Do you ever dream of having your own radio talk show?

Well, I confess, that’s one of my dreams. I’d have a call-in show on a big radio station. I’d listen to people’s problems about wanting better work, about dealing with stress on the job, about figuring out how to make important work-related decisions, and about how to project more confidence to colleagues and clients. Gosh, that would be so much fun, to help people, one-by-one,  shape their success. At work, we often lack guidance for how to be ourselves and have an impact in the world. People might call me the “Suze Orman of Careers,” although I find her a bit grating. I’d have more of a dose of my smiling high energy, like the woman I resembled in the 1980s, gymnast Mary Lou Retton. Well, maybe a little less cute. A bit smarter. I do have an MBA and a PhD, after all.

Well, I’m moving in that direction, creating plans for a radio show down the line. Sure, I could create one right now, on a channel like Blog Talk Radio, on which I’ve been a guest. However, my aspirations are bigger. XM Radio or Sirius, or maybe CBS. And TV? That would be great, too.

For now, I want to give you the best of me, Dr. Susan, through my blog and website. It’s a great way to get myself ready for a radio show. Besides, I get asked tons of career-related questions every week, and I realize how often I want to share the advice I give one person with a whole bunch of people.

So, I’m excited to welcome you to use the Work from Within blog to ask YOUR questions. And I can answer them. My intention is to respond to at least one question weekly, and be as helpful as I can, sharing what it means to “work from within,” and helping you to achieve the calm, clarity, and confidence that’s possible when you listen to and trust your embodied intelligence.

Do you want to ask a question? Go ahead!  Here’s the link:  http://www.workfromwithin.com/resources/askdrsusanthanks/

C’mon, Ask Dr. Susan! I promise to be kind, supportive, and upbeat. I’d love to read your questions…and, of course, answer them.

Each week, I’m  blogging about a different card from the Get A Move On! deck of cards. This week, I’ve chosen to share some wisdom about the card Extend Yourself!

This week, I’m trying something new.  Instead of telling you my intent with the card image, I’m focusing on what’s really important: Allowing YOU to express what it means to YOU to extend yourself.

So, when you’re stuck, or lost, or confused, and you need to find your direction, how does the guidance “extend yourself” help you?

What does “extend yourself” bring to mind for you?

How might you “extend yourself” right now?

I welcome your stories, observations, and thoughts about how this image and the wisdom to “extend yourself” touches you.  Thank you for extending yourself!  When you share, I promise to reply back on the blog.

Warmly,

Susan

Dr. Susan Bernstein
Life/Work Transition Expert
www.WorkFromWithin.com

PS – Each week, I’ve been introducing a new card from the deck of 52 Get A Move On! cards I created.   When you’re feeling lost, confused, or unsure, these cards that are designed to help you get “unstuck.” Each of the 52 cards (plus two instruction cards) features an image and a phrase, and these whimsical hand-drawn (with crayon and pen, by me, Dr. Susan Bernstein) images is meant to get you inspired and moving.

I feel like a Yiddishe momma — I just kvell.  I’m filled with pride to the point of tears.  I give myself a pat on the back!  And I do the happy dance!

After months of effort — planning, writing, getting guidance from a media consulant, a branding expert, and a graphic designer, and so on, and so on — the new Work from Within website is finally here! I’m thrilled to show you around!

Overall, the new website has more of an emphasis on what I call “embodied intelligence.” You see, with our world changing so much, it can feel like the rug has been pulled out from under you. That’s unsettling. I help you to find your source of calm, clarity, and confidence that is within you. That way, you can get unstuck and get moving and accomplishing.

Sometimes, raw intellect isn’t enough to guide you in the ever-changing world. You need to be able to trust your gut or listen to your heart. But how? When you develop your embodied intelligence, it’s like finding your inner compass, so you know how to navigate the world. My expertise in as a PhD in Somatic (mind/body) Psychology, combined with nearly two decades of corporate experience at companies including Intel and Accenture, allows me to bring you perspective and the practices that will help you navigate changes more easily.

I hope that you’ll explore the new Work from Within website so you can find all the resources I’ve created to help you breathe easier about the future, step into greater clarity about your next moves, and embody self-confidence from head to toe.

So, let’s take a visit together!

Let’s start by looking at the Home Page. You’ll see a great Flash animation that helps you get an overview of what Work from Within is all about…Life is more chaotic and uncertain than ever. How do you find your way in the world? Get free. Get clear. Get moving. It all comes together when you Work from Within.  You can read a description, too, and can explore new products (like the Get A Move On! cards) and catch up on News about Work from Within, like the October 10 & 11 workshop, Create Work That Truly Fits for You.

You’ll be able to find out about what Work from Within means, and the Work from Within Philosophy, more about me, Dr. Susan Bernstein.

