Now What?® Coaching

from Laura Berman Fortgang

Blog

As the Career Turns

By on

Some of the turns your career takes may not make sense at the time, but at Now What?®  we believe that nothing you do is a waste.  Today’s article highlights someone who accepted a job with one company thinking he was accepting a job in a completely different industry.  He says, “That misunderstanding changed my life.”  It resulted in his acquiring knowledge that he would not have had otherwise.  
 
Take a look at the various jobs you’ve held in your career thus far and note what you’ve gained from each.  Wherever you’re headed next, ask yourself: What am I taking with me?
 
 
 
 

THANK YOU Readers!

By on

A heartfelt thank you to all our readers as we cross over into another year.
We appreciate your readership, your participation and most of all your courage
to keep considering new avenues for your work and life.
 
May your holidays be joyful and warm and may the new year bring you
opportunity, abundance and a prosperous heart.
 
Best Wishes from Our Now What?® house to yours.
 
Sincerely,
 
Laura Berman Fortgang, Now What?® Founder and Editor in Chief
Ginny Kravitz, Now What?® A-Team Coach and Deputy Editor

Miracles, Mortals, and Mosquitoes

By on

by Ginny Kravitz, Deputy Editor

Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.<br />photo of star-filled skyI felt inspired after seeing Daniel Day-Lewis’ intimate portrayal of Lincoln. The central message I took away was also in another movie directed by Steven Spielberg, Schindler’s List. Both of these illustrate the difference one person can make. Each man answered life’s call in the affirmative, and when he did, the results were nothing short of miraculous.

What is your take on miracles? This was how Albert Einstein saw it:“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

full article here…

The Ninth Candle: Servant to the Light

By on

by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang

(Originally Posted at Huffington Post)

Hannukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa all have a focus on lights or candles this time of year. The lights symbolize different things in each tradition, and in Judaism in particular, the Hannukah lights represent the eight days that the oil burned in the temple when there was only enough oil for one night. That is the miracle of Hannukah. The Jews had just won a battle that destroyed their temple and there was only one night’s worth of oil to burn. The eight candles on a Menorah represent the eight-day miracle. So that begs the question:

“Why are there nine candles in a Menorah?”

Ah, yes. The ninth candle. That candle is called the Shamash, which in Hebrew means “attendant” or “servant.” The Shamash is the servant to the other lights. The menorah can only be lit by the Shamash. It is not OK to light the other lights with any other candle other than the ninth one. As the attendant to the light, the Shamash is responsible for lighting all the others.

Each of us is a light. We have the choice as to whether we live from that lit-up place or ignore our light. During the holiday season, most people feel their light more acutely. It’s a time of giving, sharing, remembering those less fortunate and wishing strangers on the street a good holiday. What I suggest this year is that not only are we all “lights” but we are also Shamashim. We are both light and the servant to the light because in every moment we have the choice to light other lights as we go about our day. Hold that image for a moment.

If you were the attendant of other lights, is there anything you would change? If you were to hold other humans in your mind eye as a light to keep lit, would you change how you address them or think of them?

I am the servant to the light in my children, my spouse, my family, my clients, by neighbors and I’ve chosen it as my work. Do I succeed all the time? Oh, God, no! But I am reminded as we light the menorah every night of the power we have to celebrate the light — the light in every single being. The light in you.

Happy Hannukah to those who celebrate and enjoy the festivities of the season.