Clarity On Fire

Raise your hand if, when you think of “job searching,” the list of to-dos that come to mind sound something like:    Update resumé, write cover letter, apply, wait, repeat.   What if we told you that LITERALLY NONE of those things are how you get a job in 2022?   If you’re skeptical, you won’t be after hearing our interview with Emily Liou, former recruiter, career coach, and total genius when it comes to helping you find (and get!) your dream job.   Listen in as Emily doles out some seriously great advice, like:   What’s really happening behind the scenes when you apply for a job you found online How to completely avoid throwing your application into a black hole, never to be seen again How to get people to notice you—and get hired for jobs that previously ignored you, or jobs that don’t even exist What to do if you’re worried about gaps on your resumé, changing industries, or being too young/too old for a job And how you can find a job with WAY less work than you’re used to with traditional job searching 

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”    Just quoting some casual Hamlet at you today! But hey, the Bard was right—most of what we perceive as good or bad, right or wrong isn’t set in stone. How we decide to label things matters.    And maybe it’s not so much our thoughts that are the problem, but our thoughts about our thoughts.   On that philosophical note we’re diving into a brand-new Side Chat. Listen in as we get into…   A conundrum a client brought up recently—should she heed the impulse to burn everything down and start over, or mistrust that desire? Signs your thoughts are untrustworthy and unhealthy And what to do if you can’t figure out whether to trust your thoughts or not   Leave a comment after you’ve listened to share how this mind-bender resonated with you!   JOIN THE CLARITY ON FIRE COMMUNITY!   You should definitely come check us out on Patreon!   Join the $3/month tier (The Spark) for access to occasional bonus episodes and other special content. Think of this l

Ever seen The Tower card show up in a tarot reading? In the classic image, lighting strikes the top of a stone structure while two people hurtle through midair, falling toward the rocks below.    Yeahhh, so, it’s admittedly not anyone’s favorite. It heralds shocking change, chaos, and things crumbling around you. But … sometimes, you’re trapped in the tower. And the only way to liberate you is for it to fall apart.   My former client, Samantha, had a series of “tower moments” a couple years ago that sent her careening onto an entirely new life path.    Listen in to this month’s brand-new interview with a normal person, as Samantha and I dive into…   The waves of chaos and grief she struggled through, including natural disasters, the pandemic, the loss of an old friend, and the end of a long-term romantic partnership. How experiencing so much turmoil, back to back, affected her outlook on life. How, inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s story of coming back to life after heartbreak, she created her own version of t

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Holly, whose business partner is her total opposite. She’s upset about something that could negatively impact their business, but he can’t see what the problem is. How can she get him to take her concerns—and her feelings—seriously? Stacy, who’s recently been told by a potential romantic partner that they “need time to love themselves” before they can love her. What advice do we have for someone waiting on another person to be ready for a relationship? Alex, a parent with a job that leaves plenty of time to spend with their toddler—but that’s the only good thing it. Alex’s partner (and even their therapist!) says not to go looking for another job, because what if the next one isn’t as flexible? Should Alex try to be happy with the

Honing your intuition is one of the most important parts of getting clear on who you are, what you want, and where you’re headed. Without it, you’re like a GPS with bad reception — you’re not going to get very clear guidance, and you may end up driving in circles.   But honing your intuition can take time and practice, so sometimes it’s nice to piggyback off of another GPS you can trust, even if it’s just long enough to check your directions.    So, in that spirit, here’s another Message from the Universe episode for you! Tune in if you need a little clarity, guidance, or just a fun pick-me-up.    Today we pulled a few cards from the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck. One or all has a message for you — come find out what it is!    As usual, the messages were BANG ON. You’re going to want to hear this one.

Last month during the side chat where we processed 2021, I shared that one of the big lessons I got hit with (and am very much still trying to learn) was about pain. Namely, that just because you’re in pain doesn’t mean that something is going wrong.    The more Kristen and I mulled that one over, the more obvious it became that we needed to have a whole separate conversation about it to do the thing justice!    So, in this month’s side chat we’re getting into …   When is pain necessary vs. unnecessary? Where’s the line between pain, suffering, and plain old torture? And how do we end up torturing ourselves without meaning to? How to use pain and turmoil as a catalyst for growth, rather than end up stagnating in it.   Come leave a comment after you’ve listened to share how this one resonated with you!   1:1 COACHING IS BACK!   If some of the pain you’ve found yourself in lately is of the “confused, overwhelmed, lost, no idea what to do with myself” variety, then you’re in luck, because …    One-on-one coach

Francine Mends’ life is unrecognizable from several years ago when she was feeling trapped and miserable in her highly specialized field of neuroradiology, with no escape in sight.   After a series of personal tragedies that emotionally shook her to her core, she decided to finally make some serious (and scary) changes in her life, including doing something she never imagined she could do: take a year-long sabbatical from work.    Since then, she’s quit her job, lived internationally, worked as a digital nomad, and started her own business.    Listen in to this replay interview with a normal person from 2019 that’s even more relevant now than it was back then! You’ll hear Kristen and Francine talk about…   How she broke through her self-imposed limitations to finally make big life changes that she never imagined she could make. How she was able to take a year-long sabbatical from work to travel the world and get right within herself. Once she realized she wanted to work for herself, how she figured out what

