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After six years, it's time for Making A Living with Maggie to find a new home. Unfortunately my radio show is no longer being carried by SiriusXM due to major restructuring of the Martha Stewart Radio channel. It was a surprise because my show was popular and had advertisers.  Nevertheless I am on the hunt for a new home be it FM/AM, Internet/podcast, TV or some other medium (I just found out my How To Interview video on YouTube went viral & has over 1.2 million hits!)

I'm Soul Searching on it at the moment, taking my own advice.  But I didn't want this moment to pass without acknowledging all those who have helped make my show a success (saying thank you to those who've helpd you is also advice I often share.)

• I want to thank all the loyal listeners and callers for tuning in.  Your questions and comments both on air and off made for rich career conversations.  Thank you for your recent show of support as well, offering to write letters to Martha Stewart Living Radio and SiriusXM on my behalf (click on the links to make a comment on each company's respective Facebook page).  Knowing my show has helped you/your careers emboldens me to continue getting the message out there that it is possible to Soul Search, Research, & Job Search into work you love!
• Thank you to my inspired guests who openly shared the ups and downs of their career stories so that others could benefit.  I'm honored to have interviewed  the likes of Deepak Chopra, Martina Navratilova, Bob Barker, Dilbert Creator Scott Adams, Patricia Heaton, Barbara Corcoran, Sally Field and Martha herself as well as industry experts like Sandy Abrams, Keith Ferrazzi, Cali Yost, Marci Alboher, Lindsey Pollak, Craig Zabransky, Dan Schawbel, Jonathan Fields, Mark Babbit, Sree Sreenivasan, Gretchen Rubin, Miriam Salpeter & many others.  (For a complete list of past guests and their latest advice visit my radio page.)
• Thank you to my radio producers Marcy Yurick and Lauren Gould & sound engineer Chris Hauselt.  Special thanks to Samara Lenga my first producer/engineer for getting Making A Living with Maggie off the ground.
• Many thanks to Nicole Williams for suggesting I pitch a show to Martha Radio, to my former boss Ron Thomas for encouraging me to branch out careerwise, and to Cyndi Stivers for saying yes to my pitch & giving me the chance to live out a my dream to be a radio host. Many thanks to broadcasting executive Liz Aiello for recognizing the continued value of career conversation on air.
• Thank you to my show sponsors and advertisers like Deluxe Corp. Your support has enabled people to follow their passions to new business ventures.

When one door closes, another opens.  Though disappointed that my time on Martha Stewart Living Radio and SiriusXM have come to a close, I welcome the opportunity to reach even more people through new channels be it FM, AM, Internet radio, podcasts, TV, video, or something better.

Thank YOU for reading this post!

Billie Jean King called her the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles tennis player to have ever lived & I'm honored to call her a recent guest on my SIRIUSXM show.  

Few in any field have reached the heights of success for as many years as Martina Navratilova.  

With over 59 Grand Slam Tennis titles and a career spanning four decades, Martina knows how to achieve long-term career success. 

She shared her lessons learned recently on Making a Living with Maggie. 

In case you missed it, here are the highlights...

Martina Navratilova's Secrets to Success:

1. Do what you love - Martina said she would never have achieved such success had she not LOVED tennis. Her passion even led her to defect to the US when her home country (then communist-run Czecheslovakia) made her leave her family behind. Never knowing if she'd see them again, Martina made the unwavering commitment to make the sacrifice worth it by being her best on the court. 
2. Adapt to change, don't fear it - "I was never afraid to learn new things" said Martina.  From equipment to court surfaces to technique, the level of change in professional tennis over the four decades that Martina succeeded was staggering.  Yet she never shyed away from a new way of doing things.  "You can teach an old dog new tricks" was Martina's advice to listeners.
3. Get & stay in shape - After retiring from tennis, Martina gave up her exercise routine only to return to it a year later.  From lost energy to feeling cranky, Martina realized staying in shape wasn't just for playing pro tennis.  Now she doesn't miss a day of exercise.  She even wrote a book on the subject (Shape Your Self) and her passion for good health has led her to a second career as AARP's Health & Fitness Ambassador.  

It is no wonder that a Wharton study recently found that success in sports leads to success in careers. Martina's commitment both on and off the court to living her best life led her to achieve the best success careerwise too.

If there's one thing I've learned interviewing the "greats" in their fields from Martha Stewart to Deepak Chopra to Dilbert Creator Scott Adams to name a few and now Martina Navratilova...all the so-called secrets of success won't work unless you do. 

As Aristotle so aptly put it, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore is not an act but a habit."  

Want a career in food?  Food safety is a growing field and one where you can make a real difference.  Take Barbara Kowalcyk. The tragedy that thrust Barbara into the food safety arena was chronicled in the 2009 Academy Award-nominated documentary, Food, Inc.  

In 2001, her two-year-old son, Kevin died after eating tainted hamburger and since them Barbara has made it her job to save others from foodborne illness co-founding CFI to help America find science-based solutions to the food challenges of the 21st Century.

