Playing With Fire With Your Personal Brand

Playing With Fire With Your Personal Brand 53 Sometimes, you have to turn your back on the fire to build it up. This is a guest post by Michel Neray. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines. I just came back from my annual canoe trip. Now, this wasn’t the peaceful paddle on a glassy quiet lake that you might imagine. It was a rugged, wild, whitewater trip that started at Bridge Rapids some 80 kilometers north of the Ottawa River in Canada, where you can only get to by logging roads or floatplane, and the only way back, (other than floatplane or logging road), is by canoe.eval For a week we didn’t see another soul, nor were we able to get Internet access, cell calls, Facebook status updates or Tweets. I had to focus on simple things, like getting through Class III rapids during the day, and getting the fire going before nightfall.eval The fire was my greatest teacher on this trip. Do you know how to build a fire? You have to start with little twigs and kindling. Dried pine branches at the bottom of the tree make for great fire starters because they’re protected from the rain by the branches above them. You can count on those branches to stay dry even when everything else is soaking wet â€" which it often was. You then layer slightly bigger branches on top of the smaller ones, always careful to allow air to circulate inside around the bottom. Once you’re happy with your little pile of sticks, you reach in and light the kindling. After that, there are two things that will almost certainly kill the fire. The first is piling on branches or logs that are too big, too soon. That chokes the fire out. The second is continuing to mess with the fire â€" moving twigs around, thinking you can make the fire spread, or just plain fussing with it. That never works because it doesn’t give the bigger sticks above the kindling to catch. If you build it right, what you really need to do once it’s lit is turn your back on it. Walk away. That allows the heat to build up inside, and even if the flames aren’t shooting out just yet, you know you have a little furnace inside; a furnace that’s just waiting for you kneel down nice and close to it, and blow into the heart of it. Whooooosh! Building your personal brand or a freelance business can be like that fire. You can try to layer too many things on before you're ready, and you will end up choking business before you even get it started. Or you can continue to fuss with it, never giving your market a clear, singular message, or trying something new before you give what you have a chance to catch on. Or, you can let the heat build up inside what you have, until the moment is right. What are you trying to build up, that you should just turn your back on for a bit? About the Author Michel Neray is the founder of MoMondays, a monthly event of ‘real people, real stories, real inspiration’. He started MoMondays in Toronto and it has since grown to 14 locations in North America. For his ‘day job', he is a professional speaker, M.C. and consultant who helps his clients dig down to their ‘Essential Message'. That's the key to stronger branding, better sales, employee engagement, personal confidence… and world peace. He’s married with three children, two dogs, three snowboards, a whitewater canoe and a black belt in Karate. Get more Michel at www.Neray.com. This article is part of the The $10000 7th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest. If you want Michel Neray to win, share this article with your friends. READ NEXT: 10 Ideas To Kickstart Your Personal Brand

