Avocationist

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School for grown-ups: 50 is the new 18?

© 2008 Avocationist · April 8th, 2008 · No Comments

Edna Bacon

Edna Bacon talks about using school as a way to make transitions and about her “crazy” change at age 50.

The Avocationist spoke to her in March 2008. The second of three parts.

“I think my Mother thought I was crazy.”

Sound Bites

  • "You make a decision at one point, but you can change."
  • "When I hit a crisis point, my response was to go back to school."
  • "My friend and I just came into the first grade room and sat down. We were probably 4."
  • "Art therapy was something I could do that I didn’t have to retire from."
  • Take-Aways

  • School is fun? Note when a class brings out your best work
  • Ask a friend: they can help identify themes like Edna's love of art history
  • Be practical: think about upcoming changes in your lifestyle and adapt your interests to a new role
  • Read the full interview:
    [Read more →]

    → No CommentsTags: Education · Mid-Life Career Change · November Newsletter

    Stay-at-home Mom finds Art, loses track of time

    © 2008 Avocationist · April 3rd, 2008 · No Comments

    Edna Bacon
    Edna Bacon’s life has undergone many transformations, but three themes have existed throughout her 68 years: her passions for education, art and good friends.

    She graduated college and became a wife and mother, but at a time when women realized they could do anything, felt like something was missing. After returning to school for an art degree and becoming a ceramic artist, she began to utilize her skills by helping cancer patients cope with their emotions through art therapy.

    “I was doing just what I wanted to do.”

    The Avocationist spoke with her in March 2008. The first of three parts.

    Sound Bites:

  • “It was like I had done everything I was supposed to do"
  • “I started asking the question ‘Is this all there is?’”
  • Finding meaning was not a process, “it was taking the next step”
  • “I felt like I lost myself in what I did”
  • Take-Aways:

  • Start small: take a class in anything that interests you
  • Make it easy: choose something you can work around other commitments
  • Pay attention: to situations where you lose track of time
  • Read the full interview:
    [Read more →]

    → No CommentsTags: Creative Jobs · Mid-Life Career Change · Mommy Track · November Newsletter · Personal Growth

    Resources: Angelina Corbet Interview

    © 2008 Avocationist · March 31st, 2008 · No Comments

    Resources mentioned in the interview series with Angelina Corbet:

  • Angelina's book on Feminine Leadership is available at Amazon: The Little Pink Book of Feminine Leadership: A Personal Journey
  • The Highlands Company offers The Highlands Ability Battery - an objective assessment of your abilities using nineteen work samples which require the performance of hands-on tasks. Click to take a sample test.
  • The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the largest worldwide resource for business and personal coaches, and the source for those who are seeking a coach.
  • Read more about Angelina's performance of The Vagina Monologues.
  • Read more about Angelina's concept of Vocationing.
  • → No CommentsTags: Resources

    Stay curious: once a teacher, always a teacher

    © 2008 Avocationist · March 6th, 2008 · No Comments

    Angelina Corbet
    In the final part of our interview, Angelina Corbet explains how her many career shifts have helped her personal growth, and offers advice: “stay curious”.

    “I think I’m at a very different place because I have done so many different things.”


    This is the final of our five-part interview. Find out more about Angelina and Vocationing at www.themobiuscompany.com

    Read the interview:
    [Read more →]

    → No CommentsTags: Blended Career · Career Advice · Entrepreneur · November Newsletter · Personal Growth

    The one about the dog and her Mommy

    © 2008 Avocationist · March 5th, 2008 · No Comments

    Angelina Corbet
    In the fourth part of our interview, Angelina Corbet talks about separating her identity from her career and the impact of “real life” on her understanding and choices.

    “Even the stuff that really felt lousy served some purpose.”


    This is the fourth part of our five-part interview. Find out more about Angelina and Vocationing at www.themobiuscompany.com

    Read the interview:
    [Read more →]

    → No CommentsTags: Corporate Jobs · Mid-Life Career Change · November Newsletter · Personal Growth

    Have great jobs, and leave before you hate them

    © 2008 Avocationist · March 4th, 2008 · No Comments

    Angelina Corbet
    In the third part of our interview, Angelina Corbet talks about her transitions into and out of the corporate world, and finds out that understanding yourself can be a great way to find a new career.

    “Having the corner office. Having the salary. Then saying, ‘Oh God, is this really all that there is?’”


    This is the third of our five-part interview. Find out more about Angelina and Vocationing at www.themobiuscompany.com

    Read the interview:
    [Read more →]

    → No CommentsTags: Corporate Jobs · Mid-Life Career Change · November Newsletter · Sales · Teaching

    Leaving teaching, finding teacher within

    © 2008 Avocationist · March 3rd, 2008 · No Comments

    Angelina Corbet
    In the second part of our interview, Angelina Corbet talks about early influences, her childhood dream careers, and how she joined and left teaching only to have it work its way back into the core of her work.

    “That was probably the hardest transition because I had to let go of the idea that I was not doing something the rest of my life.”


    This is the second of our five-part interview. Find out more about Angelina and Vocationing at www.themobiuscompany.com

    Read the interview:
    [Read more →]

    → No CommentsTags: Mid-Life Career Change · November Newsletter · Teaching

    Perfect career blend: four jobs and a pinch of salt

    © 2008 Avocationist · February 29th, 2008 · No Comments

    Angelina Corbet
    Angelina Corbet is a multi-talented career changer who has had careers as an executive, facilitator, writer, coach, Wall Street consultant, and a New York City public school math teacher among many others. At age 55 she is currently “vocationing” in 4 jobs.

    "I think part of the challenge when people make career transitions is they are convinced there is one job that does everything."

    Avocationist talked to her in January, 2008 about her careers, how she’s pursued finding a fit in multiple roles and how she’s learned to be more present.

    This is the first of our five-part interview. Find out more about Angelina and Vocationing at www.themobiuscompany.com

    Read the interview:
    [Read more →]

    → No CommentsTags: Blended Career · Entrepreneur · Mid-Life Career Change · November Newsletter · Sales

    Welcome to Avocationist!

    © 2008 Avocationist · February 20th, 2008 · No Comments

    Interviews and stories of careers and change. Updated weekly. 

    → No CommentsTags: General