I’m thrilled to introduce you to Maddy Dychtwald, my guest blogger for this post. Maddy is a nationally recognized author, demographer, public speaker and entrepreneur.  She has spent nearly twenty-five years deeply involved in exploring and forecasting demographic, lifestyle and consumer marketing trends.

Maddy’s new book, Influence: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better, is being released today, May 4. If you care about transforming the world through more feminine energies, I absolutely recommend this book! It’s a powerful argument, based on changes in our world, that shows the ways that women are making positive impacts. It includes stories of women who have big visions and big hearts. I was very fortunate to read an advance copy and was dazzled to find women I truly admire, such as Priya Haji of World of Good, and Deborah Szekely of The Golden Door and Rancho La Puerta, profiled for their visions and values.

So, here’s what Maddy’s shared with you:

It’s a curious thing, how a change so massive can still take us by surprise.

100 years ago, telephones were scarce, TVs not invented, and apples just a tasty fruit. Women couldn’t vote, and in many countries, couldn’t even own property, especially if they were married.

But for all the technological and political change the world has seen in the past century, the single most powerful economic change has not been caused by technology or the rise of developing nations. It’s been created by women.

Over the past two decades, “women have contributed more to global GDP growth than have either new technology or…China or India,” wrote the Economist in 2006. Today, the average American family has two cars, many TVs and countless technological toys. We couldn’t afford half those luxuries without the power of the working women.

And yet, it still astonishes me how invisible this massive change seems. In the U.S, we take for granted that women work—but we don’t consider child care a tax-deductible business expense. We know that women work harder and longer than men, when you count all that cooking, cleaning and laundry—but most poor people in the U.S. (and globally) are women. We see a few women at the top of corporations and many in the middle, but most women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man does in a similar job, even when controlling for education and experience.

In short, although women’s economic power has grown enormously, we often don’t take notice. Why? Because, to date, little of that economic power has translated into social or political influence. We’re earning money, but it still feels like a man’s world. This is especially true in the United States, which lags far behind other nations on global indices of gender equality. Women are 20% of elected officials, 11% of business leaders, just 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs, and only minor figures in the media that covers them — “female bylines at major magazines are still outnumbered by seven to one”, write Newsweek’s Jessica Bennett, Jesse Ellison and Sarah Ball.

But all that’s finally starting to change. After decades of building up our earning power, hoarding our economic force, we’re about to spend our capital. Slowly at first, but with increasing speed, women are unleashing their influence on the world. Maybe it’s by having dad pick up the kids, maybe it’s by making a microloan to a woman half a world away, but gradually, small changes are accumulating, like a thousand water drops seeping, creeping, eroding a mighty mountain. Together, we’re reshaping our world from a man’s world to, eventually, a partnership society that, one day, will work as well for women as men.

My co-author, Christine Larson, and I started following those changes in our book INFLUENCE: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better, which Hyperion publishes this May. But things are changing far faster than any book can follow, especially given the long lead time of the publishing industry.

So, we’re going to track those changes here, minute by minute, showing how women are starting to use their influence to change the world.

Please help me. I want to know how you’re using your economic influence—to educate your daughter, to reinvent the division of labor in your house or at your company, to help other people around the world.

If you get a high-ranking job with a big, prestigious firm, and a salary that’s many times the national norm, will that make you happy?

I had a job like that. Right after completing my MBA at UC Berkeley, I felt so proud of myself to land a job in management consulting with Andersen Consulting, which is now Accenture (no, not Arthur Andersen, the former parent company who was ruined by the Enron scandal). My post-MBA salary was almost five times higher than my pre-MBA salary, so I was elated. Not that I’d planned to become a management consultant when I went to business school. I either thought I’d go into international trade (I’d started off in a dual-degree program with an MA in Asian Studies that I ultimately dropped) or human resources (I’d come from the world of corporate training and still wanted to develop shiny, happy employees).

So, here’s the thing: Despite Accenture’s big brand name, the name dropping I would do of Fortune 500 clients, being able to tell my friends that I knew the CEO of such-and-such a company, earning elite flyer status with all the miles I accumulated on multiple airlines, and my super-smart colleagues…I was MISERABLE.

