Adriane Jones is a learning experience designer, the host of the career breaker podcast, and a distance runner. In this episode, Adriane shares her journey as a career breaker, a public speaker and podcast host, as well as a life-time runner and learner.
Follow and work with Adriane:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianejones/
https://www.adrianeejones.com/
https://sites.google.com/adrianeejones.com/the-career-breakers-show/home
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(00:11):
Hello everyone, Welcome to The Intersection, a podcast program
about intersectionality, intersectional identities, and
intersectional journeys, both personally and professionally.
And they're always intertwined. And today I have a friend appear
and a fellow podcaster, her nameis Adrian Jones.
(00:37):
Adrian and I met via a mutual friend and also appear Wendy, I
believe, who moved to Arizona last year.
I think what is time? Nobody knows.
We miss her. But thanks to her, Adrian and I
were able to meet and we learnedthat we actually, we practically
(00:57):
live in the same neighborhood, not quite very close.
So Adrian is a learning and development expert, and she's
also the host of the Career Breaker podcast.
And without further ado, I want to invite Adrian to introduce
(01:19):
herself. Welcome, Adrian.
Hi, Joe, thank you so much for having me here.
It's always fun to have these conversations online and record
them when we also just went on awalk together in our
neighborhood. So it's fun to see like the many
different ways that we can connect in this world.
Thank you for having me. I am a career and learning and
(01:41):
development leader and I've spent my entire career in the
space of helping people on theircareer journeys.
It has taken many forms in how I'm helping people and also how
I've worked throughout my life, and I'm sure we'll get more into
that, but I'm really motivated by the future of work and
(02:04):
creating equitable working experiences for people.
I'm a woman, I'm a parent, and so I have my own story about
what that means to me. And then as you mentioned, I'm
also a podcast host. I am the host of the Career
Breaker show, and I get to oftentimes be on the other side of
(02:25):
the mic. So it's fun to be here with you
on this side. Yeah, and I agree.
Yeah, it's always very interesting to be on both sides
of things. And also, you know, we get to
see each other in real life. It feels very multi dimensional
and just kind of it's very fun to be in the space together.
(02:46):
So I want to perhaps invite to bring us back a little bit.
Before you became independent leader in the leadership
learning and development space, what were you doing and what
made you decide to make the transition?
So I am really interested in learning about the transition
(03:08):
like that moved you. Forward, Yeah.
OK. So I think what we're getting at
here is if you took a look at myLinkedIn, right, where we can
always see the journey by years of where we've gone with our
careers, you would notice that Ihad a career in learning and
development inside of organizations.
(03:31):
And then you'll notice in 2020, I suddenly decided to work for
myself. And so I think that's the
transition that we want to explore here.
Right? Great.
OK, So the question being how, you know, how did I go from
working inside of organizations to running my own organization?
(03:51):
And I will say that the reason Idecided to make that choice has
there's many reasons why there'snot just one, but the first
being I was looking for an opportunity to continue to
contribute to my craft and help people in their careers in a way
(04:14):
that also supported my own learning and development and
also gave me the flexibility that I needed at that moment in
my life. And so I mentioned I'm a parent
back in 2020 when I started my business, I was parenting A2
year old and a three-year old through a global pandemic, their
(04:35):
daycare shut down, right? Like many of us were afraid to
go anywhere. It was just like a very
uncertain time. And for about 6 weeks I, I
attempted to do the, the, the parents working parent work,
stay at home parents for them. And I love my kids and I love
(04:57):
the work that I do. So I was trying to find that and
that I think we're often told like we have to choose, like you
have to choose the career, you choose to be a parent.
And I was really curious about like, can I have both?
Can both be an option here for me.
And so I found the way to do that was having my own business
(05:18):
where I could set my own hours. I could be flexible if I needed
to take my kid to an appointmentor I mean, just looking forward
since I'm a forward thinking person.
I kept thinking like when my kids are older and school age, I
will only have from 9:00 in the morning, maybe 8:00 in the
(05:39):
morning until 2:30 to work sincethey're in school.
And so how does one manage the drop off and the pick up while
also doing the work that they care about?
And so I decided to launch my own business, but also I
launched that business not just for flexibility, but because I
was really interested in all that I could learn through
(06:00):
having my own business. And so for five years I've been
doing this. And so I joke that I have like a
double MBA at this point, or maybe like a masters MBA, right?
And so, so I gained so much experience, experiential
learning through owning my own business and, and running my own
show. And it has been a journey.
(06:21):
And I'm just so grateful that I was able to do that at that
point in time and really follow what the path that I that I
thought I was interested in. And yeah, things are always
evolving. So now I've shifted again to
move away from necessarily creating leadership development
(06:43):
programs for companies, which iswhat I was doing a lot of, to
creating what I call career development programs.
And while I also try to figure out my own career.
So I've made some some transitions in the last year and
I decided I, I wanted to refocusand I took some time to figure
(07:04):
out what that would look like. And now I think I'm an advocate
for other people. And that's how my podcast
started. I'm an advocate for other people
who also want to take that time to explore and consider what can
be possible in their careers beyond the traditional path that
we tell ourselves we have to stay on.
And so I share a lot on LinkedInand in my newsletter and through
(07:26):
my podcast, I share about my owncareer journey as well because
it continues to evolve and unfold.
And I think having these transitions will always be a
part of my career story and the career story of many people.
We're not working in a time and in history where we do the exact
same thing that we've always done.
(07:48):
So yeah, lots to unpack there. But I would say you're talking
to me in a moment of transition also about the transitions that
I've had in my career in the. Past yes, I love that.
I think that kind of now I feel like I should have made it clear
because it feels like transitionhappens all the time.
That's part of kind of this life, You know, it always
(08:11):
evolves, it changes, it's absentflows, it's dynamic.
So when I talked about transitions, I was more
referring to, you know, the before and now I see like, well,
transitions are happening right now as well.
So I appreciate you clarifying that and thank you for sharing
the story for you to move into the independent space.
(08:37):
I'm also curious, you know, we talk about, so when you were
doing more of learning and developing, it felt like you are
learning via teaching, which I think is almost the best way to
learn is to teach. And right now you are the host
(09:02):
of the Career Breaker show, which I think in a way is also
teaching, but via a platform. And of course, as we do it, we
all learn a lot from our guests and also the technical stuffs,
you know, like technical issues,sound, audio, etcetera.
(09:24):
So could you share a little bit about what inspired you to start
Career Breaker Show? Yeah.
OK. So I started the career breaker
show because a little over a year ago I was really what I
call kind of lost in my career. Like I just, I just, I'd had
(09:47):
this really fulfilling many years of working in learning and
development and companies and building really amazing things
for employees. And I built a learning product
that won a Portland Business Journal award.
And I had managed teams and I built learning and development
teams and I built my own business and I did really well.
I did actually financially, the best financial outcome was
(10:10):
through owning my own business. And so I'd really hit like a lot
of these check boxes of success.And I remember 10:00-ish years
ago, dreaming of having my own business and imagining what it
would be like with kids and wanting to have that
flexibility, not just for a family, but for myself as well.