The new website also features great new workshops and speaking engagements I have created. I’d love to host one for your organization, so just get in touch!

I’m reaching out to help more and more people and organizations with services to navigate work and life changes.  That means I’m offering individual coaching, corporate coaching, coaching for entrepreneurs, and even training coaches on the Work from Within practices and perspectives!  Check out these new services, and let me know if I can help you, too!

I’ve been mentioned in the media more and more, like the San Jose Mercury News, and love sharing my expertise widely, so if you are writing a story for the media, contact me on topics including:

• The psychological and physiological impact of work and life transitions (like layoffs, starting a new jobs)
• Tools for breathing easier about the future
• Ways to find greater clarity in the midst of chaos and uncertainty
• Practices for embodying self-confidence

I know that not everyone has the chance to work with me personally, so I’ve created tools so that you can get the best of my expertise, and you can listen and learn with me at your convenience. So the new website has a store, and you’ll find there:

• The best “get unstuck” tool ever – the Get A Move On! cards
• Guidance on going for your dreams – the Follow a More Authentic Career Path CD
• Activities you can do to find your new career – the Create Work That Truly Fits for You CD
• Tools to keep you positive and motivated in your job search – the Job Seeker’s Confidence Kit CD
• A 7-step process and 24 activities to help boost your confidence in interviews – the Interviewing Authentically workbook

Of course, the new Work from Within website has this great blog (OK, I’m biased!) and that’s full of great information. Additionally, I’ve created a wealth of resources for you to read articles on how to work from within, listen to interviews with me on issues about transitions, get recommendations on resources for learning more about the mind-body connection and transitions, and sign up to receive the Work from Within eNewsletter via email.

It’s a full body of work, this new website.  I hope you’ll jump in, explore. Let me know what you think of the new Work from Within website! Please do leave a comment, below!

Just like your body, the Work from Within website is ever-evolving!

Cheers!

Susan

Susan Bernstein, MBA PhD

Life/Work Transition Expert

www.WorkFromWithin.com

I’d love to write something more lofty today…but I’ve been touched by this quote for over two weeks, so I want to share it:

“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare
not venture that they are difficult.” – Seneca

This past winter, I found myself toiling and pushing myself.  Even feeling kind of depressed.  I’d rather be pulled to do work I love, to express myself, not depress myself.  Turns out that I was resisting the pull of my true love, the work that truly energizes me.  I was hiding it from myself, and making my life more difficult.

Thankfully, my dear friend, Karen Moss reminded me that I always light up when I speak in front of an audience.  She’s right.

So I am daring to venture more into public speaking over the coming year.  Hear me roar!  Actually, come hear me and learn how to Recraft Your Career from the Inside Out at the Bay Area Organizational Development Network’s 2009 conference May 2nd in Berkeley.

I’ll leave you with a question to explore:
If things are difficult for you, what might you venture into?  What adventure could you create for yourself?

Adventurously yours,

Susan

Dr. Susan Bernstein
Coach, Speaker & Author
(hmmm…Speaker, Author & Coach?)

www.WorkFromWithin.com
Work From Within, LLC

I'm sorry.   I've been out of touch.  I've felt a little sad that I haven't been writing this blog in weeks.  This isn't the only communication channel that I've neglected. I've also missed sending tweets from my Twitter account. 

In the midst of this creative cyclone, I'm totally caught in the round and round motion of a whole new landscape of thoughts and ideas.  For now, I happen to be immersed in the murky waters of a not-yet-clear soup that I'll call "mind-body-spirit transformation soup."  I'm not sure of all the ingredient.  I think some are missing.  I have a bunch more possible limp bits of goo I could add, but I wish I had more formed, delicious morsels to serve up.  Somehow, I sense I'm cooking up a stew.  It's not ready for tasting, but it's getting close.  A nasty, nagging naysayer in my noggin,' who reminds me of a Siberian grandmother (complete with kerchief), but with a Bronx accent, chides me:

I look askew and reply "Hey, I'm in process!"  I get kind of defensive. I have to be forceful with this nagging naysayer.  Her logic is strong.  I do need money. (We all do, of course) I get nervous when her voice shows up in my mental missives.  She reminds me of everyone who's been asking:

"What are you up to?" and "Well, what's that new direction your business is taking you?" 

I translate all of that into greater pressure to produce — now!  The nagging naysayer is telling me now, as I write this, "You should be writing something else."  In my mind's eye, I am clothed in white temple garb.  I look back at her, bow, and reply:

"Thank you.  But the blog calls.  I want to write it.  I also want to work on the the workbook.  Just not now."

She shakes her head, some of her hair tumbles out of the kerchief as she rolls her eyes and remarks, "Whatever." 

I know she's sarcastic.  She doesn't sincerely want to accept "whatever" I want to do. She's not OK with my choice. But I choose to ignore her for now.  It's time to trust my instincts and desires.  I know it in my bones. 

