=========================================== "Achieve Your Dreams" - Volume 6, July 2004 =========================================== Greetings! Welcome to "Achieve Your Dreams", a bi-monthly newsletter for people with a dream - - whether it's accelerating a career, changing careers, building a business, securing a new job, achieving that long-desired goal, or discovering a new life vision and direction. Each newsletter will offer 1-2 noteworthy articles, a section on "Office Happenings" and "Helpful Resources", and some favorite quotes and sayings to motivate and inspire you. In this issue: 1. "The Buoy Factor (Part 2)" 2. Office Happenings (Archived Newsletters; Published Article) 3. Helpful Resources (Great websites to visit) 4. Favorite Quotes Feel free to forward this to those you believe would find it useful. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated. If there is a specific topic you'd like covered, please send the suggestion to me via the e-mail address below. Enjoy ... ============================================================== THE BUOY FACTOR: HOW MINDSET CAN SUPPORT OR SINK YOU (Part II) ============================================================== In Part I of the Buoy Factor, we assessed how quickly you regain your self-confidence and recover from discouragement. In Part II, we'll look at what you can do to boost your Buoy Factor. The answer is found in a 4-step process associated with the "I. C.A.N." acronym, which stands for: I - Inspire Daily C - Control the Controllables A - Act Now N - Never Give Up! STEP 1: I = INSPIRE DAILY Can you recall a time when you felt utterly inspired, ready to take on the world, confident that everything would work out for the best? What would your career look like if you could have that emotional strength on a daily basis? Tasks would get tackled, people would want you on their team, ideas would flow, and energy would be focused on what really matters. Successful people have mastered the art of empowering and recharging themselves. Here's a tip for daily inspiration: Tip: Master the Law of Inner Action The Law of Inner Action is simply a variation on the adage, "you reap what you sow". Your thoughts and choices, or 'inner action' precede 'outer action'. To get to action that will bolster your inspiration, bolster your thought life. Thoughts and choices either empower or impale you. Convert every self-defeating thought to a self-empowering thought, as this before-and-after example illustrates: ** Before--Self-Defeating Thought: My to-do list is overwhelming. I'll never get this all done. I'm feeling crushed. I should have said "no" to taking on these assignments. ** After--Self-Supporting Thought: I am going to tackle these tasks in priority order. I am going to give myself permission to let go of the low-priority items. And if needed, I will ask for help on a couple of these tasks. STEP 2: C = CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES One of the secrets of successful people is that they concentrate on what they can control. For instance, if you're in job-search mode, you can't control whether networking contacts will pass along leads or ideas to you. But, you can control how frequently you will network, to some degree whom you will network with, and how easy you will make it for people to help you. Here's a quick tip for controlling the controllables. Tip: Control the Basics Control the basics in both your career and your personal life. The controllables for your career might include how much time you spend on marketing and networking, working smart instead of hard, putting a viable economic business model in place, participating in professional associations to increase your visibility, etc. On the personal front, the controllables may be as simple as the amount of exercise, rest, and nutrition you give yourself or the type and amount of news you allow yourself to consume. STEP THREE: A = ACT NOW If we were as relentless in our commitment and action as life is in its daily demands, success would be certain. Act. Persist. Success will be certain! Consider this tip for action. Tip: The 80/20 Principle Choose your actions wisely. Devote the greatest part of your energy to that which yields the greatest results. The 80/20 principle recognizes that it is the minority (20%) of the effort that yields the majority (80%) of results. For instance, in many companies in corporate America, roughly 80% of a company's profits come from 20% of its customers. For job seekers, the following activities may be the "20- percenters" that yield the greatest results for their investment of time: attending networking meetings that put them in front of hiring decision-makers; rehearsing ROI-driven success stories; getting insider information on target companies; meeting with people in target companies; attending events that pump up their spirits (job clubs, motivational speaker, etc.); meeting with a career coach. Conversely, the "80-percenters" for job seekers may be: combing the Internet or want ads for openings; attending job fairs; or networking with people who don't have even remote access to decision makers. STEP FOUR: N = NEVER GIVE UP! How long would you give you're average baby to walk? Two weeks... a month... six months? Most parents would say, "As long as it takes! My baby's going to WALK!" And yet, as adults, we sometimes embark on a goal only to become discouraged at the first road- block we encounter. Successful people learn to shift their focus from "I will never conquer this" to "I will never give up." What do you need to "never give up" on? Is it your job search success? Your personal or skill development? Your I CAN attitude? Here's a tip to inspire you to never give up: Tip: If they can do it... Did you know that Dr. Suess' first children's book was rejected by 23 publishers? Or that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team? Or that the University of Bern rejected Albert Einstein's dissertation, saying it was irrelevant? Or that Coca-Cola, in its first year of business, sold only 400 sodas? Can you imagine if any of these "greats" had given up? These are incredible stories of failure turned success, all due to the determination and commitment to never, ever give up on what they believed in. If they can persevere... so can you! As you implement these four steps, keep a journal of how you are shifting from I CAN'T to I CAN! Mastering this mindset will enable you and your career to grow and thrive and prosper, and is guaranteed to move you from stuck to significantly successful! (Thank you to Susan Whitcomb for her insight and contributions to this article) ================= OFFICE HAPPENINGS ================= If you're new to receiving my "Achieve Your Dreams" newsletter, you can now view all past issues on my website at http://www.careerdesigns.biz/newsletter.htm Are you currently employed, feeling disgruntled, and waiting for the economy to improve before starting that job search. Don't wait! Read a recent article I wrote that was published in the Lowell Sun on Friday, July 16, entitled, "Seven Tips For Those Seeking New Work In An Improving Economy." You can view it at: http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105%257E4744%257E2276522,00.html ================= HELPFUL RESOURCES ================= Here are some great websites to visit: www.fortune.com/fortune/bestcompanies to find the 100 best companies to work for in 2004 www.GetEducated.com for complete information on accredited distance-learning, online degrees at both the undergrad and graduate levels Visit Tradepub.com and sign up for free subscriptions to more than 300 different trade publications For Nonprofit jobs: The Idealist - http://www.idealist.org Philanthropy Journal - http://philanthropy-journal.org Donor's Guide to Nonprofits - http://guidestar.org Nonprofit Jobs - http://www.nonprofitjobs.org =============== FAVORITE QUOTES =============== "All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become." -- Buddha "Think you can, think you can't; either way, you'll be right." -- Henry Ford "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." -- Beverly Sills "Never let the fear of striking out get in your way." -- Babe Ruth Enjoy the rest of the summer everyone! In support of you, Jeanne ** If you would like someone added to this newsletter distribu- tion list, please forward their name and e-mail address to me. They will be added promptly. ** If you would like to be removed from this list, please reply to this e-mail and I will remove your name promptly.