Carlton, Ed, and Gwyn are the creators of the GudeJob.com website. We met a number of years ago at a business success strategies conference in Las Vegas where we were presenting at breakout sessions on how to define and achieve success in your business. At the Speaker’s Mixer the three of us were seated at a table when Carlton asked this questions that started it all: “Why are you here?”
It wasn’t your typical, “So what do you do?” type of question; and the way he asked it felt less like a question he wanted an answer to and more like an instruction for us to probe ourselves with. Carlton recounted years later that our table hadn’t been the first he visited to ask, “Why are you here?” The responses he received caused him to move from table to table until it was us three. Some of the answers at other tables included:
● I’m here to speak at this conference.
● I’m here because my plane didn’t crash.
● Didn’t they tell us to come here?
● I needed to get away from my wife.
● I needed to get away from my husband.
● I have no clue what the hell I’m doing.
● I want to help people in business do extraordinary things with their lives and in their business so that they can optimize the time they have here on earth and experience moments beyond any other moment they have ever experienced in life which propels them to their highest goals that can…
At our table that question started us discussing the whys to why we do things in the first place and the motivations behind every job that we do, whether it is at work, home, school, or any area of life. Why do many of us really work at jobs that we hate? Why do we have a passion for one thing and not another? Why do we become immobilized and procrastinate? Why do we define success so differently from everyone else? We had such an engaging time discussing the whys to the why and instead of answering with, “I think…” we said, “Here’s my experience with that…” which made the conversation so much richer for us.
After the conference we kept in touch and enjoyed sending emails and texts to each other exploring more whys to the why we do things. Then Gwyn had the three of us on a webinar she hosted discussing how to love the job you hate, and the feedback from her students was so incredible that we knew we had to do something together, so here we are:
Carlton is a business consultant who has worked with companies such as Charles Schwab, IBM, Xerox, Kaiser Permanente, and many entrepreneurial start-ups, helping them migrate manual systems into automated systems and building efficiencies into their processes. He holds an MBA but his strongest suit is being able to keep a straight face when it is completely obvious that the person who takes himself too seriously doesn’t have a clue to what he’s doing. To Carlton, career development starts today with identifying what you want to achieve tomorrow.
Ed is an author of how-to books. His father told him that with a degree in Social Science he could go into any field, so after graduation Ed worked in fields from business to theology only to discover that he enjoyed writing about his experiences more than the experiences themselves. When his kids were teenagers and a stone’s throw away from college, he didn’t recommend that they follow his path and earn a degree in Social Science, but that they follow their own passion. For Ed, career development has as much to do with finishing something as it does with starting it.
Gwyn is a seminar trainer and college instructor who has taught courses primarily in business and organizational behavior. She has a Master’s degree in Humanities and enjoys teaching “what it essentially means to be human” in the world in which we live. She reaches students from various parts the globe to influence them to reach their potential and readily admits that they have taught her just as much as she has taught them. Gwyn believes that although career development is a lifelong process, it can be achieved by anyone who is thirsty for knowledge and remains teachable.
We have spent more than 25 years meeting people at the point of their need to help them develop their careers. For us, career development is a lifelong process of managing learning, work, leisure, and transitions in order to move toward a personally determined and evolving preferred future (Wikipedia).
Where have we been in your career development process?
Teaching students about business, computer software, human dynamics, and general education subjects to help them earn a certificate or degree.
Training workshop participants on topics such as QuickBooks, Microsoft Office, resume writing, work-life balance, business strategies, spiritual life, marriage, family and relationships, interpersonal communication, goal achievement, and success strategies.
Helping participants navigate through the job transition process, including dealing with the demoralizing feeling of being fired or laid off.
Including churches, schools, libraries, and local community centers, working alongside them to further their mission statement, helping to provide services to their participants, developing service programs, creating budgets, and securing additional funding.
Helping current and would-be entrepreneurs learn about building a sustainable business, including walking through the many hats that are required to run a growing business.
Both small and large, training employers on dealing with issues with their employees as well as issues employees have with employers, and helping businesses increase their bottom line through increased efficiency.
First, I cannot thank you enough for your time, energy, and emotion that was dedicated to writing the BEST book I have ever read on resume and work. There are no better words to say it. I have read more books and they all say the same thing, however, yours is very different. The information given of the opportunities that are available and then notating the fine details and contact information is priceless.
What lead me to your book is that I am trying to find help putting the right words/summary together of what I was doing during an employment gap. I hope I do not confuse you and since that word is taboo, I have yet to find anything.
Can you please help me with this one part? My resume I feel is perfected, however, this employment gap is a huge issue since I am applying with the airlines and you do not leave any employment gaps unaccounted for and lucky for me, I like learning and volunteering.
Thank you for all your help and hope I didn't confuse you too much.
Sincerely,
Brittaney N.
