The 9-to-5 Cure: Work on Your Own Terms and Reinvent Your Life

256 Pages·2011·2.18 MB·English

by  Kristin Cardinale

“Perfect for the person seeking greater control, fulfi llment, and rewards.”
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Do you dream about having the kind of career that lets you set your own schedule, e
work where you want, and pick and choose your projects? This inspiring guide
makes those dreams a reality!
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● Revitalize your career and achieve fi nancial freedom.
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● Explore creative ways to navigate the job market and earn a living. n ● Score the best opportunities.

● Do what you’ve always wanted to do, without worrying about job security. Ter ● Create a flexible schedule that suits you.
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s ● Achieve financial freedom and lasting success.
Dr. Kristin Cardinale is a career coach, consultant, technology instructor, adjunct
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serial entrepreneur. She founded a national seminar business that served 200 colleges,
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Kristin Cardinale, Ph.D.
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Work on Your Own Terms and Reinvent Your Life
Kristin Cardinale, Ph.D.
THE 9-TO-5 CURE
© 2011 by Kristin Cardinale
Published by JIST Works, an imprint of JIST Publishing
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Printed in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cardinale, Kristin, 1970-
The 9-to-5 cure : work on your own terms and reinvent your life /
Kristin Cardinale.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59357-807-7 (alk. paper)
1. Flexible work arrangements. 2. Part-time employment. 3. Career
development. 4. Quality of work life. 5. Job satisfaction. I. Title.
II. Title: Nine-to-five cure.
HD5110.C37 2011
650.1--dc22
2010045777
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, or
stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior permission of the publisher except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews. Making copies of any part of this book
for any purpose other than your own personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws.
For permission requests, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at www.copyright.com or
[phone].
We have been careful to provide accurate information throughout this book, but it is possible that
errors and omissions have been introduced. Please consider this in making any career plans or other
important decisions. Trust your own judgment above all else and in all things.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks,
trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
ISBN 978-1-59357-807-7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I: Escape Your Reality .........................................................1
Chapter 1: The Life of Your Dreams ....................................2
Chapter 2: Realizing That Old Dream Isn’t
Worth Realizing .................................................................6
Chronology of a 9-to-5 Career ....................................................7
OMG, I Need a Job! .................................................................12
The J-O-B Is Not the Answer ...................................................13
Chapter 3: Charting a New Course .....................................14
The Business of Navigating ......................................................15
Beware of Subtle Changes .........................................................16
Set Sail on Your Journey ...........................................................17
A Vision for Your Life ..............................................................18
Revisit Your Goals Periodically .................................................22
Chapter 4: The 9-to-5 Cure Equation.................................24
Solving the 9-to-5 Cure Equation .............................................24
Part II: Live the Life of Your Dreams ..........................................26
Chapter 5: Career Myopia and Other Misperceptions ........27
Career Myopia: Putting Work in Perspective ............................27
The No-Vacation Nation ..........................................................32
The Deliberate Lifestyle ............................................................34
The Power of Time Off ............................................................35
Time and Money in Abundance ...............................................37
Chapter 6: The Framework—Lifestyle Design ...................40
An Introduction to Lifestyle Design .........................................42
Your Ideal Work Year ...............................................................43
Your Ideal Career .....................................................................47
Your Ideal Workplace ...............................................................48
Your Ideal Work Mates ............................................................52
Your Money or Your Life .........................................................54
Your Ideal Attitude ...................................................................58
CONTENTS __________________________________________________________
Part III: Work on Purpose .........................................................65
Chapter 7: The Headlines—Survivalnomics .......................66
The Age of Survivalnomics .......................................................66
Taking Inventory of Our Work ................................................67
Chapter 8: A New Strategy—The Patchwork Principle ......73
The Big Picture in a Nutshell ...................................................73
The Patchworker Agenda ..........................................................76
Practical Considerations ............................................................85
Chapter 9: Guiding Beliefs of the Patchwork Principle .....86
The 11 Guiding Beliefs of the Patchwork Principle ..................86
Chapter 10: The Mindset of the Successful
Patchworker ...................................................................113
Know Your Patchworker Personality Type .............................113
Master Your Approach ............................................................116
Adopt a Healthy State of Paranoia ..........................................117
Part IV: Make It Happen .........................................................120
Chapter 11: Take Inventory and Build Your Brand .........121
What Do You Have to Offer? .................................................121
What Do You See Out There? ................................................127
What Do You Not See Out There? ........................................128
How to Pitch Your Niche .......................................................129
Chapter 12: Go Fish .........................................................131
What Is Fishing? .....................................................................131
How to Fish ............................................................................138
The Cardinal Rules of Fishing ................................................152
Chapter 13: Stand and Deliver .........................................154
Perception Is Everything .........................................................154
Key Elements of a Good Pitch ................................................155
Chapter 14: Negotiate—Everything! .................................162
The Negotiation Mindset .......................................................163
Negotiating Your Time ...........................................................164
Negotiating Your Rate ............................................................165
Managing the Negotiation Process ..........................................168
Negotiating Your Title............................................................170
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© JIST Works
___________________________________________________________CONTENTS
Negotiating Your Location .....................................................175
