Today I received my daily mail from www.simpletruths.com and thought it was very appropriate to share with all of you. The mail was described as “Stress is a choice”, and that caught my attention. I wont elaborate any more btu to say that this book is a good book and helped me in several ways to reduce my “Clutter” an enabled me to focus on whats important. We are all busy, where we spend our time is our choice.

I hope you enjoy… JA Coach

*********** Excerpt from www.simpletruths.com *********

Leading the Zerfoss Group which consults with "think tanks," major corporations and entrepreneurs, Dave has an innate talent to touch, move and inspire others. In Stress is a Choice, he'll inspire you to take a fresh look at how you can simplify your life...and choose less stress.

Today, I'd like to share David's introduction to Stress is a Choice.

An excerpt from Stress is a Choice by David Zerfoss

Several years ago while listening to my pastor give a Sunday sermon, he spoke about how life is made up of a series of choices. It made me realize that my hectic professional and personal life was of my choosing. Therefore, a life of stress had become my choice.

Many of us hurry through life going from one place to the next, focused on conquering the next mountain, making the next deal, running the next errand, and believing we will never have enough time to do all the things we need to get done. Yet, there is all the time in the world if we just realize that we are the creators of this life we choose to live. That's right. Life is a series of choices and being free from stress is one of those choices.

Whether your business life is overly complicated or your personal life (or both), you have chosen this current system of chaos. The world is a tantalizing swirl of getting the next "fix," tempting us to fit more and more things, people and processes into our lives, personally and professionally. And because we are so busy being busy, it's easy to be lured into the fray, with our lengthy to-do lists. Yet, the greatest achievements have often come from the simplest of ideas and in the simplest forms.

To experience a simplified life, we first have to learn to slow down long enough to see through all the clutter. We need to realize that we are powerful magnets that attracted this life to ourselves - no matter what - good or bad.

After you read through the 10 Rules to Simplify Your Life, my wish for you is that you commit to simplify and enroll others for support. Take out a blank sheet of paper and create the life you truly want to live - with less stress and complexity - one that is anchored by a clear sense of your unique and simple purpose.

So, what are you waiting for? Less stress in your life is only a click away.

For more information or to look inside this great book, just click here. It also makes a wonderful gift for any occasion!

Career Management

It has come to my attention that office dress is an ever increasing conversation; what should I wear? Is this blouse appropriate? Should I wear jeans on casual Friday?  Do I need to wear a coat and tie, coat or just a shirt?
I have one simple answer for the people asking these questions AND trying to grow their career:

Wait for it…..

Wear the same type of attire worn by the people whose position you want to grow into.

Don’t worry about standing out because it should be your goal stand out from the crowd . You want to gain the attention of the people who can help your career growth and there is no better way to get their attention than to dress like them.

Really, I remember a person that always wore a suit and tie in an office where business casual was the norm.  Everyone poked fun at him and some made jokes, but he didn’t waver from his style.  In 7 years was three levels ahead of the rest of us and still climbing the ladder.  Some of us have caught up to him now, but it took 20 years to reach the level he did in eight.

It really works…. Try it!

Until the next keystroke…. JA

Career Management

Robert from Bradstorm NH asked me the other day “My company keeps providing training on a number of topics, not all focused on my job though. I enjoy training like the rest of them, but how do I tell my manager that I don’t think I need this exhaustive training curriculum? Robert, good question. We often view training as an opportunity to learn more about our job or occupation, something about our future or even human resource and legal focused. The first thing I will say is if your company wants to compensate you to attend a course on washing your car, take it. The reason I say this is that you are not always aware of future needs of the business, long term objectives or even outside influencers to the state of the current business. Accept their investments as an opportunity.Training is two things, the ability to enhance your understanding of a topic, or the ability to learn more about a topic your company (for some reason) wants you to know more about. Training is a funny thing, we often don’t think we need it when we actually do. A person can never stop learning, and I would strongly suggest that with an open mind accept the training your company has provided.You will find that your predicament is quite different to the majority of workers. You are lucky to have a company that wants a trained workforce and spends the time and money to achieve this. You might not always know the reasons why you are being asked to attend these training sessions, but grab this opportunity to learn, learn, learn. When you stop learning, stop living, they go hand in hand. I bet 99.3% of my listening audience WISHED they had the problem you are experiencing, accept it with gratitude, The Coach

Career Management

Help your friends and family find career success at Christmas!

