| 21st Century Career Success |
| by: Michelle Casto |
| 21St Century Career Success When it comes to modern career development, one thing we can all count on is change. With the advent of technology, telecommuting, and E-commerce, how work is performed is in a state of reinvention. Self-employment and small business development will become more the norm than big business. And career changes will be more frequent due to rapidly changing organizations and industries. Finally, the line between one's personal and professional life will become even more blurred. Since the modern world of work is rapidly changing to keep up with the demands of our fast-paced lives and lifestyles, here are some characteristics of what the new work contract will look like: §Seeking more meaning from work. §Equating "career success" with personal satisfaction over paycheck or status. §Everyone will need their own "name-brand." §Increased use of technology. §Finding work that needs doing. §Changing in the way management and leadership is conducted (less arrogance at the top level, more power on lower levels). §Increased need for networking and self-marketing. §Lifelong "trying on" of various roles, jobs, and industries. §Creating a plan that is flexible, and continually assessing the "fit" of the work. §Increased representation of women and minorities in the workforce. §Changing career fields numerous times in a lifetime. §Self-responsibility: Everyone knowing they have to chart their own career direction. However, the 21st century career also offers many advantages: §More career opportunities for everyone. §Freedom to choose from a variety of jobs, tasks, and assignments. §More flexibility in how and where work is performed, i.e. working from home or telecommuting. §More control over your own time. §Greater opportunity to express yourself through your work. §Ability to shape and reshape your life's work in accordance with your values and interests. §Increased opportunity to develop other skills by working in various industries and environments. §Self-empowerment mindset. §Allows you to create situations or positions where you can fill a need in the world that is not being filled. §Opportunity to present yourself as an independent contractor or vendor with services to offer. How can you successfully navigate through the turbulent times of change and career uncertainty? By developing resiliency, exercising proactivity, creating excellent self-marketing tools, keeping your skills up-to-date, and finding your unique life balance. 1.Develop resiliency (the ability to bounce back). Having the right attitude about career change is imperative to your ability to bounce back from setbacks, sudden changes, and twists and turns along your career path. You will experience a lot of career change and transitions, so you may as well get comfortable feeling uncomfortable. 2.Take a proactive approach to your career development You must constantly be on the lookout for new ways to apply your gifts and talents in the new economy. This requires thinking creatively, actively promoting yourself/business, and being actively involved in how your career progresses. Staying involved in professional associations, and continuous networking are excellent ways to connect with other like-minded professionals. 3.Create first-rate marketing materials Always keep your resume current. You never know when you are going to want to share it with someone or pass it along. If you are in business for yourself, develop classy business cards and letterhead. Harness the power of the internet by developing an interactive website. 4.Commit to lifelong learning To keep earning, keep learning. Do not wait until you lose your job or want to look for another position to gain new skills or training. Recognize the need to be open to learning and attend classes related to your area of expertise to keep your skills sharp and marketable. Keep in mind the top skills needed for career success include:Communication, Computer-knowledge, Creativity, Customer Care 5.Find your unique life balance There are four dimensions to life: love, labor, leisure, learning. Remember that work is just one aspect of your life pie. Be sure to indulge in all of your areas. Because having an overall balanced life is what leads to the most fulfillment. ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
21st Century Career Success
5 Strategies for ADDed Effectiveness on the Job
| 5 Strategies for ADDed Effectiveness on the Job |
| by: ADD Coach Jennifer Koretsky |
| For many people with ADD, work life can be difficult. If your working environment is not ADD-friendly, then you may find yourself feeling chronically disorganized and stressed out at work. Whether or not you choose to share your diagnosis with your employer, the following strategies can help you become more effective at work. 1. Find a Career that You're Passionate About People with ADD have the most success when doing something that they are passionately interested in. If you are in a career or a job that you're not passionate about, chances are your ADD challenges will manifest themselves. The best way to avoid this is to find work that you truly enjoy and believe in. 2. Develop Structure It's no secret that ADDers work well with structure. If your job lacks structure, create some! If you're self-employed, set up a schedule for yourself. Determine what your working days will be, and what your days off will be. (And stick to them!) Also, schedule specific working hours for yourself. If you're employed by another person or company, ask for specific deadlines on projects you are assigned. Additionally, you can request a weekly meeting with your manager in which you update him or her on all the things you have going on. This will allow YOU to review your progress and stay aware of all the tasks you're juggling. 3. Delegate the Details I've never met an ADDer who enjoyed dealing with details! Typically, people with ADD are the problem-solvers, the creatives, and the strategizers. Most ADDers will be extremely effective when dealing with these exciting and challenging aspects of the job, and a lot less effective when dealing with administrative work. If you're self-employed, hire an assistant - even if you think you can't afford it! Imagine how much more effective - and profitable - you could be if you didn't have to worry about paperwork! If you're employed by another person or company, delegate work to administrative assistants and anyone whom you manage. If there is no one for you to delegate to, explain to your manager that you work best when you don't have to be bogged down with administrative tasks. Point out all your skills, strengths, and accomplishments. Tell your manager that you could be contributing even more if you had someone to help with the details. 4. Plan the Time to Plan It's not enough to plan your day, you must also plan the time to plan! Before you leave work at the end of the day, take 15 minutes to look at your to do list. See what you accomplished and what still needs to be done, and update the list. Also use this time to update your calendars, and break up outstanding projects into steps. Taking the time to do this every work day will have you feeling more in control, and will also help you transition out of work time and into personal time. 5. Get Over Perfectionism Perfectionism prevents progress. If you find something that could be improved every time you look at a paper or a report, it will never get off your desk. There's a big difference between "a good job" and "a perfect job." "A good job" is work well done; "a perfect job" doesn't exist! Nothing in this world is perfect, so do yourself a big favor and get over it! About the Author Jennifer Koretsky is an ADD Management Coach who helps adults learn how to manage their ADD and move forward in life. She offers individual and group coaching, workshops, and skill-building programs. Subscribe to Jennifer's free email newsletter, The ADD Management Guide, by visiting http://www.ADDmanagement.com/e-newsletter.htm |
6 Proven Steps To Internet Marketing Success
| 6 Proven Steps To Internet Marketing Success |
| by: Mal Keenan |
There is a misconception that you can come online set up a web business and be making $1000s within days. Let be put that myth to rest right away. This has not been my experience nor the experience of anyone I have come in contact with through my online endeavours.
You need to give yourself at least a year to make an online business work and budget your money accordingly. Too many times I see people ploughing a wad of cash into their businesses and again, expecting instant riches.
New marketers also make the mistake of thinking that one marketing strategy will do. Of course some avenues will produce more than others but I have found the best way is to adapt a broad based approach to your online marketing. That means spreading your time and resources over several different methods.
I will attempt to outline in this text everything I feel you need to be doing consistently to make a success of your online business.
Again I MUST point out that you need to persist is this strategy and spend your money wisely. It amazes me the amount of people who drop out after the first month or two. What do they expect, miracles? You wouldn't ditch an offline business after a month so why would you expect an online enterprise to be any different?
If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.
Bottom line is, targeted visitors = sales. This is definitely a numbers game and obviously the more targeted visitors you send to your website the more money you make. The concept is simple but you need to maintain a healthy focus to ensure that you stick this out for as long as it takes to make a profit, and progress to financial freedom online.
