Being in between jobs means that I have time to contemplate what my ideal employer might look like. What would they stand for? How would they treat employees? What would their stance on sustainability be? 

Surely, this is an exercise we should all do, but when an offer is made and the money is right, sometimes we put those ideals on a back burner.

But believe it or not, there are actually (big name) companies who rate this their performance not just on Total Share Return, but on Total Societal Impact, or TSI for short! How refreshing is that? If you’re an idealist like me, you’ll love hearing this TED presenter’s explanation of the importance of TSI for long-term profitability, and how we all stand to benefit. 

Here’s an excerpt:

“It's not like we haven't been trying to solve the problems in our world for a long time. We have, and they're still here. We're making progress, but it's not far enough, or fast enough, or universal enough. We need to flip our thinking. We need to have business -- both companies and investors -- bring creative, innovative corporate strategy and capital to solving the biggest problems in our world. And when they do that innovatively, and when they do thatwith all of their thinking and all of their strategy and all of their capital, and they're creating both total shareholder returns and total societal impact, we know that we will solve those problems, both profitably and generously”

To hear the whole (short) talk, follow this link: https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/ted-talks-daily/id160904630?l=en&mt=2&i=1000400525417

Once upon a time, I blogged. I blogged about what I knew: from traveling with children and exotic adventures, to stories of what it must be like to walk in the shoes of a refugee. 

Why did I blog? 

I blogged because, in my opinion, storytelling is one of the most powerful methods of teaching. We all have so much to learn from one another. I guarantee, if you and I had a conversation, I could stand to learn as much from you, as you from me. And blogging, podcasts, and films make it easier than ever to share lessons learned and epiphanies of sorts.

As the first blog post after my rebirth as a blogger, I thought it would be fitting to "talk" about the importance of re-inventing ourselves. And since it's packaged in a format which makes it easy to revisit from week to week, stay tuned for more "Transformation Tuesdays".

We've all had to reinvent ourselves. But most women are adept at it. We have to be, to survive. How else would you go from being career focused, to being wives and mothers, to being career focused AND family focused? We are in a constant state of change, and are fully expected to master it all, as real-life "superwomen". It's much like the pupation of caterpillars into butterflies, except that it happens multiple times in life.

Sure, there are the exceptions to the rule: women who land the perfect job after studying and keep it beyond the baby years, growing in that single career, with that single employer, over the course of decades. 

But what about the rest of us? What about the ones that...
...landed a perfect job, but had to relocate to save a marriage?
...followed a partner around the world, putting their career on hold, while their partner's career blossomed?
...left a job when they decided to have children, and fought like hell to build themselves back up and return into the career world?
...were let go for not being able to over-perform and deliver 20% more than the position required?
(And these are just a few scenarios of many, all of which I've dealt with personally.) 

Well, it's simple. As I faced my most recent transformation, an executive manager told me,
"Change is good, Liz. Change keeps you on your toes." 

Now, to say that I took this advice to heart and just moved along gracefully would be an untruth. More often than not, I fight change. Kicking and screaming. Not literally. But figuratively. It's quite ironic, really. After all, does the caterpillar fight its transformation into a butterfly? Yet it too, has no idea what the transformation will bring.

Some changes will take place, whether we desire them to take place, or not. And fighting it only results in exhaustion. We lose energy which we could be channeling into the future. Our future us. Our better us. Our stronger us. The more versatile, experienced, and broad-viewed version of ourself is already developing inside of us. And with a little time, energy, and patience, the layers of cocoon will fall away, revealing what we are intended to become.

So here's my new resolution: to embrace change. Only in letting go of what once was, can I make room for rebirth, reinvention, and new intentions. And while I'm waiting for that future to arrive, I've vowed to finally focus on being present in the moment, strengthening myself, sharpening my tools, and showing a bit of compassion to the people around me. It feels a bit like gambling at a blackjack table, but with a little luck, it will pay off.     

I'd like to close with the words of Walt Whitman, fittingly penned in the 19th century,
"I have sometimes thought... that the sole avenue and means of a reconstructed sociology depend on a new birth, elevation, expansion, invigoration of woman... Great, great, indeed, far greater than they know, is the sphere of women." 

For more inspiration on the topic of change, I recommend Erin Falconer's fantastic website: Pickthebrain, and specifically the blog post on change, written by Larissa Gomes.