YouandTheTarot

  In Tarot reading sessions the joy and relief of those who Walked Away from negative situations are palpable. I join them in celebrating their courage and strength. Taking the exit ramp could be from an unsatisfying/doomed career, toxic relationship, a lifestyle, mindset, geographical location, or even an addiction. Then that form of euphoria or what is called in 12-step programs the "pick cloud" deflates. In the Tarot the Eight of Cups is not only about Walking Away. Part of the message is that the path is now filled with unknowns. Ahead could be months or even years of being lost. That is symbolized by the image of mountains. Some heavy-duty exploration could be ahead to locate new solid ground. In America, that state of being carries a stigma. After all, from the get-go we should all know our direction, so goes the conventional wisdom. The book exposing how that stunts the growth of college students -  Excellent Sheep  -  showcases that dynamic. Howeve...

In the 2018 survival film "Adrift" Tami is not only inspired to keep the disabled Hazana heading toward land. She even receives good advice such as spearing fish to have something to eat.  The source of that is her lover Richard. However, it's all delusion. Richard had been swept overboard during the 1983 hurricane Raymond and is dead. But the lesson is clear: Delusion can be a gift from the universe to overcome what our normal resources might not be up to. At least not at that time. When Tami connects the dots and realizes there is no Richard she is ready to accept it. In this true story she does eventually keep doing enough right things to steer Hazana to a traffic lane of the ocean and is rescued by a ship. She goes on to have a long life of sailing.  It's downright unkind to pressure others to surrender a delusion. No one puts us mere mortals in charge of supposed truth. Actually, such nudging can be classified as "toxic."  In my Tarot readings my missio...

Tarot readings are very intimate. Typically by time a trusting relationship is established clients confide their suicidal feelings or even attempts.  How they experience the world is dark. Their "Tower," that is what they have known as their life is collapsing.  My struggle to bring insight, hope and solutions are been effective. But now I have an unexpected resource to guide them through that emotional and spiritual abyss. That the recent memoir by a Guggenheim Fellow, philosophy professor and widely published author Clancy Martin. He has published How Not To Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind.    On Amazon, it is a best-seller. Here is his LinkedIn Profile. The tone is balanced enough and the content couched in safe almost clinical (but engaging) context so that it can even be read and reflected on by those in emotional distress. As Martin hammers, there are other publications dealing with suicide such as the poetry of Anne Sexton which he steers those...

"Execution is 9x harder than ideation" -  Comment posted on Fishbowl Consulting, November 2023 No, I'm not out to kill The Dream. However, before you leave your day job for The Dream keep this in mind: It's a long way from the idea to the success. Along the way is not only a tremendous amount of work. There also have to be the optimism, self-confidence and, most importantly, the resilience to navigate disappointment and even near-disasters.  In the Tarot the Pentacle symbolizes action. It's about behavior. Card after card sends the message of satisfaction - after all the effort has been put in.  That's why another seminal card in the Tarot is the first one in the major arcana. That is The Fool card. It is about the need to calculate risk. Not all risk is created equal. Also essential is the willingness to bounce back from risks which turn out not the expected way.  Tarot Card Reader. Medium. Intuitive Career Coach. Don’t Give Up Before the Miracle. Empathy and...

"The situation for white collars is really grim today." -  Posted an hour ago on Fishbowl Consulting. That's in response to the question about how the job market today compares to that in 2021. So, it's not you if keep hitting a wall in a search for jobs or even gig assignments in the Knowledge Economy. Once generative AI becomes standard in strategy and operations, the number of opportunities will continue to decline.  That's why you lucked out if the Death card comes up for you in a Tarot reading. It signals that you are ready to let go of what was and to move forward into what can be.  Not everyone is at that phase of acceptance. That's because it's wrenching to jump all those hoops - getting the degree, being hired for the first few jobs, developing a brandname in your field of expertise - and then find you have landed in Paradise Lost. After a Reduction-in-Force or being outright fired you can't find comparable work. Meanwhile if you hold on and k...

