In June 2017, I was let go from a journalism job and decided to spend the summer working a temporary gig and saving money to travel in the fall. When I got back to the States in December, I felt I was ready to find my next role in journalism. I stayed with my parents to save money on rent.

Over the course of a year, I applied to dozens of jobs. Some led to emails with the hiring manager or recruiter. Others to the first phone conversation. At least one led to seven rounds of interviews with no offer at the end of the process. Over the first six months alone, I interviewed at more than 10 different companies to no avail. No one would hire me.

Getting rejected time and time again was extremely disheartening. I felt worthless. I was depressed. What was I if not the title I got from my job? What proof did I have that I mattered?

There are currently 7.2 million unemployed people in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with 1.5 million of them being long-term unemployed, or out of work for 27 weeks or more. Many of them might be feeling the very same pain I felt that year.

For me, though, it was exactly that emotional toll that led to some critical shifts in how I approach my work life. These shifts have stayed with me ever since and helped me build a much healthier relationship with work.

I remember one night in May 2018, heartbroken and lying in my parents’ basement, I came to the first realization.

I had been working as a journalist for seven years. I’d written for national publications like The New York Times and local ones like the Village Voice. But when it came to my self-worth and sense of accomplishment, none of it mattered.

Regardless of what I did, nothing was ever enough. It felt like I had this big hole in my stomach, and no matter how many published articles I chucked into it, it never filled up. It only got bigger. My relationship with work left me empty.

“I always say that perspective comes at an extremely high cost,” says Janna Koretz, a clinical psychologist and expert on leadership and mental health. “When people go through a difficult thing, whatever that is, personal, professional […] You gain a perspective in that.”

When my professional black hole dawned on me, I decided to shift my perspective on my career. If I never got to write professionally again, I thought, everything I’d done thus far was plenty to be proud of and glean joy from. It was already enough.

A few months later, the ongoing application process took its toll again. I started pinning all my worth on getting any response from hiring managers.

I was talking to a friend who’d recently had his own change of heart about work as a result of a debilitating neurological disorder. And he gave me an assignment. Imagine a world in which there was no work, he said, and write a list of human characteristics that you bring to it. What do you add to the world just by being who you are, he said.

“I think that’s a great exercise,” says Koretz, “because you do then start to realize all the things that you do bring to the table that have nothing to do with work.” At Koretz’s practice, Azimuth Psychological, they give people a similar exercise. They lay out a scenario in which there are no jobs and their patients have unlimited money, and they ask them what they would do.

It helps people “start to realize you have more than you think, you are more than you think,” says Koretz. “It brings people a lot of hope and joy.”

That’s what I found in doing my friend’s exercise. I wrote down 11 different attributes: naturally curious, creative, seeks joy, etc. And within a couple days I felt a seismic shift in my body. I realized I could love work and put my all into it, but it didn’t define me as a person. It was just something I did in my day-to-day.

Going forward, looking for a job was a much easier process. I was able to approach my search with a greater sense of calm and perspective on what it meant for my life. I didn’t need to accomplish anything else, only to find something I could live off and enjoy doing. And my entire worth as a human didn’t rest on getting hired.

I also put as much of an emphasis on everything else I did in life, like spending time with my friends and doing some creative writing on the side. They’re lessons I’ve thought about again and again as a reminder of what matters to me.

In the fall of 2018, I finally got hired. I was thrilled to be able to start a new job, but by then I was approaching work a little bit differently. I knew though I could enjoy work for the successes it brought, ultimately, I had nothing to prove.

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Newly appointed Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol won’t be required to relocate to the company’s headquarters in Seattle when he joins the coffee giant next month. 

Instead, Starbucks says Niccol can live in his home in Newport Beach, California and commute to Starbucks’ head office 1,000 miles away on a corporate jet, according to the new CEO’s offer letter, which was made public in an SEC filing last week.

In his new role, Niccol, 50, will be paid a base salary of $1.6 million annually and has the opportunity to earn an annual cash bonus that could range from $3.6 million to $7.2 million depending on his performance. He will also be eligible for annual equity awards worth up to $23 million.

Niccol successfully negotiated a similar deal when he became the CEO of Chipotle in 2018. 

At the time, the fast-casual chain was headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and Niccol — who served as CEO of Taco Bell before his stint at Chipotle — lived in Newport Beach, a 15-minute drive from Taco Bell’s main office in Irvine, California. Chipotle moved its headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach three months after announcing Niccol’s appointment.

In the offer letter, Starbucks also notes that it will set up a remote office for Niccol in Newport Beach along with an assistant of his choosing. 

When he is not traveling for work, however, Niccol will still be expected to work from the Seattle office at least three days a week in alignment with Starbucks’ hybrid work policies, a company spokesperson tells CNBC Make It.

