I love that this was said…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

“Work is love made visible.  

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.”

from The Prophet (on work) by Kahlil Gibran

 

Translation – L.O.V.E. your work – Look Out Vigilantly for Everyone/Everything affected by your contributions.  Doing so also takes great care of you in return.  It introduces you every day to how you make a difference for others.  It also enlightens you to what brings you joy and makes you feel happy and fulfilled.  Happy contributors are those who are valued and enjoy all the materials rewards and markers of success.

 

If you just can’t find it within yourself to do that then you’re better off accepting charity from others who earn a living while practicing L.O.V.E. for their work.  I, however, don’t agree with this part – I don’t believe anyone should just throw in the towel and start accepting charity because they can’t perform their job with L.O.V.E.  Instead, I believe

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Ready to quit? Maybe you should – here’s how to know…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

To quit or not to quit – that is the question…

 

In my last blog I offered you the opportunity to understand the importance of adopting a daily recovery strategy.  This strategy will help you to recharge after the daily, draining demands of your job.  Not engaging in an active plan to recover is like making daily purchases on your debit or credit card but never adding any money into your accounts.  Eventually the bank will shut you down and you will risk bankruptcy and maybe even exposure as being fraudulent in your practices.

 

Yes – the effects of draining job demands are cumulative.  It’s a debt that racks up and eventually it manifests as health issues (exhaustion, susceptible to common infections such as colds and flus, gastro-intestinal problems, back/neck/shoulder pain, panic and anxiety disorders, depression – to name a few), if left unaddressed.  The truth is you can recover and heal from the daily affects of your job – especially if you are going through a tough time that you know will soon pass.

 

But what if your not so sure this tough time at work is a passing phase?  Do you have this unsettled feeling about your job?  Are the demanding conditions an expected way of life (and it’s not what you want for your life)?  Is your fight or flight instinct is kicking in?  Are you wanting to run (quietly and quickly) or stirring up a heap of trouble due to feeling backed into that same corner where all the other “misunderstood and undervalued” employees are hanging out (are you fighting with some poor souls who deserve it – and even some who don’t)?  Maybe the time has come to make a drastic move – right out the company front door.

 

(Almost) convinced you’re ready to quit?  Maybe you should – here’s how to know…

 

2 factors that matter greatly for deciding if you should stay or go -even without another job lined up are:

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I love that this was said…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

“When we are angry or depressed in our creativity, we have misplaced our power.  We have allowed someone else to determine our worth, and then we are angry at being undervalued.”  Julia Margaret Cameron

 

Did you spend a lot of effort right out of high school or college trying to figure out the most you could get materially for a comfortable amount of effort?  Did you then get a job and hope or expect that the company you went to work for, the boss, the working conditions, the customers and co-workers to all be a joy day in and day out?

 

It would be nice if it worked that way wouldn’t it?!

 

The truth is we often want the most back from a comfortable amount of effort with no outside hassles – but is that truly the recipe for fulfillment?

 

It’s a guaranteed recipe for disaster because it involves a condition of others doing what we think they should do to acknowledge, respect and value us in order for us to feel that we are in fact worthy, powerful, successful, etc.

 

Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra are offering a free guided meditation series right now that’s all about getting unstuck.  In that series they discuss how we tap into our creative power by staying focused on the present moment – and letting go of the past or the future.

 

We become disengaged from our jobs (and certainly our work) when we struggle with thoughts like

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Ready to quit? Maybe you should – until you decide what to do – do this…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

We all have moments when we fantasize about quitting our jobs.  But when the occasional fantasy becomes a chronic feeling – we become transformed into a Ph.D. credentialed master at noticing more and more evidence that our job or workplace is fakakt’d.  When that happens, it pushes us closer to the brink of quitting on the spot.

 

Is that you – a master at noticing evidence that your job or place of work is fakakt’d?  How advanced are you in this?  Which of these statements most closely resembles what you’d say about your desire to quit…

 

  1. “That’s it – I’m outta here!” 
  2. “F*ck this place!”
  3. “F*ck you, you f*ck’n F*CK!” (the “you” here may refer to the boss, the customers, your co-workers, the work environment, the job itself or any/all of the above)

 

If you picked #1 you might be at risk for noticing more and more offenses that seem to be pushing you to the brink of signing a resignation letter.

 

If you picked #2 you might not be quite ready to sign a resignation letter and throw it at your boss (not without another job lined up), but you probably have your resume out there.  You might also be scaring the crap out of someone you love that you might come home very early at any given day (probably smoking a cigar and feeling no pain from your middle-of-the-day celebratory drinks because you quit on the spot even though you don’t have another job lined up).