I had to hide how much I hated the long hours, because we were supposed to brag about those, like a badge of courage. I never told anyone that I thought the work was boring, and I promptly stopped telling people that I was eager to teach my clients how to do the kind of analysis I was doing for them, because I discovered that we actually profited when clients hired us back for multiple engagements. I was interested in building personal relationships, so I was disappointed when I was placed on a new project every two to three months, and just started to feel like a cog in a wheel. Maybe it was an important wheel.

When I’d consider quitting, friends would say, “But you make so much money! How can you even think of leaving?” I kept telling myself, “You’re lucky to have a job like this! It was so competitive to get in! And you made it! Why would you leave? Keep up this work and you’re on track to make partner, and then you’ll be making MILLIONS!”

It wasn’t until after I collapsed, yes, literally fell backwards, right in front of clients during a meeting, totally spent from exhaustion and killer headaches, that I decided I really needed to leave that job. But oooh, that seductive money.

For me, I’ve discovered that living more simply has given me more freedom over how I manage my time. I love being a coach and setting my own hours. I only work Tuesday to Thursday, for example. In management consulting, I was always answering to the firm. If they wanted me in Detroit the next day, then I’d be packing my bags. (Luckily, I didn’t have to go to Detroit, but I did get a call on a Sunday night to be in Seattle the next day, and my raincoat was at the dry cleaners. How lucky — it didn’t rain that week!)

But that’s me. I’m wondering about you and others. So I started poking around, wondering…does money bring happiness?

Gretchen Rubin, who wrote the book The Happiness Project, says that a LACK of money CAN bring unhappiness. If you’re reading this, you’re probably doing well enough that you’re not living on the street. Rubin reminds us that if we’re not feeling good about money, we can count our blessings, get distracted doing something fun or interesting; find ways to assert control over your situation (even small things like cleaning out a closet); spending time with friends; or do something to help someone else.

In a recent blog post for the Huffington Post, she says that whether money will make you happen depends on a few things:

* What kind of person you are: What do you want to own? Do you have kids or dependent parents? Do you have expensive hobbies? Do you like to travel? These circumstances and choices will impact your feelings around money.

* How you spend your money: Consider which of your purchases over the last year has brought you the most happiness. What if you make choices bearing in mind your happiness? Would you prefer to have a big-screen TV that lets you sit around and watch movies with friends, or would you get more happiness out of a membership at a gym, where you can meet people, get fit, and feel great? The gym membership might actually cost less and give you greater long-term satisfaction.

* How much money you have relative to the people around you, and relative to your own experience: We’re social creatures, prone to compare ourselves with others. While that’s not ideal, perhaps it’s hard to shift that. But if you can, be grateful for what you do have, as that will at least put you in a good mood, instead of focusing on what you don’t have.

I’m also fascinated with this study that Rubin cites. Let me ask it to you as a question:

Which do you prefer?

Choice one: A job where you’re paid $30,000 in Year 1 $40,000 in Year 2, and $50,000 in Year 3

OR

Choice two: A job that pays $60,000 in Year 1, then $50,000 in Year 2 and then $40,000 in Year 3?

Most people prefer Choice 1, with its raises. But, at the end of the three years, you would have earned only $120,000 instead of $150,000, with Choice 2, which actually offers $30,000 more in compensation! Interesting how caught up most of us are in getting more, more, more, especially in money, which is measurable. But happiness? More elusive.

Another tidbit to consider, from Rob Baedeker, writing for SFGate:  If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the median income is $50,000 a year. Last year, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison made $84.5 million dollars. Larry Ellison’s compensation was 1690 times more than the average person in the Bay Area. Did he work that many times more than you? Obviously not! Is he that many times happier than you? Hmm…almost certainly not.

So what does income mean in terms of personal satisfaction?

Jean Chatzky, the financial editor for NBC’s “Today Show,” tells us that the amount of money required to “live comfortably” varies by region. She surveyed Americans’ attitudes about money and found that “once you’ve got enough to put food on the table, gas in the car, go out to movies occasionally and go on the occasional vacation, more money doesn’t make you happier.” The point of diminishing happiness returns she found was about $60,000 per household, annually.

