CAREER: RE-BRANDING or RE-INVENTING

The phrase "reinventing yourself" seems to be popping up all over lately. Just a few days ago a friend asked me how he could do it without starting completely over. His concern was, "How do I move in a new career direction without sacrificing all the skills and experience I've worked so hard to achieve?" The underlying question is, "Is this even possible?" Yes, it is possible to start fresh without starting over! Here's how:

1. Take inventory of the skills, experience, credentials and achievements you've built into your career to date. Know your strengths and weaknesses, your assets and your liabilities. Recognize your transferable skills and how to market them. Describe the breadth and depth of your work experience. Understand the value of your credentials. Match power verbs, specific nouns and quantifiable descriptors to your achievements and practice telling stories about them.

2. Clarify your values. Dig deeply enough into yourself to know which values are yours and which are your parents', mentors', employers', culture's, society's or faith communities. Claim yours and release theirs. Look again at any value regarding money or security: What you think is a value may not be a value at all, but a mask covering a cluster of values. For example, "money", "benefits" and "security" often mask values such as lifestyle, adventure, independence and safety, so record these values as the latter, not the former, if you hope to actually live them.

3. Identify the talents, gifts and passions that drive you. Be honest and real with yourself and if necessary, seek the objective opinions of others. Claim what is truly yours then describe it in who-what-when-where-why-how detail and practice condensing your description into a 60-second story. Note how related talents and gifts seem to cluster around passion themes. This is not coincidence, but a sign pointing the way to your life's purpose.

4. Use all the data you've collected about yourself in Steps 1,2 and 3 to brainstorm a list of jobs, careers, employers and industries that match and make positive use of your skills, experience, credentials, achievements, values, talents, gifts and passions. Use career professionals and reference materials such as the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and the Occupational Outlook Handbook to assist you. Shorten, refine, categorize and prioritize your list.

5. Develop a stellar self-marketing package to match each cluster of jobs, careers, employers and industries you want to market yourself into. Create multiple versions of your resume and cover letter to cover a series of related titles, career paths or industries. Use the key words associated with each profession. Distribute your resume and cover letter package to employers strategically via ads, online postings sites, networking, recruiters and targeted mailings.

Is it really this simple! Yes. These steps are dense with all kinds of "to do's", but if you do everything suggested, you will get to where you want to be. The worst mistake you can make in career reinvention is to believe you can't do it. Believe me.

Wow! I hope you got something from this article? Check more posts on http://macstands.blogspot.com. Leave your comments but send a mail to macstands@gmail.com for questions. Till you share your time with me again, good luck!

8 STEPS TO ACHIVEMENT (4)

Step 7: PRACTICE ZERO BASED THINKING CONTINUALLY

This is one of the best tools you’ll ever learn to clarify your thinking and improve the quality of your life. Ask yourself on a regular basis, “Is there anything in my life that, knowing what I now know, I wouldn’t get into again today if I had to do it over?” Is there anything you are doing today; any relationship you’re in, any investment or partnership that knowing what you now know you wouldn’t get into if you had to do it over? This is one of the most important questions you ask and answer.

Many people waste many years of their lives working at something that they don’t particularly like or enjoy, and then in their 30s they have to start all over again in a completely new job in a completely new career. Is there any relationship in your life, business, social or personal activities that, knowing what you now know you wouldn’t get into again? Is there any part of your business, any product, service, expenditure or process that, knowing what you now know, you wouldn’t start up again today if you had to do it over.

Remember, whatever the situation, if it an unhappy situation it is probably not going to change. It’s probably going to get worse over time. The only question then is, do you have the courage and character to deal honestly with your life as it really is today?

By applying zero based thinking to every part of your life you’ll be absolutely amazed at how much better your decisions become and how much more productive you become at the same time.

Step 8: BE INTENSELY ACTION ORIENTED

I’ve referred over and over again in this article to the need for speed. Today everyone is in a hurry. Your customers didn’t even know they wanted your product or service until today, and now they want it yesterday.

