Faithful Career Moves: Recent Episodes

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From Hiding to Thriving

Growing up shy, Rebecca Greenhalgh ran upstairs to hide in a toy box whenever someone outside her family came to the house. There she would stay until her mom came to fetch her a few moments later. The two repeatedly played this "game" of hide-and-seek for no apparent reason other than Rebecca's later explanation that people made her nervous.

Though she would eventually view this shyness as part of being an introvert, as a youth, Rebecca had to push herself to endure social situations so she could attend school, attend church, and get a job. However, when she entered college with education and career goals in mind, this timid teen decided she would need to adopt some outgoing characteristics to get where she wanted to go.

Rebecca recalls, "I would look around me and see other people being successful by being extroverted, and I thought I know what I want to achieve and I know what I want to do. ...And so I started putting myself in situations where I would have to practice being an introverted extrovert, and that started making a difference."

Now an accomplished content and course creator for Harvard Business School Online, Rebecca sees her more quiet and reserved qualities as superpowers because she uses these skills to interview and connect with people on a deeper level before retreating to her solo self to write and research after the meetings. "It literally is the perfect mix," she says.

Have a Listen: In this interview, Rebecca shares strategies she used to get "outside of her bubble a bit," the types of jobs she excels at, and how her career has evolved (and is still evolving) thanks to divine guidance and inspiration.

What You'll Learn In this Episode:

• How Rebecca got to Boston and how she discovered the HBS opportunity
• Why she quit working after having her first child
• How being an introvert is a gift she now appreciates
• How she and her husband make decisions together
• What calms her "forward thinking" mind when making decisions
• Why she said "yes" to an opportunity she didn't have time for
• A leap of faith she had to take to get where she is now
• An unexpected blessing that came from following the promptings
• How she's seen the hand of God in her career
• And so much more.

Mentioned on the Show:

• QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
• Harvard Business School Online

~~~~~PLEASE: Rate and Review this podcast so other women can be inspired in their faithful career moves.Visit the website:FaithfulCareerMoves.com: Faith-based Career Coaching for Stay-at-Home Moms

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

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• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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The story of Jenny Doan and how she (and her family) created the incredibly successful Missouri Star Quilt Company.
Work Your Magic

Have you ever worked for a company that required employees to cross-train in multiple jobs in case someone called in sick or quit unexpectedly? I have, and it doesn't work very well.

At the start of my programming days--over 30 years ago--the organization required each programmer to rotate through the other job functions in the department. We all took the same leadership training classes, learned how to run applications on the mainframe, took turns doing production support, and more. When I got to do the rotations I enjoyed and excelled at, I loved my job. When I had to take my turn on the mainframe or do support, I struggled and felt deflated. I'm embarrassed to admit that when others rotated into my wheelhouse, I thought those who couldn't do the work lacked smarts and probably didn't belong at the company. Only later did I realize how silly it is to make everyone do the same job regardless of their aptitudes and interests. Doing so is not good for the employees or the company.

This week, I'm speaking to Jenny Doan, co-founder of the Missouri Star Quilt Company. In addition to telling us how she and her family started a business that transformed their lives, revitalized a town, and modernized the entire quilting industry, Jenny says that people work best when their jobs align with their "magic"--the things they are really good at and enjoy doing. She also explains how she discovered the power of sharing her own magic.

What You'll Learn In this Episode:

• What prompted the Doans to start a YouTube channel
• How the Missouri Star Quilt Company evolved
• Why Jenny says YouTube is the great equalizer
• What this business means to the people of Hamilton, Missouri
• How to work together in a family business
• What it means to find your magic and why it matters so much
• Stories of people who found healing through watching Jenny
• And so much more.

Mentioned on the Show:

• Read Jenny Doan's book: How to Stitch an American Dream
• Visit the Missouri Star Quilting Co: Website and YouTube Channel
• Discover your magic! Pick up my book: Return to Work with Confidence.
• Take my course: I'll walk you through the process.
• Connect with me: LinkedIn
• Find out when a new podcast drops: Join the Mailing List

~~~~~PLEASE: Rate and Review this podcast so other women can be inspired in their faithful career moves.Visit the website:FaithfulCareerMoves.com: Faith-based Career Coaching for Stay-at-Home Moms

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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**Dr. Susan R. Madsen is challenging the entire state of Utah to step up and ensure that Utah women and girls thrive in critical areas by 2030.

MAKING A BOLD MOVE**
By her own account, Dr. Susan R. Madsen is unlike the role models of her youth. Raised in a traditional family with a dad who worked and a mom who stayed home, she expected to parent her kids similarly. And for a few years, she did.

But as much as she loved being with her children, Dr. Madsen felt unfulfilled as a stay-at-home mom. She remembers, "When I had my first baby, I thought that all of a sudden, I would enjoy being at home. It just didn't kick in for me."

Instead, denying the part of herself that longed to pursue educational and career goals led to situational depression and discontentment that continued until she made a big move.

Rather than solely being at home with her kids or spending her days at school or in an office, this then-mother of two (eventually four) dared to do both. En route to becoming Dr. Madsen, Susan cared for her kids while returning to school, working part-time, volunteering in the community, serving at church, and more--all with the support of her husband and encouragement from above.

"Through every single decision to go to school and to do all the pieces I've done, I have been on my knees and sought guidance from God... Sometimes you yearn to do things and think you can't, but then you figure out, maybe it's not either-or. Maybe there's a space in between," says Dr. Madsen.

Of course, finding that space and building a career while raising kids is challenging. But in her case, single-tasking was not an option. God needed her to move forward fast.

TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

Nearly 14 years ago, Dr. Madsen started the Utah Women in Leadership Project (UWLP)to research why so few women in Utah attend college and graduate. Though intended to last only a couple of years, the assignment evolved into more than a decade of finding ways to strengthen the impact of Utah girls and women. The organization now delivers research, resources, and training to "inform, inspire, and ignite growth and change for all Utahns."

But it's not enough.

Listen to the full interview to better understand the breadth of the issues, the depth of Dr. Madsen's commitment to solving them, and how you can get involved.

Mentioned in this Interview

• Utah Women and Leadership Project (UWLP)
• A Bolder Way Forward (BWF)
• How Change Happens by Leslie R. Crutchfield

~~~~~PLEASE: Rate and Review this podcast so other women can be inspired in their faithful career moves. Visit the website:FaithfulCareerMoves.com: Faith-based Career Coaching for Stay-at-Home Moms

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Brittany Ratelle wanted to be a wife, mother, and practicing attorney. To be all three at the same time, she had to get creative.

Brittany Ratelle is an attorney. But she doesn't work in a fancy, downtown law office. She doesn't wear dark power suits, put in 60-80 hours a week to make partner, or argue cases in a courtroom. Instead, her business is the opposite of that in almost every way.

She works online, wears colorful attire, is present for her kids, and does everything possible to keep her clients out of court. Besides taking her legal practice seriously, everything else about her business is fun and creative. So how did she devise this unicorn legal practice? Brittany says she "fell into it."

But upon further examination, we learn that's not the truth--and Brittany knows it.

During questioning on this podcast, Brittany divulged key evidence proving she took deliberate steps to build a family-friendly law firm, even if the resulting business wasn't premeditated. I submit the following examples:

• Brittany worked in the marketing department at a law firm after getting an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University. Although she wanted a law degree, Brittany didn't like the typical "law firm" experience. However, she enrolled in law school anyway.
• As the mother of a newborn at the time, Brittany could have delayed taking the bar exam until she had more sleep and more time to study. But she studied while up with her baby and took the exam anyway.
• Unsure of where to apply her new legal skills, Brittany chose family law because she could build a part-time practice that worked for her schedule. And though she found the work emotionally draining, she kept practicing to remain an active member of the Bar.
• When creative friends asked for legal assistance building and protecting their online influencer businesses, she used her expertise to help.
• And when another friend told her to listen to a podcast about online marketing, Brittany did.

Each step nudged Brittany closer to creating an online law firm that helps other creatives build and protect their online businesses. Though she may not have intended to create this one-of-a-kind firm, the evidence is clear she made conscious choices to get there anyway. Her success is not accidental.

But that doesn't mean she didn't get pushed.

Brittany says, "I really got a strong answer that I was supposed to go to law school and that Heavenly Father was basically saying, 'I know you don't know what that will look like and what that will look like having a family...but it will unfold in time, be patient with the process.'"

So she did, and she was. She enrolled in law school, sought personal revelation in making each career move after that, and allowed God's will to prevail in her life. Now a successful online attorney, Brittany helps other women "fall into" dream businesses of their own--all of which she sees as an answer to their prayers and her own.

Listen to the interview to learn more. It's another great example of how God knows our desires and wants us to use our talents and abilities t

~~~~~PLEASE: Rate and Review this podcast so other women can be inspired in their faithful career moves. Visit the website:FaithfulCareerMoves.com: Faith-based Career Coaching for Stay-at-Home Moms

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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**Seeing A Problem She Could Not Ignore

Rachel Joy Baribeau quit working as a sportscaster to change the narrative in college sports and help people find more joy.**

Rachel Baribeau had a dream job--seriously, the kind that sports fans worldwide covet. She worked as a college football sportscaster for nearly two decades, interviewing top players and coaches on the sidelines and in Fox Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, and SiriusXM studios. But don't let the glamour of it all fool you. Rachel had to break gender barriers, fight to be seen for the right reasons, and overcome personal challenges to reach this goal. And she loved it until she didn't.

In 2016, the news she covered turned overwhelmingly from inspiring stories to tales of scandals, domestic violence, assault by players on campuses nationwide, and more. In response, she wrote an article entitled "College Football is Breaking My Heart."

The article went viral and, more importantly, led Rachel to decide she needed to leave her dream job to fight for change.

Using Her Platform to Make a Difference

Rachel developed a movement called #ImChangingtheNarrative to help student-athletes find purpose, develop better mental and emotional health, and drop habits that lead to the headlines nobody wants their name to appear in.

Then in 2020, when events shut down due to the pandemic and many of her speaking engagements were canceled, Rachel pivoted again. She launched an online business to help people, including herself, find more joy in their lives. A few months and interviews later, she got a book deal and is minutes away from releasing her new book, "Relentless Joy: Finding Freedom, Passion, and Happiness (Even When You Have to Fight for It)," along with a membership called JoyStarters Club.

