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December is a great month to shop for a new career!
Perhaps you are like me and reading this right before the Christmas holiday and thinking, “with so much going on this time of year, why would I be looking for a new career?” that can wait until 2023! I have enough to do! What would make you stop looking for a new career in December? The shopping, wrapping, meal planning, holiday baking, not to mention the family functions? It’s enough to make your head spin. I get it… Here are the Reasons Why it’s a great time to Shop! Granted, no matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year
The Power of Music to Transport
It was a damp Seattle evening in May, as I settled into my seat at Benaroya Hall to hear the Seattle Symphony. I was attending an event with a friend, and it was our “pre mother’s day treat” to ourselves. Dinner and the Symphony! But that evening was a special night as it was one of their “pops” concerts. A Tribute to The Vinyl Years, A Classic Song Book! We were looking forward to hearing the orchestra and vocalists perform music from The Dobbie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Styx, and Billy Joel. Little did I know that I would experience something
Gardening and Coaching-Cultivating Possibilities
If you are reading this in “real-time” then it is July in the Pacific Northwest which I call home. If you are not a native to the area then you may not be familiar with our saying, “summer weather for us does not officially start until the 5th of July”. It goes without saying, that our springs are soggy, and we hold tight to the promise of sunny skies and warmer temperatures! One of my true passions is gardening! When not working, you will find me in the garden rain or shine, pulling weeds, pruning perennials, or fertilizing roses! As
How to Keep and Make New Friends!
It may seem terrifying, but a career change in midlife is probably your best decision if, you have heard yourself saying: “ After the pandemic, I just can’t go back to my job with the new requirements!” “ I’m getting a divorce and need to settle into a new career to support myself” “ The culture in my current company is abusive” “ I would love to be in a career that is in more alignment with my purpose” “ Now that we have an empty nest, I would love to explore doing something outside of the home” But you
Planning for retirement? Think about more than the money!
You’ve set a date. And the date is getting closer. We have wedding dates, baby due dates, vacation dates, closing dates, and moving dates. We prepare for all those things — we make lists, we shop, we prepare, we do paperwork. We do our homework. Setting a date for retirement is no different. Just stopping work on a certain date…is not a plan. You’ve worked your whole life to arrive at this moment. These are precious years, yours now to enjoy. I’m not trying to add to your to-do list, but rather, draw your attention to things you might
ARE YOU RETIRED AND WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK?
In addition to coaching mid-career women who want to change things up or the stay-at-home moms who are going back to the workplace, I’ve had a new kind of wonderful client come to see me. This is the retired woman who is going back into the workplace. So whether you need to create extra income, or you want to jump back into the workplace because you’re bored or want new challenges…you’ve come to the right place. Some retired women want to start a business, others want to go back into the workplace but in an entirely new field. Others want
3 Lessons I learned from Betty White
Back in January, I had the opportunity to see the movie Betty White, A Celebration, with my family. We like others were eagerly awaiting a 100th birthday celebration of Betty on January 17th but instead, we came together with others in a theater for a celebration of life! And what an amazing life she lead. In the theater were many generations of fans who adored Betty and loved her work. Here I was at sixty looking over her life and thinking that Betty still had so much to teach me! Get Out of Your Comfort Zone Betty had an
8 WAYS YOU CAN CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY
The date is looming on the calendar! February 14th, Valentine’s Day! It comes every year without fail and yet for some, it really does a number on our psyche! Perhaps you will be alone this year or you struggle because your partner is just not into the holiday! You’ve heard some people say: It’s just a “Hallmark holiday”, a way for everyone to make money! In fact, it does create a lot of revenue for our economy! In 2021 it was estimated that Cupid’s holiday created around 22 billion dollars! But I’m getting sidetracked! Regardless, I love to embrace the
Nearing Retirement? Three Reasons to Work with a Life Coach
I’m a certified life and career coach and I’m seeing a new kind of client these days: women nearing retirement. I think it’s wonderful! There are many reasons people see a life coach. Often it’s a woman in her mid or late-career who wants to make a pivot. Or a stay-at-home mother who wants to reenter a highly different workplace than the one she left. For me, the absolute best part of my job is helping a woman identify her passions — no matter what her age. All too often we know we’re not happy, but we can’t put our
The Power of Music to Transport
It was a damp Seattle evening in May, as I settled into my seat at Benaroya Hall to hear the Seattle Symphony. I was attending an event with a friend, and it was our “pre mother’s day treat” to ourselves. Dinner and the Symphony! But that evening was a special night as it was one of their “pops” concerts. A Tribute to The Vinyl Years, A Classic Song Book! We were looking forward to hearing the orchestra and vocalists perform music from The Dobbie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Styx, and Billy Joel. Little did I know that I would experience something in that performance that I will never forget. I get a bit emotional just thinking back to the moment! My Magic Carpet Ride Midway through
Gardening and Coaching-Cultivating Possibilities
If you are reading this in “real-time” then it is July in the Pacific Northwest which I call home. If you are not a native to the area then you may not be familiar with our saying, “summer weather for us does not officially start until the 5th of July”. It goes without saying, that our springs are soggy, and we hold tight to the promise of sunny skies and warmer temperatures! One of my true passions is gardening! When not working, you will find me in the garden rain or shine, pulling weeds, pruning perennials, or fertilizing roses! As a life and career coach, I like to think of the coaching process as a lot like gardening. There are many parallels and in the
How to Keep and Make New Friends!
