A Gradual Start To The New Year Works Too

I’m the kind of woman who typically likes to kick start the year with a bang.

A big commitment.

An unthinkable goal.

A vow to turn things upside down.

That said, I don’t practice the art of resolution-making. Instead, I choose a word that will be my organizing principle for the year.

My focus, my mantra.

This year, for a multitude of reasons, my word is PEACE.

It has already influenced my approach to life as I step into the first week of this new decade.

My brain is not currently flooded with dozens of topics for new posts and pieces I want to share with you. Instead, I’ve had a few moments over the past two weeks where I sat down to write, and nothing appeared. Blank mind. Blank page. Nothing.
I did not go to a dark place. I chose to believe I truly needed a break. A refuel. Time to go out and be with the people I love. To experience life and be inspired.

I gave myself permission to simply be where I am: in a slow beginning.

To see the meticulously planned new year’s marketing barrages and authoritative voices of every other coach in my industry—and to absorb an authentic, confident message that I’m not there. I’m in a quiet place.

While most companies in our midst are egging us on to make quick and drastic changes because it’s January, I know that thoughtful, consistent and gradual shifts are what cause lasting transformation.

It’s okay if you don’t have your goals for the year mapped out yet.

First comes the thinking and the space for you. Next comes the goals that are true to where you are in this moment, and not where every “new year, new you” campaign tells you that you should be.

As I’m experiencing this year, easing in is an absolutely valid and respectable way to start. Without the pressure of exploding out of the gate, the ideas are beginning to flow again. I can see that there’s an endless supply when I listen to what I truly need. And for right now, peace is my guide to finding it.

Holiday Networking When You Know Who You Are

In years past during my digital marketing career, when I attended corporate holiday parties the highlights were…

The chocolate fountains.

Colleagues dancing.

The senior leader of our group who told us all before we walked in, "Don’t eat like pigs." An unexpected, but memorable pep talk.

Spending the whole night with the three to four people who knew me best at the company. The people who truly got me.

To contrast, as I take the "so many holiday parties, so little time" approach to networking this year, there are no chocolate fountains. Thankfully, there’s no dancing AND I can eat whatever I want, as long as it’s gluten-free.

That said, the most powerful, visceral change this time is my comfort with talking to anyone and everyone—because I know who I am and what I’m contributing to the people in my life. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished this year—so I have a lot to talk about! And those who know me even just a little know that I…ahem…like to talk.

Part of stepping into my worth and discovering my confidence in networking is also knowing that I don’t need to talk the whole time to build a connection. What a relief to re-learn that I build deeper relationships when I put "The Rachel Show" on hiatus to follow my mantra for 2019—LISTEN.

The practice of deep listening has been a focus for me this year and it has shifted the way I lead workshops, the way I show up for my clients, and who I can be for strangers. When I’m present and generous, I can help them make the connections and note the possibilities I’m seeing for them.

This mindset shift has been a game-changer for both my motivation to network (on rainy, cold evenings in venues so far from Brooklyn), and in my expectations of what will come from those events.

No matter what these connections will bring to my business or my life, I know I will learn more about people. What motivates them. What keeps them stuck. What they want from their lives. What they’re willing to release. All things that bring me energy—inspiring me to write, coach, and help people change their lives.

As you attend— parties this season, I encourage you to use these as networking opportunities to tell your authentic stories, to listen and to be present—removing all expectations that this afternoon or evening will make or break your career or your business. Have fun! Don’t judge yourself or others for unsmooth dance moves—and please, if there’s a chocolate fountain—indulge. Nobody ever regrets that decision.

I'm Grateful For You

As I take time to reflect on the most meaningful areas of my work in 2019, what tops my list for the third year in a row is:

My ongoing connection and conversation with you.

It truly makes my day when you write me a note to say a sentence or even a word prompted you to think a new way. When you tell me a piece was "just what you needed to read" today.

I hear you. I see you. And that's why I will continue to be there to remind you to be compassionate to yourself. To be a flawed human. To forgive and create anew.

The way I like to close out the year is with time to be thoughtful about what went well...and well, what didn't. To set goals for the coming year and to choose people in my life who will hold me accountable for those audacious goals.

As my gift to you this season, I'm sharing my - You Got This 2020 Planner (pdf).

Create time for yourself to wrap up this year with the gravitas it deserves.

I look forward to hearing your 2020 goals and being a member of the team that inspires you to achieve them!

All the holiday love,

Rachel

Lessons From Employees Reclaiming Their WeWork Narratives

In mid-November, we saw the co-working giant WeWork layoff 2,400 of its 12,000 employees after the botched IPO revealed massive issues with its business model, as well as inappropriate behavior by CEO and founder.

As a coach and workshop facilitator who has supported the Women’s Employee Resource Group—The Women of We—in the past with coaching and personal leadership workshops, I could not be prouder of the resilient employees emerging from this reduction.

One by one, the "last day" posts from WeWork employees appeared in my LinkedIn feed. Woven together, they told me everything the salacious media coverage did not.

They acknowledged the good people, the good work, the good intent and the values they believed in.

They retold their stories—from their own perspectives.

They championed and supported their colleagues—both those who had left and those who remain.

They encouraged hiring managers looking for talent to hire former WeWork staff, at all levels.

These are all areas within their control in this complex and fraught situation.

As many know, one of my mantras in my work with clients is, "The person in charge of your career is you." The same goes for your personal brand.

While the company’s brand sentiment may be compromised, you are more than the company you work for—or worked for, as the case may be. You are a whole person, with a long career that will extend beyond your current role and expertise.

Having worked with mid-level and junior leaders at WeWork, I can say firsthand that there was and is an army of good people there who thought they were working toward a common goal.

These are people who forged forward despite the obstacles in their path—and that’s who you want on your team.