There are a number of methods to keep people upbeat and positive as they move into 2010. A perfectly placed and inexpensive gift that puts will help your friends or loved ones find success in their career aspirations will be a present long cherished. Give them a gift they can use and will help make their life easier and much more fulfilling. Over the years I have accumulated materials, tools and learning’s that can absolutely help in job hunting, career advancement, and reaching a level of career happiness. Let’s not forget that most of our waking hours are spent at our job or profession, we need to be satisfied in that area of life so we can be satisfied in others.

If the items below doesn’t fit the situation you are trying to resolve, send a message directly to me at coachdearcareercoach.com (or sign in and post a message so eveyone benefits) and I will be sure to help you find an appropriate gift that will have your loved one hugging you on Christmas Day!

Here are a few suggestions from my archives:

Professionally written resume
Seriously, this is the Christmas gift will keep on giving professional happiness to those on your list. A candidate has just 10 seconds to capture the hiring manager’s interest. A great cover letter and resume is the first step to getting that great position. Serious and successful professionals make sure that their resume is current, has all of the appropriate formats, fonts, keywords, buzzwords that are the most effective for your industry. If you are serious about going back to work or a career change, a professional resume investment is your first stop. There are thousands of resume writers on the internet, but your resume should be based upon your industry and level, so there isn’t any one individual company I feel comfortable sending you to. If you drop me an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your industry and desired professional level, I am more than happy to recommend options for professional resume writers that will deliver the best resume for the price. This is your first impression; make sure it is better than perfect.

$ucce$$
Careers are like children, we want to cultivate them, teach them and watch them grow. A stagnant career will develop dissatisfaction and often lead to an unhappy home life. Career advancement can be tricky, but the absolutely BEST reference for kick starting career growth is How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. This fantastic book provides hundreds of stories of how real life people enhanced their careers by changing their behavior. This is a promising addition to anyone’s bookshelf.

Leadership
Another way to enhance your career is to understand what the executives expect and look for in their teams in order for the company to be successful. Often the employee thinks they are doing what is required, but it is really not what the company needs. Impress your executives by understanding what they are looking for, provide it to them and gain valuable exposure. This can lead to new opportunities or important projects that can kick start career advancement. One great tool to read is Jack: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch. This book provides the most straight forward inside looks at executive thought processes and will enable you to understand more of what they want to see to grow the business. Once you are able to do this the opportunities will follow.

Managing Job Postings and Job Boards
For those individuals that are not working today and are feverishly to find work, ResumeRabbit.com is a top notch inexpensive service that will blast your resume out to over 90 job boards, and sign you up for all jobs posted on these boards and provide weekly or daily e-mails for positions meeting your criteria. It takes two hours to sign up for a job board, set up your e-mail notifications of positions, and building your resume. There are way too many job boards out there; this is an excellent, inexpensive method to expand the search and visibility to more opportunities.

The only way: Self Promotion and Marketing
The other message I want to say to job seekers, that in today’s internet environment, it more about your ability to impress hiring managers quickly. The best method to do this is by developing a personal brand of yourself; create an online version of a store window showcasing yourself and how you provide value. There are a few ways to do this but most of these profile providers clutter your message with other articles, pictures and ads to promote their products. We have found a tool that provides your profile in a clean environment with all the focus on you, nothing else. www.pzhone.com allows you to build a “sales” page that profiles your strengths, accomplishment and highlights the value you bring to a company. Then along with your professional looking picture, resume, recommendations and other important information, you present yourself to an employer showing that you are professional, forward thinker and the right person for their company. This is a must have tool for employment marketing.

Executive Recruiters
Another valuable resource for someone looking for opportunities at professional levels, executive recruiters want to know who you are. There are several thousand recruiters in the US, so where do you look. The directory of executive recruiters identifies all of these recruiters based on their industry and discipline. The purchase of this book also provides online access to these recruiters so you can easily search and sort to narrow your lists. The publishers of this book are www.kennedyinfo.com also the producer of a very respectful online job board used by all recruiters at www.executiveregistry.com. I use this all the time; it is a great resource for executive level positions. Use all resources for landing the position that makes you successful.

Part Time Online Businesses
For the people that are struggling with what they want to do and really want to start a new career, I suggest that they look into internet businesses in marketing and content management. This is a business that hasn’t even started in its full capacity yet, and there are programs available that can teach you how to get started and exactly how begin making money online. At Infomedia Inc, they have a product called the Elevate Blueprint that will provide you every step of identifying which business you will be good and the steps to start, launch, drive traffic and make money. This is not a get rich quick or easy scheme, it is a legitimate business opportunity that takes work and dedication. If you are looking for a lifetime of cash flow in a home business, this is a great part time job that can turn into a lucrative full time position.

I wish you a very Merry Holiday Season. Please comment if you have questions or other ideas that I have not presented here.

The Career Coach

Career Management