I'm, I'm a distance runner. So my hobby actually requires a
lot, a lot of time. And so being able to have a work
(10:33):
life that would support me goingon two or three hour long runs
places, being able to take care of my health and well-being.
And so I decided that I, I, you know, I really hit those check
boxes of success. Yeah, I was, I felt like
unfulfilled. And what my question was like,
where do I go from here? And so I decided to reach out to
(10:57):
a bunch of people in my network.And then through that, I also
got introduced to a bunch of other people.
And I wanted to tell stories of other people that had been in
that place in their career wherethey felt like I've hit all
these check boxes of success. Yet, you know, for me, I'm 37,
almost 38 years old, like I havemany years of my working life.
(11:21):
And so what's possible? Where do I go from here?
Definitely not in a position that I can just pack it in and,
and volunteer and retire and spend all days in the wilderness
traveling and traveling. But I, I wish I could, but I
also again, love what I do. So my question was, who else has
been in this position and what steps did they take to get to
(11:44):
where they are now and where arethey and are they fulfilled?
And so I decided to create this podcast out of my own curiosity
and out of my own desire to alsowant to grow in this area.
I think a a very important skillin today's world is being able
to tell a good story and connectthe dots and talk to other
(12:07):
people and interview people and ask good questions and hold
space and be empathetic. And so I get to put all of those
skills on display and then get better at them as well through
this podcasting endeavor. So yeah, for me, it all came
down to how did other people navigate this?
I'm curious. Let me take myself on a journey
(12:28):
to follow that curiosity and seewhere it leads.
How has that been? Do you feel?
Is there a fulfilling program for you or project for you?
Yes, I would say, you know my dream when people ask me now
because it's been about a year. Like, what would you love to
spend your time doing? And in a dream, I would love my
(12:53):
podcast to be my job. Like being able to help people
in this way, right? Yeah.
Like, I mean, once you start doing it, I understand why this
is people's job. So if you're listening to this
and you're interested in sponsoring the Career Breaker
show at the end of the day, though, you know, it's a it's a
passion. I again, I just, I start this,
it is right now, like I'm not making money.
(13:15):
I don't have sponsors on my podcast.
This is a passion because I truly care and I'm, I really, I
really feel passionately about helping people on their career
journeys. And so yes, this is immensely
fulfilling. And I have as a result of
putting myself out there and, and doing this show, I have had
a speaking opportunity that's come from it.
(13:37):
I had a, a gig as a executive coach and facilitator come out
of it. So it's not that it's, it's
resulting in something related to the job, but I didn't plan
for those things. I didn't say I'm going to create
the podcast because I know on the other side of this podcast
is going to be the dream position waiting for me.
(13:58):
The podcast is the dream position that has led to these
other things that are in alignment.
And that's just so cool. So yes, to answer your question,
this is I would say one of the top fulfilling experiences in my
entire life, let alone professional career.
I love that and I agree with you.
I think I told someone privately, I said if I was super
(14:21):
rich, right, If I didn't have toworry about money, I will be
doing podcasting all day long. Yes, yes.
Because it was just so fun. And I don't know, you mentioned
curiosity. I just, I'm so curious about
people's stories and where they were, where they have been,
(14:41):
where they're going. And it's so fascinating.
And it's not linear. It's just like you mentioned
before, it's all evolving at alltimes.
OK, So I appreciate you sharing the Career Breaker show and and
you mentioned, you know, you love helping people and being an
(15:02):
advocate for people either in their career journeys or perhaps
in their lives as well. And you are a parent.
All those things make me feel like you are a giver.
And I want to say, you know, as caretakers, we if we keep
(15:23):
giving, then it could be a sign of danger, right?
Like, yeah. So I want to transition, to
borrow your word into, you know,taking care of ourselves.
So we give and give gift, and then we also need to take care
of ourselves. And you just mentioned moments
(15:45):
ago that you are a distant runner.
And I know you've been running your entire life.
And you ask me once, do I run? My answer is absolutely not.
And from my perspective, I thinkrunning is part of yourself care
system. So can you share a little bit of
(16:05):
your running life and how are you taking care of yourself like
mentally, your health these days?
Yeah, so running has been part of my life story since I was a
kid. I remember I grew up in rural
upstate New York, so pretty far from New York City, right in the
(16:27):
middle of the state, where there's a lot of cows and a lot
of farms and a lot of open space.
And I love spending time out outdoors.
And I think we lived on like maybe 1/4 of an acre.
So not like a large plot of land, but enough space that I
could like run. I remember like running around
(16:47):
my yard as a kid from like the tree swing to like this Fort in
my backyard and like to get there and then to run back to
the house to get a glass of water like I would just be
running. So I always have enjoyed that as
even as a child. And then once I got a little bit
older and I was in more middle school age, I started exploring
(17:10):
the world of athletics and sports, which was not something
that I was previously interestedin, but I think all my friends
were doing it. And so it's a great sense of
community and that continues to be the case for me today.
A lot of the reason that I've run is because of the running
community and the community thatis created from running.
So it was then that I started playing sports and then I
(17:32):
started to see, well, maybe I could do track as a way to stay
in shape for the other sport that I was doing, which was
field hockey back when I was a kid.
And really found that I was successful in, in, in running
and running laps around the track.
And so I continued to do that. I ended up eventually doing
(17:55):
really well at running at the state level.
I learned a lot through running.It was actually very, very scary
for me as a runner. I put a lot of pressure on
myself. I would get so nervous before
track meets in high school in particular, and it I'm it was
(18:17):
very challenging, but I'm reallygrateful I stayed with it.
I learned a lot about dedication, staying the course
even when things are hard. And because it was so, it made
me so nervous. I always use that as an example
to show like, well, I can do anything else in the world
because it makes me less nervousthan running in a stadium with
everybody watching me. And so I think that that running
(18:42):
has taken many forms and it's been important for me for very
many reasons in my life. I went on to run in college.
I ended up quitting A Division One track team.
I ran on the team for a couple of years but discovered that it
was an unhealthy environment forme.
So I ended up quitting the team,which again, another lesson
learned. I learned how to quit something
(19:04):
that was really important to me and I knew I learned when to
quit and I listened to myself. And so it's funny that running
through running, I've really, I think I've uncovered all of
these elements of myself that also play into who I am as a
person and play into my working life as well.
So Fast forward to today, I still run.
I am a distance runner. I'm about to start training for
(19:29):
my 4th marathon in my life. I've done I think 12 half
marathons at this point. I run now for community.
My neighbor is one of my closestfriends and my running buddy and
we try to run together multiple times a week.
And I have a lot of friends in town in Portland, OR that are
(19:51):
runners. And I used to live in Eugene,
OR, which they call Track Town USA because they're like, it's
so deep in in running culture and track culture and where all
of that started with. Nike back in the day, and so I
lived there for a while and I really immersed myself in the
running community. So for me now, it's like I
(20:13):
continue to push myself and I continue to remind myself that
like my, I am capable of so muchand like it's such a great way
to connect with other people forme.
I really appreciate that. And earlier you mentioned, and I
want to point out that you are also a public speaker.
You just recently gave talks at Lyft.
(20:37):
And so you're very seasoned speaker.
And you mentioned earlier, you know, running was or could be
scary for you and you would be nervous at times.
