Celebrate Your Career: 100 years and Counting!

November is National Career Development Month and not only that, we in the field of career guidance are celebrating 100 years of service.

This year's theme is Inspire Your Career---Develop Your Dreams
In 1908, Frank Parsons established the first vocational guidance clinic and outlined the basic principals of vocational guidance, cementing him as the founding father of vocational psychology.

Since then, millions of people have performed millions of jobs.

Obviously our concept of work has changed quite a bit, and continues to evolve at an accelerated rate, with the advent of internet, and especially web 2.0 and 3.0 platforms. It is now a common idea that not only work can be fun, it IS SUPPOSED to be FUN.

For me, my own career started out working in the higher educational setting. In 1999, I decided to become self-employed and the rest, they say, is history. My own career has many twists, turns, and surprises, as I am sure yours has too.

One of my favorite things to discuss is how people got into what they are doing.

Feel free to share your story here.
One of my goals is to help people follow their bliss, fulfill a greater purpose, and to leave the world a little better because they were here. So in celebration, I am inviting you to join me for 5 special events:

1). Take my free Is Your Spirit Working Quiz to find out how much spirit you are bringing to your current work situation: http://www.smartcareerchanges.com/spirit-working.html

2). Listen in as Ryan Pearson of the Empower hour radio Show interviews me this Sunday, November 9 from 7-8 central time (646) 200-4905Topic: Discover Your Divine Life Purpose: How to Make the Shift So You Can Sing the Song in Your Soul

3). Check out my newly released book, Get Your Career on the Fast Track at a Friends only discount: http://www.smartcareerchanges.com/career-fast-track.html(receive bonuses worth hundreds of dollars)

4). Request your 11 minute Career Check up Coaching Call with Me (limit to the first 11 people to connect with me)

5). Jump Start Your Career with a Free package including an mp3, the 7 Steps to a Smart Career Change, and the Presence Process diagram: http:http://www.smartcareerchanges.com/

Additionally, I would love to hear how your own career has progressed and what you have learned along your journey.

COACHING QUESTIONS:
Do You Absolutely LOVE what you do with a Passion?
Would you do what you are doing even if you did not get paid?
If yes, Celebrate!
If no, Educate.

So here's to you, the work you do now, and the work you will do in the future.
Be sure to give yourself a big pat on the back for a job well done and do something nice to reward yourself!

May you be blessed with abundance, joy, and happiness.
Michelle L .Casto
The Soul Coach

Work is love made visible. Kahlil Gibran

At the essence of any great career is love and passionâ€"it is literally a labor of love. Michelle L. Casto

The master teacher, Jesus, said, "I am the light of the world" and that "You are the Light."

Light is attractive. You too have a light that attracts....an inner light. Some people shine with joy. Others emit a ray of hope. Some glow with love. Still others shine with positive energy and enthusiasm. Be an inviting light and turn your light on. Be someone else's ray of sunshine. Share a smile. Use words of encouragement. Write a sweet note. Practice random acts of kindness. Give a hug. When you allow people to see tour bright light and bask in your warm radiance, you reflect more of your divinity.

The 16th century Sufi poet Rumi wrote,

"For ages you have come and gone, courting delusion.
For ages you have run from the pain and forfeited the ecstacy.
So come, return to the root of root of your own soul.
Although you appear in earthly form
Your essence is pure Consciousness.
You are the fearless guardian of Divine Light.
So come, return to the root of the root of your own soul."

So you have some big problems, right? You may have tried to fix them before with little result. I have good news. No matter how big or daunting a situation you find yourself in, you can transform it.

You come from Source, a loving, creative force. If you think like God and be like God, you realize the incredible power you have to create. Author of many amazing books, Dr. Wayne Dyer says, "Keep your thoughts centered on light and what you want, rather than on dark and what you don't want. Practice seeing the light within you. Bring light thoughts to every circumstance of darkness. It is so common to do precisely the opposite when you do, you attract more illusions of the dark."

Remember that you are part of Source, which is Light and Love.

