"Clarifying What Matters: Creating Director for Your Career" dark green book cover in Art Deco style. Author: Erica Mattison

Clarifying What Matters

Creating Direction for Your Career

In Erica’s first book, she shares inspirational stories from her career and her work with clients. Access guiding questions that help you create a more fulfilling career.

"Clarifying What Matters: Creating Direction for Your Career" on a bench in a park

What You’ll Gain From This Book

Are you seeking to lead a rewarding career that makes a positive impact on society? Do you want to get unstuck and feel confident about your decisions for your next steps?

This book provides you with frameworks, definitions, stories, and guiding questions to help you:

✔ Develop a fresh perspective on your career

✔ Build your belief in yourself to overcome challenges

✔ Identify personal qualities and strengths you can tap into

✔ Cultivate meaningful relationships that shape your career

✔ Discover how to approach career transitions in alignment with your values and goals

✔ Learn how to become a more confident leader

✔ Reflect on your lived experiences and clarify what’s important to you

✔ Feel energized about developing a proactive approach to your career

You don’t need to choose between making a great living and making a positive difference in the world. But you do need the mindsets and tactical steps to help you clarify what matters most to you. And this book is here to help you achieve progress.

Author Erica Mattison in a park holds her book "Clarifying What Matters: Creating Direction for Your Career"

Why I Wrote This Book

I wrote my book, Clarifying What Matters, to help people reflect on their experiences and imagine what's possible so they can take steps to create a rewarding, impactful career.

Throughout my career journey, I’ve experienced the twists and turns necessary for creating a path that is authentically me. I’ve navigated uncertainty and delved into areas I’m passionate about, from environmental advocacy to communications to professional development.

Along the way, I’ve had the honor of supporting others in their career journeys, witnessing firsthand the diverse challenges and successes that people face when figuring out their next steps.

Seeing so many unique stories unfold, I felt motivated to write this book to provide inspiration and practical guidance to those searching for a fulfilling career. I’ve included guiding questions at the end of each chapter to support an interactive experience of reflecting and envisioning.

I hope your engagement with the book has a positive impact on you and your career journey…let me know!

Book Endorsements

  • “Erica helps people become hopeful and intentional as they explore career and life choices, implementing positive changes towards clearly defined goals. She guides her readers and clients to discern so they can reflect, clarify, and position themselves for opportunities they're excited to attract.”

    Edward Anthony Colozzi, Ed.D

    President Massachusetts Career Development Association, NCDA Fellow

  • “Clarifying What Matters maps a clear model of using narrative assessment onto both Erica's and her clients' rich backgrounds. Her case studies provide insight and inspiration for what's possible.”

    Rich Feller Ph.D

    Past President, National Career Development Association | Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University

  • “Erica helps us understand how our stories can give us clarity and direction to shape what's next. She encourages us to be proactive in our careers and center our values as a guiding light.”

    Kelsa Summer Roidt

    Chief Operation and Impact Officer and Facilitator | Habitus Incorporated

  • “Erica's work is vital for those wondering about their next step. I especially appreciate her practical, no-nonsense approach that balances self-reflection and actionable steps to advance career planning.”

    Michael Skaggs

    Chaplaincy Innovation Lab

  • “ Reading this book felt like having a one-on-one coaching session with Erica. I came away with an appreciation for the help of an experienced guide that harnesses the power of storytelling to achieve the career we want.”

    Julie Nguyen

    EdD, Career Professional

  • “Making well-informed and inspiring career choices can be hard. Erica makes it easier, showing how to use your stories to clarify next steps.”

    Mark Franklin

    Founder | OneLifeTools | CareerCycles | University of Toronto

  • “Erica has a vision for careers that matter and how you can get there. This book captures the spirit of her work with clients from diverse backgrounds and experiences. If you are feeling stuck, this book is a great place to start.”

    Joshua Ellison

    Published Author

  • “Erica has a fresh and authentic voice. She addresses the fear of career pivots and demystifies the process. While this book is perfect for early career professionals ready for their next big move, it's also relevant to late career changes and even to retirees wanting to engage, finally, with their passion project.”

    Carole Stein

    Stein Marketing Solutions

  • “Clarifying What Matters provides a practical approach for unraveling one's jumbled thoughts and identifying a real path forward. She encourages you to incorporate life experiences outside of your current job/role. Her own story and those of her clients shared in the book demonstrate that her methods work.”

    Deborah L. Corpus

    Attorney

  • “As an attorney, I value Erica’s commitment to helping her clients be the full expression of who they are in their careers and lives.”

    Dorothy Vinski

  • “If you are stuck in a career you don't enjoy, or if you don't know how to get started in your career, Erica Mattison will show you how you can use your skills and self-awareness - in partnership with a career coach - on the path to success. It's a quick read with a lot of inspiration.”

    Shulamit Reinharz, Ph.D.

    Professor Emerita, Brandeis University

  • "Erica's ability to pivot her career is an inspiration -- and her experience is mirrored in the people who, like me, she supports to pivot. Her use of storytelling to help people clarify and explore possibilities is unparalleled. This quick, helpful guide is for anyone looking to make a change in their career and life."

    Tom Keppeler

    Freelance Communications Executive

  • “A small but mighty career guide. Erica Mattison effortlessly demonstrates how anyone can gain command of their career and steer in it whatever direction they so choose. Pulling from her clients' experiences, as well as her own, she leaves the reader with fun stories and actionable coaching questions to help plot a new career and life pathway forward.”

    Mike Bird

    Founder, Sales Seekers

  • “A concise yet powerful guide for professionals seeking to navigate career transitions and personal growth. The book emphasizes the importance of storytelling, showing readers how to use their personal narratives to clarify their values and goals. 'Clarifying What Matters' is a valuable resource for anyone looking to align their career with their personal values and effectively communicate their worth in the professional world.”

    Kenneth Woanyah, MBA

  • “We ask ourselves lots of questions when seeking a career choice or change of direction. Clarifying What Matters provides the correct questions and the support needed to move forward.”

    R.E. Adams

    Entrepreneur

Award-winning career author Mike Wysocki in Hawaiian shirt in Hawaii

“If you're tired of treading water, this book is the life preserver you need to achieve the fulfilling career you've imagined.”

— Mike Wysocki, Award-winning and best-selling author of Careers By the People

Take Your Next Step…An Online Course to Clarify Your Direction

Feeling inspired after reading Clarify What Matters? Enroll in Erica’s Online Course, Clarify My Direction.

Social Impact Career Coach Erica Mattison smiling, wearing green jacket

About the Author

It can feel like a mystery to figure out how to lead an impactful career aligned with your values.

After building my own rewarding social impact career, I founded Erica Mattison Coaching & Consulting as a resource for people seeking to do good in the world and do well in their lives. This was after completing degrees in psychology, public administration, and law.

As I built my practice, I continued working in 9-to-5 roles, such as environmental protection lobbyist and director of strategic communications for a higher-education sustainability program. By working in a variety of settings and roles, I got to experience first-hand the kinds of challenges organizations face.

In 2022, I went all in with my coaching practice to serve more clients and immerse myself in career and professional development.

Today, I lead workshops, facilitate interactive conversation experiences for teams, and coach clients one-on-one and in small group settings to help them get unstuck and fulfill their potential.