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talktodiana

~ Igniting the power and passion in others…

talktodiana

Tag Archives: career

Getting My Rhythm Back

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 55 Comments

Tags

believe, career, community, courage, Diana Schwenk, fate, happy, Hump Day Chronicles, job, joy, laughter, living in the moment, passion, Purpose, teamwork, trust, work, working together

IMG_20150510_150645

Today is Day Nine.

My daily routine has changed. And as with any change, it takes time to get one’s bearings.

And it’s going to take some time to get my rhythm back.

Looking back over the last five years, I can see how all my experiences have led me to this place right here, right now.

All the learning; the good times, the hard times, the fun times and the not-so-fun times – have taught me so much.

And I’m grateful. I feel joy. I’m excited to help build something amazing.

Here’s why. As of the first of May, I am happily employed at an amazing organization that makes a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of people.

Today is Day Nine.

I’m getting my rhythm back. I can’t wait to find new ways to build community.

I promise to tell you more about my new role in subsequent posts, but for now, I’ve got to get ready for work!

Until then, here are some pictures I took on the Mother’s Day weekend.

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IMG_20150506_143435
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I couldn’t spend Mother’s Day with my mom or with my daughter, but an edible bouquet from Michaela delivered to my new office on Wednesday made my day!

On Mother’s Day, I took a long, long walk downtown. Here are some pictures I took.

An ominous shot of the Calgary Tower
An ominous shot of the Calgary Tower
What is it with long line-ups at Ice Cream Stores? Village Ice Cream, Calgary AB
What is it with long line-ups at Ice Cream Stores? Village Ice Cream, Calgary AB
Central Memorial Park, Calgary AB
Central Memorial Park, Calgary AB
5th Street SW, Calgary AB
5th Street SW, Calgary AB

Wishing you all a great day!  🙂

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

When you look back on your life, can you see the events that led you to where you are now?

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Do You Love What You Do?

15 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 59 Comments

Tags

200 words, career, devotion, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, discipline, doing what you love, happy, job, joy

“People think I’m disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.” – Luciano Pavarotti

IHateMyJobDo you love what you do? Well if you do, you’re in the minority.

According to RYOT News & Action’s post here, 70% of Americans hate their stupid jobs.

It’s not that different outside America. A world-wide poll of a 140 countries indicates that only 13 % of people like their jobs.

I suppose if you’re in the majority of people who don’t like their jobs, it takes a great deal of discipline on your part to do a good job.

If you are in the minority, you’ve probably been heard saying, “I can’t believe I get paid to do this!” You likely don’t have to exercise great discipline to do your job; in fact, you can’t wait until Monday so you can get back at it!

Most of us will never have the perfect job. But we can have projects that inspire our devotion, and hopefully these will make up for the parts of our job we hate.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Do you love your great job or hate your stupid job? Or do you find yourself somewhere in the middle?

Who are you?

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, In My Opinion

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

career, Diana Schwenk, empowering, Mission statement, Purpose, self-awareness

Maybe you’re an oil and gas executive, or a waitress, or a teacher, a pilot, an athlete, a taxi driver, or you’re in between jobs?

No?

Perhaps you’re a Ph.D student, or an electrician, a mail carrier, a business owner, a soldier, a dog walker, a writer, a pizza delivery man?

That’s not you either?

A homemaker, a board member, a chef, construction worker, politician, salesperson, an accountant, a missionary, an actor, a musician?

Well it doesn’t really matter.

Because that’s not who you are anyway.

That’s what you do.

So who are you?

In a previous job my boss started a process where he met with all his direct reports to develop role descriptions as opposed to the usual job descriptions.

One of the first questions he asked me was, “What do you want people to say about you when you’re not in the room?”

I thought about it for a moment and responded with, “I want them to say, wow, she’s one classy lady!”

This statement immediately influenced my interactions and relationships, both at work and in my private life.

And it inspired me to create a personal vision/mission statement. (More on that later)

The Tweet from @UndertheNeonSky that inspired this post

Once my ‘Role Description’ was completed, I met with my direct reports to go through the same process.

They told me the things they wanted people to say about them when they left the room, things like:

she delivers on what she says she’s going to do;

she has great ideas;

he really knows his stuff;

I feel like I’m the only person in the world when he talks to me.

To my delight it gave me a clearer idea of who they were.

This simple exercise of discovering who I am saved me a lot of heartache when I left that organization.

An organization I’d been involved with for 20 years.

One I’d invested a whole lot of sweat and tears, along with my co-workers, to make more successful.

One who’s mission and people I still very much care about.

Sure it was hard to leave, but I knew who I was – my confidence and purpose in life were not tied into that specific job.

The benefit of knowing who you are and being able to articulate it is empowering.

Chances are that you already live out who you are –  and have been doing so since you were a kid.

I know that when I developed my mission and vision statements and looked back on my life,

all the pieces seemed to fit together and finally make sense.

Writing out who you are in concise language

empowers you to more quickly assess and make decisions on the opportunities and struggles that come your way at work and in your personal life.

My personal vision and mission statements you ask?

I unabashedly display them on my blog, but in case you missed them, here they are:

Vision: Igniting the power and passion in others…

Mission: I relate with, promote and speak community wherever I am…

Short and sweet.

All encompassing.

Transcending any job description.

I can’t say enough about the benefits of knowing who you are and strongly encourage you to find out, if you haven’t already done so.

Remember this: You are not who you are because of the things you do. You do the things you do because of who you are.

What do you want people to say about you when you leave the room?

And tell me…I really want to know.

Who are you?

Talk to Diana


"I RELATE WITH, PROMOTE AND SPEAK COMMUNITY WHEREVER I AM..."

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