Do something healthy for you today!

photo by Denise Cross

Just in case you think I have changed from a career marketing professional to a health guru, let me assure you that is not the case. But I firmly believe in the overall health of everyone from multiple perspectives. I think that you need to consider everything (but in stages) to help you reach your goals.

Assess your total career picture

The healthiest thing I did for me initially was assess my total career picture. I can guarantee I never looked at my life from that perspective until 2009. I wasn’t happy and though I made incremental changes, I never looked at the total picture, especially from a long term perspective.

When I looked at my future, I saw continuing to balance my Design Resumes business with non-profit management contracts in an effort to keep a stable contract income each month, I would never focus on marketing Design Resumes.

Giving up some contracts didn’t change anything. In review, I realized I needed to give up the last contract with Wausau Whitewater and any related marketing fees to succeed. This would me an immediate loss of a stable contract income of about $14,000 annually.

A major healthy career decision for me

I made the final decision on December 12, 2009 in the midst of the worst economic climate in 80 years. Emotionally, that was a very hard decision. I had many friends through Wausau Whitewater and I had one particular friend who would be impacted immensely by my departure. It took time to heal that relationship but we gained even more respect for each other in that journey.

That change, though scary, let me grow Design Resumes. I did decide to find expert help, which I have never regretted. The confidence and direction I gained from that expert help changed how I marketed and ran my business and opened the door to many other opportunities.

2010 was a year of investing into the business and ultimately though I held steady with revenue, I also increased debt substantially. I don’t regret the investments but I don’t plan on ever funding that way again.

2011 is a year of focus on three other sectors.

For me, sitting at my computer has made me unhealthy. I’ve gained weight and gotten out of shape. Though I tend toward healthy eating, I have to improve that even more and make time for exercise. I plan to find more time for yard work as well as other exercise than I did in 2010.

Financially, I now have new goals. I am seriously working on becoming debt-free. To reach that goal, I am following Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. I bought the book last year at the prompting of the friend from Wausau Whitewater but didn’t start reading until a month ago.

I am now putting his plan in place. It will mean making serious decisions on everything and prolong other investments into both my business and my home but in the end, I will experience freedom like never before. I am coupling that reading with Your Money Counts by Howard Dayton to get a Biblical perspective of money management.

Opening new areas. I launched a second blog last month. This will let me talk about some things that don’t necessarily fit in the career marketing area. Will it be another revenue stream? Maybe, someday. I do highly recommend multiple streams of revenue for everyone. When you put all your plans in one area, you often will be disappointed. Employers downsize and rightsize and for you that may mean an end to your career.

Healthy for me means different things than it does for you. But for us to grow as an overall person, we have to make choices that lead us to overall health. Take your first step today and if you want to share it here, please do. I write this kind of post periodically as a reminder to me. Being accountable helps you reach your goals.