I’m the Boss of Me: A Guide to Owning Your Career

Table of contents

1. About This E-Book
2. Title Page
3. Copyright Page
4. Dedication Page
5. Contents
6. Acknowledgments
7. About the Author
8. Preface
9. 1. You Are Who You Are Because of Your Choices
   1. A Challenged Beginning
      1. Building Resilience and Strength
      2. Empower Yourself
   2. How Successful People Create Their Success
      1. Contrast Shows You What You Want
      2. Contrast Doesn’t Need to Be Big to Work for You
      3. Push toward Change or Shrink from It, It’s Your Choice
   3. Choose Love When Fear Calls
      1. Two Operating Models: Love and Fear
      2. Stay Out of the Bubble, Stay Off Autopilot
   4. A Bucket List for Success
   5. Build the Self-Empowered Road to Success
   6. Happiness First
   7. Getting Down to Work
10. 2. You Are a Work in Progress—Challenge Yourself to Get Better
    1. Give Up the Idea That the Way You Are Now Is the Way You Will Always Be
       1. Practice Self-Control Because It Doesn’t Come Naturally
       2. Use Self-Talk Plus Self-Control to Choose Your Operating Model
       3. Using Emotional Intelligence Helps You Connect with Yourself and Others
    2. Don’t Check Your Feelings at the Door
    3. Build Self-Awareness So You Can See Where You’re Going
    4. Avoid Artificial Limits So You Don’t Get Lost
    5. Courage and Resilience Will Support You When Things Get Tough
    6. Focus and Discipline
    7. Using Discipline to Make Progress
    8. Getting Down to Work
11. 3. Do You Know What You Want from Your Career and Life?
    1. Let Curiosity Lead You
    2. Discovering Your Work
       1. If You Don’t Know, Experiment!
       2. Exposure Is the Key
       3. How Parents Can Help Their Kids and Students Can Help Themselves
    3. Understanding the Work Environment
       1. Outside: The World of Work and Where It Is Headed
       2. Inside: Your Strengths and Interests
       3. Finding Your Strengths
       4. There Are a Few Archetypal Jobs
       5. The Need for Both Soft Skills and Technology Skills
    4. The Future Is Uncertain, But You Don’t Need to Be
    5. Creating a Blue Ocean Career Strategy
    6. What’s Next?
12. 4. Vision Strategy Execution
    1. Vision, Strategy, Execution
       1. Vision
       2. Strategy
       3. Execution
    2. Map Your Career to Make the Most of Your Desires
    3. How Do You Keep Momentum in a Career?
       1. Build Next-Generation Skills
       2. Driving Awareness and Your Personal Brand
13. 5. Becoming Your Vision: Aligning Your Behavior
    1. Use Contrast to Drive Learning
    2. The Learner’s Mindset
       1. Learner’s Mindset and Growth Mindset
       2. Be a Learner to Stay Engaged in Your Work
    3. Many Ways to Learn and Work
    4. How You Hold Yourself Back
       1. Blind Spots: Overconfident and Under Sighted
       2. Blind Spots: Under Confident and Over Sighted
       3. Blind Spots: Ego Nurturer
    5. Learning as a Core Skill
    6. Love, Emotional Intelligence, and Mindsets
14. 6. Becoming Your Vision II: Articulating Your Brand and Building Your Bench
    1. Communicating with Others About Your Vision – Sharing Your VSE
       1. Developing a Personal Brand Statement
       2. Value Proposition and Making the Match
       3. Gathering Information and Writing Your Personal Brand Statement
    2. Socializing with Your VSE
       1. Working Through the Fear and Enjoying the Process
       2. Purposeful Networking
       3. Spheres of Influence
       4. Invest in Your Relationships
    3. Building Your Bench
       1. The Close-In Sphere
       2. Mentors
       3. The Advisor Sphere
       4. The Alliance Sphere
15. 7. Attitude, Altruism, and Altitude
    1. Attitude and Altruism
       1. Living with Intention
       2. Tame Your Mind, Feed Your Heart
       3. How Choosing Love Over Fear Supports Altruism and Propels You to the Next Level
    2. Taking Flight with Outside-In, Inside-Out Thinking
       1. The Inside-Out, Outside-In Career Process
       2. How to Create Your Dream Job
16. 8. Myths and Murders: Getting Past Roadblocks and Barriers
    1. It’s Not About You
    2. Obstacles
       1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Mental Habits
       2. Problem Fighter or Problem Solver
    3. Disengaged or Just in the Wrong Job?
       1. Being Miserable in Your Job
       2. Self-Destructive Spirals
    4. Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
       1. External Limitations: Mailroom Syndrome
       2. Feeling Trapped
    5. Working with Intention
17. 9. Planning and Making Choices
    1. Planning for Balance
       1. A Case in Point
       2. How Planning for Balance Works on the Personal Side
    2. To Plan or Not to Plan
    3. Blending Your Life and Experiences: An Older Lifestyle
    4. Saying No Means Not Having to Say You’re Sorry
    5. Beyond Saying No
       1. Saying Yes or No to New Roles and Stretch Goals: Know Yourself
       2. Balance Requires Trust
    6. Contrast and Stress Are the Teachers, Balance Is the Lesson
18. 10. Self-Leadership 2.0: Success in the Face of Obstacles
    1. Self-Leadership When Things Don’t Go Your Way
       1. -Isms: Sexism, Racism, Ethnocentrism, and More
       2. Begin with Understanding
       3. The Need to Bridge Differences
       4. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
    2. Handling Gender Bias
    3. Handling the Cultural Bias Toward Extraversion
    4. What Do You Do When Things Go Wrong or You Can’t Influence Someone?
    5. The Benefits of a Third-Party Perspective
    6. Working with Differences in Thinking Styles
    7. Working Around Subtleties in the Workplace
       1. Build Your Bench
       2. Do Your Homework and Share It
       3. Volunteering: How Can I Help You?
       4. Working Around Cronyism
    8. Being Open About What You Want, What You Can Deliver, How You Want to Grow, and Boundaries
    9. Creating Inspired Success for Yourself and Others
19. Endnotes
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 3
    4. Chapter 4
    5. Chapter 5
    6. Chapter 6
    7. Chapter 7
    8. Chapter 8
    9. Chapter 9
    10. Chapter 10
20. Index