Here are the methods I use to send daily visitors to my sites:
1)Build Your List
It's true what they say that the money IS in the list. Most successful online marketers have large lists of targeted prospects that they can send their offers to on a regular basis. Anyone new to this business should begin to build this list immediately.
You have to start somewhere and it takes time but it is certainly worth your while to begin now and develop a lasting and trustful relationship with those list members who eventually will feel comfortable in purchasing your recommendations. When trust grows this targeted list will become a virtual money tree and make you cash at will. Some marketers are able to makes $1000s sending an email to their list, which takes little more than a few minutes to write. Can you see the power in this method?
I use a couple of different methods, online forms at all my websites encouraging prospects to add their name and email addresses plus I also purchase many of my addresses from other companies that can send me 1000s of emails for affordable prices. These addresses are spam free and can grow my list a lot quicker than I could ever do from my own websites.
I have set up some tutorials here for companies that will send you targeted visitors:
2)Pay Per Click search engines.
Over the years I have used PPCSEs to send 1000s of visitors to my sites. This is a fast track way to drive traffic to your sites. You can be up and running and getting hits in minutes.
I use http://www.overture.com, http://www.findwhat.com, and http://www.7search.com . These are three of the most popular but there are many others which you can find here:
I suggest you use Wordtracker (http://www.workathomebiz.info/wordtracker.html) to accumulate as many TARGETED keywords as you can. The more targeted keywords you collect the more visitors you get.
The idea is to ensure that you are paying less for visitors on a monthly basis than the sales you make.
3)Google Adwords (http://www.google.com/ads/)
Google adwords is similar in principle to PPCSEs in that you pay for your visitors. I suggest you use Wordtracker (http://www.workathomebiz.info/wordtracker.html) to accumlate 1000s of keyword phrases.
4)Article Submissions
Submitting topical articles is one of the most affordable and at the same time effective marketing strategies I know of. For more info and the resources to do this visit here:
5)Regular Search Engines
Yahoo, Google, and MSN send me as many visitors per day as any other strategy I use. It is highly recommended that you get started immediately to begin to build the online web presence of your website and thus your search engine rankings.
I have done this mostly through a reciprocal linking campaign which has had a greater effect on my search engine rankings than anything else. I employ the use of Linksmanager (http://www.workathomebiz.info/linksmanager.html) to automate my links campaign for which I pay a monthly fee or you can set up your own links manager at your own site using Kevin Ocasio's excellent Reciprocal Manager (http://www.freeadvertz.com/recipmanager.html).
For affordable search engine submission software try Web Position Gold (http://www.webpositiongolddownloads.com)
Please note: This is a long term strategy, so it will take at least a few months of persistent action to see any results at all.
6)Forum Posting
One of the greatest things that happened to me in my online career was being appointed moderator at one on the most popular online internet marketing forums. This has opened up more avenues and opportunities than any other strategy. I suggest you visit the popular, high traffic online forums daily and make it a point of sharing your experiences and giving your advice as often as possible. Get yourself seen!
The thing about this method too is that you can have a link pointing to your site in the signature of each post you make. Posting at forums will send daily traffic to your site AND the visitors will be highly targeted.
Here are two high traffic forums that I frequent:
This one isn't high traffic yet but I will be there to answer your questions:
In conclusion:
I have been marketing online since 1998 and have tried 100s of different ways to drive targeted traffic to my websites. The above six strategies work, so I suggest you print them out and make the methods part of your daily marketing plan for the foreseeable future.
If they can work for me then they WILL work for you.
I wish you every success in your efforts.
Copyright 2004 Mal Keenan
Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter: http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/ For A Home Business You Can Believe In, With Benefits, Click Below:
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6 Tips To Create Your Own Fortune With "How To" eBooks
| 6 Tips To Create Your Own Fortune With "How To" eBooks |
| by: Jeff Smith |
| 6 Tips To Making Your Own Fortune Creating and Marketing Infoproducts! It's one of the biggest challenges to getting your business started. Finding products to sell online that you enjoy working at and that attract an ongoing stream of "hungry" buyers is THE most important success factor to doing business - period! For those of you that want to create their own infoproducts, it's even more important since you will be investing time, energy and your emotions into your products. Thousands of subscribers to my "Online Marketing Success Secrets Revealed" (http://www.infoproductcreator.com/ezine1.html) Newsletter, experts and aspiring infoproduct creators struggle with the same 6 questions... Do these questions keep you awake at night? 1. What do I like doing enough that I would spend a few weeks developing a product, and years marketing and supporting them? 2. How do I know if ENOUGH people will purchase my product to achieve my goals? 3. Will people pay for my knowledge - even if I'm not an expert? 4. How do I test for demand BEFORE I spend weeks or months developing my products? 5. Do I have to write a 150-page book to make money? 6. What topics sell - it seems like only "Making Money" type products are selling. Listen - you are NOT the first to wonder about these questions. In fact, your success depends on getting PAST these doubts - so let's take each one and work through them - OK? 1. DO I HAVE TO REALLY LOVE MY TOPIC? Two answers to this question - you CAN develop a winning product about a subject that you are not completely passionate about. Professional writers do it all the time. Here's the catch. A great deal of your success marketing infoproducts online will depend on MORE than just selling 1 product. It will depend on... a) Your ability to market additional products - yours and others. b) Your ability to create great publicity campaigns, partnerships, follow up sales campaigns, loyalty with your readers c) Your ability to support and ADD-VALUE to your prospective and existing customers d) Your ability to gain MOMENTUM in your business by tapping into your customer base and continuing to provide them high-value, back-end products Are you seeing it? Yes, you can develop an article, book, booklet, eBook or whatever infoproduct you favor about a topic you are less than thrilled about - BUT... You MUST be willing to live with that market for years to come! For that reason alone, it's worth finding a market and subject that both interests you AND has great potential. Here's a real-world example. Just over 1.5 years ago I developed my own eBook aimed at empowering product developers with proven ways to tap into a flood of market demand, test their ideas and quickly generate products that sell like wildfire. The original ebook - "The Ultimate Information Entrepreneur's Success Package" at: http://www.infoproductcreator.com took me 4 weeks to develop - start to finish. Not bad. It's because I knew my topic so well that I was able to produce a 110 page eBook and accompanying interviews within weeks. Since that time I have written well over 60 articles, published a regular ezine, updated my product 3 times, written several special reports, created hard-hitting websites, press releases, ads and added hundreds of pages of content to my websites. All of that is not including more than 40 interviews, reviews, publicity events and other projects I've been involved in - ALL ON THE SAME TOPIC. Add to that hundreds of hours of email and phone conversations with joint venture and affiliate partners who sell my product for me each and every week. Now - all of this activity has put tens of thousands into my hands, from this one single book, not to mention other products I sell. POINT IS: Marketing The Product YOu Create Will Mean Living With Your Product Each and Every Day As You BUild Your Business. You Can Make A Fortune, But It Takes Some Effort Each and Every Day. You MUST Be Passionate Enough About Your Topic To Stay Motivated and Focused - That's the Secret To Building Your Own Infoproduct Empire Online. 