And in my mind, I picture the stadium as a stage, right?
And I feel like practicing running in public's eye in a
(21:02):
way, it's practicing how to be on stage, Yeah.
Could you share a little bit perhaps how being athletic
helped you perhaps to be on stage and be a confident
speaker? Yeah, definitely.
It's funny that you bring this up because I recently did this
talk for Lyft and I also, while I'm a seasoned speaker and I
(21:28):
have this experience doing this,I decided to hire a coach to
help me because even I think when we're the best, it's great
to have outside perspective. And so I had a coach help me and
I was actually sharing with her.Like I don't feel that nervous
about this at all because I had that experience back when I was
a teenager of getting on the stage and having to perform.
(21:50):
And there's, there's so many things I think that you can't
control for in an environment asan athlete, especially as a
track athlete. There's wind conditions, right?
And I the races I would run wereI ran the 400 and the 800 or the
1500, which are multiple laps orat least one full lap around the
track. So every time you make a turn,
(22:11):
the headwind might be different,there might the rain might be
hitting you differently, or the tailwind might be great.
Like you might actually be able to really push early part of the
race, but then it's harder. You're running into the wind at
the end. We can't control for those
things, right? And so I think as a, as an
athlete, I started to realize like, there's only so much that
(22:34):
I can do to prepare for this. And I've put in, I've put in the
work to prepare for this. So when that day comes to race
or when that day comes to speak,if I want to share this metaphor
with today, I've put in all of that work.
Like at the end of the day, I think what helped me eventually
kind of calm my nerves when I was back running track was to
(22:56):
remind myself that once you get to that starting line, there's
actually nothing more that you can do.
And there's also going to be so much that you cannot control for
yet. Like just enjoy the journey.
Like I'd enjoyed the journey getting there and I enjoy the
journey of the race. Like you get to do this, like
this is such a privilege becauseyou worked so hard to get to
(23:16):
this line. And I had hints of reminding
myself of this when I stepped upto do this talk recently and
reminding myself like, I can do this.
I am, I am worthy of being here.I have put in the work.
And yes, for sure, something might go awry, like my
microphone might stop working. But I that's not a reflection of
me. That's something that I can't
(23:37):
control for and just lean into the process and have fun with.
It how was he received? It was great.
There's I think there's so many measurements of success when you
are in this performative environment, whether it's
through sports or public speaking, there's your own
(24:00):
internal definition of success, which is always how I and
continue to evaluate my running right.
So I'm not winning races. I, I didn't win that many races
in my life, but I always got better with my own time.
And that is exactly how I measure success of this speaking
(24:21):
engagement as well. I got up there, I was calm, I
said what I needed to say. It was impactful.
And to me, I feel like I did thebest that I could.
And so it was successful. And so I received it very well.
And I've heard from the organization as well that a lot
(24:42):
of other people really felt likeit was really hitting the mark
when it came to them. So I was talking all about the
three career myths and the things that can hold us back in
our career journey and kind of these stories that we tell
ourselves. And there's many stories that I
really focused in on three of them.
And I think all of that is exactly what I needed to hear
(25:07):
about a year ago when I was in this place of like, wondering
what could be next. And so, yeah, 1 measurement of
success is like, I got to go on that journey and that was the
celebration of the journey, and that was successful.
And of course, another measurement of success is what
other people took away from it. And it sounds like folks really
took a lot away. I love that.
(25:28):
I think the fact that we're doing the things we love doing
and we're good at it. And I think that's absolutely a
win. And also like, like running,
like you said, right? Like even if you are now winning
races, you still win. Like, yeah, you did it.
Yeah, you did it right. And like if even if you get
(25:51):
there, just getting there, like that's half of that's half of
the battle. I need to like write that down
on a poster and keep it right near me when I'm training for
this marathon because I think that that's just, that's like
the ultimate reminder of the marathon.
It's not just running the marathon, it's all the training,
like months of training that go up to running the marathon.
(26:14):
Yeah. And your mind, you are training
your own mind as well, the endurance, right?
Like the fact that I believe in you believe in yourself, that
I'm going to do this, I can do this.
And I think that training is in a way like very, very valuable.
And I also want to mention like in today's society, everything
(26:36):
is so competitive. It like people have very kind of
definitive kind of definition oridea of what success should look
like. And I've heard over and over
again like someone if, if you have a full time job and if you
(26:56):
start earning like 6 figures, then that means you made it.
I'm like who made that number uplike 6 feet?
Like what happened to 80,000? Right.
And so 5 feet, like why do people think making a six figure
means success? I mean, sure, you would have a
(27:20):
lot of financial security at thesame time, that shouldn't be the
only measurement for people to consider themselves as like I
win, you know, quote on for. Sure, right.
And it's totally made-up because$80,000 might be it for someone
living in a certain place in theworld and live like supporting
(27:41):
themselves. But when you start to factor in
things like families and healthcare and and hobbies and
like that where you live, the cost of housing, right?
Like there's just so many, there's so many factors.
And so when we say like, oh, you've made it when you hit 6
(28:02):
digits, like describe made it like that's just someone else's
definition of success. I know.
But I hear it over and over again, like I'm making the six
figures. I'm like, good for you.
Well. If you live in San Francisco, I
was watching the news when I wasdown there for the Lyft talk and
I was watching the news, which Inever watch on TV, but I was in
(28:23):
a hotel with the news. So I was listening to them talk
about how the you're at poverty if you make under $110,000 a
year, which is more than 6 digit.
Like I mean that is 6 digits, but it's, it's over the starting
of 6 digits, right? And The funny thing is that's
poverty level there, right? So again, like let's define what
(28:46):
success means here. Like and why is it 6 digits?
Like there's so many different ways other than pay to to
explain success. Yeah, I agree.
Yeah. I mean, people like to quantify,
right? Like we look at we love numbers.
That's how we define success in our society, Absolutely.
(29:09):
Yeah. So I appreciate you providing
that perspective. The fact that we're doing the
things we enjoy doing and passionate about, that's already
a win. And so I want to also touch on
well-being and mental health. I mean, May is Mental Health
Awareness Month and I know you are an advocate for well-being
(29:32):
otherwise you wouldn't have created Career Breaker show.
And you also mentioned running is one way of taking care of
yourself. And I heard you mention early on
that at some point in your life you learned when to quit.
And in my mind, I also interpreted it as learn to let
(29:59):
go of things when it's time. When something doesn't serve us
anymore, it may be hard to let go because it's something we're
so used to, but it's so important to know when to let
go. And I feel that's a very
important piece in mental well-being.
(30:20):
So I would love to invite you toshare a little bit more of your
experience with letting things go.
I mean, it doesn't have to be a specific thing, but just in
general, like letting go. How has that been for you in
life? Yeah.
Well, I mentioned before that I let go, I quit the track team,
(30:41):
Division One track team. And as a result of that, like
just to get a little bit more specific, like when you quit,
when we quit something, often times it means that we lose
something. And in my case of quitting the
track team, I lost a scholarship, I lost money.
So it meant I had to take on more student loans as an
(31:05):
undergraduate. And while I think we often times
equate quitting or quitting a job, right?
If you quit a job, you lose yoursalary.
