Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Project Managers Will Your Job Be Outsourced

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Project Managers Will Your Job Be Outsourced In a recent CIO Magazine article, Moira Alexander of Conture Business Advisors points out that an in-house PMO isn’t a foregone conclusion. Depending on your industry, type or size of business, and the specifics of your organization, your CIO might consider outsourcing the project management function to be a sensible move. What are some of the signs that your company might go in this direction, and what can you do to save your role? Low Staffing Levels Alexander says that many businesses do not have adequate staffing levels for one or more employees to solely focus onmanaging projects. You, your team, and other existing resources may already be overextended and only able to focus efforts on the daily operational duties that keep the business afloat. If you’ve been running around like crazy doing the work of three peoplefor as long as you can remember, this scenario might apply. Shortage of Experienced Staff We all know that project management is not an easy skill set to hire. You might have it, but do others in your company? Alexander comments that outsourcing may make sense if internal team members do not have the PM experience and/or training to effectively take a project from inception to closeout. Lack of specialized expertise in a particular area may be a factor as well. Cash Flow Issues In all industries and types of organizations, budgets are shrinking. It may be more costly to find, hire, and train project management staff than to find a vendor who can offer similar services on a per-project basis. Business Model Decisions Today’s business world is constantly in flux, and if your company experiences a re-organization or a shift in its business model, senior leadership may not be sure where an internal PMO will fit. Alexander says, for instance, that if the majority of your projects are of the one-off or ad-hoc variety, it may be more cost-effective and less of an administrative burden to outsource. For my case against outsourcing, head over to the QuickBase Fast Track blog.

Come to the Brazen Careerist party in DC

Come to the Brazen Careerist party in DC Brazen Careerist Party in Washington, DC. Thursday, Nov. 11, 7pm at Lounge 201. Youre invited. I always had this huge fantasy about how Brazen Careerist would sell for ten million bazillion dollars, and I would use the money to fly everyone I know to a huge party at some fun destination. This is not that party. But we will be celebrating the companys recent move to DC, which is one step closer to the company ruling the world. I can say ruling the world now that I am officially not trying to do that myself. But Im still excited for there just to be a Brazen Careerist party. Wait, I just noticed that there are very few opportunities for links in this kind of invitation-to-a-party post. I have this friend who is constantly bugging me to link to her. And I say, Shut up. My readers are not stupid. They are going to see a random link to you and think, Penelopes blog is going to hell. Also, people sometimes complain to me that I have too many links to random stuff, and mostly I think, Just dont click on the links if you dont like it. And then someone reminds me about all the research I write about from Barry Schwartz and Dan Ariely about how too many choices drive people crazy, incapacitating them. So Im going to link to Melissa now. So she shuts up about how I need to link to her blog. Here. Melissa is a genius. She is Gods gift to whatever she wants to rank high in SEO for. [I will insert that link later. When she finally decides what she wants.] And please, do not send me email requests about doing this for you. This is the last time Im doing this, ever. Melissa will not be at the party, because she works in Hong Kong, but in the past I have not been averse to linking to things that have no relation to my post. Like, also this link is one Ive been sitting on for a while. The book is The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor. When he taught positive psychology at Harvard, it was the most popular course among the undergrads, which is what, initially, got me thinking about happiness. The best part of the book, though, is that theres a big chapter on willpower, which is actually what I think all of happiness hinges on. Achor says that humans do not do well depending on willpower to get something done. We have very limited willpower and using it exhausts us. Were much better off putting stuff out of reach. So, for example, if you love to eat bagels, you should put them in the garage. You need the difficult thing to be 20 seconds away because thats the effort that is too much for you to handle. We know that because if you park in front of the gym, you still might not go it. Its still 20 seconds away. But if youre standing in front of the machine, youll get on. This is why, at the party, if you want any bread you will have to walk twenty seconds away from the party to get it. The book is full of interesting facts. Like, heres another one: If you want to do something for a break, like watch TV or surf the Internet or look at porn, all those things feel good for a half hour. After that, they start