Career Articles

Here is my collection of articles on Career Issues. Click on the title of any article to read its complete text.Comments are always welcome.

Cultural Traditions - In the spirit of promoting religious and cultural traditions from around the world, I have finally completed two website projects which took up the bulk of my time over the last two weeks. And though it took me away from my writing projects and my book proposal (a proposal encouraged by best-selling poet, author, and translator Daniel Ladinsky) it was the right thing to do. Katherine O'Brien, the Executive Director of The Foundation for Traditional Studies, which publishes the Sophia Journal, is a friend of mine, and I like what she and her organization do. Both sites focus on the strengths and wisdom of the world’s spiritual traditions and religions. The great thing about both sites is that they promote understanding and appreciation of the diverse religious and cultural traditions that flourish in the world. If ignorance breeds hatred, then knowledge, perhaps, can breed love.

Making Money - One of my favorite quotations in regards to making money comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The gain is apparent; the tax is certain." In the modern society this truth is more applicable than ever. I don’t think there has ever been a time when so much of mankind is hyper-focused on acquiring money. Look on the internet and you will see adds galore on how to make money, how to be a millionaire, how to have so much wealth that your friends will be envious. Go to Google and type in Make Money Online and you will see 19,300,000 web pages devoted to helping you do that.

Purpose in Life - No one wants to feel or be called irresponsible. But until a person finds purpose in life, then the life being lived is one of irresponsibility. I don’t mean that in a judgmental way. But if a person does not express in his or her life what the soul most earnestly wants to express, then the life is no more useful than a musical instrument being used as a paper weight. A purpose may be served, but it is not the intended purpose. Life is not meant to be lived frivolously.

Internet Scam That Has
Victims Going to Jail - Here is an internet scam that my wife almost fell into. In the end she used common sense and went to the police. But for those that don’t, jail time is a likely outcome. It’s pretty slick. It seems to be targeted at people who register with an online job placement agency. There they are able to get the e-mail addresses of people who are looking for work. Some of these people, they surely reason, are desperate for easy money. Here is the initial e-mail that they send:

Career Development Help
at Career Ramblings - For career development, people need top notch advice. Career Ramblings, a website of career and entrepreneurial advice, fills that need. The site is a great tool to ensure that you don't sell yourself short. A career is a crucial part of a fulfilled life. Without the right career, life falls short. Because of the importance a career has in the fulfillment of life’s goals, any tool that you can use to help you achieve it is of immense value. And it is because of this that I recommend their site.

Follow Your Bliss
Advice to Students in Budapest - The other day I received an e-mail, asking for advice, which forced me to reflect back on an earlier chapter of my life. As a young man graduating from college, could I could have benefited from any words of advice? A simple question that provided me with some invaluable soul searching. I have reprinted the e-mail which is followed by my response:

John Chow Review - John Chow dot Com is a blog that helps you make money online. If you do a review of his blog, he’ll link to you so his readers can check you out. That sounds like a win-win situation to me, so read on.

Green Investing
-- A Close-up Look at IET - Companies that outperform on the environment, outperform financially. And for me, green investing, at least in one particular company, has never been sweeter. After all, how many companies can you walk into, tell a staffer you are a shareholder, and get a personalized 90-minute tour by the President and Vice President. That's what happened yesterday when I visited Integrated Environmental Technologies , Ltd. I guess they just can't contain their enthusiasm for what they do. What a great pleasure it was to spend time with business people who are inspired.

Stardom and Failure - Stardom and failure. They seem to go hand in hand. Not always, but all too often.Today I became sad when I read about one of the young superstars of the NBA, without a college education, at the top of his game, building a 34,000 square foot house. The master bedroom is over 2,000 square feet. His main goal in life is to be the first billionaire athlete.

Self-Discipline with Meaning - I frequently hear people say that to be successful in life one needs self-discipline. But for some people, that's impossible. It's like there is a chromosome missing, or something. And for others, it's all in a day's work. I've experienced both extremes. I find I have all the necessary self-discipline to reach any goal if the goal has meaning for me. If it doesn't, I don't. Meaning is the transforming agent. It's like an essential nutrient. Without it, I languish. With it, I work with focus and determination that usually hits the mark squarely, and on time.

Boredom and Laziness -- A Vicious Circle - I remember one day at United I was in a staff meeting and I shared what one customer shared with me. This customer was happy with my service and said it was people like me that made United the second best airline in the world. I asked, "Who is number one?" He said, "Singapore Airlines." After I asked what set Singapore apart from the rest of the pack. He told me this: "In the East, people know that it is an honor to serve someone. That consciousness doesn't exist in America." Thinking I could build some enthusiasm in the staff meeting, I shared the comment from the customer, as I found it helpful. Only one person made a response, "That's a bunch of horse shit," she said.

How to Have a Career with an Inner Life - Have you ever wondered how to align your career with an inner life? Unfortunately, the inner life for many people is no more than a derailed train. Many people set off in pursuit of a career inspired by an inner life but quickly lose sight of their goal. The stress of working 40 to 50 hours a week, climbing the corporate ladder, commuting, paying bills, raising children, can derail even the most determined. With so much going on with careers, many of us have a tendency to rationalize our inattention to the inner. We are so busy putting out fires and racing to deadlines that anything else can go on the back burner. That's the path of least resistance.

Your Personal Calling is a Fate Already Sealed - A personal calling, coupled with resolve and patience, is a formula for success. If you are being honest with yourself, then failure needn't ever be an option. If your goal is aligned with your consciousness--your source of being--and if it is for the good of all, then how could you possibly fail? The consciousness of the universe is always seeking avenues of expression. That is why the universe came into existence. Become an avenue of its expression and you have the power of the universal consciousness working with you, not against you. Or you can look at it like Emerson did when he said, "If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me."

Meaningful Work - We cannot expect success in our inner life if we compartmentalize our life's activities into good and bad. Nobody can have a career conducive to inner life where the most important fact of the day is in the number of remaining hours of work. Such is the lot of the sleepwalkers.

Follow Your Bliss - To follow your bliss is a commitment to happiness. On our morning walk today, my wife said she wasn't sure if she understood the phrase, follow your bliss. I'm sure there are some misunderstandings and differences of opinion, so I thought I would write about it here. To follow your bliss is to allow the most wonderful world imaginable to unfold. Everyday is an adventure, calling forth the latent genius in you. Consider the words of Joseph Campbell: “If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are -- if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.