Every Friday, I curate the best links on how to find work that you love, be excellent at what you do, and unlock any door that stands in your way. Here’s your list for today!
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
FIND WORK YOU LOVE
How to write a cover letter that your future employers will actually read (and love).
An interview with Zen teacher Sharon Salzberg about her new book: Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement and Peace.
Want a bigger paycheck? How about more vacation time? A flexible schedule? Here’s a list of 5 things to negotiate, besides just your salary — and how to get your boss to say “yes.”
BE YOUR OWN BOSS
You probably won’t find this tip in any “business development” book, but it works: a 30-second habit that will make you better at everything you do.
Think running a profitable business is all about having the “smartest” ideas? Not true. In this TED talk, psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth describes how determination and grit are the best predictors of success.
Hate asking for money? Even when it’s for a good cause? Get over it. This researcher knows that fundraising can be fun! And he proves it. With science.
NEAT TOOLS + INVENTIONS
Life coach Jenny Blake shares a mother lode of 90+ tech tools to help manage your life. (Now I just need a tool to help me figure out how to manage all of these amazing tools!)
Can’t jet off to Maui? Here are 5 apps that will calm you during your hectic workday. Ah, serenity.
For the bloggers out there: here are 26 blogging tools used by the pros!
LIFE LESSONS
Ever gotten paralyzed at the grocery store, amidst all the different options? (A whole aisle of cereal? What?!). If you were to guess, do you think we are happier with more options or less?
Legendary philosopher Henry David Thoreau on defining your own success. My favorite quote: “If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal — that is your success.”
In this piece, author Steven Pressfield riffs about the interior life of an artist, writer or entrepreneur. Like all of his work, it’s simple, profound and beautiful. (His book The War of Art is a classic.)
GET OUT OF THE HOUSE
Dinner at a museum…as a date night? Art museums around the country are starting to woo a new generation of patrons: Millennials. (That means you!)
Working (or job-hunting) from home, all day long? Starting to go a little bonkers? Here’s one person’s take on co-working spaces. (Spoiler alert: for him, the benefits of daily human connection outweigh the small quibbles).
There’s nothing like getting out of town to refresh and revitalize your outlook. Don’t have the money? Go camping. Or rent an elf hut in the forest.
Find great work. Do great work. And have a great weekend!
—Ellen
Images: Magnus Klackenstam and Claptone.