2. HOW DO YOU ESTIMATE DEMAND FOR YOUR INFOPRODUCT IDEA Now we're into the details that will skyrocket you into the top 5% of infoproduct developers online - that will set you aside from 95% of others who do NOT consider demand for their topic. Just for sake of argument - I'm going to use an example of a hobby that some of you may have, model airplanes. You know, those little scale airplanes that get so many hobbyists out of bed at ungodly times of the morning - addicting to the smell of Naptha gas. Here's a few ways you can can estimate demand for your proposed market... a) Use online tools to seek out demand. The three best tools (and they are completely free) to use are: - Overture keyword search tool: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ A search for model airplanes brings up some interesting information - - Over 55,000 searches on this topic in less than 1-month (Not Bad!) - Second most searched topic RELATED to model airplanes is Model Airplane News - OK, so people want information. - Several search categories include searches done on various products, evidence that this market is willing to spend money. b) Now if you had a tool such as Adword Analyzer -- http://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/adwanalyze Then you would see that the supply of websites that come up when searching for model airplanes is quite small - relative to other keyword searches. In addition, with this incredible tool, you would see that there are very few current Google Adwords or Overture.com campaigns being purchased. What's that mean? It means that you can use one or both of these tools to generate almost INSTANT high-quality traffic to your site for a fraction of what most other high-demand keywords would cost. All good signs that point to a strong market demand for your hobby and area of product interest. c)A third method you can use is to seek out what is already selling. A great way to do that is to look at http://www.amazon.com and http://www.zdnet.com top movers op sellers in various market niches. This will tell you ALLOT about what people are spending money on right now! 3. WHAT WILL PEOPLE PAY ME FOR? Now that you have picked a niche market and an area of focus, you need to find out what people want BADLY within that niche. Here are a few ways to find out... a) Search google for "model airplane discussion forums". You are looking for active and reasonably good quality forums to TAP INTO ongoig discussions - this will offer you a goldmine of information on what people are looking for. In a 5-minute search, here's what I found -- http://www.indiarc.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi http://www.rcorlando.com/modules.php?name=Forums http://www.flightlines.com/cgi- bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true You will find TONS of active discussions that will lead to product ideas, allowing you to tap into what this market wants. b) Get involved in Chat's - many of the sites above also run live chat sessions periodically, another great way to find out pockets of demand c) Check offline - read RC Modeller magazines and books, find out consistent topics, gaps in information or ideas that you could expand into a different medium. For example, a common topic is flying techniques or flight patterns. Why not travel to your local model flying club and video tape both flight paths and techniques used by flyers, converting them into digital files and selling them on CD-ROM? You get the idea. d) Listen to your fellow model airplane buffs - find out what their frustrations are, what their spending patterns are and what else they are looking for, but can't find. 4. TESTING FOR DEMAND Here are 3 quick methods of testing for demand - BEFORE you spend days, weeks or months on creating your infoproduct. a) Surveys - using a free trial from http://www.surveymonkey.com you can find out whether your target market seems as passionate about your idea as you are. NOTE: Be sure to ask them IF and HOW MUCH they would be willing to cough up to get answers to their questions. b) Special Report - Use this often overlooked technique to put together a few pages (from 5-20 pages) that you can either give away or sell for a low price to test the popularity of your idea. You WILL need to market this report, so it will take some time BUT, it's a great way to setup your marketing channels ahead of time, preparing them for your full product which comes later. The best resource I've come across on writing Income-Generating Special Reports is "The Special Report Bible" - you will be amazed at what you can put together in a matter of hours or days. ANOTHER IDEA is to run an interview or teleseminar on your topic with a topic expert. Judge the popularity of the call can mean you will roll out new products later. An example of this strategy is Yanik Silver's recent Public Domain Riches teleseminar (http://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/pdomain) which turned out to be such a hit that he quickly put together a $1,000+ personal coaching course on the same topic. c) Articles - Write articles on your topic directly addressing the same desire you hope to fill with your full product. Submit your article to the various article directories on Yahoo and many others out there. Request a courtesy notification from publishers who publish your article so that you get a feel for how popular the article proves to be. Of course, you should also have a link to either a website or autoresponder email address at the end of your article. Clicks on your link following the article will also give you a sense of how popular the topic is. What should you expect? You don't need to have HUGE numbers, a few publications and approx a 1% clickthrough on any published articles tells you there is enough response to continue - or at least do additional testing. 5. eBOOKS AND WHAT ELSE? If you haven't asked the question - WHAT ELSE and you are considering writing a typical book or eBook then you may be missing out on product opportunities that will both make you more money AND take far less time to create. Here are just a few formats that many successful infoproduct developers use today... - Audio files (telseminars, interviews, commentary) - Special Reports (5-20 page treatments) - Videos (It's easier than you think) - Software (Software applications or scripts can be developed by starving professionals on Elance.com or Scriptlance.com for far less than you might imagine. - Physical booklets or courses/binders - Bundled products 6. THE INTERNET MARKETING MARKET FALLACY It has to be the biggest un-truth floating around the internet. Contrary to what most people say, developing products targeted only at the internet marketing crowd is NOT the only OR the most lucrative market out there. It IS the most competitive - so that's why you tend to see products everywhere, leading most people to believe those are the only products selling. In fact, there are products selling in many niches including... - health and wellness - hobbies (models, crafts, collectors, music, sports, etc...) - relationships - parenting - career and business - business opportunities (ie. home business) - technology - pets - and many, many others Each week I continue to be AMAZED at the incredible opportunities out there in niche markets - our society is more information hungry than ever. Don't make the common mistake of ignoring a market you are interested in because you don't THINK products will sell. Instead, test and find out what products will sell to a given market. With those obstacles out of your way - NOTHING stands in the way of you creating that lifestyle you've always wanted by creating and marketing information products. About the Author Jeff Smith is the author of the top-selling "Ultimate Information Entrepreneur's Success Package" helping thousands package their knowledge into profitable eBooks, special reports, ezines and audios. Visit his site here: |
6 Amazing Secrets To Work At Home Success
| 6 Amazing Secrets To Work At Home Success |
| by: Vernette Carbon |
| Are you a stay at home mom or dad who would like to work from home? Maybe you have a job outside the home, but you're tired of juggling your job and your kids, especially when your child is sick and needs you. You'd like to work from home, but it seems as though there are no legitimate jobs out there. You don't really want to start a home-based business from scratch, but would love to work from home. Well let me tell you a little secret, knowledge is power. And there are 15 strategies you must apply if you want to be successful in landing a work at home job or contract These 15 strategies will definitely help you beat out your competition. Let me share with you 6 of the 15 strategies I've used and continue to use to increase my chances of obtaining home-based jobs and contracts over and over again. •1. You Must Acquire A Specialized Skill The secret to landing a home-based job or independent contract and keeping it forever is to acquire a specialized skill, or start a career in a field that is completely recession proof and in high demand but has a low supply of skilled workers. For instance, people will always get sick. So therefore doctors will always need Medical transcriptionists. Another example; companies will always have quarterly meetings and will always need general transcriptionists to transcribe reports, minutes, etc. If you lose your home-based job today, you can apply for another one tomorrow and land another job within a week or two. How am I so sure about this? Well I've done it over and over again as a general transcriptionist, and Cyber Agent (Call Center Customer Service Rep) for the past five and a half years. The jobs and independent contracts in these fields are in abundance. As an example, let's look at Medical Transcriptionist. Just go to your search engine and type in the keywords, "Medical Transcription Companies." You will see hundreds of medical transcription companies