Clarity on Fire

A few years ago Emily Liou started to question her career in recruiting. Sure, she helped people get hired, but for every person she helped, there were so many more she had to reject. And the rejections were wearing on her.

That's when Emily decided to quit her job, become a certified coach (she went to the same program as us!), and ended up starting her own business; one where she could leverage her experience as a recruiter and her knowledge as a coach to help people navigate both the deep, internal world of personal growth and the external challenges of finding a job.

We came to this conversation with SO many questions and common issues (ones we hear from our clients and podcast listeners all the time!) to bounce off of Emily, and she was a complete treasure trove of insight. We talked about:

• What to do if you aren't sure you have enough experience to apply for a job
• How to make a radical career shift, especially when you only have experience in one thing
• Why "hard skills" aren't necessarily more important or desired than "soft skills"
• How to have gaps on your resume without it looking like a big deal
• How to actually find stellar job opportunities amidst the heaps of junk jobs out there
• The best way to up your chances of getting a dream job, and what you need to be doing that you aren't doing now
• Traditional job search stuff you don't have to keep doing (including applying for jobs online … YES, you read that right)

After you've listened, leave a comment to let us know how Emily's job searching wisdom resonated with you!

EARLY BIRD ENROLLMENT ENDS TODAY!

Here's your final friendly reminder that today is the last day to join the Passion Plan Virtual Experience at the early bird price of $369 before it goes up another $100.

Officially, you have until 11:59pm Eastern today (Friday, the 28th) to take advantage of the early bird rate. Tomorrow, it's going up to its regular price of $469.

The PPVE is our 4-week online course where we walk you through the process of finding your passion and figuring out what you're meant to do with your life.

• Over 400 people have gone through it, so its track record is pretty stellar.
• The content requires about 3-4 hours of time per week.
• You have the opportunity to connect with other members, and get your questions answered by us, in a group forum.
• It's meant for people who not only want to find their passion, but who want to get more meaning and purpose out of their entire life.
• If you've been spinning your wheels for a long time and want some expert guidance getting un-stuck, this is very likely the right place for you.

If you're still on the fence and you like making "game time" decisions, there's a complete page of details that might help you decide whether or not this is your "thing."

We've had a bunch of awesome people join us so far, and we're having a great time meeting everyone and chatting together in the forum.

So if this feels like it could be the right thing, at the right time for you … we hope you'll be one more of them.

You can sign up here when you're ready.

MORE ABOUT EMILY

Emily Liou is a career happiness coach and career expert at CultiVitae where she guides ambitious corporate professionals to design AND achieve careers they love. She believes life is way too short to not wake up happy on Mondays.

As a former recruiter and HR professional for Fortune 500 Companies and Silicon Valley startups, she knows exactly what gets corporate professionals hired and promoted. Emily's career advice has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Business Insider, Fairygodboss, and The Muse. She is also the creator of The Happily Hired Formula, a comprehensive do-with-you program that covers A-Z of the job search process from designing a career to negotiating your salary.

Through her coaching programs, Emily not only provides the strategies to make any career transition possible but also works from the inside out, allowing clients to build a positive self-image to conquer all of their ambitious goals. When she is not geeking out over personal development topics, you can find Emily eating her way through Los Angeles.

LINKS

Leave us a comment on this episode

Take the Passion Profile Quiz

Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

I recently passed an anniversary of sorts.

It's been six years since I quit my first job (not to be confused with the second or third jobs I also quit, which happened shortly thereafter). It's also been six years since Kristen and I decided to start a business and six years since I enrolled in a certified coach training program.

I know anniversaries are supposed to be celebrated, or at least fondly acknowledged, but all I'm thinking about right now is the two weeks I spent in between quitting my first job and starting the next gig (as a part-time nanny to two-year-old twins).

Up until the day I walked out (of that unfulfilling, mind-numbing corporate existence), I was so excited for everything I was going to do before my new job started. I was going to go to yoga, bike around town, cook really healthy meals, meditate every night, and basically live the life I'd always imagined.

