The first half of the meeting we will have a guest from Salesforce Non-Profit to discuss the job opportunities and we will discuss working for Salesforce and the process to get hired.

The second half of the meeting will be career growth: . Here are the steps that I'd like you to complete if you want to take advantage of this.

1. come up with a professional goal you would like to achieve in 6 months

2. break down the journey toward that goal into about 4-6 smaller consecutive short-term goals -- the milestones that would help you achieve the bigger, overarching goal. 4-6 are arbitrary numbers, so come up with as many as is expedient for you

3. think of the biggest obstacle you believe you might encounter on your way to achieving the first milestone and what you plan to do to overcome it

4. write all of these things down and bring those notes with you to share (for about 1-3 minutes) during the meeting.

Here's an example:

6-month goal -- ask my manager for a raise (let's say I believe that I deserve one, but not sure if my boss does, plus I feel intimidated talking to him/her)

milestone goal 1: make a list of all the things I've accomplished since the last raise (or since I was hired) that have benefited my company

milestone goal 2: share this list with friends/family members/mentors/colleagues/therapist/anyone who knows me well and supports me -- to get their feedback and give me a boost of confidence about this list and get validation that my contributions are, indeed, valuable not only in my head

milestone goal 3: write down my pitch to my boss and practice it while driving, doing the dishes, getting ready for the day, etc. -- until I have all the points memorized and feel comfortable delivering them

milestone goal 4: practice the pitch with a trusted person to help with stage fright and to get their feedback

milestone goal 5: adjust the pitch based on received feedback and practice the new version

milestone goal 6 -- schedule a meeting with my manager

It's an exercise where I'd literally like to go around the table and have the participants share these things (but only those people who feel comfortable doing so -- silent observers are also more than welcome!). It's entirely possible we won't have the time for everyone to share, so I'd like to continue this conversation in the Trailblazer community group.

What I'd like to do at the following meeting (whenever that is -- say, in January) is discuss these items:

1. whether our assumptions about the biggest obstacles were true, and if not, what ended up being the actual challenge

2. if we were able to overcome those challenges and if not, what went wrong

3. share our wins and things we learned

4. share the next milestone goal and the expected obstacle and means of overcoming it

5. offer encouragement, support, advice, help, and a platform for accountability

We'd like to continue this cycle during meetings and in the Trailblazer community group for the following 6 months. Hopefully, this way we can help each other crystallize our vision of what we want to attain, achieve our professional goals, and forge and establish personal and professional connections.

I also want to mention that you do not have to have clearly defined goals to come to this meeting. I thought I had those goals until just a couple of weeks ago, but things changed and now I feel a bit lost. So what I personally need help with is defining my goals in the first place. I would guess I am not the only one in this boat.

Plus, I often think how setting and achieving goals can also be a somewhat limiting concept -- I know that I personally have the tendency to live in the future and forget to enjoy my day-to-day life when I am hyper focused on my goals. So I will throw this out: if you are content with your job and your life in general, and don't feel a burning desire to achieve some big thing -- you are just living your life, and it's a good one -- that's amazing. If the subject-matter of this discussion interests you, please come and join us anyway. You don't have to share anything, but if you feel comfortable doing so, we'd love to know how you got to this great place and if you have any advice on the goals that you have set in the past.