Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and A Fantastic Transition Time in 2015!

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As 2014 draws to a close, we want to wish YOU, the reader of this blog, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and 2015 may bring a lot of happiness, prosperity and the realization of everything that is a longing desire of yours! May you receive the help you need just when you need it the most, and may you give help at the moment in which it is most needed.


We look forward to 2015 to share even more tips to prepare YOU to become highly successful, to network, connect and inspire others to become the same!


Wishing you a peaceful new year,
Danny

P.S. Use this formula for The Chemistry of Success shared by Mike Lipkin and become a Personal Alchemist.

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." - Don Williams, Jr.

Don't be too Different! - Ready for access on Vimeo

Creativity is all about making new connections between old ideas/objects/things. That isn't too difficult, there’s a variety of proven methodologies that enable us to mix and match ideas and objects at will. Obviously, not all of the results generated by these processes are of any use; a running shoe that does double duty as a Didgeridoo is definitely a ‘creative’ product – but I doubt there’s much of a market for this particular cross trainer.

The Creativity problem is two-fold: How can we generate new ideas when we need them? And, How do we overcome our reluctance to accept the risk of wasted time/effort/resources that is part and parcel of the creative process?

This session will present both aspects of the Creativity Conundrum.

1 – The obstacles we place in front of new ideas – What exactly prompts someone to state prior to a session on Creativity, “Don’t be too different!” – and what can we do to mitigate these concerns.

2 – Creating new ideas – we’ll focus on the SCAMPER methodology touched on briefly in the “Getting Unstuck” presentation.

The presenter is Peter de Jager. For the last few decades Peter has consulted on, and studied the connections between Problem Solving, Creativity and how we respond to Change. This presentation draws heavily on his experience and findings.

This webinar series is a de Jager & Co Limited (www.technobility.com) and Interthink Consulting (www.interthink.ca) production.



Location of video on Vimeo: 

https://vimeo.com/73296532

Never Let a Job Description Talk You Out of That Job by Sam

Nothing to lose– Everything to gain – A great job to get:

Everyone has looked at countless job descriptions in their lifetime – let’s face it, even if you’re not even remotely considering a career move – happy, happy, happy in your job right now, chances are you have been direct recruited in the last six months or so (more than once I am sure) – by someone pitching you on the most fantabulous job with the most wonderful company with the best growth opportunity. Just start by looking at the job description……On the flip side, recruiters looking to hire have to weed through mountains of resumes – the good, the bad and the totally unqualified. Resumes and job descriptions are the international currency of the talent business. Believe you me if we took either of them at absolute face value, we would all be in trouble because so, so much is missed in the in the written word, lost without the cultural and passionate nuances and missed in the simple black and white translation.

Any successful first call between a qualified candidate and a Recruiter tends to end with the candidate wanting to see a job description before moving forward to a potential next step. And that’s certainly fair game. Why wouldn’t one want to see whether the nitty-gritty of a job is really of interest. But here’s the rub, don’t let a (potentially poorly or incomplete) written job description possibly remove you from pursuing a potential role before you really understand the full story.

Read more here.

What Happens When You Don't Get What You Want? by Alan Kearns

You have been training for 15 years of your life. You have won a Gold medal in the Sydney Olympics & a sliver at the Beijing. You have just had a great swim, are in 15th place coming out of the water...things are going swimmingly. You are running your race, according to your game plan. You get up on your bike & start out of the gate, for the second part of your race. You're feeling fresh & exicted; you even have the wind at your back. You race your bike up the hill & get ready to put your foot into your shoes.

You hit a speed bump. You crash & wipe out; your Olympic race is over. You watch the winner complete the race & receive the gold medal, as you sit in the medical tent.

Speed Bumps.

For Simon Whitfield, this speed bump meant the messy ending to a terrific Olympic career. He shared, "I hit the speed bump just as I went to put my shoe on, I think. I hit on a funny angle and ended up crowd surfing, which is good for concerts and not so good for sport events." Everyone has them at some point in their lives, a time when your life veers off of your own game plan. From getting laid-off, a frustrating job search, not being chosen for aleadership role, or not being accepted into the program you were hoping to enter. 

Speed Bumps Hurt.

I thought of not just the physical pain that Simon was in, including a broken collar bone & a severe laceration to his foot, requiring stitches. I also thought of the emotional pain not only for Simon, but for all the other people in his life that were supporting him. "My breakdown moment was seeing my wife because I know how much Jennie puts into this and we're a team and she's put in so much sacrifice being at home a lot alone." 

Speed Bumps Can Teach.

Simon shared "It was hard to see my daughter upset, my wife upset and I was pretty upset. That means it means something doesn't it?"

1. We all hit speed bumps in our careers - it's not personal, it is part being a professional.

2. Take stock, deal with the reality of the situation, accept it, AND learn from it.

3. Start a new goal as soon as possible.

Speed Bumps Can Heal.

Simon stated "I don't know that I ever dreamed of four Olympics, two medals and flag bearer, I'm absolutely blown away by the whole thing."

When I first read his quote, I was stunned. I reread the quote to make sure that I had understood it correctly. Now THAT is a high performance athlete. It was obviously not the Olympic experience, that Simon was anticipating. I was so impressed by his forward looking perspective - from disaster to moving forward in less than 24 hours.

We have all had crash and burn experiences in our careers, but it's our response to these issues that is the key. Well done Simon, we are proud of you! You have represented Canada well & have been a great example, to those of us who desire to reach our full potential. 

  

Looking for help with your personal brand? Looking to become a more effective leader? Who's your career coach? Need help with a professional resume, job search, and interview preparation? Invest in yourself & get the edge in this competitive job market. Take a small step and book an initial coaching session.

CareerClass | Webinar - Get the Right Career, Right Now! Invest 1 hour of your time to help identify the right work situation. Join me Thursday, August 15 12-1 P.M. ET. Take control ofyour career, all from the comfort & convenience of your own desk.  

Click to register.

Giving my best, along the road with you!

Alan  

P.S. Looking for help with your job search? The 90-Day Job Search Program can help you identify the right career fit for you. Click for more details.    

  

P.P.S. Looking for career or leadership support in Ottawa? We have a terrific team to help you reach your potential & advance in your career. Click here to get started. 

There is always a way out; you just have to find it.

Just came across this story and because of its moral, I thought it is an inspiring tale to remind ourselves that when we think we used all the resources and don't see another solution, then look again...

Tale of Two Pebbles

http://thewisdomwarrior.com/2012/01/18/the-tale-of-two-pebbles/

"No way is the way. No limitation is the limitation" - Bruce Lee

How do you value your time?

Lately, I feel that I am operating in a perpetual fire-fighting mode because I devote more time to putting out fires than preventing them. Unfortunately, I can't control what I can't control, and I try to calm down myself and get the things I can control, done. Anyway, I remembered this story I like and I thought I'll share with you here. Even if you know it, maybe you can get another meaning to its interpretation. Then, ask yourself "What is the best use of my time right now?"

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. 

What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course! Each of us has such a bank. It's name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.

It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you.

Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”.

You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running.

Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a pre-mature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.

To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.

And remember that time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.

That’s why it’s called the present!!

Author unknown

Source: http://starteasy.com/ggalore/time/

"Transformation happens right now, not yesterday and not tomorrow - in this very present moment, which is all you really have." - Jillian Michaels

The Sixth Quality: They Are Change-Masters

They don’t just accept their new environment, they embrace it.
They learn everything they can about the system and what’s required to succeed. Then they constantly adapt, even faster than their local counterparts.

Now, please take your time and go through these next five steps. Be clear and specific.