Barbara has provided scientific input to national and international government bodies, served on multiple national advisory committees, and received public recognition for her efforts to improve food safety. 

Hear more of Barbara's inspiring story LIVE on my SIRIUSXM show tomorrow (June 24) at 4p East/1p West SIRIUSXM 110.  Read below for her advice on careers in food safety and how you can make a living making a difference!  

• Is food safety a growing field? In general, we are facing a public health capacity crisis in the United States and globally – and, as a public health issue, food safety is no exception.  Emerging infectious diseases and food contamination – as well as the sustainability of agriculture and the safety of our water – are growing and difficult challenges.  In fact, most experts agree that zoonotic diseases – human diseases that originate in animals – will be the big health challenge for the 21st Century.  Given the global nature of our food supply and our increasingly limited resources, it is clear that, going forward, we will need a more holistic and sustainable risk-based approach to food and food safety that focuses on prevention and integrates human, animal and environmental health.  Unfortunately, we do not have enough trained people to effectively and efficiently develop and implement such a system.  With the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, the workforce crisis will only get worse as governmental agencies and food producers across this country struggle to find qualified people to implement the new laws and regulations.  So, yes, food safety is a growing field.  

• What do you enjoy most about working in this area? I have always had a keen interest in public health.  Before I became involved in food safety, I spent nearly 10 years working in clinical research as a biostatistician.  During that time, I contributed significantly to identifying new treatment options for health issues that greatly impact people’s lives – most notably schizophrenia.  Even though my interest in food safety was born out of my family’s tragedy, I am still driven mainly by my interest in public health and knowing that every day I am making a difference.  As CEO of a national non-profit, I wear many different hats – strategic planner, scientist, researcher, educator, advocate, policy expert, writer, counselor, fundraiser, bookkeeper and travel agent.  While I enjoy the diversity of these tasks, what I enjoy most is translating science into action – whether I am talking about the importance of using a meat thermometer or by meeting with government officials to discuss the development of new public policies – so that the food on our plates is safer for us to eat.

• What's most challenging about it?  I am one of those people who loves challenges, so what I enjoy the most is probably the most challenging.  I have a master’s degree in statistics, and I am currently finishing up my doctorate in Environmental Health with a specialization in Molecular Epidemiology.  I am a data person.  While I understand the scientific process, I am not a bench scientist – but a lot of food safety is rooted in bench science.  So, the challenge for me is translating that bench science into terms that non-scientists can understand and that motivates them to change their attitudes and behaviors towards food safety.  Scientists and data people are, by nature, not the best storytellers, but that’s what is needed in order to translate science into action.  Of course, the business-side of running a non-profit is also very challenging.  I always have to be thinking two steps ahead about what we are going to do and how we are going to fund it – not an easy task in the current economic climate!

• How would you recommend someone who wanted a career change get started in this field? There are several different career paths that someone could pursue within food safety – working in government, industry, academia and NGO’s.  Most will require an advanced training in public health, microbiology or food science.  To figure out which path is best for you, I would recommend speaking with food safety professionals, taking a class in one of those areas and reading scientific journals as well as more popular literature on the subject.  There are several programs that are specifically designed for working people who want to pursue a career in food safety.  The University of Minnesota School of Public Health is recognized as one of the leaders in training public health professionals for careers in food safety.  Every May/June, they offer a three-week Summer Public Health Institute (http://www.sph.umn.edu/ce/institute/) which is specifically designed for working professionals.  Students can take just a day of classes or, by taking online classes and attending two Summer Public Health Institutes, earn a master’s of public health through University of Minnesota’s Executive Program in Public Health Practice. The Summer Public Health Institute offers a number of excellent courses in food safety from different perspectives and would provide insights as to which career path might be best for you.   Similarly, Michigan State University offers an online program where students can earn a Certificate or Masters of Science in Food Safety (http://www.online.foodsafety.msu.edu/). 

Many thanks to Barbara for sharing her advice and making it her mission to inform and educate about the dangers of foodborne illness.  What an inspiring example of a person who is "being the change they want to see in the world." To find out more and support her cause visit http://www.foodborneillness.org/.

If you have questions for Barbara or want to get advice on your own career dilemma, call into my show at 866-675-6675 - Making a Living with Maggie, Fridays 4p East/1pm West SiriusXM 110. 

Kerry Hannon, author of the Amazon best-seller "What's Next?" joins my SIRIUSXM career talk show today to share inspiring stories from real people who have changed careers mid-life. Here's more from Kerry re: the roadmap that continues to lead her to her dream job...

Q: What do you want your life/work to stand for? 

I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was a kid. I read every book I could get my hands on, egged on by an older sister, Patty, who loved to read just as much. I wrote my first book when I was ten—all about kids and ponies. (It hasn’t been published yet). 

No surprise since that was exactly what my life was all about. We had a five-stall stable, dogs, horses, cats and four of us kids racing around. Mom refers to it as “a zoo”. She never knew who would be at the table for dinner with us. Who wouldn’t want to hang out at our house?