“Brian’s primary office and a majority of his time will be spent in our Seattle Support Center or out visiting partners and customers in our stores, roasteries, roasting facilities and offices around the world,” the spokesperson added. “His schedule will exceed the hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations we have for all partners.”

Starbucks employees have been required to work from the office at least three days a week since early 2023.

Niccol’s arrangement underscores the gulf in bargaining power between high-ranking executives and the average employee in terms of flexibility.

While rank-and-file employees might not be able to demand the flexibility to work remotely from a different state, companies make exceptions for senior-level employees to attract and retain top talent, says Raj Choudhury, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies remote work.

Choudhury says there is a growing number of CEOs who are “working from anywhere,” though there is no comprehensive research on the topic. 

“It’s becoming increasingly common because we’re still in a competitive labor market,” he explains. “Executives aren’t accepting job offers if flexibility isn’t on the table.” 

Victoria’s Secret made a similar concession last week when it hired Hillary Super from Fenty x Savage, Rihanna’s lingerie brand, as its new CEO. 

When Super starts in September, she will work from the retailer’s New York City offices instead of its headquarters near Columbus, Ohio, traveling to Columbus as needed, according to her employee agreement.

Despite these recent instances, it’s still hard to draw any definitive conclusions about CEOs’ remote work preferences.

Although some CEOS — including Amazon’s Andy Jassy and JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon — are drawing a hard line on return-to-office policies, other research has indicated that bosses aren’t thrilled with the loss of remote work.

Choudhury sees Niccol’s arrangement at Starbucks as an example of a company taking a “smart risk” to snag a star executive. 

The coffee giant’s performance has struggled this year, hurt by weak sales in the U.S. and China, its two largest markets, CNBC reports. Starbucks shares fell 21% during former CEO Laxman Narasimhan’s tenure. 

Niccol has a strong track record of turning around troubled companies: As CEO of Chipotle, he helped the chain rebound from its foodborne illness scandal and led its restaurants through the pandemic. During his time at the restaurant chain, its stock soared 773%, CNBC reports.

“Starbucks based its process of selection on this person’s prior record of boosting restaurant-based companies, not their location,” says Choudhury. “I expect more companies will take notice and follow suit: If you want to attract and retain the best talent, you have to be open to flexible work arrangements.”

Such an emerging trend could have benefits for desk workers craving flexibility, Choudhury adds. 

“If more C-suite leaders start working remotely, middle managers might be inspired to start trying it, as culture changes start at the top,” he says. “This is a great opportunity for Starbucks to experiment with offering employees, wherever possible, the same degree of flexibility it’s giving its executives.”

This story has been updated to more accurately reflect Laxman Narasimhan’s title.

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When I was contemplating moving from California to Mexico nearly two decades ago, I wondered if it was OK to decide to do something just because I believed it would make me happy. 

In many ways, the move didn’t make any sense: I knew no one where I was going, couldn’t speak the language and would be completely out of my comfort zone. While I had some work I could continue to do online, I’d be leaving my main job, which came with a steady salary, great health insurance and retirement benefits. 

A handful of close friends told me this was a foolish idea. My kids — and my heart — said go. 

As I pondered what I wanted the future to look like, I realized my confusion was a result of years of conditioning about how we “should” decide, what we’re “supposed” to do, and what the “right” thing is. Personal happiness wasn’t a big part of those formulas as far as I could tell. It fell way down on the list of considerations.

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Ultimately, I chose what I thought would bring me the most joy, and I haven’t regretted it since. The happiness I’d felt vacationing in Mazatlán the previous year was undeniable and irresistible. I knew I had to do whatever it took to make that part of my daily life.

I’ve been in Mexico for 18 years, retired for the last six. Here’s what I’ve learned about happiness.

There will of course be days and times when happiness feels impossible. My upcoming root canal comes to mind. 

But I’ve learned that the more you create a foundation of happiness as your go-to mindset, the easier it becomes to not sweat the small stuff, and to see with a broader perspective. 

Living in Mexico, the “small stuff” is pretty much constant. If you don’t learn to take a deep breath and move on, you won’t last. 

The power goes out (again). Your patio floods (again). The bank machine eats your card on a Sunday (again). All you can do is keep on keeping on, doing your best to maintain a positive attitude and remember that this too shall pass.

You’re the one who decides to be happy, or not.  

I’ve learned to embrace the concept of mañana in Mexican culture. You hear this word all the time, usually accompanied by a shrug and exaggerated eye rolling. It boils down to this: If something can’t happen today — the plumber coming, hearing back from your bank, a store being open — it’ll happen mañana. 

It doesn’t literally mean whatever it is will happen tomorrow. It might be the next day. Or, quite possibly, the next week. It’ll happen when it happens. And that’s OK.