My precious Soul Motion dance teacher, Zuza Engler, this past Tuesday night, shared some lines of poetry that feel fit for sharing.  These words help me to understand who I am, even in the midst of change.  They are about "the thread," that goes through my life.  You have your thread, too.  So does everyone.

I thought you'd enjoy these words, this poem.  Especially when you can't quite articulate to others where you're going or what you're doing, may these words give you comfort.

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow.
It goes among
things that change.  But it doesn’t change.
People
wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the
thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get
lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get
old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of
the thread.

~ William Stafford

I wonder how that poem touches you?

Weaving my world with yours,
Susan

Dr. Susan Bernstein
Coach, Speaker & Author
www.WorkFromWithin.com
Work From Within, LLC

How do you define yourself?  You know, what's your title?  What does your business card say?

Sometimes, titles make me loopy. (You know, like "marketing director" or "teacher") I rebel against giving mine.  And I want to change my title all the time.  Do you, too?

So, anyway, today  I was sending my graphic artist some directions for a new set of business cards.  My old ones say that I have an MBA and an MA. Now that I've finished a PhD, I am surely going to promote my expertise, thank you very much.  Ah, those three letters. They represent a ton of time, energy, knowledge, and money.  At least to me!

So, much as I loathe titles (I tend to feel boxed in, and feel limited), I started to write titles for myself.  Coach?  Am I a coach?  Well, in my new life, I'm going to be doing more public speaking.  So am I a speaker?  I love to write.  Am I an author?  A writer?

I wrote the C in coach, but then I wrote "CEO," instead of "coach."  I noticed an impulse to write "Consciously Embodying Optimism."

A new kind of CEO — CEO as adjective:  Consciously Embodying Optimism.

I think it's a rebellious act to be an optimist in the face of an economic downturn, social disparities on our planet, and global climate change.  Look, if I relied solely on my MBA training, I'd have a much more pessimistic outlook.  I'd go and hide under a rock, and wait for things to get better.

Fortunately, I studied something else in addition to business. Since 2001, I've been a student of somatic psychology, otherwise known as "mind-body psychology."  Earning my PhD in that discipline has showed me that our bodies and minds are phenomenally flexible and adaptable. 

 I know and trust, in my bones, that everything moves through cycles. 

Breath moves in and out.  Waves in the ocean move in and out.  Flowers open and close.  And stock markets go up and down.  Fortunes are made and lost and made again. 

So, I believe that we can weather storms.  We need to trust in ourselves.  And we need to be consciously embody optimism.

Consciously, as in "awake" and "aware."

And embody.  I can embody that optimism. 

Why can I truly embody optimism?  (And why can you, too?)

I can truly embody optimism because:

I can kick off my shoes and feel my feet on the ground to feel more grounded.  

I can breathe in and feel inspired.  Ah, inspiration.

And I can breathe out and let go of unsupportive ideas.  Ah, expiration.

I can lift my gaze and see a bigger perspective.

I can get up from my computer and take a walk and shift the scenery, so I open myself to new possibilities.

I can put a hand on my belly and check in with my gut instinct.

I can rest a hand over my heart and sense what it is trying to tell me.

I can choose to notice that when I think good thoughts that are supportive of a positive future, I feel good.  I feel expanded or warm and content or just at ease.

I can also choose to notice that when I think negative thoughts that reflect a negative future, I feel bad.  I feel contracted or cold or ill-at-ease.

So, I can feel optimism in my body.  And pessimism too. 

I choose optimism.  And I choose consciously.

So, I embody optimism. 

What does it mean to "embody," you wisely ask?

To be embodied means, in my definition, means to attend to the inner wisdom — which we feel in our movement, our breath, our posture, our gestures, our sensations — and then respond by moving in a direction that's in alignment with our true selves.

When we're truly embodied, we're awake and aware of the instincts and impulses that the body is constantly sending us.  When I help clients with making changes that positively impact their career performance, I teach them tools and techniques to help them enhance their embodiment.  If you want to know what I'm up to, check out the new evolution of Work from Within.

So, what about you?  Are you CEO?  Are you Consciously Embodying Optimism?

If you are — share with us HOW you're doing that?  What behaviors or choices or tools or thoughts do you use to stay optimistic?

And if you're NOT CEO?  Then what?

   Help us explore this topic together.  I'm excited to respond to you.  I can feel the excitement (and a little nervousness, to be honest) as I post this, and await your reply.

CEO,

Susan

Dr. Susan Bernstein
Coach, Speaker & Author
www.WorkFromWithin.com
Work From Within, LLC

 When it's time for a change, do you feel compelled to "go it alone"? You know, that "I can do it myself," super independent streak?

I know I felt I had to make changes on my own.  Even by myself.  

