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If you’re looking for inspiration to recharge your career, look no farther than Apolo Ohno’s 1500 meter Olympic performance. At 27, an age considered long in the tooth for a speedskater, Ohno not only won a silver medal, he proved he’s just as competitive as his younger rivals.

In the current economy, many seasoned employees are finding their careers plateaued or their job prospects slimming as they face stiff competition in the workplace. Here are four strategies that contributed to Apolo Ohno’s recent success and how you can apply them to your career.

Commit yourself. Ohno purposefully committed to a third Olympics because of his love for the sport, the Vancouver location, and his personal passion for excellence. That commitment fueled his drive forward through good days and bad.  Read more...

We’re one week into the New Year – the time when resolutions can start to fade. If this year you’re absolutely determined to do something about your career, take heart! Avoid becoming a career couch potato with your choice of four creative activities designed to inspire you to keep moving. They’re fun, easy – and they work! Betcha can’t try just one.  Read more...

Have you ever noticed how sometimes perfectly normal and intelligent people create non-existent problems to avoid their career issues? Like my wonderful sister, who is known for her love of laundry. Seriously.

To help you avoid “Doing the Laundry”, follow these three simple rules:

1. Show Up

My sister, the most brilliant, best big sister ever, decided to become an architect. She applied to Ivy League Schools and didn’t get in ANYWHERE. It was shocking – like the magnetic poles reversing. She had never failed at anything. But she hadn’t taken drafting or calculus — no wonder she didn’t get in.

She hadn’t shown up.

Be clear on what is required to achieve your goal – and fulfill each requirement!  Read more...

I have pirates on the brain. Swashbuckling pirates. First there was Talk Like a Pirate day, then  Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl   played a million times on cable and now I’ve got that pirate song stuck in my head. It’s the one they sing at the top of their lungs while happily hoisting mugs of grog:

“Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!”

I ask you, who has a happier career than a pirate? No one. They are the poster children of career satisfaction.  And why? Because they are absolutely, positively, perfectly suited to being pirates.  It is not just that they have superior pirate skills or that they love their pirate job duties. Those things are important, but there’s more to it than that.   Read more...