In order to build my brand and a foundation for my book, I have been working with a terrific Publicist, Stacey J. Miller, and our goal is to get my by-lined career articles picked up by the major national media sources. I’m thrilled to report that I was accepted to be a regular contributor for the Huffington Post online. Every month, I submit a new career column with original content. My March and April postings are on Huff Post now and you can access them easily by entering my name into the search engine on the site.

Serendipity played a very positive role in my life when I learned that Arianna Huffington, the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post was scheduled to speak at the O’Bannon Institute for Community in my home town.  I attended her talk last week and sat amongst hundreds in a packed house of enthusiastic fans.

Arianna left an amazing impression on me and shared several lessons that I believe are relevant to the career & professional development arena. She encouraged us to embrace education and never stop learning at any age. She spoke of the importance of our leaders in business, politics, and community to have good judgment. Arianna emphasized how we each have the power to turn off the negativity in our own lives. She spoke of this particular challenge for women who often feel they are not good enough, smart enough, or prepared enough for a particular quest. With humor, she talked about disregarding “The obnoxious roommate living in my head.” that often feeds her self-doubt and encouraged us all to embrace our humility, fearlessness, and above all – confidence.

A woman that has experienced many career changes, Arianna has reinvented herself personally, professionally, and politically more than once. She urged us to be good to our bodies and get the proper rest and relaxation we need to run at full capacity. Last year, she fainted from exhaustion and fell on her desk resulting in multiple stitches above her eye. This accident was a wake-up call and now she is on a mission to urge others to embrace the healing power of sleep.

Arianna believes in the power of citizen journalists and currently there are 250 official bloggers with distinctive content reporting on the Huffington Post. I am honored to be among them. With a reported 24+ million unique visitors each month to Huff Post, it’s clear to see that Arianna is thriving in her career reinvention.

I had a wonderful opportunity to present to a group of women earning their MBA and law degrees recently at a day long professional development workshop. As the guest speakers discussed a variety of topics from leadership and personal brand to professionalism, one theme was consistent throughout – be true to yourself.

Authenticity is the ability to be genuine and sincere with your intentions. All too often we make career decisions based on what others want us to do, or what we think they want us to do. Many of my clients and students have shared that they pursued practical professions because their families encouraged them to do so. While I believe families and support systems are important, ultimately the decision about career pursuits should be yours alone.

As the self assessment process reveals, getting in touch with your values, interests, personality, and skills can help you discover career opportunities that truly match your authentic self. The realities of this job economy often force us to take stop-gap jobs in order to make ends meet but never lose focus of your career dreams and continue to work towards those goals.

Think about how you want to show up in the world and how you want the world to see you. Most often, our personal and professional values alignment are close. Have the courage to be true to yourself and trust your gut.

The philosophical movement of existentialism has studied authenticity for centuries and helps us understand more about what authenticity is, along with its relationship to the concept of meaning. Existentialists assert that if an individual is not living authentically in their lives, then they lose meaning and can fall into chronic anxiety, boredom and despair. We spend a large portion of our waking hours on the job so you deserve to be happy in your career.

Muster the courage to make authentic career choices that are meaningful to you. If you can align your values, talents, and vision you can unleash a powerful Trifecta that will lead you towards career satisfaction.