Hello Everyone & Happy Tuesday!

Somehow, we are already approaching the end of June, which means we are halfway through 2026. 🤯 Now’s a great time to check in on the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. What have you already accomplished? What are you going to achieve by the end of the year? Let us know by replying to this email. Enjoy!

You're held accountable for results, but no one actually reports to you. Sound familiar? Welcome to the most frustrating gap in modern work, and the skill almost no one teaches: leading by influence.

In this episode of PRO VOICE, J.T. O'Donnell sits down with Project Management Executive , Jason Winters and Executive Coach, Ana Smith for an honest conversation about how to get people to follow you when you have zero formal authority, and how to do it without burning out.

Join us tomorrow, June 24th, at 2 pm ET.

Sign up to get reminders when J.T. goes LIVE for the podcast HERE.

AI is moving fast and most people are falling behind. 

The Rundown AI keeps you ahead of the curve. 

It's a free AI newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest AI news, and teaches you how to apply it in just 5 minutes a day.

Plus, complete the quiz after signing up and they’ll recommend the best AI tools, guides, and courses — tailored to your needs.

Sign up to start learning.

I want to give everyone a friendly reminder that:

Not everyone needs a career. Not everyone needs a calling. And honestly? Not everyone even needs to love their job.

I know that's not the typical "follow your passion" speech you're used to hearing from career coaches. But I'm not your typical career coach, and I think it’s important to remember that there are actually three different paths you can take with work, and all three of them are perfectly okay. The problem isn't picking the "wrong" one. The problem is not knowing which one you're actually picking.

So let's break it down.

A job pays the bills. That's it. That's the whole assignment.

You punch the clock, you do the work, you go home, and you don't think about it again until tomorrow. You're not aspiring to climb anything. You're not trying to "find yourself" in the cubicle. You have other things going on in your life that matter way more to you right now, and that's completely valid.

Here's an example I love to use. Think about Olympic athletes. A lot of them work part-time at places like Home Depot while they train for their sport. Why? Because being an Olympian is their real focus. The job is just there to keep the lights on while they chase something bigger somewhere else in their life.

If that sounds like you right now, stop feeling guilty about it. Get the job, collect the paycheck, and don't let anyone convince you that you're supposed to be passionate about it. You don't owe your job your identity.

This is where most people actually live, and it's a trickier spot to be in.

A career means you want to make money, sure, but you also want those 6, 8, 10 hours a day to feel like they mean something. You want the work to line up with your interests and your values, at least to some degree. You want to feel respected, capable, like you're going somewhere.

This is also the group that's constantly wrestling with work-life balance. And that makes sense because you're trying to do two hard things at once: build something meaningful AND protect the rest of your life outside of work. That's a real juggling act, and if you're in this category, you're going to spend a lot of energy trying to find that sweet spot where the job fits the life you want, instead of the other way around.

And then there's this last group. The calling people.

These are the folks where work isn't something they do; it's something they are. I'll be honest with you, I fall into this category. I have a severe passion for what I do, and if I couldn't do this work, I would genuinely be unhappy. Not inconvenienced. Unhappy.

People look at my life and assume I'm sacrificing a lot to do what I do. And maybe from the outside it looks that way. But here's the thing: they don't feel like sacrifices to me. I'm simply willing to let other things go because helping people figure out their careers is the thing I most want to be doing with my time on this earth.

I want to be really clear, though. This lifestyle is not for everyone. And it shouldn't be. The calling path comes with real trade-offs, and most people don't want to make them, nor should they have to.

Here's my real question for you today: right now, in this season of your life, do you need a job? Do you want a career? Or are you chasing a calling?

There's no wrong answer. But there is a wrong move, and that's pretending you want one when you actually need another. You'll burn yourself out trying to feel "passionate" about something that was only ever supposed to pay your bills. Or you'll settle for a paycheck when what you actually need is meaning.

And here's the part nobody tells you: this answer changes. What you need at 24 is not what you'll need at 40, and that's not you "losing your edge." That's you growing and your priorities shifting along with you. Check back in with yourself regularly. The category you're in today isn't a life sentence.

If you're someone who's stuck in that messy in-between—you want a career that actually matches who you are, you're tired of the work-life balance tug-of-war, and you don't know how to find the role that fits—that's exactly what my team and I specialize in at Work It DAILY. We offer unlimited coaching for a low monthly membership because you shouldn't have to figure this out alone. [Check out our membership options here] and let's find your fit.

Go get ‘em!

J.T. O’Donnell

If you're a professional who's tired of feeling invisible or undervalued, J.T. O’Donnell’s new book PRO VOICE: Turn What You Know Into What You Earn is for you!

It’s time to stop relying on resumes and start building real visibility, credibility, and income.

Inside, J.T. shares her G.L.O.W. Method™ for showcasing your expertise online, building a trusted personal brand, and monetizing your knowledge through content, coaching, speaking, and more.

This isn’t about going viral—it’s about getting visible to the people who matter most. If you're ready to future-proof your career and finally earn what you’re worth, this book is your roadmap.