The U in Attitude

"Your attitude in the workplace can be one of the most - if not the most - telling aspect of how others in the company look at you and feel about you as a coworker." -Carl Mueller

Attitude is the one thing that you truly have to take full responsibility for. Many times people will find a way to blame things on others. They will attempt to deflect and find other causes for their behavior. Sometimes it might be legitimate such as someone accidentally spilling water on your new slacks. Or maybe it is another that ran a stop light and ran into your car.

But how we react to each and every situation is a product of our own attitude. The way in which you conduct yourself reflects quite a bit about who you are as a person. Does it mean you will never get upset or angry? Of course not, but you can effect how the situation unfolds. As Carl Mueller states, not only in the workplace, but in the 'every' place, how people react to you is a reflection of your attitude.

Take the 'spilled water' scenario, which can be an accident, clumsiness or some other reason out of our control. If you react with an angry and accusatory demeanor, the other person will stiffen up and the situation can spiral needlessly out of control. You end up feeling worse, the other person likely feels bad already about what happened. All over a simple case of 'spilled water'.

What about the car accident scenario? First the hope is that everyone is okay but then a rush of feelings will emerge. I have seen examples in which actual fights broke out. An already bad and nerve busting situation is now escalating to an even worse situation. Cooler heads that prevail will make the situation easier to get through.

In the workplace, it can certainly effect the environment and even your ability to advance. The attitude you project says so much about you and how people will to react to and around you.

It is a simple concept to understand; people like nice people, people dislike cranky people.

There is so much more that can be said or described about attitude. There are many that can write or say it more eloquently than I can. Yet my way of looking at attitude is that there is a you in attitUde. And it is something that 'YOU' can change.

Stay inspired my friends!

Change the World

"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world." -Robin Williams

Are there ways that you can make a change in this world, ways to make things better for others and for yourself? The answer is yes and it does not require you to have millions of dollars or legions of people.

The only thing it requires is you.

Using your ears to listen closely to hear what your heart believes.

Using your eyes to see the possibility of what your heart is revealing to you.

Using your voice to speak what your heart believes in such a way that others will listen.

Using your actions to show others what your heart will do for them.

Change starts inside of you and flows outward to touch the hearts of others. Change starts with you.

Stay inspired my friends!

Start Now

“What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

At the start of a new year, many people like to make resolutions. They decide that January 1st is the best time to start on a path to accomplish some particular task or goal in their lives. It could be a goal to lose weight, exercise more or eat better on a daily basis. Others may decide to quit smoking, drinking or try to simply moderate any excesses in their lives. Still others have financial, relationship, college and a host of other goals.

Whatever type of vision or dream you might have, what are you waiting for?

You are probably telling yourself that January 1st is nearly a month behind us. You could be saying internally, "I'll plan during the year and get a start on things next January 1st." The problem with this thinking is that it will never happen. Unless you push the start button now and start moving, year after year you will keep repeating the same thing. You will never advance from that worn spot on the carpet where you pace, constanly planning but never doing.

Anything you decide to do in the new year can not be accomplished if you do not begin moving towards it today. And guess what? There is nothing magical about January 1st. Yes, you read that correctly. January 1st is a date on a calendar, a moment in time. What that means is that you can start now, today, this hour, this minute.

There is no special alignment of the stars.

There is no perfect economy.

There is no fool-proof business model.

There is only YOU and this moment in time.

Stay inspired my friends!

Getting Back Up

Jack and Jill by Jessie Willcox Smith

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The American songwriter/singer, Ben Harper said, “If I fall, I fall. I'll rise up like anybody else.” Each of us is going to have those times when life has knocked us down to the ground. The hill we were climbing causes us to slip and tumble back to the bottom. Think of the old children’s nursery rhyme, “Jack and Jill went up the hill, to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after.”

The rhyme says that Jack got up and ran home. But my version says, “Jack got up, and dusted off, determined to go on. Back up the hill, along with Jill, to catch the rising sun.” A way of saying, “keep pursuing your dreams.” The only thing that can keep you from pushing forward is YOU. When YOU fall, it is YOU that determines if YOU will get back up.

Your Own Understanding of who YOU are will make the decision of getting back up either easy or hard. By having a positive attitude, it is more likely that you will bounce back up and try again. If you are a negative person, chances are you will stay stretched out on the ground.

All of this isn’t to say that there no difficult challenges to face. I have been through some of those challenges. The process of getting back up and battling through those challenges is not an easy task. But overcoming the challenges was an even greater reward.

Your life will be greater and you will get to see the sunrise in the morning, (aka, your dreams fulfilled). So get up and start heading back up that hill. There is water to fetch, seeds to plant and dreams to harvest.

The World Wants You

"Like the sky opens after a rainy day we must open to ourselves.... Learn to love yourself for who you are and open so the world can see you shine." -James Poland

The week started with YOU and ends with YOU. The week was about how you are important to everyone and everything around you. You matter and that is what matters.

Once you figure out that simple basic thing, a whole new world opens up. You will have the confidence to move forward even further. And you will realize that while you do matter, it really isn't just about you. It is about how you involve yourself with that whole big world around you.

So be you; know that you matter and then spread the light which is you to those all around. See how your world grows and the world with you.

You

The significance of you and your ability to make a difference. Coming soon!

Until then, read Leading Change again and know that you are the type of person that can do it.

Brand You

Recently I read an article regarding job loss and how you can 'bounce back'. I have had friends lose their jobs and seen the various results of it. Myself, I have been blessed to work at the same company for over 20 years. This is no small feat given the job arena these days.

In fact, today's generation can expect to change career jobs 3 or more times in their working life. Much of this is due to new opportunity or the inevitable 'downsizing' that many companies regularly go through. Call a layoff whatever you want, it is still a layoff and people lose jobs and lives are thrown into turmoil.

So what can you do if it happens? The first thing you can do is to 'anticipate your dismissal' by staying tuned to what is going on around you. This does not mean being paranoid about your job performance and rumors. It does mean watching the direction of the company, understanding what is happening at a much higher level. Is the company doing well in sales, in the market place. Is your job vital to the longterm growth of the company. Can you position yourself to be an asset as opposed to an expendable if a layoff occurs? Are you working on improving the market brand called 'you' - more later.

But the inevitable happens and you find yourself on the outside looking in. Just know that you are not alone. Many people go through this so don't be embarrassed to talk about it. Go ahead and 'embrace the situation' because the loss of the job is out of your control now. Its okay to get angry as it is a part of your own healing process. Just get over it and move on, you have a life ahead of you to live.

So now what do you start doing? Well, start by 'choosing your referrals carefully' before jumping into the resume and job application process. If your former employer (direct supervisor) and you are on good terms, ask them what they would say if a potential employer called. If its bad, then you should find someone else to act as a referral.

Remember, you are currently in a sales job and the only brand you have to sell is 'you'. Tom Peters calls it Brand You and its your life and career we are talking about. A good way to think about it is to look at some of the top performers that are known by a single name. Madonna, Sting, Bono, Cher and the list goes on. The name is said and you know what and who that person is. You need to define yourself and sell yourself as you would the world's greatest product.

Now the resume, 'list all jobs on your resume' - even the ones you may have been fired from. But just list the start /end dates and not why you left the job. Use your interview to explain why you left a particular job.

And finally, 'spend your time between jobs wisely' and not in self pity or wild abandon. If you were laid off due to lack of skills, then take the time to learn some new skills. It will certainly help during a new job interview to state, "I have taken the following classes during this time to help improve my skill sets." And know what your skill sets are, you're going to be asked. Knowing your own pros and cons goes back to BRAND YOU and what you can offer to a potential new company.