Keith McArthur

Pivot Your Life and Career with Jenny Blake

The first episode of the My Instruction Manual podcast is live! It features an interview with Jenny Blake, author of Pivot: The Only Move that Matters is Your Next One. Please subscribe, listen and let me know what you think!

Episode 1 Show Notes

People are changing jobs every four or five years. Jenny Blake, the author of Pivot, joins the first episode of My Instruction Manual to talk about navigating a career change. Jenny also shares a ton of wisdom and inspiration for living a better life. I also get to know Joelle Anderson, our regular contributor on mindfulness. And I share a personal story about the recent death of my 24-year-old cousin Alex, and what we can all learn from his life and death.

[0:00] Welcome and intro

[1:21] Featured interview with Jenny Blake

Jenny Blake is author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One and host of the Pivot Podcast.

  • What is a Pivot? [3:12]
  • How important is career happiness? [12:54]
  • Why it’s most important to look after ourselves when we feel like we don’t have time for self-care. [16:39]
  •  Why some people have trouble asking for help. [18:03]
  • The first steps to get started on a career Pivot. [22:01]

[23:14] Jenny Blake’s Instruction Manual

1. What are the habits you maintain to stay happy and healthy?

  • Get enough sleep.
  • Read 1-2 hours each morning.
  • Meditating each morning.
  • Exercise at the end of the day.
  • Try not to check email first thing or after the work day ends.

2. What personal development book do you recommend for listeners?

3. Favorite inspiration quote:

  • “What you can plan is too small for you to live.” — David Whyte

4. What’s your one guilty pleasure?

  • “Right now I’m a sugar binge again which I know is not good.”

5. None of us live for ever. When your time comes, how do you want to be remembered?

  • “Kind. Warm. Giving. For people to just think warmly of me and that I really inspired them in some way or helped them or was generous with them in mind and spirit.”

Where can people connect Jenny? [27:16]

[28:28] Keith on what people can expect from the podcast

  • Launching with 3 episodes. New podcast every Monday morning
  • Podcast themes: Happiness, Health, How to be Better Organized, more productive, have better relationships, how to identify and achieve dreams
  • I’d love your feedback and would love to include on Podcast. Please e-mail me at keith@myinstructionmanual.com or on Twitter
  • Listen to the very end of podcast to find out how to get a free copy of one of my books from FanReads

[29:42 ] Chat with regular mindfulness contributor Joelle Anderson

  • What is mindfulness? [30:09]
    • Paraphrasing Jon Kabat-Zin: “Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment, moment to moment, on purpose and non-judgmentally.”
  • Mindfulness meditation can re-wire our brains [32:28]
  • Where to find Joelle [35:18]

[35:52] My Promise to Alex

  • See the original blog post here.
  • Quote from Jaylene’s speech:

I want everyone to make a promise to Alex today. One you must keep. In all you do, be grateful, confident and happy. Never let anything hold you back from being who you are. Embrace every minute and every day. And most importantly, love hard and be there for each other.

[39:02] Closing words

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