Best Day of The Year

What’s your favorite day of the year? Maybe it’s Christmas when you get to gather around with family and friends, opening presents by the fireplace? Perhaps the best day is the first day of summer? The days are longer and the feeling of the sun’s rays warming up your skin feels amazing. Maybe you spend all year waiting for your birthday. A time when you can get all your friends together to celebrate you! Or maybe, your favorite day is Monday… wait, Monday?!

Mondays

On Monday, the whole week is ahead of you but it can be tempting to keep thinking back to the weekend and wishing for those couple of days off again. Thinking like this keeps you in the past instead of the present. There are reasons to consider the possibility that everyday is the best day of the year.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a writer and lecturer throughout the 1800s and is considered one of the most influential members of the American Romantic Movement. He wrote on topics including freedom, individuality and humanity’s ability to achieve greatness. He strongly believed that if us members of the human race believe it can achieve something, that we can. Ralph Waldo Emerson has said, “Write it on your heart, that everyday is the best day of the year”

Making Everyday the Best Day

Don’t think about what today is supposed to be like. Think about all the things that you CAN achieve today. It could be something small, like paying for someone’s lunch. Or maybe you could throw a couple extra of compliments out to those around you. If you’re feeling ambitious, go for something a little bit bigger, maybe start a large project or look into a new hobby. You could go out of your way to visit someone you haven’t seen in a while. Today doesn’t have to be normal. No day does. So many things can happen each and every day.

Today could very well end up being the best day of the year.

Make Tomorrow Today

My Greatest Weakness?

One of the most common questions a prospective employer will ask you is to describe your biggest weakness. As with any question you get in a job interview, its important to understand what your interviewer is looking for in a response.

Avoid a long list of personal flaws

When an interviewer asks you about your weaknesses they don’t want a long list of things you don’t like about yourself. They aren’t looking for a big regret or even something you’re terrible at. What they want to know is how well you know yourself and how you are working to improve.

Don’t throw yourself out of the running

Before going into the interview make sure you are thoroughly acquainted with the skills and responsibilities they’re looking for. They’re likely in a list as part of the job description. If one of your weaknesses is on that list, it’s probably not a good idea to mention that as your biggest weakness.

Know matter how self aware you are, no interviewer wants to hear that key parts of the job you are applying for are the things you don’t feel confident about.

Avoid sounding self-congratulatory

You want to answer this question with honesty and integrity. Saying you are a perfectionist or that you work too hard or care too much will not get you any brownie points with the interviewer. It will make them think you don’t have any idea about what your weaknesses are or that you do know and don’t want to share them.

You can talk about something that you know you need to work on. For instance you could say you sometimes have trouble speaking up for yourself.

Talk about how you are already addressing the situation

After identifying the weakness, don’t just leave it sitting on the table staring at the interviewer, discuss the steps you’re taking to address it.

Say although you’re not comfortable speaking up for yourself, you are currently putting yourself in situations where you have to speak up. Give examples.

You will come across as a self aware individual who has plans to move forward with your own future.

The Happiness Of Entrepreneurship

When you’re happy at work, weekdays are as enjoyable as weekends

Most people are happy working for someone else but if you’ve thought seriously about becoming an entrepreneur, you might find it brings you happiness in unexpected ways.

In the article, How Happy Do Weekends Actually Make Us, Bloomberg Business reports on a study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research that found people who are happy at work, are just as happy during the week as they are on the weekends.

Imagine that. Experiencing equal measures of pleasure every day of the week instead of Monday Blues stretching out to Thank God it’s Friday, Fridays – followed by two days of trying to cram in as much fun as possible to break up the weekly drudgery.

Personal fulfillment

People who genuinely like the people they work with and their work environment get as much pleasure from their weekdays as they do from their weekends. It makes sense. They look forward to interacting with people who inspire them, they thrive on the challenges of the day, they feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment from what they’re doing.

For many, that seven day a week happiness comes from being an entrepreneur. In the article The Connection Between Entrepreneurship and Happiness  from Inc, AJ Agrawal says the fulfillment entrepreneurs feel comes from relationships they’re able to forge and the opportunity for self growth.

