Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers in an Era of Interdependence

by Melissa Everett

Overview

Making a Living While Making a Difference is a timely and highly informative guide to a working life built on principled choices and an entrepreneurial attitude. It’s about greener enterprises and technologies, socially responsible business, innovative nonprofit work, and reinventing government. It’s really about putting the pieces together with creativity and hope.

Working people everywhere are realizing that personal success is interconnected with healthy communities and the environment. We are all looking for our unique “creative edge” with work that allows us to make an impact close to home and in the world.

The substantially revised third edition of Making a Living While Making a Difference acknowledges that while the path to finding a life’s work that is satisfying, sustainable, and financially feasible is not easy, there are simple steps to follow. An empowering ten-step program includes:

• Paying attention to what you most care about
• Stabilizing your life with regard to time, money, and relationships
• Assessing your core aptitudes and attitudes
• Cultivating the entrepreneurial skills to create the workplace you want, whether or not you are in business for yourself

With dozens of rich personal stories and a thorough look at the options, this is the comprehensive life and work guide for people who care about their communities and the planet.

Melissa Everett is a career counselor, group facilitator, and educator in the field of sustainable development, and is the executive director of Sustainable Hudson Valley.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781550923605
Publisher:	New Society Publishers
Publication date:	11/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	942 KB

About the Author

Melissa Everett has worked in sustainable development for twelve years as a counselor and coach, educator, trainer, organizational consultant, author, fundraiser and CEO. The Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, she also teaches at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She received her Ph.D. in 2006 from Erasmus University's Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in the Netherlands.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Impact Factor

Part One The Work to be Done
1 Organizing the Infinite: Fields of Opportunity
2 Work that Protects and Restores the Environment
3 Work that Protects and Restores Our Communities
4 Catalytic Occupations

Part Two The Ten Step Program for Principled Career Development
Prepare
Step 1 Wake Up
Step 2 Stabilize Your Life
Step 3 Create a Vibrant Support System

Understand the Landscape and Yourself
Step 4 Understand the Landscape
Step 5 Understand Yourself
Step 6 Identify the Essence of YourWork in theWorld

Move!
Step 7 Commit Yourself to Doing Your Work in Some Form, Whether or Not Anyone Is Paying You for It Right Now
Step 8 Plan and Organize Your Campaign
Step 9 Plan (and Prepare) to Work with the Unknown
Step 10 Co-create the Workplace You Want

Appendix 1 A Note to Career Counselors: Gatekeepers of a Positive Future
Appendix 2 Making a Living and a Difference Internationally
Resources
Endnotes
Index
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Possibly the most visionary and integrated body of work in career development literature today.... Melissa Everett has made an enormous contribution to the field. "
—Ande Diaz, author, The Harvard College Guide to Careers in Public Service , and Assistant Dean for Student Life, Princeton University

"Melissa Everett is a unique career advisor. If I could have only one book for my career library, this would be it."
— Kevin Doyle, editor of The Complete Guide to Environmental Careers in the 21st Century

"For soul-satisfying adventure into Right Livelihood, Melissa Everett is the best guide around. In this savvy and exuberant book, she shows us how we can craft our work so that we can follow our heart's desire — to take part in the healing of our world. Must-reading for counselors, teachers, clergy, and all of us who want to come alive to the promise of our time."
—Joanna Macy, author, Coming Back to Life

"Melissa Everett has given life and meaning and access to holistic work."
— Elly Jackson, co-author, The New Perfect Resume

"We have entered a time when reinventing the world is front and center. Melissa Everett has written the operating instructions for working and thriving in this new economy.The potential for amazing jobs is unlimited. Read and learn how to partake of this bounty of contribution and financial reward."
— David Gershon, author, Low Carbon Diet: 30 Day Program to Lose 5,000 Pounds and Empowerment: The Art of Creating Your Life As YouWant It

"A highly useful and clearly thought out guide!This is an intriguing book that will lead you on the path to finding out what it is that you care deeply about, what feeds your soul, challenges your inner self, and brings meaning and peace to your life. As if that is not enough, Melissa helps you understand how you, a unique individual, can take control and create a purposeful lifestyle that truly will make a difference – in your life, the lives of others, the world around you – and pay the bills to boot!"
— Ann Songyallo, Program Coordinator, Department of Continuing and Professional Education, SUNY Ulster

"You probably picked up this book because you want your life to reflect your faith/values/politics/commitments/hopes/dreams/call. If you have arrived at a place where you know you want "more than just a job" or you want to think carefully about your life-purpose, this book is for you. This book is for you if you care about the world, people and/or yourself."
— Della Stanley-Green, Executive Director of Indiana Network for Higher Education Ministries and Project Director for Visions for Vocation.