And then I spent two weeks on the couch.

In this week's blog I'm revisiting something I originally published 3 years ago – the story of how quitting my first job was NOT what I'd imagined it would be, and how I made it through that bleak, difficult time that I now refer to as "The Quagmire of Suckage."

THE PPVE IS OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is open for enrollment NOW through October 3rd (or when we hit 50 people, whichever comes first).

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbooks assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

Early bird enrollment is going on NOW through this Friday the 28th. That means if you sign up before then, you can get the course for $369 instead of the usual $469.

We're only taking 50 people in this round, and enrollment is first-come, first-served. If you want in, you definitely don't want to dally.

Get more info and sign up here.

LINKS

• Leave us a comment on this episode
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz
• Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

Hello from the other side … of 30.

It's been a month since I left my 20s, and I'm (Rachel) honestly still processing this milestone. I didn't expect it to bring up so much grief – anger, frustration, sadness, and waves of anxiety and depression.

And while I've been riding those waves, it's become obvious that a lot of people around me are also battling that same current, just for different reasons.

So, this mutual experience got me thinking about big life transitions. What do they have in common? How do we ride them out? Why are they so emotional?

In this month's Side Chat we're talking about:

• What counts as a transition (that might not have occurred to you)
• Why all transitions always come with grief, even when they're happy
• The true purpose of grief, and how to let yourself feel the deep emotions of a transition phase, without bottling them up
• Why you don't need to try to understand your feelings about the transition you're in
• The difference between grief and depression
• How can you use the often chaotic emotions of a transition to help catapult you forward in life

After you've listened, leave a comment to let us know if you're in a transition phase, and how this episode resonated with you!

FREE WORKSHOP ON SEPTEMBER 25!

We're hosting a free, LIVE online workshop on Tuesday, September 25, at 1pm Eastern, and we'd love for you to be there!

How to figure out what to do with your life in 2 steps

If you're been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, confused, and uncertain about your direction in both your life and career, this is a REALLY great place for you to start.

Obviously there are way more than just TWO steps when it comes to figuring out what to do with your life, but we're going to get your momentum going with two big ones and send you off feeling more clear and at ease than you've likely felt in a long time.

We only do these kind of free workshops a few times per year, so join us while you can! There WILL be a free replay video for people who register, so sign up even if you can't be there live.

GET ON THE PPVE VIP LIST!

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is going to be opening for enrollment on Tuesday, September 25!

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbooks assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

If you're on the VIP list, you'll be the first to know about our early bird pricing and the handful of free coaching sessions we're going to be giving away!

We're only taking 50 people in this round, and enrollment is first-come, first-served. If you want in, you'll definitely want to be on this list.

Join the VIP list here.

LINKS

• Kristen's blog about the transition of quitting her full-time job
• Rachel's blog about honoring the space between 'no longer' and 'not yet'
• Emotional Constipation with Joanna Platt
• Leave us a comment on this episode
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz
• Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

My client Dawn was in a major internal tug-of-war. Her boss had just announced he was leaving, which meant his job was opening up.

As soon as the job was posted, several of Dawn's coworkers forwarded her the job listing with notes like, "You would be perfect for this," and "This has your name all over it."

Dawn was flattered, but torn. She'd never considered applying for her boss' job, and she wasn't totally sure she wanted it. It would mean a lot more responsibility, as well as becoming a manager, all of which made her extremely uncomfortable.

On the other hand, everyone kept telling her it would be such a great growth opportunity, and it would be a step up the ladder in her career, not to mention a bigger paycheck. It seemed like the logical next step.

She asked me, "How do I know if this is worth stepping out of my comfort zone?"

As someone who loves being in my comfort zone (whatever the opposite of an adrenaline junkie is … that's me), but also knows that I can't stay there forever if I want to keep learning and growing and making an impact, I grapple with this same question frequently.

While conventional self-help advice — not to mention countless inspirational Instagram messages — will tell you that all the good stuff in life is outside of your comfort zone, I don't believe that's true 100% of the time. I think it's more nuanced than that.

