Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 10 Businesses You Can Start from Your Dorm Room

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

Interested in starting your own business? The video below from Entrepreneur highlights ten businesses that you can easily start up from your dorm room or home office.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Stay Motivated

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• How the Most Persistent People Stay Motivated: "Cultivating more relationships that support your efforts is extremely helpful. We all need people, so cultivating existing healthy relationships and releasing toxic ones will keep you motivated, connected, and supported."
• How to Get Your Confidence Back in 5 Minutes or Less: "Try grounding practices such as power posing, envisioning your future self in the context of overall life and practicing gratitude."
• 10 Troubling Habits of Unhappy People: "So much of your happiness is determined by your habits (in thought and deed) that you have to monitor them closely to make certain that they don’t drag you down into the abyss."
• 7 Essential Habits to Become a Healthy Entrepreneur: "Aside from family, friends, and relationships, there are few things more important in your life than your health and your career. When you passionately pursue both of these things you can experience a longer, more fulfilling life."
• Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Think Like a Toddler: "There’s nothing like the creativity of young children and their ability to interpret things in a fresh way, ask fundamental questions, and use different ways to get to a solution."

4 Tips for Work-Life Balance

What is work-life balance and is it even attainable? For many people the stresses of the day-to-day job can impact home life and make it difficult to focus on anything other than the demands of work and career.

If you are one of those struggling with how to maintain a healthy and stress-free personal life consider the following four tips for achieving a healthy work-life balance:

1. Identify and set priorities and boundaries. Be sure to be clear about your priorities. If you need to get in a daily run ensure that you go to bed at a reasonable hour so you can get up early and get that run in before the busyness of the work day hits. Determine the things you want to get done in the morning--exercise, meditation, breakfast, time with family--before you check in with your job. Are evenings just for your family? Do you need to schedule a weekly date with your partner? Identify the things you need in your life and block off the time, preventing work and job demands from infringing on this time.

2. Turn off communication. Once you've determined your priorities and boundaries be sure to turn off your work phone or log off your email. Set yourself up for success, rather than making it easy to fail by checking your email when you should be focused on your personal time.

3. Recharge on the weekend. Set aside your weekend for recharging your batteries. Do the things that you enjoy and that increase your energy. If you need to do a work-related activity limit it to a specific task that you can complete in an hour or two. Take care of yourself on the weekend, avoiding late nights and excessive caffeine or alcohol.  

4. Reduce stress with meditation and sleep. Even a simple and brief practice of meditation in the morning can bring significant benefits to your work and personal life, and can greatly reduce stress. The importance of adequate amounts of sleep cannot be overstated. Focusing on those two area--adequate sleep and a meditation practice--can set you up for greater success throughout your day.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: How to Overcome Mental Obstacles

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In the video below fashion designer Marc Ecko talks to Inc.'s Scott Gerber about his best advice for entrepreneurs, his lowest moment in business, and overcoming mental obstacles.

High Five Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 11 Secrets of Irresistible People

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 11 Secrets of Irresistible People: "Whether interacting with their biggest client or a server taking their drink order, irresistible people are unfailingly polite and respectful."
• 4 Ways to Overcome Digital Distractions and Be More Productive at Work: "Being highly productive and achieving beyond the mediocre level can still be done — it just requires two companions: presence and commitment."
• 5 Ways to Make Enough Side Money to Eventually Quite Your Job: "Nearly everyone dreams of quitting his or her day job, whether it's tomorrow, next year or in the next decade. However, there is a wide chasm between 'dreams' and 'action'."
• 5 Habits of Creative Working Parents: "Yes, spending time with your kids is important, but so too is finding space in your life for the people who help energize you about your creative work."
• 6 Character Traits to Consider Before Becoming an Entrepreneur: "Jumping into entrepreneurship isn't something to take lightly, as there are many things to consider before you do. At some point, you have to stop the questioning and business planning to take the plunge."

4 Communication Tips for Work and Career

The way we speak and what we say--both our words and nonverbal communication--has a serious impact on our career and life success. Developing effective communication skills is integral to meeting your work and career goals.

When thinking about your communication patterns at work keep the following tips in mind:

1. Speak positively about your boss. It is inevitable that your boss will make decisions you don't agree with but you should never discuss this with others in a way that demeans your boss or demonstrates a lack of respect for him or her.

2. Encourage and support colleagues. Develop a reputation as one who praises, encourages, and supports co-workers and you will have others wanting to work with you, including those higher up the chain of command.

3. Do not disparage former workplaces or supervisors. Be sure not to speak ill of former companies, managers, or colleagues. The world is a small place and you might just find yourself working with, or for, some of those individuals again.