listed. Just visit a few of the web sites and check to see if there's an "employment," "Career," "Join us," "Contact," etc., tab on the web site. I'm sure you'll find several job openings. •2. Don't work at home for the wrong reasons. Too many people want to work at home for the wrong reasons. Never tell an employer that you want to work at home because you need to spend more time with your children. That will certainly seem selfish to an employer, and you would never get hired. Most employers don't care whether you want to stay at home with your children or not. Wanting to work from home to spend more time with your children is not really a wrong reason, but in an employer's mind it is. Why not look at it this way; working from home would enable you to be more productive in the sense that you would not miss work when your children are sick. Also if some other family issues arise you can take care of it without calling in sick. Wouldn't this be more beneficial to the employer instead of saying you want to work at home to spend more time with the kids? •3. Be Professional At All Times When applying for a home-based job, never respond to an ad via email stating, "I'm interested in the work-at-home (data entry) position." This is quite unprofessional. Once you find a home-based job vacancy, apply by sending your cover letter and resume, or fill out an online application. If the employer didn't ask for a cover letter in the job vacancy ad, please send one anyway. Never send a resume without a cover letter. It will get thrown in the trash. Please customize each cover letter with information tailored to that specific job advertisement. •4. Never Send Your Resume As An Attachment Unless The ad States That You Can Do So The hiring manager might never open the attachment. Also, never copy and paste your resume into the body of your email and send it to an employer. It will change format by the time it reaches to the employer, and will look like a jumbled mess. You must create an ASCII/Plain Text resume and cover letter. For more information on how to do this please visit the following web sites, http://resume.monster.com/dosanddonts/email/Index.asp or http://www.eresumeiq.com/ABC.html. •5. Follow Instructions When responding to a job vacancy announcement please make sure you follow the ad instructions. If the ad asks for specific information please do exactly as it says. For instance, if the ad says, please describe home office equipment, make sure you mention in your cover letter exactly what equipment you have in your home office. I was once commended by an employer for being the only job applicant, out of hundreds to actually follow the specific instructions in the job ad. I was hired for this home-based job mainly because I followed instructions, not because I was more qualified than all the other applicants. •6. Reduce Your Job Search Time Finding a job using the Internet can be a frustrating, time-consuming endeavor because there are literally 1000's of job boards and work at home resources. And don't forget the Job newsgroups and the regional newspapers. To be current on this information is essential. Let YourJobSearcher do the work for you. This software is not only for 9-5 job searches. You can use it to find telecommuting jobs also. All you have to do is download and install your Job Search Program, enter your job description (home-based job title you desire), click and begin the search. It's that easy. About the Author Vernette Carbon is the owner-publisher of AmazingWorkatHomeSecrets.com, and a |
7 Effective Tips For Get a New Job FAST
| 7 Effective Tips For Get a New Job FAST |
| by: Damian Papworth |
| In the last four articles in this series, we covered the four basic steps to finding employment. Defining, prospecting, applying and interviewing. In this final article, we giving you 7 quality tips which will help you cut valuable time off each step and therefore the entire job hunt process. 1. Don't wait till you start looking for a job, before you start looking. Be up to date with your industry and the conditions of your employment environment all the time. Make this part of your job description in every job you hold. It could save you weeks when it comes time to find a job. 2. Keep your resume up to date Find a template or layout that you are comfortable with and maintain it. Update it twice a year at least. It will save you the mad scramble to put it together and possibly a lost opportunity because you were unprepared. 3. Network Network Network. Keep in touch with all your contacts in the industry. This includes workmates, employers, contacts at employment agencies, contacts in similar companies etc. You never know what other people will be doing tomorrow, or what opportunities they may have for you. 4. Accept interviews even if you are not interested in the opportunity, or not looking for a job. Interviewing is a very specific skill. Keep that skill honed. Keep practising the skill. You don't want to lose "perfect" opportunies because it is your first interview in 5 years and you need to get your answers back up to scratch. Remember you do not have to accept the job. 5. Keep a diary of your experiences. Note what you did well with each job opportunity. What worked, what didn't, improvements you could make, elements you can get rid of. Then, when you next go through an employment opportunity situation, revisit your notes, duplicate the good things and improve the bad things. Recognise the process as having a learning curve, and learn. 6. If you do not have a job and need one, make job hunting your full time job. Get out of bed at the same time you would if you were working in your given field. This will put your time clock in sync with your interviewers. Spend the same hours working on your job hunt as you would in the job. Be disciplined. 7. Keep focused Know what you are looking for and have a clear plan for achieving your goal. Do not accept roles that are different to your goals at the start of your job hunt. This could cost you years in your career. This is the final part of a 5 part special report on reducing the time it takes to get a job. Its not fun running around trying to win that job, this report is full of tips and tricks which will help you reduce your job hunt time to a minimum. The rest of this report is delivered in incremental articles which you can get by subscribing for the FREE newsletter at http://www.employedforever.com The entire series of articles will be sent automatically to you email address. Other topics covered include: Prospecting for Job Leads; The Job Application and The Interview Process. So to get your copy of this, entire report, by signing up for this free newsletter at http://www.employedforever.com or by sending a blank email to mailto:employedforever@pushbuttonresponder.com Till then, good luck with your hunt Damian __________________________________________________ Finally, a dedicated and systematic approach to ensuring you're earning an income forever. Find out how, in four logical steps, you will never have money problems again. http://www.EmployedForever.com About the Author Damian Papworth has been a Senior Manager in one of the Fortune 500 to close on a decade. In that time he has employed countless new people to work for him. He knows what employers look for |
7 Reasons to Pay Yourself First
| 7 Reasons to Pay Yourself First |
| by: Diann Cannon |
| Last month I was referred to a young fellow who wants to open his own business. He was pleasant, energetic, knew his stuff too; all good qualities to have, especially if you're self-employed. We started out well enough. We talked about his long-range goals as well as his current circumstances, exploring how they might influence each other. When I learned that he had no real savings, I recommended that he begin putting away at least 10% of his income. Well, that's when things took a left turn. He became quite irritated and told me that there was absolutely no way he could do that; every penny he and his wife brought in was already allocated and they just couldn't afford to hold on to any of it. Everything he said thereafter just demonstrated all the more that he really NEEDED to have some savings cushion: his wife's position was not secure; the business she worked for may be folding, they had just had a baby. Despite my best efforts, he was not willing to consider putting his family's security on the front burner. Instead, he decided not to hire me as his coach, because he said, "I wasn't the 'right kind.'" Hmmmm. I've seen businesses come and go and those who cannot handle the money at home typically take the same habits into their business and before they know it, they become a failure statistic. So, regardless of how you are employed (employee vs. self-employed), saving money is smart for some obvious and some not-so-obvious reasons: Working becomes more FUN! If your entire paycheck is spent on basic survival needs, going to work every day can be very depressing. Saving a portion of your hard-earned dollars is empowering because the decision is made not only by you, but also for your benefit. There is an excitement that comes from watching the savings account grow. And when we see our dollars grow, we become more conscientious in our spending habits. Taking care of self brings about a sense of freedom. If you find yourself in a difficult situation where you feel your values are challenged, you are more likely to say so if you have