What can we do right now to help people over 55 years old find and keep jobs? I’ve pondered this question since the economic downturn transformed the work+life fit reality of older workers, radically and permanently.

Almost overnight, many later-in-life employees were forced into the job market without the know-how to find and compete for scarce opportunities while decimated portfolios changed their retirement expectations. They want to work but countless numbers struggle to find and keep a job.

This bleak employment picture for many over 55 year olds was confirmed in the recently released New Unemployables study conducted by Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging and Work and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University:

• 84% of older workers who were unemployed in August 2009 were still unemployed in March 2010, and
• 67% of older workers reported looking for work longer than a year.

Navigating this new later-in-life work reality requires an updated set of skills as evidenced by the 64% of older job seekers who said that the job search strategies they were using were not helpful, compared with less than half of younger job seekers. So what can be done? The research provides important clues including:

• Teaching workers over 55 years old how to use social media to network and brand themselves and
• Introducing them to new models of later-in-life employment, such as Encore Careers.

Teach workers 55+ years old how to use social media to network and brand themselves

According to the study, “just 13% of older job seekers had used online social networking sites compared to 28% of younger job seekers.” We need to convince older workers (and maybe even younger workers for that matter) that creating a presence and networking online is no longer optional. And we need to show them how to do it, as I did recently with a New York City cabdriver.

A couple of months ago I hailed a cab, and behind the wheel was a well-dressed man who looked to be in his mid 50′s. He smiled in the rearview mirror as I made myself comfortable for the ride uptown.

I’d decided to use the time to catch up on some calls. On one call I must have mentioned that I was on my way to give a speech. Overhearing this, the driver politely asked, “What is the topic of your speech?” I responded “How to manage your work+life fit.” He laughed and said, “Do you have any advice for me?”

He proceeded to explain that he had started driving a cab a couple of months earlier after his 18 months of severance ran out. He had two masters degrees and for eight years he had been a project manager for a major online retailer. When the layoffs started, he thought another equally good job would eventually turn up. But after countless promising interviews and not one call back, he had no choice to start driving the cab to make extra money. He sighed, “Any advice for me, lady expert?”

We were about 10 blocks from my stop so all I could think of saying was, “Are you networking with employers on Linkedin?” His confused eyes stared at me in the mirror, “What’s Linkedin?”  (Click here for more)

This past weekend, I attended the SOBCon, Virtual Meets Concrete, social media conference.  It was my first social media gathering.  I was intimidated, because what I’ve done with my blog, twitter, etc. over the last four years has been amateur-intuitive, at best, and not driven by any informed strategy.

But I knew I wanted to take social media to the next level, and SOBCon seemed to fit the bill.   I had no preconceived notions of what to expect other than show up, see what happens and learn.  What happened?  I fell in love.  Literally.

Love hits when you least expect it…

As was the case when I met my husband 25 years ago, love usually hits when you least expect it.  You stumble along knowing something’s missing but you don’t know what.  You date.  You meet new people, but nothing seems quite right.  And then a friend says, “Hey, I know someone.”  You think, “What the heck, why not.”  Next thing you know, love.  The pieces fit together.   That’s what happened to me at SOBCon.

I know I’m verging on the corny and dramatic.  But as was the case the last time I unexpectedly fell in love more than two decades ago, it’s very hard to accurately describe the experience in words because it’s overwhelming.  In fact, I’m glad my computer stopped working the first day of the conference or there would have been an endless stream of tweets in my Twitter stream that were variations of, “awesome,” and “amazing.”

So what made SOBCon such a transformative love match?

“You never walk alone” Other people get the link between social media and change in business & non-profit

When Terry Starbucker launched the day by singing the song, “You will never walk alone” I almost lost it.  For the past 15 years, I’ve simultaneously lived in two worlds that, in the beginning, few people would see as relevant or linked to one another.  And it can get lonely.

