Boomer Women's World Newsletter

Meet the NABBW Winning at Work Expert...

NAN RUSSELL

www.nanrussell.com
www.winningatwork.com
www.intheschemeofthings.com

Even a Stanford degree didn't protect her from being fired from her first professional job. From minimum wage employee to QVC Vice President, Nan S. Russell learned the hard way what it takes to survive and thrive in this what-have-you-don't-for-me-today world. After twenty years in management, today's she's helping others avoid the mistakes she made, sharing her real-world perspectives of what does and doesn't work at work.

Currently living a life dream to live and write from the mountains of Montana, her Winning at Working and In the Scheme of Things syndicated columns reach over five million readers.

Today, Nan is a sought after national speaker, workplace consultant, and the award winning author of two books, Hitting Your Stride and Nibble Your Way to Success. Nan is the weekly radio host of Work Matters with Nan Russell on webtalkradio.net. To be a guest on her show or leave a work tip that might be used on the show, call 866-944-8195.

A Note from Nan....

I write from the mountains of northwestern Montana, near Glacier National Park, with postcard views from a home office. But it hasn't always been like this. Despite being born in Montana, I was raised in Southern California, college educated in Northern California, graduate school education in Michigan, and career focused in Pennsylvania. Along the way of grow

ing up, falling in love, raising a family and spending twenty-five years in the corporate arena, including as a Vice President with multi-billion dollar QVC, Montana was part of my life. In fact, when my husband and I fell in love in graduate school, we dreamed of moving here before we turned fifty. And we did. In 2002, I left a successful career to pursue a dream to live in Montana and write.

Today, I write a life reflections column called "In the Scheme of Things," as well as a career insights column, "Winning at Working." It was this second column and the response from readers that led to my book, Hitting Your Stride. The premise behind my messages is this: only when we're all "winning" will we all "win." But "winning" is not about climbing some company hierarchy. Rather "winning" means offering your unique talents and gifts through your work, whatever that work may be. Hitting Your Stride just received a 2009 Axiom Business Book Award in the motivation and inspiration category.

My passion has always been helping others find and use their talents. I focus my energy today through my company, MountainWorks Communications, to help organizations build winning cultures where individuals can be self-motivated and contribute their

uniqueness at work, while achieving the organization's vision or mission. In the process, my ultimate goal is to help change the workplace of today into a more soul-enhancing versus soul-depleting experience.

I didn't start writing because I came to Montana. I came to Montana because the mountains nourish my soul, and I wanted in the second half of life to make my work my writing. As Oprah would say, here is what I know - my Montana dream was chunked into existence one step at a time over twenty-five years. So whether your dream is beaches or books, or maybe a bit of both, move toward your dream, because as the line in FlashDance reminds us, "When you give up your dream, you die."