Listen to the interview to learn more about Rachel's new book, the message she wants people to hear, and how you can invite more joy into your life. It's good stuff.

~~~~~Visit the website:FaithfulCareerMoves.com: Faith-based Career Coaching for Stay-at-Home Moms

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Taking Turns Building Their Careers

Lisa Valentine Clark is not living the life she planned. After several years of supporting her husband's artistic career, raising five kids, and working freelance to be at home and provide for the family, Lisa's husband, Christopher Clark, got diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and later passed away.

The story is tragic, but it's not entirely a tragedy because she has no regrets about the choices they made together. Toward the end of her husband's life, Lisa recalls Christopher saying, "I don't have regrets. I went for it, did as much as possible, and did the best that I could."

She agreed.

At the start of her career, Lisa taught junior high and high school English before transitioning to at-home work to start a family. From there, she got creative, literally and figuratively. Lisa took on various projects, from developing an online curriculum to voiceover work, acting, writing, and more, to earn income while her husband pursued master's and doctorate degrees. But Lisa had goals too. She also wanted an inspired career.

Her husband agreed.

Together, the couple supported each other in building the life they wanted, primarily by taking turns. Lisa said, "it worked because it wasn't about the money. It was about supporting our family, using our creative gifts, making a difference in our little corner of the world, and making it count. I feel a lot of satisfaction that we earned that together."

Trading Places

By all accounts, the family had a beautiful life packed into too-few years. Then, just as Christopher reached the pinnacle of his career, he told Lisa he was ready to switch places and stay home more, so she could pursue her career more earnestly. Unaware of the foreshadowing in that statement, his health declined until he eventually lost the ability to move and speak, forcing him home on permanent disability. With the loss of his income, Lisa sought full-time employment to get health benefits and a salary--not quite the career "leaning in" she longed for, but a move that would turn into an unexpected blessing.

BYUradio hired Lisa to host a podcast in a time slot that, by divine design, lined up perfectly with her family's schedule so she could work and still be her husband's primary caregiver. After he passed in 2020, she slowly returned to a little freelance acting and writing in addition to her work on The Lisa Show.

Despite the unfairness of the plot twist, Lisa remains faithful and grateful, describing her feelings as a "weird mixture." She explains, "I didn't get what I wanted. This isn't my Plan A, but I have to be careful to express the gratitude that I really do feel. It gets so complicated with grief...being so grateful and seeing 100% the Lord's hand in caring for my family and me" while suffering simultaneously.

Listen to the episode as Lisa shares her journey with heartfelt authenticity and her typical sense of humor. She is grateful for all she's experienced, God's guiding hand, and the unexpected blessings received. So it's worth the listen.

~~~~~Visit the website:FaithfulCareerMoves.com: Faith-based Career Coaching for Stay-at-Home Moms

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Despite her busy schedule, Brandy Vega listened when an Apostle said she needed to do more with her spiritual gifts. Later she found out why she needed to act on his words.

WARNING: This post (and podcast ) mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, visit Good Deed Revolution to find resources.

Creating the Ideal Career

Brandy Vega has always worked hard. Without financial support from her parents, she had no choice but to self-fund her education and career, especially given her lofty goal of becoming the "next Katie Couric" on national television. So upon learning that the military had a broadcast journalism program and would pay for the training, Brandy enlisted at 17 years old and headed out.

Within a few years, she returned as a reservist and landed an on-air reporting job for FOX News. Her career went according to plan (maybe even better than planned) until she got pregnant and found herself telling bedtime stories instead of national news.

Not to be deterred, Brandy took some baby steps backward and worked various jobs in TV as an employee and a freelancer for different clients, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, about ten years later, she left the grind she had formerly aspired to and took a job as the Vice President of Media & Marketing for a company based in Utah. Later, in an even more dramatic leap of faith, Brandy left the stability of the corporate world and started her own video production company--Vega Media Studios.

Somewhere in that mix, she had a second child, fostered (and later adopted) another, and became a surrogate mother too.

With so many work and personal projects underway, it's hard to imagine someone telling her she wasn't doing enough.

But that's what happened.

While working on a broadcast for The Church on the impact of social media and how critical it is that we use this tool for good, Elder David A. Bednar approached Brandy with a question.

He asked, "What spiritual gifts did Heavenly Father give you?"
Brand replied, "Well, I knew I wanted to be in journalism and broadcasting at ten years old, and so here I am. I'm helping you and The Church get their message across to the world."

Brandy recalls, "He said, basically, that's not enough. Heavenly Father gave you those gifts so you could reach all ends of the Earth. ... You need to do more with the gifts He gave you."

Gulp.

That's when Brandy started Good Deed Revolution, a non-profit organization initially dedicated to sharing inspirational stories of good deeds performed throughout the world. But the mission changed after Brandy's daughter attempted suicide.

In this podcast episode, Brandy shares more about her career journey, the hardships she had to overcome, and how those original aspirations led to developing the skills and connections she would eventually need to make a more significant impact by sharing her own story rather than simply publicizing big moments in other people's lives.

Mentioned in this interview:

• Brandy Vega website
• Brand Vega Instagram
• Good Deed Revolution
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do.

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• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Diana Gladney helps entrepreneurs get past the fear of making videos so they can share their expertise with the global audience who needs it.
A Tale Worth Telling

When I first started writing this blog post about Diana Gladney, I focused on three pivotal experiences in her life:

1. Growing up in an entrepreneurial home where she helped run her mother's business.
2. Surviving a health crisis that almost took her life and forced her to think beyond "punching a clock" for work.
3. Having a business coach who pushed her to get "way outside" of her comfort zone and create videos.

Those details are essential to understanding how Diana got where she is today professionally. But the words felt uninspired until I realized that Diana didn't come on this podcast to merely tell a tale. Her time is more precious than that, and her purpose is more significant.

So is yours.

A Story Worth Sharing

As a YouTube and video marketing strategist and consultant, Diana helps entrepreneurs simplify the video creation process so they can reach the global audience who needs their expertise. Simply put, she says, "I get the tech out of the way so people can get to the sharing-the-message part."

If you watch her videos, you will also see that she encourages creators to make good enough videos--"lean into the mistakes"--so they can share content more often and avoid chasing perfection. Diana explains, "If you're creating content around something you love or enjoy...we don't care about the photography and filmmaking stuff."

The audience comes to connect with you, learn, and sometimes engage with other audience members too. That's called community, and video is at the core. Getting mired in making flawless videos wastes your time and withholds information from people who seek your knowledge and insight. Neither delay is acceptable to a woman who nearly died. "When you get a second opportunity to live, you don't waste it," she says.

Diana, now a prolific content creator who has published over a thousand videos, gives this example of the importance of sharing your message. In 2020, the year now defined by worldwide lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she received an email from a pastor in Africa. He reached out and said, "Because of your videos, my ministry survived. We were able to help so many more people."

Diana continues, "You always hope that you help people, or you hope that people get value out of what you're doing... Of all the things, that [email] showed me, I am doing what I'm created to be doing."

Mentioned in this Interview

• @DianaGladney on Instagram
• @DianaGladney Video Simplified on YouTube
• DianaGladney Website

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do.

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• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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When Nicole Adair felt prompted to turn off Netflix, she got out a book to read instead. Now she's written two of her own.

Turning Off the Noise

When her local women's organization leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Stake Relief Society) asked members to replace one thing in their lives with something better, Nicole Adair knew she should give up Netflix. But she didn't want to. She "needed" the entertainment service to help her stay awake during seemingly endless nights caring for a newborn. Then her reluctance to give up the vice bothered her more than turning off the device.

Nicole recalls, "I kept having this feeling, and then I was disturbed by how much I didn't want to [turn off Netflix]...So I decided for 30 days to not watch any TV."

"I'm not saying that TV is bad or that Netflix is bad. I think the Lord was trying to communicate to me that I needed some quiet time. I needed some space to hear Him because He had something to tell me that was really important," she adds.

Accepting the REAL Challenge

Up with her wee one in the wee hours of the night, when she usually "zoned out" watching television, Nicole picked up a book instead.

Though she had always loved to read, this stay-at-home mother of three had gotten out of the habit for two reasons. First, the busyness of caring for little kids left her no time to sink into a book. Second, when she did get a chance to read, she would get so engrossed in the story that she didn't want to put the book down. So to avoid the frustrating starts and stops, Nicole quit reading entirely.

That is until she started a Netflix fast during late-night feedings.

And here is where this tale takes an unexpected turn.

In the quiet of the night, with a book and a baby in her hands, Nicole suddenly understood that she needed to do more than just read other people's stories. She felt prompted to start writing some of her own. Then, almost as shocking and immediate, characters nudged their way into her thoughts along with plot lines, settings, and dialogue. Unable to quash the developing novel, Nicole rose to what turned into an even more significant challenge--becoming a writer.

Listen to this interview to hear the rest of the story and learn how Nicole (now the author of two teen novels) found time to write, why she felt inspired to share her journey on social media, and how taking this leap of faith led to divinely inspired collaborations and several other unexpected blessings.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do.

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• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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When Kaitlen Polatis got the idea to build a mobile flower truck, she wanted to bring joy more than she cared about making money. Now she does both.

"It's Not About the Money"

Kaitlen Polatis couldn't stop thinking about creating a mobile flower truck. With three little kids, she didn't have time to start a business, but she couldn't shake the urgency to do it anyway. When her husband Ryan asked about the financial feasibility, she responded, "It's not about the money." So then, what is it about?

Fun. Initially. That's what Kaitlin thought.

She remembers, "We were just coming through 2020. What a year. I thought that this would bring so much joy."

So Ryan agreed, and the couple started scouring the Internet for a truck they could afford and convert into a traveling storefront without much effort. When they found a 1953 Chevy a few miles from their home, the couple couldn't believe their luck. Kaitlen's dad and his friend took over from there--welding a structure into the truck's bed to hold a canopy and all the gear needed to transport and sell fresh flowers on the go.

Next stop. Flowers.

Kaitlen has to get up at 5 o'clock to drive to a wholesale flower market in Las Vegas, where she buys fresh flowers to sell by the stem. Her dad often rolls out of bed early to accompany her on the trip. His involvement in this labor of love turned into an unexpected blessing.

She fondly shares, "[My dad] is in his 70s, and he's just this darling old man. It's been on my mind a lot lately that a blessing that's come from doing this [business] is the time I've spent with him because of this truck. He had a little bit of a health scare, and I'm really close with my dad. So I just kept thinking how grateful I am that I get to spend all this extra time with him because of this. We would be spending time together regardless, but it's just different."

And let's not forget Ryan and his question about the numbers.

Now, just a short time later, Billie (the truck's name) and her blooms are turning a profit. Thanks to modern technology, Desert Daisy Flower Truck brings in a steady income from subscription services, pop-up markets, farmer's markets, workshops, social media sightings, delivery services, and more.

But the money is still not Kaitlen's primary focus. To her, the best part of the business is that the truck brings joy. She says, "It is so much work. When I first started, I thought it would be fun. It is a lot of fun but also so much work. It's way more work than I anticipated, especially when you're juggling family life... Then we're out with the truck, and it's like, 'Oh, that was so fun.'"

This busy mother of three will never know exactly why she felt prompted to start this business when she did. But, had she waited, the opportunity may have passed, the truck may have been gone, and her dad may not have been able to be as involved. This story is an excellent reminder that God's promptings to act are seldom convenient and often for purposes beyond what we can see. The numbers are important, of course, but a loving Heavenly Father can make anything work when we follow his (business) plan. And that is so much fun.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do.

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Shawna Edwards didn't want to share her music publicly. But her dad wouldn't let it go. Now millions of people enjoy her faith-based songs.

"Have You Done Anything With That Song?"

Shawna Edwards never intended to share her music with the general public, but her dad wouldn't stop pushing her to do so. After hearing "Do You Have Room?", a song Shawna had written for a family Christmas gathering, he told her to "do something with that song." Eventually, she printed out a nice set of sheet music to appease him. That wasn't enough. He wanted her to do more. Even after he passed away, she could hear his voice saying, "Have you done anything with that song?"

So she got brave.

She submitted the piece to a songwriting competition for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And won! But when a public performance of the song went awry, Shawna came home defeated, vowing never to be so vulnerable again.

However, the prompting to "do more with the song" wouldn't go away.

This time, with her husband's encouragement, she created a music video for "Do You Have Room?" and published it on YouTube. People loved it. Praise for the video and requests for the sheet music came pouring in, but criticism rained down as well when viewers told Shawna that she couldn't use copyrighted imagery without permission. Embarrassed by her naivete, she removed the music video from YouTube, thus angering people who wanted to show it at their upcoming Christmas events. Again, Shawna felt defeated.

She recalls, "This was not a good start. I made a ton of mistakes like that, but what kept me going was the fact that people liked that song. I had all kinds of people tell me how the song had inspired them to make more room for Jesus that day."

Listen to this interview to hear how Shawna overcame the early pitfalls in her songwriting career, the advice she has for other creators, and how her faith increased as she kept doing the things that made her feel vulnerable--despite those early defeats.

Mentioned in this Interview

• Shawn Edwards YouTube Channel
• Shawna Edward's Website
• Do You Have Room? / Sheet Music
• The Miracle (Recomposed)
• Risen
• Restored

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

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• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Getting Thrown a Curve Ball

For 20 years, Susan Koelliker's life went according to plan. She married her high school sweetheart, had a house full of active kids, and worked alongside her husband in their fast-paced dental practice. They made a great team until life threw the family a curve ball--a cancer diagnosis that changed everything.

Shortly after his 40th birthday, David Koelliker discovered he had a brain tumor and a significantly shortened lifespan. Determined to go down swinging, the family decided to make the most of whatever time they had left together. Susan recalls, "When you face death, you learn to really live. That is what happened to our family. All of a sudden, someday was right now. You can't say, 'Oh, someday, we're going to do this,' or 'One day, we want to do this.' All of a sudden, it's like, 'if this is what we want to do, we're doing it now.'"

And so they did. The Koelliker family took trips, wrote a book, started businesses, and more. While healthy, David participated in his children's activities, coached their teams, led scout campouts, attended dance recitals, and savored many family moments. Among the ideas that couldn't wait for "someday" was the invention of a soft-core leather baseball that helps kids learn how to love the game of baseball without the fear of getting hit or hurt.

Listen to this interview to learn how Kore Baseball Products started, how the family rallied together to build the business, and what Susan has planned for the company. Though not how she expected her life to unfold, this entrepreneurial woman has a playbook full of ideas for the future.

Mentioned in this Interview

• KORE Baseball Products
• Brigham Young University Executive MBA program
• Sugar House Community Council
• Everyone Needs a Brain Tumor
• Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

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• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Before becoming a journalist, Stacey Carruth started a lengthy investigation into her own career--only she didn't see it that way at the time. She only saw failure.

After serving a mission as a young adult, Stacey returned to college at Brigham Young University. Though she had started her post-secondary education as a science major ("to prove she was smart"), her thoughts changed while on her mission. She recalls, "I discovered a whole new area of life that sparked me and sparked my interest. I loved learning languages. I loved talking to people. I loved learning about the culture and what causes people to make the decisions they do or live the way they do."

This change of heart led Stacey to change her major to Latin American studies. A campus event called "The Hunger Banquet" prompted her to lean further into helping people in developing countries.

But practicality won out. Nervous about being in college for so long and needing to make money, Stacey switched her major back to clinical laboratory science so she could graduate as soon as possible.

After graduation, she worked in a lab for a year before quitting to be home with her kids. Of the job, she said, "It served its purpose. It helped us get my husband through college. It paid the bills, but I only did it for a year because it was just so boring."

Longing for a Career

As a new mom, Stacey loved being with her children but discovered she didn't love the homemaker lifestyle all that much. And though she felt guilty for wanting to work outside the home, she still longed for a career. But at the time, Stacey couldn't find a job that inspired her enough to justify disrupting the family arrangement or paying for childcare. So she spent the next several years experimenting--enrolling in various degree programs, starting projects, writing a blog, researching, and more--all to find purpose beyond life as a stay-at-home mom.

To be clear, Stacey valued the time spent with her kids. But with every passing year, she felt a little more lost in her faith and out of touch with the job market.

She remembers lamenting to a friend, "I'm so proud of how I've spent the last 12 years. I have no regrets. I built an amazing marriage brick by brick with blood, sweat, and tears. I have amazing children, and I worked so hard to get rid of cultural and old habits from my upbringing, build a good relationship with them, and raise good children. I've tried to do wonderful things with my faith journey and in my faith community. I'm so proud of what I've done, but none of that shows up on a resume. That's a blank resume."

Ironically, that gap on her resume plus the unseen career attempts would one day be the perfect "lack of experience" necessary for Stacey to become a sought-after journalist with a much-needed fresh perspective. And though she didn't know it then, her career launch could not have come at a better time.

It's a good story. Have a listen.

Mentioned in this Interview

• Mother Musings
• Solutions Journalism Network
• Trusting News

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Sister Michelle Amos had just started to flourish in the empty-nest phase of her career when she got called to serve a mission instead.
Having been a NASA Engineer at Kennedy Space Center for 30 years, Sister Michelle Amos is passionate about her career. But it's not the most important thing in her life. Instead, she prioritizes God and Family (in that order) above her work.

Sister Michelle Amos and a colleague at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Here are some of the ways she has shown allegiance to those priorities over the years:

• Engaging in Service. Despite working full-time, Sister Amos never turned down a church calling or an opportunity to serve in the community. She served as the Relief Society President, Young Women President, Stake Young Women President, Cubmaster, and more at church. She did plenty of outreach at schools for NASA and led community events in Orlando as well.
• Carefully Choosing Projects. When colleagues pushed for bigger and better opportunities at work, Sister Amos stood down, determined to be available to her children as much as possible. She went to the office early so she could leave in time to pick the kids up from school and rarely worked on projects that required overtime.
• Waiting to Further Her Education. Though she wanted to obtain a master's degree, Sister Amos delayed post-graduate studies until the kids were older and a little more self-sufficient. She recalls, "I was a mother, I had small children, so I had to wait until my children were in high school or out of the home to take on management training or get my master's degree. I remember sitting at the table with my kids; we were all doing homework."
• Partnering with Her Husband. President John Amos encouraged Sister Amos to apply for the job at NASA. He supported her desire to work after the kids came along as well. She says, "President Amos has always been supportive of my career as an engineer. ... President worked locally in the city, so he could be there if there were emergencies at school. We knew our positions. We were able to plan if there were school activities or school events."

In addition to those daily choices, this successful engineer also had to make big decisions too.

When the kids went off to college, Sister Amos finally got the chance to further her career and take on more significant opportunities. In November of 2018, she got selected to join a flagship project as a Systems Engineer for the Mars 2020 Rover--a role she relished and temporarily moved to California to fulfill. Then just as the team prepared for the launch, Sister Amos and her husband got called to serve as mission leaders for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Once again, Sister Amos sublimated her career aspirations to put God first in her life.

In this interview, you'll learn how she made the decision, what it cost her, and the unexpected blessings her obedience brought. Plus, as amazing as her career at NASA was, you'll hear why Sister Amos believes it was simply preparation for the higher calling she now holds.

It's a good story. Have a listen.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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**Jamilla King, founder of @AnothaDIYProject, shares how she transformed her life and now she transforms spaces for a living.

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH JAMILLA KING**

Having built a social media presence of 60+K followers in just over a year, Jamilla King of @AnothaDIYProject may seem like an overnight success. And in some ways, she is. A couple of months ago, only 2K people followed her Instagram account. But focusing on the audience alone is like admiring the paint on the wall without acknowledging the effort required to prep the surface or build the intricate panel work it covers. The numbers aren't the whole story.

So what is the story? How did Jamilla go from a single bathroom design in March of 2021 to a schedule full of clients and thousands of followers a year later? You'll have to listen to the full episode to find out, but here are a few of the highlights:

1. She quit her job. No kidding. With a newly issued real estate license and $50 in her bank account, Jamilla leaned into a heartfelt prayer. Then she typed up a resignation letter and walked.
2. She refused to go back. It took six months before Jamilla closed her first real estate deal. That's some 180 days without a paycheck. To survive, she hustled and borrowed and even humbled herself to ask for help. When people questioned her decision to quit her job before she had a stable client base, she replied, "I didn't come this far to just go back." And she never did.
3. She posted her progress. Growing up, Jamilla loved interior design. But without many African American women in the business or an understanding of how the industry works, she pursued other career options. After leaving her job to become a realtor, she redesigned her bathroom. She created an Instagram account to post progress pictures, and people noticed.
4. She pivoted. After seeing Jamilla's work on Instagram, a few friends asked her to do projects in their homes. Another friend suggested she charge and start doing work for other people. With some resistance, Jamilla finally said, "Okay, fine."
5. She praised God. With a modest social media following and a small roster of paying clients, Jamilla posted a video expressing gratitude for the life she now leads. It was a simple post showing her work, thanking God for the gifts she's been given, and appreciation for the ability to do what she loves for a living. The post went viral. Now, @AnotherDIYProject has several thousand followers, and Jamilla has more work than she can handle.

Those are the highlights.

Listen to the full podcast to hear the behind-the-scenes moments that made this business happen. Of course, followers are fabulous, and going viral is mind-blowing. But success is never actually overnight. The heart of this story is Jamilla's decision to align with God and have the courage to follow His guidance day by day when things didn't look so Instagram-perfect.

It's a good story. Have a listen.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Learn the moves that took Debbie Thompson (@TomDesignShop) from selling jewelry in art markets to launching a successful online business that supports her family and helps people preserve memories.

The Most Important Lesson Learned

When I book a guest on the Faithful Career Moves podcast, I have specific questions in mind. In this case, I wanted to know how Debbie Thompson became one of Etsy's top jewelry sellers. I wanted to know how she built the business, how long it took to make a profit, and how her life changed. (Of course, I also wanted to know how she saw the Lord's hands in the process.)

So, that's how the interview started.

But when we finished talking, the thoughts that lingered in my mind had nothing to do with the nuts and bolts of the business. Instead, I reflected more on the emotional side of this journey. The success of Tom Design Shop belies the mental and emotional challenges Debbie overcame to create it.

Like the engraving needle touching metal for the first time, this interview only scratches the surface of the past 16 years. Still, I promise it's long enough to leave a mark. Here are just a few of the lessons that have stayed with me:

• Be Flexible. Debbie didn't set out to be a jewelry designer. She planned to sell photography at an art market and only made earrings as a backup plan. When customers bought the earrings instead of the prints, Debbie bought more beads and made more baubles. That is the first of many times this entrepreneur adjusted her business to meet demand and circumstances.
• Be Partners. When Tom Design Shop became profitable, Debbie's husband quit his job, set aside his career aspirations, and went to work for her. (He started out making bangles.) When they needed to move the business from their home to a commercial space, the Thompsons created alternating schedules so they could both care for the company and their kids.
• Be Creative. After having a baby, Debbie found herself lost in new motherhood, living in a new area, away from her support system, and suffering from undiagnosed postpartum depression. Making jewelry and starting an online business helped her rebound. The same thing happened when she delivered her second baby, only worse. Creating new designs somehow pulled her through again.
• Be Thankful. In Debbie's words, "There are things that happen just at the right time that shouldn't have happened. I think, 'Oh, my gosh, that was an answer to my prayer.' I'm constantly asking, asking, asking. I think it's also so important to thank, thank, thank, because just like your kids constantly asking for something, it gets hard. It gets draining on you. After I recognize and see the hand of God, I'm so thankful, and I thank Him."

Though Debbie struggled with each transition in her life, the inspiration to keep making and selling jewelry played a significant role in her healing. That blessing alone would have been worth building the business. But as the success of Tom Design shows, God's plans are always bigger and better than we can imagine for ourselves. Since we can't see what he has in store, all we can do is follow each prompting received and trust that He's working in the background for our benefit.

That is the lesson I never want to forget.

Listen to the interview to learn more.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @Faithful

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When her husband lost his job, this stay-at-home mother of four decided SHE could go back to work--only to discover that the tech industry had moved well-beyond her skillset.

When Cathleen Poulsen’s husband got laid off from work, she lovingly waited for him to find another job. As time without a paycheck wore on, however, her patience wore out. In the midst of increased frustration and rising anxiety, she got an unexpected answer to her earnest prayer for help: YOU have skills.

Taking the hint, she dusted off her computer science degree from 1995 and watched a few online videos to re-engage with the technology she had mastered in her pre-mom days. Then figuring she had "nothing to lose," Cathleen applied for a software development position at Family Search, a nonprofit genealogical organization run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The hiring process seemed promising until she got to the interview.

It didn't go so well.

Cathleen recalls, "It was a technical interview. It was me and eight engineers who were sitting there just throwing all these technical questions at me."

After the meeting, the hiring manager kindly took Cathleen aside and said that her skills were not where they needed to be to fill the software development position. Then, to her surprise, he offered her an internship instead.

Thrilled with the outcome and grateful for an opportunity to update her expertise, Cathleen still had to prove herself--a challenge she did not take lightly.

An Unexpected Blessing

Because she hadn't worked in the tech industry for several years, Cathleen got quickly overwhelmed with how much had changed. She shares, "The first two weeks at the internship, I think that I cried every day on the way home from work. I came into it confident because I didn't know any better, but I realized how much I needed to learn."

She had to overcome hurdles at home too. "When I was done I still needed to make dinner and then I still needed to help with homework. Then I still needed to get people to bed. Then I still needed to try to do some learning so that I didn't appear so dumb the next day," she laments.

But Cathleen did not give up. She devised a plan at work to ensure she never asked the same question twice which increased her confidence. Her husband took on the after-school activities at home, and they held family councils with the kids to discuss more ways they could all work together.

With time, Cathleen settled into her work and the family settled into a new routine. When the internship ended, Family Search offered her a full-time position as a Quality Assurance Engineer. She happily accepted the job.

But wait, there's more (blessings)

In this interview, Cathleen shares the many ways in which her family has been blessed by this experience.

Spoiler alert: she loves her job, her husband got an opportunity to be more intentional with his career, and the kids became more independent. She saw the hand of God in the transition and recognized He had been guiding her towards a career reboot the entire time she'd been out of the workforce.

Listen to the interview to learn more.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Allie Zeyer put down the paintbrush to support her husband’s career and start a family. After a loss, she picked it back up to find herself.

The Fine Art of Mixing

Here’s what I know about mixing paint.

Whether you buy a gallon of latex paint at the hardware store or a bunch of acrylics at the craft store, to get the exact color you want for a project, you’ll likely have to blend a few colors together. At Lowe’s or The Home Depot, a machine can do that for you by adding precisely measured tints to a base color. At Hobby Lobby, you will have to eyeball the options yourself and pick a couple that might work when swirled together with a paintbrush.

In both cases, you’ll probably have to experiment with the mix a bit to get the look you want. Even then, you may need to make additional adjustments when you see how the paint dries or the color is affected by the surface it's on or the light in the room.

In short, it's a process.

The Fine Art of Mothering

As a professional artist, Allie Zeyer has to mix, experiment, and adjust all the time, but not just on the palette. She does the same in her personal life, continually finding ways to blend career aspirations with her cherished role as a wife and mother.

In this interview, Allie shares her early dream of becoming an artist, how she shelved the work to provide for her family, and the heartache that drove her to return to the studio earlier than expected. She additionally explains some of the lessons learned along the way. For example, she found that she has to compartmentalize her life meaning she cannot paint and parent simultaneously without getting frustrated or compromising the outcomes. She has to pace herself, sometimes skipping events or saying ‘no’ to gallery opportunities. And she needs help. Her husband, who encourages her to keep mixing both worlds, often takes the kids out of the house on Saturdays so Allie can have dedicated time alone.

In short, it’s a process.

But as Allie explains, “there’s been nothing but positive rewards from this” including some fun family trips, bonding with dad, and the kids finding scenes or barns they think mom should paint. She additionally says that pursuing this passion and developing her talent makes her feel good which, in turn, makes her a better mom. So even though the family has had to make adjustments, everyone is happier on the whole.

In short, for Ally and her family, it's a process that's working just fine.

Mentioned in this Interview

• Allie Zeyer's Website
• Allie Zeyer's Instagram
• Wilcox Gallery in Jackson, WY
• Relics Gallery in Holladay, Utah
• Jeffery R. Pugh, artist who inspires Allie

Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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The Unfolding of Roxanne Granata's Career

There's always a backstory.

People who have found the career they were born to do seldom explain their journeys as calculated moves. Most often, their unfolding stories read like dramatic novels full of dashed hopes, conquered hardships, and seemingly arbitrary happenings. Only when they get to the end of their tales do we see the miracles in the making--how random jobs taught necessary skills, rejections redirected paths, mentors arrived at perfect times, experiences sparked interests, and so forth.

Roxanne Granata's journey is the same, but there are two ways to tell the story.

Backstory One: Professional Success

The first option is an essay on professional development. Roxanne is a woman who wanted to earn money while being home with her kids. She also wanted to overcome a lifelong fear of talking in front of people. Little did she know that signing up to be a paid crafter would help her do both plus prepare her for an eventual transition to author, podcaster, and public speaker. Her career success sits at the intersection of passion, purpose, and place. (See episode 6 with Jeffery Thompson).

It's a good read that has all of the elements I seek in choosing guests for my show.

Backstory Two: Personal Triumph

The second way to tell the story, however, is a personal memoir that is hard to hear--for me anyway. After 17 years of marriage, Roxanne discovered that her husband had a secret. He had been hiding a longtime addiction.

News like this splits your brain into equal parts clarity and confusion. There is clarity in finally understanding the chasm in your relationship and having an explanation for odd events and behaviors that happened over the years. But there is also confusion in trying to sort through the details of what you have been told (or found out), gauge the impact on your family, understand your role in the addiction, face an uncertain future, and more. When the secret comes out, you learn everything you need to know and literally nothing all at the same time.

And that's where Roxanne found herself. Thrown into counseling, recovery programs, and re=commitment to her marriage PLUS panic, skyrocketing anxiety, and a desperate need for truth. The constant chaos shattered her emotional state until one day she found herself in a closet holding a pair of scissors.

In this podcast episode, Roxanne shares what happened that day plus a series of plot twists that deepened her relationship with God, helped her heal from the trauma of betrayal, and gave her a way to help others do the same. This is the message she shares through her book, podcast, retreats, and speaking engagements.

THIS is the backstory that needs to be told.

Mentioned in this Interview

• Roxanne Granata on Instagram
• Roxanne Granata's Website
• Cutting Ties Book
• Choose In Podcast

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Why Being a Fun Mom Matters

As a self-proclaimed, "fun mom" and the founder of GoBeFun, Amy Kroff prioritizes creating. experiences that bring her family together. Whether she’s setting up a bingo hall in her kitchen (complete with a microphone, bingo cage, and ink daubers) or issuing a challenge that requires nothing more than a blanket, this mother of seven is always looking for simple, inexpensive ways to create laughter and silliness across a broad range of age groups.

On Instagram, her home might look like it’s all fun and games, but the intention behind this frivolity is much more serious. In Amy’s words, “I value the family unit and I want families to grow together…so many problems can be solved if families just enjoyed being together.”

But it can’t be forced.

Forced Family Fun

Amy learned early on that forcing fun on her family did not work.

She recalls, “In year’s past, I said, ‘No. I put a lot of effort into this. We’re going to have fun and you’re going to like it.’”

Though well-meaning, that approach netted pushback and tears—the exact opposite type of family interaction she wanted. Undeterred and certain that the rewards would be worth the effort, Amy adjusted her expectations and learned how to offer the good times without requiring participation or wearing herself out.

This patience and consistency paid off. From drawing a reluctant teenager out of isolation to having long distance belly-laughs with a young adult child who no longer lives at home, Amy’s intentional experiences are creating memories and building family connections.

Learn How to Be a Fun Mom

Having seen the benefits in her own home, Amy started a business to teach other moms how to be “a little bit more fun.” Through social media, a free newsletter, an online “Fun Mom Certification” course, and a few other products and services in the works, this energetic lady with a quirky sense of humor and a brain that her sisters say does not work like others, is on a mission to bring wholesome recreation and family togetherness to the masses.

But if that doesn’t happen--"if there is no empire"--she will be just as happy knowing that her own family grew closer together in the process.

Listen to the interview to learn more about how GoBeFun got started, what Amy envisions for the business, and to hear her signature, “Fun Mom Monday” intro. It's good stuff.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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When the family business failed and her father passed away, Jennifer Hilton left the industry she loved to lessen the pain. Now she's back.

All her life, Jennifer Hilton wanted to be a businesswoman. While other girls dressed up like princesses, she walked around in her mom's heels carrying a briefcase fashioned out of a McDonald's Happy Meal carton. While other kids listened to fairytales and bedtime stories at night, she listened to her dad read Human Resources (HR) manuals instead. She loved it. So when her dad opened an employment agency during her teenage years, she went to work in the family business.

Jennifer remembers, "I worked in the employment agency. I did everything from answering phones and cleaning toilets to interviewing people for different positions, whether it was day laborers or executives. It was the whole gamut of people."

Had the business succeeded, Jennifer eventually would have taken over the company and achieved her ideal of being a successful businesswoman at a very young age. Instead, she found herself out of a dream job and working part-time as a seasonal recruiter for a toy company. Not long after that, her dad passed away.

In the midst of her disappointment, loss, and grief, Jennifer left the employment industry to lessen the pain. But it didn't work. Instead she found herself in the middle of what might appear to be a series of unfortunate employment events.

But as you will hear in this interview, there are no wrong turns, and with God, there are no "wasted opportunities" either. Because with each job she accepted and later left or lost, Jennifer inched closer and closer to realizing that most businesses simply do not know how to hire. Which then led to the realization that her experiences uniquely qualified her to be able to fix this problem. And that is the day Jennifer Hilton became a successful businesswoman in her own right.

Jennifer is now an accomplished recruiter who helps startups and small businesses get amazing employees by teaching proven and effective recruiting, hiring and onboarding practices.

In this interview, she shares some of that knowledge plus tips for people who are returning to the workforce after taking time off to be home with children.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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FEELING "TOO COMFORTABLE" AS A STAY-AT-HOME MOMAfter being an all-in, stay-at-home mom who home-schooled her kids, coached their sports teams, volunteered at church, cooked and cleaned and did all the things an involved mother of four would do, Anne Nelson found herself out of a job when her youngest decided to attend public school. At a time when many women would have dropped into a recliner and taken a well-deserved nap, Anne decided she needed something else to do.

She said, "I was feeling quite comfortable being a stay-at-home mom with not a lot of responsibilities. My kids were raised and three of them were already through college."

Without any students to teach, Anne decided to go back to being a student herself.

With a goal to simply explore the possibility of finishing the nursing degree she had started 25 years prior, Anne went to see a counselor at the local community college. To her surprise, the counselor said Anne had all of the prerequisites necessary to apply for nursing school immediately. So she did.

Anne got accepted into the nursing program only to encounter another career delay--a three-and-a-half year waiting list. But she didn't let that stop her.

In this interview, Anne shares the many starts and stops she had en route to landing exactly where God needed her to be--in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) at a local hospital.

FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE AS A NURSING STUDENT

Now at age 57, Anne says becoming a nurse was the hardest thing she's ever done and she credits her family for giving her the support needed to finish, even when the process got difficult.

Anne recalls, "It really was a full immersion, it was hard, especially hard on my husband who was so used to having me available all the time. There were a few times partway through it that I would have to say, 'I would stop doing this today. I will call them today. I will say, 'I need to drop out today if that's what you want.'"

But she didn't drop out.

They kept going.

"They prayed through it," Anne explained.

FEELING AT HOME AS A NICU NURSE

As a NICU nurse, Anne is now helping other families through some of the most profound moments of their lives.

In the joyous deliveries that go as planned and the heartbreaking deliveries that don't, Anne has the skills necessary to help when she can and the faith necessary to pray for comfort when she can't.

Anne is acting as the Lord's hands in such critical moments and it seems obvious to me that He guided her there for that purpose.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How Anne Nelson worked her way through a grueling nursing program
• The starts and stops that forced her to pivot in unexpected ways
• A leap of faith she had to take in her career
• Blessing she could not see for herself in taking this journey
• Most Importantly: how she has seen the Lord’s hand in her career

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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**How the CliftonStrengths Assessment can help you identify your God-given talents and learn how to apply them to your vocation (and all areas of your life) to more fully reach your potential.

MEET ARNIE ALLRED**

While working in career services for then LDS Business College (now named Ensign College), Arnie Allred and his colleges were looking for a tool they could use to help students excel in job interviews. They selected the CliftonStrengths Assessment because they saw that the test results gave students a vocabulary they could use in everyday conversations (e.g. "I have a talent for building relationships"), validation for their strengths, and guidance on how to aim those strengths towards the goals they want to achieve.

If that sounds too aspirational, listen to this interview as Arnie shares stories about the power of combining your individual strengths with others as well as coupling your own strengths together through something called "theme dynamics." The results are remarkable, but admittedly, hard to believe until you go through the process yourself.

When I first took the Strengths assessment, I first tossed the results aside thinking they were just too obvious.

But that's the point.

As Arnie says, "Everybody is incredibly talented. The sad thing is that lots of people don't see just how much value they can bring to the table. People don't recognize it because they say, 'That's just me.' They don't see the things they naturally do well as a talent."

So let that sink in and listen to this interview to learn more about how important it is to KNOW what you're good at so you can "name it, claim it, and aim it" towards the things you want to achieve in this life.

TAKE THE CLIFTONSTRENGTHS ASSESSMENT

If you want to take the CliftonStrengths Assessment so you too can get the vocabulary and validation you need to achieve your career goals, sign up for strengths coaching here at Faithful Career Moves. If you're at BYU, then go see Arnie and his team instead. He's been doing this longer than me. :)

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• What the CliftonStrengths Assessment is
• How your Strengths results can be utilized and compensated for
• A leap of faith Arnie had to take in his career
• A blessing he could not see for himself in taking this journey
• Most Importantly: How he has seen the Lord’s hand in his career

Mentioned in this Interview

• Brigham Young University (BYU) Career Services
• The CliftonStrengths Assessment
• Ensign College (formerly LDS Business College)

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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**When Jodi Chowen got offered a prestigious position at a top university, she had a big decision to make. Learn how she counseled with her family to decide.

HAVING A JOB VS A CAREER**

There's a big difference between working part-time jobs to SUPPORT the family and embarking on a full-time career that may IMPACT the family. That's what Jodi Chowen discovered when the "job" she took in higher education led to additional opportunities she wanted to pursue. Only when she got offered a prestigious position at a top university did she realize she had to make a choice.

Up until that point, Jodi juggled a variety of part-time jobs including a successful real estate gig while also being an at-home, highly-involved mother of five children. When her husband accepted a job in Hawaii, the family moved to the islands. But knowing that she would have to build her real estate business all over again--with a new license, new clients, and a geographic area that could take her up to an hour away from home--gave Jodi pause.

She said, "I had this moment in my life where I asked, 'So am I a realtor? Is that who I am? Is that what I do?'"

Not convinced, Jodi explored other options and eventually took a position as a part-time academic advisor at Brigham Young University in Hawaii simply because the job fit her schedule and it was close to home. Little did Jodi know, she had just stepped onto the first rung of a career ladder that would one day change everything for her family and bring fulfillment she didn't know she needed.

HOLDING FAMILY COUNCILS

In this episode, Jodi tells how her career unfolded and the steps she had to take to get where she is now. But it's important to know that those steps did not come without sacrifices for her and for everyone in the family. Some changes were as routine as not being home when the kids got out of school or not being able to fix her daughter's hair for a big performance. Other changes found the family living apart for 11 months so Jodi could start a new position without prematurely pulling her older kids out of school.

To make big decisions and to ease the transitions, however, the Chowen family followed a pattern of prayer, seeking personal revelation, and holding family councils.

Jodi explains, "When making a decision, the kids need to understand why and a family council approach helps. That way everybody is on board and you can talk through things when it doesn't go well."

And guess what? It didn't go well all of the time.

Listen to this episode to learn more about:

• Jodi's journey
• The moment she realized she was "having a career"
• How she handles the mom-guilt often associated with pursing a career in addition to being a mom.

It's good stuff.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Camille Cazier of Cherish Your Space shares how to become a professional organizer and why understanding a client’s underlying emotional issues is more important than just clearing clutter.

About Camille Cazier, Professional Organizer
Though she graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Family Studies, Camille Cazier, discovered professional organizing as a career option during her last semester in college. Now she is the founder of Cherish Your Space where she helps clients clear the clutter in their homes and take charge of their lives.

As a professional organizer, Camille obviously helps people edit their physical space--everything from big projects like getting an entire kitchen organized to small projects like organizing a single bathroom drawer--but the most important work she does is often emotional. She explains, "Many of my clients have gone through a life-changing experience, whether it's becoming a parent for the first time, losing a loved one, or getting divorced. There are a lot of emotions behind their mess. We have to figure out why it's happening and then how to fix it."

So, she can't just go into the house and start moving things around. Camille says a good organizer has to be sensitive and remember "this isn't your stuff." To build trust with clients, organizers have to be aware that clients feel vulnerable when they open their homes, their drawers, their emotions, and their mess to someone else.

Listen to this episode to learn more about:

• How Camille became a professional organizer
• Certifications she earned
• Groups she joined
• The unexpected blessings she found in starting this business while going through a life transition of her own.

Camille Cazier has spent over 500 hours helping people find greater peace, clarity and control through organization. She completed The Whole Package Organizing training course for professional organizers and is a member of the Utah Professional Organizers community where she also serves on their board. You can learn more on her website at: CherishYourSpace.com*.

~~~~~*Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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To become a successful life coach, Heidi Benjaminsen got serious about her certification and her business—the latter being the most important. Learn how she plans to make a six-figure salary in less than three years.

WHAT IS A LIFE COACH?

Though I am a fan of the life coach process--having benefitted from consulting a life coach myself--I wanted to learn more about life coaching as a career. Specifically, I wanted to know if anybody besides Jody and Brooke are making money in this business. And, if so, how new life coaches find their place in an industry that is becoming heavily populated.

To this end, my friend and recently certified life coach, Cassie Anderson, introduced me to her mentor, Heidi Benjaminsen.

Heidi has been a life coach for a little over two years and she is most definitely making money. In this interview, she shares her journey to becoming a life coach as well as the steps she's taking to become successful in her business too.

ABOUT HEIDI BENJAMINSEN

Heidi Benjaminsen is a certified life coach who helps women lose weight and gain confidence. As a mother of three teenagers and having lost over 70 pounds herself more than a decade ago, she now helps women uncover the confidence that has always been within them. She hosts a weekly podcast called Hi, This is Heidi, and has a free Facebook group called Lose Weight and Gain Confidence.

MAKING MONEY AS A LIFE COACH

Before talking to Heidi, I had been waffling on something.

Though I have helped hundreds of people find dream jobs, start businesses, prep for interviews, and more, I only decided to call myself a "career coach" because I needed a title for my Instagram business account. In doing so, I felt a little like an imposter. This is new feeling for me. I generally own what I do and feel confident in my career moves, but creating this business has been a leap of faith like no other.

To level up my business and to feel better about my qualifications, I started toying with the idea of getting certified as a career coach. But I lost my enthusiasm when I saw the price of the program.

Then my interview with Heidi happened.

In the interview, I asked Heidi how she made the jump from helping friends for free to charging clients handsomely for her services. She responded: "Women that are willing to invest the money in themselves, the transformation that they make is just amazing. It's just beautiful because it's coming from a place where they realize, I am worth improving and I am worth investing in. It's been wonderful to see that."

Heidi's answer hit me square.

I haven't made an investment in myself since college.

But after hearing Heidi's empowering words, I moved to action. I signed up for the career coach certification course I really wanted to take. And though I am still a little anxious about the cost Heidi's words remind me that making an investment in myself will help me to require the same of others.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How Heidi makes money as a life coach
• Why she believes it's important to invest in yourself
• Most Importantly: How she has seen the Lord’s hand in my career

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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If you struggle with “aspirational shame” or simply want to better align your career and family goals, then listen to this interview with a woman who knows how you feel.

About Julie de Azevedo Hanks, PhD, LCSW

Julie de Azevedo Hanks, PhD, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist with nearly 30 years experience providing a safe place for healing conversations that educate and empower women to prioritize their dreams, revolutionize their families, and personalize their faith. She is an assistant professor of social work at Utah Valley University, the founder and director of Wasatch Family Therapy, an outpatient therapy clinic, and the author of The Burnout Cure and The Assertiveness Guide for Women.

Dr. Hanks is a local and national media contributor, a private practice consultant, and an award-winning performing songwriter. Dr. Hanks is the host of Ask Dr. Julie Hanks podcast and creator of online courses helping women navigate motherhood, relationships, and faith. A native Californian, Hanks currently lives with her family in Sandy, UT.

For additional resources visit DrJulieHanks.com or connect with @drjuliehanks on social media.

LISTEN AND LEARN

Time and time again, stay-at-home moms have come to me and said, "I have to go back to work, but I have no skills." Most feel nervous and scared. Some are mad at the circumstances of being forced out of the home after spending a lifetime creating it, and others desperately want to embark on a career but feel guilty about their desires.

Though I offer to coach them, I rarely sit in the space of acknowledgement because I am so excited to help them see how much they have to offer. I rarely sit there because I know once we talk, they will see for themselves that they've been working on their career without even knowing it. I rarely sit there because I want these ladies to feel better faster.

That's my mistake. Again.

When I asked Dr. Hanks how she would respond to the statements I hear from stay-at-home moms, she didn't rush to solutions. She acknowledged that change is hard. Life doesn't always turn out as planned and it's important to grieve the loss. She talked of partnership parenting and building a support system. And she shared her own journey of learning to rely on personal revelation to overcome what she calls "aspirational shame." Her responses are empathetic and empowering.

So, please. If you are upset that you have to go back to work, are afraid to go back to work, or WANT to go back to work and think you shouldn't feel that way, listen to this episode with Dr. Julie Hanks. In less than 30 minutes, you'll feel heard, energized, and empowered. And not to rush you, but I think you'll also feel better.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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After taking care of everyone else, this stay-at-home mom finally got the go-ahead to start a business of her own, but it was not the business she expected.

WAITING FOR THE GO-AHEAD

When Mindy graduated from college, she happily sublimated her own professional goals to be a stay-at-home mom while her husband attended medical school. Barely in her twenties, Mindy figured she had plenty of time to raise a family before she might eventually go to business school, embark on a career, or start a business of her own. As the years passed by, though, she wondered when she would get her chance.

it's not that she didn't know what to do or have the energy to do it. Mindy had plenty of business ideas, and as her children grew, so did her availability. But every idea came with a prompting to let it go.

Mindy remembers, "I would get such a clear impression from the spirit just saying, 'That's a great idea. You would do a great job with that. Yes, you'd probably love it, but that's just not what I need you to do right now.'"

Disappointed, but obedient, she repeatedly shelved entrepreneurial thoughts and threw herself into volunteer work and hobbies.

TURNING TO MOTHER EVE FOR HELP

Just prior to getting the business inspiration she needed and the approval from the Lord she wanted, Mindy found herself in the midst of a family struggle that coincided with her own questions about gender inequality.

Having spent years helping women via various charitable organizations, she grew increasingly frustrated at the discrepancy between what she believes our Heavenly Parents want for their daughters and the experiences that so many actually have here on this earth. From the victimization and exploitation of females through sexual assault to the devastation caused by the pornography industry and several other gender-gap issues in between, Mindy could be patient no longer. She wanted answers and she wanted change.

In a tear-filled moment of desperation, she turned to a painting of Mother Eve and asked for help. Through the painting, Eve responded, "I thought you'd never ask."

THE BUSINESS OF WRITING A BOOK

Mindy is now a published author, public speaker, and creator of a growing social media community, but the business itself did not take shape right away. At first, Mindy just wanted answers for herself and for her posterity. Only after 18-months of research coupled with discovering that other people shared her concerns did Mindy know for sure that she needed to write a book.

That realization, however, created a new problem. Mindy had never written a book, nor did she have a platform to prop it on--something the publishing industry generally requires of new authors. She pressed forward anyway.

When she finally showed her finished work to Deseret Book, the publisher indeed commented, "This isn't how we do this." Unshaken, Mindy thought, "Well, you'd be amazed at how many miracles I've seen in the last three years of this, and so I'm just going to see what miracle comes today and then we’ll see what miracle comes tomorrow."

So that's what she did.

Confident she'd been divinely guided through the project and that the Lord wanted her to share the answers she found, Mindy persevered through the publishing process and witnessed many more miracles both personally and professionally throughout.

Now a year later, this book may not immediately solve all of the problems women face today, this patient mother has created a resource and introduced a new narrative that is already nudging our culture closer to the truth of what our heavenly parents intend for their daughters--a need for which she might have missed if she had pursued previous business ideas rather than staying grounded in her volunteer work.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the ca

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Ruby Dawn Lyman has a PhD in Learning Sciences and Human Development (Educational Psychology) from the University of Washington. Her specialization is Talented and Gifted/Twice Exceptional and Teacher Education. She has spent her career teaching both K-12 and at various universities. She has a passion for helping all students receive appropriate educational opportunities, regardless of age.

Sounds impressive, right?

That's not even the half of it.

"I'M JUST A LITTLE STAY-AT-HOME MOM"

In this interview, Dr. Lyman shares how she went from being a stay-at-home mom to finishing her first master's degree, earning a second master's degree, and eventually earning a doctorate degree all after leaving school more than a decade earlier to stay home with her growing family. Only when her husband lost his job for an extended period of time, did this hardworking woman get serious about going back to work.

But back to work...where?

Though several people who knew Ruby Dawn as a piano teacher and as a volunteer at the school, told her that she should go into teaching, she couldn't see it for herself. Lacking confidence in her abilities, she lamented, "I'm just a little stay at home mom....I have nothing to offer." In desperation, she took a long-term substitute teaching position to explore the possibility and to help support her family.

From there, the wheels started turning almost faster than she could handle--driving her into a few years of post-secondary education, multiple degrees, providing financially, working at all hours of the night, living away from home part of the week, and more. Though it's hard to imagine anyone juggling so much successfully, Dr. Lyman says, "I give all credit to Heavenly Father and to God for carrying me through this journey because there was no way that I could do it on my own."

She credits others as well. Like her husband who supported her career aspirations and manned the battleship at home. Her aunt and uncle who. gave her a place to stay, career advice, and healthy meals at the end of some long days. And her kids who assumed household duties, learned to work hard, and became self-sufficient in ways they might not have done if Ruby Dawn (the "little stay at home mom with nothing to offer") had just stayed home.

THE STAY-AT-HOME MOM PIVOT

Though many stay-at-home moms see the gap on their resume as a void. I see it differently. I see it as a unique opportunity to rethink your career.

Just out of college initially, Ruby Dawn started her first master's program in political science. But she switched her focus to teaching with an emphasis on gifted education when she returned to the classroom years later because she knew firsthand the challenges of parenting highly intellectual kids. She likely wouldn't have made that pivot had she not stepped away from her original career plans.

I know transitions like these can be hard when you can't see how the story ends. I've been through several painful pivots myself (check out my founder story). But when you get to the other side and can look back at what you learned while in that all important "career timeout," I hope you'll see as I do that there is purpose in every place and personal development in every stage of life.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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After going back to school to get the tools she needed to better-parent her own children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, Michele Portlock wanted to share what she learned with other desperate parents.

Michele Portlock always knew that her children presented some unique parenting challenges, but she didn't know why. After years of struggling to create a calm home life to almost no avail, her oldest daughter received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her younger son eventually got the same diagnosis and her baby is in the process of being tested now too.

With three out of four children requiring tips and tools beyond what she could find in typical parenting resources, Michele went back to school to get a master's degree in behavior therapy. While in the program, this compassionate and energetic mom felt both relief and angst--relief that she finally had the education needed to truly help her kids and angst from recognizing that so many other parents were still in need. She simply could not live with the disparity.

Shortly after graduation, Michele launched a website and podcast, both called "Navigating the Spectrum," to help parents do more than endure the autism experience. Through these platforms, she provides free resources for everyone and private coaching for those who want to pay for individualized services.

HELPING TEENS WITH ASD GET A JOB
I wanted to talk to Michele for two specific reasons. The first is that she is yet another example of a former stay-at-home mom who returned to the workforce in spite of a gap on her resume, a house full of kids, and fear of failure. But she followed the promptings to do so, enlisted the help of her entire family, went back to school, and walked the journey one baby step at a time. She is amazing.

The second reason I wanted to talk with Michele is because we recently collaborated on a project together.

In Michele's words, "Autism spectrum disorder is an individual diagnosis that affects the entire family." At nearly every developmental milestone, challenges other kids face can be especially difficult for children living with special circumstances. The added stress at those junctions can buckle a mom who is just trying to guide her kid along the already uncertain path of life. One such challenge is getting a job.
FREE JOB SEARCH WORKBOOK

In this workbook, "Getting a Job: A Guide for Teens and Adults on the Spectrum," you'll find the following helps:

• Personal Inventory to identify skills and abilities
• Resume examples
• Tips on how to find a job
• Tips on how to apply for a job
• Practice interview questions

Parents can use the book to guide their child along or simply get a sense of how much work will be required before reaching out for professional help.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• Challenges unique to parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder
• Why Michele decided to go back to get a master's degree
• How Michele got into the MBA program as a stay-at-home mom

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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When my business failed financially, I mom had to choose between going back to a former career or finding a new way to support my family.

MY STORY
When I graduated from high school, I had a plan to go to college, get my degree, and work for the biggest company I could find for the rest of my life. I wanted job security and financial stability.

I did not want to be an entrepreneur, a consultant, or anything that implied risk.

I was not interested in any profession that would land me driving unreliable cars, fixing appliances with duct tape, or going for long periods of time without a paycheck.

All went according to plan for several years...until I had my first child.

After more than a decade of leaning in to my career, I started leaning back out of it, grasping for ideas on how I could make money and stay home with my girl.

PLAN BInitially, I went back to work, but got permission to switch to a part-time schedule and work from home. Juggling my job and baby took some effort, but I'm an efficient worker and Ally settled into a pretty predictable schedule, allowing me to fulfill my professional obligations with relative ease.

I think we could have kept this arrangement for a long time, but I'm a problem-solver by nature, and babies present all sorts of problems. Having watched too many "millionaire mom" episodes on Oprah, I got the notion that I could sell one of my "solutions" online, allowing me to quit my job in favor of starting a family business.