In business school in the mid-90’s, I was the only person in our class (and perhaps in the school’s history) who wanted to go into work+life strategy consulting.  I got lots of “what?”  Time has proven me right, but it was lonely then.   Same thing happened in the late 90’s when I was the first person in my field who thought it was important to have a “how to” to help individuals manage their work+life fit in partnership with their employers.  Again, time and a published book closed the gap, but it was lonely for awhile.

Four years ago, I started the first blog in my industry, and got lots of “Why are you giving information away for free?”  Now there are many voices in the blogosphere around the subject of work, life and flexibility, but I still find myself day-in and day-out explaining why social media matters to advancing the cause.  Only to get blank stares.

You keep doing it because you have a vision of the potential to make change happen.  But, I can’t describe the feeling of being in a room full of people who just “get it.”  You move immediately to “what can we do with this amazing thing called social media?”  The answer is an unbelievable amount.

Experiencing the power of community to solve problems—fast!

This meeting of 150 unique individuals from social media, business, non-profit, entertainment, and mainstream media ended up providing solutions to a number of business challenges with which I’d been grappling for awhile.  And it was unexpected and happened by chance—the topic, the speaker, the panels, the table mates, and the conversations all happened to lead to the answers that I, in some cases, didn’t even know I needed.
Here are just a few examples:

• Better business planning: Ann Michael, of Delta Think, and Susan Radojevic, of The Peregrine Agency, who both have businesses structured the same way as mine, gave excellent advice on how to improve my planning process.
• Sharing  proprietary, yet helpful, information: Jonathan Fields, of Career Renegade, and Michael Martine, of Remarkablogger, resolved a content distribution question by pointing out the benefits of giving it away for free.
• Event partnership development: Amy Pietsch, Director of the Venter Center in Appleton, WI, Judy Martin of WorkLifeNation.com and Jeffrey Shuey of Kodak, offered “how to” tips on building sponsorship and support for an event.
• Reaching dads to optimize their work+life fit: Two technology experts who spoke and are also fathers, David Taylor and Jeremy Wright, gave me important insights into my long-running struggle to engage more dads in the work+life fit conversation.
• Creating online training without a huge $ investment: Sheila Scarborough and Becky McCray of Tourism Currents walked step-by-step through the “how to” process of creating and hosting a web-based training.
• Amp-up the tone of my blog posts: Erika Napoletano of RedHeadWriting urged me to get in touch with my inner “Snark-Shark”.

Participating in the power of social media and community to tackle global problems

Again, uncharacteristically, words are going to elude me as I try to describe this part of SOBCon.   The last day of the conference that was awe-inspiring.

The best way to describe it is that the group, under the capable guidance of Geoff Livingston of Zoetica Media, “crowd-sourced” online and offline social media-based solutions for four incredible non-profits that included invisiblepeople.tv, Anixter.org, Ashoka.org, and VitaminAngels.org.   Become part of the community supporting these terrific groups.  Expect much more to come as they roll out the powerful ideas the group generated to help them expand the impact and reach.

Fear is normal, but just “launch the effer!”

These are uncertain and scary times, but also a once in a lifetime moment of opportunity…so, find the courage to DO IT! (Whatever your ‘it” may be)  All I will say is sit in a room and listen to SOBCon’s Liz Strauss (“Raise a Barn, not a Coliseum”) Jonathan Fields, of Career Renegade, Hank Wasiak of Asset-Based Thinking, Steve Farber of Extreme Leadership and Chris Brogan of New Marketing Labs and you realize that you just have to “launch the effer.” Or as Terry Starbucker said, “When you get to the fork in the road, take it.” Amen.

“Thank you”

When you fall in love, you can find yourself…acting like an idiot.  Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker, SOBCon’s truly visionary organizers, must think the only words I know are “Thank you.”  I wanted to say more, but every time I saw them all I could muster was “Thank you.” And then the awe-inspiring Liz Strauss hugged me.  I became so overwhelmed I almost started to CRY!!  Yes, cry. (Jeez.)  And then I couldn’t talk…at all!

