/HR executive, who is cultivating new opportunities for herself. After being together 8 years, being professionally engaged and without the time to explore the science and practices of her career-coach husband’s transition program, she recently did and (understandable for those who’ve read the book above) is basing her “backdoor” research campaign on AI’s use in the HR and talent fields.
She’s meeting thought-leaders and executives left and right and learning more about AI than she ever thought possible. . .while also understanding and appreciating the strategy behind her husband’s career program.
Here are some tips she has to offer:
ChatGPT is a great tool to use in your Back Door Campaign!
Open AI ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/
Career Mapping:
Prompt: “Provide an overview of career paths and transitions common for a [role – i.e., CTO]”
ChatGPT can provide information on potential career moves, industry trends, and roles you might not have considered.
Market Insight:
Prompt: “What are emerging trends in the [x] industry for leadership roles?”
ChatGPT can give you a general view of market trends and new industry developments.
Prompt Tutorial – Find Industry Info
Prompt:
You are an expert in [field/industry you are researching]. I am looking for information about [industry/products / what you want to learn about the industry, etc.]. Give me information and resources on [manufacturers, conferences, events, and other resources, and substantial industry experts] in the [industry of interest] field.
Example – I used the above example about the guitar manufacturing industry:
You are an expert in guitar manufacturing. I am looking for information about the guitar manufacturing industry, product management, and the hottest new products in the guitar space. Give me information and resources on manufacturers, conferences, events, and other resources, and substantial industry experts in the guitar manufacturing field.
Go try it out, and see what you get!
Use these same prompts in Google Bard and Bing for more resources.
Google Bard: https://bard.google.com/
Bing: https://www.bing.com/
“The human spirit must prevail over technology.” – Albert Einstein
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The post June 14, 2023 – JOLT – A JOLT of Aspiration Intelligence appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
“Start marching forward, even when into the new and unknown, and don’t be deterred by obstacles.” – Daphne Koller
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March 2 Texas Independence Day: How can you rise from your own Alamo loss and create a new, independent future? And kiss a Texan.
March 7 Purim Ends: Where can you celebrate coming back from what seemed like near certain death? And kiss a Jewish friend.
March 8 International Women’s Day: In what ways can you acknowledge and empower the women in your life, and the world? And kiss a female friend.
March 10 Harriet Tubman Day: What can you do to support freedom from slavery of all kinds, even if it’s yourself from a job, schedule, business or relationship? And kiss a Black friend.
March 15 Ides of March: What are the debts you can settle, while avoiding knives out? And kiss a soothsayer.
March 17 St Patrick’s Day: What snakes do you deserve to be rid of? And kiss an Irish friend.
March 20 Spring Equinox: Where do you need to balance your days and nights, your work and your life overall? And kiss anyone.
March 22 Ramadan Begins: How could some fasting, prayer and reflection make you a better contribution to your community? And kiss a Muslim friend.
March 29 Vietnam War Veterans Day: What wars are you fighting that could actually be unnecessary? And kiss a veteran.
March 31 Cesar Chavez Day: Where might you need to press the exisiting system to ensure the highest good for all? And kiss a farm worker.
May your March Forward be wildly freed up and full of new possibilities!
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney
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The post March 1, 2023 – JOLT – Personalizing Your March Forward appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
“There’s always a new challenge to keep you motivated.” – Sean Connery
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The Slate Board Has Clapped!
That thing they slap before beginning a scene in Hollywood is called the “clapperboard” or “slate board” and, guess what? Your 2023 movie has begun!
The question is, are you hanging out in your talent trailer still feverishly learning your lines, getting your character profile in place and readying yourself for camera. . .
Or are you ACTING?
It’s showtime folks. Let’s get off script and play this one!
Here’s some tips to turn to when your production process has stalled:
1. Get real authentic with a solution-focused (vs victim) mindset2. Reach out for help, input, advice, encouragement – you gotta ask!3. Wrap yourself inside of structures of support and accountability4. If things remain stalled, return to item 2 above
“One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: rise above the little things.” – John Burroughs
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“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” – Thomas Jefferson
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Trailing Holiday Greetings
Ever noticed how you don’t think about who didn’t put out a holiday email, send a text or (if you’re old fashioned) send a greeting card. You only think of the ones who did. . .but they kinda come in such a flurry that they all blend together.
Well, here’s your last one, coming a bit later when you might notice it more. (Maybe an approach to take in other areas of life?)
Now wishing that you had the best holidays possible and that your New Year demonstrates in realtime all the high intentions you’re bringing into it.
After the Planning is ACTION!
I shared in a couple messages before the holidays that my wife and I do a pretty thorough process of completing the old year and creating the new. We both answered a lot of questions individually in a format we use, then shared our answers with one another to get a sense of where we each want to grow and live life more fully.