1. Do you fully understand your industry and work environment?
• What are you doing to be up-to-date with the changes in your industry?
2. Can you talk knowledgeably about your industry?
• How are you preparing yourself? 
3. Do you empathize with your employers’ challenges?
• Are you approaching the job search in the traditional/old way, or you are oriented to the needs and wants of YOUR customer, which is your prospective employer? What you must be is a solution to the needs and problems which that organization is facing. Be creative and look for the opportunity to position yourself as a solution to some need that an organization faces. Stop and relax.... breathe and imagine yourself in the realities of the company you want to work for. Creatively find ways of talking and learning from the company's employees and managers about the culture and norms of their organization - talk with their suppliers, customers and even competitors. You will be able to describe their challenges and needs as well as or better than themselves. Now, you can position yourself - your unique background, skills, education, experience and talents - in the context of their needs.
• Are you proactive and think of all you can do to shift your career or your business life forward?
• Did you conduct a targeted research to identify industries and positions of interest?
• Do you have a list of companies to focus on?
• How are you going to network your way into those companies?
• How are you going to learn about "hidden" job openings?
• Are you happy with your brand presence? Are you showing how valuable you are for decision makers?
4. How are you adapting to change?
• As a newcomer, you know "change"! How will you react to that change? Do you understand that change is opportunity? How will you take advantage of that opportunity?
5. How are you showing others how to manage change?
• You want to be a model of what's possible.

"You can't change things in THE world, but you can change things in YOUR world." ~ Jeffrey Gitomer
"Change how you see yourself and create an opportunity for others to see you differently." ~Roger Ellerton
"NLP may well be the most important vehicle for change in existence" ~ Modern Psychology Magazine

“You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler” ~ Denis Waitley

The Fourth Quality: They are the Best at What They Do

They are highly skilled.
They know their strength and they play from it.
They also constantly upgrade their skills.
They love to learn and grow.
They are the standards of excellence.

Now, please take your time and go through these next five steps. Be clear and specific.

1. How can you become the best in your field?
• What's important to you in your work/career/job?
• What are the expects you need to focus on? Remember... You Get What You Focus On
2. What’s your “Personal Genius”?
• I invite you to awaken your genius potential. Discover it!
3. How are you developing it?
• Practice, practice and practice. Use it! 
• "Practice so much they think you are lucky" ~ Kit Grant. Getting good at anything seldom occurs until you make the decision to get better. The old saying "practice makes perfect" is a bit misleading and should actually say, "Perfect practice makes perfect." The more you do something correctly, the better your skill level. In order to get much better, you'll usually discover it takes a bit of work — not an overbearing amount, but just doing it.
4. How are you turning your Personal Genius into a unique “Personal Value Proposition”?
• What is your brand? How you position yourself? 
5. How are you benchmarking yourself as a standard of excellence?
• You have to be able to compare with other people.

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said." ~ Tony Robbins

The Third Quality: They are Proud of Their Differences

They understand the power of perspective.
They call themselves out.
They relish their diversity.
They demonstrate their innovation and creativity.
They see things from an alter-nate point of view.

This quality is a critical one! Don't minimize your qualifications. Your advantage is your perspective! Bring these different points of view to your advantage. Now, please take your time and go through these next five steps. Be clear and specific.

1. Do you truly understand the challenges facing Canadian Employers?
• Read the post News You Can Use - Immigration becoming increasingly important for more info on HR realities in the Canadian workplace 
2. How are you using the power of your differences?
• Demonstrate the value that you bring.
3. How are you turning your differences into competitive advantages?
• How are you going to position yourself? 
4. How are you demonstrating your innovation and creativity?
• Realize how you can bring value.
5. How are you helping others see things from a different point of view?
• Did you think about that before?

“To understand a country, you need to be a part of it, think of its culture, think of the opportunities and challenges it will present, and also think of your contribution, because you too can help by building a ‘better you’ through your immigration process.” ~ Excerpted from Immigrant Women’s Health Promotion Project – A Guide to Prospective New Immigrants to Canada