One of many reasons to go back next year is to be able to have a coherent conversation with this brilliant duo.  In the mean time, this is my love letter to them and everyone from SOBCon 2010…Thank you.  Sometimes that just sums it up.

In addition to following the #SOBCon Twitter stream, here are related posts from other SOBCon-ers:

Liz Strauss–“How to Raise a Barn in a Weekend”

Terry Starbucker–“Reflections on SOBCon 2010: The Power of the Do Tank (or, When You Get to the Fork in the Road Take It)

Barry Moltz–”The 20 Best Things I Heard at SOBCon 2010″

Danielle Smith–Extraordinary Mommy-“SOBCon 2010-What I Know for Sure”

Loren Feldman--”SOBCon Thoughts”

In January, this blog turned 4 years old.  What a journey!  I started blogging to have a place to share my seemingly endless perspectives on work+life fit and flexibility.  I’d hoped to connect and learn from others, but beyond that, I had no strategy.  Just writing about and linking to what I thought was important and interesting.  The results have exceeded my wildest expectations.

Then in November of last year, I received the distinction of “Successful and Outstanding Blogger (SOB)” from social media expert extraordinaire, Liz Strauss.  I was honored.  And in the process I learned about the annual bloggers conference Liz co-sponsors with Terry Starbucker, SOBCon.  I was intrigued.

I love blogging.  Truly, if I could create a medium from scratch that perfectly suits my personality, it would be a blog.  But what could I do to provide even more value to the thousands of readers who have chosen to visit and join the conversation?  How could I take an activity that’s been completely intuitive for four years to the next level?

On Thursday, I take off for Chicago to spend three days answering those questions.  So stay tuned!  And, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me here and at Fast Company.   What I’ve learned from you has meant and continues to mean so much.  Let’s see what more we can do…

Full disclosure…I am a major Gary Vaynerchuk fan.  I’ve read (and highly recommend) his book Crush It!. I think he’s a prophet when describing the impact of social media on business.  I consistently learn from his video blog and Wine Library TV, and even had a chance to see him speak in person (again, highly recommended).

So imagine my excitement yesterday morning when I see that Gary has posted a video, “Work/Work Balance.” (below).  After watching the clip, I realize that, even though he doesn’t know it (because he uses the b-word and focuses on work/work even though he does mention other parts of his life), Gary Vaynerchuk is a work+life fit intuitive in action!

First, what’s a work+life fit intuitive? It’s someone for whom flexibly managing his or her work+life fit day-to-day and at major work and personal transitions is second nature.  The funny thing is that they have no idea how unusual they are, and they often assume everyone else is the same way.  Over the past 15 years working with tens of thousands of people, I’ve estimated that about 10-15% of the population falls into this category…and one of them is Gary Vaynerchuk!

Second, what’s he doing? In the video he explains that he will be resetting or readjusting how he is going to work, what work he is going to focus on, and how he is going to build more time for exercise and his family into his “fit” (although he calls it balance).  Watch the video and you will see he follows the main the steps found in my book and highlighted in the “Work+Life Fit in 5 Days” series from earlier this year:

He recognizes that his work and personal realities have changed.  Over the past three years, Gary has put his heart and soul into expanding his Wine Library TV brand and into helping others leverage their brands using social media.  He prides himself on walking his talk of customer service and interactivity, which was fine until the demands on his time began to grow beyond his capacity to continue to perform the way he wanted to.  Add to this the fact that he became a father for the first time last year.  And, as he has publicly stated, family is very important to him.  Three years ago, his work and personal realities were different.  That “fit” no longer works, so he’s making a change that’s a win-win for him and his business.

He is creating a new, clear vision of what he wants his new work+life fit to look like and how we will flexibly manage it. If you listen to the video, he describes the work he is going to let go of (mostly travel for speeches), and he talks about how he is going to perhaps create public Q&A sessions so he can stay in direct touch with people in a more efficient way.  He interjects that he’s going to find more time for the basketball court and being with his family, although there’s still A LOT of work in his work+life fit.  He’s answered the smallest, hardest question: What do I want?

