[Think As Inc.] October 2007 Newsletter http://ezezine.com Your life is a business. You have a: MISSION: the reasons you live your life; BRAND: the message you project to the world; PRODUCT LINE: the skills and qualities that are your unique assets; BOTTOM LINE: your financial picture; CLIENT BASE: professional, personal, and don’t forget, yourself. Your life is YOUR business, and you are its CEO. IN THIS ISSUE Something to Think About: FOCUS AND YE SHALL FIND Something to Do: COUNTDOWN TO YEAR-END Inspirational Quotes: from the movie LET IT RIDE News and Upcoming Events FOCUS AND YE SHALL FIND When I was pregnant, my husband suddenly noticed pregnant women everywhere he went. When I was considering buying a house in Queens, I discovered that a co-worker’s uncle was a realtor in our target neighborhood. There is an experiment where you try to memorize the objects around you, close your eyes and then someone whispers a color, say blue, in your ear. You are then asked to name all the things in the room that are brown. Most people can’t name anything but blue things. The suggestion of the word blue caused you to focus, and your focus changed what you saw. Likewise, I’m sure there were just as many pregnant women in our area as before, but my husband saw them now because he was focused. Focus on an area of interest, and you will be greeted with suggestions of your focus. If you focus on a new career in journalism, it doesn’t mean that the NY Times will call you the next day with a job. However, by opening up to the possibility that you could be a journalist, you will start to see opportunities to make it happen. A call for submissions in your local magazine that you normally overlook suddenly gets noticed. A neighbor mentions that her nephew, the editor of a newspaper, is coming to visit, and you hear her this time. On the other hand, if you focus on how your job is a dead end, you will see constant reminders to that point. Your colleagues seem to have low morale. You may even fumble a project. The volatile stock market, dipping consumer confidence and other erratic economic indicators will cause some people to panic and some to people to exalt at a correction. If you tend to be cynical and risk-averse (as I am) don’t try to be other than you are. I don’t pretend not to be anxious about bad news. But I do try to focus on whatever positive I can do. Where’s the opportunity? What’s the upside? Who is benefiting and how I can fit in there? Focus on the good that you can do, and you will find ways to do it. COUNTDOWN TO YEAR-END We’re nearing year-end. You’re busy with calculating fourth quarter results, finishing projects before everyone heads out on their holidays, and solidifying your own personal holiday plans. As you sprint to the year-end finish, use these tips to maintain your focus: Update your calendar. Ask for the time off you need. Put deadlines for both personal and professional projects in the same calendar so you can identify overlaps. Put social and professional appointments in the same place to avoid double-booking. Don’t forget children’s winter concerts, year-end school conferences, and doctor’s appointments you need before your health spending account closes for the year. Pace yourself. We have nine weeks to go till year-end, but four to six weeks before the holiday parties start. Remember to budget time for cards and shopping. Divide your list by four and do an equal amount each week to keep it manageable. On the work front, you can expect a slowdown before the holidays so make sure that you get what you need on collaborative projects well before mid-December. Use your slow time to reorganize your office, catch up on filing, and complete other low urgency but useful projects to get a jump on 2008. Identify those projects now and put them in your calendar for the remaining weeks. Keep your perspective. It’s not just about surviving 2007, but also thriving in 2008. Take time to reflect: how do you want 2008 to be different? Take time to plan: block out self-care appointments on your 2008 calendar now (doctor’s appointments, vacations, days for yourself alone). Take time to enjoy: how was 2007 a good year? Remember what worked and build on that for next year. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE You’ve got to place a bet everyday, otherwise you might be walking around lucky and not know it. -- Character played by Richard Dreyfus in the movie Let It Ride NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS SixFigureStart, a career coaching practice I co-founded for students and recent graduates, is hosting a series of teleclasses in the next few weeks. The first one will be Wed, Nov. 7, 2007 at 9pm EST. Finding Time For Your Job Search This 45-minute teleclass will focus on strategies to balance the demands of a job search with your current schedule, whether that is a full-time courseload, another full-time job, or whatever you are already doing now. The teleclass is free, but you may incur long-distance charges to access the conference phone line (in Iowa). Spots are limited. Please email cenizalevine@yahoo.com to to reserve your place and receive the call-in details. Future teleclasses will cover networking and interviewing. Details to follow in future issues. I am performing improv with Magnet Theatre in October and January: Fri, October 26, 7p, The Magnet Theatre, 29th St between 7-8 Aves January date still TBD http://www.magnettheatre.com/ If you have friends who may want to join the distribution list, please have them email cenizalevine@yahoo.com with the Subject: Subscribe TAI All information is copyright © Caroline Ceniza-Levine 2007 www.thinkasinc.com