making you feel tired. So we should have some automatic timer or something to stop us at the end of a half-hour. Maybe this means sit-coms are good for us, because theyre in half-hour increments. Any other blogger would have written a ten-line post about how theres a party and you should come. I just learned this week, though, that I am way more talk-y than a normal person. I know that often, people with Aspergers dont know when to shut up. In a profile about me the The Mail, a British journalist wrote that one of the notable things about me is that I repeat myself. How do people know when to shut up? I dont know. But I got a little insight this week, because I lost my voice. And my house got a lot quieter. In a good way. Now I worry for the kids that they have nightmares of me telling them something over and over again. I mean, I know it happens. The farmer said just the other night, on Halloween, youre talking too much. I know thats important to listen to. So I did. I stopped talking even though I thought I was giving essential advice about saying thank you after taking candy. But maybe I had already said it 400 times. Anyway, I lost my voice and I realized that the farmer was happy. He needed a break from me talking. Everyone was happy that I lost my voice. So it doesnt surprise me that its taking me 1000 words to invite you to the Brazen Careerist party. But you know what? I am not really sure how I fit in. What will it be like being in DC with my company when I dont know really how I fit in my company? Do you want to know what career change looks like? Come to the party. But also, I am happy that it ends up that the research from Achors book seems to fit in. Because I think that book is to this post what I will be to the party: Not quite pertinent but interesting enough to make people glad theyre there. You have to RSVP because I think its not that big a space. Or something. I want to tell you please come celebrate with me. Rah Rah. But really, Id just really like to meet some of the people who read this blog. So stop by the party. Please.

How Collaboration Data Can Help Refine Your Brand Image -

How Collaboration Data Can Help Refine Your Brand Image - The importance of your brand image to the success of your company cannot be understated. Your brand image is what potential and current customers think of first when your company comes to mind. Developing and maintaining a positive public perception of your brand can cement your company as a “good” brand in the eyes of consumers. However, a positive brand image doesn’t just create itself, and through the use of collaboration and data, you can ensure that your brand’s public perception is where it needs to be. Design And Business Working Together The most distilled form of your brand image comes in the form of the logo that you’ve chosen for your business. A good logo can elicit an emotional response that you want to be tied to your product, and the best logos are immediately recognizable even without any indication of the name of the company or what product or service they provide. Companies like Nike with their iconic swoosh, McDonald’s with their golden arches, and Starbucks with their siren have achieved this and their brands benefit greatly for it. Considering the importance of a logo to your company’s brand, it is imperative that you put a great deal of time and energy into developing your logo. This can be achieved through collaborative efforts with skilled designers who understand the mission statement of your brand. Through effective collaboration, your business can develop a logo that encapsulates your brand identity, improving and refining your image. Working with a design team to develop a great, iconic logo to represent your brand essentially follows the same collaborative processes you will use throughout your business. While other collaborative efforts will facilitate long-term financial gain and involve product managers and strategists, a design team and a development team, the creation of a perfect logo will revolve more around the skills of a talented design team. Refining From The Ground Up Sometimes when you’re looking to sharpen up your brand image, you have to start with the basics and work your way up. Reexamining the foundational aspects of what makes your public image unique to your business can seem daunting, but sometimes it is necessary to do so when you’re trying to refine that image. At the end of the day, taking a good hard look at what you’re trying to achieve with how your brand interacts with the public can be one of the best ways to improve it. Reexamining your brand’s public perception simply requires you to go back through the steps you took when creating your brand image. Defining your core values can help you to understand what it is that you want your image to achieve, and also help you to better understand who your target audience is. When you get to the basics of what your brand is, what it means, and who it is for, you are able to effectively trim the fat and create a streamlined and refined brand image. Sometimes businesses take a huge risk when they decide to redefine their core values, risking the loss of some customers in the hopes of appealing to many more. For example, Nike’s decision to have Colin Kaepernick star in a recent advertising campaign was a