He challenges his fears. Even Gary Vaynerchuk encounters the fear roadblock as he gets ready to reset his work+life fit.  We all do!  But he challenges it. His fear is that if he isn’t as generous with his time–spending hours in the store one on one with people or going out to dinner every time someone asks–people will think he sold out and is no longer authentic.  But he challenges it in part with the video and by explaining what he is doing and why.  Plus, his is brainstorming other ways to keep that connectivity without the level of time commitment.

He is redefining success to match his new work+life fit. For the past few years, his definition of success was sharing what he knows (either about wine or social media) and trying to help others understand how it could help them.   But now he’s feeling like he needs to stop and “execute” for awhile.  Learn, read, and know more.  From that doing and learning work, he will ultimately be more valuable and more helpful.  That’s his new definition of success, and it matches the change he’s putting into place.

Gary, good luck!  And add “work+life fit intuitive” to your list of your accomplishments.

Did Gary Vaynerchuk’s work+life fit reset inspire you?  I know it’s reaffirmed the decision I made a couple of months ago to reset my work+life fit to finish two big writing projects I’ve been trying to complete for the past year.  I’m pleased to report that one writing project is down, and I have one to go!

This month my blog officially turns 4 years old (cue the applause!).   Yes, I will admit…this is the first year that I’ve tracked metrics.  I know, I know, experts will argue that not tracking metrics from day one is a sacrilege against all core blogging norms and values.  But for the first three years it worked for me.

Initially not tracking metrics allowed me to build my following while writing what I wanted to whether one person or 100 people read it.  It gave me the space to comfortably find my voice and groove.  But in January, 2009, after I was quoted in the Huffington Post’s Complete Guide to Blogging, I decided it was time to start keeping track, and signed up for Google Analytics.

One year later, the data offer a fascinating glimpse into what resonated with you and what my goals for 2010 will be.  First, here are the top 10 blog posts for 2009:

1. Stop Talking About Work+Life Flex Solely in the Context of Women…Really, Seriously, Once and for All (10/22)

2. I am a (blank) and sometimes I put my career before my family (10/16)

3.  Getting Started with Flexible Downsizing – Manager and Employee “How To” (3/13)

4. Jack Welch is Right, “There is No Balance,” But His Reasoning Needs Updating (7/4)

5. Tame the Tween Texting Beast with Great Parent/Child Contract (10/29)

6. Personal Branding, Today and Post-Recession—Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel (3/19)

7. Work+Life Fit ‘Tipping” Point (10/8)

8. Sun-Times Column by BDO CEO and WLF–Work Life Flex Reduces Costs & Keeps Jobs (3/13)

9. Test Your Perceptions  vs. Work+Life Reality—NSCW Implications (5/4)

10. Where is Work+Life Flex on SHRM’s National Conference Agenda?  Essentially Missing. (12/18)

Here’s what I noticed and how those observations will inform what I write about in this blog and for Fast Company over the next 12 months:

Taking a break (voluntary or involuntary) can lead to better blogging. Three of the top five posts were written in October, 2009 right after I returned from an involuntary four-week blogging hiatus caused by a severe case of Lyme disease. Not only were the topics timely, but I’d given them a lot of thought while I was flat on my back recovering.

While I hope to remain healthy throughout 2010, I’m building periodic two week blogging breaks into my schedule every few months.  As one of my favorite authors, Maggie Jackson, points out in her book, Distracted, there are benefits to deep thought we need to build in to our wired world.  The evidence is in the stats above.

Direct challenges to conventional wisdom about work, life, and business get attention. If you follow my blogs, then you know that I very strongly believe that we have to stop buying into the old, tired models we’ve used to manage our lives, our work and our businesses for that last 50 years.  They just are not working anymore. As I pointed out when I relaunched my Fast Company blog in the fall, we are in a New Work+Life Flex Normal.