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Higher Thoughts, who’s in a “mental breakdown, rock bottom, everything spiral out of control” phase … how do they regain focus and positivity when everything is falling apart? Tasha, whose passion is cooking and whose dream is to open her own restaurant. But she’s done research into what it takes to become a chef, and the low pay, long hours, and weekend work is making her think again. Should she pursue her dream anyway and ignore the disadvantages? Loving Shiny Objects, who can’t seem to stop bouncing from one amazing opportunity to the next, often before they finish the last thing they started. How do they tame their incessant fascination with everything and actually decide what to pursue?   We also got an update from Murphy’s

First things first – Happy birthday to Kristen!! We know how I feel about birthdays, but Kristen is the Tiny Tim to my Ebenezer Scrooge, so feel free to celebrate her and congratulate her on getting older as much as you want today!   And if you want a deal that even Scrooge couldn’t find fault with, then by all means, scroll down.   Now, allow us to move on to the last podcast episode of this year! And what a year it’s been, hmm? How ever will we process it? Or prepare for 2022? I mean, aren’t most of us still trying to process 2020?!    So, listen in as we share two questions to help you process what you learned this year, and set you up for more growth in the year ahead. We talked about:   Giving yourself credit for not just what you learned, but what you actually mastered in the last year. Pinpointing what you still need to work on in the year ahead. And plenty of stories of what we mastered, what we’re still struggling to integrate, and how we intend to move ahead in 2022.   This one will give you a lot

Six months ago, my friend (and former client) Alex and I embarked on an adventure: Me quitting a part-time gig, and her quitting a full-time job.    We had one thing in common: No real plans for what happened next.   It was the start of what’s become a very interesting, surprising, rollercoaster of a journey … and I thought I’d let you in on it.   Alex and I originally recorded this episode for the Clarity on Fire Patreon Community, but today we’re gifting it to all of you (happy holidays, I guess?!). In fact, it’s the first episode in a series — every 3 months, we get back together and talk about how the most recent leg of the quitting journey has gone.   So, listen in as Alex and I get into…   How to sense when it’s time to cut your losses. Why sometimes the only way you can get something better is by quitting before you have another job lined up. The inevitable guilt and freak-outs that happen after making this huge of a decision, and how to navigate those big feelings. Our ideas for what we thought we’d

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Dates-ed & Confused, who’s been dating a guy for a few weeks and is already thinking about ending it. But are their reasons good enough? So much of the relationship advice floating around says no person is perfect. How do you tell what’s reasonable to expect and what isn’t, and whose advice do we actually listen to?  Holly, who just got a job in a very niche field. She knows she’s being underpaid, but is finding it hard to do research about how much to ask for. How can she figure out what she’s worth and make a good case, when there’s so little information to go off of? Second Bestie, who’s feeling down about the fact that the person she calls her best friend wouldn’t say the same about her, in return. How can she make peace w

Honing your intuition is one of the most important parts of getting clear on who you are, what you want, and where you’re headed. Without it, you’re like a GPS with bad reception — you’re not going to get very clear guidance, and you may end up driving in circles.   But honing your intuition can take time and practice, so sometimes it’s nice to piggyback off of another GPS you can trust, even if it’s just long enough to check your directions.    So, in that spirit, here’s another Message from the Universe episode for you! Tune in if you need a little clarity, guidance, or just a fun pick-me-up.    Today we pulled a few cards from our usual favorite, The Enchanted Map deck by Colette Baron-Reid. One or all has a message for you — come find out what it is!    We mixed things up and got … interesting results. You’re going to want to hear this one.

Lately we’ve had multiple clients share a worrying pattern. It goes something like, “I can’t stop ruminating on this awful experience I had at work. I obsess over it constantly. It’s really affecting my mood, energy, performance, and confidence.”   If you’ve had a bad romantic relationship—maybe an ex who said nasty things to your face, or who would scream at you at the drop of a hat, or who neglected your needs and then gaslit you into thinking you were crazy for having needs in the first place—you get to call it what it is. Namely, unhealthy, toxic, traumatic, even abusive.   But when these things happen at work (and they do happen at work, all the time) … we often don’t call it any of that. We often think we aren’t allowed to have feelings, at all, because we’re at work.   So, in this month’s brand-new Side Chat, Kristen and I are getting frank and talking about workplace trauma, namely:   What “counts” as traumatic when you’re in a work setting Signs that you might be struggling with some form of work tr