Negotiating Some Extras ........................................................176
Part V: Think It Through .........................................................179
Chapter 15: Do You Have What It Takes? .......................180
The Mindset ...........................................................................180
The People Skills ....................................................................183
The Fiscal Discipline ..............................................................188
The Courage to Change .........................................................190
The Nerve to Tackle Your Fears .............................................191
Chapter 16: Consider the Drawbacks ...............................195
Personal Drawbacks ................................................................195
Professional Drawbacks ...........................................................198
Chapter 17: Plan Your Escape and Get Out of There ......201
Part-Time Patchworking .........................................................201
Leaving the Door Open ..........................................................203
Leaving a Trail ........................................................................203
Part VI: Set Up Shop ...............................................................205
Chapter 18: Get Your Move On ......................................206
Journaling Your Journey .........................................................206
Startup Costs ..........................................................................207
Chapter 19: Meeting Uncle Sam and Other Necessities ...220
Establishing Your Business ......................................................220
Taking Steps to Safeguard Yourself .........................................223
Chapter 20: Parting Thoughts ..........................................227
Be Willing to Make Some Big Mistakes .................................229
Never Underestimate Yourself ................................................230
Cultivate a Community of Colleagues ....................................230
Go Easy on Yourself ...............................................................231
Lead with Kindness.................................................................232
Be Willing to Apologize ..........................................................234
Stay Positive ............................................................................234
Keep Making Forward Progress ..............................................235
Glossary .............................................................................237
Index .................................................................................242
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© JIST Works
Preface
We all have a dream for our lives. We may not have the dream all mapped
out, but on some level we all have a vision dancing in our heads of what we
would like our life to be. That dream is comprised of images of a particular
lifestyle, which likely includes a thriving career. What does your dream look
like? What really stands out for you? You will be asked to explore this dream
as you read this book, and I want you to really get in touch with what mat-
ters most to you. Is it being home with your kids during the day? Getting
home early enough to cheer at the soccer games? Pulling in a certain amount
of money each year? Or perhaps doing work that you love?
Whatever the cornerstones are of your dream lifestyle and dream career, I
want you to hold those images in mind as you read through this book. That
vision for your life is possible. It is! Instead of sweeping that dream to the
back of your mind as some fantasy that will never come true, allow it to come
to the front of your mind. Be open to the possibility that your dreams can
become a concrete reality. In Zen Buddhism this openness is called adopt-
ing a beginner’s mind, which is eager and open to new ideas and free from
assumptions or foregone conclusions. The more experience you have in the
workplace, the more challenging it can be to assume the beginner’s mind
because you may have some strongly held beliefs about who gets ahead, why,
and how. However, you have to ask yourself if the paradigm that you cur-
rently subscribe to is benefitting you. In other words, are you happy with
your work and your lifestyle? If the answer to that question is no, now is
the right time to stop and reconstruct the dream that you have for your life.
Invest in yourself and develop your dream lifestyle. Don’t just think about
it; make it happen!
In this book you will follow me through a step-by-step process for defining
the lifestyle that you long for with a career to match. For more than twenty
years, I have been designing my dream and expecting results from myself and
the world at large, in part by developing an annual ritual that makes tailoring
a life plan and sticking to it more routine than anything else. I’ll describe
how you, too, can systematically develop a vision for yourself and create a
constructive plan for getting results. I feel so passionate about sharing this
9-to-5 Cure with you because I know from firsthand experience that you can
become the dream that is in your mind’s eye. If you will invest in yourself
by doing the preparation, you can step away from the rat race and into your
____________________________________________________________PREFACE
dream, whatever that dream may be for you. Don’t settle for surviving—start
thriving!
If you hesitate to take a chance because you have been disappointed before by
other people or your own inaction, I say to you at the top of my voice:
Take the most important lessons that you learned from those
negative experiences and leave the rest behind!
Take the energy of that shame, humiliation, rage, resentment, or whatever
it may be and channel it into getting on with your life. Use that force that
pulses within you for something that will bring you up instead of drag
you down. Dig deep and rediscover your passion for life, for your dreams.
And dream big! This time, dream bigger than you ever dreamed before.
Give yourself the opportunity to learn about the transformational power of
reconstructing your career in a way that lets you get in alignment with your
dreams. Go ahead, get your hopes up!
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to so many people who contributed to the success of this proj-
ect, including
Sue Pines, Jennifer Lynn, and the entire team at JIST Publishing, for
believing in the concept and helping to shape the content masterfully.
Ken Horn and Jennifer Mulchandani, for sharing countless hours of
your time and talent with me.
My wonderful family and amazing friends, for cheering me on through-
out this process and loving me always and in all ways.
My daughter, for inspiring me to work on purpose; I love you.
My husband, for your unwavering love and support now and always; I
am so blessed to be on this journey with you.
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© JIST Works
About the Author
Dr. Kristin Cardinale is an optimist, columnist, adjunct col-
lege professor, technology instructor, career coach, consultant,
seminar speaker, owner of a small technical support business,
and serial entrepreneur. She is living the life of her dreams,
working on her own terms, and thankful for her many blessings.
Previously, she worked as an international educator and went on
to own and operate a national seminar business, which served
her colleagues in hundreds of colleges, universities, government
agencies, and public corporations. Dr. Cardinale has lived,
worked, studied, and traveled in more than twenty countries
in every corner of the globe and hopes to someday visit the last
continent on her list, Antarctica. Dr. Cardinale holds a Ph.D. in
Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin–
Madison and an M.Ed. in Adult Learning and Development
from Cleveland State University.
“Make your work to be in keeping with your purpose.”
—Leonardo da Vinci
PART I
Escape Your Reality
Chapter 1: The Life of Your Dreams
Chapter 2: Realizing That the Old Dream Isn’t Worth Realizing
Chapter 3: Charting a New Course
Chapter 4: The 9-to-5 Cure Equation