🎈Authors To Watch🎈John Neral Author of YOUR MID-CAREER GPS @john_neral @pumpupyourbook #authorstowatch #interview

 

 

John Neral, MA, CPC reawakens, energizes, galvanizes, and innovates the mind think of employees, corporations, associations, and systems. A celebrated executive/career and professional development coach and in-demand, mindset-shifting public speaker, John’s professional walk included a 25-year career in education and a longstanding corporate consultant for Fortune 500 giant, Casio America, Inc. He now leads John Neral Coaching, LLC, one of the most progressive, mindset-shifting professional and organizational coaching and public speaking firms in the U.S. He is the author of Your Mid-Career GPS – Four Steps to Figuring Out What’s Next and SHOW UP – Six Strategies to Lead a More Energetic and Impactful Career and the host of “The Mid-Career GPS Podcast.”

As a Master Practitioner in the Energy Leadership Index, John’s experience has made him an impactful and valuable coach to his one-on-one and group coaching clients and organizations. With Energy Leadership™, John identifies where people perform at their optimal levels and when they are under stress. Combining the Energy Leadership™ principles, a client’s workplace strengths, and their “unique professional value,” John helps his clients create their career GPS so they can take action toward achieving their professional and personal goals.

A former church organ prodigy, John is an avid traveler–having sojourned to 5 of the 7 continents, a professional bowler and the winner of a Professional Bowlers’ Association Regional Title (2010), and a game-show fan, having appeared on previous episodes of GSN’s Chain Reaction and Make My Day. John is happily married and lives with his spouse and their rescue cat, Amy Farrah Meowler (named after the Big Bang Theory character), in the heart of Washington DC’s Dulles Technology Corridor, Tysons Corner, VA.

You can visit his website at https://johnneral.com or follow him at Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

Are you considering a career change but doubt yourself or get easily overwhelmed by the entire process?

Are you a mid-career professional ready to level-up, but unsure of what steps to take?

What if there was an easy and supportive way to plan your next career destination?

Your Mid-Career GPS will guide you to create your own professional roadmap so you can find the job you love or love the job have. John Neral, Certified Professional Coach, will help you strategically position yourself in the marketplace while teaching you how to leverage your unique skills from a place of value and service for any organization.

Learn how to prepare, position, and promote yourself as you create a tactical and strategic plan by building Your Mid-Career GPS. Let this book be your guide to answer many of the current questions you have about creating your next advancement opportunity.

PRAISE

“This book is for those of you who feel like you know everything and nothing about what’s next, you can’t fathom writing yet another cover letter, and you wonder “why bother” when it comes to updating your résumé. If you are feeling alone on this journey, bring this book, and all of the insight and tools it contains, along with you. You will have John’s company along the path and you will be one step closer to finding your way!”–Natalie Siston, Best-selling author of Let Her Out: Reclaim Who You Have Always Been and Founder, Small Town Leadership

“John expertly guides readers through the trials, tribulations, and common pitfalls of mid-career professionals and managers. He also provides information on the effective career strategies and mindset needed to be successful. This book is a must read if you are looking for professional support and could use a career GPS! — Porschia Parker Griffin
Founder and CEO of Fly-High Coaching Millennial Coaching Institute

“LinkedIn is the most powerful tool to help you network, build professional relationships, learn, search for jobs, and much more. I always say if you are not on LinkedIn you might be left out. Your Mid-Career GPS provides valuable tips and guidance to help you navigate LinkedIn and start growing your network and create your next advancement opportunity.”— Rhonda L. Sher, LinkedIn Specialist, Author, Speaker

“I picked up this latest book after enjoying John Neral’s previous book, SHOW UP – Six Strategies to Lead a More Energetic and Impactful Career. In Your Mid-Career GPS, John Neral provides clear, actionable steps to put his six strategies into play quickly and effectively. I really enjoyed his conversational writing style as well. As a mid-career professional, I love that my cohort is the focus of his attention and expertise. He demonstrates throughout the book that he knows the benefits mid-career professionals bring to an organization and his thoughtful observations and exercises will help anyone define their professional value and market not only their skills but themselves. Reading and employing the strategies in this book can position you to be a more valuable resource to your current employer or challenge you to spread your wings and find your next, great career opportunity. The underlying message is one of empowerment and encouragement and that’s a message everyone can benefit from.”–Victoria A. Bourgeois

Welcome to My Bookish Pleasures. We would love to get to know you and your book! When did you begin writing?

I began writing about 20 years ago in my professional career, first as a mathematics specialist, and then launched my coaching practice full-time in 2018. I’ve always enjoyed writing growing up but would gravitate toward more journal writing than research papers and such.

Describe your writing process. When and where do you write?

I always start with a massive Excel spreadsheet! I use that spreadsheet to capture all of my ideas. Then, I start sorting and organizing those ideas into columns that eventually become the chapters. Once I’ve mapped all of those ideas out, I began organizing each column into how I wanted to tell that chapter’s story. As a start writing, I change the column of that cell’s topic to green once I’ve written it and am happy with it for now in the writing process. Yellow means that it’s in progress but not finished. No color means that I haven’t started it yet. Once the column is all green, I close that chapter until I send it to my editor.

I worked with a book coach on Your Mid-Career GPS, and Andrea Seydel from Live Life Happy Publishing helped me fine-tune my process to map all of these ideas out to best see them on the spreadsheet to start writing.

I wrote in the evenings and on the weekends. I’m not a morning person and like to get into my day before I start writing. I also used the voice dictation feature on my computer this time. While it allowed me to get my ideas down more quickly, I’m not sure I would do that again. For me, there is something about slowing down and typing the words that I like better.

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

Your Mid-Career GPS – Four Steps to Figuring Out What’s Next will help my readers find a job they love or love the job they have. Mid-career is a dynamic time. While your career is progressing and advancing, you also have to deal with life events, maybe a growing family, taking care of elderly parents, etc. So, when you think you need to find a new job, you may be wondering how you will get that done amidst everything else. That’s where my book will help you. I walk my reader through my four-step process that will help you strategically position yourself in the marketplace and help you take care of all of the logistics like your resume and LinkedIn, along with great networking and interviewing tips.

How did you get the idea for the book?

I got the idea to write this book from my clients. As my business grew, I met more and more mid-career professionals who weren’t happy or satisfied in their jobs. They wanted something more but weren’t sure how to go after it. I wanted to write a book that would help mid-career professionals navigate their career path competently and confidently find that next job or create their next advancement opportunity.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?

My most challenging aspect was the pandemic. Things changed quite a bit while writing this book, given the lens the pandemic provided. Work has changed. Values have become clearer. People learned how to work remotely, and companies found out they could still be productive and keep everyone safe. It’s been a challenging time for certain, and I wanted to make sure that the book honored this time in our lives and careers.

Do you find it easier to write nonfiction?

Yes. My hat is off to all of the fiction writers out there. I love how they tell their stories in that way.

Do you have plans to write fiction?

I do not. I’m going to leave that to the experts.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m working on growing the public speaking side of my business and looking to workshop or keynote at various companies, colleges, and universities. I don’t have any immediate plans to write another book, but there may be an online course in my future.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring nonfiction authors?

You have a message and someone needs to hear it. If your book can help one person because of your experiences and insights, share it with the world. You have the power to impact someone’s life for the better. Share your story.