I think we equate it. I think you're really cheesy
here. But also on the other side of
things, when we quit, we don't just lose something.
We open the door to new possibilities.
(31:25):
And I think because I have been quitting enough over over my
life, I have started to, I thinkI've conditioned myself to not
think so much about what I'm losing when I quit, but what am
I gaining and what can I gain asa result?
(31:46):
And sometimes when we quit or werest or we let go, like there's
actually some resistance in the idea of resting.
And there's, it's, it's definitely going against the
grain of society that tells us like we have to keep going no
matter what. You have to have the next thing
(32:07):
lined up. And I think I've proven to
myself that that's not the case.Often times when we let go and
then we lean into possibilities,we get to explore.
And it's through that exploration that we actually and
can be curious and we end up somewhere that maybe was
unexpected but is the right place for us to be at that time.
(32:32):
Because we are approaching what can be from a sense of
possibility and openness rather than through a sense of
scarcity, and because we've let go of that scarcity, there can
be opportunities that are more aligned with who we are as
people and what we really want. And I'm not going to say any of
(32:57):
that is easy, but I think the idea behind the Career Breakers
show and the original idea of itwas to tell these stories of
people that actually did quit their jobs.
Because I think we need to hear from more people and give
ourselves permission to 1st quitand then figure out what's next
from that place of openness and possibility.
(33:19):
Rather than try to figure that out when you're in the in the
burnout mode, when you're unfulfilled, when you're feeling
stressed, it's so much harder tomake a good decision about what
we actually need when we're operating from kind of the
bottom of the barrel. Yeah.
So yeah, that's a little bit more I would say about like what
quitting means to me and what letting go means to me.
(33:42):
I really appreciate that. And you mentioned the scarcity
and I actually like for me, you know, well, I guess for a lot of
people, I think there is this line.
People say I'm not a quitter, right?
Like I think without contacts, sure there is merit in it.
I'm not a quitter. It means you have tenacity,
(34:04):
persistence, You have the energyto pursue whatever you're after.
At the same time, it also means you hold on to something forever
potentially. And that may or may not be a
good thing for you, but I think being able to have that openness
(34:24):
to let things go is actually a way of embracing the abundance
mindset. Because like you mentioned, you
know, you are opening doors to possibilities.
When when? I mean when you hit a wall,
right, Some people will be like,I'm gonna break the wall.
(34:45):
I'm gonna get through in my own way.
But what about opening a door, right?
What if you can take a detour, find a different path, draw your
own path and open your own door.And I think that's like when you
mentioned to explore, right? And I think that's like
abundance mindset. So I really appreciate that.
(35:07):
And you also mentioned rest and it seems like rest might be in
your near future. And it's not, it doesn't mean
laying down, right? It's like rest can mean so many
things to people. So how do you rest?
How do you recharge? Yeah, I like that you mentioned
(35:27):
that rest doesn't have to be like physical rest.
I did a leadership incubator a few years ago for women, and I
learned about Doctor Sandra Dalton Smith's work around rest
then and learning that sleep or taking a nap or laying in bed
(35:48):
binging on Netflix is not the only type of rest.
I welcome all of those types of rest.
I love sleeping, it's great. Or like resting my body, and
that's important. But I've also learned through
her work and the leadership incubator that I did is that
there's all these other forms ofrest, like social rest where we
(36:10):
connect with a friend over coffee or there's the idea of, I
think creative rest, like, do wemake something?
I have a friend that lives in town that has a, a company
called Creative Pathways and they do workshops where you,
(36:33):
it's not about like creating themasterpiece, but it's just like
taking a pause and creating, being out in nature, reading a
book, making a collage. There's, there's social rest
like I mentioned of connecting with other people and there can
(36:54):
be like spiritual rest. This morning for the first time
ever, I went cold plunging in the Willamette with a friend of
mine who's lives in Canada and was in town for work.
And I would, I would group that under spiritual rest.
Like I had to wake up very earlyto do it, but I feel like so
(37:16):
recharged for the day ahead. And so, so there's just all
these different types of rest and mental rest, sensory rest,
like there's just so many more. And, and you can do your
research if you're listening to this into all these different
types. But I think for me, it's like
when I am resting, it's actuallyvery hard for me to just like
(37:40):
sit still. And so I've had to remind myself
and give myself permission that that's OK.
Like it basically, as long as I'm not thinking about my job
that makes money, I would consider that rest, spending
time with my kids, my family. Like camping, That's another big
one. Yes.
Yeah, yeah, there's so many types of rest.
(38:02):
I love that and I, I feel like it's also very forgiving, which
means it's very kind of like youcan decide, you can decide
however you want to rest and recharge.
And I wrote down, you know, social rest, spiritual rest,
mental sensory, using art and going to nature and be creative.
(38:24):
And I think for folks out there trying to figure out how to how
can we settle, right? It's like when we, I mean, we
are both dog parents, like, how do we, how do we train our mind
to settle, right? It's just to calm down.
And not everyone is used to justlike doing nothing.
(38:48):
So finding a way that kind of helps us regulate our system to
feel restful or to feel recharged.
And I think that's actually a very, it's not easy to do again.
Yeah. So I'm very grateful that you
share your time with us today, Adrian and talking about your
(39:11):
journey as a leader, a journey as a creative, a journey as as
someone who prioritize your well-being.
So as we wrap up our show today,I'm curious to learn what do you
look forward to? Yeah, well, thank you so much
(39:34):
for having me. And I am, I am.
Honestly, I am looking forward to the summertime.
It is May when we're recording this episode, and my kids will
be done school in about a month from now.
And we have camping trips planned throughout the summer
and travel plans to see family. And I'm looking forward to
(39:59):
exploring. I'm also looking forward to
going on this journey of training for a marathon.
So check in with me if you're listening to this.
I've now officially said I'm going to do that on a.
Podcast. So yes.
I feel like the accountability is very high.
So yes, e-mail me and check in to let me know if you think I
(40:20):
need some support. Go for it, offer some support.
It's a lot, but I'm also lookingforward to the journey because
every time I go on this journey,and it's been a little over a
decade since I trained for my last marathon, but every time I
go on this journey, I think I learned something new about
myself. And so I'm excited to see what
(40:41):
what would becomes of this journey and the summer months.
And yeah, just, I love the summer because it feels like all
the all the seeds that we've planted throughout the year,
like really start to come to fruition and it's an exciting
time. It's also a beautiful place to
live in the summer here in the Pacific Northwest.
(41:02):
So yeah, just excited about that.
And thank you for that. I look forward to holding you
accountable. I know, right?
And also, of course, where do people find you?
Where do people go Listen to an awesome podcast and work with
you? Thank you for asking.
(41:23):
So if you'd like to connect withme individually, I recommend
LinkedIn. That's a great way.
Send me a message. I'm pretty active on there.
My name is Adrian Jones and it'sa DRIANE.
You can also find me online at adrianejones.com and my podcast
(41:44):
and my LinkedIn are all connected there.
But if you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on
Spotify, Apple, and I think a couple of other platforms now as
well. And it's called the Career
Breaker Show. So search for that.
And yeah, feel free to reach out.
I love talking about careers andworking journeys and running.
