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In This Episode: Dr. Nayla Bahri and Lou Blaser chat candidly about their 2020 and how they are approaching 2021 Why and how, in the year that made things so complicated, many things also became simpler Lessons learned and surprising insights about themselves New habits to incorporate, old habits to re-enforce in 2021 How they are planning for a year of continued uncertainty and hope Dr. Nayla Bahri is a leadership and career development coach who focuses on our relationship with work. She co-hosts the Inside Job podcast and teaches at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia Business School, and Teachers College.For all the links and highlights of this episode, head on over to https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

Well, my friend. Here we are. We made it to the end of this extraordinary, unbelievable year that was 2020.I'm not going to pretend that I can imagine what kind of year you had. I have this sense that we're in this situation where we're all experiencing the same thing - but we're having different kinds of experiences.I will hazard a guess though that the kind of year you had was quite different from what you had planned for back in January 2020. Maybe you had to change your goals because of what's happening. Lots of people certainly had that experience. Maybe you kept the same ones - but there's a good chance the way you executed those goals was different from the original plans.Regardless of how your year panned out, I think you can take a pause here and give yourself a pat on the back. You adopted, you accommodated, you adjusted. You did the best you can! And that's all we can really ask of ourselves.In the spirit of "we're all in this together," I wanted to reflect and share with you the five most memorable interviews - the specific ones that really struck a chord for me.For the highlights and the links, head on over to https://secondbreaks.com/podcast.

Donald Christian is a senior partner at PwC. He sits on the Board of the firm and currently leads the US East Region Advisory practice. If I remember correctly, he’s one of – if not THE youngest ever admitted to partnership. Since his admission in 1997, Don has served in a number of roles in the firm, served on several committees, and is an active and visible leader in PwC’s efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion.I have had many mentors and heroes over the years, but he is the one single individual who has had the most impact on my work ethic, how I navigate my career, how I think about relevance and making an impact. Every now and again, I still catch myself thinking what would Don do? We haven’t worked with each other for more than a decade and yet his is still one of the voices I hear in my head. Talk about impact.In this episode, we talked about how he defines and measures success, the habits that have helped him the most in his career, the principles that guide his choices, and how he stays relevant in a changing marketplace. For the highlights of this conversation and all the links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

Joanna Penn is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers under J.F.Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors. She has written over 30 books published in 149 countries and 6 languages. Her award-nominated podcast, The Creative Penn Podcast, has been downloaded over 4 million times in 220 countries and is one of the longest-running and most popular podcasts for writers. Joanna has been named as one of the Top 100 most influential people in publishing & writing by The Guardian.While all these achievements are impressive, what I really admire about Joanna is the way she’s been able to reinvent herself and build a successful writing career. For me, she demonstrates intention and focus. She knows where she wants to go and then steadfastly moves in that direction.She sets challenging goals – I know because she shares those goals with her listeners and readers – and then, she actually takes action on those goals such that by the end of each year, we can see her progression. Frankly, if there’s one person I’d like to model for focus, drive, grit, and courage, it’s Joanna.There’s something she said to me about longevity being a key factor to success in any field. I think what you’ll hear throughout this interview is just how Joanna works — the processes and habits she follows — to create that longevity in her career.For the highlights of this conversation and all the links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

Bonnie Gillespie has been working in the film industry for decades, both in front of the camera (earlier on in her career) and then later, as a casting director. In addition, she has been helping fellow actors by demystifying the casting process and illuminating the business side of pursuing a creative career.She writes, coaches, and teaches on enoughness and cultivating an empowering mindset for our chosen journey. Bonnie has been featured on Good Morning America, BBC, Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, among others.For me, Bonnie is the epitome of a woman who is comfortable in her own skin, someone who continuously stretches herself and graciously shares her journey. I definitely consider her one of my role models. And I’m beyond thrilled she was game to come to the show.We covered many things in this interview. But two things I truly appreciated were (1) the bits about rejection, which is my personal life’s work, and (2) the bits about enoughness, which is, in a way, related to rejection. Bonnie and I also talked about how she maintains positivity, how she uses compartmentalization, focusing on the right results when measuring success, and the importance of celebrating every step of the way.For the highlights of this conversation and all the links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

“Our career choice massively impacts our family and loved ones. When thinking about what I want to do next, the first lens I put on it is, ‘Is this the right thing to do for my family?’” — Graham Bell.Graham Bell is the Chief Executive Officer of World of Books Group. He assumed this role in September 2019 after being the company’s CFO/COO. Prior to World of Books, he was the Managing Director at Countrywide. And before that, he led a Corporate Finance team at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is where we met and became good friends.In this episode, we talked about how and why his career goals changed over time, how he measures success these days, his views around the common sentiment “follow your passion”, and his approach when things aren’t turning out the way he might have liked.For the highlights of this conversation and all the links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

