Going for It: Rapid Reinvention

For all of us who are aiming to be successful, we need only to look at my favorite football team, the Dallas Cowboys, and their defeat of the Washington Redskins yesterday at home, as an example of how tenacity, hard work and outclassing your opponent will pay off.

An unemployed reader called to offer a tidbit of wisdom from the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson that she wanted me to share. It apparently came from an interview he did earlier this week on Fox 5 Morning News.

"Discipline your mind, whether spending your money or your time," said Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He's in town for the group's annual symposium.

Another bit of wisdom from Jackson: "Every day you are alive is a good day."

Yes, it is.

"I believe in daily affirmations to keep me positive," the reader said.

In my effort to not complain, I really appreciate people helping to keep me positive.

But what about Oprah?

I will blog more about that later. I need time to compose myself,

I went to Pentagon City Mall the other day to look for boots. I'm curtailing spending this year, but this is a big year for boots, so I went searching.

As I walked through Nordstrom, Macy's and my other favorite stores, I remembered how much fun I had as a teenager working in the mall. Over the years, I have had friends who, despite working as professionals by day, took part-time jobs working in stores just to be among new things or to get the significant employee discounts that particular stores offer. One friend, a banking manager, has worked one day a week at Pottery Barn for years.

Apparently, a number of folks who are in the midst of changing from one job to another are heading to the mall and other seasonal workplaces this holiday season, according to an e-mail I received from a publicist who contacted me on behalf of SimplyHired.com, a Silicon Valley-based job search Web site.

I ran into an acquaintance earlier today whom I haven't seen since I started blogging. Since she hadn't seen me in the paper for some time, she assumed I had moved on or been pushed out.

"When did you leave the [Washington] Post?" she asked.

I told her that I had not, then launched into an explanation of my new gig--blogging, editing, interviewing successful people, etc. I told her where to find me on washingtonpost.com.

I was editing blogs a few minutes ago when my friend Pam called to alert me to a story inside today's Style section.

"It's about how all these Hollywood actors make all this money and their films are lousy," she said. "Blog about that, how we have to pay $10 a [movie] ticket to pay the salaries of lousy actors."

Just got an e-mail about an interesting project scheduled for Friday.

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Kathleen Casey and Richard Ketchum, chairman of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, are planning to visit Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Northeast Washington to teach students "financial literacy and tips for saving and spending money wisely," the e-mail said.

"Learning about money and building basic financial literacy at an early age can help prepare children for the financial decisions that will be so important to their future," Casey said via e-mail.

In this uncertain economic climate, it's an excellent idea to draw children into the money discussions at home. With the holidays coming, many parents, especially those who are out of work or concerned about being laid off or downsized, are facing the prospect of paring down holiday spending this year.

At my house, we decided as a family to cut back. My teenage son went along with it with no complaints, probably because he got the electric bass guitar he wanted so badly for his birthday. We paid half and he used his money for half, another family policy on major purchases. Several of my friends say they are curtailing holiday purchases this year, as well.

I said on Friday that I would be blogging Monday about a book that I was sent last week, "Working for You Isn't Working for Me: The Ultimate Guide to Managing Your Boss." Since today is Wednesday, I'm obviously late. I have a reason.

Instead of giving this book a cursory look, I am engrossed, enthralled, completely into it. I need more time to finish reading it. Apologies for busting deadline.

I have lots of friends who have recently experienced a job change and a bunch more who think one is looming. Often, those who have changed jobs blame a boss, not the economy or other changes in the workplace, for their departure; others dislike their boss when they get a new position.

The boss thing is always tough. In the book, authors Katherine Crowley, a psychotherapist, and Kathi Elster, a business strategist, said the relationship you have with your boss can determine not only your level of productivity at work, but can also affect your life during off hours. They offer a "Boss Baggage Profile Assessment" to help you "gain invaluable information about your unique style of relating to authority."

In a recent blog, my friend talked about his 73-year-old mother, whose job skills allow her to continue to find employment. I was trolling around the Internet a little while ago and found another inspirational story involving an older woman: "Dame Vera Lynn pens her memoirs at the age of 92."

Now penning your autobiography as an nonagenarian is impressive, but that was in February. Dame Vera, who rose to prominence during World War II with her song, "We'll Meet Again," has followed her book with the release of an album, "We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn," according to AARP Bulletin.

The release of the album makes Dame Vera "the oldest living artist ever to top the UK album chart," the Bulletin said.

I'm rethinking how I organize my day after having an awful experience Monday with my self-imposed deadlines. The new schedule has six deadlines each day: 8 a.m., when I need to start writing my blog; 9 a.m., when I need to have my blog and two that I edit posted; 11 a.m., when I need to have a column that I edit posted; noon, when I need to write my second blog and edit the other two blogs; 1 p.m., when I need to post all three blogs for the second time; and 4 p.m., when I need to post the three blogs for the third time.

I think this will work better than the four deadlines I was using before.

I have worked on deadlines for years, but moving from print to the Internet has increased the number of times a day when I have to feed the beast, thus, more deadlines. It has also increased the number of things I have to do each day, like Facebook, etc. Lest any of you think otherwise, I have previously always considered myself adept at multitasking. Some of my friends call me "The Energizer Bunny" because of my ability to keep going and going, accomplishing many tasks in a day.

I called some friends a little while ago to chat about the good news, as delivered today on this site by On Success' career coach, Karen Chopra. According to her, job seekers should be less concerned about the appearance of age in an interview and more focused on accentuating your positives.

First I called a close friend I'd run into on Sunday while shopping. She was laid off of from her job with Prince George's County schools earlier this year, but was recalled to start work again this week after the decision was reversed. At 39, she's planning to attend her 20th high school reunion later this month. That, with the layoff, has made her aware of the ticking clock.

"I never thought about aging before all this," she said. "But there are a lot of really qualified, 40 and older people out there. The aging unemployed is not a demographic that she wanted to belong to. "I thought this is what happened to people in their 60s," she said.

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I took a moment to look at a website I was referred to by a reader who messaged last week to wish me luck with the new job. The site has a wonderful name, Workplace Hope.

An entry talks about the changing goals of successful people who have lost their jobs in the economic downturn. "They've had authority, they've made money, they've seized opportunities. Now they want meaning," Monica Moses wrote.

Meaning can take several forms--achievement, affiliation or content. The blog explains the difference. I think I'm still going for achievement, but possibly I'm content-driven. Moses said she's focused on content.

What are you looking for in your new endeavor?