Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 9 Stress Reducing Tips for Busy Professionals

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 from Entrepreneur, Jack Canfield shares nine tips for reducing stress, including eating healthy and exercising, and cleaning up incomplete projects. Watch the video for more.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Health as a Competitive Advantage For Business & Results

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 by Peter Voogd, he shows how to transform your mindset into a launchpad to better physical, mental, and emotional well-being, providing practical tips to keep yourself healthy and bursting with positive energy.

5 Steps to Build Confidence

If you don't have confidence in yourself and in your skills you will not attain the success in life or in your career you are striving for. If you don't believe in yourself no else will.

It's normal to go through times when you struggle with self-confidence and it can be difficult to break out and restore your confidence.

Here are 5 steps you can take to build (or re-build) your confidence.

1. Pay attention to your appearance. Do what you can to feel good about the way you look. Get a haircut, shave, get a new cologne or perfume, invest in some contacts, or purchase a new outfit. If you feel good about the way you look you'll likely feel more confident.

2. Get sleep, eat well, and make time for exercise. Your health plays an important role in how confident you feel so be sure to get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, avoid alcohol and nicotine, and take some time to stay physically fit.

3. Work on positive self-talk. Your voice is the one you hear the most throughout the day so focus on positive and encouraging messages.

4. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. Try to arrange regular conversations with friends and colleagues who support you and build you up.

5. Take small risks. Find some successes. Take on a new project. Start small and begin to have some success and you'll find your confidence increasing.

Want more? Check out this list of 25 killer actions to boost your self-confidence.                      

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 50 Thoughts That Can Motivate You to do Anything

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!

• 50 Thoughts That Can Motivate You to do Anything: "You deserve a better life -- whether that means a better job, a healthier body or more money. Work for it."
• How to Change Your Eating Habits for a More Productive Year: "It's not that coffee, alcohol, and extreme exercise are the enemy, but if your body cannot survive for three days without caffeine, and you feel exhausted when you're at the gym, what you need is not to push yourself harder, but to give your body time to rest and recuperate."
• 3 Ways to Plan Your Professional Development for the Year: "If you’ve been at your company for a while and already have a robust network, you can look outside for your connecting goals: who else do you want to meet in your field, or in your local business community?"
• 4 Ways to Perfect Your Resume in the New Year: "Resumes without a specific purpose – or objective – do not fare as well as those that are targeted. Remember, it is the job seeker's responsibility to establish his worth if he wants to capture the attention of a busy and distracted hiring manager."
• 4 Ways to Stand Out When You're New: "Many newcomers don’t ask important questions of colleagues because they don’t want to bother busy people or make poor impressions. Recognize the minimal social risk in asking a dumb question."

4 Career Resolutions to Make for 2016

As we approach the start of the new year it is a time to evaluate 2015 and consider how to move forward in 2016. Of course your goals and resolutions should take your job and career into consideration.

Here are four career resolutions you should make for 2016:

1. Take a class to learn a new skill. Many employers offer tuition reimbursement programs or offer some funds to pay for training classes. Consider learning a new language or a new skill, such as coding or social media marketing.

2. Find a mentor. One of the most important things you can do for your career is find a mentor. Identify a few candidates, at your current company or in your community, who have attained some success in an area of particular interest to you and contact one or two.

3. Attend a conference. When you attend a conference it does at least three positive things for your career: a) it provides you with new skills and knowledge, b) it recharges your batteries, reduces stress, and increases your enthusiasm and energy for your work, and c) it provides opportunities to meet new and interesting people and to expand your network.

4. Take care of yourself. Make an extra point of scheduling and getting adequate sleep every night, eating foods that energize you, and being active and avoiding a sedentary life that can come with working in an office.

Make these four resolutions, or better yet, take on and implement these four resolutions and you're likely to have a great 2016.

5 Habits for a Successful Career (and Life)

Habits. There are good habits and there are bad habits and all of us have a mixture of both. The challenge is to encourage and build upon the good habits and eliminate the bad.

Our habits can have a significant impact on our careers and that is one reason it is so important to build on and add to our good habits.

With that in mind here are five habits that can enhance your career and life:

Sleep. It is important to your intellectual and emotional well-being to ensure that you get enough sleep every night. Set a bed time that allows you to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night and stick to it. Avoid watching TV or drinking alcohol right before bed.

Meditate. You don't have to be a monk to enjoy the benefits of meditation and you don't need to meditate for long periods of time. A simple practice of 5 minutes of attention to your breathing can bring great benefits.

Eat. Focus on eating healthy and energy-producing foods, while avoiding a lot of sugar, salt, and alcohol. You'll feel better and have more creative energy to apply to your work and home life.

Move. Avoid a sedentary life. This is especially important for those who spend long hours in front of a computer. Be sure to stand up and take a break every hour. Walk around the office or get outside. Do some light stretching.

Thank. If needed adjust your attitude and be grateful: for your job, your family, your co-worker, where you live. Find something to be grateful for every day. And a bonus habit: journal. Keep a daily journal where you can write about your progress and note those things in your life you are thankful for.

A great resource for developing good habits is Gretchen Rubin's new book Better Than Before. Learn more about it and check out helpful resources at her web site.

5 Steps to Improve Your Mindset

Our thoughts and the attitude we bring to our jobs and careers significantly impacts our career success and enjoyment.

Consider the following 5 steps to improving your mindset and attitude on the job:

1. Sleep. Our attitude and mood is greatly influenced by the amount of sleep we get. In order to have a positive attitude about your career (and life in general) start with getting eight hours of sleep each night.

2. Eat well and exercise. Additionally, it's important to eat foods that energize and avoid a lot of caffeine, sugar, and alcohol. Eating well should be complemented with a routine of physical activity. Consider walking or biking to work, if possible.

3. Meditation. Take some time to meditate every morning before starting your day. It can be as simple as 3-5 minutes of standing or sitting quietly, or you might meditate on one or two things that you are grateful for.

4. Breathe. Be sure to breathe deeply throughout the day. This will help calm you and center you again on the priorities in your life.

5. Smile and laugh often. Greeting everyone you meet with a smile will not only improve your mood but also the attitudes of those you work with.

These are just a few of the many steps you can take to improve your mindset on the job and at home. Implement one or two this week and experience the difference.