Greetings,

If your career were a plant, when would be the last time you watered it? Are you giving it the nutrients and sunlight it needs to grow?

As the school year wraps up, it hits home how much time and resources we invest in others – in our children, our parents, our clients, our employees, our pets. What if we invested as much in ourselves and our own success as we did in others' growth and development?

For most of us, the biggest hurdle to investing in ourselves is time. Who has the time to leave the office for several days of off-site training? Where can we find the time to identify what skills would take our careers to the next level? 

Take a moment to consider:

• What pressing items can wait, so you can think about the bigger things that will propel your career forward?
• What skills do you want to hone, but have been putting off for when you "have more time?"
• What is the one thing you've been delaying that would move the needle in reaching that next step in your career?

As ambitious, driven professionals, we'll always feel there isn't enough time to do the things we envision. I speak from experience, as a master of well-justified busyness and procrastination. For instance, for years I told myself I was too busy to fulfill a long-term goal of being published. Nonetheless, I started writing ideas down that felt important, despite all I had on my plate – and began seeing the benefits with publications on Forbes.com and the American Bar Association.  My schedule didn't change (I'm still working on that), I just shifted my actions and mindset.

Setting aside some of the "busy" tasks and making room for planning and preparing for our futures, whether that's blocking off time on your calendar for big-picture thinking or committing to training that takes you away from the office, is often what it takes to really level up in our professional roles. 

I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on how you can invest in yourself to get where you want to be.

I'd love to hear about how you nurture your career and invest in your growth. Reply to this email, and let's chat.