been taking care of your self in other ways. Regardless of the degree of difficulty, or who the person across from you happens to be (like your boss?), you will be truer to yourself and more direct with others. The act of self-care and financial responsibility promotes personal freedom. Many financial experts recommend investing at least 10% of our gross income into something that can actually make money. That means finding an investment opportunity that will earn money for you on your behalf. Some people choose real estate, some the stock market; if that's just way too risky for you, then consider bonds or some other safe investment. I recommend George Clason's book entitled "The Richest Man in Babylon" for a no-nonsense approach to financial planning and personal prosperity. For information on how to purchase Clason's book, click here: The Richest Man in Babylon Practicality and reality rule! When we are truly fiscally responsible, we do not do things that can jeopardize our financial health. More to the point, we will not forego saving or buy things we cannot afford because we are fully knowledgeable of our financial circumstances and responsive to our best interests. We live within our means. One secret to success is modeling what other successful people do. Most every successful person I've ever met saves at least 10% of their income and invests it. Create your own success story. I cannot tell you how many times people have looked at me, given me an impish grin and said, "I wish I could do that, but I barely make my bills as it is." The truth of the matter is that you will never miss $1.00 out of $10.00 or $10.00 out of $100.00. So my suggestion is no matter how much or how little money you make, do it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACTIONBegin now by first opening an extra bank account. Take 10% from you next paycheck and put it in this account. Continue to do this with every paycheck you get. You are going to be so pleased this time next year when you see the reserve of money you have set aside. Talk about peace of mind! About the Author Diann Cannon, founder of Signals Personal and Business |
7 Tips To Make A Fantastic Impression On People Who Count
| 7 Tips To Make A Fantastic Impression On People Who Count |
| by: Michael Mercer |
| Making a fabulous impression on people opens doors for your business, personal, and career endeavors. People like charming people who make them feel comfortable. So, making a fantastic impression helps you get where you want to go. About the Author: Michael Mercer, Ph.D., is a conference speaker and consultant with The Mercer Group, Inc. in Barrington, Illinois. Dr. Mercer created the widely used "Abilities & Behavior Forecaster™" pre-employment tests. He authored 5 books, including "How Winners Do It: High Impact People Skills for Your Success". You can subscribe to Dr. Mercer's free e-Newsletter at http://www.drmercer.com |
What Does an Innate Talent Look Like?
| What Does an Innate Talent Look Like? |
| by: Susan Dunn |
| none Management gurus, Buckingham and Clifton, in their book "Now Discover Your Strengths," also propose this theory and it's the basis of their StrengthsFinder ™ Profile assessment. Taking the StrengthsFinder ™ Profile is one way to discover your innate talents. How else can you? CORE STRENGTHS These "signature strengths," as Seligman calls them, and "innate talents," as Buckingham and Clifton call them, are with us from birth, show up early in childhood (to the observing eye), and continue with us throughout our life. They may be repressed, ignored, neglected, or even devalued, in this world where the press has been to be "well-rounded," but they will always be there, popping up at happy moments, beckoning to be acknowledged, calling our name. When we're asked to do something we've never done before, and take to it like a duck to water, or when we do something so well we think everyone else can, they just aren't, or when someone watches us do something and says not, "How did she learn to do that?" but rather, "Where did that come from?" we're tapping into an innate strength. The way we feel when we watch Tiger Woods play golf, but these are not physical traits. INNATE STRENGTHS OPERATIONALIZED So what does this look like in real life? No strength leads to any particular occupation, nor does any occupation necessarily require any certain strength, but I think I met a future manager, therapist, theoretician or strategist this afternoon, if he stays with his strengths. But, first let me elaborate on that statement. You don't have to have Empathy to be a nurse, and all nurses don't have Empathy. You can use Focus to be the director of a non-profit, as a client of mine does, or to be an engineer, as someone surely is. Your strengths can be applied quite successfully to a number of different occupations. So this gifted little boy could end up being happy doing any number of things. Now back to this little boy I encountered today. I was keeping my 2-year-old grandson, James, for the afternoon. We wandered outside on this beautiful, sunny day and the boys playing down the street caught his attention. Allen, 18, and Kevin, 13, were shooting baskets. Around them was Alex, 8 years old, playing with his new mini-skateboard. James tried to grab the skateboard, and yelled "ball" and they were good to him, tossing him the ball once or twice, and letting him have the skateboard for a few moments. Nobody was talking; they were all just playing. Alex was the quietest, just doing his thing over to the side with his mini-skateboard. At one point James wandered over to dig in the neighbor's garden, and Alex said, "Mary's not going to like that," Mary, being the neighbor woman's name. "She turned my mother in for watering on the wrong day." Naptime beckoned, and as we were getting ready to head home, Alex came over to me and beamed. "That kid's like a cat," he said. "He likes round things that go around." It's true that James loves wheels, but then I've known him for two years. In about 10 minutes, Alex had quietly 'gotten' James and taken it to the meta-level. Alex has the strength called Strategic, which you either have or you don't; it can't be taught. He sees patterns where others simply see complexity. Strategics cut through the clutter. Alex then verbalized what he'd discovered. "This person [Strategic] is likely to have a strength for putting his ideas and thoughts into words," say Buckingham and Clifton. "Position this person on the leading edge of your organization." Alex is also exhibiting strong right-brain traits, using a simile to describe, picturesquely what he's discovered, comparing two disparate objects – a cat and a boy. He's also exhibiting Empathy, understanding innately how James feels about thing. James doesn't just love things that go 'round; he's obsessed with them. Alex tapped into a feeling thing, and from feelings we know how to manage people, guide them and work with them. Once you know what James likes, you have the key to motivating him, something that managers, therapists, and coaches need to be able to do. These two traits of Empathy and Strategist also show up in his comment about the neighbor. He's made a big connection for a small boy – that a woman who reports her neighbor for watering on the wrong day is going to be furious at a toddler throwing dirt on her driveway, i.e., that she's fastidious and rigid about things. KNOWING YOUR STRENGTHS If you've been lucky, your parents keyed in on things like this, and your teachers, and your counselors, and your coaches, and your managers. If not, these natural propensities were ignored, or even considered weaknesses, and you've lost touch with them. I have one client, for instance, who has Intellection, Learner and Ideation for 3 of her top themes. This means she's intellectual, loves to learn and study, and loves ideas for their own sake. Her parents were farmers, and actually said to her, "Get your head out of that book and do something useful. That won't be tolerated in this household." So you see how it goes. MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK If you were lucky in this respect, and have crafted your life around your strengths, congratulations. If you were not, you can do it for yourself. Take the time this year to delve into your innate talents and strengths and take the first step on one of the paths to happiness. Self-awareness will lead to better understand of others and will help you see and understand the innate strengths in others as well. About the Author Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach, GLOBAL EQ. Emotional intelligence coaching to enhance all areas of your life - career, relationships, midlife transition, resilience, self-esteem, parenting. EQ Alive! - excellent, accelerated, affordable EQ coach certification. Susan is the author of numerous ebooks, is widely published on the Internet, and a regular speaker for cruise lines. For marketing services go here. |
8 Advantages of Publishing Your Own Book as an Entrepreneur
| 8 Advantages of Publishing Your Own Book as an Entrepreneur |
| by: Ink Tree Ltd. |
