Sahar Javedani

Great Reads for Entering (or Evaluating Your Commitment to) the Creative Workforce

Posted by Sahar Javedani, Apr 09, 2012 0 comments


Sahar Javedani

Sahar Javedani

If you’re reading this now, chances are that you’re in a place of contemplative or active transition—and I commend you!

Many of you know that after seven years of working as a choreographer with parallel work in nonprofit arts administration and education in New York City, I recently moved to Philadelphia to start the next chapter of my life which included re-evaluating my commitment to a career in nonprofit administration.

In my last two years in New York City I had aligned myself with an organization that channeled some of my greatest strengths (dance education, career/professional development, nonprofit administration) into one role. After years working at least three simultaneous jobs, I convinced myself that I had “arrived.”

What followed was one of the greatest learning periods of my life.

Holding the reigns of running my own program within a larger organization confirmed that I was indeed entrepreneurial, self-driven, motivated, an excellent networker, etc. These talents were coupled with equal frustrations in communications, core values, and logistics within the organization.

I will refrain from going into detail, but I do feel compelled to share some valuable books that encouraged me along the way.

These are just a few of the books that I have found instrumental in shaping my future in the nonprofit sector coupled with periodic re-visitations to this great motivational video:

  • One of the most helpful reads I came across was Quitter by Jon Acuff.
  • Some of you may be entering the creative workforce with fresh eyes, bright complexions, and unfettered enthusiasm much like this recent article in Business Insider on How Millenials Work.
  • If you are contemplating a change of environment, re-assessing your commitment to the field, or brainstorming a start-up, I would suggest checking out Dave Ramsay’s EntreLeadership program coupled with Knowing Your Value by Mika Brzezinski.

Do you have any other great reads to add to my list? Feel free to share in the comments below.

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