calculated move. While many within the organization might feel strongly one way or another about the controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick in the NFL, Nike’s decision to feature him in an ad campaign was ultimately a business decision. Nike saw an opportunity to show what they want to mean to people as a company and they capitalized on it. It can even be wise to take a look at your brand name, depending on just how far you want to go in refining your brand image. Ideally, a brand’s name is both unique and familiar at the same time while simultaneously representing your brand in a memorable and positive light. Landing on the right sound and spelling is incredibly important as untraditional spellings or clumsy portmanteaus can be confusing to potential customers. Additionally, brands should do their best to avoid names that limit their business operations by associating the business with one single product or service. Imagine if Apple was instead called “Steve’s Personal Computers” â€" do you think that it as a company would have been able to break into so many different markets if it was restricted in this way? Data Gives Invaluable Insights Utilizing the data that your brand generates can make the process of refining how your brand is viewed publicly infinitely easier. Big data and data analysis are not valuable exclusively to massive corporations but can be incredibly useful to brands of any size. While many associate the idea of big data with improving their supply chain or measuring the effectiveness of marketing and advertising, it also yields information that can help brands improve their image. Big data is much more than a trendy buzzword and can help a brand to refine its image through the insights that it provides. Good data analysis can help a brand to better understand its core customer base as well as any potential new customers. Just by analyzing the data that is already available to your brand, you can gain a better understanding of how your brand is effective in retaining or acquiring customers. Data can help you to achieve the longevity essential to any brand by showing you exactly who is and is not likely to be affected by your brand’s public perception. Refining your brand image is only made easier through the utilization of data, and doing so can help you to achieve your desired goal much faster than it would otherwise occur. Engaging in collaborative efforts and implementing data analytics are some of the best ways to improve and refine your brand image. Even if you have to start from the ground up, utilizing data and collaboration can help your brand reach new heights of success and cement it as a lasting institution. This guest post was authored by Brooke Faulkner Brooke Faulkner is a writer, mom and adventurer in the Pacific Northwest.  She spends her days pondering what makes a good leader.   And then dreaming up ways to teach these virtues to her sons, without getting groans and eye rolls in response.

Keep Your Personal Brands Website Safe From a Cyber Attack - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Keep Your Personal Brands Website Safe From a Cyber Attack - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Your personal brands website is your calling card to attract loyal followers â€"an unexpected cyber attack can cost you both time and money. What types of activity are you currently monitoring from the back end? Your brand can increase your security level and help prevent an attack with the right tools and knowledge. Its time to take a fresh look at your website in order to discover what’s a potential threat and what’s not in order to avoid becoming the next victim of this online crime. Steps to securing your brands website from hackers Here are several ways you can effectively protect your website and online reputation: Find out what your host provider offers It is important that you have access to a long history of logs. Find out what your current provider offers and maybe even pay for an upgrade. If you are running on a shared hosting package then this is especially critical to know. Dont forget to do regular full backups Your website may not be automatically backed up by your hosting company. Instead you need to purchase or use free backup tools in order to save your valuable content, images, and installations. Do this at least once a month as plugins and themes are upgraded on a regular basis. Create a plan of action for you and/or your team In the case of any security breaches its good practice to have a well outlined strategy in place with all of the right contacts such as a web developer. This will provide clarity and minimize any mistakes. Check in daily during the work week Log into your website and keep a lookout for any messages from your security plugins, any spam activity, updates, ect. If anything is outdated or there are too many spam comments and referrals this may be a good time to upgrade your security. Avoiding being attacked by a cyber criminal can be reduced or eliminated with the right checks and balances in place. If your brand finds out that something has been compromised you should contact your web developer and host provider right away. Its better to seek expert advice to assess the situation and fix any technical issues that may be opening you up for a breach.