Baedeker also cites research by called Justin Wolfers, associate professor of business and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, who says “If you look for evidence that there’s some level above which money is unrelated to happiness, you simply can’t find it. Using American data, [from sources such as Gallup polls], it’s true that people earning $50,000 are happier than those earning $25,000, people earning $100,000 are happier than those earning $50,000, and people earning $200,000 are happier than those earning $100,000.”

He explains what he and his Wharton colleague, Betsy Stevenson have found: “It’s what we call a linear log relationship,” What does this mean?  “At any point in the income scale, a 10 percent rise in income buys the same rise in happiness.”

And the Wharton professors have found this formula holds cross-nationally, too. “A 10 percent rise in income for someone in Burundi buys about the same change in happiness as a 10 percent rise for people in the U.S.,” says Wolfers. “That’s the sense in which we say there’s no evidence of satiation. There’s no evidence of it running out at income level whatsoever.”

So, maybe there’s no way to find long-term satisfaction with money. We’ll always want more. So, all the more reason to focus on maximizing your ROLE, your Return on Life Energy. Put your time and energy into what you love. Then, at least you control the interest you get back. You get to feel the appreciation, including self-appreciation.

Celebrating your infinite investments in yourself,

Susan

In my last post, I introduced you to my client, Lucy Armentrout, who “returned” to being a realtor, after years of exploring other work in the field of real estate.

Now, I’m thrilled to tell you about an exciting free event that Lucy is hosting for those of us in the San Francisco Bay Area:

Discover the charm of living in the creative community of Rockridge — a family-friendly urban oasis in Oakland. Lucy is offering a FREE Guided Walking Tour on Sunday, April 11th, from 1 – 3 pm.

For Bay Area folks who are tired of long commutes, alternately chilly or stifling weather, routine dining and shopping, Rockridge is a great contrast. Lucy invites you to come explore Rockridge on Sunday April 11th. Discover urban living within this vibrant and unique community that boasts excellent schools, easy commutes and strong neighborhoods.

On Lucy’s informative and fun tour, you will:
•    Receive a map of kid-friendly neighborhood spots
•    Receive information on Rockridge area schools and housing
•    Enjoy Rockridge’s vibrant collection of specialty retail shopping and dining establishments
•    Soak up the Bay Area’s best springtime weather
•    Receive discounts from local vendors
•    Be entered into a drawing for $150 in prizes

You do need to reserve a place to qualify for prize & discounts, and to find the tour location’s starting point.  Call Lucy Armentrout at 510.220.6445 or email Lucy@Grubbco.com

Congratulations, Lucy! And, hope you, Dear Reader, will come out and support Lucy and experience the Rockridge lifestyle. I’m sure Lucy will be happy to tell you about rediscovering her career passions in our work together, too. In fact, I’ll be on the tour, and happy to meet you!

Come out for the tour!

Susan

Can you ever go back to a career from your past?

Sometimes, people wonder, “If I change jobs, and I hate the new one, can I go back to an old one?” You know what? I rarely find that people do that.

Unless they loved that work.

In this case, it’s happened.

Here’s the story of one of my current clients, who is approaching a seemingly “old” job with new gusto. Lucy Armentrout came to me after working as a realtor, city planner, a consultant on Bay Area multi-unit residential development projects, a property manager, an investor, and a  project manager. That last gig really got to her. She was working on contract, and was treated with a great deal of disrepect. But she also felt like her talents were being underutilized.

In our exploration together, Lucy got really clear that she loved being around houses. She loved seeing the insides and the possibilities. To her, homes are expressions of lifestyles, and havens to relax in. In an unusual turn of events, she decided to return to being a realtor. She had recently become certified as a LEED Accredited Professional (the national standard for “green” building design and construction), and initially felt a bit obligated to use that certification as her primary calling card. How many of us have invested in a degree and forced ourselves to use that knowledge, even if it doesn’t feel like a fit? I certainly did that with my MBA, forcing myself into management consulting because “it’s what you do next after an MBA, if you don’t go into investment banking.” Hah! That was torturous.

Lucy rightly sensed that “making” herself use the LEED certification was pushing into a direction that didn’t fit.