According to the list of top posts, you are looking for and responding to my most direct challenges to yesterday’s conventional wisdom. You want new ideas and “how to” strategies based on today’s reality.  I will continue to deliver new approaches as I find them.  And I will directly challenge the obsolete work+life status quo in 2010, because recent research released by Career Builder, Watson Wyatt and Harris Interactive confirms the prevailing post-recession state of work, life and business remains grim for many.

There are new flexible ways of operating businesses and managing life that lead to growth, innovation and improve work+life fit and performance.  I welcome your comments, links, research, and case studies.  This is a conversation we ALL need to be part of.

Basic “How to,” and “Get Started” information appreciated. Chip and Dan Heath point out in their bestseller “Made to Stick” that one of the pitfalls experts face is they forget what it’s like to be a novice.  I read their book early in 2009 and tried to be mindful to bring the strategies and concepts I discuss down to the applied basics as much as I could.

Ideas, concepts, and research are important, but at the end of the day “What’s in it for me” and “How do I do it” will win the race.  Again, in 2010, I will do my best to keep it real and applied.  Call me out as soon as I lose you for too long.  The fundamental changes we need to make collectively are not going to happen if you can’t take action based upon what you read here.

My three words for 2010 are “Help” “Thank You,” and “Reach.” For four years, this blog and my Fast Company blog have allowed me to do all three.  But this year the helping, the thanking and the reaching will be especially conscious.  If you haven’t already, please consider doing the following:

• Comment on my posts!  The conversation is always better when more people are involved.
• Sign up for the RSS Feed for this blog
• Sign up to receive weekly email links to the best of my Work+Life Fit and Fast Company posts in the above right hand corner of this page (we promise to never share your email with third party vendors)
• Follow me on Twitter @caliyost – I am always sharing real-time information related to all aspects of strategic work+life flexibility
• Tell me what you are doing, thinking, finding and I will share it as best I can.
• Let me know what else you want to learn and hear about in this blog that I’m not covering.

Finally, thank you for joining me here and at Fast Company each week.  I appreciate your interest, your commitment, your thoughts and insights.  Happy New Year!

Striking out on your own, either voluntarily or involuntarily, is becoming a more common experience along an increasingly flexible career path.  And, it turns out entrepreneurship is especially appealing for members of Generation Y.   In her terrific new book, Upstarts – How Gen Y Entrepreneurs Are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success (McGraw/Hill), Donna Fenn says we all need to pay attention,

“They were born between 1977 and 1997, and you can call them what you like; I call them entrepreneur generation.  There are approximately 77 million of them, and their sheer numbers, combined with the rate at which they’re starting businesses, will make them a force to be reckoned with…these “Upstarts” are destined to have a profound effect on the economy and specifically on the small-business landscape.”

In a recent interview, I asked Fenn to talk about some of the ways Gen Y entrepreneurs were transforming the future of work, life and career… for all of us:

CY: Welcome, Donna Fenn!  One of the reasons I love your book is that I want business leaders to expand their understanding of work+life flexibility, or flexibility in how, when and where work is done and life is managed.  Flexibility, in all of its forms, is a strategic lever that has broad application as a way to run your business.  The Gen Y entrepreneurs in your book seem to fundamentally see flexibility as a way of operating.  Here are some examples from the stories in the book:

• Cost Saving: Having all or part of your workforce work remotely to save overhead costs, such as real estate.
• Talent Resourcing: Using a combination of full-time, part-time, and “as needed” employees.
• Productivity/Engagement: Letting people flexibly manage their lives and work as long as they produce.  This boosts morale and productivity.
• Marketing/Brand Development: Devoting a certain number of hours a month to community service to promote their brand and motivate employees.

Do you think these Gen Y entrepreneurs are applying strategic work+life flexibility consciously or intuitively?  What do they “get” that many business leaders over 30 years old struggle to understand?

DF: This generation is going to have enormous impact on the future of work for all of us, as employers of their own business but also as employees.  They are hardwired for this more flexible and innovative way of operating we know is very important.

