A late September batch of links
Since the last batch of links went out, paying subscribers enjoyed an essay from me about transforming myself at work, then a reflection about how I have changed my language to take on more responsibility for my (mis)behavior. This weekend, they will see an interview about how to go from freelance to fulltime work.
Below, you’ll find a batch of links that represent the themes of this newsletter, which are professional development, community building, and self care.
In an increasingly pessimistic era, immigrants espouse a hallmark American trait — optimism.
He was unimpressed by what he found — a job picking oranges in an old orchard, with tall, wiry trees. Picking the small amount of fruit meant working until late into the evening. It confirmed his suspicions that the promises of the U.S. — high wages and an opportunity to climb the socioeconomic ladder — were exaggerated.
Should Your Spouse Be Your Best Friend?
The dream — and reality — of moving to Florida.
For some, living in Florida is actualizing a long-held dream. The state, however, is in the midst of major change. With costs of living rising, the political and cultural climate shifting, and so many newcomers arriving every day, the reality of moving to the Sunshine State has been more complicated than many of them expected.
The Big Employer Still Adding Jobs and Boosting Pay: The Government.
Stop Obsessing About Having the Perfect Career Plan. Some excellent advice contained here, as we must grapple not with how to move up five days a week rather with who we want to be in this world seven days a week. The work should match the pursuits and possibility you have.
Opinion I’ve always loved tech. Now, I’m a Luddite. You should be one, too.
Here are five reasons why people are quitting after being promoted. I believe it’s the final explanation for the most ambitious people, as they recognize when they have hit their ceiling within one salary band and go in pursuit of starting the next salary band.
It’s not just you. Experts agree the post-pandemic workplace really is more distracting.
A Mother’s Love—a Bargain at $450 a Year, Plus Applicable Fees. The easiest thing to do is to be cynical about this type of service. The better thing to do is to accept that college students such as myself would have had an easier time with the transition if more services were in place to help with the absolute basics. I couldn’t figure out how to do much of anything my first year on my own.
MBAs Are Spurning McKinsey to Buy Small Companies.
Meeting Bloat Has Taken Over Corporate America. Can It Be Stopped? This is correct: "Lazy and unproductive employees are hiding behind this wall of calendar invites, and those who wish to opt out risk awkward explanations and offense.”
Saving Chinatown, While Also Making It Their Own.
The Introspection That Leads to Greater Productivity. Yes, I have employed a similar approach and technique to my weekly column. I write drafts only early in the morning, to get my brain working, and then I edit the columns a week or more later. I want to marinate. I won’t do a first draft in the evening. It’s not my process.
Why employees are feeling more comfortable with AI.
All About That Tenor: Why Men Don’t Sing in Worship. There’s a lot more here than you might think, about how men grow embarrassed about their voices and never quite get over it.