 

If you picked #3 however – oy!  Just call out “MEDIC!!”  It’s imperative you get yourself some healing – stat!  Your view of the situation may be so damaged that you can’t make a clear and confident decision about what to do on your own.  In the process of not getting help, you’re no doubt causing harm to others – those who probably deserve it – but to innocent by-standers as well.

 

Is that you?  Are you feeling ready to quit? Maybe you should – until you decide what to do – do this…

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I love that this was said…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

In Napoleon Hill’s famous book – Think and Grow Rich he points out that . . .

 

Thoughts + Feelings + Actions + Faith = Results

 

So what we think, feel, do and believe = our reality

 

How is not part of the equation!

 

In other words, if you can imagine it, wrap some passion around it, get into action in support of it, and stay faithful/hopeful that you will achieve it (and not let how trip you up too much) – you will get it – always.

 

It is important to know that whatever you want is given 100% of the time in the form of an opportunity not in the form of a result.  Results are a by-product of our thoughts, feelings, actions and beliefs.

 

When we figure out enough how ideas (I like to think of 3 things I can do immediately to get things rolling), to get us in the right kinds of activity and energy for experiencing our what AND we stay open to more how idea showing up as we go along – and we take advantage of them when they do show up – we sustain our clarity, confidence and conviction for what we want. We stay more certain of what we want and that we will have it if we stay motivated to persist in achieving it.

 

We come to know that, by staying the course, our results could be as great as, or even better than, anything we could have initially imagined.

 

If you are feeling stuck in any area of your life – see if spending more time getting clear on what you want and taking 3 steps to make it happen helps you recognize opportunities that already exist around you for making what you want happen in a faster, more vivid way.

 

Want some help discovering “your what”?

 

Sign up today for a Confident Life Choices session.

 

Connect to a sense of purpose through identifying and living in support of 5 intentions that matter most for you to feel valued and fulfilled in the life you have right now.  Perfect for getting your priorities for happiness and success straight and living life from them (and stop living from everyone else’s agenda).

 

This session is offered to new clients at $97.  Plus, I offer you the opportunity to secure additional sessions with me at a preferred rate if you find more coaching would be helpful.

 

Sign me up now! (call me or send me an email to set up your session today!)

 

Best wishes for your sustainable success and happiness!

Could doing this be the reason you continue to struggle to get the results you want?

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

Every day I get a daily quote emailed to me from Abraham-Hicks Publications.  This past week I got one that speaks to a principle I teach my clients for how to connect to a sense of purpose and fulfillment from their work.

 

The quote read:

 

“When you talk about what you want and why you want it, there’s usually less resistance within you than when you talk about what you want and how you’re going to get it.  When you pose questions you don’t have answers for, like how, where, when, who it sets up a contradictory vibration that slows everything down.”  

 

What this quote shares is simple – you have control over what and why and almost no control over all the other stuff.

 

Clouding up your thinking and feelings with things you cannot control like who, when, where and how gunks up the physics of manifesting what you want.

 

Think about it for yourself – which of these two scenarios would energize you more…

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I love that this was said…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

“You cannot sell your soul, but you can sell your awareness of it.  You cannot perceive your soul (you can only know it), but you will not know it while you perceive something else as more valuable.”  from A Course In Miracles

 

 

What might you value more than happiness and fulfillment from your work?

 

 

The truth is happiness and fulfillment from our work is among the most important things we are here to experience – it is necessary for the growth, development and the lasting elevation of our consciousness.  Unlike conditional things like promotions, pay increases, vacations, alcohol, drugs, video games, shopping, music, etc. which only numbs our lower consciousness (the feelings produced by our ego such as shame, guilt, hopelessness, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride) or elevates our consciousness temporarily.  Remove the condition and there we are – our old selves pining for a sustainable source of higher personal power.

 

 

What are the reasons you stay – not in a job you don’t like – but in a belief that the job you are in isn’t likable – is beneath you – is too much/many ___________ (fill in the blank)?

 

 

A job is a job – it has no meaning but it does have true value.  The value it provides is the opportunity it gives you to be a part of something bigger.  Whether that’s an ability to serve a cause that matters to you, to provide for your family, or to enable you to affiliate with a community of people you care about learning from and giving to.

 

 

A job enables you to experience being assigned a slice of responsibility that is a part of a larger organization.  That slice of responsibility involves tasks – and tasks are not a part of you either – they don’t define you in any way.  What does define you is “your work” – which is what you do easily and can’t stop doing no matter what happens in your life for the people you impact in that job.  “Your work” is what you do that no one else who was in that job could bring to it – not in the way you could.