(42:06):
So happy to connect with folks about all of those things.
Awesome, and next time when we see each other, we will
introduce our pops to each otheragain.
Yeah, love that. Thank you so much, Adrian.
Thank you.
Hello everyone, Welcome to The Intersection, a podcast program
about intersectionality, intersectional identities, and
intersectional journeys, both personally and professionally.
And they're always intertwined. And today I have a friend appear
and a fellow podcaster, her nameis Adrian Jones.
(00:37):
Adrian and I met via a mutual friend and also appear Wendy, I
believe, who moved to Arizona last year.
I think what is time? Nobody knows.
We miss her. But thanks to her, Adrian and I
were able to meet and we learnedthat we actually, we practically
(00:57):
live in the same neighborhood, not quite very close.
So Adrian is a learning and development expert, and she's
also the host of the Career Breaker podcast.
And without further ado, I want to invite Adrian to introduce
(01:19):
herself. Welcome, Adrian.
Hi, Joe, thank you so much for having me here.
It's always fun to have these conversations online and record
them when we also just went on awalk together in our
neighborhood. So it's fun to see like the many
different ways that we can connect in this world.
Thank you for having me. I am a career and learning and
(01:41):
development leader and I've spent my entire career in the
space of helping people on theircareer journeys.
It has taken many forms in how I'm helping people and also how
I've worked throughout my life, and I'm sure we'll get more into
that, but I'm really motivated by the future of work and
(02:04):
creating equitable working experiences for people.
I'm a woman, I'm a parent, and so I have my own story about
what that means to me. And then as you mentioned, I'm
also a podcast host. I am the host of the Career
Breaker show, and I get to oftentimes be on the other side of
(02:25):
the mic. So it's fun to be here with you
on this side. Yeah, and I agree.
Yeah, it's always very interesting to be on both sides
of things. And also, you know, we get to
see each other in real life. It feels very multi dimensional
and just kind of it's very fun to be in the space together.
(02:46):
So I want to perhaps invite to bring us back a little bit.
Before you became independent leader in the leadership
learning and development space, what were you doing and what
made you decide to make the transition?
So I am really interested in learning about the transition
(03:08):
like that moved you. Forward, Yeah.
OK. So I think what we're getting at
here is if you took a look at myLinkedIn, right, where we can
always see the journey by years of where we've gone with our
careers, you would notice that Ihad a career in learning and
development inside of organizations.
(03:31):
And then you'll notice in 2020, I suddenly decided to work for
myself. And so I think that's the
transition that we want to explore here.
Right? Great.
OK, So the question being how, you know, how did I go from
working inside of organizations to running my own organization?
(03:51):
And I will say that the reason Idecided to make that choice has
there's many reasons why there'snot just one, but the first
being I was looking for an opportunity to continue to
contribute to my craft and help people in their careers in a way
(04:14):
that also supported my own learning and development and
also gave me the flexibility that I needed at that moment in
my life. And so I mentioned I'm a parent
back in 2020 when I started my business, I was parenting A2
year old and a three-year old through a global pandemic, their
(04:35):
daycare shut down, right? Like many of us were afraid to
go anywhere. It was just like a very
uncertain time. And for about 6 weeks I, I
attempted to do the, the, the parents working parent work,
stay at home parents for them. And I love my kids and I love
(04:57):
the work that I do. So I was trying to find that and
that I think we're often told like we have to choose, like you
have to choose the career, you choose to be a parent.
And I was really curious about like, can I have both?
Can both be an option here for me.
And so I found the way to do that was having my own business
(05:18):
where I could set my own hours. I could be flexible if I needed
to take my kid to an appointmentor I mean, just looking forward
since I'm a forward thinking person.
I kept thinking like when my kids are older and school age, I
will only have from 9:00 in the morning, maybe 8:00 in the
(05:39):
morning until 2:30 to work sincethey're in school.
And so how does one manage the drop off and the pick up while
also doing the work that they care about?
And so I decided to launch my own business, but also I
launched that business not just for flexibility, but because I
was really interested in all that I could learn through
(06:00):
having my own business. And so for five years I've been
doing this. And so I joke that I have like a
double MBA at this point, or maybe like a masters MBA, right?
And so, so I gained so much experience, experiential
learning through owning my own business and, and running my own
show. And it has been a journey.
(06:21):
And I'm just so grateful that I was able to do that at that
point in time and really follow what the path that I that I
thought I was interested in. And yeah, things are always
evolving. So now I've shifted again to
move away from necessarily creating leadership development
(06:43):
programs for companies, which iswhat I was doing a lot of, to
creating what I call career development programs.
And while I also try to figure out my own career.
So I've made some some transitions in the last year and
I decided I, I wanted to refocusand I took some time to figure
(07:04):
out what that would look like. And now I think I'm an advocate
for other people. And that's how my podcast
started. I'm an advocate for other people
who also want to take that time to explore and consider what can
be possible in their careers beyond the traditional path that
we tell ourselves we have to stay on.
And so I share a lot on LinkedInand in my newsletter and through
(07:26):
my podcast, I share about my owncareer journey as well because
it continues to evolve and unfold.
And I think having these transitions will always be a
part of my career story and the career story of many people.
We're not working in a time and in history where we do the exact
same thing that we've always done.
(07:48):
So yeah, lots to unpack there. But I would say you're talking
to me in a moment of transition also about the transitions that
I've had in my career in the. Past yes, I love that.
I think that kind of now I feel like I should have made it clear
because it feels like transitionhappens all the time.
That's part of kind of this life, You know, it always
(08:11):
evolves, it changes, it's absentflows, it's dynamic.
So when I talked about transitions, I was more
referring to, you know, the before and now I see like, well,
transitions are happening right now as well.
So I appreciate you clarifying that and thank you for sharing
the story for you to move into the independent space.
(08:37):
I'm also curious, you know, we talk about, so when you were
doing more of learning and developing, it felt like you are
learning via teaching, which I think is almost the best way to
learn is to teach. And right now you are the host
(09:02):
of the Career Breaker show, which I think in a way is also
teaching, but via a platform. And of course, as we do it, we
all learn a lot from our guests and also the technical stuffs,
you know, like technical issues,sound, audio, etcetera.
(09:24):
So could you share a little bit about what inspired you to start
Career Breaker Show? Yeah.
OK. So I started the career breaker
show because a little over a year ago I was really what I
call kind of lost in my career. Like I just, I just, I'd had
(09:47):
this really fulfilling many years of working in learning and
development and companies and building really amazing things
for employees. And I built a learning product
that won a Portland Business Journal award.
And I had managed teams and I built learning and development
teams and I built my own business and I did really well.
I did actually financially, the best financial outcome was
(10:10):
through owning my own business. And so I'd really hit like a lot
of these check boxes of success.And I remember 10:00-ish years
ago, dreaming of having my own business and imagining what it
would be like with kids and wanting to have that
flexibility, not just for a family, but for myself as well.
I'm, I'm a distance runner. So my hobby actually requires a
lot, a lot of time. And so being able to have a work
(10:33):
life that would support me goingon two or three hour long runs
places, being able to take care of my health and well-being.