They want to work with their friends. They want to have relationships at work, and they want to play and have fun.  People might shake their heads, “What a spoiled bunch of kids,” but think about it.  What’s it like when you play games in the middle of the day?  You find out a whole lot about people that you otherwise might not know.  Like who’s trustworthy, or super competitive.   There is value to game playing and it’s a stress reliever at a time when we are working really hard.  To the older generations, there is still this dividing line, “When I am working I’m working.  When I’m playing, I’m playing.”  This generation doesn’t see it that way.

CY: From the book, it is clear that Gen Y entrepreneurs aren’t rigid about where they work. (Click here for more)

Celebrate! October–National Work and Family Month

Tomorrow begins the month long celebration of National Work and Family Month.  As I wrote last year, National Work and Family Month is for everyone to recognize the importance of work and “family” in every form.  From the Alliance for Work-Life Progress at World@Work website:

“National Work & Family Month is a national education campaign led by AWLP, an affiliate of WorldatWork, to raise awareness among employers about the value of work-life effectiveness as a business imperative. The month of October was first designated as National Work & Family Month by a Resolution of the United States Senate in 2003. The U.S. House of Representatives reaffirmed October as National Work & Family Month in 2008.

But this year, more than ever before, employers need to know there is an inexpensive, effective way to motivate and retain top talent they’ll need to get through tough times. Employees need to know it’s good to utilize work-life programs offered at an organization because it will help them become more productive.

AWLP encourages all workplaces to pause once a year during the month of October to communicate and celebrate the progress to creating healthier and more flexible work environments. This year, employees are encouraged to strike a balance by talking to their managers about a flexible work arrangement. Use October as a time to try telework, condense a workweek, join a wellness program or organize a workplace volunteer activity.

“Work-life is good for business,” says Kathie Lingle, WLCP, executive director of AWLP. “Dedicating a month to this aspect of overall people strategy helps employers increase the attraction, retention, productivity and engagement of the talent required for organizational success. It reminds both employees and employers of the exchange relationship that connects their mutual needs, interests and satisfaction.” (Click here for tools and resources for employers and employees, as well as to share your success story).

Nominate!–Work-Life Rising Star Award (Deadline November 1st)

In March, 2007, I was honored to be selected as part of the first class of mid-career work-life leaders to receive the AWLP Work-Life Rising Star Award.  Three years and three classes of Rising Stars later, we are now part of a growing group of dynamic, passionate individuals from around the world who are committed to working together to advance the field of work-life.  And we are helping the Alliance for Work-Life Progress look for the next group of thought-leaders to join us for the journey!  Nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 class of Work-Life Rising Stars.   The deadline in November 1, 2009.  Click here for information and the nomination form.  If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Burrus at WorldatWork, jessica.burrus@worldatwork.org, 480-304-6764.

Check Out!–Work Life Nation Premiere Webisode “Work Life Culture Post 9/11, We’re a Work Life Nation”

Judy Martin recently launched the first webisode of her Work Life Nation WebTV Channel.  I’m one of the experts Judy interviews about work, life, and career in the post 9/11 world.  Other experts offering insights include: social media gurus, Chris Brogan and Gary Vaynerchuck; brain researcher, Dr. Andrew Newberg, and spiritual expert, Deepak Chopra.  Check it out along with future episodes on how to achieve “Success, Serenity, Significance 24/7.”  From the Work Life Nation website:

“In the first episode of  WorkLifeNation Success, Serenity & Significance 24/7 –  you’ll hear about how the internet as a catalyst is changing the way we work and do business in a challenging new economy.  We’re more connected, and our workplace is evolving, entrepreneurs abound and many work from home. Be it baby boomer, Gen X or Gen Y, many thirst for more meaningful work,  but demand more family and me time. The lines have blurred in the quest for success, serenity and significance in our worklife .