6 Tips on How to Stay Productive While Freelancing CareerMetis.com

6 Tips on How to Stay Productive While Freelancing Here’s the truth:Freelancing sounds appealing to anyone who has to spend eight hours per dayâ€"every dayâ€"in an office. And why wouldn’t it? You get to set your own schedule, plan your tasks, and work whenever it suits you. There’s no stressing about coworkers, office life, strict deadlines, and getting to work on time.evalSo, why isn’t everyone working as a freelancer then?Because freelancing is actually quite a challenging career path which will fool you into thinking it’s easy. Don’t let the flexible hours and making your own rules trick you, thoughâ€"freelancers have troubles of their own, most of which are related to productivity.Being Productive Needs to Be Your #1 PriorityBelieve it or not, staying productive when working from the comfort of your own home can be even more difficult than doing the same thing in an office. There are all sorts of things out there to distract you, including your friends and family who probably don’t get the fact that you’re actual ly working from home and not chilling while watching Netflix.As a freelancer, your first and most important task is to block out all distractions that could be detrimental to your productivity. Because, if you’re not productive, your business suffers, and if your business suffers, you can kiss your freelancing career goodbye.If you want to make the most out of your work hours, then you need to come up with a system that will keep you on track and help you finish your daily tasks. Naturally, not every system will function for every freelancer, but that’s the beauty of this careerâ€"you can experiment and see what’s right for you.What follows are a fewtips that should give you an idea of how to stay productive and complete your assignments, yet still have the time to relax during the day.?1. Create a Routine and Stick to Iteval?Here’s what will save your day whenever you have a number of tasks to complete and seemingly not enough time. Having a schedule will not only help you become a more successful freelancer, but it will also allow you to find enough time for your favourite past-time activities.evalRoutines have been known to help freelancers avoid burnouts, missed deadlines, and unproductive days, so this is the first step towards creating that system that’s just right for you. Naturally, schedules will differ from one person to the next, but they will help you establish a routine that will have you breezing through even the toughest of tasks.For example, it’s a good idea to figure out at what times during the day are you most creative and then do the most daunting of your assignments. Once that’s done, distribute the rest of your tasks to the remaining time slots, but also make sure to include breaks in your schedule Having a schedule doesn’t mean giving up your flexibility. It just means that you’ll have more time to do everything you have planned.?2. Eliminate All Possible Distractions?Remember all those distractions that can lower your productivity levels??To survive as a freelancer, you need to remove them as quickly as possible.Eliminate anything from your surroundings that could distract you from work at hand.This means no talking to family/friends, no liking and sharing posts on social media, and no funny cat videos on YouTube. When your break time comes, you can enjoy all of this for a few blissful hours and get it all out of your system. But until thenâ€"just say ‘no’ to distractions.It might seem to you that there’s no way of doing all of this, but it’s actually pretty doable. You can:Tell your loved ones that you are unavailable between 9AM and 12PM and then 2PM and 5PM. If necessary, turn off your phone and pretend you are in the 90s.Install an app on your computer that will block your social media accounts for a certain period of time. For example, Chrome’s Stay Focusd is a great tool that can help you out with this, along with Anti-Social and a number of other cool apps you can check out.Start tracking your time with Toggle or a similar app, and see just how much time you spend working and how much time you waste online.Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comIn case there are any distractions in your surroundings, clear out a desk in your home completely, arm yourself with only your computer and pens/notebooks, and start working away.3. ?Have a Time Slot Just for Checking Emails?Here’s one thing most successful freelancers have in common:They don’t mix opening and answering emails with the rest of their tasks. They have a special time slot just for emails.evalEmails arejust as distracting as social mediaâ€"before you know it, two hours have gone by and all you’ve done was respond to a couple of inquiries. That’s two hours away from your more important tasks that you’ll never get back.In order to avoid this, you can pick a time during the day which you’ll dedicate only to emailing back and forth with your clients and/or partners. You can even let them know when you’re a vailable, so that they don’t contact you during your “task time”.?If it’s something urgent, tell them to call you, and if you’ve got your phone off, leave Skype open on your computer just in case.Another solution is to set aside one hour in the morning and one hour at the end of your workday, and respond to all the necessary emails then.Whichever option you choose, just know this: with no emails to distract you every half an hour, you’ll become more productive and finish all your assignments right on time.eval4. ?Mix and Match Your Tasks?Let’s be honest: doing the same tasks over and over again, every day, can become boring really fast and can start affecting your productivity.That’s why it’s a great ideaâ€"and highly recommendedâ€"to vary your assignments as much as you can.Of course, this is not possible for everyone and all gigs, but if you’re e.g. a writer, you can start off your day by writing a blog, then check your emails, then proofread something, then go