And so I decided that I, I, you know, I really hit those check
boxes of success. Yeah, I was, I felt like
unfulfilled. And what my question was like,
where do I go from here? And so I decided to reach out to
(10:57):
a bunch of people in my network.And then through that, I also
got introduced to a bunch of other people.
And I wanted to tell stories of other people that had been in
that place in their career wherethey felt like I've hit all
these check boxes of success. Yet, you know, for me, I'm 37,
almost 38 years old, like I havemany years of my working life.
(11:21):
And so what's possible? Where do I go from here?
Definitely not in a position that I can just pack it in and,
and volunteer and retire and spend all days in the wilderness
traveling and traveling. But I, I wish I could, but I
also again, love what I do. So my question was, who else has
been in this position and what steps did they take to get to
(11:44):
where they are now and where arethey and are they fulfilled?
And so I decided to create this podcast out of my own curiosity
and out of my own desire to alsowant to grow in this area.
I think a a very important skillin today's world is being able
to tell a good story and connectthe dots and talk to other
(12:07):
people and interview people and ask good questions and hold
space and be empathetic. And so I get to put all of those
skills on display and then get better at them as well through
this podcasting endeavor. So yeah, for me, it all came
down to how did other people navigate this?
I'm curious. Let me take myself on a journey
(12:28):
to follow that curiosity and seewhere it leads.
How has that been? Do you feel?
Is there a fulfilling program for you or project for you?
Yes, I would say, you know my dream when people ask me now
because it's been about a year. Like, what would you love to
spend your time doing? And in a dream, I would love my
(12:53):
podcast to be my job. Like being able to help people
in this way, right? Yeah.
Like, I mean, once you start doing it, I understand why this
is people's job. So if you're listening to this
and you're interested in sponsoring the Career Breaker
show at the end of the day, though, you know, it's a it's a
passion. I again, I just, I start this,
it is right now, like I'm not making money.
(13:15):
I don't have sponsors on my podcast.
This is a passion because I truly care and I'm, I really, I
really feel passionately about helping people on their career
journeys. And so yes, this is immensely
fulfilling. And I have as a result of
putting myself out there and, and doing this show, I have had
a speaking opportunity that's come from it.
(13:37):
I had a, a gig as a executive coach and facilitator come out
of it. So it's not that it's, it's
resulting in something related to the job, but I didn't plan
for those things. I didn't say I'm going to create
the podcast because I know on the other side of this podcast
is going to be the dream position waiting for me.
(13:58):
The podcast is the dream position that has led to these
other things that are in alignment.
And that's just so cool. So yes, to answer your question,
this is I would say one of the top fulfilling experiences in my
entire life, let alone professional career.
I love that and I agree with you.
I think I told someone privately, I said if I was super
(14:21):
rich, right, If I didn't have toworry about money, I will be
doing podcasting all day long. Yes, yes.
Because it was just so fun. And I don't know, you mentioned
curiosity. I just, I'm so curious about
people's stories and where they were, where they have been,
(14:41):
where they're going. And it's so fascinating.
And it's not linear. It's just like you mentioned
before, it's all evolving at alltimes.
OK, So I appreciate you sharing the Career Breaker show and and
you mentioned, you know, you love helping people and being an
(15:02):
advocate for people either in their career journeys or perhaps
in their lives as well. And you are a parent.
All those things make me feel like you are a giver.
And I want to say, you know, as caretakers, we if we keep
(15:23):
giving, then it could be a sign of danger, right?
Like, yeah. So I want to transition, to
borrow your word into, you know,taking care of ourselves.
So we give and give gift, and then we also need to take care
of ourselves. And you just mentioned moments
(15:45):
ago that you are a distant runner.
And I know you've been running your entire life.
And you ask me once, do I run? My answer is absolutely not.
And from my perspective, I thinkrunning is part of yourself care
system. So can you share a little bit of
(16:05):
your running life and how are you taking care of yourself like
mentally, your health these days?
Yeah, so running has been part of my life story since I was a
kid. I remember I grew up in rural
upstate New York, so pretty far from New York City, right in the
(16:27):
middle of the state, where there's a lot of cows and a lot
of farms and a lot of open space.
And I love spending time out outdoors.
And I think we lived on like maybe 1/4 of an acre.
So not like a large plot of land, but enough space that I
could like run. I remember like running around
(16:47):
my yard as a kid from like the tree swing to like this Fort in
my backyard and like to get there and then to run back to
the house to get a glass of water like I would just be
running. So I always have enjoyed that as
even as a child. And then once I got a little bit
older and I was in more middle school age, I started exploring
(17:10):
the world of athletics and sports, which was not something
that I was previously interestedin, but I think all my friends
were doing it. And so it's a great sense of
community and that continues to be the case for me today.
A lot of the reason that I've run is because of the running
community and the community thatis created from running.
So it was then that I started playing sports and then I
(17:32):
started to see, well, maybe I could do track as a way to stay
in shape for the other sport that I was doing, which was
field hockey back when I was a kid.
And really found that I was successful in, in, in running
and running laps around the track.
And so I continued to do that. I ended up eventually doing
(17:55):
really well at running at the state level.
I learned a lot through running.It was actually very, very scary
for me as a runner. I put a lot of pressure on
myself. I would get so nervous before
track meets in high school in particular, and it I'm it was
(18:17):
very challenging, but I'm reallygrateful I stayed with it.
I learned a lot about dedication, staying the course
even when things are hard. And because it was so, it made
me so nervous. I always use that as an example
to show like, well, I can do anything else in the world
because it makes me less nervousthan running in a stadium with
everybody watching me. And so I think that that running
(18:42):
has taken many forms and it's been important for me for very
many reasons in my life. I went on to run in college.
I ended up quitting A Division One track team.
I ran on the team for a couple of years but discovered that it
was an unhealthy environment forme.
So I ended up quitting the team,which again, another lesson
learned. I learned how to quit something
(19:04):
that was really important to me and I knew I learned when to
quit and I listened to myself. And so it's funny that running
through running, I've really, I think I've uncovered all of
these elements of myself that also play into who I am as a
person and play into my working life as well.
So Fast forward to today, I still run.
I am a distance runner. I'm about to start training for
(19:29):
my 4th marathon in my life. I've done I think 12 half
marathons at this point. I run now for community.
My neighbor is one of my closestfriends and my running buddy and
we try to run together multiple times a week.
And I have a lot of friends in town in Portland, OR that are
(19:51):
runners. And I used to live in Eugene,
OR, which they call Track Town USA because they're like, it's
so deep in in running culture and track culture and where all
of that started with. Nike back in the day, and so I
lived there for a while and I really immersed myself in the
running community. So for me now, it's like I
(20:13):
continue to push myself and I continue to remind myself that
like my, I am capable of so muchand like it's such a great way
to connect with other people forme.
I really appreciate that. And earlier you mentioned, and I
want to point out that you are also a public speaker.
You just recently gave talks at Lyft.
(20:37):
And so you're very seasoned speaker.
And you mentioned earlier, you know, running was or could be
scary for you and you would be nervous at times.
And in my mind, I picture the stadium as a stage, right?
And I feel like practicing running in public's eye in a
(21:02):
way, it's practicing how to be on stage, Yeah.