4. Speak with confidence. Believe in and own your opinions. Look people in the eye and state confidently what you believe about making the project a success. You will gain the respect of others when they see your confidence paired with your ability to follow-through.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: How to Become a Better Person

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

Resilience, Empathy, and Politeness are just three of the virtues noted in this School of Life video about being a better person. Take a look at the video below for more on some of the virtues that might lead us to live a better life and have a more meaningful career.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 6 Steps to Prepare for a Job Interview

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 6 Steps to Prepare for a Job Interview: "Before the interview, research competitors, financial performance, culture, management style and who your colleagues may be. Thanks to the Internet, you can uncover a treasure trove of information about companies and people."
• Young Job Seekers and Inexperience: "Inexperience is an asset and will allow you to think in original, unconventional ways."
• How the Most Successful People Ask Questions: "Asking questions not only keeps you engaged, it allows you to contribute to the conversation and learn something new."
• 5 Overlooked Habits of Great Leaders: "The primary reason great leaders lead themselves first is their unwavering commitment to being the best version of themselves. Their passion to be great in every situation and at all times comes long before they gain recognition, titles or positions."
• 5 Ways to Make Your Company's Hiring Process More Fair: "Diversity is important in the workplace because it builds a company with a unique dynamic and a strong ability to adapt."

4 Strategies to Build Your Supportive Network

In order to develop and enhance your career it's always important and necessary to continue to build your network of supportive contacts. An effective network can help you throughout the various stages of your career and life, and through job changes and challenges as they arise.

Consider the following four strategies when you approach networking and building a supportive community around you.

1. Build an advisory team. Instead of having one mentor consider identifying several individuals who can serve as both mentors and adviser on various issues you face in your life and career. This advisory team might include a local business person, a former college professor, former supervisor, or a trusted person at your church or place of worship.

2. Attend an annual conference. Get into the practice of attending the same conference every year and you will begin to develop positive relationships, friendships, and a strong network of people in your profession.

3. Join a local group. If you're a dad join up with a local dad's group, or if you're a mom seek out the nearby mom's club. If you're into tech there is likely a meetup of tech-minded people in your community. Seek out a group of interest and start attending regular gatherings, even if the group's focus is not directly related to your career.

4. Be active on social media. Particularly if you are shy, social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, can be a great place to connect with interesting people with similar interests and goals without the pressure of an initial face-to-face meeting. You can develop a familiarity with people on these platforms in order to make that in-person meeting more comfortable when you do meet at that annual conference your attending.

Implementing these four strategies will help you develop an effective and supportive network.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Practice Self Compassion

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

It’s easy to be difficult on ourselves and this can lead to difficulties in our work and personal lives. The video below provides an exercise in practicing self compassion.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 10 Tips to Do More and Be More

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 10 Tips to Push Yourself to Do More and Be More: "Start saying your goals out loud. This way, you'll be more likely to manifest your dreams. Begin this habit today."
• 5 Ways to Be a Great Mentor: "That unwavering commitment to excellence provided a clear roadmap for the kind of teacher and manager I wanted to be."
• How to Showcase Your Personal Brand in an Interview: "A personal brand is your distinct talents and what you represent. As it turns out, a strong, appealing personal brand can help job seekers in the interview process."
• The 25 Best Free iPhone Apps for Business: "Incredibly useful apps that can help you run your business a whole lot smarter than ever before."
• 10 Behaviors of Genuinely Successful People: "Their careers, their accomplishments, the success of their companies speak for themselves. You’ll never hear them breath a word about how much money they have or make. They tend to be fairly modest."

4 Steps to Developing an Effective Working Relationship with Your Boss

A key to your job satisfaction is developing an effective working relationship with your boss. If you have a difficult or negative relationship with your supervisor you are unlikely to enjoy your work and it can seriously impact your work quality and, therefore, your opportunities for moving up.

You have the ability, however, to improve this relationship and here are 4 steps to help build a good working relationship with your boss.

1. Understand your boss's working style. It is important to understand how your supervisor likes to work. Is she detail-oriented, driven by deadlines, or does she make decisions slowly and deliberately? You need to understand how your manager likes to work in order to best meet his or her expectations.

2. Speaking of expectations. What exactly does your boss expect of you? The clearer you can come to understanding this the more effective your working relationship will be and the more effective you can be in your job. Try to get these expectations in writing so all parties can reference them if necessary.

3. Develop a communication plan. When you've done the work to understand your manager's style and know what her expectations are then you should have an indication of how best (and how often) to communicate. If he or she is a micro-manager then you might need to provide daily updates on a project and if you know your supervisor prefers face-to-face meetings then you likely don't want to provide these updates by email. Work with your boss to develop a communication plan that works for you both.

4. Maintain a positive attitude. There still might be times when your supervisor frustrates you or handles a situation or project in an unexpected way and in those times it's important to take a step back, realize your boss is human too, and maintain a positive attitude toward him or her. Avoid falling into the trap of bad-mouthing your manager to colleagues or other managers.

Implement these four steps and you'll likely see improvement in your interactions with your manager.  

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Don't Let Age Hold You Back

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

Sometimes we make our age into an excuse for failure. In the video below Mark Divine encourages and challenges viewers to not let age hold them back from great accomplishments.