  
 |  | | | | | | | | | Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn't make me stronger.~ Lou Holtz | |
| Opportunity Knocks: Creative Ways to Make a Living Without A Job Use Your Summer Vacation to Start Working at What You Love |  | | Valerie Young | By Valerie YoungRemember writing those "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essays way back when?
Summertime may not be the endless carefree season it was when you were a kid, but it’s still a great time to jumpstart your dream of working at what you love.
Here are three ways to use your summer vacation to grow a dream:
1. Become a Dream Detective
Imagine yourself a Dream Detective… someone who has an uncanny nose for scoping out unique business ventures. Like any good detective, you’ll want to take lots and lots of notes. Whether your vacation plans take you to the beach, the mountains, or the city, make sure to pack a small notebook along with the sunscreen and maps.
But this isn’t any old notebook… it’s your Dream Notebook!
The idea is to use your Dream Notebook to capture as many cool business ideas as possible. If you’re traveling with kids you might even want to enlist their help by making a game of it. Maybe you’ll spy an interesting business in the airport terminal or along the roadside. Or perhaps you’ll find an existing business that’s come up with a unique income stream, like an outdoor cafe that, for a fee, will walk patron’s dogs while they dine.
If the business itself is nothing new, but they’re using some neat marketing tactic to get customers in the door, add the marketing idea to your list as well. For example, I read about a CPA who partnered with a hotel to offer weekend guests a completed tax return by checkout. Two unlikely business partners who profited from a creative idea.
The purpose of capturing cool business and marketing ideas is to shift your thinking away from the more limiting idea of "job" to the more option-expanding concept of “livelihood.” But that’s not all. Even if you have no interest in starting your own soft-serve ice cream shop/kids bookstore (with a fun hand-washing area dividing the two,
of course), a summer camp for Star Wars fans, or an antique stove repair business, just by paying attention to the wonderfully vast number of ways there are to make a living without a j-o-b can help fuel your own creative thinking.
2. Use The Longer Days To Start Working On Your Dream
Even though there’s still only 24 hours in a day, the extra hours of sunlight somehow make the day feel longer. Use the “extra” time to start actively working on your dream. For example…
If you still don’t know what you want to be “when you grow up,” read a book about tapping into your true calling. (You'll find numerous suggestions in the Changing Course Bookstore.) If you’re in the exploring stage, consider taking an adult education course through your local college. I did a random search for courses and found such intriguing topics as How to Write and Sell Movie Treatments, Leather Bookbinding, and Opening Your Own Bed & Breakfast.
If you have a business idea in mind, you could spend the time researching your business, building your website, or working on your marketing plan. The point is to find a way to shine some of that extra sunlight onto your dreams.
3. Invest in Your Dream
One way to invest in your dream is to start spending less and saving more. If you need to save money to put toward your new home office or to purchase inventory, consider vacationing at home and stashing away the money you would have spent on a costly vacation into your “dream fund.”
The other way to invest in your dream is to make a conscious decision to spend money in the service of your dream. Sometimes the smartest (and quickest) way to start working at what you love is to invest in the skills, training, experiences, materials, or other resources you’ll need to launch your dream.
Coleman Cox asks, “Now that it’s all over, what did you really do yesterday that’s worth mentioning?” Looking ahead instead of back, the question will become, "How did YOU spend your summer?" Hopefully the answer will be, “Launching my dream of working at what I love!” Add Your Two Cents Want to comment on this article? Click here to hop over to the Changing Course Blog! About the Author "Turning Interests Into Income" expert, Valerie Young, abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at ChangingCourse.com offering resources to help you discover your life mission and live it. Her career change tips have been cited in Kiplinger's, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend, Woman's Day, and elsewhere and on-line at MSN, CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, Valerie has spoken on the topic of How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are to such diverse organizations as Daimler Chrysler, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Harvard, and American Women in Radio and Television. To read more articles about how to work at what you love without a job go to ChangingCourse.com/articles.htm Follow Valerie Online  - www.ValerieYoungTwitter.com 
- www.ValerieYoungFacebook.com  - www.ValerieYoungLinkedIn.com |
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| Discovery consists in seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. ~ Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi | |
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| | | | | When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen. ~ Arland Gilbert | | Guest Article Eight Steps to Finding and Creating Work You Love By Brian Kurth, author of Test-Drive Your Dream Job Many of us are still trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up. We may have good jobs and nice paychecks, but we are not really happy in our work. We daydream about the “what if’s” in our life and long for the chance to discover and explore the job of our dreams. Identifying your dream job and the path that will take you there is both a challenge and an opportunity. But by following a realistic step-by-step “vocationing” process, you can pursue your interests and passions to the job of your dreams. 1. Define Your Dream Job(s) What are your passions and your interests? What activities give you a sense of purpose and satisfaction? Can you envision yourself in a job that fully engages your heart and your mind? You may still be trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up. That’s okay. The “vocationing” process gives you the opportunity to explore, experiment, and discover what your dream job is and how to pursue it. 2. Address Your Fears Financial instability, family disruption, giving up an identity, failing at something new. These are all fears that may stand in the way of pursuing your dream job. The biggest thing you can do to get past these fears is to meet them head-on. Bring these deepest fears to light and examine them with reason; talk about them; play each one out to its most irrational end. What is the worst thing that could happen? 