Joy - Two of Pentacles in the Tarot Hammers the Need for That in Our Work

 Read professional networks Reddit and Fishbowl. The posters chronicle the drudgery of their work lives. Not only is there a lack of balance. There is escalating urgency to just hightail it out and do something else, just about anything else, to earn enough to pay the bills. Professional life has mutated into the corridor of pain.

Here is a typical thread, which kicks off with:

"I really need to focus and grind out a big thing today but I'm just feeling depressed and unmotivated. Can't seem to keep my attention on anything for longer than 15 minutes."

What is missing in most of the postings is a sense of joy. That's why the Two of Pentacles keeps popping up in Tarot readings for professionals. The card features a playful creature. That's the juggler. He is actually having fun managing the pentacles. Those, of course, signify in the Tarot business, success, finances, achievement, and values. 

With capitalism becoming such serious business it is all too easy to assume extreme gravitas is the only force field allowed in approaching a career. Stray out of that and you risk being labeled a "lightweight." One client told me that she has been socialized to “sigh” at meetings. That signals to the group the necessary degree of concern.

Actually, though, that state of joylessness can kill off the motivation as well as the creativity to come up with creative solutions. Throughout her 2021 book "Tarot for Change," Jessica Dore explains how deadening the single-minded focus on tasks can be. Eventually, in an era that demands doing business differently, that could be a career-ender. Ironic, isn't it.

Several months ago a second-year in financial services came to me for a Tarot reading. He had been increasingly overwhelmed by the relentless demands of his superiors. Often the mandates were conflicting. He had been told to do this and then told not to do it - and reprimanded.

How to navigate that terrain? He wanted to stay with that financial firm. I floated by him the signature traits of a chairperson of a Wall Street law firm. That is Paul Weiss' Brad Karp. In the industry he is known for Charm and Calm. 

The formula has panned out. For example, as he explained in an interview with SuperLawyers he can conjure out innovative ways to handle cases and administrative issues. Explicitly, Karp has observed:

“In difficult matters, I will think about my clients’ problems night and day until a solution emerges. I’m a big believer in late-night epiphanies.”

Since 2008 when he became the firm's leader, through so many crises in his industry Karp has endured. In addition, his brand has acquired an aura.

My Wall Street client figured he would give Charm and Calm a try. That lightness of spirit has been welcome in the office. More to the point, he never feels "at the end of his coping ability." It's now okay rather than scary when the higher-ups lose it. No longer is he rattled. The blunt description of his new state of being is "not being wrapped so tight."

Joy can light the way through the worst of economic times.

In transition in your career? Need more income? Healing from a professional setback? Intuitive career coaching.

“On the menu” of services are Tarot readings, both spreads and one-card pulls. Complimentary consultation.

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