I'll be honest.  For the last few months of 2008, I was feeling depressed.  As in "pressed down."  I felt "small."  In my heart, I knew I had bigger work to do in the world.  It's not that I don't love the career transition work that I do with people through Work from Within.  I get rave reviews from my clients, and I truly create meaningful bonds that last with them, long beyond our coaching relationship.

No, I just felt it in my gut, that I was playing too small a game.  That I needed to break out of the limiting container of being a "career coach."  In fact, when people would introduce me as a career coach, my skin would crawl.  
Like I wanted to peel that name off of me, like a snake shedding her skin. 

It was time for something new.

But what? 

continue

Today, I feel compelled to share a quote I found while I was going through the notes for my dissertation, as I prepare the outline for a workshop.

It's from a letter that Thomas Merson wrote to Robert Menchin, January 15, 1966.  (I regret that I can't find the citation)

As I move through the changes in my own life, leaning in the direction of infusing all my coaching and teaching with more embodied awareness, I am reminded that this journey of life is about authenticity, getting real.  At least for those of us who care passionately about our own evolution.

Dear ones, as the New Year starts, you're going to be seeing me adding back the body-mind connection to all that I do — because I can't keep running away from what matters to me.  By cultivating embodied awareness, I can disconnect from my chattering monkey mind.  And I can dissolve the tensions that hold me back from creating what I'm impassioned to craft — workshops, coaching, and products that help us all to reduce stress, increase clarity, build confidence, and enhance our connections with ourselves and others.

I've been ovely-focused on mental pursuits and have been worried (like many others) about making money.  The lesson I have to learn, over and over again, is that when I follow my passion and my heart-felt guidance, the rewards follow. Not always a nanosecond later, but always in enough time for me to be OK.

My mind gets the best of me sometimes, and I lose track of what matters to me.  Does that ever happen for you? I stop following what moves me, and push myself in directions that don't necessarily feel good, but that logically seem to be lucrative.  While I have had fun building the Job Search Gym, the part of that program that really appeals to me is helping people embody the job they intend to have.  To utilize their inner awareness — the future self who already has the job — to propel their job search.  Sadly, I find this is too esoteric for some, even though I make it eminently practical.

I suppose I am more fired up about bringing forth the findings from my doctoral research, and really inspiring whole groups of people to find their "work from within," teaching practices for listening to the body/mind/spirit connection.  Most of us get caught up in our heads.  Obviously, me too!  So, I am crafting a new workshop to teach what really matters to me:  ways to manage life energy so we get what we desire with less effort.  Nice, eh?

I welcome your thoughts and comments on my new pursuits.

With care,
Susan

Dr. Susan Bernstein
Coach, Speaker & Author
www.WorkFromWithin.com
Work From Within, LLC

I just bought a new Flip Mino HD video and with the help of my friend (and great financial planner), Celeste Mirassou, we shot a quick holiday video for you.

You see, I don't want you to get caught in the doom and gloom of things like foreclosures, financial losses, and layoffs.

It's time for a message of hope.

I believe what's essential right now, to keep on the positive side of life, are three things: Connections, celebration, and seeing creative possibilities.

I hope you enjoy this very simple message, home-spun, low-tech, and authentically from my heart.

How this message makes you feel?  What does it inspire you to do or express in 2009?  Go ahead, express yourself!  Post a comment with your thoughts and impressions.

Celebrating your divine spark,

Susan

Dr. Susan Bernstein
Coach, Speaker & Author
www.WorkFromWithin.com
Work From Within, LLC

I’m all about moving forward in your life.  But when it comes to find your future career direction, sometimes it pays to look back.  Way back!  To childhood.  To the passions and energies you expressed so simply, before the times you ever had to think about “making a living” or “earning a paycheck” (besides, I think it’s more fun to get a “playcheck“).

My friends at Pursue the Passion created a great video from the hundreds of interviews they’ve done with people who are passionate about their work.  I love how they highlight the simple pleasures have given rise to careers that let them be involved in sports, shoe design, counseling, aquariums, and nature.

What did you love when you were a kid?

Me? I loved sketching little assignments for my brother to complete – with instructions like, “Draw a rectangle using your favorite color” or “Make a picture showing what you would you do if your best friend got sick.” Sometimes, I gave him math problems, and drew elaborate shapes for him to count. Observing him as he thought about his responses delighted me, and my whole body was abuzz with amusement when we would talk about his answers. Pretty silly, perhaps, but see what I’ve transformed those passions into!

I encourage you to let yourself explore your childhood passions again…and see what it sparks in you. What if you let your passion give rise to a profession? I’ve done it — and if it fits, you can, too!

Pursue your passion!
Susan

Dr. Susan Bernstein

Coach, Speaker & Author

www.WorkFromWithin.com

Work From Within, LLC