Higher Ed Life Coach » For College Students

HigherEdLifeCoach.Com Going on Indefinite Hiatus

Sean Cook — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:10:16 +0000

When I first launched HigherEdLifeCoach.Com in August of 2009, I was focused on creating a blog that would help s students and their families manage the transitions that are a normal part of college, and to create opportunities to craft a brand name for myself as a coach that could help them in navigating these difficult journeys.The idea seemed to resonate with higher ed professionals, especially those in student affairs.

I started networking with others, and several talented writers stepped up and wrote regular guest posts for the blog, most notably Mickey Fitch and Mallory Bower, two of the nicest people I’ve met in a long time, and who I know support the ideas behind this blog, and me, and I am grateful for all the support I received from other guest bloggers, including Shonda Goward, Lee Skallerup, Sarah Howard, Andrew Henck, and Brian Fisher, and from my periodic guest hosts on my podcast, Bryan Koval, Mickey Fitch and Dennis Charles.

I’m also grateful for the many readers who have stopped by and for their comments and feedback. I still get between 600-1000 visitors in a given month, but I’m not reaching the audience I was hoping , and honestly, my interests have changed. As my coaching practice started to get going, career coaching clearly became my focus. I have been a part of the national conversations about employment and professional preparation in student affairs, and I’ve gained a few paying clients.

But, in reality, my attention to this site has trailed off, and I can’t spend the time here that would be necessary to really have it gain the kind of traction to make it feel worthwhile. I need more clients, and I need the regular income that comes with them, so I am going to follow the money, and spend time focusing on HigherEdCareerCoach.Com, my clients, my podcasts and webinars, and place HigherEdLifeCoach.Com on “pause” for a while, while I seek partners who can help bring the content up to par, and help manage it better.

I’ve reached out to some of these people (or they’ve reached out to me) in the last few weeks, and I am going to try to work on getting some regular contributors and maybe some interns and advisors. Until then, this blog is officially on hiatus.

Thanks for reading and for your support.

Tools for School: LiveScribe SmartPen

Sean Cook — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:32:27 +0000

Today, as I was online looking for inspiration about last-minute gifts, I came across a neat little gadget that I wish I had in college: a pen that will record audio as well as capturing the notes you take during your meetings, lectures, or brainstorming sessions. It’s called the Livescribe 2 GB Pulse SmartpenLiveScribe Pulse Smart Pen.

Back when I was at Penn State, I had a staff member who had a similar product that was made for kids, but he used it religiously and it really seemed to work for him. I have a college student client with ADD and I can see this pen being a great tool for him. After reading up on it this morning, I sent him an e-mail telling him to check it out. And I am totally placing this on my wishlist.

Besides being a cool way to capture your notes and audio, it’s a great content creation tool. You can make and share “pencasts” of your notes, lectures, mind-maps, brainstorming sessions, or even art and poetry.

Check it out at Amazon.Com today. They have the 2G model for just under $100 and the 4G model for about $140. On the Amazon page, you can watch some short videos to learn more about how the pen works. It’s pretty amazing! I’ll be really surprised if I hold out until the new year on getting this gizmo. If and when I give in, I will share some information with you on how I like it, and you’ll likely see “pencasts” begin to appear on the site.

Have you used the LiveScribe or a similar pen to help you with your note-taking, brainstorming, or mind-mapping?

If so, please share your thoughts on the pros and cons of using one in the comment section!

College Blogs Worth Reading: The Millennial Journey

Sean Cook — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:36:53 +0000

This Friday on the Higher Ed Life and Careers Show, Life and Career Coach Sean Cook will be joined by special guest Andrew Henck who is tweeting ideas & thoughts on leadership/nonprofits/higher ed/politics/social media from a Gen Y perspective as @MillennialTweet and blogs about them on http://themillennialjourney.wordpress.com We’ll be talking about a variety of college transition issues, his blog, and the importance of the “bookends” of the college experience…transitioning to college from high school, and out to the wider world upon graduation.

Please listen in from the episode page or click on the episode badge below.

Listen to internet radio with Sean Cook on Blog Talk Radio

The Right Way to Commit to Something

Sean Cook — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:12:26 +0000

When you are a first-year student in college, you are likely to be bombarded with information about ways to get involved on campus. There are involvement fairs, volunteer expos, and fraternity/sorority rush events, There are student organizations at churches, synagogues and mosques, bible study groups, intramural teams, hall councils, college councils and on and on and on….

These can lead to great opportunities to get involved, learn about your new community and make friends. So definitely get involved in something. You’ll find that involvement increases your sense of engagement in college and your overall satisfaction with your college experience. There’s ample evidence to back this up.

But it’s also important to commit yourself wisely. You need to have time for academics, “me time,” entertainment and sleep, too.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot myself. I left my job at Penn State almost a year ago, and moved to Athens, Georgia, where I really don’t know that many people. I started a business, and several blogs. I joined online communities related to higher education, student affairs, coaching and small business. And, because I love art and music so much, I chose two local organizations that I wanted to be involved in: Athfest (the local Art and Music Festival) and Nuci’s Space (a musician’s resource center that has affordable practice space, an event hall, and most importantly, staff that refer musicians to much-needed resources in town, including healthcare, counseling and other social services.)

Coming into a new town after living for about 15 years in my last community was daunting, but I knew that getting involved in the community would be the best way to make business connections and make friends who had similar interests. But, like many, I have a terrible time balancing my commitments. As a result, I over-committed to some and left some “hanging on the vine.” I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned from the experience, and some perspectives on how to commit the right way.

Example #1: My business. I quit my last job and took a great leap of faith in myself and my abilities. Before doing so, I got plenty of advice against starting a full-time business, but I knew that I couldn’t commit all the time and energy I would need without doing it full-time. Every decision I make about my business isn’t about money. It’s about finding ways to help people, build a solid reputation as a good coach, and to provide “social proof” that I am worth hiring and can deliver on my promises. I spend well over 40 hours each week on my business, and try to prioritize my time toward those things that help me do these things first. When choosing which activities to prioritize, I choose those that pay first. There is usually a great deal of crossover with my other main goals, because I find that happy clients and the testimonials that can follow, are the best ways to build a reputation and to provide “social proof” that I know what I am doing and can help you.

Commitment or Over-Commitment?: Commitment

Example # 2: Athfest. I helped plan the Athfest Arts and Music Festival this summer, and am serving as the Artist Market chair for the coming year. I helped quite a bit for 3 days this summer at this year’s festival and made a lot of connections in the community…artists, musicians and business people (many of which need coaching.) I attended one meeting a month for this and got periodic e-mails. Commitment or Overcommitment? Commitment.

Example #3: Athens GA Half Marathon. This event was sponsored by AthFest and this year was the inaugural event. I began by attending weekly meetings and offering ideas. Then, when the volunteer chair stepped down, I agreed to step up and co-chair the volunteer committee with another member of the planning committee. For a while, this just involved coming to meetings, but as the event grew nearer, it began to involve meetings with the co-chair, a separate volunteer committee, and various team captains. Over time, it began to absorb more of my time and energy. I helped with the course certification process, planning for a vendor expo, managing the volunteer recruitment process (through various channels) and coordinating the event throughout the weekend. It will also involve a lot of follow-up, processing and gathering input. Commitment or Overcommitment? Overcommitment.

Example # 4: Nuci’s Space: I met with Will Kiser, their volunteer coordinator, early last Spring and offered to do pro-bono career consulting for musicians that use their space. Just a couple of hours a week. And to do some professional development events and consulting for the musicians, their staff, and their board. As of this writing, I have not followed through with any of it. And frankly, I’m appalled. The mission of Nuci’s Space is awesome and it’s very much-needed here in Athens. Commitment or Over-commitment? Nah, falling short. Not committing at all.

You may find yourself in a similar situation. What should you do?

We’ll be exploring the topic of commitment all week. Check back tomorrow for some ideas on how to choose your commitments.

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Tools for School: UPromise

Sean Cook — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:04:53 +0000

Today, I’m starting a new regular feature for Higher Ed Life Coach. “Tools for School” will feature products, program and services I think would be useful for college students. In most cases, I will be endorsing and/or reviewing products I use and recommend.

Many of these will also be affiliate links. This means that I have joined an advertising program that pays me a commission of some kind for referrals. Buying from one of these links or joining program and services advertised through them, will not increase the cost of the items you are buying. It will just mean that you have bought something I like and endorse, and that a company was so happy you did that they decided to give me free money. So in the interest of full disclosure, I do make money from items advertised on my blog.

Upromise is a one-stop college service provider that helps families earn, save and pay for higher education. With Upromise, families can automatically save money for college while making everyday purchases at grocery and drug stores, gas stations, restaurants, retail stores and online shopping sites. Upromise’s partners include ExxonMobil Corporation, JCPenney.com, LandsEnd.com, Sears.com, and hundreds of others. Upromise is an easy and smart way to save for college! I have a uPromise account for my son and will be setting one up at some point for my daughter. Like the affiliate links mentioned, uPromise doesn’t cost anything to join, and when you use it, it doesn’t increase the price of the programs or services you purchase. It just results in companies giving you money that you can sock away for college.