[Think As Inc.] March 24, 2008 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: 100 DREAMS Something to Do: IT’S NOT NOW OR NEVER: THERE IS TIME FOR ALL YOUR DREAMS Inspirational Quotes: YOGI BERRA News and Upcoming Events 100 DREAMS When I ask my clients to list 100 dreams they would like to achieve in their lifetime, most protest that they have nowhere near 100 dreams. However, when I coach them to think beyond professional goals and to include personal goals, the number is much less daunting. Include the things that you most want, even if you have already achieved it. If it helps, break up the exercise into categories: 10 professional goals 10 family goals 10 financial goals 10 creative goals 10 places to visit 10 skills to master 10 books to read 10 events to attend 10 subjects to research 10 things you’ve always wanted to do (e.g., bungee jumping). In this exercise, professional dreams are on par with the rest of your dreams. You do not have to squeeze your life in and around your work. There are dreams for our career and dreams for our lifetime, and we need to honor them all. IT’S NOT NOW OR NEVER: THERE IS TIME FOR ALL YOUR DREAMS It’s been said that you can have it all, just not all at the same time. This is true for our dreams. Revisit your 100 dreams from above. Some might be done, some in progress, and some put on hold. Now that you are reminded of them, don’t expect to pursue all of them at the same time. But, have you actually planned out which ones you want now, rather than later? Look at your list and assign a broad timeline for when you want to work on them. Think in terms of now, soon and into the future. NOW dreams deserve your attention now. For example, if you want a career in banking, and you just graduated from business school, then now would be a unique and opportune time to work on that particular dream. SOON dreams have a two- to five-year time frame, so you might do some planning now, but nothing else day-to-day. For example, if you want to take an Alaskan cruise within the next five years, you might save money now, but you can wait to plan logistics. IN THE FUTURE dreams have a longer time horizon. These are dreams that are meaningful but not time-critical. You want to have a checklist of these to remember them. But, don’t fritter away your NOW time thinking, “I’ve always wanted to…plant a garden.” If planting a garden is a life dream, but not compelling right now, don’t waste time watching gardening shows and dreaming about the possibilities. Just acknowledge that it’s on the list and that you will get to it when time frees up. Having a broad timeline for your dreams ensures that you won’t feel so overwhelmed by your interests that you end up squandering your energy in too many directions or feeling guilty because you’re not getting enough done. Having a timeline ensures that time-sensitive dreams won’t expire with neglect. Having a timeline acknowledges that all dreams have a rightful place in your life, even if not at this very moment. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up somewhere else. – Yogi Berra NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS On eight consecutive Mondays starting April 7, I will be leading a teleclass series: SixFigureStart Proactive Job Search Basics • Learn The Exact Steps To Landing A Job You Want • Hear From A Fortune 500 Recruiter How The Hiring Process Really Works • Get Support and Motivation In Your Current Search • Empower Yourself To Succeed In Any Type of Market This series meets Mondays at 7p EST via a conference phone line. Each 90-minute teleclass features 30-60 minutes of lecture and 30-60 minutes of discussion, Q&A and support. This intensive and interactive series is for people who want to gain control of their job search: to stop reacting and instead start creating opportunities. • Week 1: Overview of the Proactive Job Search • Week 2: Identifying your target market • Week 3: Creating a resume that gets results • Week 4: Creating a complete marketing package/ cover letters, references, online branding • Week 5: Researching your target market • Week 6: Mastering the interview process • Week 7: Networking with ease and authenticity • Week 8: Negotiating and closing the offer There will be at-home assignments between each class to continue the learning and deepen the understanding between sessions. Sample assignments include drafting a one-page resume, creating an elevator pitch and preparing answers for the most typical general interview questions. Participation is limited. Fee for all eight classes is $500 for Think As Inc subscribers (normally $600). Fee refunded if you attend the first class and decide this is not for you. Be sure to mention you are a TAI subscriber to get charged the discounted fee. In addition, we offer a $100 referral fee if you refer someone who takes the class. Make multiple referrals and collect each time. The next series runs Mondays, April 7 thru May 26, 7p EST. Please call 212-501-2234 or email info@sixfigurestart.com with questions or to register. 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 2008 www.thinkasinc.com