People today are incredibly impatient. Nobody wish to wait in line anymore. The average internet surfer will switch in seven to eight seconds if the internet site does not load quickly. The most outwardly identifiable quality of the top performer in every field is that he or she is in constant motion. The top performer takes initiative to get the job done. The top performer takes action, over and over again, continuously toward the goal. In the final analysis, we only get paid for results. Results are everything. Intense result orientation goes hand in hand with high productivity and high performance in every area.

Make a decision today that you are going to move fast when opportunity or need presents itself. Pick up the pace. Take action of some kind. Get on with it. The good news is that the faster you move the better you feel. The faster you move the more you get done. The faster you move the more energy you have. The faster you move the more you learn and the more experience you get. And the faster you move the more you earn, the more you get paid, and the faster you get promoted.

Hmm! How did it go? Did you get anything? I guess you did. I suppose you will begin and continually practice zero based thinking henceforth? It is action time! For questions, send it to macstands@gmail.com or visit www.macstands.blogspot.com for more insights. For comments, please post it. Good luck.

8 STEPS TO ACHIEVEMENT (3)

Step 5: USE THE LAW OF FORCED EFFICIENCY

This law says that there is never enough time to do everything but there’s always enough time to do the most important things. Whenever you are put under significant pressure to complete an important task; a task for which there are significant consequences, you put your head down and you get the job done by the deadline.

Many people cannot discipline themselves to get the job done in advance. They then say that they work best under pressure. However, no one works best under pressure. This is just a justification for poor time management. When you are under pressure you not only experience more stress, but you also make more mistakes. These mistakes often require that the job be redone again at a later time.

There are four great questions that you can ask to increase your efficiency and double your efficiency. Here they are.

First, begin by asking before you start work, “What is the highest value use of my time?” What is it that you do that contributes the greatest amount of value to your work and to your life? What is it that you do that pays the very most or yields the highest rewards to you and your company? Talk to your boss and to the people around you. Ask for input. You must be absolutely clear about the answer to this question, and work on these high value activities all the time.

Second, ask yourself regularly, “Why am I on the payroll?” Exactly what have you been hired to do? Of all the things that you've been hired to do, what are the few accomplishments that most determine your success in your job? Whatever the answer to this question, these are the activities that you need to focus on all day long.

The third question for maximum efficiency is this: “What can you and only you do that if done well can make a real difference?” At any given time there is only one answer to this question. This is the sort of task that if you don’t do it, it doesn't get done. But if you do it and you do it well, it can make a major difference. Whatever it is, you should be working on it above all else. This is where you can make your greatest contribution.

The fourth question is perhaps the best time management question of all. It is simply this: “What is the most valuable use of my time right now?” Always ask yourself, “What is the most valuable use of my time right now?” And whatever your answer to that question is, be sure that is what you are doing most of the time.

Your ability to ask and answer these questions on a regular basis will keep you on track and performing at your best. “What are my highest value activities? Why am I on the payroll? What can I and only I do that if done well can make a real difference?” And, “What is the most valuable use of my time right now?” Discipline yourself to work only on your answers to those questions and this alone will double your productivity.

Step 6: WORK AT YOUR ENERGY PEAKS

One of the most important requirements for high performance is high levels of physical,  mental and emotional energy. All highly productive, highly successful, highly paid people have high levels of energy sustained over long periods of time. To generate and maintain high levels of energy you need to practice proper eating, proper exercise, and proper rest. You need to eat light nutritious high protein foods and avoid fats, sugars, white flour products, pasta, potatoes, candy, soft drinks, and deserts of all kinds. You need to get regular exercise, three to five times per week, 30 to 60 minutes each time.

Be sure to get lots of rest, especially if you are working hard. You need at least seven or eight hours of sleep per night and sometimes even more. You need to take at least one full day off each week and two full weeks off each year if you want to perform at your best.