For our tense, tightly scheduled, often frantic American minds, this can be one of the most difficult things to adjust to about living in Mexico. The paradox is that it’s also one of the most attractive things about living in Mexico.

If we let it, adopting this mindset can make us happy as we learn to let go of All. That. Stress. Eventually, we can say “mañana” with a big smile and mean it. We learn to choose to be happy even when things don’t go as planned.

My regular expenses here are low compared to what I imagine I’d pay to live a similar lifestyle pretty much anywhere north of the border. 

The rent on my adorable little two-bedroom house with a small yard, enclosed courtyard and rooftop patio is only 9,000 pesos a month, or about $480. I pay about $19 a month for my cell phone plan with free international calls. The 5G internet in my house runs about $30 per month. Water is included in my rent, trash pick-up three times a week is free and my electric bill hovers around $12 a month. 

I was curious recently about how much I spend on food. I diligently saved every receipt from food purchases for a month: grocery stores big and small, the weekly outdoor market where I get produce and a local bakery that’s my source of bread, croissants, and English muffins.

Everything added up to roughly $320 dollars — plus about $40 for wine. That’s without denying myself anything I wanted to buy. It’s a relief to be able to afford the things I need (and want!) on my modest fixed income.

In Mexican culture, family and togetherness are all-important. Examples are everywhere: in the multiple generations eating at restaurants, relaxing at the beach, or celebrating public holidays. Teenagers help Grandpa walk through the sand and pre-teens take turns holding a sleeping baby at a parade. During the Christmas and Easter holidays, people take two or more weeks off work to visit family and just hang out. 

Neighbors are generally friendly, helpful and curious. This past Mother’s Day, I was on an early morning walk when I stumbled upon a 10-piece mariachi band, in full costume, hired by a local family to play in front of their mother’s house. I stopped to listen, entranced. 

One of the 20-something granddaughters of the matriarch came over and asked if I was a mother. When I said yes, she hugged me and said, “Congratulations!” Then she invited me to sit with them and enjoy the music and a simple breakfast of bread and hot chocolate. 

This kind of warmth has been an education for me, especially juxtaposed against American culture where crying babies are routinely scowled at, elders often seem invisible and families live and grow apart. 

Even though I’m thousands of miles away, one of my intentions this year is to see my adult children, their spouses, and my grandkids more often. I keep an eye on flight prices and have found a reliable house- and cat-sitter. I have savings set aside specifically for this.  

In between visits, video calls allow us to “see” each other. I can be present for birthdays, Friday night pizza with the grandkids and more.

The simple but valuable takeaway is that the more I know them — and they know me — the happier I am. 

I’ve endeavored to make happiness a key factor in making decisions — just as I did when I made the initial leap to move to Mexico. 

“Will this make me happy?” is my bottom line. 

I’ve learned to do little things for myself that lead me toward joy. A well-made espresso, a phone call with a friend, some “retail therapy” — these small choices bring a smile to my face and remind me that it feels good to feel good. 

Nearly two decades after making a move many called “foolish,” I’m living the life I dreamed of, with a level of consistent happiness I’d never experienced before.

Janet Blaser is a writer who has lived in Mexico since 2006. A former journalist in California, her work now focuses on expat living. Janet’s first book, “Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats” is an Amazon bestseller. Follow Janet on Instagram and Facebook.

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This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Six-Figure Side Hustle series, where people with lucrative side hustles break down the routines and habits they’ve used to make money on top of their full-time jobs. Got a story to tell? Let us know! Email us at AskMakeIt@cnbc.com.

When Leena Pettigrew tells friends she earns over $100,000 per year selling plants online, they usually think she means cannabis.

In reality, the full-time IT analyst spends 20 hours per week sourcing, growing, packaging and selling houseplants from variegated micans and Anthurium luxurians to Philodendron Ring of Fires in her Houston garage.

With almost no prior gardening experience, Pettigrew started buying plants to redecorate her house in 2022, she says. When her office, bedroom and living room became “overrun” with eight-foot-tall Monstera plants, she looked for ways to sell them.

Her search led her to Palmstreet, an online marketplace for plants, crystals and home decor. She joined the platform in June 2023, and brought in nearly $148,600 of revenue in one year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

The 44-year-old is also a paid consultant on the platform now, and helps train new sellers, she says.

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Most of her sales come from livestream sessions. Twice per week, Pettigrew auctions off plants — purchased from local nurseries or other online vendors — for four hours, or more, at a time on Palmstreet. Sometimes, she’s joined by her husband Marquise. They sell roughly 100 plants each stream, all of which ship nationwide, she says.

“When I first started, I was extremely anxious on camera and felt like I had to do a lot of preparation to be successful,” says Pettigrew, adding: “I still get nervous and sometimes take a shot of bourbon beforehand.”