Could you share a little bit perhaps how being athletic
helped you perhaps to be on stage and be a confident
speaker? Yeah, definitely.
It's funny that you bring this up because I recently did this
talk for Lyft and I also, while I'm a seasoned speaker and I
(21:28):
have this experience doing this,I decided to hire a coach to
help me because even I think when we're the best, it's great
to have outside perspective. And so I had a coach help me and
I was actually sharing with her.Like I don't feel that nervous
about this at all because I had that experience back when I was
a teenager of getting on the stage and having to perform.
(21:50):
And there's, there's so many things I think that you can't
control for in an environment asan athlete, especially as a
track athlete. There's wind conditions, right?
And I the races I would run wereI ran the 400 and the 800 or the
1500, which are multiple laps orat least one full lap around the
track. So every time you make a turn,
(22:11):
the headwind might be different,there might the rain might be
hitting you differently, or the tailwind might be great.
Like you might actually be able to really push early part of the
race, but then it's harder. You're running into the wind at
the end. We can't control for those
things, right? And so I think as a, as an
athlete, I started to realize like, there's only so much that
(22:34):
I can do to prepare for this. And I've put in, I've put in the
work to prepare for this. So when that day comes to race
or when that day comes to speak,if I want to share this metaphor
with today, I've put in all of that work.
Like at the end of the day, I think what helped me eventually
kind of calm my nerves when I was back running track was to
(22:56):
remind myself that once you get to that starting line, there's
actually nothing more that you can do.
And there's also going to be so much that you cannot control for
yet. Like just enjoy the journey.
Like I'd enjoyed the journey getting there and I enjoy the
journey of the race. Like you get to do this, like
this is such a privilege becauseyou worked so hard to get to
(23:16):
this line. And I had hints of reminding
myself of this when I stepped upto do this talk recently and
reminding myself like, I can do this.
I am, I am worthy of being here.I have put in the work.
And yes, for sure, something might go awry, like my
microphone might stop working. But I that's not a reflection of
me. That's something that I can't
(23:37):
control for and just lean into the process and have fun with.
It how was he received? It was great.
There's I think there's so many measurements of success when you
are in this performative environment, whether it's
through sports or public speaking, there's your own
(24:00):
internal definition of success, which is always how I and
continue to evaluate my running right.
So I'm not winning races. I, I didn't win that many races
in my life, but I always got better with my own time.
And that is exactly how I measure success of this speaking
(24:21):
engagement as well. I got up there, I was calm, I
said what I needed to say. It was impactful.
And to me, I feel like I did thebest that I could.
And so it was successful. And so I received it very well.
And I've heard from the organization as well that a lot
(24:42):
of other people really felt likeit was really hitting the mark
when it came to them. So I was talking all about the
three career myths and the things that can hold us back in
our career journey and kind of these stories that we tell
ourselves. And there's many stories that I
really focused in on three of them.
And I think all of that is exactly what I needed to hear
(25:07):
about a year ago when I was in this place of like, wondering
what could be next. And so, yeah, 1 measurement of
success is like, I got to go on that journey and that was the
celebration of the journey, and that was successful.
And of course, another measurement of success is what
other people took away from it. And it sounds like folks really
took a lot away. I love that.
(25:28):
I think the fact that we're doing the things we love doing
and we're good at it. And I think that's absolutely a
win. And also like, like running,
like you said, right? Like even if you are now winning
races, you still win. Like, yeah, you did it.
Yeah, you did it right. And like if even if you get
(25:51):
there, just getting there, like that's half of that's half of
the battle. I need to like write that down
on a poster and keep it right near me when I'm training for
this marathon because I think that that's just, that's like
the ultimate reminder of the marathon.
It's not just running the marathon, it's all the training,
like months of training that go up to running the marathon.
(26:14):
Yeah. And your mind, you are training
your own mind as well, the endurance, right?
Like the fact that I believe in you believe in yourself, that
I'm going to do this, I can do this.
And I think that training is in a way like very, very valuable.
And I also want to mention like in today's society, everything
(26:36):
is so competitive. It like people have very kind of
definitive kind of definition oridea of what success should look
like. And I've heard over and over
again like someone if, if you have a full time job and if you
(26:56):
start earning like 6 figures, then that means you made it.
I'm like who made that number uplike 6 feet?
Like what happened to 80,000? Right.
And so 5 feet, like why do people think making a six figure
means success? I mean, sure, you would have a
(27:20):
lot of financial security at thesame time, that shouldn't be the
only measurement for people to consider themselves as like I
win, you know, quote on for. Sure, right.
And it's totally made-up because$80,000 might be it for someone
living in a certain place in theworld and live like supporting
(27:41):
themselves. But when you start to factor in
things like families and healthcare and and hobbies and
like that where you live, the cost of housing, right?
Like there's just so many, there's so many factors.
And so when we say like, oh, you've made it when you hit 6
(28:02):
digits, like describe made it like that's just someone else's
definition of success. I know.
But I hear it over and over again, like I'm making the six
figures. I'm like, good for you.
Well. If you live in San Francisco, I
was watching the news when I wasdown there for the Lyft talk and
I was watching the news, which Inever watch on TV, but I was in
(28:23):
a hotel with the news. So I was listening to them talk
about how the you're at poverty if you make under $110,000 a
year, which is more than 6 digit.
Like I mean that is 6 digits, but it's, it's over the starting
of 6 digits, right? And The funny thing is that's
poverty level there, right? So again, like let's define what
(28:46):
success means here. Like and why is it 6 digits?
Like there's so many different ways other than pay to to
explain success. Yeah, I agree.
Yeah. I mean, people like to quantify,
right? Like we look at we love numbers.
That's how we define success in our society, Absolutely.
(29:09):
Yeah. So I appreciate you providing
that perspective. The fact that we're doing the
things we enjoy doing and passionate about, that's already
a win. And so I want to also touch on
well-being and mental health. I mean, May is Mental Health
Awareness Month and I know you are an advocate for well-being
(29:32):
otherwise you wouldn't have created Career Breaker show.
And you also mentioned running is one way of taking care of
yourself. And I heard you mention early on
that at some point in your life you learned when to quit.
And in my mind, I also interpreted it as learn to let
(29:59):
go of things when it's time. When something doesn't serve us
anymore, it may be hard to let go because it's something we're
so used to, but it's so important to know when to let
go. And I feel that's a very
important piece in mental well-being.
(30:20):
So I would love to invite you toshare a little bit more of your
experience with letting things go.
I mean, it doesn't have to be a specific thing, but just in
general, like letting go. How has that been for you in
life? Yeah.
Well, I mentioned before that I let go, I quit the track team,
(30:41):
Division One track team. And as a result of that, like
just to get a little bit more specific, like when you quit,
when we quit something, often times it means that we lose
something. And in my case of quitting the
track team, I lost a scholarship, I lost money.
So it meant I had to take on more student loans as an
(31:05):
undergraduate. And while I think we often times
equate quitting or quitting a job, right?
If you quit a job, you lose yoursalary.
I think we equate it. I think you're really cheesy
here. But also on the other side of
things, when we quit, we don't just lose something.
We open the door to new possibilities.
