Create Your Magic Switch

When you get to my age and in my kind of work, you get to see people with so much talent but very little success. On the other hand, you’ll see people with little talents that go a long way because of their ability to apply themselves well in any endeavor they pursue. The difference between these two types of people is courage. By courage I don’t mean lack of fear but the ability to act despite it.

I don’t think it’s laziness that causes people to not apply themselves fully in their endeavors. I think It’s a lame excuse. I think it’s fear, debilitating, paralyzing fear of failure.  Some people are willing to accept that they’re lazy rather than cowards.

So the important question of the day is how do you overcome this debilitating and paralyzing fear of failure? I have a suggestion.  Create your magic switch.

I have always been afraid. I still have those debilitating and paralyzing fear of failure that keeps me wondering how much further I would have reached had I not allowed them to stop me from taking more risk. But I must also say that on more occasions, I was able to work my way through fear so I can face and succeed over a challenge and this is how I do it.

Step 1: Be clear about what you want to achieve in your life. Remove any doubt that you want it and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. I want to be a successful training professional who helps people realize their full potential. Nothing’s going to get in my way   from fulfilling that goal.

Step 2: Recognize that there are certain things you fear that you will come across with and question whether you can succeed or not. Here’s a list of mine:

Starting Ahead: Graduating with Distinct Career Advantage

Let's accept it, life is not fair. Not all graduates are created equal, Some are automatically ahead on the account of their university's name. How does one with less academic reputation build another kind of reputation that  prospective employers will find attractive?

If you are on your first year in college now, the primary thing you need to do is embrace the fact that what you will do now will have significant impact on your future. This is it! You had your fun. High school is over It's time for a little bit more seriousness.  The keyword here is decision. Decide to be a kick-ass college student. Rise above mediocrity. Remember when you graduate you will be joining hundreds of thousands of diploma-wielding  jobless individuals. Here are my suggestions for becoming a potentially awesome job candidate of the future.

The Whys and Hows of Online CVs

Methinks that whether you are actively looking for a job or not, you should maintain an updated online profile. Why, because it will benefit you in the near or long term. Let me share a few opportunities that can come  your way if you make yourself easily searcheable and relevant information about your skillsets, work experiences and career or business opportunities  accessible.

Prospective employers are always on the prowl for talents. They use Google and now social networks to  find the people they need. If you are happily and gainfully employed, some of these people are willing to go out of their way to find out what can make you happier and more gainfully employed. You always have the option to say no, but wouldn't you be interested to know when opportunities are just outside your door waiting to knock?

Are You a Wall or a Bridge Builder?

Humans can be quite territorial and naturally react with some covert or overt hostilities when their personal boundaries are threatened or crossed whether wittingly or unwittingly. Because those boundaries are invisible, they get threatened or crossed all the time. Some people are more tolerant than others or better at communicating their boundaries. Those who are intolerant or poor at communicating tend to polarize people into those who are "with me" and those who are "against me."

Very few people succeed by building walls around them. The real key is building bridges with people or in simpler terms, relationship building.

As a professional interested in career success, it is important that you recognize the importance of building relationship with your boss, your peers, your subordinate and your customers. It also helps to build a strong and growing network of friends outside of your organization because your social network can open the gates to bigger and better opportunities. By offering to help instead of waiting for one and getting disappointed, you invest in strengthening relationships with others.

Brand You

Your name is a brand name.  It represents the kind of experience you offer. Whether you intend to or not, you have a brand. In the same way that the products and services you avail of have brands, so do you. Some brands are more well known than others. Some are preferred more than others because they are known for delivering on their promise.

When you avail of products or services you consider value for money depending on your need. Do you want high quality, low price,  prestige, overall experience? You look at product/service reputation to guide you in choosing.  When you experience a product or service, you form an opinion on whether or not it is worth your time and money. In this day and age of easy access to massive communication media, you can shout out to the world about your experience with a certain brand. Others pick up the information and use it as reference for making their own choices.

Now, think about potential employers or clients. They have the same privilage of choice as you have.  Now that information is so easy to access, they have the best opportunity of knowing about your brand more than people have in the past. They can check out available information  about you on the web or talk to people you know with or without you knowing. And in the principle of "better to err on the side being too careful", their decision to avail of your product or service will be affected by what other people say about their own experience with your brand. The phrase "your reputation precedes you" has never been more true than now. It is for this reason that you need to take care of your own brand.

Are You Searchable?

If you consider yourself as very good at what you do but you are difficult to find, it is possible that you are missing out on some juicy career opportunities. You are no different from a very beautiful website (Aesthetically that is) but could not be found through the search engines. You will become  a beautiful secret that is kept from the world. The good thing about it  is that very few people will badger you about an opportunity. The bad thing is opportunity searching becomes one way, that is you are not allowing opportunities to find you.

What is so good about being searchable? I can count a number of reasons why you should be. Here's one; if you are as good as you should be, people will line up to see you and find out how they (their companies) can benefit from you. This gives you a lot of job and career opportunity choices. Job offers will give you a good idea about the price you command in the market. Most importantly, you don't have to stay in a job you hate when you have options of finding a better job with a better boss and team. See Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand

Social Networking and Your Personal Brand

Social networking changed the world in a radical way and changed the game in terms of managing one's own career and personal brand. In the olden times (about 5 years ago), when Friendster was THE social network and others were barely a blip in the radar, the network is being used for mostly personal reasons - connect with friends, share profiles and occasionally share photos. Today, that has changed. The advent of Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and the likes allowed people not only to share personal information but also share personal thoughts.

Recruiters and would-be employers also found social networking sites as a convenient tool for finding more information about potential employees. All of a sudden, people become like commodities that are open to scrutiny and examination of strangers. For this reason alone, I believe we need to be more careful about what we put out there because it will affect either positively or negatively our own personal brand. Let me cite some examples: