Articles are a great way to gain visibility and credibility for what you offer. They provide a great resource for your clients. They increase your website visibility and add value to your media kit. The simplest way to begin writing an article is to break it into three parts: purpose, key elements and basic structure.

PURPOSE
Message: You have valuable expertise to share. Two questions to keep in mind: Why here? Why now? They help keep the content relevant, focused and succinct.

Length: Different venues seek varying lengths but the current “general rule” is 500-700 words for a web article. Newspapers editorials are typically 500 words. Some ezines request 1,000 words. What’s key is to adhere to their requirements.

KEY ELEMENTS
Title: Draw people in with your title and hook them into the message. Browse through magazines and notice what titles engage you. Then adapt your own.

Stories: Stories draw your reader in. Keep your writing “alive” by incorporating active language and be sure that it highlights your message.

Statistics: Statistics or other “data” demonstrates your credibility on the topic and also expands the learning for your reader.

Tips or tools: Keep them simple and doable.

BASIC STRUCTURE
By blending prose with bullet points for tools, you will allow the reader to skim for useable tools and connect with you on a personal level.

Allow yourself to write a “shitty first draft”. This is possibly the most important step in piecing together the article. Let your ideas flow onto the page. Afterwards, go back and hone your story, your tips and your message.

And remember…just like anything new, you’ll have a few drafts before you find your voice, your rhythm and your story. Share it with friends. Ask for input from respected colleagues. And before you know it, you’ll get over the “fear of the red pen” and you’ll begin to enjoy sharing your expertise.

by Carolyn Campbell, MA, CPPC

A few months back, when it was still warm and sunny, a client sat in my garden patio and said, “Carolyn, I’ve heard about people creating their own dream career. How do they do that? Can I do that? Today, five months later and yet a life time away, she is celebrating her new job and reclaiming delight in her work.

We are living in a time when organizations and small business are changing so fast that that if you are able to see what is truly needed, and ready to speak up and say so, incredible opportunities await your asking.

So yes, you can create your dream career or dream business. And, there are a few things you will need to consider AND do to achieve your vision and accomplish your goals. I thought that the best way to offer tips and tools would be to offer a snap shot of her four month self-discovery and dream job creation search.

First, she took a TAKE A CANDID SELF INVENTORY
This first phase had two parts; a personal inventory and interviews of others about her.

She began by asking herself questions designed to help her name and frame her core life dreams. We identified times when she had experienced them (and how she felt when she did). We also identified the phases when life distractions overtook her dreams and what occurred as a result.

In the second part, she interviewed ‘key’ people who gave her candid, thoughtful, insight about her core strengths and personal impact. Through these interviews she gained a greater understanding of her personal contribution. We can easily get lost in the maze of life, losing sight of our own dreams. By having others provide honest insight we begin to reclaim our core essence and believe in our dreams again.

Throughout the process, again and again, we pushed her to DARE TO DREAM.
To integrate her awareness mentally, physically and spirit-fully, she created a collage, began a daily journal and danced her core self. Yes, you heard right. She danced. By letting her body move in ways that expressed its true essence her creative, innovative Self begin to see AND believe in possibility in a ways that previously seemed impossible.

As she began to reclaim her desires, she started collecting job descriptions that inspired her. Even on days when she went through her self doubts, she had a literal file, an external reminder, of contribution people were actually making in the world that aligned with her self purpose.

Do not overlook this key step!

CREATE A SUPPORT TEAM.
From the beginning, she made a list of all the people she had served well in the past and whom she could call on for support in the future. As she clarified her vision she contacted each of them— intentionally developing a strong resource team of people who could give her insight and advise–each wanting to support her in attaining her vision.

TAKE SELECTIVE ACTION.
She systematically reviewed potential leads and scheduled formal and informal interviews with people who were in the arena she was interested in. Each time she asked herself key questions: Was this the type of work that would inspire her? Did it suit her values and lifestyle? Would it keep her engaged?

With each step, she’d review her core vision. Selectively, she would pursue ONLY the positions that affirmed her intention for her new career. With each interview she’d take time to ask specific questions about the work so as not to fall prey to the “interviewee”syndrome. What is the interviewee syndrome? The interviewee syndrome is when you find yourself letting the interviewer lead you down a course of questions and suddenly, two hours later, you realize that there were essential questions you never remembered to ask.

As the interviews turned into negotiations it was critical that she went back to the origins of her work, to reclaim her dream and remember what she needed to feel fulfilled.

And yes, we made sure to CELEBRATE THE SMALL STEPS & LEARN FROM THE STUMBLES
I will not pretend that it is always a sail on sunny day. It took courage and fortitude, trust and bouts of doubt. So, with each small venture into a new connection, a new description of her intended work, we would acknowledge how much she had grown along the way. When moments of doubt crept in, we named them and made a choice of how to work with them so they didn’t swamp her dream.

There is a lovely Rumi quote that says “A secret within us makes the universe turn.” As she unveiled her secret and began to follow its clues, it was wondrous to watch how the universe unfolded before her.

My invitation: what is the secret inside you that yearns to be heeded?
I realized it is much like taking on a new venture. Perhaps it is a new product, writing a book, creating a proposal. With each new ‘thing’ we stretch beyond our comfort zone and face challenges (both internal and external). Staying sane in a hectic world.