A neighbor invited me to the backyard for a bonfire and a sip of wine to toast the return of spring. My two neighbors (both women of a certain age) and I (also a woman of a certain age) stood around the smokey fire talking about crones and hags. In folklore and Disney movies, a crone is a scary old woman. She is disagreeable, angry, even sinister. Think of the witch who gave Sleeping Beauty that poison apple and you’ve got the right idea. We have been taught—largely by men—to fear the crone. It makes sense. The fellas have drawn a scary-ass picture.
 
But back before those instructive men cold even hold a crayon, the crone of matriarchal societies was revered as a wise elder, a shepherdess of future generations. The Crone was the postmenopausal woman recognized and admired for her wisdom and leadership. “The literature describes the crone archetype as a pre-existent form in the collective unconscious that embodies instinctive ways of channeling wisdom, inner knowing, and intuition, guiding us through the transition of life, and going inward to bring forth the light for transformation. When women resonate or activate the crone archetypal image they tap into the psyche, to reclaim primordial images and receive the power within them that honor older women.” [1] In Irish and Scottish folklore, the Hag is represented as a divine deity of creation and weather. Her name is Cailleach, a direct translation of “old woman, hag.”
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There is a movement afoot to reclaim the name and elevated status of the crone archetype. We women of a certain age want to unveil her power by being ourselves. Think Whoopi Goldberg, Patti Smith, Alice Walker, Joni Mitchell, Jane Goodall, and the late, great Maya Angelou. These women are painting a new picture of aging in power.
 
Back at the campfire, my neighbor (the one with grey hair she calls silver) said, “I feel invisible sometimes.”
 
“Hooray for invisibility! Think of all the fun we can have while no one can see us,” I responded.  (My hair is mostly grey, too, though I still have streaks of brown and gold.)
 
Harry Potter fans will remember that when he donned the Invisibility Cloak, he learned great things that connected him to his past and his strengths. Invisibility was a gateway to discovery and growth. And invisible, he furthered the cause of good versus evil.
 
As I step into my own cloak of invisibility (I had my 58th birthday earlier this week), I am ready to discover and grow. I encourage the same in the women of a certain age I write resumes, bios, and LinkedIn profiles for. We are at the height of our intellectual powers, it’s time we acknowledge our value, wisdom, and direction!
                                                                                                                                       -Jane Taylor

Career Coaching vs. Clarity Coaching

When I first started coaching 15 years ago, I’d get asked “What is a Coach?” way more than I do now. This is a wonderful thing because that tells me that more and more people are seeking Coaches or at least understand what a Coach is. It also tells me that coaching is becoming a more accepted form of support in one’s career, life, or business.
 
However, the question I do find myself answering often is “What is the difference between job search coaching and clarity career coaching?” Good question!
 
“Isn’t it all career coaching?” Yes and no…
 
FromWithin Coaching is proud to support hundreds of clients each year, from students to seasoned professionals, to find happiness in their careers. It’s our specialty. We love helping clients find a career that brings them happiness. But in order to understand how we can help you, it’s important for you to understand the difference between these two different types of career coaching – job search coaching and clarity coaching- so you can consider what might be the best fit for your specific situation.
 
Job Search Coaching is likely for you if you are asking yourself any of these questions:
 

• I haven’t been able to find a job in the industry that I love - what am I doing wrong?
• I know what I want to do for a living, but it is hard to break into that industry - how do you suggest I do that?
• I’d like to apply to a position at the next level in my industry, but I think I’ll need to find a different company than my current one in order to get the salary I want. How do I do a job search in a small industry and not get “found out” that I am job searching?
• How do I interview with a company and explain why I was let go from my old company?
• I am overwhelmed by the job search process – where do I start?
• How do I explain my job gap in my resume?
• How come I apply to jobs that I am qualified for, but get little to no responses?
• I am unemployed and just need a job – how do I get a job for now that will help me build my experience for my ideal job?
• How do I negotiate a salary that matches my experience without insulting the company who made the initial offer?

 
And so on…
 
What you’ll see is a theme of strategy – “how” or “what” is the key in these questions. A job search coaching client is seeking strategy, tactics, steps, and hints on how to handle a job search.
 
Career Clarity Coaching is likely for you if you are asking yourself any of these questions:
 

• What do I want to be when I grow up?
• I feel stuck in my current role (job, industry, level) and I am not sure what might be next for my career…can you help me get clear?
• I know I can do this kind of work, but do I still want to do this kind of work – how can I figure that out?
• I want to gain clarity on how I can take my current skills and make them transferrable in a new industry – I just can’t see the connect, can you help?
• There is so much I want to do, but I just can’t seem to focus on one thing – how can I focus when I love doing so many different kinds of things?
• I wake up each morning and think how much I hate my job, but I don’t know what I want instead – how can I get clear on what I do want?
• I want to make a change, but I feel stuck by the “Golden Handcuffs” of the security of the job I am currently in – how do I learn to take those cuffs off?
• I don’t even know what is out there outside of my current industry – how do I get clear on where to look and what to look for?