Ohio
Laid Off, Now What? really helped to show me that getting fired was not the end of the world but the beginning of my new and exciting career. I needed to hear that and this book delivered. I decided to go into my own supply chain management business where I provide wholesalers and retailers with merchandise from China.
Your article Determined To Succeed was exactly what I needed to have you share with me because for a while there I was feeling sorry for myself and some days it was hard to get out of bed. I just had to let you know that you truly knew how to get me motivated and moving again, and I would forever appreciate all of your help. I can honestly say that I feel that you are my best friend because I can always reach out to you for advice even beyond your books and articles and courses.
I love what you do and please keep doing GUDEJob so that I can keep doing a good job too.
Becky Z.
San Francisco
I never really thought about “Career Development” as something that I would need to do for the rest of my life, but you’re right, it’s something that I need to do all the time. That RESUME course of yours is hands down the best advice that I have ever received about why I need to update my resume right now and how to use it to start achieving my goals today.
Man, I am one of the guilty ones that only used my resume just when I needed to find a job, but it’s crazy to think that I’ve wasted years—no, decades!—bouncing around from job to job, thinking about maybe possibly doing something else with my life, but not really getting focused. (Oh and kudos to Get Laser Targeted Focused. It gave me a huge boost.)
Do me a favor and let me know when you put together a course or blog or book or newsletter about moving past people who are the dream-killers in your life. You mentioned this before and that’s what I’m dealing with right now, so let me know.
Thanks for everything.
Kenny L.
Eureka
Okay so, you asked for feedback, so here it is. I now understand that I’m not a procrastinator as I thought I was and as everybody said I was—well, I kinda am still but not a serious die-hard procrastinator. My problem is, as you so well pointed out in your Pumpkin Roll Wrong blog, that I shouldn’t take other’s perception of me personally. When I heard that, that was my word in due season! I now know that I will get to it when it’s time (another one of your blogs).
I also loved your book Get Laser Targeted Focused. I love the chapter on lying to your distractions which was funny at first, but when I did it a couple of times I laughed because my distractions didn’t get me and I got my stuff done (well, that day). It was way too funny, but it worked!
I realize that my problem is that I allow distractions to get in the way for all kinds of reasons. This is good stuff. Thanks, because I’m getting stuff done and I like the way it makes me feel. Thanks again.
Karon R.
Atlanta
I need to thank you guys for getting me to recognize that I can’t be a Lone Ranger and get all my goals done myself, but I need more help than I would like to admit.
After going through some of your tips at GUDEJob.com I got some coaching—some free, some for $5, and some for more—and within a month I finished my Udemy courses, taught my wife how to play tennis better than she did before, and sold $400 on craigslist from my parent’s old garage that I had promised to do for years.
I love not only the great tips but also all the personal stories and insights you give. Some of them are really funny. What I like too is that you have worked with people like me and so I feel that you know where I am coming from. That’s a big help so hey thanks again guys.
GUDEJob! See, I get it.
Pablo G.
Seattle
I’ve read books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Purpose Driven Life, The Power of Positive Thinking, and Think and Grow Rich, and they were all good books, but eventually I’d find myself looking back and realizing that I was off on a tangent again and not doing what I set out to do.
I enjoyed your RESUME course and let me tell you that you’re never too old to learn something new about yourself. I realized that my only passion was making money and trying to retire to do what I wanted to do, but then I realized that I didn’t know what I wanted to do after I retired, and not knowing that made me anxious about trying to retire, so I was just making career mistakes.
One of the best things I got from your course was the whole process of putting together my elevator script about who I am and what I am about. That had me look at my past (sometimes scary), my present (also scary sometimes), and my future (nice possibilities).
Today I’m glad to say that I’ve pushed back my unrealistic retirement date and decided to spend the rest of my life teaching as long as I am able to do it and love doing it.
Wow, my retirement anxiety is gone. Thank you so much.
Bill J.
New York
I am writing to let you know that I have been on a very long journey of recovering from some of the lowest points of my life. I had a stroke due to the stress of an abusive relationship that lasted over 20 years. I couldn’t even drive my kids to school or do things for my family. During that time I felt that I had no one that could help me, so I had to rely on my own inner self to make sure that my children would survive and live out their lives. They are my heroes.
Today I am a single mom with a good job and ambitions to do more for my family. When I came across your site, I thought it was for people who kind of have it mostly together and needed help with one thing or another. But no, this site is for me. You deal with real issues and a lot of tough stuff like bringing work stress home.
What has helped me along the way is being able to write about overcoming my struggles. There were a lot of things that I had to reteach myself, and it took a lot of determination on my part to convince myself that failure was just not an option. I like it that determination is one of your key principles for successful career development, which is confirmation for me that I’m heading in the right direction.
I think that some of the things that I went through may be an encouragement to some of your visitors, participants, or subscribers on your site. If I could positively impact someone’s life with my story, then it would be well worth it for me. Let me know how I can help.
Thanks for allowing me to share. I’m driving to work soon. Have an awesome day.
Kristen H.
Portland