Allison Blankenship has been a successful “reluctant” business owner for almost 20 years.  After experiencing layoffs first from a corporate bankruptcy, followed by a company merger that eliminated her job, Allison started her own consulting business to train people to be confident communicators under pressure.

Along the way, clients and friends constantly asked Allison how she was able to reinvent her career and thrive through many critical life changes beyond her control.  Allison successfully shifted her circumstances from qualifying for food stamps (after the first layoff) to being named the “Florida Speaker of the Year” by NSA South Florida and maintaining a profitable training and speaking organization.  Allison teamed up with Bonnie Michaels to write two books to help others find similar results…

The first book, Upside: How to Zig when Life Zags, was published in 2010 by Collage, deals with unexpected change. The second, published in 2013 as an e-Book, features on the processing of creating and maintaining happiness – The Happy App: A Process for Boomer Bliss.  Today, Allison is joining us to talk about what’s involved in shifting gears to pursue a different life path both personally and professionally…
Specifically, in this episode you will learn:

How the things you learn in your job can become the foundation for an entire business
The definition of a sustainable skill and...
How to identify your sustainable skills to take to the next step in your career
How having a process or system can alleviate your fears before making a major life change
A realistic timeline for changing careers
The value of a job journal
Why you want to avoid your job becoming your life
If you're working 60 hours or more each week, you're not being productive
Some ideas about the reality of retirement and when you'll be able to retire
How taking a few steps back can be liberating
Why you should beware if you enjoy having deadlines
Why it's a really bad thing when you brag about how busy you are

Favorite Quotes:
Life isn't waiting out the storm; it's about learning to dance in the rain. -Vivian Greene
 Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

Allison's Website: PrecisionSpeaking.com
UpsidetheBook.com
Upside: How To Zig When Life Zags 29 Tips for Sustainable Success! by Allison Blankenship and Bonnie Michaels
The Happy App: A Process for Boomer Bliss by Allison Blankenship and Bonnie Michaels
Compassionfatigue.org
The Shack by William Paul Young

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