Once August hits, I hear at least once a week how fast the summer is going. This is when we need to really focus and make sure we have plans to do some of the special activities we were hoping would happen this summer. I call it my summer bucket list. In June, I write down all the activities and plans I hope to do with friends and family so I can begin to plan. Sometimes, August will come and I realize that my list may have been over ambitious. Like this year, buying a kayak… sounds great but I think will postpone to next year. It is also important to have something to look forward to for the next summer!

The other important question to ask is, “Are we feeling recharged or more exhausted this summer? I know the hot days do not help but how are we spending our work time and personal time. The summer is a good time to gauge if we may need to make some tweaks in our life. Usually in summer we have time to think about our vision and what we want our life to look like.

I just taught a full day career exploration class at a company in Cambridge, Massachusetts and after the class someone asked me how do you really get the balance you need and want in such a fast paced world. I shared that the first step is to acknowledge the challenge. We are so connected now in so many ways that it is difficult to recharge. We need to remind ourselves that we still have choices. On the weekends we need to take some sort of break from the constant intensity of e-mail and make sure we are truly connecting on a personal level with people that recharge us. For those who are interested, I recommend reading, Hamlet’s BlackBerry where the author asks the questions we all need to ask in this digitally driven time to make work life and personal life more effective.

Starting in September there will be a Seminar series “Success at Work” being taught publically and internally in companies. Click here to read more about this.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Research has shown that relationships in which partners respond positively to each other’s successes have a high level of happiness!    The psychologist at the University of California at Santa Barbara who led the study found that the ability to celebrate for one another is one of the strongest predictors of current and future relationship satisfaction.  I may be on the extreme side of celebrating, thanks to my Dad, but I really think too often we go through life getting stressed out from the day to day craze and we forget to celebrate our success!  I recently had a client decide to leave a job to pursue a consulting opportunity that he was offered.  He shared with me the excitement of this new opportunity but also the concern of whether he made the right choice.  The first question I asked him was if he celebrated this major career step.  He was shocked by the idea at first, then after some thought he agreed with me and said this was one of the biggest changes he had ever made in his life!  We need to celebrate the small milestones on the way to success because many times it takes longer to get the big goal completed and the process can be so overwhelming.

It is not just birthdays, anniversaries, etc. that should be celebrated.  We need to celebrate the times in our life when we make important choices that will bring us closer to what we want in our career or life!  Sometimes it is the simple celebrations that are the best! 

So, think about the relationships in your life and if you are supportive to success?  The summer is a great time to celebrate and recharge!  Have you planned your summer vacation yet or a mini getaway to recharge?  If you have not, please put vacation planning on your to do list for this week!  Celebrate, recharge and have fun!

In today’s fast-paced business environments, you are being asked to do more, with less… and do it faster.

Are you prepared with the skills and competencies to drive your success in 2010 and beyond?

The Success at Work™ professional seminar series focuses on three key competencies – communication, change, and conflict. Choose the combination of seminars that best fit your professional development needs!

Staring this September:

1. Communicate for Success
Thursday, September 30, 2010

2. Manage Change for Success
Tuesday, November 9, 2010

3. Navigate Conflict for Success
Thursday, January 13, 2011

Click here for more details!

You can assess from a one to ten how your presently are doing on these strategies and then you will know where to focus your energy.  The first strategy to focus on is social media.  At a minimum, the site I would like to see you focus your energy on is Linked In.  I have dozens of stories on how clients have landed great interviews and even job offers from managing their Linked In site professionally.  The strategy I recommend is to either spend five minutes on Linked In a day or 30 minutes once a week.   I cannot emphasize enough that you should know everyone you connect with and feel that they have integrity and a good work ethic.  This will assist you to keep your Linked In operating in a very professional manner.  To develop a free profile go to www.LinkedIn.com.

The second strategy I want you to focus on monthly is tracking your achievements!  How often it is time for your performance review or time to update your resume and you are completely overwhelmed trying to remember your specific accomplishments!  Once a month schedule 30 minutes where you record three achievements for the month.  If you have three months in a row where you realize you do not have anything to record that is a clue that you need to get involved in more challenging projects.