The motivation to succeed isn’t coming from an external source it’s coming from within. The people entrepreneurs are working and interacting with everyday are the ones they’ve chosen to work with. People they look forward to developing strong ties with, who they trust, who inspire them.

“Working in the trenches with people you trust creates happiness. The constant obstacles you overcome and learn from create flow. And the journey of creating a company with people who look out for one another is what gives us happiness as entrepreneurs.”

The ability to create a positive environment

Quoting a study by University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, the article, Rich or Not Entrepreneurs Are Happiest In Study, reports ,“Grads running their own businesses ranked themselves happier than all other professions, regardless of how much money they made.”

If work happiness is a by-product of environment and the people we spend our time with, then it makes sense that entrepreneurs would find personal satisfaction from what they’re doing. They’re the ones creating that environment. They’re the ones dictating who they’re working with. If there’s a particular situation or person they’re not happy with, entrepreneurs more than people who work for someone else have the opportunity to change it. Weekend or weekday, for many entrepreneurs, either one is equally satisfying.

If entrepreneurship is something you’ve been contemplating, and you’re serious about the amount of work and commitment it entails, you’ll probably be very happy with your decision!

 

Gaining Work Experiences

 

Getting a job can be especially hard when you don’t have any work experience. How can you get experience without first having a job, and how can you get a job with no experience?

Don’t worry. The first thing to understand is that not all experience has to be from the workplace. There are a number of ways to increase your level of experience before landing a job.

Look for Internships

Many large companies offer internships as a way of getting your foot in the door. They aren’t always easy to get because they can be highly sought after by people new to the job market or to a specific field. But if you do manage to land one, internships are one of the best things you can do to gain valuable experience. Sometimes internships lead to actual positions within the company, but whether that happens or not, they will provide teach you something and give you something to share on your resume.

Internships aren’t just for students either. If you’re looking for a job in a new field, or looking to switch industries, internships can be just the thing to help you gain experience on your new career path.

Volunteering

Another thing you can do is volunteer your time and expertise. Volunteering, especially somewhere where you can use your skills, is a win/win/win. You get to feel good about what you’re doing, you’re benefiting someone or something, and you come away with things you can add to your resume!

Volunteer experience on a resume shows you have initiative, and a passion for what you are doing. You might even find you get experience in areas you didn’t expect, because volunteering often allows you to grow with smaller companies and groups.

 

Volunteering can also give you some insight into whether the work you are pursuing is right for you. You may find that certain aspects of your volunteer position are enjoyable and others are not. Use this information to inform your choices when applying to jobs.

Focus on Academics

Most resumes include a section for you education. This section usually includes your school name, area of study, and current year or graduation date. If you don’t have much job experience, you can expand your education section to include school groups, specific projects and classes that relate to the job you’re applying for.

Highlight times you were the leader in a group that did well and the traits you used to lead. If there were awards in school that you won or were nominated for, especially if they were specific to the kind of work you’re applying for, note those as well. What you achieved in school can be a great way to sell yourself and your experience.

Sometimes you need to be creative

Getting experience isn’t always easy, so sometimes you have to be creative. Look to your education, volunteering and internships to build your resume and you’ll soon have all kinds of experiences to brag about!

 

There’s So Much To Look Forward To!

Getting Somewhere On A Risk

If you’re looking for a job, or contemplating trying something completely new, it can be tempting to be complacent about it. Stick with the tried and true and hope for the best. This temptation can lead to personal stagnation. And stagnancy by definition will get you nowhere. Sometimes the road out of nowhere is paved with risk.

For you, risk might mean calling people you know and asking for help. It might mean getting in touch with the president of a company you want to work for. It might mean putting something you’re passionate about online for the world to see.

Doing something completely new and possibly risky can completely revitalize a career or a person, but at the same time it’s also completely terrifying.

What if I fail?

You have this idea. You want to convince yourself to do it, or pitch it to someone else, but you’re feeling intimidated by that voice in your head. What if I fail?

Turn on a light

There are a bunch of versions online of Thomas Edison’s response to failure in the process of inventing a light bulb. “I haven’t failed 10,000 times. I found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.” Or “I didn’t fail 1000 times, the light bulb was an invention of 1000 steps.” The point isn’t whether it took him 1000 tries or 10,000 tries it’s that he kept at it. He didn’t let the risk of fear or failure stop him.

