Vol 1 Iss 19

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my question about whether to continue to publish poetry in this newsletter.

For those of you who confessed, a bit sheepishly, that you skip right over that part, I want to let you know you are completely forgiven. The poetry is there to enhance the reading experience and for some it definitely does. (I, of course, would challenge you to occasionally give it a try. You might be surprised.)

By the time this is published, I will be off on another quick vacation. We want to capture the last rays of summer sunshine, so we're heading to the great Southwest.

One of the tasks to complete in my absence is to drop off my truck for its regular maintenance. I bought that truck on my birthday in 1997 with 19,000 miles on it. It is now at 112,000 and is in terrific condition. I have to credit Nissan, of course, but myself as well. I am meticulous about changing the oil every 3,000 miles, keeping the tires rotated, and seeing to it that the maintenance schedule is followed. When I bought it, I said I would keep it at least 10 years, and it looks like I will. It's just a great truck.

I heard it said once that life is 90% maintenance. If you think about all the daily tasks we perform that can be perceived as maintenance: cleaning house, lawn/garden care, cooking to maintain our bodies, exercise, reading... goodness, the list goes on!

Even in your work: the regular reports you have to create allow maintenance on the direction of your company, keeping your desktop straight and orderly maintains your productivity, and keeping the e-mail inbox and voice mailbox empty maintains your SANITY!

So how are you doing on maintaining your career? The article below will talk about areas to examine for your own maintenance check, and the Career Tip will offer more concrete ideas.

My Webster's defines maintain as "to keep in an existing state (as of repair, efficiency, or validity), to preserve from failure or decline." Now, ideally, one would want their career to prosper, flourish, even thrive. This maintenance thing sounds very boring and mundane. How can maintenance help you thrive?

Well, let's look a little closer. There are several layers of maintenance that are all familiar. First, there is the physical maintaining of something - like my truck. Or, everyone knows, a hairstyle must be maintained, even if you look (purposely) rumpled and disheveled. All physical aspects need attention and they need time and energy to keep them maintained. We tend to focus our attention here first, and clearing at this level opens up channels to the other layers.

Beneath the physical level there are other layers that are only semi-consicously in our awareness. Take emotional maintenance. How are you at checking in on your feelings? When you stuff a feeling under a veneer of conformity you are stuffing your future in there too. Of course, any positive taken to an extreme becomes a negative, so wearing your feelings on your sleeve is just as destructive.

How do you maintain your relationships? If there are burned bridges in your past, you are perpetuating a hole that could cause a collapse when turmoil strikes. Relationship maintenance concerns being honest with yourself so you can be honest with others.

Probably the most important and the most ignored maintenance is around your spiritual expressions. Connecting with your spiritual nature is so inately human that it's like asking a fish about water. How can a fish tell you how it connects with water - how can you tell how you connect with spirit? Yet, we must try. To let it fall to the wayside is to let your human-ness slip away. And when that's gone, who needs a career?

To constantly remain aware of each kind of maintenance is to constantly be aware. Maintenance helps you thrive by keeping the space clear for opportunity to flow toward you. If your mind has slipped out of awareness and allowed your desk to become cluttered, how can you be fully engaged when opportunity presents itself? You're too busy looking for your lost pen!

In the Career Tips I have listed concrete actions you can take to maintain your career awareness. Know too, that these tips are also applicable for maintaining your life.

As a Career Coach, I can be your partner through this process. Please contact me at debra@forwardmomentum.com for more information!

I read to the entire plebe class,

in two batches. Twice the hall filled

with bodies dressed alike, each toting

a copy of my book. What would my

shrink say, if I had one, about

such a dream, if it were a dream?

Question-and-answer time.

"Sir." a cadet yelled from the balcony,

and gave his name and rank, and then,

closing his his parentheses, yelled

"Sir" again. "Why do your poems give

me a headache when I try

to understand them?" he asked. "Do

you want that?" I have a gift for

gentle jokes to defuse tension,

but this was not the time to use it.

"I try to write as well as I can

what it feels like to be human."

I started, picking my way care-

fully, for he and I were, after

all, pained by the same dumb longings.

"I try to say what I don't know

how to say, but of course I can't

get much of it down at all."

By now I was sweating bullets.

"I don't want my poems to be hard,

unless the truth is, if there is

a truth." Silence hung in the hall

like a heavy fabric. Now my

head ached. "Sir," he yelled. "Thank you Sir."

When I pay attention to maintenance, it helps to have a routine, a schedule. Change the oil every 3000 miles. That's simple and doable. Of course there are in-the-moment things like wash it when it's dirty, vacuum the carpet when it's grungy. These take awareness.

I challenge you to look at each of these 4 areas of your life through the perspective of "regular maintenance." In other words, something to pay attention to on a time table. If you were to visit one catagory every three months, then at the end of a year, everything will have received focused attention.

1. Look at your work space. Where is the clutter accumulating? What form is it taking? What is the impact of excess? How can you carve out time to bring your work space back to orderliness?

2. Look at yourself. Are you looking out of step with current trends? What's the impact of that on your career? How is your level of vitality? How can you keep energized in a healthy way?

3. Look at your possessions. Your car, your furniture, your house, your stuff. What condition is it in? What's the consequence of ignoring its maintenance. What are you willing to do about it?

4. Look at the places stuff accumulates. Your garage, the attic, the basement. How easy is it to find things? What can you dontate or sell or gift to a loved one?

1. What are you not saying that needs to come out? What feelings are you swallowing?

2. What makes you supremely happy? What do you need to say "yes!" to?

3. What grief needs to be expressed? How can you do that?

1. Who do you need to say "thank you" to?

2. Who do you need to forgive?

3. Who doesn't know how much they mean to you?

4. How can you communicate these things in a way that maintains your safety?

1. What is your name for God? How do you communicate with your spiritual center?

2. When is the best time for you to spiritually connect? Where? How can you make this a regular part of your life (if it isn't already)?

3. If it is a part of your life, how can you make the experience richer?

Each of these areas, you will find, only scratches the surface. Each time you return your attention to a specific category, you'll create your own questions and answers. As you remain aware and open, opportunity presents itself, and you are clear and centered and prepared!

You're ready to roll!

Let me know how it goes for you!

This fall I am beginning a new teaching relationship with Hyland Hills Recreation District in Westminster, Colorado. They have a long-standing program of offering quality classes to their public and I'm honored to be a part of it. To find out more about Hyland Hills and their programs, and how to register, click here .

The Un-Retirement Landscape (Register soon!)

Saturday, Sept. 25, 9am to 11 am

Though much attention has been paid to planning for your financial retirement, little attention has been focused on what you will DO in retirement. This class is designed to help you learn where to focus your attention to creating a fulfilling retirement.

The average age of retirement in the U.S. is 57 years old. People are retiring at a younger age and in better health than ever before. In the past, retirement was seen as an ending, an end to productivity and an end to your life. Today, especially with adequate planning, it can be a time that brings enrichment, personal fulfillment and renewal.

Help! I Need a Different Job

Tuesday Oct 5 and Tuesday Oct. 12, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Learn the process of discovering your next career step, whether it's a different job or a brand new career. We'll look at defining what work suits you best, job search strategies, and action plans. You'll learn how to research and approach the companies you'll be happiest working for and how to network to find that company.

For the full listing of workshops, visit www.forwardmomentum.com.

You are free to use material from Moving Forward! in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including a live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

"By Debra DeVilbiss, CPCC, of Forward Momentum, LLC. Please visit Debra's website at http://www.ForwardMomentum.com for additional articles and resources on creating your right livelihood."

PRIVACY POLICY: I never rent, trade or sell my email lists to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.