I have several friends who are looking for new positions right now, and there is a lot that goes into making a decision like this. I’m dedicating this episode to my friends who are looking for something, so imagine that we are in a coffee shop and I’m having this conversation with you. If you do want to have this conversation, because, admittedly, it is easier to have over the phone with someone, or in person. I’m going to ask some questions in here, and when I do that, if you take the time to pause the podcast and actually answer the questions, it will be a valuable experience. Just saying them out loud while you’re driving or exercising will be valuable. Bonus points if you actually write out your answers. And, if you want to go through this with me, just give me a call. (801) 7-JETHRO. Seriously, that’s my phone number. You’re probably not going to take me up on that because you’ll think I’m too busy, or you don’t matter enough. That’s baloney! If you don’t call me, call someone else you trust! Before we get into the rest of the episode, I want to recognize a new partner for the Transformative Principal Podcast. This is Just Right Reader at justrightreader.com When I was an elementary principal, I saw firsthand how important reading was. If kids can read, they can do anything. But our decodable readers were not great. There are boring, repetitive and kind of bland. A few weeks ago, Sarah, from just right reader, shared her decodables with me. Kids see themselves in these books. They are enjoyable and actually funny. I’m going to talk more about this in the future, but in the meantime, check out just right reader.com for some decodables that kids will love reading. Recently, a friend shared this article on LinkedIn with me called “[[Tribe, Brand, Domain (TBD)–How to Think about Building Career]] (link) and I want to highlight some pieces. It is written by David Boyce, who ”is a serial software entrepreneur who has helped build and sell four companies. Currently he is Chief Strategy Officer of XANT and board member for Forrester (NASDAQ: FORR). Dave is an adjunct professor of marketing at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business and a frequent guest lecturer at Harvard Business School." I regularly have given similar advice to what Dave offers here, but he did it much more eloquently than I have. I encourage you to check out this article First and foremost, let’s remember what a job is. David describes a job as “a transitional arrangement with an employer that has certain features easy to measure and compare: title, compensation, benefits, etc. ” A job is just a thing. They come and go. They are largely out of your control, no matter how secure you think that job may be. I would have used the word Transactional (because you’re trading time for money) but I like how Dave uses the word Transitional because it connotes that it is a time of transition, not a permanent thing. A career is different than a job. Dave says, “A career is something you invest in over the long term. It takes shape longitudinally, layer upon layer. While the person in charge of your job may be your boss, the person in charge of your career is you.” Two important things: Your career is your responsibility. No Career can only be defined with a specific path. For example, let’s say in your career, you want to be a superintendent. There are some people who say that in order to be a superintendent, you have to have X years experience as a teacher, then X years as a principal, then X years as curriculum director, then X years assistant superintendent. Then you can “qualify” for that role. That is made up. If I took a poll of superintendents, I am sure many would have followed a similar path to that, and that could be the tried and true way to do it, but that doesn’t mean it is the only way to be a superintendent. I recently shared a sad story on my other podcast, Cybertraps, where a superintendent in a district in Massachusetts started out as a