She recognized that she could be a realtor and use her LEED certification, a fantastic combination. As we delved into her past, we saw that Lucy’s breadth of experience in the real estate industry enables her to quickly identify and understand the key issues in clients’ listings or sale transactions, so that she can guide them in making sound strategic and tactical decisions.

As we’ve moved forward together, Lucy’s been tapping into my assistance for emerging entrepreneurs to ensure she is a huge success in her new/old career!

FYI: Many of you may not know that I’ve helped over 40% of my clients to launch businesses…from real estate to HR consulting to non-profits. I love helping emerging entrepreneurs to bring ideas to life, and I’ll be highlighting more of those success stories in future blog post.

Here’s to careers that truly fit!

Susan

In my last post, I told you about how one of my former clients, Ande Scheinker, went from being an event planner to a culinary explorer, and how she was entering her chocolate chip cookies in SF Food Wars’ Chocolate Cookie Situation, a bake-off of sorts.

Well, that bakeoff was last weekend at a local San Francisco bar, Mighty, and it was a delicious situation, if a bit overkill on the sugar! The event even had a Jersey Shore theme. Wild! Some people really got into it. Others, not so much.  Mostly, it meant a lot of gold chains, big hair, and cookies named after Snooki.

Each attendee received a plate and one vote for the ballot box, and a chance to taste something from each of the 20 participants. Just a few bites, and I was in chocolate overload.

Ande baked her famous cookies, and displayed them in high style, and dressed in a cute apron. To me, hers were the most “traditional” chocolate chip cookies, even if they had gourmet chocolate, yummy secret ingredients, and a divine texture. There were cookies topped with frosting, cookies filled with lavender ganache, something that looked like a disco Oreo, and even cookies shaped like the state of New Jersey. Crazy!

Ultimately, the winning cookies were Deez Nutz Are Hot!’s, chewy oatmeal cookies with chile, chocolate chips, and spiced pecans. And, alas, while I thought that prize should have gone to Ande, her big win was putting herself out there and sharing her work from within, the cookie baking she loves to do so much. And hey, she was included in a spread by Chow Magazine! That’s a huge win for a first time putting yourself in a public venue with your talent.

So, if you’ve got a talent you’re itching to share, find your venue. Get it out there. Have fun! Yum!

Thanks for inspiring others, Ande!

Mmmm,

Susan

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.

Did you know that your heart has true wisdom?

Let me share my geeky side with you to explain this, OK?

My doctoral research examines the role that body awareness (what I now call Sense-Ability™) plays for people undergoing major career change. I examined many ways of “knowing” that reside outside the brain. One of the pathways of wisdom comes from  heart intuition.

It’s very exciting to me that science has begun to point out the value of drawing awareness to our heart energies. The Institute for Heartmath, in Boulder Creek, California, has focused its energies on the intuitive power of the heart.

A team of their scientists conducted a study to examine the process by which intuition, which they defined as “information normally outside the range of conscious awareness” is perceived by the psychophysiological systems of the body.  The study attempted to demonstrate that the body can respond to an emotionally-arousing stimulus seconds before it is actually experienced.

In the study, 26 participants were shown 30 calm images and 15 emotionally arousing images.  Each participant viewed the images under two states.  The first state was under normal psychophysiological functioning.  The second state was under what’s known as physiological coherence, a state in which participants’ heart rhythms were entrained to a rhythmic regularity, with the assistance of a visual heart-rate monitor and verbal instructions.  In order to investigate where and when in the brain intuitive information is processed, measures were taken of skin conductance, electroencephalogram (EEG) activity, and electrocardiogram (ECG) cardiac accelerations and decelerations.

A number of results were derived from the study.  I’ll highlight just those that are most relevant:

First, the heart appears to receive and respond to intuitive information.The researchers link this finding to the fact that the electromagnetic field of the heart is about 60 times greater in amplitude than that of the brain, and the magnetic component of the heart is approximately 5000 times stronger than the magnetic field of the brain.

Second, heart rate deceleration increased when future emotionally stimulating information was presented (as compared to calm stimuli). This fact can be linked to research showing that our brain rhythms naturally synchronize to our heart activity.

