Loving what we do and doing what we love. This is the ultimate search for many of us. False messages like, "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life" give us unrealistic expectations of the concept. Financial and logistical challenges, combined with fear, keep us rationalizing our current state, and prevent us from making important leaps. Pressures to work ourselves to the bone distract us from asking the important question, "What do I actually want my life to look like, within and beyond my career?" So how do we craft a life and career we love? At OutGrowth, that has been our primary focus, and we've narrowed it down to a few key concepts that we believe can put us in the right direction: 1. We must create the space to "try on" different, immersive experiences that can get us closer to finding work that lights us up. 2. We have to start to focus on paths that have purpose and meaning to us. In other words, we need to seek intrinsic joy first. Finding a life we love doesn't mean the work doesn't still feel like work. But at the end of the day, if we are doing what we love, the work becomes a necessary but welcomed component, not a demoralizing drain. 3. We need to look at the "how's" of life: How do we want a typical day/week/year to look? How do I want to feel at the end of the day? How can I think about my trajectory differently? How can I rethink my belief that all life satisfaction needs to come from a paying job? Finding and doing what we love isn't a "one and done" process, but a constant journey where we pivot, shift and tweak in order to make room for new life circumstances, while opening ourselves up to the next wonderful opportunity. In this issue, we talk to people who shed light on this lifelong journey. We also offer tips and tools for getting one step closer to the life you love. Happy reading. Grow out with us. |
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OutGrowth Today Our Monthly Blogger Spotlight + OutGrowth's Top Tip for September The En Root Scoop Doing What You Love Our Top Ted Talk, Podcast + Book |
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Many adults tend to ask young people, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" However, as Dr. Farouk Dey, Vice Provost for Integrative Learning & Life Design at Johns Hopkins University writes and speaks about, it's important to focus on what motivates or inspires us rather than focusing on creating a prescribed plan for our careers. This mindset has been the foundation of my success in doing what I love and loving what I do throughout my life! Starting from childhood, I loved playing with Legos to bring my ideas to life and solve problems for the various Lego kingdoms, pirate voyagers, and community members. I followed that love of combining design and problem solving to architecture school. While in my master's program, I learned how to quickly and creatively solve problems by designing spaces to address the needs of clients. I also learned that architecture wasn't the only way I could help others to become their most fulfilled selves, and found that I enjoyed helping people develop themselves even more than I enjoyed developing their environments. I then went on to complete a Master's in Education. The combination of architecture/design talents and my passion for supporting the development of others inspired me to work in higher education. |
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Now that I've been in higher education for eight years, I have learned to recognize what projects and situations inspire and motivate me to become the best version of myself. Once I become aware of the joy I experience with a certain talent, I work to craft the best experience possible for others and myself as I use and hone my talent(s) along the way. Are you looking to reap the positive power of finding joy in your talents? Think about a successful professional moment that brought you joy. How did you know it was successful? What talents did you utilize to accomplish that success? What about the experience made you feel joy? Reflect and ask yourself these questions, then brainstorm ways you can further utilize and hone those talents that bring you joy. It could be writing a blog post, starting your own company, or teaching someone how to do something, just be sure to act! There's no time like the present to find joy in your talents! Jessica went to school for a Master's in Architecture, pivoted to Higher Education in which she earned a Master's in Education, and is now transitioning to Consulting while taking classes for an MBA. She started her own business and design consulting firm, is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, and has an executive certificate in Innovation & Human Centered Design. Jessica also loves dancing, crafting, climbing, gardening, traveling, bunny fostering, NHL Hockey, and using creative problem solving to help people! |
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Life Design is more than the model of student success I ascribe to, it is also a holistic practice I engage in to see and seek out my life’s purpose on a daily basis. Reflection, brainstorming, radical collaboration, and prototyping have led me to meaningful involvement in several communities whose missions match and amplify my own – not only Johns Hopkins University but my church, disability advocacy organizations (the International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society), the Maryland Career Development Association (MCDA), and the foster care system, for example. For me, to be at the intersection of education, career development, advocacy, and positive psychology can feel insincere unless I practice what I preach. My students and the marginalized communities I serve are my reality check. It is a privilege to walk beside people as they go beyond their comfort zones to articulate their values and realize their visions for the future. I never lose sight of what a gift and inspiration it is to help them author their own resilience stories and purpose-driven lives. So many folks will tell you to “follow your bliss,” your “passion” or even your “curiosity.” These are awesome ideas but what if you/someone else can’t identify your mission based on those areas? Let’s get REAL – What issues make you/your clients’ blood boil? What are your students’ perceived deficits/those bumpy areas in their stories where they’ve struggled with the most? What kind of support do they wish they had received in their life’s journey? Does that motivate them serve others in a relative way/mitigate barriers to success for others? If not, that’s just fine! It’s all about changing the narrative so folks’ “messes” are transformed into powerful “messages” of strength and fulfillment. |