“There are people out there who want what I bring to the table. All of it — the technical knowledge, the perspective, the personality that goes with. And it’s my job to find them.” —Jacquette TimmonsMy guest today is Jacquette Timmons. Jacquette is a financial behaviorist and the CEO of Sterling Investment Management. She is the author of Financial Intimacy: How to Create a Healthy Relationship With Your Money and Your Mate. She speaks, writes, and coaches about our relationship with money, integrating psychology, financial management, and emotions into the discussion, because of course money is an emotional topic.Jacquette brings decades of experience into her work and has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, Bloomberg Radio, Women of Power TV and has been quoted on several journals and blogs. She is a New Yorker and an avid runner. You may just catch her running around Brooklyn in the mornings. She is definitely one of my heroes and one of the people whose work inspires me.For the highlights of this conversation and all the links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

Marcus Aurelius began Meditations with 17 entries — nearly 10 percent of the book — reflecting upon the various influential individuals in his life. “When you need encouragement,” he wrote, “think of the qualities the people around you have.”These days, when our attention can easily be hijacked by negativity and pessimism when the news can bring us down feeling overwhelmed and powerless, we need a strong counterbalance. We need heroes.Read the full transcript at https://secondbreaks.com/thepodcast

Second Breaks is between seasons and is on a brief pause. In the meanwhile, here's a look inside the latest edition of Briefing Notes.To check out the 46th edition, head on over to http://thebriefingnotes.comThe podcast returns on November 12th with Season 5.

While the podcast is on a brief break, I wanted to share some thoughts about midlife and the latest edition of Briefing Notes. To check out the latest edition, head on over to http://thebriefingnotes.comThe podcast returns on November 12th with Season 5.

Read the full transcript and get the links at https://secondbreaks.com/podcast.

The podcast host is naturally the person out front, the person behind the mic whose voice you hear in your ears. In this growing podcasting industry, many opportunities exist today for someone to take the helm of a show. Is this the role for you? Is there something else in this job that goes beyond simply being the voice?We explore the role of the podcast host with Jerod Morris, co-host of 7 Figure Small and The Assembly call, and a number of shows that he has created or hosted over the years. For the show notes, highlights of this conversation, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

With over a million shows on Apple Podcasts alone and huge podcast investments made by companies, the podcasting industry is only expected to grow. This industry is supported by a cornucopia of roles and jobs for folks who want to be in on the action and there are different ways to work in the industry. In this episode, we take a peek behind the scenes at the role of the podcast producer.To explore this role, I’m joined by Sean McMullin. Sean is the co-founder of Yellow House Media, a podcast production company that produces many shows including What Works, Break the Ceiling, Happier Approach, among others.For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

A Virtual Assistant career can provide the ultimate in work flexibility. However, the other question to consider is whether this is truly a profitable career choice. In this episode, Kathy Goughenour of Virtual Expert® Training joins Lou Blaser to explore and answer this question. For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

One of the newer careers that have become popular in the last few years and that definitely offered flexibility is the virtual assistant work. It’s an interesting field of work because the definition of what the role encompasses is so varied. You can pretty much design it to be how you want it to be — the ultimate flexibility in work!In this episode, we’ll lift the hood a bit and explore the world of virtual assistants with help from Janice Dalager. For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

Online communities have exploded in the last few years, giving rise to a need for someone to manage, facilitate, and coordinate community activities. In this episode, we explore the inner workings of the role of the Online Community Manager with help from Shannon Paris, Community Advocate at What Works.For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

These days, having an online presence is a requirement. The easiest way to do that is to have a website. And one of the most popular ways to have a website is through WordPress. Suffice it to say, lots of people are working in the WordPress ecosystem. In this fourth episode of Season 4, we’re looking at the role of the WordPress designer. Helping me peek behind the curtains is Susanna Perkins, who has been working in this space since 2008.For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

It’s not a job for everyone. But if you’ve got the right disposition and the interest to learn the skill set, becoming a Facebook/Instagram Ad specialist can be a lucrative career opportunity to pursue. In this third episode of Season 4, we continue exploring jobs within social media through the lens of online advertising.I'm joined by Facebook Ad Specialist, Julie O'Hara, who recently transitioned to this role. It's not a job for everyone. But if you've got the right disposition and the interest to learn the skill set, becoming a Facebook/Instagram Ad specialist can be a lucrative career opportunity to pursue.For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

Social media created so many new jobs/roles since it became mainstream. I’m not just talking about jobs inside companies such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. An entire eco-system supports social media. So many jobs are now needed — and are flourishing — because social media exists. For the next couple of weeks, we’re exploring JUST two of these roles, starting with social media management.In this episode, we are exploring social media management with help from social media strategist, Andréa Jones. Andréa helps businesses and podcasters build profitable online communities through simple social media solutions. She hosts the Savvy Social Podcast and is the creator of the Savvy Social School, a digital platform designed to teach its members how to implement organic social media strategies.For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast

The perfect job isn’t always served in a platter. More often than not, it’s something we have to create and shape without a blueprint ahead of time. Marie Poulin is a digital strategist and workflow designer. She helps entrepreneurs level up their systems, workflow, and productivity, so they can spend more time on what matters. Marie Poulin shares how she ‘accidentally’ created a unique role for herself while simply leveraging her love for a new app.For the show notes, highlights, and links, visit https://secondbreaks.com/podcast