This is a quick, funny presentation and one that’s very motivational.   But it also seems to be from the heart.  Looking at our careers, a straight path is rarely evident.  St. John is advocating 8 ideals that anyone, at any level can follow to make the most out of their lives.

From TED.com:

[Richard St. John] thinks of himself as an average guy, not talented at school, not terribly handsome or particularly lucky. So he spent more than a decade interviewing 500 people he defines as successful — from architect Frank Gehry to non-celebrities successful in their own lives.

The resulting book, Spike’s Guide to Success: Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and RICH, has spawned a new avenue of success for St. John as a motivational speaker and talk-show star. His newest book is 8 to Be Great: The 8 Traits that Lead to Great Success.

Her talk on Recession-Proofing Your Career covers recession-proofing mistakes, looking at your hard skills and soft skills, managing up, and the art of self-promotion.  While Klaus is focusing on the recession here in the title, this is all good advice in any economy.  She also talks about the politics of most offices and how to operate within them.

This is just a clip but you can view the entire video here thanks to fora.tv.