[Think As Inc.] December 26, 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: START NOW Something to Do: CAREER JUMPSTART Inspirational Quotes: John Foster Dulles News and Upcoming Events START NOW When you learn to play the piano (or cook, swim, speak a foreign language, etc.), when do you transition from learning to doing? In a way, you are always learning, so you are also always doing. You might be a bad piano player at first and a better one later, but you are still always playing the piano. Therefore, if you want to do something, there is no magical time to start; just start now. So it is with next year’s resolutions. You think you will have more motivation, discipline, momentum or magic by starting on January 1. Actually, you should start right now. Let this column be your motivation. When you start on Dec. 26 after reading this, you are exercising discipline. You are gaining momentum going into January 1. You harness the magic of starting early, of just starting before you can talk yourself out of it, fall into your previous rut, or simply forget. If a 2008 resolution is to get healthy, work out today. If you want to take an exotic trip, pick a destination and research it on the Internet. If you want to save more, take $10 from your wallet and stick it in a savings jar. Just do something towards your goal. Better yet, write down 5 small steps, and do one a day until January 1. If that means taking five $10 bills out of your wallet, then that’s what you have to do. The process of doing one small step each day will reap big benefits. Start now, and get a jumpstart on 2008. CAREER JUMPSTART There are many things you can do for your career right now and early 2008 when new-year momentum is still strong: Send New Year cards. Block out two lunch hours in the first week of January to get to people that you missed over the holidays. If you were diligent about sending holiday cards, use the time to update your database with new addresses, changes in title or company, etc. Schedule lunches for specific dates. Instead of saying, “Let’s get together in January”, offer a specific date (“How about January 4 at 1p?) Aim for four confirmed dates in January. Repeat the following month. Update your resume. At the very least make sure your contact info is updated and all jobs are represented. It would be ideal to make sure the job descriptions are relevant to what you’re interested in today. Taking a few minutes each January to update will prevent your resume from getting too stale, and it will position you to take advantage of unexpected opportunities throughout the year. Schedule training and personal development. Look into your company’s offerings now and register for all of 2008. This way, you reserve the time. If you can’t register yet or your firm doesn’t offer what you need, block out at least one day each month anyway. Use this time to catch up on professional reading. Subscribe to trade publications. If you don’t already, find out what publications service your industry and see if copies are available in your office. Go online and sign up for industry ezines. Professional publications that you pay for could be tax-deductible as a professional expense. Join trade organizations. At a minimum, you probably would get newsletters and announcements. It would be ideal to also attend meetings (block out 2008 meetings now!) and join a committee. Update your professional wardrobe. Get drycleaning and tailoring done. Get shoes shined and repaired. Discard worn or out-of-date items and include replacements on your holiday sale shopping list. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year. -- John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS I will be hosting the next SixFigureStart free teleclass. Wed, Jan. 30, 2007 at 9pm EST SIX STEPS TO A NEW JOB This class is an overview of a proactive job search from start to finish. What are the six steps of a comprehensive search? What are the three categories of candidates, and how do you know where you fit (and what to do about that)? What is a common mistake that many candidates make to blow the offer (usually right before the offer comes)? The 45-minute teleclass is free, but you may incur long-distance charges to access the conference phone line. Spots are limited. Please email info@sixfigurestart.com to reserve your place and receive the call-in details. If you have friends who may want to join the distribution list, please have them visit http://home.ezezine.com/2034/ to sign up. You can also see previous newsletters at that link. All information is copyright © Caroline Ceniza-Levine 2007 www.thinkasinc.com