The award for the "World’s Cutest Book Trailer" goes to Get a Life, Not a Job: Do What You Love and Let Your Talents Work for You, starring Henry the Hamster. (OK, so I have totally made-up the award but it is darn cute book trailer, in my highly-biased opinion.)

Please see for yourself (let me know if you agree)...and then please (oh please) pass it along to ten-thousand of your closest friends.

A Side Job. Profitable Hobby. Weekend Rock Band. Under the old rules of employment those with multiple sources of income may have been chastised by a spouse, parent, or nosy mother-in-law for “not having a professional focus,” “not being serious about your job,” “not sticking with it”, and “being too distracted”.

This is a new decade and those days are over.

Just as the riskiest financial investment strategy is to have all of your money in one place, the riskiest career management strategy is to have all of your income from one organization – unless you occupy a critical role, possess skills that are difficult to find on the labor market, and work for a company with financial security. There is a small percentage of working adults today in that group – with millions more who want to be a part of it. Heck, I want you to be part of it, enjoying full job security and financial freedom.

I don’t like spinning, whirling, and twirling amusement park rides. My problems with these rides are twofold: (1) the signals controlling my equilibrium are not coordinated and (2) I like to be in control. When talking about their careers, a lot of people today look like I would if I just stepped off the Scrambler or the Cyclone -- and with good reason; the past decade has given us a wild employment ride and have left many seeking greater control over their careers.

I am sincerely humbled and deeply appreciative to you for joining me on this journey to work-life harmony. It seems like yesterday when I nervously hit “save” on my first blog post. Today (six months later), the website analytics report that this blog had 7,362 readers in the last month alone. Wow. It is a thrill for me to know that the circle is growing. And, yes, I am still nervous when I hit “save” each week.

In the next six months of this blog, I plan to go deeper into the most critical career and work-life harmony issues.

Video resumes aren’t new – people in the performing and visual arts have been using them for years. Their videos are work samples – demonstrating what they can do -- and what they’ll be like as performers. Now, video resumes are being used by people seeking a much wider range of jobs.

Whether you’re a manager or a musician, your video is still a work sample. Unlike a paper resume, you are now opening yourself to being judged on your communication and presentation skills – and also your energy level, enthusiasm, and personality.

The parable of the Mexican fisherman was hanging in my office for years. Do you remember it?

Recently, I decided to take it down because I believe it serves to reinforce a fallacy many people have about work-life balance, suggesting we cannot have both a successful career and life satisfaction. (That's hooey.) I have observed hundreds who have provided ample evidence that you can have both, provided (and this is a big provision) you stay in control of your career.

Before I continue, I should first share The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman:

The Parable of The Mexican Fisherman

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

No. Seriously. This was the line from a party invitation my husband George and I attended about 7 years ago thrown by some dear friends to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday. It was a great party – a brilliant idea. I can still remember part of the conversation George and I had about our costumes:

George: "What is your life's lost ambition? Is there something you wanted to be that you will never be?"

Me (after a pause): "Tall"

George: "The costume?"

Me: "I’ll wear heels and bring a step stool."

George (concerned): "You’ll probably twist an ankle. Anything else?"

Wiley Publishers just sent me an advanced copy of a professional trade book I wrote with my colleagues Dave Lepak and Jaime Bonache entitled Managing the Global Workforce. The primary audiences for the book are Human Resource (HR) professionals and students in HR courses. (My Rutgers Master of HRM students who have already graduated just breathed a collective sigh of relief. Could you hear it?)

Here's an amusing publishing question for you: How could a book that has not yet been released be available to purchase "used" from Amazon.com? Talk about an industry with a short life span. Yeesh.

When people hear that I’ve written a career advice book, the #1 question I receive is “will you take a look at my resume”? At the risk of sounding unsupportive, I almost always say “no” unless the person making the request is someone I’ve known well, over a long period of time. I really am a helpful person (honestly), but without a good bit of knowledge about the competencies of both the person and the requirements of the desired position, my advice is always the same (and a bit predictable). Here it is:

1. Understand the key competencies necessary for the job you want.
2. Make sure a demonstration (e.g., education, experience) of each required competence appears (honestly) on your resume.
3. Triple and quadruple check for spelling and grammar.
4. Format professionally.

My husband George and I arrived in Hawaii very late on Monday night to start a well-deserved vacation in a place we both love. On Tuesday morning, I received a call that my dear friend Frank passed away -- cancer. He died in the arms of his wife Kylie and two daughters and is no longer in pain. He died having lived a fabulous life.

We visited Frank just before we left and he smiled widely when we told him where we were going. (The last time we vacationed in Hawaii was 2 years ago with him and Kylie.) At the end of our visit, I gave Frank a hug and a kiss, told him I loved him, said “good-bye” and that “I would miss him in Hawaii”. I guess I could have left off “in Hawaii”.