Each of us is concerned about how the economy is impacting us personally.  I know we are - after our car was hit and declared (by insurance ) a total loss (with neither of us injured) we are buying a car that was not even remotely budgeted.

This article in today's New York Times shows the impact this economic crisis has as the dots are connected.  Just follow the trail of the money or lack

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I read - lots.  Colleagues ask how I do it and I say that I don't know how not to read and to learn from what I read.

 Next week, I'll facilitate a session for the PCMA Southwest & Pacific Chapter and the UNLV PCMA Student Chapter at UNLV about connecting the dots to the industry's future. In this session, we'll look at news items and trends and see what the impact may be on our world of

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Dream Job? Leap Job?

Recently, I met with graduate students in the masters program at George Washington University (GW).  Invited by Prof. Tyra Hilliard, who convenes these groups twice a year, the purpose is to talk about issues that relate to the industry and will help students move their careers forward.

Two of the topics selected by the students were discovering (and finding) your dream job and when to take the leap from a secure (but not-quite-right) job to something else.  The issues were more critical because the economy is tough (see the Discussion Forum posts on various aspects of the economy and our industry) and jobs are not always either available or right.

We didn't reach absolute conclusion tho' most believed that there are no true dream jobs - that there are always trade-offs (hours, personnel, work load, etc.) but that you could find many aspects of what you want if you know what it is. 

The issue of leaping was a tough one tho' on this too there was some consensus:  if the job you have is miserable for you, leap if you can afford (financially and mentally) to do so even if the job from which you leap is one you've only held a short time as long as you have tried to make it work.

All this leads up to the front page of the New York Times and article about my cousin, Joel Moss Levinson.  The son of Jim, my first cousin,  Joel has always been creative.  When he went to GW, he excelled and was miserable!  It was too confining.  Contrary to what the article says, he is a very committed worker and tho' his resume is long, it shows that he does work.

What does this have to do with this subject? Everything!

With no help from family (really), Joel has taken his creativity and found a way to make it work for him.  Sure, he's still (relatively) young and can do this.  And yet, he could have gotten stuck in the niche our family (like so many) wanted: college, grad school and a 'real' job.  He chose his own path.

In so many ways, Joel and I are the odd-cousins for what we've achieved and are achieving by finding what we love and doing it .. and succeeding.

What's your dream?

[And speaking of jobs, did you see, in our Discussion Forum , there is a place to list jobs and for job seekers to post resumes .. at no charge?]

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... what it feels like to walk in someone else's shoes? Or ride in their chair or on their scooter? Or manage a day when pain overtakes you?

Recently, at an industry meeting (in a very large hotel) at which I moderated two sessions, I used a scooter to get around. (Sometimes my NHL makes me unable to walk long distances.)  It was a fascinating experience - watching people ignore me and pretend I

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