Sometimes getting out of your comfort zone is the best thing you can do to grow as a person. And other times, discomfort is a sign that you're doing something inauthentic.

So how do you tell the difference? I'm sharing 3 questions to ask yourself to determine if something is worth getting out of your comfort zone.

Much Love,

Rachel (& Kristen)

FREE WORKSHOP ON SEPTEMBER 25!

We're hosting a free, LIVE online workshop on Tuesday, September 25, at 1pm Eastern, and we'd love for you to be there!

How to figure out what to do with your life in 2 steps

If you're been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, confused, and uncertain about your direction in both your life and career, this is a REALLY great place for you to start.

Obviously there are way more than just TWO steps when it comes to figuring out what to do with your life, but we're going to get your momentum going with two big ones and send you off feeling more clear and at ease than you've likely felt in a long time.

We only do these kind of free workshops a few times per year, so join us while you can! There WILL be a free replay video for people who register, so sign up even if you can't be there live.

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is going to be opening for enrollment on Tuesday, September 25!

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbook assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

If you're on the VIP list, you'll be the first to know about our early bird pricing and the handful of free coaching sessions we're going to be giving away!

We're only taking 50 people in this round, and enrollment is first-come, first-served. If you want in, you'll definitely want to be on this list.

Join the VIP list here.

LINKS

Leave us a comment on this episode

Take the Passion Profile Quiz

Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

Four years ago Teanca Shepherd was burnt out and craving a change. So she picked up and moved about as far away from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as you can get—all the way to Japan.

She taught English in Japan for two years, but making a dramatic change hadn't suddenly solved all of her problems. She was still unsure of what she really wanted out of life, and the clock was ticking loudly on her remaining time overseas.

It was at this point that Teanca discovered The Passion Profile Quiz and reached out to us. After coaching with me (Rachel) for a couple months, she felt clear about what she wanted, but her dream job hadn't instantly landed in her lap … and it didn't, for another two years.

When Teanca emailed me to tell me that she had FINALLY found her dream job, she said that she was SO glad that she waited, even though it had taken so much longer than she had hoped.

For that reason alone, I HAD to have Teanca on the podcast. We all (myself included) need to know—how do you weather rejection, uncertainty, fear, and doubt for YEARS, without giving up or losing your faith?

So, on this interview with a "normal person" I talk to Teanca about that, and:

• How she stopped seeking approval, got over her passivity, dropped her people-pleasing habits, and learned how to speak up (& the specific homework I gave her that helped with this)
• Why your life sometimes NEEDS to be hard, and how you can weather tough times with confidence
• How she ended up on a team where people root for her success, naps are encouraged, and creativity is a virtue
• Why your desperation to get a dream job may be the very thing preventing it from happening
• Why you shouldn't give in to the temptation to tell people what you think they want to hear in interviews, PARTICULARLY when you really want the job

After you've listened, leave a comment to let us know how Teanca's wisdom has resonated with you!

FREE WORKSHOP ON SEPTEMBER 25!

We're hosting a free, LIVE online workshop on Tuesday, September 25 at 1pm Eastern, and we'd love for you to be there!

How to figure out what to do with your life in 2 steps

If you're been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, confused, and uncertain about your direction in both your life and career, this is a REALLY great place for you to start.

Obviously there are way more than just TWO steps when it comes to figuring out what to do with your life, but we're going to get your momentum going with two big ones, and send you off feeling more clear and at ease than you've likely felt in a long time.

We only do these kind of free workshops a few times per year, so join us while you can! There WILL be a free replay video for people who register, so sign up even if you can't be there live.

GET ON THE PPVE VIP LIST!

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is going to be opening for enrollment on Tuesday, September 25!

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbooks assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

If you're on the VIP list, you'll be the first to know about our early bird pricing and the handful of free coaching sessions we're going to be giving away!

We're only taking 50 people in this round, and enrollment is first-come, first-served. If you want in, you'll definitely want to be on this list.

Join the VIP list here.

LINKS

• Leave us a comment on this episode
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz
• Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

We recently got a question that was intended for our monthly Dear Krachel segment, but it's a subject that I've been considering writing about for a long time, so I decided to tackle it at length in a blog, instead!

Here's what Mary wrote:

"Hi Rachel!

You had mentioned on a recent podcast that you haven't had an alcoholic beverage in 3 years. I was wondering if you wanted to share what brought you to this life change.

My husband has been sober for over a year and a half and I went through the rocky journey of cutting back/abstinence. I have now participated in "dryuary" (no drinking in January), took a break in April and am now completing a 90-day break. This is huge for me and challenging at times. Overall I feel better for it.

I got excited when you shared you don't drink and wanted to know your story since I feel this lifestyle is very connected to socializing, productivity, and general outlook on life.

I'm not saying I'm never going to drink again, but would love your input on the subject since it's so prevalent in our society. I listen to you and Kristen religiously and respect your interpretation of life."

Mary is right—there are a lot of implications, both personal and social, when it comes to quitting something that a majority of people enjoy. It can be frustrating, lonely, and intimidating to break away from the crowd for any reason, let alone one that's so woven into the culture.

So, I'm getting into the reasons why I stopped drinking alcohol, as well as how to deal when you want to go your own way but are afraid of being judged or left out.

GET ON THE PPVE VIP LIST!

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is going to be opening for enrollment on Tuesday, September 25!

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbooks assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

If you're on the VIP list, you'll be the first to know about our early bird pricing and the handful of free coaching sessions we're going to be giving away!

We're only taking 50 people in this round, and enrollment is first-come, first-served. If you want in, you'll definitely want to be on this list.

Join the VIP list here.

LINKS

• Leave us a comment on this episode
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz
• Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, a monthly advice segment where we answer audience questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.

On this episode, we're answering questions from:

• Sera, who is anxiety-ridden and depressed at her day job, and knows she wants to take a creative risk and publish her written work, but is paralyzed by fear at every turn—of failure, embarrassment, and success. How can she get out of her own way?
• Bianca, who recently quit a toxic job without anything lined up. All she wants to do is rest, but she can't afford not to work. How does she revamp her energy after being through hell and back during her last job?
• Laura, who wants to try new things but holds herself back by saying "not yet." On the other hand, she knows a lot of people who jump at EVERY idea, and they don't seem any better off. So, how can we take action while avoiding either extreme (not enough, or too much)?
• Amanda, who can't decide between 3 career options that seem equally appealing and achievable, in their own ways. How do you get over the fear of picking the wrong thing?

After you've listened, leave us a comment to let us know if our advice for these three ladies resonated with you, too.

Want to submit a question for our October episode of Dear Krachel? Fill out this form and you might hear us tackle your Q!

GET ON THE PPVE VIP LIST!

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is going to be opening for enrollment on Tuesday, September 25!

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbooks assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

If you're on the VIP list, you'll be the first to know about our early bird pricing and the handful of free coaching sessions we're going to be giving away!

We're only taking 50 people in this round, and enrollment is first-come, first-served. If you want in, you'll definitely want to be on this list.

Join the VIP list here.

LINKS

• Leave us a comment on this episode
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz
• Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

I tend to get wrapped up in my own thoughts. A lot. As in, I've gone on solo road trips and not even turned the radio on for hours. I'm very comfortable with silence.

Because of this, I've heard the same kinds of comments from people close to me for my whole life: "You got really quiet all of a sudden. What's going on? Or, "You have to tell me how you're feeling — I can't read your mind!" Or, usually in an argument, "Are you even hearing me? Say something already!"

The strange thing is, anyone who knows me well will tell you that I can be chatty. I used to bring report cards home from school with all A's and a little X-mark that said, "Talks to her friends too much in class."

And if you've ever listened to our podcast, I think it's pretty clear that talking — sometimes ad nauseum — about something I care deeply about is certainly not an issue of mine!

