The John Poelstra Show John Poelstra

Seth Vore joins me again to recap the final leg of his family’s 6,000 mile boat journey. We also revisit the original question that turned this dream into reality.

Learn More about Seth Vore and His Family



* Previous conversations with Seth:



* 121: Captain Seth Progress Report (June 2023)

* 112: Checking in with Captain Seth Vore (June 2022)

* 110: Boats and FIRE with Seth Vore (December 2021)





* The Great Loop is a 6,000 mile, year-long boating trip Seth and his family are on

* onFIREfamily – Website

* onFIREfamily – YouTube



Credits



* Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund

* Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod



All songs licensed under Creative Commons

Greg Sterling joins me to share his experiences navigating a layoff and finding a job in the current market.

Conversation Summary

Losing a job is never easy, even when the economy seems strong. Greg Sterling was was part of a layoff at Red Hat after 13 years with the company. He spent the last 7 months searching for a new position. We talked in November 2023 to get his insights on the current job market and advice for others trying to find new work.

Key Takeaways



* Job searching can be very discouraging with extremely low response rate

* Companies can receive an overwhelming 500-1000 applicants for a single role in minutes

* The current job market is very tight with companies being extremely selective

* Networking continuously is crucial, though even close contacts may not respond

* Self-care through exercise or other outlets helps manage the emotional toll

* Finding local opportunities rather than remote roles yields better results

* Asking for feedback after rejections can provide useful insights to improve

* Regularly tweaking your resume to polish message and fit is important

* Recruiters tend to only work with those they can easily place in a role

* Set limits on job search time to avoid burnout

Michael Marvosh joins me to share his experiences and perspective on the Landmark Forum. I’ve heard a variety of things about it over the years and I was curious to get Michael’s take on it.

Conversation Highlights



* Taking responsibility rather than blaming external factors

* Staying present in relationships

* “Choosing” (open) vs, “Deciding” (limiting)

* Letting go of judgment traps–“right vs wrong” and “good vs bad”

* Learning to be more unconditionally present

* Exploring “integrity” – Michael aims for authenticity

* Tightening up the wishy-washy areas

* Michael realized how he wasn’t showing up fully in key relationships

* The paradox between the past and future self-improvement

* Landmark courses are very affordable–Michael has taken several and is planning to take more



Credits



* Original photo source: Michael Marvosh

We’re checking in again with Seth Vore and his family. So far they’ve completed 5,000 miles of their 6,000 mile journey. Last time we talked it was June of 2022, and they had just bought their boat.

Learn More about Seth Vore and His Family



* Previous conversations with Seth:



* 112: Checking in with Captain Seth Vore (June 2022)

* 110: Boats and FIRE with Seth Vore (December 2021)





* The Great Loop is a 6,000 mile, year-long boating trip Seth and his family are on

* onFIREfamily – Website

* onFIREfamily – YouTube



Credits



* Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod

* Original photo source



All songs licensed under Creative Commons

Sometimes we’re afraid to slow down because we’re afraid we’ll fail. What if the opposite is true?

Highlights



* Brad Solomon’s post on LinkedIn about slowing down inspired today’s thoughts

* What if you can’t slow down too much?

* The important distinction between slowing down and stopping

* Slowing down to speed up

* What would be possible for you if you slowed down, but didn’t stop?

* Straight-Line Leadership: Tools for Living with Velocity and Power in Turbulent Times by Dusan Djukich



* Stop Stopping vs. Stopping: Chapter 6





* Maybe there isn’t a “right path” or “right track”–sometimes we waste more time trying to figure that out than actually getting somewhere

* Maybe you don’t need to know all the steps to start or keep going, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop

* Giving your “time and attention” to the things you are committed to

* Micro vs. macro commitments

* Where have you “stopped” in your life?

* What’s the smallest way you can start?

* “What haven’t you tried yet?”



Credits



* Original photo source



 

Have you ever learned something you already knew? That happened recently with what’s written on my About page.

I was surprised to find many of them relate to the theme of commitment I’ve been sharing on recently.

Credits



* Original photo source