Life be lifing
Last week I kicked off my LinkedIn Workshop for job seekers with an amazing cohort of talented professionals. If you happened to have seen my video on Instagram or LinkedIn you know that things didn’t exactly go swimmingly. On the day of the workshop, there was a scaffold outside my window and men with jackhammers. So, I went to my building’s quiet room for refuge, a place I’ve worked from many times because my apartment complex is always under construction.
Always.
Taking quiet to a new level
Things were fine for a while and then I was on a Zoom call and lost internet. Figuring things would turn around I waited a few minutes and then resorted to using my phone’s hot spot. I didn’t love this but since the noise upstairs was untenable, I figured it would have to suffice. Well, about 6 or 7 minutes into the workshop my hot spot gave out and again I was disconnected.
Furious and frustrated I rushed back upstairs and prayed the men were at lunch and I’d get some quiet. Luckily they were and I did. I reconnected and my poor Virtual Assistant was trying to hold down the fort by reading the slides. Thank god she was on the call in the first place. I was able to rebound but I’ll forever be mortified and wonder how this could have been prevented in the first place. But sometimes we can’t control outside circumstances (something I’m quite loathe to admit!).
Not the only one
While all this was happening I soon found out that one participant wasn’t able to join the Zoom at all and had emailed me. And another had to jump off during the call because her husband threw his back out and they had to go to the ER.
Then before my session this week, another person got an emergency call from his Mom and had to miss the workshop as well. In other words, life be LIFING. Big time.
Professional is personal
The reality of all of this is that it’s just that — reality. We can’t keep life out of work or work out of life. Especially with the way work is today.
It’s not possible.
Things happen.
And we have to not only accept that, but understand it.
Be compassionate about it.
This is Personality Branding at its core.
Allowing you to be a human AND a professional.
Setting you up to be in a professional environment where you can show vulnerability and be honest when personal life gets in the way of professional.
Having a boss or clients who understand that.
Who genuinely care about you, not just your work product.
Is this the real life?
This concept isn’t just something fun and frivolous.
It’s potentially life saving. For your sanity, your mental health and your physical health.
People are literally stressing themselves into sickness because they can’t be truthful about how they’re feeling or what’s going on outside of work.
Your life isn’t Severance. It’s not healthy to separate and compartmentalize. You have to be YOU during and after the work day.
These things aren’t mutually exclusive. Nor should they be.
You can only do your best work when you feel seen and supported.
Sometimes that means accepting a terrible technical glitch.
And sometimes it’s needing to miss a meeting because family comes first.
The right people will understand.
And if you need help right now finding any of these things, let’s chat.
Want to schmooze with me?
Does anyone care about what you used to do?
You're trying to change careers. Does it make sense to use your LinkedIn profile to brag about how much experience you have in the industry you're trying to exit?
And how do you use LinkedIn to tell people what you want to do next?
Come schmooze with me on Thursday, Feb 13 at 12 noon ET, where I’m going to help Schmooze.biz members (and guests*) figure out how to make your LinkedIn profile work for you if you want to make a career pivot.
*Non-Schmooze members can pay a one-time fee to take this Schmooze Mini Masterclass.
Upcoming Workshop
Are you an entrepreneur or solopreneur whose LinkedIn is more lame than luminous? Could you use a glow up to attract the right clients and customers? My LinkedIn Workshop for Solopreneurs and Entrepreneurs kicks off in mid-March. Jump on the waiting list and be the first to know when registration opens! And snag a coveted free 20-minute coaching session with me for being one of the first 10 to sign up.
If you enjoy my content, have attended a free workshop, or simply want to do something nice, I'd love for you to buy me a coffee (or glass of wine). This simple tool was built to allow readers or fans of creators to easily thank them for putting out content. So I'm giving it a whirl.
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