From the study, the research hypothesized that prestimulus information is received in the body’s psychophysiological systems and is processed in the same way as conventional sensory input, such as touch.  In other words, our body “knows” before our brain registers that knowing in cognition. According to the researchers, this would tend to argue that our bodies perceptual systems are constantly scanning the future.  In other words, the body (and the heart in particular) has the ability to predict—or at least prepare for, at some level—future states.

The HeartMath researchers propose that “the heart’s field acts as a carrier wave for information that provides a global synchronizing signal for the entire body.” This vantage point would support the intelligence of listening to your heart in the midst of career transition. Why? Your heart literally in-forms (gives shape to) the activity of the body as a whole, which includes your mind.

So, not just on Valentine’s Day, but year-round, I encourage you to trust your heart. It’s got real wisdom.

With love,

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

PS – Hey, I’m opening up my heart to you! I’d like to offer you a 20% discount code on EVERYTHING in the Work from Within store, from now through February 15, 2010.  To get the discount, click on any item you want to buy in the Work from Within store. You’ll be taken to a checkout screen. Simply enter the code ” LOVE2010″ in the Coupon Code field (on the left, below the name of the product you want) and then hit the “apply” button. You’ll get 20% a discount on all the items in the Work from Within store. And, you can buy as many of the items as you like.

I love to give gifts! With or without fancy wrapping paper and bows, it’s the thrill of watching people’s faces and watching their smiles, hearing their excitement, and just generally being around delight.

Well, I would like to give YOU a gift. If you’re thinking about attending the “Crafting Careers That Truly Fit” workshop I’m teaching from January 15-17, 2010, at the gorgeous Esalen Institute, in Big Sur, California, I have an added bonus when you register:

Register by Wednesday, January 13, and you will receive a FREE 30-minute coaching session with me after the workshop. You can use the session up until February 28th, 2010. If you had to pay for this out of pocket, it would cost you $135, so think of it either as a $135 discount, or a great added value. Most importantly, I trust that this session will help you to accelerate what you discover during the workshop, so that you’ll be able to make your next career move with more calm, clarity, and courage.

So, let me share with you about what you’ll learn and discover in this interactive workshop:

• You’ll illuminate what’s important in your future career
• You’ll replace ill-fitting social norms about “work” with visions of what you truly desire
• You’ll brainstorm ways to create meaningful work
• You’ll get clear about your next steps to pursue work that truly fits you.

I’m ending this offer at midnight (you’ll need to register with Esalen before then, by calling 831-667-3000) on Wednesday, January 13, so take action now. You’ll be glad youve done this for your career, your sanity, your body, your mind, and your spirit!

Oh, so how do you get the free coaching session? All you need to do to get that benefit is to email a note to tell me that you’ve paid for the workshop through the Esalen Institute. Drop a  me a note at info @ workfromwithin.com by December 31 to get this wonderful bonus.  To register for the workshop, simply go to this link for workshop details, and you can either register online, or you can can call the Esalen Institute at 831-667-3000 from 9 am – 7 pm Pacific Time Monday through Friday, or 9 am to 5 pm Saturday & Sunday. Or click here for more contact information at Esalen.

If you are craving clarity about what’s next in your career, and you want to get back in touch with yourself and craft work that truly fits you, then, I’d love to have you join us in beautiful Big Sur for this workshop.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the workshop, and I’ll be happy to help you see if it’s a fit for you.

Happy to give YOU your gift…as you discover your own inner gifts!

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

On Monday, a close friend confided in me: “I can’t seem to get started with work today. I’m so caught up in remembering all the parties I went to, all the cool people I met, all the sleeping late that I did, and I feel really draggy.” She seemed pressed to change her situation.

I do understand. I spent part of my break in a dance workshop at the Esalen Institute, and it was soooo relaxing (FYI, did you get my gift to you of 16 seconds of serenity, from Esalen, where I’ll be teaching a workshop on Crafting Careers That Truly Fit from January 15-17, 2010?). Going back to the emails and client sessions and planning was a whole different energy.

Back to my friend (and this has been important for me, too). I reminded her that many, many people take the last week of December off from work. They catch up with friends, putter around the house, reminisce about good times over old photos, and generally move at a different rhythm compared to their working lives.

Work has its own pacing, and it’s generally different from the ways we would live our lives if we didn’t work. We go to meetings on time (hopefully), we answer emails and phone calls (typically as they arrive, even if that’s not optimal for productivity), and largely operate in rhythms that have to do with meeting deadlines (why don’t they call them life-lines?).  This is quite different than who we are during vacation time.

So, if you’re having a tough week of getting back to work, and find yourself daydreaming, should you beat yourself up? Well, that’s optional. In fact, I’d say it’s unnecessary. Instead, I want to offer a compassionate reframing. I encourage you to think of the qualities you felt in yourself during vacation.  Perhaps you experienced fun, joy, ease, play, or some other characteristics. I invite you to consider how you felt during vacation, and jot down a few adjectives to describe your inner state.

Then, look over that list of adjectives and ask yourself, “What could I start, stop, or continue doing in my work that would allow me to cultivate that quality?” For example, if you experienced a great deal of fun during your vacation, you might want to add that quality at work. A few ways to do that: Take a “play” break with your colleagues. Make finishing each of your daily tasks into game, and see how fast or how easily you can do them. Create a friendly competition with a co-worker.

Instead of berating yourself for wanting to re-experience all the great aspects of your vacation or free-time away from work, I encourage you to consciously cultivate those qualities in your work. You might even write a few of those meaningful words, like “Joy, Ease, Play” on a card or sticky note, and post them where you can see them at work, as a reminder that you want to live life with those attributes.

I’d love to hear what happens when you honor yourself in this way at work this year. Drop me an email at info @ workfromwithin.com or reply here on the blog.

Happy 2010!

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

Since 2001, I have been relaxing and unwinding from the tensions of life by listening to the ocean and studying with great teachers at the Esalen Institute, in Big Sur, California. I had to overcome a lot of resistance and false beliefs to allow myself to visit this place that now feels like a second home for me, an inviting oasis of calm and renewal.

You see, back in the mid-1990’s, I was running around as a management consultant, flying around on airplanes like in Up in the Air, living in hotel rooms, and spending too many days in in stress-filled board meetings. During that time, I first heard of Esalen. I honestly thought it was some kind of woo-woo New Agey place, filled with people wearing tie-dyed clothes and Birkenstocks. I was scared that the people who attended this place would be hippy-dippy dropouts from life.

I was wrong. When I finally went to Esalen for my first time, at the suggestion of a dear friend and fellow management consultant, I was delighted. I was recovering from a broken marriage, poor health, a family misfortune, and the demise of the dot-com where I had worked. All that trauma happened in five weeks, and I needed a break. Esalen offers all kinds of workshops, on topics from relationships to psychology to movement, arts, and creative expression. And the setting!  Dramatically situated on the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean in scenic Big Sur, California, it offers mountains, ocean, and pure, clean air, given that it is pretty remote from any big cities. The closest major cities are Monterey and Carmel, about an hour’s drive north. This means that you enjoy a super quiet escape in nature.

Flash forward nearly nine years. After being a participant in over 12 workshops in the span of nearly nine years, I am honored to be teaching a workshop at Esalen this January, — it’s called “Crafting Careers That Truly Fit – How to Work from Within“. If you happen to be at a career crossroads, wondering “what should I do next in my career?” this just may be the workshop for you.

From January 15-17, 2010, you can join me at the gorgeous Esalen Institute, and in this interactive workshop, you will

• Illuminate what’s important in your future career
• Replace ill-fitting social norms about “work” with visions of what you truly desire
• Brainstorm ways to create meaningful work
• Get clear about your next steps to pursue work that truly fits you.

I  have a special GIFT for you! I’m thrilled to offer this workshop – and to offer a special gift to you if you register for the workshop by the end of 2009.  I’m including a 50-minute phone coaching session with me after the workshop, plus a deck of “Get A Move On!” cards.  You can get more details on this special gift here.

If you are craving clarity about what’s next in your career, and you want to get back in touch with yourself and craft work that truly fits you, then, I’d love to have you join us in beautiful Big Sur for this workshop.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the workshop, and I’ll be happy to help you see if it’s a fit for you.

Here’s to careers that fit!

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