I had the immense privilege of hearing Rick Jarow speak at the Kushi Institute’s Macrobiotic Conference. I haven’t yet transcribed my notes from his talks (I attended all three he gave), but wanted to whet your appetite so you’ll visit his site, order his books and listen to his talks. As the author of Creating the Work You Love, Rick named the anti-career movement, which aligns exactly with what I’ve been speaking about and living for all these years. He’s a professor at Vassar in addition to his speaking and writing career. His academic treatment of this subject and his vast and diverse knowledge, made listening to him a treat.

I’ll share just a couple of the thoughts he imparted to the group. Rick suggested this simple mantra for creating work you love. (An “a” or “the” may be miswritten, but you’ll get the gist.)

I have the perfect work.
I have the perfect pay.
I do perfect service
For perfect pay.

In his seminar on Friday, Jewel in the Darkness, Rick talked about discovering the opportunity in adversity. A detail he added in his Saturday sessions was a list of the ‘career promoters’ aka the 5 D’s:

• Death
• Disease
• Divorce
• Downsizing
• Disaster

all of which may serve to get us out of our numbness. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions regarding the impact of any of these on your lives and careers. I’m sure it’s much easier to reflect back on what opportunities arose from these than to embrace the challenge if you’re experiencing them currently.

I didn’t go to the macrobiotic conference to learn about creating work you love, but wanted to check out the competition (!). I was very glad I did and can share it with you.