3. Do Your Research Internal and external research helps you discover who you are and what kind of work meshes with your deepest self. Do your homework and access resources ranging from the Internet to one-on-one contact with people on-the-job to determine if what you think is your dream job, truly is your dream job. 4. Find a Mentor Inspirational, experienced, realistic, forthcoming and optimistic. A good mentor is all of these things and eager to help someone else get started. Recruiting a mentor who is a good match for you requires following a plan of action, asking the right questions, and building a relationship that is mutually satisfying. Having a mentor is the crux to the vocationing process. Whether you’re 20-something, 30-something, 40-something, 50-something or even 60-something, you need a mentor! 5. Test Drive Your Dream Job There’s no better way to learn than by doing. Test-driving your dream job with a mentor provides a hands-on experience that has the potential to change your life. This is the opportunity to learn as much as possible about the job, how you feel about the day-to-day activities, and what it takes to succeed. Whether your mentorship proves your perceived dream job is indeed your dream job or if it is a reality check illuminating that the job is not the one of your dreams, the mentorship experience gives you the required personal and professional due diligence you need prior to making a career decision. 6. Create an Action Plan Pursuing a dream job is less a leap than a series of incremental steps that move you closer to your goal. What is critical to reaching that goal is making sure the steps you follow are the right ones. An action plan is needed. If you make a list of all the things you need to learn and do in order to realize your dream job, you will have mapped out a plan for moving ahead. A knowledgeable action plan provides you with the power to forge ahead. 7. Establish Thresholds The biggest reason we pursue our dream job is to increase our life satisfaction. It is important to understand how much risk, challenge, and uncertainty you can tolerate before the life satisfaction goal becomes blurred by the process. The vocationing process is as much about what you learn on the journey as the rewards when you reach your destination. 8. Think Big, Start Small You don’t have to quit your nine-to-five job to pursue your dream job. Obligations and concerns may take you down a less-than-direct path. It may take months, not weeks… years, not months. If you are patient and creative, you can keep your
career transition moving forward. The vocationing process will get you from Point A
to Point B. About the Author Brian Kurth is the founder of VocationVacations and the author of “Test-Drive Your Dream Job” Kurth is a sought after expert on how to pursue and attain one’s dream job. He has shared his wit and wisdom in appearances on NBC’s TODAY Show, CNN, and FOX News, and has been featured in articles in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Fortune Magazine. Many more regularly turn to Brian for his comments, advice and insights. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Kurth lives in Portland, Oregon. Editors Note: Mention that you're a Changing Course reader when booking your Vocation Vacation and receive a free copy of Brian's book. You'll find all the details atChangingCourse.com/recommends/vocationvacations
| The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision. ~ W. Clement Stone | Learning Opportunities Turn Your Interests Into Income Tele-Brainstorming Call with Your Host, Valerie YoungHave you ever wished that you could sit down and have a one-on -one brainstorming session with Valerie? You know you want to do work you love, you just don't know how! Here's your chance! Join us this month as we feature three (possibly more) business ideas or challenges that Valerie and her special guests will focus on. | Tuesday, June 23
8:00-9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Free for Changing Course Club Members*
(sign up in the Club Lounge)
$19.00 for Non Members**
Click Here to Register | *This series is free to current members of theChanging Course Club.
**100 percent of Non-Members registration fees go to the non-profit micro-grant organization TrickleUp.org | The reason why so little is done, is generally because so little is attempted.
~ Samuel Smiles |
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The View From theOther Side "Our biggest goal is to continue to force ourselves to always start our creative work on a white page and not take advantage of past successes and challenging ourselves. I believe there are so many other disciplines and themes that we still haven't explored yet. It’s infinite what we can apply our creativity to." ~ Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil
| | Resources for a Change This week I'm featuring several interesting events happening over the summer. While some may not represent an obvious interest, be sure to read the whole description as there are some unique opportunities within... American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD.org) is a nonprofit organization that promotes floral design as a career. The2009 AIFD National Symposium, "The Sky's the Limit," is being held in Kansas City, MO July 11-16. They are also seeking volunteers to help with all aspects of the floral workroom. So if you have an interest in Stage Design or floral arrangements, be sure to check out this event! (AIFD.org/2009symposium.htm) PodCamp Boston (PodCampBoston.org) promises to help you discoverwhat's next in podcasting, blogging, social media, and the crazy 2.0 world we live in. PodCamp gives you the opportunity to learn, share, and grow your skills at any level, helping your community as it helps you. PodCamp Boston has something to expand your learning whether you're a veteran of new media or just getting started. The conference will e held at the University of Massachusetts, Harborside Campus Center onAugust 8-9. The Art of the Equine/Human Portrait (EquinePhotographers.org)This online course teaches you how to photograph horses and people together in a way that is natural and meaningful. In this six week course, you will learn how to set up and prepare for a portrait session, finding the best light for portraits, appropriate camera settings, posing people and horses, working with locations, environmental portraits, and capturing the emotional connection between horses and people. The course ends with setting up an ordering gallery for your client. Note: Changing Course does not accept paid advertisements from any of the resources listed here. This list is provided to expand your thinking about just how many interesting ways there are to make a living without a job!
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