Yet her business is profitable and earns enough for her husband to significantly cut his working hours at an automotive shop they co-own, she says. Marquise and five contract employees now help Pettigrew with customer service, marketing and shipping.

Here, Pettigrew discusses how she honed her side hustle, the pros and cons of turning her hobby into a business, and how other people can replicate her success.

CNBC Make It: Do you think your side hustle is replicable? How much does it cost to get started?

Pettigrew: I think almost anyone can do it — but not everyone.

Palmstreet is competitive. It costs about $1,000 to build enough of an inventory for the platform to accept your application. There’s a commitment that goes into this, whether it’s selling on livestreams, taking care of your plants or posting on social media.

You have to stand out. Good customer service and having unique plants can help, but I think personality makes the biggest difference. If you want people to watch your livestreams, you have to have enthusiasm and joy for what you do, and be yourself.

Does that level of enthusiasm and joy come naturally to you?

I’m very introverted and shy. When I first started, my husband had to come out on livestreams with me so I’d feel more comfortable. We’re both silly, so he helps me goof around, have fun and not take myself so seriously, which I think helps us connect to customers.

I also have to have a little downtime after livestreams. Otherwise, I’m irritable.

You and your husband co-own an auto shop, and your husband still spends about six hours per week running it. What’s the biggest difference between that and selling plants online?

Selling plants is a lot less stressful.

In the auto shop, customers relied on us to get to work. Sometimes, having their car break down, and having to pay for it, was the worst day of their lives. Our workers relied on us for their household incomes, too, and it was hot and dirty.

When we sell plants, people are spending their disposable income on things they want. Our contract workers are part-time, and while there’s still some dirt involved, it’s at least more concentrated.

Have you experienced any downsides to turning your hobby into a business?

The side hustle, and my husband and I’s remote jobs, are all out of our house. That can make it hard to stop working.

Sometimes, we feel like we don’t have time for our spiritual needs. So, we’ve started taking weekend trips, even just around Texas, to physically get out of the house, get away from work and connect with each other.

Once you own your own business, you can’t turn it off. There’s always something more to do.

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“Tell me about yourself.” 

It’s one of the most common — and deceptively difficult — questions you might be asked during a job interview.

Most interviewers use this question as an icebreaker. But responding to such a broad invitation to talk about yourself can feel intimidating. 

“Even though it’s the most common job interview question, it trips a lot of people up,” says Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. “So many candidates have a ‘deer in headlights’ reaction and cycle through their whole biography.”

Since the “tell me about yourself” question is typically asked at the start of a job interview, your response can set the tone for the rest of the conversation. 

“If you have a long-winded, boring answer, it can bring a quick end to the interview,” says Jeff Hyman, an executive recruiter of 28 years. “You don’t want to launch into a long summary of your life story and resume.”

Instead, think of the icebreaker as an opportunity to make a strong first impression, he says.

Your response to this question should be a short elevator pitch (no longer than 1-2 minutes) highlighting some of your strengths, relevant experience and why you’re excited about this job. 

You also might want to consider mentioning a recent challenge you’ve overcome in your career, and what it taught you, Hyman adds. 

“It sounds counterintuitive, but few candidates will think to do it, so it will grab the interviewer’s attention,” he explains. “When I ask candidates to tell me about themselves, I’m looking for self-awareness and maturity, and talking about challenges with confidence shows me you possess those traits.”

For example: “One of the formative periods of my professional development was my first job out of college. The person who hired me quit soon after I started and it was difficult to adjust to my new boss’s management style at first, but that experience taught me how to be more adaptable and collaborate effectively at work.”

If you’re uncomfortable discussing a setback, Hyman suggests weaving in an example of how you’ve demonstrated leadership at work to impress the interviewer.

For example: “Something I’ve learned about myself recently is that I’m passionate about leading a team and rallying people around a cause. At my last company, I was a co-lead of one of our employee resource groups. I organized volunteer projects alongside some of my colleagues, which was such a gratifying experience.”

Hiring managers also use the “tell me about yourself” question to evaluate your confidence and get a pulse on your goals and priorities, William Vanderbloemen, the CEO of executive search firm Vanderbloemen Search Group, told CNBC Make It last year.

It’s important to tailor your response to the specific job you are interviewing for, Vanderbloemen explained, focusing on the skills and experience that are most relevant. 

For example, if you’re interviewing for a job as a software developer at a growing tech startup, you might say:

“At this point in my career, I’ve learned that I really enjoy working in fast, agile environments. I can’t stand sitting still and doing the same thing every day, even outside of work, I’m always eager to pick up new hobbies. One thing I love about your company is that you are in a phase of hockey-stick-level growth right now. I’m excited to contribute to this growth, adapt on the fly and support other teams’ work however I can.”

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