Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Find Your Passion and You May Never "Work" Again

Patty DeDominic shows you how to Connect, Stay Charged and Bloom!



People often ask me how I manage
to keep so many balls in the air.......
family life at the ranch in Santa Barbara,
our children and grandchildren, our animals,
our volunteer and charity work, our board service
on private companies and on not for profits.

Gene, my husband and I also have had extremely challenging careers and today I still have a dynamic and wonderful practice as a Business Coach to a growing group of very interesting high achievers in various professions and enterprises. We're lucky we worked hard to position ourselves to be able to do things we love and most of the time, to work with people we love to be around.

So what are my secrets? Some of the answers to this question revolve around both my quest for continuous knowledge and an attraction to committed professionals in many walks of life. For example, the DeDominic & Associates http://www.dedominic.com/ coaching practice enables me to stay connected with many levels of business, personal and professional development. This keeps me fresh and up to date. I love to learn and keeping up with adult kids and professional colleagues around the world requires a commitment to do so.

I adore my clients and confess they have all been hand picked! My colleagues and I have found our own passion here, and truly do not "work" at the coaching practice as we really gain as much or more than we provide to our clients. Of course we strive to provide value and since our clients pay us a lot for our monthly coaching, there are deliverables that must arrive for the client in order for them to be satisfied with DeDominic Associates. But this passion and alignment is one of the fabulous rewards enabled after a 30 year career helping to build others companies and careers.

I hope you can identify both your Passion and Your Path to Prosperity. If you are still enjoying your career you are one of the lucky ones who may "never work a day in your life" because you are doing what you love. You have found the intersection of cash flow and hopefully abundance and your gifts; your true calling.

For me, Writing my second book, JOBS 2.0, The NEW New World of Work, has been an
investment of time as well as a pleasurable opportunity to meet many extraordinary
resources. I love doing this research and making resources and expertise available to you. I still make a good living, but even if I did not get paid I would still be trying to help others in this and other ways. Learning..... sharing......and helping others are some of my core values. As you read the articles here you will see many of our resources and experts share those values.

Connecting with people of shared values is one of my fundamentals to juggling a great life. I make it a point to meet and connect with great people who serve as resources for others in a variety of fields.

Yes, admittedly, we always try to hitch our wagons to the right stars. If you connect with winners you are likely to witness winning and can't help growing yourself in the process.

Speaking of winning pros who can help you grow, I want to introduce you to Kevin Kermes...
a pro in the Career Resources space who is passionate about his calling.

I am pleased to be able to share more about Kevin's work with you and encourage you to sign up for his ezine if you need regular connection opportunities. His blog is timely, wise and connected. He offers free webinars and other resources that just weren't available to many folks when I started my career in recruitment and employment counseling.

Here is one of Kevin's recent articles and I wholeheartedly agree with this advice and
have seen this work in hundreds of cases. Some of the happiest professionals I know have found the best opportunities of their lives via the Volunteer route:


Volunteer Your Way to a New Opportunity
By Kevin Kermes



Most of us have a charity or group
where we volunteer our time and efforts.

In the midst of a job search, particularly a stressful one, it would seem natural to dial back your involvement. But, this is one place where you shouldn’t retreat.

The relationships you have established - even if
new or underdeveloped – in the places you volunteer can be extremely powerful in your job search.

Increasing your involvement can very well lead to a job offer in a place you never expected to find one.



Winning Hearts and Minds - The closer you work with fellow volunteers,
the better they will get to know you. And, let’s face it, people help and hire those
they like. Give people the opportunity to get to know you – not your tales of unemployment.

Remember not to dwell on the fact you are looking for a job.
You want everyone to think of you in terms of the great addition you would
be versus the person who is always talking about being unemployed.

Words and Deeds – The interview process is a two-way street.
You size up a future employer just as they do the same to you.
Both sides are trying to figure out if the other “walks the talk.”
By working side-by-side with someone in a volunteer capacity,
you get to see if someone’s work ethic is in line with yours.
Moreover, make sure you are gravitating towards those that give 110%.
Good people always know good people.


Do What You Know – When volunteering, most people think in terms
of what the Not for Profit does as a function: soup kitchens need help in the
kitchen, Big Brothers/Big Sisters need adults to sponsor kids, etc. But shift
your mindset to what you do best. If you are in accounting, volunteer your
time to help with the books. A sales professional would be a great fundraiser
or trainer of other fundraisers. You will not only be showcasing what you do,
but your value-add to the organization will be even greater. Not to mention,
you increase the likelihood of interacting with Board Members – who might
have a connection or two.

If you have been thinking of retreating from your volunteer commitments in order to focus more time on your search – Don’t.

Get more involved, make more connections and leverage your skills set in doing so. It is a win-win for everyone involved. Not only might you find a job in the process but you will do some great work to feel good about in the interim.

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Kevin Kermes publishes the ‘Build the Career Your Deserve’ e-zine with over 17,000+ subscribers. If you are ready to empower yourself with the vital tools and information necessary to find the job you want and build the successful career you deserve, visit him now http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=54637060&msgid=677533&act=8HCE&c=334527&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinkermes.com%2F

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Kevin is the Founder of Build the Career You Deserve, a company devoted to empowering professionals with the vital tools and information necessary to find the job they want and build the successful career they deserve. Sign up for his free e-zine – Build the Career You Deserve – for insider tips on how to do just that!


1 comment:

Mirjana (Europe) said...

I agree about the passion .. that's exactly what I'm trying to discover " My passion ". You are very lucky and blessed to have discovered what you love to do long time ago..! And I agree also so much what Kevin advices below regarding volunteering.. That is so right and i have never thought about it before.. Still didn't finish reading all but I will read the below with great interest..

Superwoman Patty, please keep up with you wonderfull success :-)..

Mirjana