That's not exactly what happened.

I got the product made, got the website developed, filed for patents, paid for logos, created merchandise, and more. But when a pallet full of product showed up in my driveway a couple of months after delivering my second child, I realized I didn't have a solid business plan. I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I panicked.

In this episode, I'll share what happened more specifically, but for the purposes of this post, I'll simply say that I eventually donated the inventory, took down the website, and shuttered the business.

Though in hindsight, the twists and turns now look like a well-executed series of internships designed to help me gather the skills I would eventually need to start a more successful business, at the time, it felt like chaos.

I often felt frustrated by the lack of clear direction. I got disappointed when ventures didn't result in financial prosperity. I got disheartened by dead-ends and disillusioned by deadbeats. But I pressed forward because, despite the hardships, I wanted to be home with my kids.

I wanted to figure this out.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• Why I left my career as a programmer to be a stay-at-home mom
• How I learned to create a personal brand
• How reading The Book of Mormon every day helps me prosper
• Why I started this website -- Faithful Career Moves
• A leap of faith I had to take to advance my career
• Most Importantly: How I has seen the Lord’s hand in my career

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Think you can’t have a career in STEM and raise a family? Dawnika Blatter, PhD, research geologist, worked hard (and feels blessed) to have both the family and the career she always wanted...but it wasn't easy.

ABOUT DAWNIKA BLATTER, PHD RESEARCH GEOLOGIST AND FTIR LAB MANAGER
A couple of years into her post-doctorate degree, Dawnika Blatter had to tell her advisor that she was seven months pregnant with her first child. He responded, "You're not going to take any time off are you?"

With no other way to continue her career and simultaneously start a family, Dawnika buckled in and began the juggling act known as being a working mom.

Now, a couple of decades later with several academic achievements and publications to her credit, Dawnika is a highly-respected research geologist, lab manager, and professor. She is also a mother of four who looks back fondly on the terrain she traveled to have both a family and a career.

THE CHALLENGE OF ACADEMIA FOR WOMENAs Dawnika points out in this interview, careers in academia can be challenging for women, but not because they can't handle STEM subjects or the rigor of the industry. Careers in academia are difficult for women because the time at which a woman will be most marketable in her field is also the time she will need to have children, if she wants them. That collision between career desires and family goals often causes one to slide beneath the other--in geology terms, I think that's called subduction.

But Dawnika's advice is simple. "Do both," she says.

In this interview, Dawnika shares some of the ways in which she made it work including getting help from extended family, overloading herself with kid activities on the days she could be available, and asking for a few concessions where needed. She also credits her husband with fully sharing parenting responsibilities and valuing her career as much as his own.

CHOOSE SOMETHING YOU LOVE
In talking to Dawnika, it's obvious she loves her job. Yes, she gets to travel to Mexico, Hawaii, Iceland, and other desirable places. And yes, she gets to ride in helicopters, stand atop great waterfalls, and work alongside remarkable minds. But it's evident she loves what she does because she fought for it.

She could have quit when her high school science classes were challenging. She could have quit when she had that first baby. She could have quit--and been one of many women on the leaky STEM pipeline--when she had more babies and had to out earn the cost of childcare in the challenging California economy. She could have quit many times, but she didn't want to.

Now she's encouraging her own children to similarly choose passion over profit when they make career decisions.Her advice is to find "something that you're really interested in and passionate about and just be the best at that thing that you can be. Then the career steps....will fall into place." I totally agree.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How Dawnika completed her PhD while having children
• How she had to put her husband's career ahead of her own at times
• When to put your career on a back burner to simmer
• How Dawnika has seen the Lord’s hand in her career

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Forget everything you know about network marketing and listen to this interview with Megan Hunter, a doTERRA Wellness Advocate, who has been building a thriving business for nearly a decade.

About Megan Hunter RN and Diamond doTERRA Wellness Advocate
Megan Hunter used to be skeptical about network marketing. It is not the type of business she ever pictured herself doing, especially after training nearly five years to become a nurse.

But with bills piling up, a house full of kids to care for, and a desire to have a flexible work schedule, she started to wonder if she could make money selling doTERRA essential oils instead of doing shift work at the hospital. And more importantly, she wondered if she could be as proud of this type of business as she is of her nursing career.

Nearly a decade later, Megan is proud of her business, for sure, but she is even more excited about what she and her husband (my brother) have accomplished together--financial stability, a healthier lifestyle, residual income that continues to grow, and a way to help people on a daily basis.

HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN NETWORK MARKETING
In spite of her success, Megan is quick to point out that network marketing is not for everyone. To be successful, she says you need the following:

1. A Product That Sells Itself. Though you can be successful selling a variety of products, Megan prefers consumable items that generate repeat business because that is how you generate residual income over time. "I am still paid on that class I did that was two hours away five years ago," for example.
2. Authenticity. Although Megan truly loves the products she sells, she recognizes that they might not be a fit for everyone. And that's okay. Like her job as a nurse, her goal is to help people with the tools and resources she has available. For some, that means recommending a product. For a select few, that means a chance to become a business partner. But to all, Megan offers love and friendship.
3. Perseverance. Megan recognized that building a successful book of business would require long-term effort. Thankfully, she is no stranger to hard work. She has noticed that the people who do well in her line of work are accustomed to setting goals and working hard to achieve them with consistent and persistent effort. it took her nearly five years to become a nurse. She applied that same level of dedication to become finding success at doTERRA.

Lastly, Megan encourages anyone considering network marketing to research the products and the company. She says, "I probably wouldn't have had the same experience if I chose something else to sell."

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How Megan transitioned into network marketing and why
• What she says you need to be successful in network marketing
• Why she loves doTERRA and how she made peace with starting a business
• How networking marketing is like missionary work
• Most Importantly: How Megan has seen the Lord’s hand in her career

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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When she lost her business, her savings, and all hope of a quick financial recovery, Jaylene Groeniger returned to her roots and dug into real estate. Now she is one of the most successful realtors in the Treasure Valley.

About Jaylene Groeniger, Real Estate AgentAfter working for more than 30 years in a highly profitable family business, Jaylene Groeniger and her husband expected they would eventually take over and run the company until their own retirement. But that didn't happen.

When the 2008 California housing crisis came knocking, home prices fell, foreclosures increased, construction permits halted, and nearly every business in and around the housing industry got burned--including the Groeniger's long-standing pipe supply company, a 72-year-old business.

As Jaylene said, "My husband, after working there for 32, 33 years for the family business walked away with literally nothing."

Had they known about the impending collapse or even had an inkling that they would not get a penny from the eventual acquisition of their business, the Groenigers likely would have made some adjustments to save their own home, grow other businesses they had started, and stay in California. But that didn't happen either.

Listen to this episode to learn how Jaylene ended up in Idaho, and in an attempt to recover financially while still taking care of her kids at home, went into real estate full-time. She is now one of the Treasure Valley's most successful realtors.

What You'll Learn In this Episode:

• How Jaylene transitioned into real estate and why
• How to get started in real estate if you don't have savings
• How to find a mentor to help you grow your new real estate business
• The best (and worst) things about being a realtor
• Most Importantly: How Jaylene has seen the Lord’s hand in her career

Contact Jaylene Groeniger, Real Estate Professional or call 208.949.1863.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Jennifer Anderson, recruiter and career coach of 22 years, shares how to use a recruiter to find your next opportunity to bless the world.

ABOUT JENNIFER ANDERSONWhen I wake up at 3AM, I just want to fall back asleep.

When that doesn't happen, my "please help me to fall back asleep" prayer usually starts as a simple request. By 4AM, it's a frustrated plea for divine assistance. By 5AM, I've either solved the world's problems or created new ones. Never once have I considered that the Lord may keeping me awake for a reason.

But after talking to Jen Anderson, career coach, recruiter, and author of the "3am With God" Journal, I am starting to wonder if He's been trying to tell me something.]

A 3AM WAKE-UP CALLThe "3am With God" journal and guided course is something Jen felt prompted to create after she received an impression at (you guessed it) 3AM.

After pushing the idea aside for a bit, she finally got to work collaborating with God on what is now a tool she uses to help others figure out what the Lord may be prompting them to do.

Of that experience, she said, "What that did for me was it introduced a new product into my business world that was basically telling the world that I am a Christian woman, and as a woman of faith, I'm inviting other people to recognize the inspiration they're getting at 3:00 AM in the mornings. That that's a secret divine time. If you read in the scriptures, there's many examples of people being awakened from dreams and visions and all sorts of stuff in the middle of the night."

A BETTER RECRUITERThe funny thing is, the journal is not why I wanted to interview Jen.

I wanted to talk to her because she's been a career coach and job recruiter for more than two decades. She's helped thousands of people find meaningful employment through a process I know very little about. But after talking to her on this subject as well, I'm starting to wonder what I might have been missing during the day now too.

I learned in this interview that a recruiter could be your biggest ally in making a faithful career move. A good recruiter can help you find employment opportunities that are not posted on job boards, make sure the hiring manager carefully reviews your resume, get you in for an interview, and help you negotiate a higher salary.

WHY WOULDN'T YOU USE A RECRUITER?
Listen to this interview with Jen Anderson to learn more about the role of a good recruiter, how to find one that specializes in your field of expertise, and what you need to do to make the relationship work. I promise, after listening, you too will be wondering what else you've missed.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• The role of a good recruiter
• The difference between a recruiter and a corporate recruiter
• How to find a recruiter who will be a good fit for you
• How to manage the recruiter relationship

Mentioned in this Episode

• 3am With God
• Career Coach Jen

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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With three little kids and a newborn, Courtney Hobbs did not think she had time to start a business, but she felt inspired to do it anyway. So she took a self-reliance class at church and got her business off the ground—literally.

ABOUT COURTNEY HOBBS, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

I have heard people say that the Lord doesn't care what classes you take, what you choose for a college major, or what you do for work.

I disagree.

I think He cares deeply about helping us nurture our talents and abilities so we can serve and support our families and be a light to the people we interact with through the development of those gifts. I also think He knows that pursuing our passions and interests will bring us joy and fulfillment in ways we cannot see for ourselves at the onset.

Meet Courtney Hobbs, landscape designer and owner of Southern Roots Design.

After graduating with a degree in landscape management from Brigham Young University (BYU), Courtney and her husband moved to Atlanta, Georgia to further his career. While there, she landed a dream job doing residential landscape design at a prestigious firm she had aspired to work for since embarking on the profession. A couple of years later, however, Courtney got pregnant. When her newborn arrived, she laid down the drafting tools and picked up the diaper bag in favor of a new full-time position as a stay-at-home mom. And that is where she intended to stay until she got an overwhelming prompting to start her own business just after her fourth and final child was born.

Listen to this interview to learn more about Courtney's at-home business, why she felt inspired to start it when she did, and how a self-reliance class at church helped her "start and grow her business" one step at a time.

Then come back here and let me know if you think the Lord cares what classes you take and what profession you choose. In this case, it seems pretty obvious that He does.

What You'll Learn In This Episode:

• Courtney's experience taking the "Starting and Growing a Business" class
• How she first launched her business and got her first client
• The adjustments her family made to support her work
• The unexpected fulfillment she's found in starting a business
• Most Importantly: How Courtney has seen the Lord’s hand in her career

Mentioned in this Episode

• Southern Roots Design - See some of her work and follow her journey.
• Self-Reliance Services - Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, self-reliance classes are taught in meetinghouses (and on Zoom) all over the world.
• Landscape Management - One of the program outcomes says, "Identify, reflect on, and articulate personally significant experiences that strengthen the desire to incorporate the gospel of Jesus Christ in managing and creating beautiful landscapes"

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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If you don't write accomplishment-based statements on your resume to showcase the excellent work you do, someone else will. And they wll get the interview and the job!

About Jennifer Fonseca, Destiny ActivatorEven after graduating from college, Jennifer Fonseca still didn't know what to do with her life, but she had a deep desire to figure out what she had been "put on this planet to do." So her mom gave her a book that changed everything.After reading, What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles, Jennifer began test-driving careers--as instructed by the book.

Not only did this activity lead her to a fulfilling career and finding her passion in life, but it also turned into a tool she uses to help others do the same.

In this interview, Jennifer shares how test-driving careers can help you weed out options that aren't right for you and open doors to opportunities you might not know exist, Once you do identify the type of job you'd like to have, you'll need a resume to help you get an interview and eventually the job.And that's where most people flounder.

What is an Accomplishments-based Resume?
In Jennifer's words, "When you haven't worked on your resume in a hot minute or more like a year or two, there are so many things you’ve forgotten..." That selective amnesia forces people to reflect back on their careers in a haphazard way--thinking about tasks performed or former checklists of duties. Writing your resume that way will not help you identify who you really are.

Instead, Jennifer uses an approach she calls, "Who before Do," to help her clients think back on their proudest career moments in order to reveal the exceptional work they've done and experience they've gained. Doing so is not only a good career move, but is required of those who have the ability to build up the kingdom of God.

She says, 'If we don't show up with a resume that really details out the strengths that God uniquely created for us to have, then we leave it for someone else who has no problem bragging on themselves. And it's not bragging." Jennifer explains that we bring glory back to our creator when we showcase how we have stewarded well the gifts and the strengths he has given us.

And when we use those strengths for good, we can change culture.

In this interview, Jennifer talks extensively about how to create an accomplishments-based resume by using the four following "miracle questions:"