| 8 Advantages of Publishing Your Own Book as an Entrepreneur As an aspiring or an established entrepreneur, you are an expert in something, but does the rest of the world know? You have a wealth of information, experience and knowledge that you can package into a book that will benefit others. This truly is the information age and people want to know what you know. 1. A book will give you unbelievable credibility which increases the respect you will receive from customers and business associates. Wouldn't you be more likely to purchase widgets from the business person who wrote the book on widgets? New customers are more likely to take advice from, or purchase the services/products from, an established author. Many consultants increase the levels of their business simply by writing a book on their area of expertise. 2. The typical business person might run into roadblocks when seeking media recognition and publicity for their product or service because the media tend to see this kind of exposure as advertising. However, books receive exposure in the form of reviews or features all the time. Books make great print stories and authors make great featured guests on radio and television shows. Sure beats pulling together an advertising budget. 3. Writing a book gives you instant expert status. If you wrote the book, you are now seen as the authority on that subject by others. And you are! You will have now proven that you know what you're talking about. You will show, in writing, that you know your business area inside and out. 4. Most entrepreneurs love to hear that publishing a book can easily lead to increased fees. People will pay more to work with an established expert then someone who seems less established in a business. Your book has just given you instant added credentials. It would be nice to add "author of…" behind your name, wouldn't it? 5. If you are not already a consultant, a book along with your proven expert status could bring you new consulting opportunities where you can bill for your time to educate, speak to and work with other companies and individuals helping them succeed through what you know. 6. If you have a service business or you are selling products already, a book will allow you to add a product to your existing business. Expanding your line is never a bad thing and will open up all kinds of doors in your marketing plan. 7. If you aren't already on the internet (and you should be, but that's another article), you can add online marketing to your marketing plan with your book. There are loads of places to sell your book online and having an information product to offer will give you a second stream of revenue with huge potential. 8. Expanding your marketing opportunities and focusing on opportunities for residual income is what you should be focusing on as an entrepreneur. Quit trading your hours for dollars and start working smarter. Your own book will be a complement and a supplement to your current business. It will also mean an additional source of revenue added to your bottom line. I'd be willing to bet that you've thought of writing a book at some point in your career. Almost every single person has. Use your passion. Take your knowledge, package it and sell it. People are willing to pay for what you already know. Copyright Ó 2003 Ink Tree Ltd. Ink Tree Ltd. Helping writers publish, market and sell books! If there is a book inside you – profit from it. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book… to Success – the fast, easy, simple way. Publish your own book with one-on-one expert help from publishing professionals who have created numerous bestsellers and sold hundreds of thousands of books. Phone: 1-866-500-8733 or 403-295-3898 Email: info@inktreemarketing.com Web: www.moneyinpublishing.com or www.inktreemarketing.com About the Author Ink Tree Ltd. is a book marketing firm that helps writers publish, market and sell books. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book... to Success - the fast, easy, simple waywww.inktreemarketing.com |
A $2.95 Road Trip, Complete With Souvenirs
| A $2.95 Road Trip, Complete With Souvenirs |
| by: Bonnie Jo Davis |
| "Hey, I didn't know you were a writer, I thought you were a Virtual Assistant." No matter how many times I hear this comment it still surprises me. I learned early on that writing was one of the most lucrative services that I could offer in my virtual assistance business, not to mention an incredible means of free marketing. I have discovered a valuable resource for writing assignments and other types of work. The Freelance Work Exchange is an innovative web site that incorporates nearly every aspect of the freelance process. It features the components with which you are familiar as well as those for which you may not have an accurate understanding, and quite possibly, some aspects about which you have never even heard. As with most legitimate professional freelance web sites, membership at http://tinyurl.com/3v69r is on a paid basis. In this case, membership is paid on a monthly basis at the standard rate of $29.95 per month. You may feel this is excessive especially since you don't know exactly what the value of membership is actually going to deliver for you. Since this is the perspective of the average person, me included, the Freelance Work Exchange has a solution for addressing your questions directly. And no, you don't have to submit an e-mail with a list of questions and then wait for a reply. All you have to do is take advantage of the Freelance Work Exchange's valuable test drive. For only $2.95 you can literally test drive the Freelance Work Exchange with a 7-day temporary membership. Unlike most other trial memberships that offer very limited access and no access at all to members' only features, the Freelance Work Exchange gives you the run of the road. In other words, you don't just get to drive it around the block; you get to actually make a real road trip with your temporary membership. Guess what? The Freelance Work Exchange even gives you some souvenirs to make your road trip worth your while. Here's what your $2.95 is going to net you, even if you decide at the end of the 7-day trial that one trip was enough for you. * Unlimited 24/7 Access to Professional Members Area For 7 days, you're going to be able to explore and take advantage of each component of the Professional Members Area at the Freelance Work Exchange. This doesn't mean that you get to read about them, but that you get to make full use of each member's only component. * Freelance Job Report You will receive immediate access to the current issue of this Freelance Work Exchange professional edition bi-weekly newsletter, which is a paid subscription. Each issue features career advice and strategies as well as hot freelance job opportunities. * The Jobs Database Okay, so the Freelance Work Exchange has a freelance job bank, but so do other freelance web sites. However, this site actually allows you to use your test drive to go through the process of finding projects and applying for them. This will give you a good idea of how the site works for you without an ongoing commitment. Categories in The Jobs Database include: * Writing, Editing and Proofreading * Design & Illustration * Programming & Software Development * Consultancy * Administrative & Miscellaneous * Work-at-Home * Million Dollar Freelancing The Freelance Work Exchange publishes this valuable freelancer's publication feature in serialized format. A perk that you receive as a temporary member is a free subscription offer. You'll receive this innovative publication in chapter-by-chapter format delivered directly to your e-mail address. If you decide that Million Dollar Freelancing offers no value to you, you can simply discontinue your subscription anytime you choose. The Freelance Work Exchange will promptly remove you from this subscriber list. * Featured Freelance Listing The Freelance Work Exchange offers all its members the opportunity to purchase a "feature" listing as a freelancer for the price of $50.00 for a 1-month listing or $100.00 for a 3-month listing. This same offer is available to you as a temporary member. If you purchase a Featured Freelance Listing and decide not to continue with a monthly membership, you still have the benefit of having your professional profile featured for the period for which you purchased it. * Freelance Billing Rates A common issue among freelance writers and service providers is how to determine rates for professional services. Freelance Work Exchange has reduced it to black and white for you. Taken directly from the U.S. Department of Labor is a chart featuring average rates for various professional services. For some specific freelance services, there is an indicated range of from low to high. True, you can find this information yourself for free at the U.S. DOL's web site, but you will have to dig for it. The Freelance Work Exchange has done the digging for you. * Gold Seal of Professional Membership As a supportive service to its professional members, the Freelance Work Exchange has published a Freelance Code of Practice for which it has also created an image or graphics design. Your temporary membership entitles you to post this Gold Seal of Professional Membership directly at your own web site, provided that you are also willing to link to the Freelance Code of Practice. What better way to declare your professional status than by associating yourself with a highly recognizable Gold Seal of Professional Membership? It will add a significant recognition factor of your professional expertise. * Searchable Newsletter Archive Not only does your 7-day temporary membership grant you access to current newsletter content, but it also grants you access to all the archived newsletters