This is a tool for when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Ease back into calm with this brief guided meditation from Elisabeth Andrews, MPH.

More wellness resources: https://elisabethandrews.com/wellness-resources-1

Your PhD program probably didn't cover how to build relationships with prospective donors. As you advance into academic leadership, however, these conversations become a critical part of the job. In this episode, Elisabeth talks with faculty fundraising coach Helene O’Leary, who demystifies donor relations to help academic leaders bring in transformative gifts for their institutions.

You’ll learn:

• Why successful fundraising isn’t about being extroverted or charismatic
• How to overcome awkwardness to begin — and end! — conversations that lead naturally to support
• Real examples of academics who shifted from pitching projects to creating authentic connections, and raised major gifts as a result

If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable “asking for money,” this conversation will reframe donor engagement as something far more natural, rewarding, and even fun.

Find Helene on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-o-leary-10425924/

Connect with Elisabeth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethandrews/

Journaling is my life-long passion and the practice I most love to teach. To help you get started, I recorded this 6-minute guided breath work meditation preparing body and mind for a short journaling session. Get your pen and paper ready and use this recording to enter a calm and reflective state.

Most job seekers are told to “find a personal connection” to get hired — but it turns out that advice can actually undermine your credibility.

In this eye-opening conversation Susanna Williams, a VP of HR and career coach, explains why referrals can backfire, what hiring managers really want to see, and exactly what you should do instead to position yourself as a top candidate.

Susanna breaks down:

• Why personal referrals can be a red flag
• How to circumvent the "numbers game" and find the perfect match
• Crafting a resume versus a cover letter, and why the cover letter is your golden ticket
• The "overqualified" trap and how to avoid it

A few choice quotes:

"Pushing the hiring manager actually doesn't make you more attractive. To me, it's like, 'Oh, you're a little desperate.' And that's not appealing."

"It is not a numbers game. It's a clarity game."

"What unlocked everything is that I stopped trying to apply to places I was excited about, and thought about places that would be excited about me."

Connect with Susanna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannawilliams/

Connect with Elisabeth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethandrews/

In this episode, we explore what your dreams have to offer your research career. Drawing from historical examples and touching on neuroscience, psychology, and religious traditions, we examine how our unconscious mind can assist with career breakthroughs.

I describe three distinct approaches to dream interpretation:

• Freud's perspective on dreams as repressed responses to the past
• Jung's view of dream characters as different aspects of oneself
• Edgar Cayce's framework for using dreams as problem-solving tools

Key takeaway: Our highly evolved brains spend hours dreaming each night for good reason. By paying attention to these messages from your unconscious mind, you can access deeper wisdom about your work and life direction.

LINKS:

• December 1 Boundaries Boot Camp registration: (FREE!) https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEucO6qqTwoE9N4WmleDG1AUUNl3rhqjj_D
  • View event flyer here
• How to Remember Your Dreams, from This Jungian Life: https://thisjungianlife.com/recall-content/
• Dream Consultant GPT: https://chatgpt.com/g/g-8MUejKPgi-dream-consultant
• Benzene Lullaby via Suno: https://suno.com/song/57058eb4-57b7-42ba-b3c1-ef25216bbcf5 (but keep in mind benzene can be quite dangerous and toxic, that was just a bit of AI fun)

How can researchers describe the impact of their work?

What does community-engaged research look like, from a funder's perspective?

What are private foundations looking for in research grant applications?

Indiana University Senior Foundation Relations Director Cory Rutz and I discuss these topics and more in this masterclass on understanding and aligning with funder's priorities in order to amplify the reach and outcomes of your work.

Find Cory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryrutz

Indiana University's Corporate and Foundation Relations Office: https://cfr.iu.edu

What if "batshit mode" is NOT the best way to succeed in the academy?

University of Houston Associate Professor Monique Mills is helping to lead a movement toward a slower, more deeply engaged approach to an academic career. Inspired by the book The Slow Professor by Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber, she shares how she has downshifted her teaching, publishing, and grant writing so that she and her students can not only thrive but ultimately have a more significant and lasting impact.

Resources mentioned:

The Thrive Hive (community) - http://thethrivehive.mn.co

The Slow Professor (book) - https://utorontopress.com/9781487521851/the-slow-professor/?srsltid=AfmBOopGGPv5mTLLSsjbLHTrb2mS4wexXpN-41bnUedeTAKUE9aE0E-z

Academic Writing Amplified (podcast) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/academic-writing-amplified/id1478044381

Playing Big (book) - https://www.taramohr.com

NCFDD - National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity - https://www.ncfdd.org

Find us on LinkedIn:

Monique Mills - https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquetmills

Elisabeth Andrews - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethandrews

Despite our hard work and accomplishments, many of us secretly fear that we don't know what we're doing professionally and any day now we'll be exposed. (Fittingly, the audio on this episode somehow reverted to an embarrassing pause and throat clearing right at the start!) My guest Peter Harrison writes about and leads workshops on this phenomenon of "impostor syndrome," and in this episode he shares what he has learned in his own career and what he recommends for releasing these fears.

We discuss:

• The importance of knowing and naming your skill set
• Perfectionism and how it relates to impostor syndrome
• Links between impostor syndrome and ADHD and autism
• Middle school trauma and the message that self-acceptance is unacceptable
• Identifying a "home base" of who you are as an adult

Share your thoughts with us on LinkedIn!

You'll find me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethandrews/

Peter is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-harrison-z90/

You poured your heart and soul into a grant proposal, only to have it meet with rejection. It's brutal!! In this episode I talk candidly with Ansley Fender, a former grants consultant whose software company, Grantcycle, supports grant applicants and managers. We take a deep dive on navigating emotions and mindset around rejection, highlight practical strategies for improving your success rate, and discuss how to get more rewards from every proposal development cycle -- whether or not that project gets funded.

This brief writing warm-up gets you in the right frame of mind to do your best work.

We're going to clear away resistance to those daunting academic writing tasks in just a few minutes.

Grab your notebook and pen, find a comfortable seat, and unlock your focus and flow.