You should identify the times of the day that you are the brightest and most alert. For some people this the morning. For others it’s the afternoon or evening. Whatever it is for you, you should schedule your most creative and demanding tasks during the time of day when you are at your very best. Especially, you should do creative work such as writing reports and proposals at your energy peaks.

Perhaps your most valuable asset in your work is your ability to think well and perform effectively. Maximum performance and productivity requires that you take excellent care of your physical and mental health and that you work at your most important jobs when you experience your highest levels of energy. This is a major key to high outputs and great success.

Hmm! How did it go? Did you get anything? I guess you did; begin practice the use of forced efficiency and the act of working at energy peaks. 

For questions, send a mail to macstands@gmail.com or visit www.macstands.blogspot.com for more insights. For comments, please post it. Good luck.

8 STEPS TO ACHIEVEMENT (2)

Step 2: DEVELOP CLEAR GOALS

I believe the most important word to consider when it comes to achievements for anyone, is the word clarity. Fully 80% of most success comes about as the result of your being absolutely clear about what it is you are trying to accomplish. Remember, this is clearly in line with Pareto Principle.

Unfortunately, probably 80% or more of failure and frustration comes to people who are vague or fuzzy about what they want and how to go about achieving it. Like the architect, he draws a definite plan of what he desires to build before starting off. The athlete decides how many meters he intends to compete for before he starts to run. The list of people with defined goals is endless and I believe you can set yours as well.

Most people never do this.

Also, determine the price you’re going to have to pay to get it and then resolve to pay that price. If you do these, you can have just about anything you really want as long as you’re willing to pay the price.

Step 3: PLAN DAILY

Daily planning is absolutely essential for you to double your productivity. Adopt Brian Tracy “Six P Formula,” for high achievement. This formula says, “Prior proper plan­ning prevents poor performance.” Proper planning is the mark the professionals. All successful men and women take a good deal of time to plan their activities in advance. Remember the 10/90 Rule which says that the first ten percent of time that you spend planning your activities before you begin will save you as much as 90% of the time necessary to perform those activities once you start work.

Always think on paper. Something wonderful happens between your head and your hand when you write out your plans in detail on paper before you begin. Writing ac­tually sharpens your thinking. It stimulates your creativity and it enables you to focus far better than if you were just trying to work out of your mind.

Begin by making a master list of everything you can think of that you have to do for the long-term future. This master list then becomes the central control list for your life. Whenever you think of something new that you have to do, write it down on your master list.

At the beginning of each month, make a monthly list covering everything you can think of that you’ll have to do in the coming weeks. Then break your monthly list down into a weekly list and specify exactly when you are going to start and complete the tasks you have decided upon for the month.

Finally and perhaps the most important, make a daily list of your activities, preferably the night before so that your subconscious mind can work on your list while you sleep. Always work from a list. As you work you scratch off each item as you finish it. This tracking gives you an ongoing sense of accomplishment and personal progress. Cross­ing off items one by one motivates you and actually gives you more energy.

According to time management experts, working from a list will increase your produc­tivity by 25% the very first day you begin doing it.

Step 4: PRIORITIZE

Everything that you have to do during the day can be divided into one of four catego­ries. These categories are determined by designating your tasks as either urgent or not urgent, and important or not important.

     The first type of task is both urgent and important. This is something that you have to do immediately. It’s a job that’s in your face. Urgent and important tasks like important phone calls, meetings, customer calls and emergencies are almost always determined by other people. They are vital requirements of your job. You cannot put them off without causing serious problems. Most people spend all day long doing things that are both urgent and important.

     The second category of items is those that are important but not urgent. These are the items that usually have the greatest possible long-term consequences. These are items like personal renewal, upgrading your knowledge and skills, physical fitness and exercise, and spending time with your family.

The third category of tasks is those items that are urgent but not important. These may consist of telephone calls, co-workers dropping in to see you, casual conversations about what was on television, and so on.

The greatest time wasters of all are those activities that are neither urgent nor impor­tant. These are things that you do during the day that are completely irrelevant and have no consequences at all, like reading the newspaper, calling home to see what’s for dinner, or going shopping. They contribute nothing to your company or to your personal goals.