back to writing, etc.?If you are a social media manager, you can always come up with your posts first, then publish them, then go back to interacting with your followers, and so on.Shaking things up when it comes to your tasks is often overlooked, but it’s pretty important to any freelancer that doesn’t want to lose their mind and burn out.If there’s no possible way for you to mix and match your tasks, then make sure to take short breaks more often in order to get your focus and energy back.eval5. ?Don’t Forget to Take Breaks?Just like you need to vary your tasks in order to stay focused and productive, you also need to take timed and well-deserved breaks during your day.It’s your decision whether you want to get up every hour and take five minutes away from your computer, or take a longer break later in the day. Like mentioned above, you can go out and get some fresh air, work out at your local gym, cook lunch, grab a coffeeâ€"anything you like.?Freelancing offers a worl d of opportunities for you, so why not make use of them?You can even time your breaks according to your tasks, i.e. try to finish a task before another break and best your previous “results”. The thought of a walk or another coffee will motivate you enough to compete with yourself and complete your assignments efficiently.6. ?Reward Yourself for Achieving Your Goals?A wise person once said:treat yourself!All jokes aside though, it’s a pretty great idea to write down your goals for the day/week and then celebrate each completed goal with a reward. This will give you enough incentive to finish your tasks on time and keep that productivity flowing.In the beginning, these rewards can be something small, from a cup of coffee down the road to going to the movies at the end of the day. As you become more productive and get more work, your rewards will become more substantial. It’s all tied together, which is all the more reason for you to make sure you stay on track when it comes t o your assignments.After all, if you work hard, you deserve to treat yourself every now and then, don’t you? So, let yourself relax after a fruitful workday, drink a glass of wine, catch a movie, or go out with your friends.You’ve worked hard for all of that, so enjoy the benefits.?CONCLUSION?There are so many ways for you to stay productive as a freelancer, yes, but the truth is that not all of them will be the right fit for you.?You have to learn what makes you tick through trial and error, and with time, you’ll be able to build your very own system that will increase your productivity, help you tackle all of your assignments, and become an even better freelancer than you already are.No matter what, just don’t forget that doing a job that you love, on your terms, is a productivity boost on its own.?So, whenever you start feeling low or need additional inspiration, remember that you are doing something you enjoyâ€"which a lot of people can’t brag about.With all of this in mind, it’s time for you to sit down and come up with a plan that will make sure that you’re as productive as you can be. Good luck!

Shine on the Job This Year Make the Most of a Rebounding Economy

Shine on the Job This Year Make the Most of a Rebounding Economy Is the economy in recovery? No one knows for sure but you CAN increase your chances for better opportunities this year by finding ways to shine on the job. Vicki Salemi author of Big Career in the Big City appeared on my SIRIUSXM radio show this week. Given her experience as a Big 4 recruiter in the growing field of professional services, Vicki had great advice for taking advantage of a rebounding economy. In case you missed my show, here are highlights:Vickis Advice to Shine on the Job:Check your old mindset at the door.Be cognizant about your attitude because it creates our outcomes. Only think positively, this is the year to thrive, shine, and even make new mistakes! Be ready to think differently and also do things differently.Make the most out of a lean staff. If youre overworked, make the most of the situation by highlighting your accomplishments and ability to multi-task, learn new things and work with new people. This could be a real coup to talk up during a job interview.If youre actively job searching, really analyze where your efforts are going. Are you spending most of your time online (i.e., LinkedIn)? Calling former colleagues to network? Lining up a coffee or lunch meeting every week? Going to networking mixers? Really sit down to figure out where youre getting the most mileage and create a plan to explore new venues that maybe you overlooked (i.e., industry conference, cold calling a potential employer).Stay on top of it! If youre a passive job seeker (i.e., somewhat content in your current job; kind of happy you werent downsized but secretly yearning for a better opportunity), now is the time to pounce. Networking will hopefully be stress-free since youre not pressured to get a new job and most of the fabulous external opportunities wont make it to the job boards.Create a new elevator pitch! Examine whats been working for you and what hasnt, and mix up the words a little bit! New year, new you, new pitch. This could be a fun task and overflow i nto other areas (i.e., new do, new interview suit, spruce up the resume.) Think of it as a mini-makeover.Do internal networking! Often times this is overlooked but keep your eyes peeled on the internal job board and be ready to pounce. This means always ensuring your internal visibility as at its top game (i.e., volunteering to attend additional meetings, highlight your accomplishments/not being bashful), so when you do apply and speak directly to the hiring manager, hopefully they will have already heard of your work.Thanks to Vicki for sharing her fresh ideas on how you can shine on the job this year. Also a freelance journalist, make sure to check out Vickis articles on careers and entertainment for Forbes.com, The NY Post, The Daily, Yahoo!, PsychologyToday.com, OKMagazine.com. Find links to them all on Vickis website!