The views on uncharted paths

Risks, failures or successes, are all paths to learning. If you fail, you’ve learned one of the many ways not to go. As long as you’re mindful of the mistakes you made, the excursion was most likely a valuable experience. You may not like all the views you see along the way, but as long as you keep moving the benefit will generally outweigh the risk.

Vary your approach

Another inspiring source of endless quotes (and new ways of thinking), Einstein, said, “The definition of insanity is attempting the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Risks lead to change. Change is the engine of growth and success.

What I Won’t Do Today

Everyone knows the importance of To-Do lists for keeping themselves on track and ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. Often lost in the shadow of the powerful To-Do List is the less recognized but also important To-Don’t List.

You may not have heard of the To-Don’t List so let us explain. It’s a list of things you don’t want to do everyday. Things that hold you back, that drain your energy and productivity. That waste your time.

Here’s a quick overview of why a To-Don’t List can help you Avoid Time-Wasting or Repetitive Tasks from Lifehacker

Not only will creating a To-Don’t List help you remember all the things that hold you back, it will also help you clarify the things you want to add to your daily To-Do List.

Same as a To-Do list, your To-Don’t list needs to be personalized to your lifestyle and habits. Unlike a To-Do list that will probably change daily, a To-Don’t list is normally updated much less frequently, because of instead of being a list of specific things you need to do everyday, it’s more like a general list of things you don’t want to do everyday. So it will likely only get revised when you realize there’s something else that needs to be added to it.

Once you’ve got the To-Don’t List that works for you, post it where you can see it everyday.

Here are a few examples of things on our To-Don’t List:

Don’t stop what you’re doing every time an email comes through

Emails are like buses. They come through all day long and there’s always another one coming. Some of them are important, some less important and some are out and out time wasters.

No matter which category a specific email falls into, when you stop what you’re doing to attend to it you’re breaking the flow of whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish. Your concentration gets broken, you start thinking about other things and it takes time to get yourself back in the right mindset to finish what you were working on – and then another email shows up. Better to let the emails line up at the bus terminal and finish what you’re working on before taking a ride.

Don’t always fall back on what’s worked before

Learning shortcuts for doing things is great. But sometimes doing things the way you’ve always done them doesn’t give you the opportunity to come up with new, better ways of doing things. Pay close enough attention to what you’re doing to recognize when it’s time to try a different approach.

Don’t put off till tomorrow

“How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?” Just because we don’t like doing something doesn’t make it any less important. Instead of putting off things we don’t want to do or are afraid to do, it’s better to simply deal with them as they come up. Today.

 Don’t dwell on the past

The past is full of positives and negatives. Dwelling on the past steals focus away from the present. Learn from it and then move on.

Don’t let yourself get dragged down by negative people

Negative people can drain your energy, and send you into your own negative feedback loop. Stay vigilant with your attitude. Recognize when you’re being influenced by someone else’s negativity and push the re-set button.

 Not sure how to go about creating your To-Don’t List? Here are some suggestions from Allen Gannett in TNW News. The To-Don’t List: Things you will NOT do

Now it’s your turn. What’s on your To-Don’t List? Where are you going to put it so you’ll see it everyday?

Got An Interview Coming Up?

Your Efforts Are Appreciated

Hey we wanted to tell you we’ve noticed how hard you’re working. You’ve been making a concerted effort to improve your situation and you’re making progress. Your determination is an inspiration to those around you!

How does it feel to have your efforts noticed and appreciated?

Pretty good right?

The power of compliments

The power of compliments cannot be overstated. Encouragement and appreciation of efforts can make anyone feel great and totally turn their day around. Maybe you’ve experienced this yourself lately. Maybe today?

Think back to a compliment you received at work. Did it lift your spirits and make you feel good? Wouldn’t you love to make everyone around you feel that good too?

Encouragement

Look for opportunities to encourage people at work. If someone looks like they are having a tough day, smile and mention you appreciate the work they’re doing. If you notice someone staying late, let them know that you’ve noticed their hard work ethic.

A few small words can make a huge difference in someone’s life. Maybe they’ll be inclined to pass those positive feelings on to someone else. You might start a positive feelings revolution in the people around you.

A happier, healthier workplace could be a few encouraging words away!