HELLO 2020, Let’s Get weird.
At the start of the decade, I was in college with low self-esteem, bad eyebrows, and still in the grips of my awkward phase (which lasted from age 13-27.) I was afraid to be myself because I didn’t think that I could be. FLASH FORWARD. It’s 2017, we waved goodbye to the Obama era, Kenan […]
Design Challenge Resources
Want to prepare for design challenges? According to Ian Armstrong, Principal UX Designer, Dell EMC: “The design test isn’t about getting things right, it’s about showing your process. Don’t be afraid to do that. UX isn’t about having the solution, it’s about knowing how to get there.” Why whiteboard exercises? In addition to testing product […]
Be Known in Your Industry… Even if You are a Brand New Career Changer!
You’re bright-eyed, passionate, and clutching a new certificate ready for a fresh start in your career. Then you join the hordes of other spunky career changers with their shiny certificates, polished portfolios, and perfect pitches on the job hunt. Cue the slow slog through an indifferent job market, trying to find someone ready to take […]
THE LUCK FORMULA
You can make your own luck! The secret to luck isn’t rabbit’s feet, special hats, or rubbing a buddha belly. Blowing out a candle isn’t the only way to make a wish. People think of luck as a chaotic current in their lives, striking mysteriously. Fortune can be as random, but it can also be […]
DITCH THE EXCUSES, GET SOME GRIT IN THAT MINDSET
I am all about the high-level strategy when it comes to career development. I have links for days, a stack of business cards, a listing of tech meetups around the world, and more in my career compendium file. In one of my sessions, I can give a client a tailored plan on how to start […]
SOME DOORS ONLY OPEN ONCE
After five years of being a career coach and over two running my own online business, I have a different perspective on careers, personal branding, and the nature of work. I have advised hundreds of people, maybe over a thousand, through job hunts, graduations, and career changes from homeless teens to VPs. There is one […]
REALITY CAN BITE. BIG DEAL.
The power of positive thinking has been selling books for decades, pushing clicks, is responsible for Tony Robbins and some people are sick of it. The backlash against the positivity does rage in medium articles, forums, and blog around the net. I get it. Especially after encountering some life coaches who preach the equivalent of […]
THAT KICK IN THE PANTS WAS TO GET YOU OUT THE DOOR
In a recent podcast interview, I was asked a time travel question on what decision I would have changed when it comes to finances. It was easy for me to say that I would have changed signing a lease with a romantic partner too soon. That decision snowballed and was compounded by external job losses […]
IT’S OKAY TO SUCK AT STUFF
Imagine that I am writing out a permission slip for you. It looks just the like ones from your school days except instead of your teacher’s neat penmanship, it’s my lazy hieroglyphics-looking scrawl. It says, I, Sami Gardner give you the permission to suck at stuff. Now fold up that piece of paper and put […]
PUSH THROUGH THE BLAHS OR REGRET IT LATER.
Around the ‘net, I am the queen of designing your best life and career using practical strategies and accessible mindset techniques. This morning at the coworking space, I was the queen of the sullen glare over my coffee cup. Confession: I didn’t want to write my blog today. I had some ideas written down like […]