1. How do I do it better or differently than anyone else?
2. When did I thrive or flourish or feel most alive in each of my roles?
3. What are the things that you did where you lost track of time?
4. What are you most proud of?

Listen to this interview to learn more.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• The value of test-driving careers
• Four miracle questions to help you remember your accomplishments
• Why you have a mandate to figure out what your destiny is
• And how to go about activating that destiny once you know what it is
• Most Importantly: How Jennifer has seen the Lord’s hand in her career

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Lorie Camacho, LinkedIn expert, shares her step-by-step approach to finding your next job using the tool that has changed the way we look for work.

Lorie Camacho is a LinkedIn coach, workshop facilitator, and corporate consultant who leverages a unique style to engage and motivate professionals to find more happiness in their current job, build an online presence and organize strategies for success in their career networking. Lorie has a master’s in teaching with technology and incorporates science-based learning and clear objectives into all of her engagements.

Lorie’s top priority in consulting is helping people to unlock the barriers that keep them from networking strategically and effectively. She also makes LinkedIn fun!

WHY IS LINKEDIN SO IMPORTANT?

I asked Lorie to join me on this podcast because LinkedIn is the place to be if you're looking for work, but few people make full access of what this tool has to offer. As an example, many people I know who are currently out of work, still haven't joined LinkedIn. Others are on the platform but their profiles are outdated or sparsely filled. That's not going to get you a job in 2020 and certainly not when so many people are out of work thanks to COVID-19.

But fear not. With Lorie's LinkedIn tips, you can quickly get your profile updated and develop a strategy for networking to find work.

And if you're not out of work at the moment, then this podcast episode is still a must-listen. As Lorie shares in this interview, LinkedIn should not simply mirror the text on your resume. In her words, "your resume is written towards your history...LinkedIn is all about networking and creating opportunities for your future."

So whether you're currently unemployed or not, listen to this episode to get LinkedIn tips that could change your current (or future) job search completely.

NOW FORGET ABOUT THE LINKEDIN TIPS

During this interview, at least three times Lorie gave advice on how to handle a situation--for example, whether or not to write "open to hire" in your bio, when to tell a connection that you're looking for work, and how to cover a gap on your resume--but ultimately she said you needed to decide for yourself what to write and what to say.

Though some may find that vagueness frustrating, I find the advice empowering because it leaves room for you to seek inspiration in your job search. Though I have had people tell me that they do not believe the Lord cares what you do for a living. I disagree. But even if He doesn't care about your actual job (I think He does, but let's just say for a moment that he doesn't), I still believe He does care about your ability to provide for your family. And that means He should be consulted in your career moves.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• Four steps to using LinkedIn for your job search
• The difference between your resume and your LinkedIn profile
• The "Who, Why, and What" that must go into every network connection

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Do you even know the difference? Jeffery A. Thompson, author of The Zookeeper's Secret, explains how to find your calling in life at the intersection of passion, purpose, and place.

A little over ten years ago, Jeffery A. Thompson gave a Devotional Address at Brigham Young University (BYU) that changed the course of his life.

Unsure of what to talk about and worried that he didn't have "anything wise to say" at that point in his career, Jeff's thoughts turned to his latest research on "finding a calling in life." Unexpectedly, he started to view that research through a spiritual lens.

He says, "As I did that, in preparation for the devotional, a new vision of my research opened up to me and I had a new understanding that what I was studying was actually deeply embedded in principles of the restored gospel."

Jeff's eventual talk, "What is Your Calling in Life?", laid the foundation for a book he would one day write (along with J. Stuart Bunderson) called, "The Zookeeper's Secret: Finding Your Calling in Life."

In addition to sharing the difference between a job, a career, and a calling, in this podcast episode, Jeff explains that finding your calling in life sits at the crossroads of passion, purpose, and place. Those "3 P's," said differently (or with spiritual eyes), are your spiritual gifts, stewardship, and destiny--where Heavenly Father has led you.

Though it sounds easy enough, Jeff cautions that having a desire to find your calling in life does not mean that the search will be simple or that it will always be rewarding. You might actually go through a period bewilderment, find that some steps are difficult to take, or that your purpose reveals itself through some of your worst experiences. But if you partner with the Lord in taking each step, finding "that thing" you are uniquely qualified to do is possible and worth the effort.

Spoiler alert. Your calling in life is not a "destination."

Listen to this episode to find out how Jeff went from a corporate career he disliked to being a professor in a program he didn't even know existed, while also longing to perform in musical theater.

It's a great story, and thanks to Jeff's acting classes--an unexpected addition to his calling in life--he is also a great storyteller.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• Steps you can take to find your calling in life
• How finding your calling in life is an iterative process
• Why it's important to making serving others your top priority
• Most Importantly: How Jeff has seen the Lord’s hand in his career

Mentioned in this Episode

• "Finding Your Calling in Life" - BYU Devotional Address
• The Zookeeper's Secret: Find Your Calling in Life - By Jeffery A. Thompson and J. Stuart Bunderson

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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When Debbie Bromley started Showbiz, she had the talent and experience needed to teach kids how to perform, but running a business took several twists, turns, and leaps of faith.

About Debbie Bromley

For over two decades, Debbie and her husband, Dave Bromley, have worked with thousands of youth producing a fast-paced song-and-dance revue patterned after their experiences as performers in the BYU Young Ambassadors program.

The company is called Showbiz.

At the start, Debbie taught just a handful of teenagers. As her own children got old enough to perform, she added classes for younger kids so her boys could be part of the program. As the family grew, the business grew until Debbie had over 120 performers (plus parent helpers) coming in and out of her at-home studio every week.

As former professional artists, the Bromleys certainly have a great deal of talent to share with youth, but they started Showbiz to do more than simply teach kids how to sing and dance. They wanted their family and the students they taught to learn to serve as well.

Debbie says, "Our mission statement is we believe in building the character of youth through the magic of song, dance, and service." She goes on to say, "service was key for us because lots of times, kids that are involved in the performing arts tend to be a little self-centered because the profession in and of itself is about that. You get critical of yourself. You are always having people look at you, you're performing. Our goal was to turn that around on kids and help them realize that their talents were pretty special and God-given and that the real purpose of them was to help and uplift other people."

Listen to the episode to learn more about how Showbiz evolved, the many pivots made to grow the business alongside of a growing family, and the challenges Debbie faced in learning how to run a business.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How Showbiz started and evolved into a community-wide, highly respected program
• How they incorporated service, team building, and other aspects into the Showbiz program
• The business skills Debbie needed to learn to run and grown the company successfully
• Several pivots they made, from expanding classes, to shortening the season, to converting their garage to an at-home studio, and more
• Most Importantly: How Debbie has seen the Lord’s hand in her career

Mentioned in this Episode

• BYU Young ​Ambassadors - Produced by the School of Music at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
• BYU Young Ambassadors Alumni - Debbie and Dave Bromley are chapter chairs.
• Vocal Point- Debbie's youngest son, Jason Bromley, is currently performing with this group.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Whether you know it or not, you already have a personal brand. In this episode, Linda Evans shares how to identify, improve, and utilize your personal brand for good.

About Linda EvansWhen Linda moved to Washington, DC to start working on a master’s degree at a prestigious university, she had no substantial job and no way to pay for enrollment. But a promise in her patriarchal blessing gave her the confidence to move forward. While looking for work, she discovered that the school provides “tuition remission” (meaning the cost of tuition is waved) for full-time university employees.

In answer to her prayers and in fulfillment of that patriarchal promise, Linda got a job at the school that both covered her living expenses and kicked in tuition coverage just as the bill came due.

Though she ended up leaving that program and trying another en route to finally finding a third master's program she loved, Linda faithfully made each move, trusting in the “God of the 11th hour.” Of this experience, she says, “I was able to graduate without debt while living in New York city. I still marvel at that a lot… I just felt like the Lord took care of me so well, allowed me to make my mistakes and still didn't let me crash.”

Now Linda holds a Master of Arts in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University, has worked nine years in higher education as a career counselor and advisor, taught university-level classes "to help college students achieve their goals and reach their potential" (Career Exploration, Career Strategies, and Personal Branding), and she is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.

Linda is also the founder of Launched By Linda, a virtual career coaching service.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• Advice for Gen Z youth who aren't sure what to study in college
• How to identify and evolve your personal brand
• How knowing your personal brand can help you develop confidence
• Why it's important to charge for the services you provide
• Most Importantly: How Linda has seen the Lord’s hand in her career.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Disrupt Yourself - Whitney Johnson's interview with Mark W. Johnson.
• Lead from the Future: How to Turn Visionary Thinking Into Breakthrough Growth - ​by Mark W. Johnson
• CliftonStrengths - How to find your talent DNA.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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When Karen Stapley’s family struggled financially, she tried to go back to work. But that path never opened, so she and her husband accepted the outcome and moved forward in faith.Despite resenting the stigma that BYU students who major in elementary education are doing so “just to get married and have children,” Karen Stapley did eventually leave her job as a teacher to become a stay-at-home mom. But that doesn’t mean she stopped teaching—she just switched to a different classroom.

For the next 17 years, Karen taught at church, at young women’s camp, in her community, and especially in her home. Though an exceptional and entertaining teacher, she is more well-known in social circles for being creative, crafty, and inclusive. I dare you to find someone who has not felt love from this woman.

But being home and available to the masses also came at a cost.

When the housing crisis of 2008 hit the Stapley home with a vengeance, Karen tried to go back to work to help the family financially. But no doors opened. Earlier, when she returned from a trip to Ethiopia with a desire to start a non-profit organization that could increase literacy in developing countries, she got the same message. No.

Through these experiences (and others like them), Karen faithfully acknowledges that the Lord has a plan for her life and for her career. Currently, that plan involves her being at home—ready and available to serve whenever and wherever she is needed.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

• How Karen uses her education to serve her family and others
• Why she didn’t go back to work when her family fell on financial hardship
• The opportunities she had for personal growth while being home
• Most Importantly: How she has seen the Lord’s hand in her career.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Definition of​ Career: An occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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As an actress, a comedian and a mom, Karen Manthey had to improvise and act on faith in order to create a dream life that she never could have scripted on her own.

About Karen Manthey
When Karen Manthey first auditioned for a well-known improv company, she bombed. Disappointed and certain that she’d lost her chance to be part of the troupe but still wanting to learn and grow her comedic talent, she emailed the director and asked if she could at least be an usher at the performances. To her surprise, the director quickly responded and informed Karen that she had been accepted into the group—the email offer must have gone to a junk folder on her computer.

Had she not taken the time to follow-up and offer to help, Karen thinks she might have missed the opportunity altogether.

Though not even close to the scariest thing she’s done in her life, overcoming fear and being willing to fail is a constant storyline for this improviser, who is also a wife and mother of four children.

In this episode Karen shares how she got started as an improv comedian and the pivot points that took her in a direction she never could have imagined for herself.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How Karen views scary things as opportunities to learn and grow
• An improv trick that everyone can use to embrace opportunities
• How she juggles a comedic career and her family
• Most Importantly: How she has seen the Lord’s hand in her career.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Game Ch​anger Improv is the improv performance group that Karen Manthey founded along with some of Boise, Idaho’s most seasoned improvisors. They perform, teach classes, and conduct team building workshops.
• Recycled Minds Comedy provides classes and corporate training programs for people who want to improve communication, confidence, team-building and more.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

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Just because she chose to stay home with her kids does not mean Cami Bruschke gave up the dream of having a career--she just had to wait for the right time.

About Cami Bruschke
If you just met Cami Bruschke for the first time, you would assume she’s been a professional career woman her entire adult life. She’s poised, well-spoken, loves to do research, lived overseas, and has a master’s degree in social work. Though she is now a senior consultant at the Mental Health and Wellness Care Management Institute for one of the largest healthcare organizations in the country, about five years ago, she made a bargain with God to get there.

In this episode, Cami shares how she graduated from college, made the conscious choice to put her career on hold so she could start a family, and then eventually returned to the workforce by going back to graduate school.

Though I knew Cami during the latter half of this story, I had no idea she had been faithfully and patiently waiting to embark on a career for more than a decade. Hearing the background to her journey makes this woman’s story all the more inspiring to me.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

• How Cami intentionally planned a return to work while being home with children.
• How she used church callings and other volunteer opportunities to build her resume.
• How her family adapted to their new normal with mom working outside of the home
• Most Importantly: How she sees the Lord’s hand in the unfolding of her career.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

On a Personal Note:

One of the great joys I’m finding in creating this website and this podcast is the opportunity it affords me to reach out to amazing men and women who inspire me and have, at times, carried me as well.

Cami is all of the things I mentioned above, but she is also one of those “salt of the earth” friends who will raise you up spiritually, support you in your trials, and belly-laugh with you if you’re running out of gas on the way home from Young Women’s camp. Her kids hold a special place in my heart and her husband scooped up my kids at a time when they desperately needed a champion.

This podcast is a tribute to Cami, but I acknowledge (as she does) that her success has been a family effort.

~~~~~Visit FaithfulCareerMoves.com and learn the secret to finding the career you were born to do. Here's how it works:

1. Identify Your Strengths
2. Get a Career Plan
3. Find Your Calling in Life

Follow us:

• Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
• Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves