June is popular in Western culture as a month to celebrate graduations and is also a favorite time for weddings. The tradition of the June bride actually began in ancient Roman times. The month is named for the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter, who was associated with feminine vitality, fertility, love, and marriage.

As I speak with many candidates graduating at this time of year, I often wonder, aren’t we all, in one way or another, “graduates of life”?

With strong preparation and a positive mindset, you are bound to succeed. Just like the World Cup contenders you watch and admire during Houston’s upcoming event, be determined to dive into your job search and know that you can pursue your own win in the New Work World.

A reflection on the life lessons shared in a commencement speech, offering guidance on navigating change, embracing fear, staying humble, and approaching new beginnings with purpose.

Be determined to make 2026 your best year yet. Stay open to learning new skills, exploring new opportunities, and embracing new directions on your career journey. Like the honeybee, remain adaptable, purposeful, and willing to work together for the greater good. And when the changing New Work World requires you to learn new steps along the way, remember the timeless message from John Michael Montgomery’s “Life’s a Dance”, growth comes from continuing to move forward, even when the path ahead is uncertain.

I’m grateful to reflect on my mother this Mother's Day and the way the metaphor of dance continues to shape how I view my work as a recruiter. Watching my granddaughter learn her steps and take her bow always brings a smile to my face. And I still appreciate being called a choreographer of careers. It inspires me to keep helping others navigate their own unique career journeys, whatever dance they may be learning.

Have you ever had a series of events that made you reflect on activities you needed to continue because of the positive experiences that came from them? That happened to me recently when I attended two back-to-back conferences. One was an industry conference, and the other was the annual conference for an international organization, Toastmasters. For some reason, these conferences made me reflect on a song that speaks to the opposite of what I had just experienced, the late 1960s hit by Three Dog Night, “One Is the Loneliest Number.”

Reflecting on life’s “backward” moments can provide the insight, perspective, and momentum needed to move forward with greater purpose and confidence.

In this episode of Career Can Do, Pamela McCown joins Mary Ann Faremouth to talk about how learning to communicate clearly, listen effectively, and adapt your message can open new opportunities. Drawing from her experience with Toastmasters and her journey into global leadership, Pamela shares practical insight on what it really means to be understood in professional settings. This conversation highlights the impact of mentorship, stepping outside your comfort zone, and being part of a community that supports growth.

Palm trees are among the oldest plants on earth, with roots reaching back to prehistoric times. For thousands of years they have carried symbolic meaning across many spiritual and religious traditions, including Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. Most commonly associated with tropical regions, palm trees have long been linked to fertility rituals, protection, celebration and even victory.

Let’s all be determined not to let the many challenges and changes in the New Work World and beyond hold us back. We are the pilots of our own planes as we travel forward in 2026. By embracing the teachings of the Finns and the Blue Zones, perhaps we can manifest more joy, add greater value to our lives, and make this year the best one yet in the New Work World and beyond.

This St. Patrick’s Day, celebrate by making your own luck in the New Work World. Step out of your comfort zone and embrace activities and practices that could make all the difference in your success. While luck may involve chance, solid preparation, the best information available, and a willingness to go the extra mile certainly do not.

Remember that in order for anything to grow and flourish, the right seeds need to be planted in the right soil. Be determined to make this season of Spring one that allows you to grow and expand personally and professionally while also contributing to others so they may enjoy growth in their own garden of life.

This spring, let us remember that Lent offers more than just symbolic reflection; it offers a blueprint for renewal. Just as nature sheds the old to make room for the new, Lent challenges us to release what no longer nurtures our growth. By turning to one another for support like the sunflowers in legend, enthusiastically self-sowing like the forget-me-not, seeking the balance of the vernal equinox, and choosing to pause within the space between stimulus and response, we participate in our own sacred spring cleaning. In doing so, we honor the true spirit of Lent, not as a season of deprivation, but as preparation for transformation, renewal, and new beginnings in the New Work World and beyond.

You can reel in your own “big catch” in the New Work World and have your own exciting fishing expedition if you change up your journey and sail your own career boat in a new direction. Sometimes when we are looking for one thing, we can find something different and much better by shifting our thinking and mindset. Maybe with that new great job, a trip to Hawaii can be on your bucket list in the near future to celebrate your success.

Be open to a new journey in the New Work World. When you combine a solid plan of action and a positive mindset, knowing what you want and how you are going to achieve it, your ability to create it makes all the difference in your success.

We have to put forth a conscious and deliberate effort to change how we think to create our own new reality. We must envision that new mindset in order to create it. It has been shown that when we mentally imagine what that New Work World might look like for us, we are then able to see ourselves in a much better position where we can thrive economically and personally. This is where we can move our own personal mountains and envision what is on the other side of all the changes, allowing us to become more productive and deliberate individuals in the New Work World. We are not limited by the challenges when we seek ways to overcome those obstacles by changing our mindset.

The song “What’s Love Got to Do with It” truly has far-reaching meaning beyond the traditional view of love. Use your personal growth and self-love to become your best self, so you can make a valuable contribution to your work and to the world at large.

When success looks good on paper but feels exhausting, it may be time to rethink what success really means. Elle Ballard, founder of Women of the World Network, joins Mary Ann Faremouth for an honest conversation about burnout, inner alignment, and the power of slowing down. Elle shares why pausing, asking better questions, and reconnecting with yourself can open the door to a more fulfilling career and life.

As a Career Consultant probing the psychology of success in the New Work World, I recently reflected on the words of Dorothy in the classic film, The Wizard of Oz. She says, “There is no place like home.” At the opening of the film, we find Dorothy in the midst of a tumultuous tornado, where she has been swept into a foreign place with the only familiar thing by her side, her little dog, Toto. As the film goes on, we see that Dorothy’s main quest is to find her way back home, and her journey to get there is truly filled with unfamiliar things, people, and events. 

As we move further into the new year, remember that meaningful career progress rarely happens by accident. What often looks like luck or magic from the outside is usually the result of intention, preparation, and consistent effort behind the scenes. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen.”

The new year is always a time of deep reflection for me. I try to find meaning in where I’ve been, where I am now, and where I want to go. This year’s reflection began as I cleaned my guest room after holiday company left. There, a statue that sits on a side table caught my eye, as well as a book that sits open beside it.