High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Techniques to Increase Your Motivation

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!

• 5 Techniques to Increase Your Motivation: "Without a powerful motive, no goal can withstand misfortune. You can create motive by taking time every day to visualize your goal in detail."

• The Importance of Face-to-Face Networking in a Digital World: "The value of face-to-face networking is being recognized as one of the most powerful tools available for increasing one’s personal exposure, creating meaningful relationships and providing growth opportunities at a personal and professional level."

• 7 Common Words Powerful People Avoid (That You Should Avoid, Too): "The word 'just' diminishes the content that follows this word. It is a “protector” word, a word that softens what you want to achieve."

• 4 Easy Ways to Reboot Your Relationship With Your Boss This Year: "Your manager might not be able to weigh in on every project you tackle, but every boss is on the lookout for people who can think in ways that positively impact the organization, both inside and out."
• What to Do When Your Boss Says No: "A 'no' gives you the opportunity to prove to others that you can find creative solutions to deliver quality work with less."

5 Career Lessons from the Presidential Campaign

For many people in the this country November can't come soon enough and it will be a relief to be done with this election cycle.

But there are lessons we can take from the campaigns and apply them to our careers.

Though the campaigns have been divisive and seem to shed light on a clear divide in this country, we can take away from them the following five tips for our careers:

1. Contrary to what you might hear, truth counts. It's difficult to achieve personal or career success if you are not a person who values veracity and speaks the truth. The two main presidential candidates both have low approval ratings and that stems largely from a perception that they do not tell the truth.

2. Words matter. In some ways this election has been an assault on the English language, with incomplete and incoherent statements, along with various insults that, no matter how one attempts, can not be taken back or disregarded. We would do well in our careers (and life) to follow the simple advice we likely heard as children: "if you can't say something nice, say nothing at all."

3. Listen to those you work with and for. Successful politicians hear their constituents, they read the hopes and anxieties of people, and they respond to them with thoughtfulness and policies that demonstrate they've heard. In the same way, success in our careers is dependent on hearing the needs of our customers, co-workers, and managers, and acting on those needs in carefully considered ways.

4.  Preparation counts. Usually politicians have spent many years preparing to hold public office in ever increasingly responsible positions. They spend years studying the issues, meeting with constituents, and performing public service. In the same way, success in our careers takes time, effort, and preparation. Don't expect overnight success without putting in the work.

5. Success takes persistence. The election process in this country is a long process and takes great effort, determination, and persistence from our candidates, particularly those seeking the highest office. Similarly, success in your career is a process and requires one to persist, even in the face of clear opposition and failures.

These are five career tips you can take with you long after the election is over.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Stop the Negative Self-Talk

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.

Start the new year out strong by working to eliminate negative self-talk. The constant dialogue running through our heads can be filled with negative and self-defeating thoughts and to fully succeed we need to understand how to replace this negative talk with positive thoughts.

In the video below Tony Teegarden offers an important question that can help you stop the negative self-talk and look at your life and circumstances in a realistic and positive light.

What are your techniques for dealing with negative self-talk?

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup

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

1. 9 Things Successful People Do Differently
"It’s not surprising that getting specific about what you want to achieve is a good thing, what’s surprising is how good it is ... It turns out that you’re multiple times more likely to reach your goal if you get very specific about it."

2. 7 Things You'd Better Do If You Want to Get Promoted 
"If you want promotion you need a clear goal of where you want to be promoted to – in some companies you could be promoted to a job where you are doing the same work for more money."

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos 

3. 8 Work Habits That Will Kill Your Career
"Your work might be fantastic, but if no one knows about it, it won't help your reputation, your salary, or your advancement opportunities."

4. Managing Risk in Career Decisions
"Any new job offer is an opportunity. But with opportunity comes risk. Deciding whether to take the new role or stay where you are is a tough choice."

5. 10 Phrases That Are Holding Your Career Back 
"How you phrase and frame your message colors the way people perceive you. The words you choose may be the difference between being thought of as problem-solver or a problem."

The Power of Positive Thinking: 5 Negative Words to Remove from your Vocabulary

Think positive! You are what you think! You have probably heard these sayings at one time or another in your life. The question is, do you practice them? When you choose the path of optimism, of making an effort to see the positive in every situation and expecting positive outcomes, this change in mindset allows you to open your mind to the answers to even the most complex of challenges or problems.

There is no magic silver bullet to gain a positive outlook on life. However, you can take a step in the right direction by eliminating these 5 negative words from your vocabulary.

JUST
We often fail to give ourselves the credit we deserve. We downplay our accomplishments, our skills, even our value by using the word just. I was interviewing a woman who was a daycare provider to gather information for writing her resume. We were talking about her accomplishments. She said she didn’t have any accomplishments, that she was “just” a daycare provider. By thinking of herself in terms of “just” she negated all the positive aspects of what made her great at her job.

TRY
“Do or do not. There is no try.” While I may question Yoda’s syntax in Star Wars, I wholeheartedly agree with his idea. Try is a bad word in my house because it gives an instant excuse for failure. When someone tells me they will try, I instantly assume they will not do it because they are unwilling to commit. Plan for your success and strive for your success – don’t just try.

CAN’T
Henry Ford said “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.” There is a big difference between can’t and won’t. Often when you fail, it is the result of not being willing to take the effort or make the sacrifices that are necessary for success. Visualize your success and replace the word can’t with a plan of how you will succeed.

IMPOSSIBLE
Most goals that seem impossible become much more achievable when they are broken down into smaller steps. If you change your thinking, you begin to view problems and obstacles as opportunities for growth and learning. When you deem something impossible, you are stating that you have evaluated and tried all possible options or solutions to a problem.

SOMEDAY
This word carries the same problem as try. If you plan to accomplish your goal “someday”, how will you ever know if you have failed or succeeded? Set a time limit for your goals, give yourself a deadline, and clearly define when you will take steps toward success.