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When we act on future work opportunities, we help make our career dreams come true.

Paired with dreams, exploration, and strategy, action helps us to achieve career success. These four components weave together like DNA, in countless combinations, to create a pathway for people to seek and do meaningful work.

In this episode, Dan Smolen recalls how his early career ambition benefitted from a big relocation:

“My first big career break also fulfilled the desire that my wife and I had to move to an interesting but far away part of the country. We were East Coasters. And my first agency job relocated us to Minneapolis.”

Seizing career advancement opportunities has served Dan well across all four of his career acts.

In this episode, Dan also recalls how a 20-year role in executive search exposed him to people who jumped at sudden career opportunities out of basic need. In other words, they needed immediate cash-flow to survive. Still, when money and volatility are not career-change drivers, some people act impulsively…because, that’s what they do.

Also in this episode, we meet Marti Konstant of Konstant Change. Marti is a workplace futurist who helps people employ agility to succeed in the future of work. In this interview segment, she and Dan discuss working from anywhere. Discussion starts here: 9:46About our guest:

Marti Konstant is an author, consultant, and globally recognized workplace futurist. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Marti lives and works in Chicago.

EPISODE DATE: May 28, 2021

Social media:

– LinkedIn

– Twitter 

– Website

– Activate Your Agile Career (Book Page)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:06 — 34.5MB)

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Strategize for your future work success to find and do the work of your dreams.

Paired with dreams, exploration, and action, strategy helps us to achieve career success. These four components weave together like DNA, in countless combinations, to create a pathway for people to seek and do meaningful work.

In this episode, Dan Smolen recalls an experience from his junior year of college. Back then, he engaged with Associate Professor of Advertising Howard Cogan. Howard was also a successful advertising executive who wrote, voiced, and produced radio commercials. As Dan’s mentor, Howard encouraged Dan to pursue opportunities in a channel of advertising agency work called direct marketing.

Dan recalls Howard’s sage advice to strategize for future work success:

“You’re going too need to get strategic about your career. [It looks like] you may not find your opportunity on the agency side quickly. But, perhaps you can find an entry-level assignment that’s close enough and allows you to develop direct marketing skills and talents that you will need in agency life.”

Two years into that first role, Dan had proven himself to be an on-the-job success. And the skill and experience he gained helped him land a dream agency assignment in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He was just 24 years old.

Also in this episode:

Dan speaks with Rich Gee of Rich Gee High Performance Coaching. As a nationally recognized career coach, Rich helps his clients get strategic in their career development so they may achieve phenomenal success. Interview starts at 11:47

When you strategize for future work success, your career dreams can come true.

About our guest:

Rich Gee was a successful executive in the market research space before finding his bliss as a nationally recognized career coach and principal of Rich Gee High Performance Coaching. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Ripon College and certification from Coach University. Rich lives and works in Stamford, Connecticut.

EPISODE DATE: May 21, 2021

Social media:

– Website

– LinkedIn

– Twitter

– Rich Gee Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:44 — 39.5MB)

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Explore future work opportunities to live your dreams of doing meaningful work.

Paired with dreams, strategy, and action, exploration helps us to achieve career success. These four components weave together like DNA, in countless combinations, to create a pathway for people to seek and do meaningful work.

In this episode, Dan recalls the impact of Seventh Grade Career Day on his lifetime of work. And his guest, Professor Anne Holton of George Mason University, provides thought-leadership on how early career education can become truly meaningful. Interview starts at 12:23

Dan describes the positive impact of his first career mentor:

“[My career exploration] got its first traction because of [TV broadcast executive and former kid’s show star] Hal Shaw. Mr. Shaw was the first mentor of many to encourage me to develop my writing skills and, in high school get involved in journalism.”

When he explored future work opportunities, Dan got closer to his dreams of doing meaningful work.

About our guest:

Anne Holton grew up in a family committed to public service. Her father, Linwood Holton, is a former governor of Virginia. During her successful career, Anne served as:

• Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judge for the City of Richmond, Virginia (1996-98);
• Virginia’s First Lady when her husband, Tim Kaine, was governor (2006-2009);
• Virginia’s Secretary of Education (2014-2016), and:
• Interim President of George Mason University (2019-2020).

Currently, she is Professor of Public Policy and Education for GMU’s Schar School of Policy and Government.

Anne earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a Juris Doctorate from the Harvard University School of Law. She and her husband, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, reside in Richmond, Virginia.

EPISODE DATE: May 14, 2021

Social media:

– GMU Schar School Website

– Professor Anne Holton’s Twitter Page

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:25 — 19.9MB)

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We discuss how dreams inspire our future work.

Dreams are part of the components that help us to seek and do meaningful work and careers.

Paired with exploration, strategy, and action, dreams help us achieve career success. These four components weave together like DNA, in countless combinations, to create a pathway for people to seek and do meaningful work.

In this episode, Dan relives his early career dreams. And his guest, Dr. Charles Glassman, recalls how well-meaning people in his teenage years tried talking him out of a medical career. Through sheer determination, he overcame average high school performance to become a well respected physician and social media’s “Coach MD.” Starts at 9:35

Since recording the podcast interview in 2019, Dr. Glassman has retired from medical practice to become CEO of wellness start-up Victor. It is developing interactive tools to channel the mind and enable people to tap into their innate abilities.

Dan compares the weaving of the four career journey components to strands of DNA:

“When I established The Dan Smolen Experience at the beginning of 2018, I had in mind a career journey model that looked like strands of DNA, made up of countless combinations of four components. And while our DNA were pre-determined at conception, the strands of our career empowerment DNA are determined by us throughout our working lives.

We get to choose what they are.”

Whether a careerist is new to work, or embarking on a new career act, their dreams inspire future work.

About our guest:

Charles Glassman earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and his M.D. from New York Medical College. Dr. Glassman’s health and wellness start-up, Victor, is based in Pomona, New York.

EPISODE DATE: May 7, 2021

Social media:

Brain Drain: The Breakthrough that will Change Your Life (Amazon.com)

Fake News Stories by Your Brain (FREE E-Book)

Coach MD Website

Coach MD YouTube Channel

Coach MD Facebook Page

Coach MD Twitter Page