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A Career Personal Story Close to My Heart

As a career counselor, I love stories where people are called to follow their passion. This happened to Gary Crouth who was inspired to produce a CD after hearing stories from a friend over decades about growing up in Beckley, West Virginia. I got a first-hand view of how a seed of inspiration blossomed into a passion and mission since Gary is my sweetheart.

Some stories were about quirky characters, but the one that captured his heart was about the African-Americans recruited from the south to dig a three-mile tunnel to a hydro-electric plant to provide electricity to a factory. Without any protective equipment, it’s estimated that 1,000 or more of these workers died of silicosis, some within a few months. When Gary looked into the eyes of one of the workers in a photo, he felt he was being asked to tell his story, honoring all the workers who were treated as expendable commodities digging the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel.

When Gary traveled to Beckley to see the area he’s been hearing and writing about, he was inspired to make his CD a benefit for Hope in the Mountains, a nonprofit bringing hope and positive change to southern West Virginia communities.

Having produced a CD and a book myself, each one taking 7 years, I was amazed to witness what normally laid-back Gary could get done in under a year, start to finish. It reminds me about what we can accomplish when we notice and follow an inspiration.  The passion brings drive, discipline, and courage. 

What inspiration might be calling to you, whether for work, volunteering or personal? Is there a seed growing that is ready to blossom? Trust your inspiration, do the work, and move forward.

Click HERE for information about the October 24, 2026 event, A Celebration of Appalachia: CD Release and Benefit

Dinner out celebrating the arrival of the CDs!

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What Guidance is Trying to Reach You?

When on a summer retreat vacation, The Runaway Bunny book came to me in an unexpected way. What was the message, I wondered?

Halfway in, I came to this line:

“If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,” said his mother, “I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go.”

What might you be running away from or ignoring?  A call to a different job or career? A new relationship? An adventure? A scary ending or an unknown beginning?

Perhaps the mother bunny represents your intuition calling to you in quiet moments: your still small voice, your inner guidance. Or Universal Intelligence or the God of your understanding.

When I saw the picture of the mother bunny blowing the baby bunny in a guiding way, I thought of the term Holy Spirit because I recently heard that concept referred to as Holy Breath. Perhaps it’s the whisper in your ear.

Regardless of your spiritual or secular orientation, I think we can all benefit from the still small voice within for guidance in career and life. It calls us to what we may already know from our deepest wisdom. It is calling us to come home to ourselves and to peace. And by the way, after all that exploring and ignoring, the Runaway Bunny did return home as well.

Please keep my career counseling services in mind if you know any bunnies trying to find their way!

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A compass for decision-making – Inspiration from local musician

As a career counselor, I notice career wisdom all around me. This past Sunday, I was inspired by talented guest musician Brad Yoder at First Unitarian Church and received his permission to share some lyrics from his songs. Check out his songs and performance schedule HERE.

First an excerpt from his song Compass, pure positive encouragement and help with decision-making for career and life:

Deep down you know there’s a compass in your soul,

Telling you the way to go,

Deep down, it’s true, there’s a map inside of you, deep down…

The other song that spoke to me was As Easily as Birds. In person, Brad invited the congregation to sing what you’ll see as final lyrics, the positive ones about not giving up.  That’s the message that I wanted to share. Interestingly, when I listened to it on-line, those words were very much in the background at the end with the pessimism message much stronger. I guess that can be like real life.  We need to pay attention and listen closely to words of encouragement, our own and from others.  Positive messages can often get overshadowed by our own negative self-talk.

I had a dream and you were there,

We were both suspended in the air..

Flying wasn’t hard to learn,

We could rise as easily as birds..

But I know that’ll never be, oh, that’ll never be,

As anyone can see,

That we may fly when we dream,

But we wake up to gravity,

So that’ll never, that will never be..

And my favorite lines:

Don’t give up so easily,

You can’t see how far the ripples travel…

I’m glad to share a bit of Brad’s talent with you, helping ripples to travel. If you or someone you know is a bit lost with career direction and needs a little assistance to uncover the map inside, I’d be happy to help.