Always ask yourself, “What are the long-term potential consequences of doing this task? What would happen if I didn’t do it at all?” And whatever your answer, let it guide you in your choice of priorities.

Hmm! How did it go? Did you get anything? I guess you did. So, will you set clear goals now? What is your take to daily planning? Prioritize. It is time for more practice. Practice and perfect these steps while we expect the next four steps. Begin to act today. For questions, send a mail to macstands@gmail.com or visit www.macstands.blogspot.com for more insights. For comments, please post it. Good luck.

8 STEPS TO ACHIEVEMENT

All successful people are described as being very well organized and good time managers. Fortunately, time management skills are learnable with practice and repetition. You can become one of the most productive people in your field by applying the ideas you are about to learn. These ideas will be coming in as a series of short articles that will span for a week. The essence is to make you read each as a complete idea, digested and practiced before the next. This way, I believe the ideas I want to share will make MORE impact as you read them daily. Read along and meet me after.

Step 1: MAKE A DECISION

Every positive change in your life begins with a clear unequivocal decision that you are either going to do something or stop doing something. Significant change starts when you decide to either get in or get out. Either fish or cut bait. Decisiveness is one of the most important qualities of successful and happy men and women. And decisiveness is developed through practice and repetition, over and over again until it becomes as natural to you as breathing in and breathing out.

The sad fact is that people are poor because they have not yet decided to be rich. People are overweight and unfit because they have not yet decided to be thin and fit. People are inefficient time wasters because they haven’t yet decided to be highly productive in everything they do.

Decide today that you are going to become an expert in time management and per­sonal productivity, no matter how long it takes or how much you have to invest to achieve it. Resolve today that you are going to practice these principles over and over again until they become second nature. 

Discipline yourself to do what you know you need to do to be the very best in your field. Perhaps the best definition of self-discipline is this: self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. You see it’s easy to do something when you feel like it. It’s when you don’t feel like it and you force yourself to do it anyway that you move your life and career onto the fast track.

What decisions do you need to make in order to start moving toward the top of your field? Whatever they are, to get in or get out, make the decision today and then get started. This single act alone can change the whole direction of your life.

Hmm! How did it go? Did you get anything? I guess you did. So, what major decisions do you need to make and in what areas? Write them down, today. For questions, send it to macstands@gmail.com or visit www.macstands.blogspot.com for more insights. For comments, please post it. Good luck.

OPPORTUNITY FACTS

Having experienced diverse nature of opportunities, grabbing some, losing some, regretted some and glad for many, scared by some, desperate for some, abused some and applied some…I have realized certain facts about opportunities and their guise. These facts have really helped me in spotting some of my maximized opportunities. Read on. I bet they will usher you into a new horizon.

1. Every opportunity is for a purpose.

- Most opportunities come according to the desires of the individual; The law of attraction.

2. Opportunities should be prepared for.

- When opportunities are prepared for, they always end up spotted and maximized.

3. Watch out for and expect opportunities.

- If you are expecting opportunities, you will easily spot one as soon as it shows up.

4. Avoid places and people without opportunities.

- Ensure that you always analyze places and situations for prospective opportunities whenever you find yourself in one. With some work, this will easily spot opportunities for you.

5. One opportunity leads to another.

- Some opportunities come in the guise of reference and recommendations.

6. Opportunities can be created.

- So many ideas and innovations that are acted upon are created opportunities.

7. Be disciplined about opportunities.

- Diligently manage and use whatever opportunity you have at any point in time; because, anybody can replace you anytime if you don’t maximize it.

8. Know when to seek other opportunities.

- Don’t stay in a place when the season is over

9. Opportunities mostly come in the guise of challenges.

- There is an opportunity in almost every adversity.

10. One man’s problem is another man’s opportunity.

- There are always two sides to every situation; the troubled and the opportunity benefactor. Take time to meditate.