Hello again, friends! I’ve returned with more Forever Alone … but not Season 2 (yet). Instead, I’m here with something special.    Most of what I shared in Season 1 was very thorough. I said exactly what I needed to say, and have nothing left to add. But there’s one thing I wasn’t able to go into enough depth about, because I had too much to say and my opinions weren’t essential to the story—and that’s what I’m here to dig into now.   So, join in for this bonus chapter in which I don my coaching hat (beribboned bonnet? jaunty fascinator?) and dole out opinions, advice, and general musings on how (and whether) to use dating apps without losing your mind.   As always, I love hearing all of your comments and reactions, so after you’ve listened, leave a comment here or DM me on the Forever Alone site.   NEW TO FOREVER ALONE?   If you have no idea what I’m talking about, never fear! Forever Alone: One millennial’s half-agonizing, half-hopeful journey through singledom is my 7-part miniseries podcast I released bac

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Dee, who recently went through a tough breakup with someone that she thought was “it.” She’s someone who’s cautious and does her vetting before getting into a relationship, so she’s upset about not seeing this coming. How can she trust herself in the future when she gets a “knowing” about someone? Chelsea, who serves us up a philosophical question about … questions. Namely, how to ask good ones. If finding life’s big answers depends on asking good questions, then how do we ask questions that actually get us somewhere, rather than spiraling into anxiety loops and making no progress?  Serena, who’s been looking for a job for a while, and recently got offered an 8/10. It’s OK, but it’s not exactly what she wants … and now she feels g

Calling all fellow bookworms, library nerds, and general lovers of literature — it’s time for another book club episode of the podcast!    Whenever there are five Fridays in a month we devote the extra Friday to a book that we can’t get enough of. In this episode we’re diving into Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown, author of the mega-bestseller Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.   We’ve got a LOT to say about this book. If you’ve been following along with the episodes we’ve been doing this year about masculine & feminine energy, you’re going to find this conversation very interesting!   Listen in as we dive into…   How to achieve more because you’re at ease (not in spite of it) Strategies for making it easier to focus, making critical work easier to do, and getting the highest return on the least possible effort Why it’s your responsibility to relax, and why you’ll still get better results (and enjoy your life way more) when you slow down     After you listen

At the very end of Chapter 7 of Forever Alone (tiny spoiler alert, I guess!), I said:   We don’t all have the same amount of ambition in every area of life, and that’s OK. Some of us are perfectly content with a small, modest townhouse: Comfortable, safe, not flashy, but warm and homey. Honestly, my career ambitions are probably somewhere in that realm—it matters to me, but it’s not where my big, big dreams have ever lived. But man, I’ve got skyscraper ambitions when it comes to love. And I’m not talking some ugly thing that doesn’t even win skyscraper of the year award in Architectural Digest. It’s gotta be beautiful and impressive and very much larger than life. I think I might have more ambition in love than just about anyone I know.   I’ve been sitting with this and thinking about it so much that I decided it deserved more than just a single paragraph of attention.   So, in this month’s brand-new Side Chat Kristen and I are digging into …   How Passion Profiles show up outside of your career—in relations

I’m as guilty as anyone else of saying that I value creativity, but then as soon as life gets busy, it’s the first thing I throw on the backburner.    It doesn’t help that many of us got the message (from our parents, from society at large, from wherever) that creativity in adulthood is kind of frivolous and should, at best, be relegated to a side hobby.    Whenever I find myself ignoring my creative side in favor of more “productive” things, I try to remember this quote from Brené Brown:   “Creativity has to be cultivated. Unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgment, sorrow, shame. We are by nature creative. It gets lost along the way.” Kara Guilfoyle can attest to just how true this is! After years of working herself into exhaustion in the intense, fast-paced, emotionally exhausting medical world, she finally realized that the best way to heal her burnout and make her feel whole again was to reignite her artistic side.    Listen in as I ask Kara about her evolving

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Jane, who wants to encourage more feminine energy in the workplace, but is running up against an issue. How do you communicate the idea of feminine energy to male co-workers who don’t get it, and who might find their masculinity threatened? Yuba Love, who quit her old job, moved to a new state, a recently started a new job in a completely different industry. But, in taking the job, she also took a BIG step backward in salary. How can she silence the inner critic that’s mad she isn’t making more money, and see this new job as the potential big opportunity it is?    We also got an update from Tribe of One, a listener whose question we answered back in November 2020. Find out what happened when she confronted those important people

Well, dear listener, we’ve arrived. The grand finale (and I do mean grand … this one’s a full HOUR long) of Forever Alone! Thank you for joining me on this journey. It’s truly been one of the most fun, gratifying things I’ve ever done. I might be prouder of this seven-part series than anything I’ve ever done with Clarity on Fire! (But don’t tell Kristen).   So, tune in one more time and enjoy Chapter 7: Stories & Skyscrapers, in which I…   Consult with a fictional Board of Directors, Download Hinge, Go on a date with a hot man, And finally answer the question I posed at the beginning of this tale.   I’ve loved hearing all of your comments and reactions, so after you’ve listened, leave a comment here or DM me on the Forever Alone site.   And if you’ve listened to this whole series and haven’t left a 5-star rating and review, it would delight me to no end if you’d take a minute and do that today!   As always, you can find Forever Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon, YouTube, am