So what's going on? Why is it that I can be so chatty sometimes, and so quiet and pensive other times?

It took me a long time to figure this out (and a lot of seeing similar patterns in people I coach), but it turns out it has everything to do with how I process thoughts, feelings, and information.

Most people in my life — my closest friends, and most of my family members, too — are external processors. Me, on the other hand? I'm an internal processor.

In this week's blog, I'm explaining the difference between internal and external processing, as well as how to figure out your processing style and use it to better communicate with others.

GET ON THE PPVE VIP LIST!

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is going to be opening for enrollment in about a month!

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbook assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

If you're on the VIP list, you'll be the first to know about our early bird pricing and the handful of free coaching sessions we're going to be giving away!

Join the VIP list here.

LINKS

• Read the written version of this blog and leave comments here
• Get on the PPVE VIP list here
• Submit a question for the next episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly podcast advice column
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz

Calling all fellow bookworms, library nerds, and general lovers of literature—it's time for another book club episode of the podcast!

Whenever there are five Fridays in a month, we devote the extra Friday to a book that we can't get enough of. This time we decided to have a conversation about one of the best-selling books of all time (and for good reason), The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho.

We each pulled a few of our favorite parts to talk about, including:

• Why realizing your destiny is your ONLY obligation in life (and why you don't have to know what it is to get started)
• Proof that the universe is conspiring to help you get what you want
• How you can ask for and receive signs that you're on the right path
• Why the fear of suffering is always way worse than the actual struggle that you'll go through
• How to let yourself fail and be bad at things, without crumbling
• Why you should think twice before taking anyone else's opinion about what to do with your life seriously
• Why it sometimes feel like you're being tested by the universe, and how to not give up when things get hard

Come leave us a comment after you've listened and let us know what YOUR favorite part of The Alchemist is, and if you haven't read it yet, what resonated most from this conversation.

And in the true spirit of this book, we'd also LOVE to hear your stories of signs and synchronicities, so come share that, too!

GET ON THE PPVE VIP LIST!

Our twice-yearly online group coaching program, the Passion Plan Virtual Experience, is going to be opening for enrollment in about a month!

It's a 5-ish week course (with a mix of pre-recorded videos, workbooks assignments, and live Google hangouts with the two of us) that helps you figure out what to do with your life. Think of it as the "AP Life" class you should have taken in high school, but never got the chance!

If you're on the VIP list, you'll be the first to know about our early bird pricing and the handful of free coaching sessions we're going to be giving away!

Join the VIP list here.

LINKS

• Leave a comment on this episode
• E-Squared by Pam Grout
• Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver
• Submit your question for the next episode of Dear Krachel
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz

I'm writing about something today that's going to seem really obvious in hindsight, but that never actually occurred to me for most of my life.

I used to (still do, but I'm working on it!) go down these absolute spirals of existential angst.

I wasn't always sure what triggered them. All I knew was that I'd start the day out feeling ticked off or moody, and by the end of the day I'd be in a heap of tears or pulling my hair out while dramatically declaring, "What's the point!?"

And by "the point," I generally meant of anything. Having a business. Trying to be nice to other humans. Dating. Attempting to be healthy.

I've written before about the futility of questioning how your life is going when you're in a crap mood. And I stand by that.

But what if you could prevent the crap mood from happening in the first place? (Sometimes, at least. 100% prevention of crap moods is not only unrealistic, it's inhuman.)

And what if what triggers a lot of our daily angst is actually the most basic, obvious stuff that we're taking for granted?

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE E-BOOK!

This blog is one of the featured pieces in our free e-book: Are happy people for real? What it takes to live a happy, contented life in a world where that sometimes feels impossible.

Download the e-book, and check out the other free e-book collections here.

LINKS

• Read the written version of this blog and leave comments here
• Free E-Book: Are happy people for real? What it takes to live a happy, contented life in a world where that sometimes feels impossible
• Get on the PPVE VIP list here
• Submit a question for the next episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly podcast advice column
• Take the Passion Profile Quiz