11. Opportunities mostly involve risks and sacrifices.

- Risk is a major key to success in life and business.

12. Opportunities come in cycles.

- Some opportunities come over and over again depending on their periods.

13. Many opportunities are waiting to be discovered and maximized.

- Look around and discover and innovate ideas and opportunities.

14. Procrastination hardly and rarely attracts opportunities.

- Delayed decisions due to procrastination always end up in missed opportunities.

15.  At every point in time, there are opportunities waiting to be grabbed.

- They do what they have to do whether it is convenient or not.

I believe you have been inspired by this article. I believe you have also realized a few hanging opportunities you are set to maximize now. Endeavour to master and practice these facts and make a mark in whatever career or business you choose.

Sotonye Minaibiye is an entrepreneur, a counselor, a motivator and an impact strategist. You can post your comments below but for questions, send it to macstands@gmail.com or visit www.macstands.blogspot.com and you will be on your way. GOODLUCK!

25 Common Ways to Influence People

1. Know What You Want

What is your purpose in influencing others? In order to persuade others, you must have the end in mind.

2. Communicate

Communication is the key to influence. Clear and effective communication will lead others to your view point.

3. Reason with them

Explain your position. Focus on the answer to their burning question: “What’s in it for me?”

4. Pay them well

Money is always a motivator, isn’t it? It may be the easiest and quickest way to get what you want, but it sure can get expensive.

5. Remain Consistent

Stay the course regardless of the direction of the wind. If you flip-flop, it’s a sure way to destroy any influence you might develop or developed.

6. Be the expert

Whether you like it or not, people respect authority figures. When you become the expert, you have the power of influence on your side.

7. Be Passionate

Passion, alone, can persuade others. You can be just the flame they need to light their fire.

8. Hypnotize

Not literally, but through your charm and speech patterns. Remember that people want to please someone they admire and respect.

9. Compromise

Getting someone to do what you want often involves communication and negotiation. This is where you can take the “I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine” approach.

10. Listen

If you want to be able to influence people then you have to be able to listen. Active listening is part of effective communication, which is essential to influencing those around you.

11. Be Patient

It may take several tries to convince others, so be patient, yet persistent.

12. Brand Yourself

People love brand power; they love creativity. Innovation. If you can brand yourself as the go-to guy or gal, others will spread the word about you. That’s influence!

13. Respect

You’re more likely to be heard if you’re respectful of others.

14. Understand the Point of View

Demonstrate that your point of view also reflects their beliefs, too.

15. Be Likable

If you want to influence others, they have to like you. If you show a genuine interest in others and care about them, they usually will.

16. Show Confidence

If you speak with confidence, people will trust your advice. This makes it easier to influence others to see things your way.

17. Be Authoritative

Speak using powerful, emotionally charged words to persuade others.

18. Ask

It may seem silly, but sometimes just asking someone to do what you want can get them to do it. Just make sure you say “please” and “thank you.”

19. Use Scarcity

People assign more value to objects and opportunities that come in limited quantities. So don’t try to influence others too often. If you do, it won’t seem genuine.

20. Admit Your Mistakes

If you’re wrong, admit it. People will remember you as being fair and honest.

21. Highlight Common Interests

Find a thread of common interest and build from there.

22. Practice

Any chance you get, practice the technique of persuasion. Practice really does make perfect!

23. Research

Ensure you do proper research on facts and figures to back up your view as much as you can.

24. Be Positive

Influence others with a sunny disposition and bring them hope.

25. Get Endorsements

People love to follow the trends set by others. Get someone notable to endorse you and you’re sure to influence masses.

In all, practice these principles with honesty, integrity, and passion. I believe they will not just make u an impact but they bring you more business. Go on and become a master of influence! Goodluck!

Sotonye Minaibiye is an incisive writer, talent guide, a counselor, a motivator and an impact strategist. You can post your comments but for questions, send it to macstands@gmail.com or visit www.macstands.blogspot.com and you will be on your way. GOODLUCK!