From Coconuts to Gummy Bears (and the people who helped me get there)

From Coconuts to Gummy Bears (and the people who helped me get there) Little nurse girl taking care of you by Studio Mellow Today, September 24th, 2012 at approximately 8am on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Ill be wheeled into an operating room for hopefully the last time for anything other than joyous reasons. Ill be put under general anesthesia like I have been three times over since December, and around 10:30am Ill wake up in a recovery room, hopefully not nauseous or in too much pain. Ill stay there for up to an hour while my husband, my Mom and my stepfather check in on me, and then Ill be driven home either to my apartment or to my Moms out on Long Island, depending on how long I can stand being in the car. I found The Lump a week after Yom Kippur last year, and at that time this year Ill have all my treatments behind me. This milestone is gonna be marinating for the next few weeks and I have a feeling therell be a mighty long, thought-out, emotional post right around October 12th (you have been warned) but until then, Im holding my 2012 word close (CARE) and am actually looking forward to this. Not only because it feels like the last step to being entirely cancer-free (which it does), but because Im going to be infinitely more comfortable. Right now, the expanders that are in my boobs feel like Im wearing a coconut bra underneath my skin, but when theyre swapped out for the implants, theyll be soft and malleable. I love that Im getting gummy bear implants, and if I had a choice, Id definitely go with red ones. Can you do me a favor? Send a card today to someone you love someone you might not see very often, someone you might have known for a long while, but over all, someone you know would stand by you during a time like this. Tell that person that youre thankful for them, youre appreciative of them, and that having them in your life sunnifies (yes, sunnifies) it. I have some people I need to publicly say that to: LUKE:  You know how you say Im your rock? Well, youre mine (isnt it nice how that works?). I just dont know how I would have gotten through this had you not stood by me, held me close, stroked my hair, allowed me to play The Cancer Card ten times a day, took care of me, and shot me up when necessary even though it pained you to hurt me. Not that we needed to strengthen our marriage, but man oh man, theres not a crack in that foundation. Thank you for making me feel like I was never a burden, ugly, or unloved for even a nanosecond. I cant even express how much I needed that. MOM: I might joke about you being a stereotypical Jewish mother, but I wouldnt want you any other way. The fact that you refused my You-dont-have-to-come-to-that-appointment responses and that I couldnt get you to leave me aloneI love you so so much for that. I can imagine what youve been going through behind closed doors, but I never saw any of it. You dont have to be strong for me, but youre sweet and kind to put me and my up-and-down emotions above all. Ive always known that you love me unconditionally, but youve shown me throughout all of this. Oh, and Im sorry if my damn ukulele songs made others say to you, Why do you look so sad and upset? Michelle doesnt look sad and upset! You have my permission to punch those people. CHUCK: Schmemo wouldnt have been any fun at all without you (and yes, it was a little fun). Youve always been there for us, but this was above and beyond. I felt better knowing you were taking care of my Mom, and I appreciate you being alongside her when we knew shed need you most. Having you there for my surgeries and schmemos was a comfort all around. BUTCH AND LISA: You called or texted me every day. Every. Day. No matter how short-tempered or moody or bitchy I was when I answered, you kept at it. The fact that I knew the phone was ringing at around 4pm every day always made me smile, even when I wasnt in the mood to talk. Thank you for letting me know I was being thought of and loved, and for bearing with me when I was a jerk. JESS:  Knowing Id have an hour or more each week to work on our book (our book!) and