Sometimes you just have to start at the beginning...

The official book launch party for Words for the Journey - thoughts and affirmation for women returning to work is in 16 days!! I am thrilled to be giving away copies and talking with area women about careers and reinvention.

It's funny. When I decided to write a book, I intended to write an action plan - a step by step process for women planning their returns to paid employment. It's something I should have been able to write in  my sleep.  I've coached clients on it. I've spoken about it. I've written blog posts about it. But every time I sat down to write the darn book, it just wouldn't flow.

I tried to force it.

I worked to ram right through the blockage.

I procrastinated.

I made excuses.

I let weeks and months crawl by with nary a sentence or two that was worth anything.

Then I cleared the deck, took an entire weekend, and gave up what I thought I was supposed to write about and just started writing. That's when a totally different book started to be written;  that's the one we'll be launching at the lovely shindig on the 11th - Words for the Journey: thoughts and affirmations for women returning to work.

You see, no matter how hard we push, sometimes it comes down to letting go and starting at the beginning. In my head, I had it all sorted (or so I thought). But it wasn't until I was ready to open up, let go of my expectations, and consider possibilities that things fell into place.

In support of your success,

Carol

Women Returning to Work and the Third Billion

While in an airport this weekend on my way home from a conference, I picked up a copy of Booz & Co.'s Summer 2010 Strategy + Business issue.  By the time I was midway through the article that began on page 8, "The Third Billion," I knew I had to share it with you.  The third billion refers to the number of women who will enter the global workplace over the next 10 years with significant, if not earth-changing, impact, and the authors calculate that 47 million of them live in North America, western Europe and Japan.

Having spent the weekend thinking about how women returning to the workforce can be such a positive force for helping to turn things around, I was struck by authors DeAnne Aguirre's and Karim Sabbaugh's analysis. They conclude the article by writing, "The creativity of the Third Billion may provide the world with an unprecedented resource for driving economic growth and improving the quality of life over the next decade....For leaders, the next step is to recognize the value of this population of women and the contribution they can make."

Pretty great, don't you think?

I recommend reading the The Third Billion in its entirety.

All the best,
Carol