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Teaching “The Course You Need Right Now: Stories, Service and Resilient Roots” at Johns Hopkins University over winter Intersession of 2021 significantly broadened my understanding of our students, the possible impact of scalable coaching practices, and how the pandemic was shaping the moment. Notably, the pandemic fostered a moment where students dug deep to identify where they had overcome obstacles in the past, could double down on those strengths, work on developing areas of growth, and identify opportunities to employ the tools in their personalized resilience tool-kits in real time. There is so much more than meets the eyes with folks - especially when students attend elite institutions where they are staying in the same dorms, eating the same foods, taking the same classes, etc. Due to the pandemic and the virtual and intimate nature of the Resilience course, discussions about identity, safety, health, privilege and hardship took center stage. We all walked away much more aware of the scope of limiting beliefs holding each other back or compelling our actions. By accepting gravity problems, reframing wicked problems and cultivating a social/professional network, the course allowed us to transform our struggles into “profiles in resilience” for the construction of personalized pandemic and post-pandemic guidebooks. I move forward much more aware of my own privilege and ability following these discussions around resilience. As a part of that, I look to create more, scalable safe spaces for resilience-focused conversations to foster transformative personal and collective change. Tessa W. McKenzie is a Life Design Educator at Johns Hopkins University and employs her experience in training, nonprofit capacity building, and branding through her private practice (Envisage Vocation Creation). Tessa partners with organizations including the International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society (IAES) to promote disease awareness and support warriors of chronic illness through ``resilience`` education. In her spare time, Tessa serves as President Elect of the Maryland Career Development Association (MCDA) and is mom to one awesome bio son and foster kiddos. |
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| | Monthly Blogger Spotlight "Enjoying Life Differently and to the Fullest" by Clifton Shambry 'In my work, I try to model reimagining approaches by asking probing questions to dig to the root of conversations, including how we choose to educate and help others build competencies.' Clifton is a first generation limited income (FLI) college graduate, proud east coaster, and lover of card and board games (especially spades). He enjoys singing at church and finding spots in Baltimore to sit and relax. Clifton is an advocate for affinity space, mentoring and equitable experiences for all and helping others lead from their why. He enjoys discussing how identities have an impact one's experience. | | |
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| | OutGrowth's Top Tip On Loving What You Do: Seek Experiences, Not Directions All too often, we decide that we want to find our life's passion, so we immediately start looking at new, semi-permanent paths. This is often unrealistic and risky, and therefore leads to our own decision paralysis. Rarely do we build in the space to have low-risk trials where we "try on" new directions. That's where OutGrowth comes in. In a world where building in that space can feel overwhelming or unsuccessful, we create the structure for re-imagined immersive experiences, so that you can develop skills while you experiment. Separate from OutGrowth, you can begin "prototyping" new endeavors by talking to people, doing an apprenticeship, or picking up a volunteer opportunity. Bill Burnett says that passion is the result of good life design, not the cause. So start trying on experiences, within and outside of the career realm. Start to look beyond the limits- both the limits the world has put on what a life can look like, and the limits you've given yourself. | | |
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'Daria Musk shares a spoken word poem about her journey as an “artistpreneur” who built a global audience as an independent artist with nothing more than passion, determination, her guitar, and a laptop.' | | |
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'Where do brilliant ideas come from? And, is it possible to do great work under pressure every single day? The Accidental Creative podcast explores how to stay prolific, brilliant and healthy in life and work.' | | |
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'Named one of the best books of 2013 by Amazon, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal- as well as one of Oprah's riveting reads, Fortune's must-read business books, and the Washington Post's books every leader should read. For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others.' | | |
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