Shifting to a More Creative Path with Annie Wong
Leap Like Me
Many of my clients are interested in taking a new creative direction with their lives. They want to tap into their inner creative and understand how to prioritize their creative and passion projects with making money for the life they want. In today’s episode, I’m chatting with one of those clients, Annie Wong a.k.a. Headexplodie, a mixed media artist and storyteller who works in the mediums of sculptures, illustration, and stop motion animations. She’s sharing her path to becoming an artist, why she chose to start her own business, how she channels her inner creative child, and...
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How to Know if It’s Time for a Radical Reset in Your Life
Leap Like Me
Even when you know that something in your life—like a job or a relationship or where you live—feels off, it can still feel like a big decision to make a change. And it is. But putting it off only keeps you further from alignment and leads to a level of burnout it can be difficult to bounce back from. What you need to get back on track is a radical reset: a big change that can jumpstart your progress forward. In today’s episode, I’m talking about the telltale signs that it is time for you to make radical changes in your life. I’m sharing how a radical reset can transform your...
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Re-Energizing Your Creative Self
Leap Like Me
It’s easy to let your creative pursuits fall by the wayside when you are focused on your career and making money. However, not prioritizing your creativity can leave you feeling stuck and unfulfilled. In today’s episode, I’m talking about why it’s important to re-energize your creative self, including how to know when it’s time to make creativity a priority and the challenges that might block you from making the time. I’m also sharing some ideas to keep you from getting stuck, and the benefits that come from taking time for creativity. In this episode, you’ll learn… [02:37] My...
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How to Network with Purpose with Klementina (Tina) Sula
Leap Like Me
If you’re ready to take a leap or at a crossroads moment, do you know where to begin with your networking? Or do you feel overwhelmed with how to create, cultivate, and sustain meaningful relationships? Life is a relationship business. The connections that we build lead to the opportunities that come our way. In today’s episode, I’m talking with Tina Sula, a philanthropic advisor and fundraiser, professor, and expert in networking. She’s sharing the importance of knowing what you want, how to make authentic connections, and being clear about your value alignment. In this episode,...
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Navigating Crossroads Moments
Leap Like Me
Have you ever had that moment in your life or career where you feel like you’re not quite on the right path? In these moments, you have the choice of continuing on or making a change. This is your crossroads moment, and I’m here to walk you through your options for how to proceed. In today’s episode, I’m discussing how to know when you’re at a crossroads moment, what emotions that can bring up and how to sort through them, the opportunities that a crossroads moment offers you, and all the ways you can navigate these impactful moments. In this episode, you’ll learn... [01:44] How to...
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Taking Brave Leaps at Any Age with Lisa Alfano
Leap Like Me
What are you waiting for? That’s the question Lisa Alfano found herself asking at 50 years old when she decided to take the leap and start training for triathlons. Since then, her entire life has changed, and she’s preparing to take an even bigger leap! In today’s episode, Lisa Alfano details her journey from triathlons to business ownership, explains how coaching gave her the accountability she needed to make big shifts, and how she’s preparing for this next chapter in her life (including support from a coach and a community.) In this episode, you’ll learn… [03:19] The crossroad...
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Why We Avoid Uncomfortable Conversations, And How to Have them Anyway (Part 2)
Leap Like Me
This episode is part two on bravely having tough conversations. Click to listen to part one. If you listened to my last episode, you know that tough conversations like breaking the news about an upcoming job change to your employers and family are necessary for growth, and choosing to have them can be an act of bravery. And perhaps now you’re ready to have these talks about moving on, going forward, and making changes in your professional and personal life… But you’re not exactly sure how to begin the actual conversation. So, today I’m sharing seven practical tools to help you have...
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Why We Avoid Uncomfortable Conversations, And How to Have Them Anyway
Leap Like Me
Have you ever been in a situation where you know you need to have a tough conversation, but you’re a little afraid of the response you might get? Whether you’re quitting your job, moving across the world, or making a dream a reality, you have to tell the people in your personal and professional life, even if you might feel uncomfortable going into the conversation. Effective communication is key when you’re about to take a leap. In today’s episode, I’m sharing how to stay the course on your leap, tools I use with my clients, and the three most common reasons we avoid tough...
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How to Build Good Health and Wellness Habits with Ana Alexandre
Leap Like Me
Long, tiring days of juggling work responsibilities and kids fighting bedtime led to me feeling completely drained of energy and wanting to snack at night before bed. We all have competing demands that take up our time. How do we make time for ourselves and prioritize our health? And what if we keep struggling to meet our health and fitness goals over long periods of time? Earlier this year, I decided that I was ready to make some changes—and that I needed some help to accomplish my goals. In today’s episode, I’m chatting with holistic nutritionist, personal trainer, and life...
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How to Keep Going After Your Goals—Even with Setbacks
Leap Like Me
Setbacks happen to all of us, every day. Whether it’s something specific and personal to you, such as a death in the family or not getting the loan you needed to start your business, or something that affects more people, such as a local election or a global pandemic, it seems we are constantly battling to continue forward on our goals. Life is full of unpredictability. You might be wondering, how do I keep going amidst constant turmoil? In today’s episode, I’m sharing how to focus on what you can control while keeping your goals and vision at the forefront, how to identify your values,...
info_outlineHave you ever had an idea that you just couldn’t get out of your head? A dream that, no matter how hard you tried to ignore it, just kept popping up. If so, honor that inclination. As today’s guest says, if you can’t stop thinking about it, you should probably go for it.
In this episode, I’m chatting with Jack Mengel about his leap from project management to data science. Jack is sharing how he went from merely dreaming about a career in data science to being “all in” for his leap in just a matter of weeks. Plus, he’s shedding light on some of the limiting beliefs he encountered along the way and how he overcame them.
In this episode, you’ll learn...
- Where Jack started his career and where he is now [1:52]
- How Jack accidentally landed in a project management role [3:42]
- How turning 30 inspired Jack to make a change in his career [7:55]
- Why Jack was drawn to data science, and why he was initially hesitant to go for it [10:45]
- How Jack went from not knowing what he wanted to do to being all in for his new career in just a few weeks [18:06]
- Why Jack decided to work with a career coach before he took his leap [19:26]
- How Jack taught himself the skills he’d need for his new career [23:33]
- How your identify shifts and evolves during your career leap [28:03]
- How Jack landed a data science role at his original company [30:30]
- Using your passion to fuel your leap and make the hard work enjoyable [36:02]
- Putting yourself out there to make connections and land projects in your new field [37:20]
- How to overcome the limiting beliefs keeping you from taking your leap [44:30]
If you’re waiting for a sign to take your career leap, be sure to tune into this episode.
Get full show notes and the episode transcript: https://www.lisahoashi.com/leaplikeme/episode25
Connect with Jack
Jack’s Bio:
Jack Mengel is an experienced Program Manager and Data Science Engineer, based in Boston. He graduated from Boston University in May 2021 with a Masters in Computer Science (concentration Data Analytics).
In his current role, he is a full-time data scientist. He has performed projects predicting returns of stocks as well as trade costs, using both classifier and regression approaches. He has constructed a series of models using gradient boosting to predict trade costs for globally traded stocks that is now used in his prior company's trading process.
His data science work has also been heavily involved in "natural language processing" (aka NLP) meaning he derived statistical insights using text. His work in this space has been primarily looking for sentiment / investment signals on companies in earnings calls and company filings.
Jack has competed in several Kaggle competitions. Here is a link to his notebooks: https://www.kaggle.com/jacksmengel/notebooks