bitch and gossip and laugh with you, and knowing that I can get good hippie-dippie smoothie-and-chemical-free info without you saying I told you so.you never made me feel like I was sick, and when we spoke about The C Word, it came from a place of love and concern not pity. Having that week in Portland with you was just the break I needed after 9 months of hell, and it wouldnt have been so rejuvenating if I had spent it with anyone else doing anything else. Thank you for being such a great great friend and business partner. BETH SILVERMAN:  We havent spoken in a while, but I hope that when you come back to New York you let me take you out for dinner and we can get s***faced together. There were lots of people I was being pointed to when I was first diagnosed people who liked to tell horror stories about their treatments or the terrible experiences of their friends and family but you never once scared me or blatantly told me what to do. You gave me the facts in plain English and then went deeper with your tips and advice. I still hold close what you say to me: You have to make decisions based on what will make you not feel any regret if the cancer comes back. Ill always keep my eye on that. ARWYN: Holy guacamole, am I just the smartest person for convincing you to come work with me (yes, thats a statement not a question). I never once felt like my business wasnt in overly capable hands, and not having that worry to carry around was priceless for me. You also have the ability to make me laugh with practically every email you send, which just makes me feel like work is anything but. I appreciate you and am grateful for all you do and how you do it. DR. LINDA VAHDAT, DR. ELENI TOUSIMIS, DR. LLOYD GAYLE and all the staff that comes with you: My dream team. I want to put you here because, if anyone Googles you all, theyll find me singing your praises. I count my lucky stars that I live here in New York City and found my way to all of you. You have literally fought for me, and made me feel strong, confident and comforted in all the decisions that needed to be made during this tumultuous time in my life. I have never felt in better hands. Youve saved my life. DR. KAREN KOSTROFF: To take me in the day before Thanksgiving, a mere 48 hours after my mother called your office in a panic, and to make sure I didnt leave without a biopsy, ultrasound, mammogramit was an exhausting day, but I know plenty of other doctors who wouldnt have reacted with the swiftness and urgency that you did. To get your call the day after Thanksgiving with the Stage Two diagnosis certainly sent us into a tailspin, but the fact that you do whatever it is you do to turn test reports around so quickly and get us the information were waiting on pins and needles forit was always appreciated. Thank you so much for taking care of me. EVERYONE WHO SENT ME A CARE PACKAGE:  I got flowers, plants, fruit, cookies, fleece socks, travel mugs, green tea, flax seeds, homemade lotion, cupcakes, a personalized smoothie recipe book, Judge Judy DVDs, stacks of magazines, hats, a quiltI wish I had the wherewithall to send out proper Thank Yous to all of you instead of the tweets and emails I fired off. Just know, please, that each and every card and gift sunnified (yes, sunnified) my day, made me smile, and enthused me with joy and love and sweetness. It was my medicine, and I love and thank you for that. EVERYONE THAT ALLOWS ME TO BE THE WHEN I GROW UP COACH:  My clients, my readers, my followers, my fans, my friendsto feel all this love and support from all over the worldeven if you never sent a message or left a comment, know that I felt it. I still feel it. And man oh man, does it make me feel like the luckiest 33 year old to ever get cancer. I never had any fear that Id lose my clients or wouldnt be able to make ends meet. The work is my release and my relief, and Im so very thankful for you to help me make it so. Ill have a guest post up for you tomorrow, but will use the rest of the week to rest, recover, and as in my using-work-as-a-release-and-relief nature will be back on the 1st with a giveaway and the 2nd with a big fat announcement. I wouldnt have it any other way.