Staying Motivated: The Gift of this Recession

August 29th, 2010 No comments »

By Kathryn A. Thomas

Being employed in the conventional sense means working for a corporation or company who provides the employee with job and future financial security. Now with companies folding by the thousands that promise may seem less likely. So what does America do when her ample backside is against the wall? Well giving up isn’t the answer. Falling into doom and gloom isn’t the answer. Creativity is.

Recreate yourself with strong knowledge that there are many skills inside which make you who you are and no one else.

So, who are you?

The inclination toward fear can rock someone with great self-confidence and demeanor. The people winning the jobs are those finding connections, those not giving up, those finding an inner perseverance and belief in themselves that might have been undiscovered until the terror of unemployment. What if the successful people of 2010 will be able to look back on this recession as the most powerful catalyst they had yet experienced in their lives?

The last home I owned was a place in the path of Hurricanes Jeanne and Frances during 2004.  Things began to change rapidly for me when I had to put my home back together without proper » Read more: Staying Motivated: The Gift of this Recession

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Personal Branding: Found Yours on Passion

August 26th, 2010 No comments »

By Andrew C Abraham

In a previous blog post I mentioned that the best way to discover your brand is by writing down your perception of yourself, and others’ perception of you. But how do you go about building a personal brand in the first place? And I’m not referring to what technologies you employ to showcase it, but rather how do you create that strong foundation for your brand to flourish?

First and foremost it comes down to Passion (with a capital P for emphasis). How often do we hear self-help gurus and entrepreneurs extol the virtues of passion? The reason is because regardless of what external influence we face, passion is what drives us. Passion is the oxygen to success and it drives our personal brand. Any successful person in life was passionate about something. Steve Jobs is passionate about technology; David Beckham is passionate about football; and Mother Teresa was passionate about helping the poor. Everyone that is passionate may not achieve the success that they are after, but everyone that is successful is definitely passionate about something. I challenge you to prove to me otherwise!

The above three examples are people with strong identities that have achieved recognition and success in different ways. And although branding may not have been their focus at the time, their passion in a particular field has solidified their personal brands. The same emphasis on what you love and your purpose in life should ultimately shape your personal brand too. Let me explain why: » Read more: Personal Branding: Found Yours on Passion

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Interviews: Projecting Self – Confidence

August 25th, 2010 No comments »

Dr. Carol Fleming, Personal Communication Coach

You have credentials, you have experience, you have references, BUT you don’t speak with authority and assurance.  You hold your voice in the back of your throat.  Your face shows little movement and expressiveness when you talk. You may be aware of some tension in your throat.  It’s as if you are holding your cards close to your chest, fearful that someone will see what you’ve got.

Self confidence is immediately perceived to the extent that you energize your articulation and let your speaking be clearly visible on your face.  Now is not the time to mumble! By placing your speaking energy in the front of your face, you are illustrating your confidence in your talents, achievements and reputation.

Does this apply to you? You start your improvement by trying to honestly answer this question.  You must go outside of yourself to get the answer. (We always think we are speaking clearly!) Here are two ways of finding out if this is your problem.

1.  Do people frequently ask you to repeat yourself? If so, they are telling you that they are not getting enough information through their ears or their eyes to be confident that they have gotten your message.

While it is true that communication can be hindered by noise in the environment, a hearing loss in your companion, etc., the energy that you invest in your articulation can overcome those obstacles. » Read more: Interviews: Projecting Self – Confidence

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