From: Jane Kirsch [jane@lifeandworkbydesign.com]
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 5:15 PM
To: jane_kirsch@comcast.net
Subject: Newsletter WORKIN' MY WAY February, 2008
Welcome to the Workin' My Way Community
February, 2008


Be Your Own Best Valentine


The candy is probably gone, the roses are looking pretty wilty or maybe you didn't have either one. No matter - you can be your own very best valentine.

Find a day on your calendar this month to block in the time to give yourself a gift to
  • Go browse the bookstore or library career and self-help shelves.
  • Shadow someone who works at something you are interested in trying.
  • Plan a trip to a place where you would like to live.
  • Sit down in a quiet place with this month's book (see below) and write down your thoughts and ambitions.
  • Call me for a free 30 minute consultation about your future. 610-695-0564

    Love yourself enough to give a New You a chance.


Visit my web-site and blog for more resources, articles and ideas.

Sign up for my blog to receive occasional inspirations and real-life stories of people who are making their life and work dreams come true.

Feel free to ask questions or comment to jane@lifeandworkbydesign.com

Life & Work By Design Web Site

News and Announcements


Workshop Announcement -
Your Second Act: What Do You Want to Do Next?


This fun 6 hour  workshop will help you get started on the road to the life you want to have and the work that you dream of doing.

Discover your passions and define your ideal life; brainstorm ways to be paid to do what you love; set goals and learn to take actions to get past the obstacles in your way.

A Workbook and Finding Your True Calling from Changing Course.com are included.

Tuesday evenings, 3/11, 3/18 and 3/25  from 7:00 - 9:00 in Wayne, PA

$150.00 Registration includes two 30 minute coaching sessions.

Call me at 610-695-0564 to register by March 7.

This can also be done for a group of 8 - 10 on a Saturday in your town.  Call for information.

E-mail for More Information

Book Review


Since I am suggesting that you give yourself a gift of love this month, the book, Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser would be a great way to do that.

There are many names for this phenomenon, but no matter what you call it, it works. Give yourself 30 minutes once a week to write down your goals, your dreams or your definition of success.  Even if you put that list away and forget about it, when you find it months or years later, you will find that everything you wrote down did in fact occur eventually.

What I like about this book is that the author suggests a variety of ways to do it. You can try something called "Rapid Writing" which is particularly good for situations where you are very emotional - angry, sad, or resentful. As you write it all down, your mind naturally begins to evaluate your feelings, and helping you sort through the emotion to get to the real problem and some possible solutions.

Or you can use note cards to create a Suggestion Box for your Brain. These are index cards you carry with you to jot down bright ideas, observations and insights as they occur to you in the normal course of a day. This way you don't forget them and can go back and expand on them when you have time.

My favorite though is to write a letter to yourself that will be read on your hundredth birthday describing the accomplishments and joys you can look back on.

Many of you tell me that you just can't seem to pull your thoughts together in an organized way. The first step is to make some quiet, uninterrupted time to allow your mind to clear out the cobwebs and static.  Then by using any of the methods Klauser suggests you can begin to see those ideas take on a shape and direction.  Give this book a try -  I'm sure you can find one that will work for you.

Order a copy today

Notes and Tips from My Journal


If you are paying attention at all, you will have noticed that the January issue of this newsletter went missing.  I could offer all kinds of excuses and blame it on the technical difficulties I've been having with my computer I suppose, and some of that would be legitimate. 

But the real reason is that I had to step back last month and take a long look at where I was heading for this coming year. 

I followed a lot of my own advice ~ did a lot of soul-searching, reading and most of all, talking to a lot of wonderful folks, some who know me pretty well and some who don't.  The problem was that I was offered a full-time position with a non-profit that I would have jumped at 10 years ago.  But, life is different now. 

I had to re-visit my "life design" as I like to call it.  My ideal life no longer includes things like working 60 hours a week including night and evening meetings.  It also doesn't include dodging my way through the office politics, or handling the various egos and personalities of a large organization. 

So knowing all that, I turned it down and then went about expanding and broadening my goals and programs for coaching and consulting this coming year.   The workshops are the first new order of business and look for a series of tele-classes in the fall.    Even coaches have to re-group sometimes.    :)



My Dear Jane letters

How do I find out about possible grants for a program I want to start to teach young adult women such things as interview skills, proper manners, how to dress for success, budgeting their income, etc.? 

Great Question!  (and what a wonderful idea)  There are many avenues to follow to look for grants for such a project.  There are local, state and federal government programs to fund ideas like this, but that is not the only route to investigate. 

There are also thousands of small foundations, businesses and individuals who offer grants for good programs, and a lot of money goes un-used each year because no one applies for it. 

The trick is to understand the guidelines, goals and requirements of the funding entity.   Most grant proposals are rejected because the application does not fit the guidelines of the foundation or agency.  Many of them have very tight limitations - an example is a Levi-Strauss grant to teach teens and young adults to sew in Appalachia.

A trip to your local library reference section will yield a number of listings of grant-funding organizations and agencies as well as private foundations.  Read the description of each to find the ones that are appropriate for your concept.  

Then purchase a how-to book on proposal writing.  These applications are very similar to business plans.  I suggest "The Only Grant Writing Book You'll Ever Need" by Karsh and Fox.  It covers the whole world of grant-writing, includes a glossary of terms, proposal writing styles and lists of RAGs - Regional Associations of Grant Makers.  It's available in my web-site book store.  



Send Your Question for Next Month

A Quote To Ponder


Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.  Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.   Ella Fitzgerald




Jane Kirsch PO Box 1285  Southeastern, PA 19399-1825  610-695-0564
jane@lifeandworkbydesign.com



Life and Work By Design • PO Box 1285 • Southeastern • PA • 19399-1285

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