 
What you’ll see is a theme of following up on the “what” and “how” with the “why.” Clarity Coaching is more about purpose and why you want to pursue a career. It helps you identify the problems holding you back from getting clear. Clarity comes by brainstorming solutions that value your strengths and individuality. This greater self-awareness will not only allow you to shift to experience yourself, others and the world in a much more positive way, but will also help you better understand what you need in a career in order to find greater meaning, purpose and fulfillment. And that is the frame you can use in your job search.
 
To sum it up: Clarity first – job search second. You don’t want to leave it to chance that you’ll find your dream job based on who is hiring the week you look at your career alerts, Indeed, or wherever you’re searching.
 
Now that you know the difference, it’s up to you to ask yourself: “What support do I really need?” Is it getting clear on what might be next in your career, or how to get there?
 
Finally, to lock in the learning I hope I was able to offer, as a lover of metaphors, I’d be remiss if I didn’t use one to explain the difference.
 
Job searching coaching is for you if you’re driving your “car” on empty with the orange fuel light on and there is no gas station in sight. You need strategy to find the gas station. Clarity career coaching is for you when you don’t know which car to get into in the first place!
 
Still not sure? No problem. We offer free exploratory calls to help you determine whether you need fuel or the clarity on which car to drive.
 
Amy Magyar, PCC, M.Ed.
Owner/Founder of FromWithin Coaching

This is a chance to learn about uncovering your Strengths using the CliftonStrengths Assessment.

Amy Magyar and Augusta Good Krahl discuss the "what and how" of the assessment, but most importantly, why it is important for your personal and professional growth.

Click on the image above or the link below to learn  about Strengths and their importance. 
​
https://youtu.be/LuEM7RyVJmA​

Curious about learning your Strengths? Join us for an exploratory session: https://fromwithincoaching.com/cliftonstrengths-coaching.html

WFH sounds a lot like WTF doesn’t it?

My sister-in-law, who is currently homeschooling her grandchildren (!), posted this question on Facebook this morning: "Who’s great idea was it to change math!!??" Sandy gets it. Humor is how we are going to adapt to the new how-could-this-possibly-be normal. 

A friend recently sent me some advice about working from home (WFH) with your partner or spouse. She suggested we each create an imaginary officemate upon whom we blame the annoying things our partner or spouse does, as in: “Louise left her lunch dishes on the coffee table again...” My husband John, who teaches online university classes and yoga from two of the rooms in our tiny condo, has taken this imaginary-friend advice to heart and has claimed Vermont Governor Phil Scott as his imaginary friend. He’s got the blaming thing turned around a bit though, as we both appreciate what our governor has done for Vermont. In John’s case, his imaginary friend blames him for the annoying things. 

Humor has been my greatest companion in this quarantine. Second and third on my WFH survival list are music and earplugs. These two might seem incongruent together, but they are not. 

William Congreve was right when he wrote that music has charms to soothe a savage breast - even one in quarantine. Music also has charms that uplift. For soothing, I tend to go for baroque, for uplift, I’ve taken Rising Appalachia - Resilient as my new anthem. Check it out:

​Earplugs, at the other end of the spectrum, are high on my WFH list as they afford me the audio solitude that is essential to my work as a writer. Earplugs work well in other professions, too. 

What are your top three WFH survival tips? Share them here. You’ll find, as I have just done, that helping others is really the best way we will get through this. ​

I spoke to a Client today and all I could hear was his fear of trying something new
for his business that he had never done before, but that was a
necessity to survive through this time of chaos.
The fear vibrated through his voice.
Even though the knew he needed to take this step in his business to survive this crisis, he was more scared of taking action than losing his business.
What was he fearful of?
Fear of not being enough.
Fear of being an imposter.
Fear of not being perfect. 
Fear of old stories that are keeping him back from finding his truth. 

Well folks, I have never lived through a more fearful time than now, March 2020. 

So I wonder...for all of us, if we are going to survive this pandemic
physically, mentally, and economically, we need to let go.

We need to become losers and lose everything. 

Said another way, we need to lose in order to win. 

We need to lose our fear. 

We need to lose the belief that we are not enough. 

We need to lose the idea of perfection. 

We need to let go of the old stories keeping us from doing what we want.
And what we need to do, to survive. 

Be a loser to be a winner. 

Be safe, be brave, be hopeful. 
-AM