How I'm Recharging This Summer

I’m resting.

I’m owning that this year has been exhausting.

I’m acknowledging that the direction of our country is disconcerting and I need time to regroup before I put together a plan of action for how I will do my part.

This year (so far) in business has been exciting and meaningful – and there’s also been a lot of change and program launches and growth.

My hunger for a recharge is stronger now than in the past few summers.

So I’m listening.

I’m not launching any new programs. (She says with a deep exhale.)

I’m focused on my 1:1 clients, sharing the Elevator Pitch beauty of my Summer Bundle, wrapping up powerfully with my current cohort of Career Command Four-Month Shift and guiding my three Chief groups through their leadership growth.

Instead of launching new programs, I’m exercising, meeting friends and colleagues for many coffees, seeing art and theater and all of NYC’s offerings I forget to embrace when I’m too busy and overwhelmed.

I’m leaning into all that energizes me.

And I’m releasing the shame that naturally comes up from the thoughts and fears that tell me - You’re not doing enough! Do. Do. Do.

I’ve done a lot. I’m doing enough. And I will do more when I’ve rested.

How will you be resting this summer? How will you acknowledge all that you’ve accomplished in an intense moment in time? How will you listen to your hunger and release your shame–in whatever flavor it appears right now?

Where we go from here...

If you have been in a rage since Friday, I see you and I’m right there with you. There’s no minimizing how grave a situation this truly is. Our constitutional rights, our bodily autonomy, our complete personhood have been erased under the law of this country. 

For the past few days, I could barely look my daughters in the eyes without crying, knowing that together we will be fighting for access to safe abortion care for many years to come. 

Yet to quote our inspiring Rabbi Rachel Timoner at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn…“Here’s the thing I know. * I’m going to say something surprising. * We are winning. It does not feel like it today. Of course it doesn’t. But girls and women and female-identified people today are more certain about our equality than we ever have been in history. We know that gender has nothing to do with ability or promise. We know -- girls today know -- without a doubt that we are capable of anything we set our minds to. No one – no court, no law  – can make us go back. This I know. We are fierce, we are determined, and we are powerful. There is no stopping the girls and women and female-identified people of these generations and those who will follow us. We will be completely and entirely equal. The next wave of the movement begins now.”

This rings as truth in my bones and through every cell of my being. I needed to hear it last Saturday and I know I will read it often. I’ve gathered some resources for next steps for all of us. I am here to listen. To hear your stories. To be a community in grief and in action. 

Listen (podcasts)

The Daily: Inside Four Abortion Clinics the Day Roe Ended

UNDISTRACTED with Brittany Packnett Cunningham: The Roe v. Wade News—and Finding Hope

Ezra Klein Show: The Dobbs Decision Isn’t Just About Abortion. It’s About Power. 

Strict Scrutiny: Roe is dead. Now what? (For those who want to get into the details of the decision and the dissent. PSA - the more you know, the worse it gets so proceed with caution.)

Read

How to Show up For Abortion Access: A guide to actions, messaging and a long list of ways to engage from Alison Turkos

Don’t Ban Equality: See where your potential or current employer stands in advocating for equity and women’s healthcare.

Citizens No More: What the reversal of Roe means for women’s work

Your State Will Not Save You: Anne Helen Peterson, writer of the substack, Culture Study, shares the most effective way forward which will not be easy and will be a longterm steady approach to regaining our rights to own our healthcare decisions. 

Give

Local Abortion Funds in every state

Reproductive justice organizations: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, so that funds will go directly to the most impacted communities. 

Act

Tell Joe Biden: Open Abortion Clinics on Federal Lands

The Women’s March offers several ways to engage including marching in one of the SUMMER OF RAGE (aptly named!) protests across the country, joining a local community circle or working to attack misinformation and trolling on social media. 

ACLU: Sign up to be a defender of abortion rights. You will receive alerts about volunteer opportunities to support the cause. 

I will keep you updated on my actions and I would love for you to continue to send me yours that need to be amplified or shared. 

Job Seekers: Where to Start

In a panel I led last week there were many job seekers asking…What do I do first?

Do I just start researching and applying to roles?
Do I work on my resume?
Do I reach out to people I don’t know on LinkedIn?

In my Career Command Framework, I like to start with one question that my clients often can’t answer in the beginning of our work - What do you want?

Let’s forget about all of the recruiters calling you, all the rabbit holes you’ve gone down researching a thousand roles. The boring ones you know you can do and all of the good on paper jobs that our culture holds up as the brass ring.

Instead, we always start with YOU. Honoring who you are without apology.

In my three-part framework, we start with…

INNER CLARITY: Finding the inner clarity to understand your terms and what you want next.

Then move to…

AUTHENTIC WORDS: Crafting the authentic words to describe you, your experience and why you’re the right fit for this energizing role.

And complete our work with…

INTENTIONAL ACTION: Taking intentional action to strategically use the time you have, activate your network and go after that next role with a focused roadmap.

Here's a look at the full Framework:

I have only 3 spots left for 1:1 Coaching this summer – so if this resonates, grab one of them now!

Feel free to set up a Clarity Call so we can discuss what YOU want next and my framework for helping you get there.

How to play the waiting game...

If you’ve talked to me for more than 15 minutes recently, you know that this school year we applied for both middle and high school for my daughters in New York City. And yes, for those of you following along outside of the anomaly that is NYC, in this city, you apply for public school.

Beyond the bureaucracy and delays and more delays, the process involved an uncomfortable amount of WAITING.

When I wrote this it was June 6th and I still didn’t know where my 14 year old would go to high school next year. We started navigating this process in May of 2021.

That’s one long ass time.

Thankfully, now the wait is over (and there was good news) but I had to get creative with managing through the discomfort. It made me feel a kinship with my clients who are living through the tortuous waiting inherent to the job search.

For those of us who lean towards doing and more doing until we get the result we want – this can be a tricky time.

So, I’m NOT going to say – use this as a time to learn. I would slap me if I said this to myself during that painful time.

Instead, when I'm in that waiting mode and I KNOW I'm going to keep "doing" (because that's who I am)...I’m going to focus that "doing" on taking care of me.

I have compassion for myself since I’m not working at my typical pace.

I give myself extra time for walks in the park.

I curse more.

I connect with people who energize me.

I say no, a lot.

I listen to more music than podcasts. I need vibes, not content.

What are the ways that you can take action to take care of yourself through the waiting?

It’s different for everyone and I like to make a plan with my clients for how they’re going to keep their energy and their spirits up while there is so much that’s out of their control.

Comment with your Waiting Plan so I know you’re taking care of yourself during shitty limbo (and maybe you’ll give me a few ideas for my next round of waiting).