Professional development is the third strategy.  When was the last time you took a training or teleseminar to develop a competency?  We get so caught up in the craziness of our job that we forget how important it is to develop ourselves.  Focusing on professional development is going to keep you up to date and recharged.  There are lots of free one hour teleseminars and webinars that you can get involved in without leaving your office.  What will you be doing this quarter for this strategy? 

Do you have a mentor or are you involved in a worthwhile professional organization? Strategy four is getting extra support from getting involved with a mentor or professional organization.  The goal of having a mentor is that you have someone that is not your boss who you can trust to get career insights and feedback.  Sometimes individuals are in situations where having a mentor does not work.  Plan B is to join a professional organization in your career area to keep up to date with the latest trends in your field.  I belong to two national coaching organizations and it has provided me with incredible resources that I share with clients on a daily basis.

Strategy five is asking for feedback.  Do not wait for your annual review.  You want your employer to see how motivated you are and that you are open for both positive and negative feedback.  Even if you are an entrepreneur, ask for feedback from your customers.  How can we improve if we do not get feedback? 

Do you know your brand?  Strategy six is to focus on your personal brand.  What makes you different from your colleagues?  If you have never done work in this area, a great resource to use is a Career Distinction by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson.                 .

Strategy seven is improving your resiliency.  It does not matter what kind of career environment you work in.  Workplaces are busier with fewer resources.  You need to be able to function at  100% capacity and have the energy to do it!  I often ask my coaching clients what they are doing to recharge themselves.  We really need to think about our energy like a battery.  How do we recharge?  I want you to list three ways you recharge yourself during the week.

I will be offering a free one hour teleseminar on May 12th at 12:00 noon ET on “Your Lifetime Career Development: 7 Strategies for Success”. It is a free preview to an exciting new teleseminar class, that I will be teaching beginning in June called “Get the Job Now! Learn Job Search Strategies That Work!”

Click here to register.

Beth

I often think about how much happier individuals would be if they had the support to focus on  their passions in their career and life and really live their best life!  Are you clear on your natural strengths?  Do you find ways to use them in your career, hobbies or other volunteer activities?

I will be facilitating a 5 week teleseries where individuals can explore what their tops strengths are and put together a vision so they can make the changes they need to live their best life!

Everyone has an opportunity to set goals, but sometimes life can get in the way!  If you would like to take one hour out of your week for 5 weeks beginning on March 18, come join me for an interactive teleseries which can make a long lasting impact for you!  To read more about it click here.

You may not be in the next Olympics but having a greater sense of happiness and fulfillment will be worth it!

I invite you to take this first step and begin the process…it is so worth it!

Click here to find out how.

Beth

In my own life – 2009 had some major career changes which allowed me to develop my business in different and exciting ways!  I am completely recharged and have the energy that I need and want to drive my clients to their success!  One small change I made was to sign up for an exercise morning boot camp.  This change has provided me with such a recharge and has had a positive impact on my life and career.

William Bridges, a famous change expert has a model to explain how we deal with change.  We all go through three key phases.  The first one is the ending phase when we really have to say it is over.  The second phase is the neutral zone.  This is when we wake up and feel like our life is just a bunch of chaos.  This is usually when I get a call from a client who needs some assistance.  If we do not get the support we need in the neutral zone we cannot make it to the new beginning phase.  The new beginning phase is when we can really focus, make good choices and explore our best life!

On March 18th I will be holding a 5 week teleseries ” Find Your Best Life”. To read more about it click here.

I am also holding a preview on February 23rd and hope you will join me.

Beth

Let me show you:

*  How to market yourself, know what your skills are and how to go about developing a job search strategy during challenging economic times

*  How to create a vision of your own success in any economic environment so that you can set goals that lead to greater happiness and more energy

*  How you can dramatically increase the chances for your success by taking the ideas and insights from this audio conference and using them to formulate your own unique personal action plan

Click here to learn more!