(31:25):
And I think because I have been quitting enough over over my
life, I have started to, I thinkI've conditioned myself to not
think so much about what I'm losing when I quit, but what am
I gaining and what can I gain asa result?
(31:46):
And sometimes when we quit or werest or we let go, like there's
actually some resistance in the idea of resting.
And there's, it's, it's definitely going against the
grain of society that tells us like we have to keep going no
matter what. You have to have the next thing
(32:07):
lined up. And I think I've proven to
myself that that's not the case.Often times when we let go and
then we lean into possibilities,we get to explore.
And it's through that exploration that we actually and
can be curious and we end up somewhere that maybe was
unexpected but is the right place for us to be at that time.
(32:32):
Because we are approaching what can be from a sense of
possibility and openness rather than through a sense of
scarcity, and because we've let go of that scarcity, there can
be opportunities that are more aligned with who we are as
people and what we really want. And I'm not going to say any of
(32:57):
that is easy, but I think the idea behind the Career Breakers
show and the original idea of itwas to tell these stories of
people that actually did quit their jobs.
Because I think we need to hear from more people and give
ourselves permission to 1st quitand then figure out what's next
from that place of openness and possibility.
(33:19):
Rather than try to figure that out when you're in the in the
burnout mode, when you're unfulfilled, when you're feeling
stressed, it's so much harder tomake a good decision about what
we actually need when we're operating from kind of the
bottom of the barrel. Yeah.
So yeah, that's a little bit more I would say about like what
quitting means to me and what letting go means to me.
(33:42):
I really appreciate that. And you mentioned the scarcity
and I actually like for me, you know, well, I guess for a lot of
people, I think there is this line.
People say I'm not a quitter, right?
Like I think without contacts, sure there is merit in it.
I'm not a quitter. It means you have tenacity,
(34:04):
persistence, You have the energyto pursue whatever you're after.
At the same time, it also means you hold on to something forever
potentially. And that may or may not be a
good thing for you, but I think being able to have that openness
(34:24):
to let things go is actually a way of embracing the abundance
mindset. Because like you mentioned, you
know, you are opening doors to possibilities.
When when? I mean when you hit a wall,
right, Some people will be like,I'm gonna break the wall.
(34:45):
I'm gonna get through in my own way.
But what about opening a door, right?
What if you can take a detour, find a different path, draw your
own path and open your own door.And I think that's like when you
mentioned to explore, right? And I think that's like
abundance mindset. So I really appreciate that.
(35:07):
And you also mentioned rest and it seems like rest might be in
your near future. And it's not, it doesn't mean
laying down, right? It's like rest can mean so many
things to people. So how do you rest?
How do you recharge? Yeah, I like that you mentioned
(35:27):
that rest doesn't have to be like physical rest.
I did a leadership incubator a few years ago for women, and I
learned about Doctor Sandra Dalton Smith's work around rest
then and learning that sleep or taking a nap or laying in bed
(35:48):
binging on Netflix is not the only type of rest.
I welcome all of those types of rest.
I love sleeping, it's great. Or like resting my body, and
that's important. But I've also learned through
her work and the leadership incubator that I did is that
there's all these other forms ofrest, like social rest where we
(36:10):
connect with a friend over coffee or there's the idea of, I
think creative rest, like, do wemake something?
I have a friend that lives in town that has a, a company
called Creative Pathways and they do workshops where you,
(36:33):
it's not about like creating themasterpiece, but it's just like
taking a pause and creating, being out in nature, reading a
book, making a collage. There's, there's social rest
like I mentioned of connecting with other people and there can
(36:54):
be like spiritual rest. This morning for the first time
ever, I went cold plunging in the Willamette with a friend of
mine who's lives in Canada and was in town for work.
And I would, I would group that under spiritual rest.
Like I had to wake up very earlyto do it, but I feel like so
(37:16):
recharged for the day ahead. And so, so there's just all
these different types of rest and mental rest, sensory rest,
like there's just so many more. And, and you can do your
research if you're listening to this into all these different
types. But I think for me, it's like
when I am resting, it's actuallyvery hard for me to just like
(37:40):
sit still. And so I've had to remind myself
and give myself permission that that's OK.
Like it basically, as long as I'm not thinking about my job
that makes money, I would consider that rest, spending
time with my kids, my family. Like camping, That's another big
one. Yes.
Yeah, yeah, there's so many types of rest.
(38:02):
I love that and I, I feel like it's also very forgiving, which
means it's very kind of like youcan decide, you can decide
however you want to rest and recharge.
And I wrote down, you know, social rest, spiritual rest,
mental sensory, using art and going to nature and be creative.
(38:24):
And I think for folks out there trying to figure out how to how
can we settle, right? It's like when we, I mean, we
are both dog parents, like, how do we, how do we train our mind
to settle, right? It's just to calm down.
And not everyone is used to justlike doing nothing.
(38:48):
So finding a way that kind of helps us regulate our system to
feel restful or to feel recharged.
And I think that's actually a very, it's not easy to do again.
Yeah. So I'm very grateful that you
share your time with us today, Adrian and talking about your
(39:11):
journey as a leader, a journey as a creative, a journey as as
someone who prioritize your well-being.
So as we wrap up our show today,I'm curious to learn what do you
look forward to? Yeah, well, thank you so much
(39:34):
for having me. And I am, I am.
Honestly, I am looking forward to the summertime.
It is May when we're recording this episode, and my kids will
be done school in about a month from now.
And we have camping trips planned throughout the summer
and travel plans to see family. And I'm looking forward to
(39:59):
exploring. I'm also looking forward to
going on this journey of training for a marathon.
So check in with me if you're listening to this.
I've now officially said I'm going to do that on a.
Podcast. So yes.
I feel like the accountability is very high.
So yes, e-mail me and check in to let me know if you think I
(40:20):
need some support. Go for it, offer some support.
It's a lot, but I'm also lookingforward to the journey because
every time I go on this journey,and it's been a little over a
decade since I trained for my last marathon, but every time I
go on this journey, I think I learned something new about
myself. And so I'm excited to see what
(40:41):
what would becomes of this journey and the summer months.
And yeah, just, I love the summer because it feels like all
the all the seeds that we've planted throughout the year,
like really start to come to fruition and it's an exciting
time. It's also a beautiful place to
live in the summer here in the Pacific Northwest.
(41:02):
So yeah, just excited about that.
And thank you for that. I look forward to holding you
accountable. I know, right?
And also, of course, where do people find you?
Where do people go Listen to an awesome podcast and work with
you? Thank you for asking.
(41:23):
So if you'd like to connect withme individually, I recommend
LinkedIn. That's a great way.
Send me a message. I'm pretty active on there.
My name is Adrian Jones and it'sa DRIANE.
You can also find me online at adrianejones.com and my podcast
(41:44):
and my LinkedIn are all connected there.
But if you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on
Spotify, Apple, and I think a couple of other platforms now as
well. And it's called the Career
Breaker Show. So search for that.
And yeah, feel free to reach out.
I love talking about careers andworking journeys and running.
(42:06):
So happy to connect with folks about all of those things.
Awesome, and next time when we see each other, we will
introduce our pops to each otheragain.
Yeah, love that. Thank you so much, Adrian.
Thank you.
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