Yurimen said, "Everything has a bright and dark side to it. Those who see only the dark side of things bring sorrow and pain upon themselves. To those who are able to see at the same time the bright side of it, everyday is a good day."

Wake Up!

It's time to become conscious about who you are and what you want out of life. A key activity in adulthood is looking at the basic beliefs that are running your life. And ask: Do these beliefs work? Do they bring me happiness?

Often, the answer is no, you adopted the belief under duress and it is no longer appropriate. If your life is not working, it is time to identify limiting beliefs and replace them with life affirming ones. So begins your education in spiritual wisdom.

Right now, a shift in consciousness is happening. We are graduating from the "old school" of living that was about education for personal gain, and money as the motivator, to the "new school" of enlightenment for humanity's evolution, and Truth as the inspiration.

We are moving out of the darkness of unconsciousness, which is fear-based, closed, and mired in negative emotions to the light of consciousness, which is love -based, courageous, open, and overflowing with positive emotions.

Light and dark cannot cohabitate, so when you turn the light on, it dissipates the darkness. You can activate your own soul's code that contains your manifest destiny by simply choosing to stop looking outside of yourself for salvation and start looking within.

The source within you manages energy to draw to you what you want.
Who you are is light. You are one with the source of creation. Therefore you are a creator. Source is unlimited. Therefore you are unlimited. Awaken from the things that scare you by shining a light on them. Scary ideas keep you stuck and living a mediocre, small, limited life. Inspirational ideas free you to live a great, big, unlimited life.

You can have more of what you want.
You only have to believe it and ask for it. There is an important reminder that God wants you to hear: anything you can imagine is yours to be, do, and have. It's all there for the creating. What's inside you is what creates what's out there. You are in control. You create experiences, be they good or bad. You do it all. You are it all. You may as well get used to using divine powers to manifest what you want instead of what you don't want.

The author of Power vs. Force, Dr. Hawkins says that, "what is meant by the term ‘soul' is the capacity to experience life." Are you experiencing life to the fullest extent possible and expressing your greatest potential? If not, working with a professional coach can assist you to sift through the dark silt of life and forge a bright, soul-fulfilled life.

You are a powerful soul with divine powers, such as the ability to give and receive love, manifest your desires, think analytically, experience feelings, and understand and learn your unique lessons. You are completely unique unto yourself---on the entire planet, there is only one light like yours.

You are the greatest miracle in the world. Activate. Be divine and shine your unique bright light to the world Now.

Michelle L. Casto is known as the Soul Diva Coach (Diva is sanskrit for shining light of the divine) Speaker, and Author of the Get Smart! LearningBook Series.  Her coaching practice is Brightlight Coaching, she helps people come up with bright ideas for their life and empowers them to freely shine their bright light to the world.  She specializes in helping people access the wisdom of their soul and recreate an amazingly fun, fulfilling and free lifestyle.

Visit virtually: 

http://www.brightlightcoach.com/

http://w.getsmartseries.com/

http://www.smartcareerchanges.com/

http://www.smartlifechanges.com/

"In every community there is work to be done.  In every nation there 
are wounds to heal. In every heart there is power to do it." 
---Marianne Williamson

Confucius once said, "Choose a career you love and you will never work another day in your life."

If you think about this, what a different experience we could have in our work lives. If we actually loved the work we were doing, it wouldn't seem so much like our traditional concept of work (drudgery/pain). Think about it! How many jobs have you had that you dreaded going to? What are some of the differences between a job, a career, and your life's work? Let's define it.

A job is something you get paid to do (money is the primary motivation). It is easy to perform because there is not much challenge, and you will eventually find other work to do.

It may or may not fully engage you. Spirit may or may not be present.

A career is something you get paid to do that is viewed as a profession (status or identity is the motivation). It may provide more challenge, but after a while, you may get burned out, and choose to stop doing it.

It may or may not fully engage you. Spirit may or may not be present.

Your life's work is something you do whether you get paid for it or not (your soul's need for expression is the motivation). There is plenty of challenge and personal meaning. You will always want to do it.

It definitely fully engages you. Spirit is present.

