Happiness, Success, and Fulfillment at Work

Author Minda Zetlin shares how you can find fulfillment at work without going crazy. Tune into this episode to learn more.

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Minda Zetlin is the author of Career Self-Care: Find Your Happiness, Success, and Fulfillment at Work. She writes the highly popular “Laid-Back Leader” column for Inc.com. Her articles and workshops offer research-backed advice to help ambitious people get the most out of their careers and their lives. Additionally, she is the author or coauthor of several books, most recently The Geek Gap. A former president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), she lives in Snohomish, Washington.

In this episode of the Woman of Value Podcast:

Why happiness leads to fulfillment at work
What inspired Minda Zetlin to write Career Self-Care
How we can begin to have more equality in the work place
A story from her twenties that gained new meaning as she was writing the book
An exercise for how to have a happy and fulfilling career and life

S3 EP 20: Minda Zetlin – Happiness, Success, and Fulfillment at Work

Audio

Video

WHAT DOES WOMAN OF VALUE MEAN TO YOU?

In my book, there’s a chapter about the unfairness of how women are paid. I was thinking about all the work women do that doesn’t get accounted for. These are things that cement the ties of people at work. Relationships in the workplace or so important, and women are keeping that going. I hope one day women will stop doing all of those things just for 24-hours, and let the world see what would happen if we do.

YOUR ‘AHA’ WOMAN OF VALUE MOMENT

When I was young, I skipped my last year of high school and went to a special program combining the senior year of high school and the first year of college. I went from being one of the smartest kids in class to struggling. I was used to being heard, but here I wasn’t heard. I started jumping in to make sure my voice was heard.

At the end of the year, a man said “You’re nicer than I thought. I thought you were pushy and aggressive.”

While I was writing the book, I had an aha moment. In my twenties, my boyfriend got hired at the company I was working for. He got a raise and a higher salary than mine. It devastated me. Eventually, I went to my boss and he arranged a raise for me because he did value me. As I was writing the book, it finally occurred to me that it happened because my boyfriend was a man and I was a woman.

To solve this issue of inequality, we have to first notice it. We sometimes have to endure the pain and figure out how to push back gently.

THE PRESENT

In my column for Inc.com, I write about productivity and work-life balance. What I love about writing online is you can find out in real time what people are interested in. I learned people were interested in having a happy career and life without making yourself crazy. It grew into a book.

What I’d love people to do is to look at the big picture of our whole lives and careers. Ask yourself where it’s leading you.

One exercise to do: Take a minute at the end of the day and write down your positive accomplishments instead of focusing on the negatives.

THE FUTURE

I have high hopes for the book. I’m doing public speaking and workshops. I’m having fun writing the column.

THE LIGHTNING ROUND

I used to think I wasn’t a good enough writer.
What was the #1 thing holding you back from becoming a woman
of value? Probably my own limited understanding of how the world works.
What’s the best advice you can give to a woman who wants to
become more empowered? Do it for yourself. Figure out what makes you happy.
What advice would you give to your younger self? One answer is the entire book. I wish I had known 20 years ago. Don’t worry about it all. It’s going to be okay.
What’s something people get wrong about you? People think because I’m always in the position of telling people how to live their lives, it doesn’t mean I never screwed up. Even so, I can provide helpful insight.
How would you like to be remembered? For having seen a couple of things that weren’t as obvious to others and sharing them.