It may seem terrifying, but a career change in midlife is probably your best decision if, you have heard yourself saying: “ After the pandemic, I just can’t go back to my job with the new requirements!” “ I’m getting a divorce and need to settle into a new career to support myself” “ The culture in my current company is abusive” “ I would love to be in a career that is in more alignment with my purpose” “ Now that we have an empty nest, I would love to explore doing something outside of the home” But you may have been feeling: “ I’m too old” “ I’d love to do _________ but I don’t know if it can support my lifestyle” “Is
Planning for retirement? Think about more than the money!
You’ve set a date. And the date is getting closer. We have wedding dates, baby due dates, vacation dates, closing dates, and moving dates. We prepare for all those things — we make lists, we shop, we prepare, we do paperwork. We do our homework. Setting a date for retirement is no different. Just stopping work on a certain date…is not a plan. You’ve worked your whole life to arrive at this moment. These are precious years, yours now to enjoy. I’m not trying to add to your to-do list, but rather, draw your attention to things you might think about to make the transition more seamless and to get the most of this extraordinary moment in your life. In addition to being a
ARE YOU RETIRED AND WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK?
In addition to coaching mid-career women who want to change things up or the stay-at-home moms who are going back to the workplace, I’ve had a new kind of wonderful client come to see me. This is the retired woman who is going back into the workplace. So whether you need to create extra income, or you want to jump back into the workplace because you’re bored or want new challenges…you’ve come to the right place. Some retired women want to start a business, others want to go back into the workplace but in an entirely new field. Others want a pleasant or fun job to generate some extra money for vacations or special projects. Some women want to go back full time, and others
3 Lessons I learned from Betty White
Back in January, I had the opportunity to see the movie Betty White, A Celebration, with my family. We like others were eagerly awaiting a 100th birthday celebration of Betty on January 17th but instead, we came together with others in a theater for a celebration of life! And what an amazing life she lead. In the theater were many generations of fans who adored Betty and loved her work. Here I was at sixty looking over her life and thinking that Betty still had so much to teach me! Get Out of Your Comfort Zone Betty had an amazing career, was not afraid of a challenge, and reinvented herself so that she could be more accessible to the younger generations! One of the
8 WAYS YOU CAN CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY
The date is looming on the calendar! February 14th, Valentine’s Day! It comes every year without fail and yet for some, it really does a number on our psyche! Perhaps you will be alone this year or you struggle because your partner is just not into the holiday! You’ve heard some people say: It’s just a “Hallmark holiday”, a way for everyone to make money! In fact, it does create a lot of revenue for our economy! In 2021 it was estimated that Cupid’s holiday created around 22 billion dollars! But I’m getting sidetracked! Regardless, I love to embrace the holiday and find ways to celebrate solo! Gone are the days of hiding under a blanket with a pound of dark chocolate! Here are a
Nearing Retirement? Three Reasons to Work with a Life Coach
I’m a certified life and career coach and I’m seeing a new kind of client these days: women nearing retirement. I think it’s wonderful! There are many reasons people see a life coach. Often it’s a woman in her mid or late-career who wants to make a pivot. Or a stay-at-home mother who wants to reenter a highly different workplace than the one she left. For me, the absolute best part of my job is helping a woman identify her passions — no matter what her age. All too often we know we’re not happy, but we can’t put our finger on what exactly we want. Or maybe we do know what we want but have no idea how to get it. That’s where I
The joys and challenges of my first empty nest Christmas
Christmas is in just a few weeks. My adult children who finally, truly left the nest this year were not happy when I told them about the Christmas I am planning for this year when they come home for the holidays. “No tree,” I said. Arose a chorus of complaints. “Minimal decorations,” I added. More groans. Their reaction pressed my buttons. I wondered; would I capitulate? Making traditions…then breaking them I had spent years creating traditions and now I was going to break them? I guess I had been dreaming of this “light” Christmas for a few years now after decades of all-out Christmas. As a solo parent, I had always wanted to give my kids a dream Christmas. Since they were born, I was
Stuck in a job you hate? How to Make the Change!
That petrified feeling when you’re stuck in a job you hate — but you don’t know how to change your life. by Deborah Voll Certified Professional Life and Career Coach We are all afraid of the unknown. And not knowing exactly what it is we want stops us in our tracks. So, we get stuck. We choose safety over fulfillment because: overwhelm! I’m thinking about Jesse, who was stuck in a job that, over the years, had become toxic, for a variety of reasons. She had the financial pressures of maintaining a home and her high schoolers were about to go to college. It was so overwhelming that she just shut down and kept slogging on in her current situation. After a few sessions with