The question was how to make money as a writer. I knew I didn’t want a desk job-too boring and claustrophobic. I wanted to find a job where I would always be learning, meeting new people and traveling. 

I began by interviewing professional horseman at the horse shows I went to as a competitor on the “A” circuit when I was around eighteen. I sold the profiles to horse magazines for a whopping $100 a piece at first, but it felt like a thousand.  And so it goes. Today, I am still writing profiles of people in What’s Next? Follow Your Passion and Find Your Dream Job.

After graduating from Duke University, I built-out my portfolio as a freelance writer in my hometown of Pittsburgh– stringing for Business Week, working as the regional correspondent for Advertising Age, covering nightlife for Pittsburgh magazine, where I profiled local musicians. I wrote a dance column for an alternative newspaper, covered school board meetings and more for the Pittsburgh Press. 

When I was 25, I landed the big job at Forbes, after persistently calling for an interview and assuring the hiring editor that Forbes was my father’s favorite magazine, in fact, the only one that he had delivered to our home. All true. It was magic.

I got the job. I moved to New York and off my career went as I headed up th masthead moving from Forbes to Money to U.S. News & World Report and USA Today. I have written six books along the way, and it has been fantastic. My dream was to one day have a column in a national newspaper with my picture. (I wrote the Your Money column for USA Today) and write books. Check. 

Best news: Ten years ago, I went off on my own again to be an independent freelancer with several clients, including Forbes, U.S. News, USA Today. Lesson here: never burn bridges. The new ones, like AARP and CBS MoneyWatch, come along the old-fashioned way, through continuous networking, a habit I started back in my 20s and have always made the effort to maintain.

Q: What gets you out of bed every morning?   

Here’s the real secret to my success as a writer and journalist: When I was young, I learned to write about my passion–horses– and share that with others, and it was sweet. Today, I’m fortunate to write about other people’s passion and pass that inspiration on to readers to help them follow their dream.

But I also write about personal finance and money and work issues that touch people’s lives in a more direct fashion. I try to make sense of a topic that makes people panic and freeze. I lay it out in simple, “news you can use” fashion that both my 81-year-old mom and my teenage nephew can understand. And I believe in my heart it makes people’s lives better.

That gets me out of bed in the morning. Well, actually, my yellow Labrador Retriever, Zena, is truly responsible for that, but you get my drift. I have been able to translate my love for writing and meeting people into meaningful work that helps others.

Q: What's the one piece of career advice you wish you'd known sooner in your career? 

The one piece of advice I wish I’d known sooner in my career is that it pays richly to work hard and to communicate with the people you report to regularly. 

That sounds obvious, but when I was young I had a certain sense of entitlement I think and felt I didn’t need to ask for help. I was afraid to show that I didn’t understand something or even make sure my editor and I were in synch. I wanted to do things my way. And frankly, I didn’t always respect what a difference it makes when you file your work early. Surprise. Everyone’s job is easier, and you get hired again and again.

Today, I work harder than I ever did when I was in a staff job. I care about my product deeply. I get up at 5:30 every morning and go to it. I work every day, but I love what I do, so it doesn’t matter. And I make sure I find time to walk Zena and ride my horse regularly. That’s living the dream.  

Kerry Hannon, a career reinvention and transition expert, is a nationally acclaimed personal finance contributing editor and retirement correspondent for U.S. News & World Report and a featured blogger on second careers at Forbes.com. Kerry is also is the Great Jobs for Retirees columnist for AARP.com.  For more, go to: http://www.kerryhannon.com.

Bill Handel is known throughout Southern California for stimulating talk radio. When I made a return appearance on his show recently, he didn't disappoint.  

Being a bit of a "realist", Bill had tough questions for me including:

• Where are the jobs really? 
• What do you do when an employer wants experience and all you have is education?
• How do you stand out when resumes all look the same?
• Doesn't it take years to change careers? 

These are difficult challenges but I was more than happy to share real answers. Employers are posting job opening and opportunities for exciting new careers exist now.  But rather than focusing on "landing another job", I was emphatic with Bill and his listeners that it's not enough.  

To succeed today, you've got to follow your heart to the paycheck.  To do that means targeting your job search with soul search first.  Getting clear on what you WANT to do, what you're GOOD at, and how you WANT to put your skills to good use is not a nice to have, it's a career survival strategy! Whatever career you go into is going to be demanding and you will need genuine enthusiasm to keep pace.  

For those concerned that a career change will take too long....in almost ten years of helping people change careers I have found the path is made of latent talents and interests.  Career possibilities and ideas that clients have been harboring for YEARS and even implementing for YEARS on the side or for friends, turn out to be their dreams jobs. They just needed to formalize them.  Chances are you may already be doing what you love to do, you're just not getting paid for it (YET). 

LISTEN IN to my stimulating career conversation with Bill and weigh in below with your thoughts and ideas. What do you think is the best way to land a job in this economy?