Work Your Way Back to Doing What You Love

Prior to the pandemic, I’d venture to guess that many people were going through their days on autopilot. From commuting to work, attending in-person events, managing clients, working in-house, growing businesses, building startups, creating new products and services, there was little time to reflect on whether you loved what you were doing.

Roughly 10.9M people are looking for work, while others are worried about their health and their families'. Others have self-limiting beliefs such as age, a lack of in-demand skills or opportunities and are feeling hopeless.

Regardless of what camp you’re in, I know from experience that you can uncover opportunities if you’re open to looking within. Since I’ve always looked back throughout my career, I’ve created the tools to help you do the same. When you do, you’ll find common patterns and transferable skills.

If you’ve followed my articles, or heard me speak, you may already be using Decode Your Value and created your Life Skills tree. If not, the process works by identifying your core values, fundamental beliefs, principles or standards that define how you operate in both your life.

Here are 10 examples of core values:

●     Honest

●     Creative

●     Compassionate

●     Driven

●     Disciplined

●     Ethical

●     Curious

●     Analytical

●     Adaptable

●     Resilient

Values guide you throughout your life and they may differ based on how you were raised, your experiences, cultural norms, the people with whom you have surrounded yourself with and other factors. What do you value? To decide, think about how you operate, treat yourself and others, and how you make decisions.

Consider a colleague of mine who was asked to take on a client that offered smoked meat products. Since she’s a vegetarian, she didn’t feel comfortable representing them; an example of a core value of hers.

One of my values is honesty; the core of how I communicate and interact with others. During many discussions about PR with tech startups, I’ve said, "if you don’t have newsworthy, educational, thought-provoking or inspiring content, the media won’t cover it." Knowing I could lose the business is not as important to me as telling the truth.

Think about what’s important to you, and whether your core values are aligned with the work you do or are interested in pursuing. Start by reflecting on your past, including, previous jobs, volunteer work, extracurricular activities, your interests, and other traits like your personality and what you do well.

Often, the tasks that seem easy to us are ones we take for granted. But, since no one has the same background, experiences, relationships and interests, as Mike Kremlin says, “Look in the mirror, that’s your competition.”

Remembering Experiences We Tend to Forget

When you were young, what were some of your favorite things to do? Once you identify your passions, you can find new ways to incorporate them into your life. For example, one thing I loved was dancing. Throughout the last year, I’ve been a guest on a global LinkedIn Live show called, Voice Your Vibe. At the end of each guest appearance, we do “socialdisdancing.” Now, one of my nicknames on the show is “Queen Of The Chair Spin” which is how I dance in my desk chair.

Another example is from one of my close colleagues and friends, Fay Shapiro, publisher of CommPRO, who remembers her father giving her an Easy Bake oven as a child. Prior to the pandemic, Fay provided baked goods during her events. Now, she bakes for her clients, colleagues and friends to extend good will. Think about what skills you have always had that can be used differently.

When one of my sons was five-years-old, he memorized NFL stats and scores. During a party, my then ex and I introduced him to an influential school administrator. My son had a lengthy conversation about why the Broncos would beat the Falcons in the 1999 Super Bowl based on their regular season performance. The Broncos won. His prediction as a young child impressed the guest who recommended him to a school and he was accepted. Now, at age 27, he makes money playing fantasy sports and has turned a hobby into a side hustle.

A friend of mine was in law school and was always interested in Russian culture. I remember him reading the book, The Russians at the time. After working for a senator, he joined several law firms and some 20-years later, founded his own firm specializing in taking cases to trial in federal and state courts throughout the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and former CIS countries.

Several years ago, my business advisor, Deirdre Breakenridge said to me, "You’ve always been a writer, why not pursue it?" Despite having written throughout my entire career, I never really thought about it. After, I covered industry events, was a ghostwriter for an executive and took on additional writing roles. Another life lesson was the realization that I’ve always worked in or had clients in various technology sectors. When I combined the two, writing and technology, I became a technology columnist.

These examples provide ways to think about your skills, knowledge and traits, how to integrate them into your life and reimagine new avenues to advance, beyond what you did prior to the pandemic. Since we can’t control the external, look within yourself to find the answers.

How to Uncover Your Hidden Talents

If you’re already pursuing your passion, then hopefully you feel fulfilled and happy. If not, consider how your personality and skills intersect. Beyond your strengths, think about how you can improve upon your weaknesses.

For example, I spoke with Rich Oceguera, a colleague who’s always been shy and introverted. Rich’s experiences include working in acting, PR, TV and advertising. Some 20- years ago, his boss flew him from New York to San Francisco to present at a business conference. While there, Rich walked on-stage, faced a standing-room only audience and froze. Without speaking, he “slinked” off stage, a turning point for him.

Instead of concluding that he’d never be successful at public speaking, Rich committed to overcoming his shyness. In Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she writes about two different mindsets: fixed and growth. People with fixed mindsets believe their character, intelligence and creativity are ingrained at birth and can’t be changed. People who possess a growth mindset believe talent is developed through dedication, practice and commitment.

During our conversation, Rich spoke about mindset and how he learned to move beyond what he perceived as a weakness and turned it into a strength. Since then, he’s helped other business owners face their fears and speak on-stage. Throughout the pandemic, he adjusted his business model to teach others how to present on-camera.

Other hidden strengths are natural abilities we have but may not realize. For example, soft skills are character traits that go beyond your role, industry or professional level. Since the pandemic, interpersonal skills have become increasingly important in job searches, hiring and for remote work.

How to Determine Your Soft Skills

Soft skills are how you interact with people. These include personality traits like emotional intelligence, critical thinking, honesty and adaptability. Hard skill examples are coding, data analysis, finance, web and development skills. These type of skills are acquired through training, education or certification.

To determine your soft skills, here are ten questions to ask yourself:

●     What do your clients or colleagues commonly ask you to do?

●     How do your family members and friends perceive you?

●     What activities do you genuinely enjoy doing?

●     How easily do you adapt to change?

●     What do you read, watch and discuss?

●     Do you motivate others?

●     Are you a problem-solver?

●     Are you aware of your feelings and that of others?

●     What are your hobbies or interests?

●     Do you speak up or are you afraid of what others will think of you?

Each question will help you think about your abilities more broadly. As you answer each one, you’ll find complementary skills. Some of my answers for question #1 are: advising, writing, editing, generating ideas and educating others, which are my underlying or hidden skills. Since there are no rules, the goal is for you to expand on what you already know about yourself.

Keep in mind that life is not one long trajectory. Instead, it’s a combination of the experiences you’ve had along the way. Beyond what you’ve learned throughout your professional and personal life, discovering your life skills helps you evolve in new ways.

While this process may time-consuming or abstract, the Life Skills Worksheet is an easy guide to broaden your thinking and uncover new opportunities. If you have questions, comments or need help, please reach out. I'd love to hear from you.