We’re redefining success in terms of values, passion and profit. You’ll hear from author and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuck of WinelibraryTV.com.  Passion is the underlying theme in his book: “Crush It.” Social Media Guru Chris Brogan who wrote “Trust Agents“ with colleague Julien Smith, talks about the core value of trust, when doing business on the internet.

But to succeed -we have to keep the flame going and that means Serenity: cultivating resilience while navigating sensory overload. Exercise, Yoga and mediation are gaining speed at work. That’s where  Andrew Newberg M.D shares from his book, “How God Changes your Brain.”

From there you’ll hear from Cali Williams Yost – CEO of WorkLIfeFit Inc. We’ve done some work together  and she’s got her finger on the pulse of worklife flex. The more flexible we are the easier it will be to make a difference -and that’s where significance comes in. Conscious work toward a greater purpose. Deepak Chopra weighs in on his thoughts.”

In these radically changing times people are clamoring for more humanity in work and in business. Question is, how can we have more meaningful work and master success, serenity and significance  in the chaotic waters of a world that changes in an instant. You’ll hear a lot more from these pioneering voices in future episodes of WorkLifeNation.”

It seems my absence from the blogosphere over the past few weeks here and on my Fast Company blog has not gone unnoticed.  I am touched.  To everyone who has inquired into my whereabouts, thank you and let me explain–I was taken down by a tick.  Or rather by the Lyme disease transmitted to me by said tick.

The good news is that I am well on the road to recovery, and even relaunched my Fast Company blog, the “New Work+Life Flex Normal” this week.  But it has been an interesting, frustrating and sometimes scary experience.  Here is what I’ve learned:

1. Take Lyme disease very seriously. I didn’t.  When I was first diagnosed with the standard “bulls eye” rash earlier in the summer, I didn’t finish the four weeks of antibiotics because they upset my stomach, and  “I feel great!”  Bad, bad idea.  They aren’t sure if this was a recurrence of the initial Lyme that wasn’t fully treated or a reinfection, but horror stories I have heard since sharing my diagnosis are alarming (including this one about another tick borne illness in The New York Times).  Thankfully, I was undiagnosed for only about three weeks, but that was long enough.
2. Sometimes, you just have to say you can’t do it…and you survive. For two weeks,  I dragged myself to work thinking I had a virus that would go away eventually. It  wasn’t until I landed in the hospital three weeks ago and was given an initial diagnosis of  Lyme that I finally begrudgingly admitted I needed to take time off.I work for myself.  If I don’t work, I don’t get paid.  Not to mention the fact that I love what I do and it takes a lot to knock me out of the game.  I’m lucky that my husband has a job; therefore, my family will eat and the mortgage will be paid.  Not everyone who works for themselves has that luxury (not to mention everyone else who doesn’t get paid sick days, but that’s another post for another day.)  Still, it’s tough to cancel speeches, reschedule client meetings, pass on a great blog topic and ask your amazing, busy team to take on your work too.  But sometimes you just have to say you can’t do it…and you, or rather I, survived.
3. Thank goodness for antibiotics, Twitter and Facebook–An interesting non sequitur, but all played a role in my recovery.  I’m three weeks into another four week cycle of antibiotics and, as was the case with my earlier diagnosis, I’m feeling better.  Only this go round I’m taking every last little blue pill until all Lyme spirochetes are dead and gone.   Thank you, thank you to the smart people who discovered antibiotics.While I didn’t have the energy to blog, Twitter and Facebook let me stay somewhat connected in between naps.  I didn’t think it was possible, but I appreciate the power of social media even more than I did before.   Thank you, thank you to the smart people who thought of Twitter and Facebook.

And thanks to everyone for their understanding and good wishes.   I’m diving back into the blogsphere full speed and look forward to continuing the vibrant, important process of rethinking life, work, and business in this new work+life flex normal.  And I am forever humbled by the power of a small tick to take me down.

Last year an economic bomb detonated and laid to waste the rules and institutions that have guided our decisions related to work, life and business for generations.  Shell-shocked and disoriented, we’re starting to emerge slowly from the rubble wondering not only “What happened?” but “What’s next?   Welcome to the New Work+Life Flex Normal blog.

