Aug 09, 2022
Colts Neck Resident Redefines Her Career and Encourages Others to Do the Same
By Shanna O’Mara
As a military spouse, LaPora Lindsey has spent years relocating with her family. She, husband Jesse, and their two children moved homes many times, and each time, she was challenged with finding a new job. Having settled in Colts Neck last year, Lindsey finally feels at home and has taken career matters into her own hands, working as an author and motivational speaker – reaching those who may be stalled in their professional life or seeking more from a job.
Lindsey attended the University of West Florida where, as an undergraduate, she studied organizational communication. While in school, she fell in love with speech and debate forensics and even became a national speech and debate champion. Today, she holds certification in various aspects of life coaching and professional development. However, she admits her passion for helping others stems from childhood as she grew up watching her father do the same.
“My dad is a pastor, so I grew up with that mindset that he was able to inspire people at their lowest and they’re needing that encouragement,” she said. “Seeing how that can propel people was powerful.”
She always held onto that mindset and has focused her vision in recent years.
“During the pandemic is when things really started to change for me,” she said. “Even when I feel unheard or unseen in the workplace, there is still an opportunity to make a difference and to contribute. It doesn’t take being in a leadership role to figure out how to make improvements in the workplace. Over the last couple of years is when I started to hone in on that idea, and that’s how the book came to be.”
Lindsey authored “Bottom of the Food Chain,” which combines real-life stories with a compilation of her expertise, all looking at how small roles in a company have a greater effect than it may seem. She takes a nature-based approach to emphasize the importance of every element having significance.
“The grass, the trees, the algae – all these different aspects of life – are right here always, but we don’t really take note of the contribution they make, and it’s the same way in the workplace,” she said. “We try to put work within the title. For example, ‘I am an executive coordinator, so these are all the tasks I may do.’ It’s also important for us to be able to flip that and understand that it’s not what we do that defines the title but it’s what we do that defines who we are.”
Lindsey also points out that priorities in the workplace have shifted since the start of the pandemic.
“I think post-COVID-19, the work approach has been very different,” she said. “For a lot of people who were professionally driven or job seekers, the focus before was on external factors such as benefits or salary. Now, people seem more focused on the intrinsic motivators, and studies have shown that prioritization of those creates more retention in the workplace. When people take pride in their work, they have that satisfaction. That’s one of the primary things I recommend: that people start looking intrinsically at what job-related values align with their professional and personal life.”
Having lived in Colts Neck for more than a year, Lindsey said she sees this satisfaction in her neighbors and applauds the community’s devotion to hard work and entrepreneurship.
“I love that this area is really big on small businesses,” she said. “Out of all of the duty stations we’ve been to, I haven’t seen the community thriving this much off local businesses.”
Her family also appreciates the personal touch that small businesses give when serving those of Colts Neck and beyond. This is something Lindsey said she noticed on her very first day in town. After a tiring day of moving, she and her kids were longing for dinner, but the hours simply got away from them.
“We were exhausted and hadn’t eaten, and I get hangry,” she laughed. “I called Colts Neck Eatery, and they said, ‘Hey, we’re getting ready to close, but we can take your order and make something to go.’ I think I almost started crying because I was so excited to be getting food in my body and my kids were going to get fed. That was a really nice welcoming to the area because I’ve seen that time and time again where local business owners put their whole heart into it.”
Now one of them, Lindsey is already putting her whole heart into her work. “Bottom of the Food Chain” is set to be released in the coming weeks, and she has events planned leading up to that. On Thursday, Aug. 18 at 8, she will be hosting a pre-launch book party and Q&A via Zoom, followed by a virtual release celebration on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 10:30 am. She will also be holding a resume writing workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 6:30 pm at the Monmouth County Library.
To learn more about Lindsey, her upcoming events and to receive the Zoom links, visit LaPoraLindsey.com or email hello@laporalindsey.com.
Three things to know about LaPora Lindsey:
1. She is a Certified Workforce Development Professional, Master Certified Life Coach, Certified Trainer in Emotional Intelligence and Certified Professional Resume Writer.
2. She loves jazz music.
3. She enjoys singing and would be open to performing at an open mic night in town.