as well. Simply enter a keyword search to find a listing of relevant articles that you can actually read. * Categorized Newsletter Search If a keyword search is not your preferred method of finding information on a particular subject, Freelance Work Exchange features a categorical listing from which you can search for an article on a particular topic. Immediate access is provided to this feature with your temporary membership. You can read an unlimited amount of articles with seven days about any category that interests you. * Priority Resume Bank The Freelance Work Exchange gives you a genuine first chance opportunity for consideration with its recurring employer client base. It has established many solid relationships with employers for whom they provide freelance referrals as needed. As a temporary member, you are invited to submit your resume and/or other professional credentials via its online form for their review and inclusion in its exclusive group of professionals whom they refer to various employers. There is no additional fee for reviewing your resume and maintaining it in the Priority Resume Bank for employer consideration. * Freelance Job Finder The Freelance Work Exchange features a meta search tool that you can use to do a quick search for freelance opportunities currently posted at all the major online job markets. This is an incredible timesaver that gives you an instant overview of what is available instead of having to go to each major employment web site and do an individual search. * The Big List For convenient viewing, the Freelance Work Exchange maintains a current listing of over 100 freelance markets grouped categorically. It's a deep goldmine of places for marketing your services. * Totally Free Software The only thing better than free software is software that is free and useful to you. The Freelance Work Exchange reviews the benefits of several premium freelance software products to which it has linked directly for easily downloading. Again, you can find this information and the free downloads yourself on the Internet, but you'll invest more than $2.95 worth of your valuable time searching for it. * E-Mail Support The Freelance Work Exchange publishes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page in which it details specific information about the various features it offers. If you need assistance beyond what is provided there, it will gladly provide additional support for you via e-mail. * Your Free E-Book on Viral Freelancing Immediately upon purchasing a $2.95 membership, you have access to this innovative publication. Simply download it and save it to your desktop. This valuable e-book is filled with easy how-to ways to boost your freelance earnings. Even if you decide not to continue your membership after the 7-day road trip, you still get to keep Your Free E-Book on Viral Freelancing. This feature alone is worth a considerable purchase price. * Special Report - The Formula For Success A proven reality, the Freelance Work Exchange gives you immediate access to a simple 5-part business plan for achieving success as a freelance professional. This intriguing report is delivered via download in Adobe Acrobat or PDF file and makes genuine common sense from what can be a complicated prospect. Simply download the file and save it to your computer. You get to keep this valuable report even if you decide to cancel your membership your 7-day road trip. * Post Your Own Job The Freelance Work Exchange offers an online job submission form that allows you to submit your own specific job for inclusion in The Jobs Database. This valuable feature is available free of charge during your 7-Day membership period. It is a perfect opportunity to find an editor, a ghostwriter or simply an extra pair of hands to assist you as needed. For the members' only fee of $20.00, you can upgrade your job to a Featured Job Listing for placement in the Freelance Job Report Newsletter. This is a very nominal fee considering that the subscriber base of the newsletter currently exceeds 120,000. That means more than 120,000 talented freelance professionals are actually paying to see your job posting. * Featured Members Specials Offering 30% Discount During your Freelance Work Exchange road trip, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy a 30% discount on Featured Member Specials such as professional resume writing services and web design services as well as other valuable resources such as the Work At Home Success Kit. Okay, so that's the map to your 7-day Freelance Work Exchange road trip. The final destination at which you arrive is yours to determine. Answer one question though before postponing your temporary membership purchase ... just one. And my question is... What previous $2.95 investment has ever netted you as much professional mileage? (c) 2004, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in all media reserved. Permission for reprint granted to all venues so long as they are opt-in. About the Author Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant and the webmaster of the Articles That Sell Center. To join her no cost, unique monthly marketing e-zine visit http://www.ArticlesThatSell.com/newsletter.htm |
Be Better at Business – And Lose Weight, Too!
| Be Better at Business – And Lose Weight, Too! |
| by: John M McKee |
| Many of the issues and challenges faced by managers and professionals are more similar than not to those of someone trying to lose weight in an effort to improve his or her health and wellness. In business, individuals often secure the services of a success coach like myself to "fix" certain areas of their professional life. The desired fixes typically range from a desire for a promotion and/or a salary increase, to on-the-job performance enhancements, to improving one's personal productivity, to boosting one's level of enthusiasm about their job. Having coached literally hundreds of executives on how to improve their professional life, I recently came to the realization that many of the issues and challenges faced by aspiring professionals are more similar than not to those of someone trying to lose weight in an effort to improve his or her health and wellness. In short, both of these groups often seek someone or something that, with minimum effort, expense, and time, can get their situations fixed and on a desirable course for the long term. Like many challenges faced by business people looking to enhance their career path, those with weight-related challenges may also be failing to realize that the weight problem is actually a symptom of other, more deep-seated problems that are occurring elsewhere in their lives. In other words, the obstacles overweight and obese people face may, in fact, not necessarily be food-related at all, just as problems at work may have very little to do with what's actually occurring on the job. In my practice, BusinessSuccessCoach.net, I use an holistic process to assess all of the elements required to affect our client's success in business, rather than analyzing what is likely a mere symptom. This exclusive process, known as The Four Windows Method takes into account the whole of an individual -- not just the obvious areas related to the problem at hand. Although created for use in a business context, The Four Windows Method is infinitely adaptable to those attempting to lose weight. With The Four Windows Method, health seekers can work through a series of actions designed to provide a status review of their life using four distinct windows. Unlike other coaching methods that are tactical in nature, your final analysis, and the action plan derived from this assessment, will be strategic, holistic, and all encompassing. When you move on to work toward weight-loss success, there will be No Walls to hold you back. This reasoned and methodical approach of The Four Windows Method will help you to understand where you are, what you want, and how to get there and you'll be healthier, and happier, as a result."Losing weight rarely relates to simply implementing the 'right diet' or the 'right workout'," said Raphael Calzadilla, B.A., CPT, ACE and a Certified Personal Trainer. "From my extensive personal and professional health experience, I've learned that one must first understand the driving emotional and psychological forces in their life in order to make the required behavioral changes. McKee's Four Windows Method is one such process. It can help health seekers get on the right emotional track, allowing them to more effectively work toward -- and reach -- their goal." About the Four Windows Method, Susan Burke MS, RD, LD/N, CDE noted, "It's clear John McKee understands that weight loss encompasses much more than just food modification. His introspective Four Windows Method digs deeper in an attempt to uncover one's true motivation for overeating, which has resulted in the 'symptom' of an overweight or obese condition. McKee's Method is designed to achieve permanent behavioral change to achieve and maintain a healthy weight for the long term and, as such, it's an effort that I wholeheartedly endorse." By applying The Four Windows Process to your weight loss effort, you will surely be well on track toward improved health and wellness. To get a free a free PDF copy of The Method to try yourself go to: http://www.businesssuccesscoach.net/WeightLoss.html ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
A Better Life...Only a DECISION Away!