Remember that a job can get you started toward your life's work. In fact, jobs provide the very important element of exposure to different kinds of industries. Take for example, a woman who started out working in a department store as a clerk, who moved into a management position, and finally created her life's work as an independent contractor who trains others in customer service skills.

To find out if your spirit is working, place a check next to the statements that sound like you in your present work environment.

• ¨ Using your life force
• ¨ Sharing innate gifts and talents
• ¨ Doing work that is meaningful and fulfilling
• ¨ In service to other human beings
• ¨ Your inner light shines
• ¨ You are standing up for something you believe in
• ¨ World benefits from what you do
• ¨ You have a unique way of doing it
• ¨ Creativity, passion, and purpose are present
• ¨ Your intentions and actions match
• ¨ You are propelled by a larger life purpose
• ¨ Integration of being and doing
• ¨ (balance of feminine and masculine energies)
• ¨ Soul leads you through the process
• ¨ (there are no instructions, no right or wrong way!)
• ¨ You feel lost and unsure of how to make it happen
• ¨ Fully engaged, frequent moments of flow & inspiration
• ¨ You are stepping into your Greatness
• ¨ Increased awareness and sensitivity
• ¨ Deeper thoughts, higher level thinking
• ¨ Questioning the status quo
• ¨ You feel energized after a "hard day at work"
• ¨ Inner feelings of peace & contentment
• ¨ (like you have found the right path)
• ¨ Non-traditional, shatters the box
• ¨ (requires you to venture into unknown territory)
• ¨ Opportunity to really express who you really are
• ¨ Desire to be surrounded or create beauty
• ¨ Freedom to do it your own way
• ¨ Discovering skills and talents you never knew you had
• ¨ Being scared sometimes
• ¨ Desire to "right things"
• ¨ You feel "turned on," lit up, excited, enthusiastic
• ¨ No longer want to settle for ordinary or mediocrity
• ¨ Longing for change and newness
• ¨ Broader perspective, see more of the big picture
• ¨ Shift to wanting to learn more , be more, and do more
• ¨ Relying more on intuition to make life decisions

***The more checks you have, the more your spirit is at work.

Spiritual work elevates society and is personally fulfilling. When your spirit is working, you are sharing more of who you really are. As a result your work is performed from a level of love, a higher energy and true sense of purpose, which transforms everyone and everything around you.

Michelle L. Casto is a life coach, speaker, and author of Get Smart! About Modern Romantic Relationships, Get Smart! About Modern Career Development, and Get Smart! About Modern Stress Management.  Her coaching practice is Brightlight Coaching , she helps people come up with bright ideas for their life and empowers them to freely shine their bright light to the world.

Shop the Everyday Enlightenment Estore and get books, ebooks on
life empowerment topics: http://www.brightlightcoach.com/everyday-enlightenment-store.html

Michelle L. Casto, Ph.D.  is known as the Soul Coach, because she helps people get in touch with the work that ignites their inner fire, and empowers them to shine their bright light in  the world.  As an inspirational speaker and author, she teaches people how to gain a higher understanding of themselves, and uses a unique Soul-Centered and Integrative process that taps into their passion, purpose, and power. Her latest book, Get Your Career on the Fast Track:  A Navigational Guide for the Modern Manager is a comprehensive and interactive book that covers career management from A-Z. 
Enroll in the Career Change Academy: http://www.smartcareerchanges.com/
or visit any other of her life-transforming websites: http://www.brightlightcoach.com/  to help you shine more brightly in all dimensions of your life.

http://www.smartlifechanges.com/ to transform any area of your life NOW

http://www.getsmartseries.com/ articles, books, and resources to live wisely

See me on http://www.youtube.com/brightmichelle

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To Your Soul's Success,

Michelle L. Casto

The Soul Coach, Speaker, Author, and Modern-Day Philosopher

Take care of your soul

http://www.brightlightcoach.com/

Transform your life now

http://www.smartlifechanges.com/

Change your career

http://www.smartcareerchanges.com/

"One sure window into a person's soul is her reading list. "---- Mary Tabor