"No job is guaranteed. Trust your gut even when people are telling you there is nothing to worry about." -  Reddit Big Law, November 2023 YES, WORRY That's the conclusion a newbie to employment in a large law firm has painfully come to. However, it is too late. They were terminated and they suspect it was because of not reaching the quota in hours billing. They had been assured that things were jolly fine, despite the shortfall in hours. Shame on them. Before starting this job they should have understood how the game really is played. You bet, discreetly ask around. Pose questions on professional anonymous networks. Once aboard, listen. Observe. Attract a mentor.  RULES OF THE GAME Part of that game seems to be at some firms to extract as much work as possible from junior associates. That boosts Profit Per Equity Partner. That's engineered through motivating via praise (even when not merited) and providing the illusion that the associates are "on-track." Wha...

  Over and over again in Tarot sessions the issue comes up: How can employees and entrepreneurs be more self-confident? One shortcut I hand out: Smile Less.    Instantly that transmits the message that you are to be taken seriously.  Think about it: During your last job interview, performance review or pitch for funding did those with the power smile a lot? Of course not. Power gives "permission" not to smile as much as usual in America. The Atlantic has a brilliant article on how the American signature is that we smile a lot.  Of course excessive smiling undercuts our presence. A sincere smile at the beginning of an interaction signals the intention to be on common ground. Then, the person defining the situation - that is, the holder of the balance of power - adopts an expression of great gravitas. Now and then throughout the interaction we, of course, are expected to produce a smile. That signals our subordinate position. Smiling is code for conformity. ...

Covid changed us. Along with that a slowing world economy and geopolitical chaos are also making us turn inward and reflect. Yes, we are asking the hard questions. That process comes up in the Tarot as the Hermit Card. So, here we have The Hermit Consumer. As The Economist explains the nesting instinct which emerged during the pandemic has grown deep roots in developed nations. Since 2019, $600 billion each year has shifted to what aligns with a time of retreat from seeking the answers out there.  In the quiet we can listen to the voice of Spirit. During this era of pulling back there will be pivots to fresh directions in relationships, work and self-care. That's why we go inward. However, we don't stay there. We return to the world. Tarot Card Reader. Intuitive Career Coach. Spiritual Guide Don’t Give Up Before the Miracle. No-pressure complimentary consultation about the answers you need. Then, fees custom-made for your budget. For an appointment, please contact  janeg...

"You work hard throughout your childhood, maintain great academics, get in good schools, and find a good job, challenge yourself continously in job to grow and after doing this for few years you find everything is meaningless..." -  Posted on Fishbowl Consulting , November 2, 2023 In Tarot readings I am finding that professionals start bumping into the meaning wall - and come away emotionally numb - when they are heading into their late 30s.  Until then they assumed meaning was in work. Wasn't it supposed to bring deep satisfaction to master the complex field of practicing law or serve mankind as a medical doctor.  By that time the infrastructure is usually in-place - lifestyle, family, mortgage as well as other forms of debt. If the answer is that their chosen career path is, well, meaningless, they could be caught between that awful state of being of stuckness and the difficulty of change. Recently in O'Dwyer's Public Relations I published an article on the or...

  The career coaching joke could be: If you sneeze record that in text and visuals on all the social networks, especially LinkedIn.  It's come to that: The escalation of self-promotion. Terms like "thrilled" and "excited" are the standard lingo. But the history of business as well as civilization indicates that most phenomena are cyclical. Soon enough we could be shifting to an era of lower profile. Already the very out-there strategy of the charm offensive is becoming increasingly a turnoff. Disney's boomerang CEO Bob Iger has had to rebrand.  In Tarot reading sessions there is a struggle to develop professional personas which are effective but not open to ridicule. Major self-promoter McKinsey has become a joke.  Essentially the message of the mystical Tarot has been over the centuries: Be authentic. Tarot Card Reader. Intuitive Career Coach. Spiritual Guide Don’t Give Up Before the Miracle. No-pressure complimentary consultation about the answers you...