Are You A Deer in the Headlights These Days?

In my career coaching practice I never find myself preaching to the choir. These days there are no choir members in my office, only plenty of deer blinded by headlights, and oddly the longer my two-legged deer remain paralyzed by the unexpected, the more their vision declines. Except for an occasional morsel of counseling, the choir doesn’t require my assistance at this time. The choir visits me every couple of years, and its members were last seen by me in the late the 1990′s. Because they had the foresight and insight to continuously reevaluate their career paths, faithfully witness and study changing employment climates and stay abreast of hiring trends, they now know what to do. The following is a mere small sampling dedicated to those deer wishing to be in the choir:

Any entrepreneur or commissioned-only professional understands survival mode. It not only requires unexpected lifestyle decisions and changes upon demand but only succeeds in the presence of optimism. “We all lost money in the markets, but I didn’t want to retire anyway.” “Did I really need a larger house?” “Let’s drive instead of flying the family this summer; we need to see more of our country.” “Or better yet, let’s enjoy our city.” Get it?

Last year I watched “Saving Private Ryan” and last weekend I finally saw “Windtalkers,” a proud account of how our Navajo brothers saved the day during World War II. Later that evening I channel surfed into “The Patriot,” Mel Gibson’s reality reminder of the ultimate sacrifices required during the American Revolution.

We are not the first generation to experience challenging times. And like those before us we will adjust and survive. Our past and current American military stays prepared, sleeping with one eye open to what may happen. Soldiers sometimes sing when they practice marching into battle. Perhaps the American worker should adopt this spirited example and forge ahead!

View original here: CareerBoard.com