As the dust settles, it’s clear greater flexibility in work, life, career and business is here to stay.  Before the recession, a few fraying threads connected us to a work+life reality that was rapidly becoming obsolete for more than a decade. The downturn severed them:

• Lifetime, stable employment with set hours, a clear career path and a consistent, always increasing pay check became a relic for workers at every level in every industry.
• Traditional operating models that were too rigid to respond nimbly and flexibly were dismantled by the rapid change inherent in the global economy.
• Full-time care giving and complete retirement for extended periods became non-viable for many, if not most, people because of economic necessity and demographic shifts.

Before the recession, enough parts of the old rule book worked for enough people—even until the banks started failing—that we avoided the difficult task of fundamentally rethinking the way we manage work, life and business to match reality.  No longer.  It’s officially a new work+life flex normal.

Flexibility in how, when and where work is done, life is managed and business operates is a strategic imperative.  As I wrote in May, the question is no longer “if” flexibility, but how to expand the “why” behind flexibility and determine “how” to make it work for everyone. To that end, here some of the angles and implications we will ponder and discuss: (Click here for more)

The celebration of our country’s independence this past weekend made the harrowing Twitter and blog posts of the resistance movement in Iran even more poignant. As they continue to challenge the legitimacy of that country’s elections and crack the foundation of the theocratic regime, it’s important to remember the role of “social media” in our own painful, violent birth. Iran’s bloggers and Twitterers are the modern-day offspring of the American Revolution’s pamphleteers.

More than 230 years ago, ordinary citizens across the colonies printed and distributed the passionate words of “amateur” writers to shape public opinion and galvanize the independence movement virally. Like the Iranians, these colonial social media pioneers faced violent suppression from a powerful ruling class.  But their simple pamphlets proved to be even more powerful.  They offer hope not only to the courageous Iranians, but to anyone interested in harnessing the collective for change.

My grandmother first introduced me to the bravery of the American Revolution’s pamphleteers through stories about one of my ancestors, Samuel Loudon.  In addition to publishing the newspaper The New York Packet, he was part of the underground network that printed and distributed pro-independence pamphlets This included the a popular response to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense for which, legend has it, he was tarred and feathered.

This description of pamphleteering from 1940 by Homer Calkin for The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, could be about the blogs of today, “From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century the pamphlet was the chief instrument to carry one’s ideas to the public…The pamphlet, forerunner to the newspaper, was well adapted to this use because it was small and cheap and could reach ‘a larger audience than the orator in the House of Commons.’”

These childhood tales of how Samuel Loudon’s pamphlets changed the world may have helped me recognize the potential of blogging in early 2006 when I started my Work+Life Fit blog, way before most people even knew what a blog was.  At the time, I was frustrated.  For more than a decade, I’d been part of a vibrant, dynamic field that helped organizations and individuals partner to flexibly and creatively manage work and life.  Yet the broader world had no idea the field existed much less how our work could help them. I wanted to change that.

Almost four years later, both my original blog as well as my expert blog for Fast Company have exceeded my expectations in terms of helping to rethink work, life and business. Without fail, after every post, at least one person contacts me to say, “That made a difference.”  Huge.  And a few of my long time work+life colleagues have started excellent blogs including Families and Work Institute’s blog, Kathie Lingle’s Blog at the Alliance for Work Life Progress, and the Sloan Work and Family Network.  Further expanding the community.

Now, Twitter.  It’s been six months since I joined Twitter (@caliyost), and I’m equally as impressed by its power to share information, create community and drive change.  Tweeting for the pamphleteers of the Revolution would have meant printing and distributing eight to ten short 140 character statements daily.  Impossible.  But that’s what’s different about Twitter—it’s quick. It’s fast. It’s real-time.  It doesn’t replace the thoughtful, longer form writing of a blog post.  Twitter augments it by allowing you to: (Click here for more)