Our next step was to each create a Vision Board based on our individual intentions, which we just completed and walked through with one another last night. The images on these “boards” will be our computer screen backgrounds and will be printed and hung where we see them regularly so as to engage our reticular activating system, thereby building more conscious and subconscious attraction of these intentions.
WHEW! A lot of play/effort/engagement in all that! (If you’d still like to do that process for yourself, reply back and I’m happy to send the questions format.)
But now comes the footwork: ACTION!
The Slate Board Has Clapped!
That thing they slap before beginning a scene in Hollywood is called the “clapperboard” or “slate board” and, guess what? Your 2023 movie has begun!
The question is, are you hanging out in your talent trailer still feverishly learning your lines, getting your character profile in place and readying yourself for camera. . .
Or are you ACTING?
It’s showtime folks. Let’s get off script and play this one!
My wife gave me a little medallion when we got together with the Yiddish word “Bashert” on it, which means “meant to be.”
YOU are Meant to BE in 2023! Bashert!
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
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The post January 4, 2023 – JOLT – Meant to BE in 2023 appeared first on CareerGuy.com.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw
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The Remedy for Played Out
A favorite late uncle of mine always made a playful comment about aging: “Getting old ain’t for sissies.”
Humorous, and no doubt true when it comes to the body not keeping up to speed with that still vital childhood spirit inside of us that wants to express as fully and rigorously as possible.
For sure, the body lagging behind is something we all must embrace at some point. For most of us, however, that point is NOT now: there’s still a lot of play – meaning flexibility, capacity and endurance – in our bodies to fulfill on that childhood spirit of curiosity and expansion.
“Played out,” by definition, means “worn out or used up: tired out: spent” (Merriam-Webster). Rarely are we as played out physically as we may be mentally, emotionally or spiritually.
So, what’s the remedy?
Flexing the mental, emotional and spiritual muscles before they atrophy! PLAY!
“Becoming” is Hard Work: So Play!
We’re fast approaching that traditional time of year when – if we haven’t played ourselves out into utter resignation (the belief that nothing will make any difference) – there’s a pull to reinvent, recreate or otherwise reenergize our lot in life.
Nothing wrong with that ritual. Ritual is what underpins so much of our life. The spirit wants to Become more of itself.
The problem comes in forcing ourselves to work toward who we want to
Become vs playing our way toward it.
Here are some timely questions to ask yourself:
1. Am I willing to do it again, to aspire for more of me, to Become?
2. Am I willing to finally, or at least once again, get on the playing field of designing/creating/establishing that career change/new business/published book/healthy habit/spicy relationship/spicy singleness/financial stability/long-term goal or dream?
3. If the answer is yes, am I willing to do everything possible to ensure my success this time and truly play?
We’re just a bit over two weeks away from the ritualistic New Year moment where hopes and dreams for big and small life shifts are put out into the Universe. In so many ways, it just comes down to “Am I willing?”
My wife and I are in our annual “Year Wrap, Year Creation” process where we answer a ton of questions about the year gone by and the one on the rise.
As a holiday public service announcement, I encourage you to take a bit of time – even in the midst of the holiday rush – to invest in acknowledging and honoring the seemingly good, bad and ugly of the last 12 months, what was accomplished and what was learned and, with that internal childhood spirit of curiosity and expansion, put some answers down to the questions above.
If it supports you in making the most of this unique time of personal transformation potential. . .
1. Download a free copy of the Top Ten Tips for Life’s Radical Second Half.
Get a sense of what’s possible in your life, career, goals and dreams at midlife and beyond by incorporating these 10 tips throughout the holidays. PLUS, you’ll get information about The Back Forty Play Project where we’ll be playing one-day/someday goals and dreams into NOW in the New Year.
2. Join my wife, Alexandra, and me next Tuesday evening at 5pm PST/8pm EST for a 1-hour walkthrough of our annual “Year Wrap and Year Creation” process.Too often, we either slide past this annual ritual without the attention for re-creation that it deserves or else we slap pipe-dream fixes onto our lives that won’t hold water come Jan. 2. Join us as we share our very own and very real process we’re engaged in now to clean the 2022 slate so as to have only new and vibrant energy surrounding 2023. NOTE: This will be a small, private group on zoom, so reply back personally to get all the details.
3. Enjoy some personal one-on-one time with me by scheduling a complimentary PlayGame Huddle to explore together and discover what your “game” for 2023 could be. Whether it’s that career change you’ve been contemplating, that book or business still on the drawing board, or the multitude of health, financial, relationship or other goals that matter most to you now, it’s all fair “game” material.
Grab a copy of my new book (even an inexpensive eBook copy), recently recognized as a finalist in two categories by the American Book Fest Book Awards, and schedule a complimentary 25min opportunity to discover your game worth playing next year.
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