Sharon Glassman is a Gracie Award-winning humorist and author.
http://sharonglassman.com

Blog Entries by Sharon Glassman

What is Work? High-Tech Art With Heart Trumps ALS

Posted November 19, 2009 | 11:56 AM (EST)


Zach Lieberman found his career as a humanity-boosting computer artist by getting lost.

As a fine arts graduate in the '90s, "I had to get a job," he said, in a phone call from his office at the Parsons School of Design in Manhattan. "At that time everyone I...

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What is Work? Buddhist Discernment on the Job - Part of the Green Books Campaign

Posted November 10, 2009 | 09:37 AM (EST)


Note to readers: A few weeks ago, I got an email inviting me to part of a Green Books Campaign sponsored by Eco-Libris, a for-profit enterprise that promotes books printed on non-virgin paper and funds the planting of trees in Africa and Central America.

One hundred...

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What is Work? Gail Collins: When Everything Changed

Posted November 3, 2009 | 08:40 AM (EST)


Interviewing a journalist is like operating on a surgeon, I worried, as I picked up the phone.

I was calling New York Times columnist and author Gail Collins, who had been spending the day at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin, TX.

My...

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What is Work? Small Town Hospital Closing Opens Health-Care Debate

6 Comments | Posted October 23, 2009 | 05:42 PM (EST)


In our last post on Work, we featured three experts about the changing nature of Work, from the Pop Tech conference in Camden, Maine.

One of those speakers, John Fetterman, the mayor of Braddock, PA, arrived in Maine with news that embodies America's health-care debate.

Braddock,...

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What is Work? America Re-Imagined at Pop Tech (Day 1)

1 Comments | Posted October 22, 2009 | 05:47 PM (EST)


This series on work started with profiles of individuals who've identified their passions and turned them into amazing careers.

The next few posts will feature a look at Work, American-Style, from the PopTech conference in Camden, Maine.

PopTech began -- as its name implies -- as a meeting...

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What is Work? An Honest Interview with Myself

3 Comments | Posted October 15, 2009 | 04:43 PM (EST)


I've been writing this series about Work for HuffPost Living for several months now. It felt like the right time to review what I'd learned. So I invited Me, the reporter, to interview Me, the indie writer/voice-over/creative freelancer, about what we've learned about Work thus far:

Q:...

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What is Work? Saving the World Without Killing Yourself

1 Comments | Posted September 29, 2009 | 05:09 PM (EST)


Good news! You've found a job helping the world in a crucial, even life-saving way.

Bad news: You're working so hard for so little that you're about to burn out.

"Is there a way for me to help others without killing myself?" you ask.

Absolutely, says Andrew Zolli....

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What Is Work? Success Through the Immigrant Mindset

Posted September 23, 2009 | 02:55 PM (EST)


If you're down on your luck and ya ain't got a buck? Glenn Llopis wants to kick your ass - in a good way.

Llopis is a California-based entrepreneur, the kind of guy who could - and did - make it to the top of the corporate...

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What is Work? Listening to Inspiration, With Songwriter Darrell Scott

Posted September 17, 2009 | 12:20 PM (EST)


Darrell Scott is a hit-songwriter, an A-List musician and acclaimed independent singer-songwriter who's mixing a new album to be released later this year.

The last thing he needed was a new job.

Or did he?

In a phone chat from Nashville, Darrell Scott described his...

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Shall We Brunch? Ft. Collins Politics in Action

1 Comments | Posted September 16, 2009 | 12:40 PM (EST)


Taking a snapshot of a movement sounds nonsensical, if not impossible. But if you're in Northern Colorado when Dan Shaner hosts one of his Sunday brunches for change, that's what you'll get -- along with some very fine local bluegrass and an equally tasty homemade meal.

Like a lot...

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What is Work? Balancing Creativity and Cash

Posted August 27, 2009 | 11:46 AM (EST)


James P. Othmer is an ex full-time-ad guy turned full-time author.

Or maybe he's an ad guy turned author between full-time jobs?

No one can say. Least of all, James Othmer.

But it sort of doesn't matter. Because however the future plays out, Othmer has found his...

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What is Work? Cutting Yourself Free With Heart

Posted August 26, 2009 | 11:47 AM (EST)


In previous posts, we've met people who have created their jobs by pursuing professional passion.

In today's post, we'll meet Jen Consalvo, a woman who left her job to pursue her dream career.

Ditching a steady paycheck takes guts in an unsure economy. But Jen is, by nature,...

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What is Work? Career Satisfaction for a Global Youth Culture

1 Comments | Posted August 20, 2009 | 05:55 PM (EST)


According to the United Nations Population Fund, there are more than a 1.5 billion people worldwide between the ages of 10 and 25.

Look ten years into the future and that's 1.5 billion+ young people in an ever-more global job market.

Jennifer Kushell is an expert in...

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What Is Work? Finding Your Path by Laying the Bricks

5 Comments | Posted August 17, 2009 | 03:19 PM (EST)


There's nothing like asking someone about their work to distract you from the fact that they're sticking a dozen needles into your torso.

And so, on a recent visit to my local naturopath, I popped the question:

How did you discover your passion for "alternative" medicine?

Like many young...

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What Is Work? Mastering the Art of Change

Posted August 12, 2009 | 02:28 PM (EST)


Julie Child never said this, but hopefully someone French sorta did:

The more we try to keep our work world from changing these days, the more it changes. (Take a deep drag on your mental Gauloise here.)

If you've been laid off, are looking for work or worrying about the...

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What Is Work? Odd Jobs for Laid-Off Full-Timers

Posted August 10, 2009 | 04:10 PM (EST)


New York City voice-actor Jeremy Redleaf , 25, has found success in a highly on-demand business.

He's been narrating commercials since he was a kid. In November, he'll be voicing a new character on Sesame Street. His career has taught him a ton about the world of...

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What is Work? Feeling Well-Paid From Your Job Search

Posted August 5, 2009 | 05:24 PM (EST)


The last few posts in this series on work have focused on folks who have created custom-fit jobs by following their passion.

But what happens when your passion for employment meets with a "Maybe Later, Maybe Never?" from the world?

Freelancers and job-seekers can spend the workday seeking work,...

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What Is Work? Kinky Sex and a 401K

1 Comments | Posted August 3, 2009 | 03:11 PM (EST)


Parental Advisory: Frank, extremely fun information on sex and careers below.

Last week, as part of this series on the nature of work, we met a couple whose passion led them to start a cupcake bakery/original T-shirt emporium (which Aerosmith's Joe Perry dropped into last week!) and a...

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What Is Work? Promoting Authors and Books in New Ways

1 Comments | Posted July 29, 2009 | 06:18 PM (EST)


In our last post on the nature of work, a couple passionate about graphic design and baking as well as each other created a business selling T-shirts and cupcakes in Boulder, CO.

In this post, we'll look at another way that individuals of passion are creating careers for...

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What is Work? Baking Your Cupcake and Selling It, Too

1 Comments | Posted July 27, 2009 | 01:37 PM (EST)


It reads like a scene out of fairy tale co-authored by Julia Child:

Boy meets Girl. Boy designs T-shirts. Girl designs wedding cakes.

They start a business and live happily ever after...in the middle of several thousand cupcakes and racks of custom-designed T-shirts.

If you're saying: "Huh?" That's...

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