Why is it so hard for me to figure out what I actually want to do for my next job?

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

This year I started reading A Course in Miracles – this is no small feat.  For starters it’s over 600 pages and printed on what I call Bible paper.  The book is meant to be read over the course of a year and it will definitely take me at least that long.  Mentors of mine report that it has taken them over 4 years to get through it – so it is not an easy read – even for some of the most advanced transformational thinkers.

 

 

So why read it?

 

 

Because it’s worth the work – in fact it’s part of doing “my work”.  What does “my work” mean – I’ll get to that in a minute…

 

 

I always stumble across phrases in this book that truly are gold to me.  Everything I experience in my life is through a filter of “how can I apply this to my work” and it’s with that spirit that I have been reading this book.  So with that approach, I often find things that so beautifully reflect what I have experienced and what I hear many of my clients going through – especially when they need help navigating a job they hate.

 

 

There’s this one phrase from the book that I feel really answers the question “Why is it so hard for me to figure out what I actually want to do for my next job?” and I’ll share the phrase with you in a bit.

 

 

This is hard to answer for a few reasons…

 

 

#1 because it’s not the real question.  The real question is “Why is it so hard for me to connect with what will enable me to feel fulfilled – like I matter and make a difference for others?”

 

 

and

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I love that this was said…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it.  Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality.  It can be no other way.  This is not Philosophy.  This is Physics.”  Albert Einstein

 

If your current place of employment truly does not appreciate a full force demonstration of your best talents – then all the more reason to persist in giving them at 100% (yes, even without respect or rewards) because in your persistence to give your talents will enable your energy to no longer resonate with that employer.  As a result, you will notice  opportunities for employment with people/places that will value what you have to offer – this is a law of physics!

 

You simply have nothing to lose except “terrible” attitude syndrome (your own or other’s attitudes that are directed at you) and a job that would never have made you happy and never enabled you to earn all the rewards you can possible earn for your amazing talents. Maybe you are right – maybe your job and your talents are not a good match at all – but a poor match doesn’t in fact make the job or employer “bad” – it’s just not “good for you – which also means you are not “good” for the job or employer.

 

So are you giving your talents at 100%?  Don’t desire or be thankful for a job you love – be thankful to love what you do that can make a difference for others and have gratitude for about 40 hours of opportunity to provide that to others every week.  The return is sustained fulfillment, happiness and success beyond anything you can possibly imagine right now – free from worry about job changes or job loss.

Feel like everyone else’s agenda runs your day and you can’t get anything done at work? You can break this cycle – here’s how…

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

Do you feel incompetent, insufficient, discouraged or powerless to get done what you need to or want to accomplish?  Welcome to inefficacy.

 

How much would you agree with these statements:

 

  • I accomplish the things that really matter every day at work.
  • I have the resources I need to get my job done.
  • I feel supported and encouraged at work by my colleagues.
  • I value my contributions at work.
  • Others value my contributions at work.
  • I feel qualified to do my job.
  • I feel I can handle anything that may come up in my job.
  • It’s ok to contribute to others in my unique way.
  • My job matters.
  • I play an active role in addressing issues that come up related to my work or workplace.

 

If your degree of agreement with many of the statements above is low, you may be at risk for experiencing a feeling of powerlessness at your job which can lead to disengagement and eventually burnout.

 

Feeling powerless at work is especially concerning because it can directly affect the quality of your work.  We all know when the quality of your work falls, we stand out – and not in a good way.  In my experience, management tends to tolerate a degree of cynicism from workers who are still producing strong results – and everyone can easily empathize with exhaustion because we all experience it from time to time.  But when you don’t produce – your boss isn’t producing – so it’s a problem that quickly gets noticed.

 

Although there is a lot an organization can do to improve an employee’s ability to recover more quickly from inefficacy – but often it’s left to the individual to “shape up or ship out.”  It usually goes down something like this “It might be a tough time/situation, but your _____________________ (fill in the blank with some negatively perceived quality you may have – i.e. anger, complaining, lack of confidence, unwillingness to participate, etc.), isn’t helping.”

 

The organization often sees feelings of powerlessness as the employee’s problem to fix – not theirs.  Organizations tend to do their part by starting performance counseling – a “talking to”, poor reviews,  written documentation, demotion, etc. or threats of those things come your way to put you on notice that you need to improve.

 

So, do you feel like everyone else’s agenda runs your day and you can’t get anything done at work?  You can break this cycle – here’s how…

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