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It’s easy to believe that what you do is who you are.

We live in a world that loves labels - student, teacher, CEO, cashier, truck driver, counselor, business owner. We carry our job titles, roles, or achievements like armor. Sometimes, like identity.

But here’s the question most of us forget to...

Put your hand in the sky if you’ve ever felt stuck trying to “find your passion.” Is it up? Ours is, too.

Somewhere along the line, many of us were told passion would arrive like a lightning bolt - loud, obvious, life-altering. But for most people, it doesn’t look like that. Passion doesn’t alwa...

There’s something funny that happens when something comes naturally to us. We assume it can’t be that valuable. We downplay it, brush it off, wave it away.

We often say:

• “That was easy.”
• “It wasn’t a big deal.”
• “That’s just who I am.”

But what if the very thing you think doesn’t count i...

Do You Have What It Takes? You're More Ready Than You Know

Here’s something most people won’t say out loud: Even the most “put-together” people - the ones you think have it all figured out - still wonder if they’re cut out for what’s next.

Truth is... we all do.

Whether it’s applying for a job, m...

Helping young people dream big and find purposeful direction is incredibly rewarding—especially when you see them thrive, like Ryan.

Ryan was one of my first students during the pandemic, and we worked through the IDEAS Framework to help him chart a meaningful path. He was in college and feeling th...

Finding purpose, fulfillment and happiness in our day job is absolutely possible.  It’s why we use the IDEAS Framework.  And although professional alignment is important in that journey, finding our connection to our community and living a life of service is just as necessary. 

I love the duality o...

The adaptability phase of the career journey can be a challenging but essential part of the process. It comes after you’ve explored various experiences—whether through job shadows, internships, or informational interviews. By this point, you’ve dipped your toes into different roles and industries, g...

Exploring Career Paths: Three Tactics for Career Connected Learning

Now that you know the industry you’re excited about and you’ve done the work to identify the companies and people in those industries, it’s time to work the plan you designed. It’s time to have those valuable conversations with pro...

The next phase of the IDEAS Framework is designing a plan of the job types, companies and people you need to talk to get more information about this career path you’re uncovering.

In Introspection, you identified your core skills and your personality traits. You did some research on how those skill...

I always tell young people this work is not a path to singular discovery.  We’re not trying to find the one job they’re supposed to do.  Ultimately, we’re trying to get them to learn a process and a mindset.  

The process is the IDEAS Framework.  Following the different phases of the framework gets...

 Dreaming big about your career can be a powerful way to uncover your true passions and align them with real-world opportunities. By asking yourself the right questions, you can start to map out the industries and job types that excite you. Below are ten thought-provoking questions designed to help ...

The path to finding a job that brings you fulfillment is to know your own core skills.  We’ve been talking about the importance of this in our past few blog posts.  Here's why taking the time to understand your core skills is essential.

Why Self-Assessment Matters

1. Clarity and Direction

   - ...