High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Daily Exercises That Build Self-Discipline

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 Daily Exercises That Build Self-Discipline: "Do this before your morning cold shower and you will have shown more discipline before 8 a.m. than most people do ALL day."

• 5 Signs That Show You're Manager Material: "You’re interested in stepping up into a management role with your current company, but there’s just one question that keeps nagging at you: Are you ready?"

• 6 Things Successful People Do Before 9 am: "In the morning, you’re at your most energized and refreshed, and best prepared to take on a difficult task or project. You’ll be amazed at how much lighter it makes you feel for the rest of the day."

• 9 Qualities That Are the Essence of Truly Great Leadership: "The very best leaders are a source of positive energy. They communicate easily. They are intrinsically helpful and genuinely concerned for other people's welfare."
• 11 Pieces of Fatherly Advice on Life & Living it Well: "My father taught me a good lesson: Don't get too low when things go wrong. And don't get too high when things are good."

5 TED Talks to Inspire You in Your Career

Staying motivated in your career and developing your knowledge require you to apply some specific practices and habits. One of those habits should be regularly viewing inspiring and educational videos and listening to books and podcasts that can expand your knowledge.

There are many inspiring TED talks to view but check out the five career-related TED talks below to get you started.

It's never too late to reinvent yourself. Take it from Paul Tasner -- after working continuously for other people for 40 years, he founded his own start-up at age 66, pairing his idea for a business with his experience and passion.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Well, if you're not sure you want to do just one thing for the rest of your life, you're not alone.

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership -- starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?"

What makes work satisfying? Apart from a paycheck, there are intangible values that, Barry Schwartz suggests, our current way of thinking about work simply ignores.

TED Fellow and Brazilian entrepreneur Bel Pesce breaks down five easy-to-believe myths that ensure your dream projects will never come to fruition.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Designing Your Life for Discipline Rather Than Distraction

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

In the video below Brendon Burchard discusses designing your life to avoid distraction and allow time for focusing on important projects. Watch the video for more.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid to Take Risks

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!

• Why You Shouldn't be Afraid of Making Mistakes: "A leader must have Initiative—the courage to make decisions, to act, and the willingness and strength to risk failure."

• 8 Surprising Strategies for Unstoppable Focus: "Get clear on precisely what you want, then move past any doubts or fears through massive, urgent action. Doing this is a mental game for me: I keep score on how well I've done each day."

• 5 Management Lessons That Being a Parent Taught Me: "The same goes for your employees. If they know you have their back, they’ll take more risks and produce better work."

• 5 Ways to Project Confidence in Front of an Audience: "Using simple words doesn’t imply dumbing down your message. You gain credibility and respect when you’re able to articulate complex ideas in simple language."
• An Entrepreneurs Letter to His Son: "The happiest people I’ve ever encountered draw their happiness not from what they’ve obtained, but rather from the inner joy that comes from being at peace."

5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Job

Maybe you've been on the job for fifteen years or only 15 minutes. Or you leave the house with energy and enthusiasm or you're like a zombie at work, or operating your career on auto-pilot.

Wherever you happen to be at this moment in your career you should be constantly evaluating your situation and asking yourself a series of questions.

Below are five questions you should ask yourself about your job at least monthly.

Am I challenged in my work? To be satisfied in your work there needs to be some difficulty and some challenge involved. If a job is without a challenge it will become boring, making it unlikely for you to experience growth.

Do I have opportunities to advance at my workplace? Speaking of growth, a dynamic career is one that involves change, development, and opportunities to move up and advance. 

What conferences or workshops should I attend to develop my skills? A great way to gain new skills and knowledge in your field is by attending regular conferences and training sessions. These also provide important networking opportunities that should be cultivated regularly.

Do I experience joy in my job? An underappreciated byproduct of our work is the experience of joy. Work does not have to be (and should not) feel like drudgery. The work can be hard, difficult, and challenging and also provide a great sense of joy. In fact, perhaps the most joy-filled work experience requires difficulty and challenge.

Do I feel a sense of purpose at work? The most successful people, and those who feel happiest in their lives and careers, have a clear sense of their purpose and how their current work fits into that purpose. If you don't have a clear sense of what your purpose or "calling" is, then take some time in the next week to examine this. You will feel a greater sense of engagement, energy, and enthusiasm in your career when your job integrates your purpose with your strengths and skills.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Laziness, Motivation, and Energy

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

In the video below Alex Heyne from Modern Health Monk discusses laziness and motivation and the connection between motivation and energy. Watch the video for more.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Deal with Failure & Avoid Blame

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 to Deal with Failure & Avoid Blame: "When you blame others, you prevent yourself from being able to do proper self-evaluation, which is critical to self-improvement. The leader who doesn’t blame others has his office in the solutions department, not the excuses department."

• The Right Way to Respond to Negative Feedback: "We can’t act on feedback until we truly understand it. Especially when we hear something new, it’s usually a good idea to ask a few trustworthy sources whether they’ve noticed the same behavior."

• 3 Signs Your Diet is Hurting Your Career: "You’re not able to be as present and engaged with your co-workers as you would be if your body were adequately nourished."

• 9 Simple Ways to Delegate Better: "It is time to begin delegating if you haven't started already, or refine how you delegate if you have, by following these steps."
• How to Stay Focused When You Have a Flexible Schedule: "Maintaining a daily routine helps us to establish a foundation that helps us achieve productive goals, like getting our work done or starting by a certain time."