| A Better Life...Only a DECISION Away! |
| by: Bob Proctor |
| One single, "mental move" has the power to create incredible success... There is a single mental move you can make which, in a millisecond, will solve enormous problems for you. It has the potential to improve almost any personal or business situation you will ever encounter, and it could literally propel you down the path to incredible success. We have a name for this magic mental activity ... it is called DECISION. Decisions or the lack of them are responsible for the breaking or making of many a career. Individuals who have become very proficient at making decisions, without being influenced by the opinions of others, are the same people whose annual incomes fall into the six and seven figure category. However, it's not just your income that is affected by decisions; your whole life is dominated by this power. The health of your mind and body, the well-being of your family, your social life, the type of relationships you develop … all are dependent upon your ability to make sound decisions. So, how is a person expected to develop this mental ability? Quite simply, as the commercial says, "Just do it." Decision making brings order to your mind, and of course, this order is then reflected in your objective world ... your results. Indecision sets up internal conflicts that can, without warning, escalate into all out mental and emotional wars. Psychiatrists have a name to describe these internal wars - ambivalence. My Oxford Dictionary tells me that ambivalence is the co-existence in one person of opposite feelings toward the same objective. You do not require a doctorate degree in psychiatry to understand that you are going to have difficulty in your life by permitting your mind to remain in an ambivalent state for any period of time. The person who does permit it to exist will become very despondent and virtually incapable of any type of productive activity. It is obvious that anyone who finds themselves in such a mental state is not living; at best, they are merely existing. A decision or a series of decisions would change everything. A very basic law of the universe is "create or disintegrate". Indecision causes disintegration. How often have you heard a person say, "I don't know what to do." How often have you heard yourself say, "What should I do?" Think about some of the indecisive feelings you and virtually everyone on this planet experience from time to time. Love them; leave them. Quit, stay. Do it, don't do it. Buy it, don't buy it. Tell them, don't tell them. Everyone, on occasion, has experienced these feelings of ambivalence. If it happens to you frequently, decide right now to stop it. The cause of ambivalence is indecision, but we must keep in mind that the truth is not always in the appearance of things. Indecision is a cause of ambivalence, however it is a secondary cause, it is not the primary cause. I have been studying the behavior of people who have become very proficient at making decisions for over a quarter century. They all have one thing in common. They have a very strong self image, a high degree of self-esteem. They may be as different as night is to day in numerous other respects, but they certainly possess confidence. Low self-esteem or a lack of confidence is the real culprit here. Decision makers are not afraid of making an error. If and when they make an error in their decision, or fail at something, they have the ability to shrug it off. They learn from the experience but they will never submit to the failure. There is one cardinal rule with respect to decision making: decide right where you are with whatever you've got. This is precisely why most people never master this important attribute. They permit their resources to dictate if and when a decision will or can be made. When John Kennedy asked Wernher Von Braun what it would take to build a rocket that would carry a man to the moon and return him safely to earth, his answer was simple and direct. "The will to do it." President Kennedy never asked if it was possible. He never asked if they could afford it or any one of a thousand other questions, all of which would have ... at that time ... been valid questions. President Kennedy made a decision ... he said, we will put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade. The fact that it had never been done before in all the hundreds of thousands of years of human history was not even a consideration. He DECIDED where he was with what he had. The objective was accomplished in his mind the second he made the decision. It was only a matter of time ... which is governed by natural law, before the goal was manifested in form for the whole world to see. The greatest stumbling block you will encounter when making important decisions in your life is circumstance. We let circumstance get us off the hook when we should be giving it everything we've got. More dreams are shattered and goals lost because of circumstance than any other single factor. Let's consider money with respect to our decision making process. You should never let the lack of funds determine whether you will or will not do something. Think about it for a moment. When you decided to buy your first home, did you just happen to have a couple hundred thousand dollars sitting in the bank? I don't think so, I know I didn't. But, the minute you made the decision to buy the home, the money seemed to appear - just like unadulterated magic. Somehow you came up with the down payment; you may have had to scrimp and save every extra penny … but you did it. And if you were honest with yourself, you probably had enough money to buy new curtains and a bevy of other things for the new home. The minute you make the decision to do something, you will attract to you all that is requisite for the realization of that goal. Whether you can afford it or not should never be a consideration. Whether you want to or not is the only consideration. You can afford anything; there is an infinite supply of money. All of the money in the world is available to you, when the decision is firmly made. If you need money, you will attract it. How often have you caught yourself saying, "I would like to do or have this but I can't because ..." Whatever follows "because" is the circumstance. Circumstances may cause a detour in your life but you should never permit them to stop you from making important decisions. Napoleon said, "Circumstances, I make them." The next time you hear someone say they would like to vacation in Paris, or purchase a particular automobile but they can't because they have no money, explain they don't need the money until they make the decision to go to Paris or purchase the car. When the decision is made, they will figure out a way to get the amount needed. They always do. Many misguided individuals try something once or twice and if they do not hit the bulls-eye, they feel they are a failure. Failing does not make anyone a failure, but quitting most certainly does and quitting is a decision. By following that form of reasoning, you would have to say when you make a decision to quit, you make a decision to fail. Take the first step in predicting your own prosperous future. Build a mental picture of exactly how you would like to live. Make a firm decision to hold on to that vision and positive ways to improve everything will begin to flow into your mind. Your life is important and, at its best, life is short. You have the potential to do anything you choose, and to do it well. But, you must make decisions and when the time for a decision arrives, you must make your decision where you are with what you've got. About the Author This Article is brought to you by George Collins --Improve your personal habits and thinking skills and become as successful as you dream about with our professional coaches working with you. |
A Cover Letter Tip Guaranteed To Land You More Job Interview
| A Cover Letter Tip Guaranteed To Land You More Job Interview |
| by: Jimmy Sweeney |
| Searching for a new job? I am about to reveal one of the most powerful cover letter tips you'll ever discover. This little-known secret can dramatically increase your job interview requests all by itself. Here's a 'not-so-subtle' hint for you: P.S. -- This tip works like a charm and commands the attention of every reader! Did you catch that hint? It's true, by adding a simple P.S. -- or Post Script -- after your signature, at the bottom of your cover letter you can literally grab the undivided attention of any person reading it. And, if your P.S. is a brief, direct and clearly-worded request for the opportunity to be interviewed, you will land more job interviews than the vast majority of your competition. Why does the P.S. work so perfectly with a cover letter? Advertisers and marketers have been using the P.S. to sell various widgets successfully for decades. In fact, it is one of the most powerful sales strategies of all time. The general public has literally been 'trained' by these highly-skilled marketers to read any P.S. they see at the end of a letter. Many times consumers shoot straight to the end of the letter to read the P.S. first! I'll bet you've done this yourself on more than one occasion. Use the P.S. to clearly and directly ASK for the job interview providing your contact number as well. This is a fresh way to appeal to employers and can tip the balance in your favor towards landing the all-important job interview. The P.S. lets a busy Hiring Manager cut right to the chase by reading this one special sentence. A job-seeker who uses a P.S. in his or her cover letter is utilizing one of the strongest marketing strategies known to man. This cover letter tip can be the difference-maker in your job search. Remember, it all starts with getting your foot in the company door and a well crafted P.S. will get noticed and read above all other sentences. So make sure yours packs an interview-landing punch! P.S. -- Your job search is all about results. Try this one cool, cover letter strategy for yourself and see how many job interviews you land!
About The Author Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the new, "Amazing Cover Letter Creator." Jimmy has written several career-related books and his unique articles are always a job-seeker favorite. Who else wants their phone ringing off the hook with more quality job interviews? Visit Jimmy on the web right now at http://www.Amazing-Cover-Letters.com for your 'instant' cover letter today. |
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