Classy Career Girls 2018 Book Club - Classy Career Girl

Classy Career Girls 2018 Book Club A few months back, I asked members in the Classy Career Girl Network if they would be interested in starting a book club with me in 2018. The response was overwhelmingly positive and so I decided to go for it. I also had many people ask if they could get the book recommendation list in advance so I decided to create a list of all 12 books our book club plans to read in 2018. The requirements of my book picks are that they must be focused on personal development, happiness, career and balance. They are books that are actionable to help us improve our lives throughout the year. Ive tried to add variety each month so you dont feel like you are reading the same thing each month. These books are not just for entrepreneurs, they are for anyone no matter what career you are currently in. The books are carefully chosen and books that I have not read yet and I am excited to dive into. Most of them have been on my must-read list for a long time but Ive just never gotten around to reading them yet. I am hoping that with the extra accountability of all of us supporting each throughout out the year will help me stay accountable. These books are also all recommended to me by someone and I am super excited to read them! How are you going to find the time to read? I know we are all busy but its a priority of mine to read 1-2 books every month in the new year. Im waking up early and getting at least 15 minutes of reading time in the morning before my daughter wakes up. Then, Im always going to have my kindle with me wherever I go because waiting time adds up here and there where I can read. Tony Robbins said, Success leaves clues. Whatever we want to do, there is an expert that has already achieved what we want and written an in-depth book about it. Thats why it is important to prioritize reading into your goals and calendar in 2018. Are you with me? Note: The discussion for the books will be happening on the Facebook event page in our Classy Career Girl Network Facebook group. You must be a member to join in on the book club discussion. Join here. (its FREE) January: Miracle Morning What if you could wake up tomorrow and anyâ€"or EVERYâ€"area of your life was beginning to transform? What would you change?  The Miracle Morning  is already transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world by showing them how to wake up each day with more ENERGY, MOTIVATION, and FOCUS to take your life to the next level. It’s been right here in front of us all along, but this book has finally brought it to life. February: A Simplified Life In  A Simplified Life, you’ll find Emily’s strategies, systems, and methods for permanently clearing the clutter, organizing your priorities, and living intentionally in 10 key areasâ€"from your home and meal planning, to style and finances, parenting, faith life, and more.  Emily will show you how to truly make the most of your days with realistic, achievable, and tactical tools. March: Crushing It! In this lively, practical, and inspiring book, Gary dissects every current major social media platform so that anyone, from a plumber to a professional ice skater, will know exactly how to amplify his or her personal brand on each.  Crushing It!  is a state-of-the-art guide to building your own path to professional and financial success, but it’s not about getting rich. It’s a blueprint to living life on your own terms. . April: The Champagne Diet This book is for the woman who wants to feel good about herself and her body, and learn how to start incorporating healthy habits into her life. Its for the woman who doesnt want to trade in her champagne for skinny jeans. Its for the woman who is done with dieting, and ready to start paying attention to her health before that number on the scale. Its for the woman who is ready to stop letting her weight define her, and is ready to understand why it always did. This is not a diet book. This is a lifestyle guide. May: The School of Greatness A framework for personal development,  The School of Greatness  gives you the tools, knowledge, and actionable resources you need to reach your potential. Howes anchors each chapter with a specific lesson he culled from his greatness professors and his own experiences to teach you how to create a vision, develop hustle, and use dedication, mindfulness, joy, and love to reach goals. His lessons and practical exercises prove that anyone is capable of achieving success and that we can all strive for greatness in our everyday lives. June: The Compound Effect The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want. July: The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage We have different goals and purposes in life and we all need to start somewhere. However, our brain often rushes to make us comfortable, to protect us from danger and hestitate. The only way we can overcome this is to just do it. With the 5 Second Rule, it will push us to act immediately and get started. August: Money: A Love Story Having a good relationship with money is toughâ€"whether you have millions in the bank or just a few bucks to your name. Why? Because just like any other relationship, your life with money has its ups and downs, its twists and turns, its breakups and makeups. And just like other relationships, living happily with money really comes down to loveâ€"which is why love is the basis of money maven Kate Northrup’s book. September: Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives Better than Before  answers that question. It presents a practical, concrete framework to allow readers to understand their habitsâ€"and to change them for good. Infused with Rubin’s compelling voice, rigorous research, and easy humor, and packed with vivid stories of lives transformed,  Better than Before explain the (sometimes counter-intuitive) core principles of habit formation. October: You are a Badass You are a Badass is the self-help book for people who desperately want to improve their lives but dont want to get busted doing it. By the end of You Are a Badass, youll understand why you are how you are, how to love what you cant change, how to change what you dont love, and how to use The Force to kick some serious ass. November: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind The Code of the Extraordinary Mind is a blueprint of laws to break us free from the shackles of an ordinary life. It makes a case that everything we know about the world is shaped by conditioning and habit. And thus, most people live their lives based on limiting rules and outdated beliefs about pretty much everything?love, work, money, parenting, sex, health, and more?which they inherit and pass on from generation to generation. December: Best Year Ever In Your Best Year Ever, Hyatt shares a powerful, proven, research-driven system for setting and achieving goals. Anyone who is tired of not seeing progress in their personal, intellectual, business, relationship or financial goals will treasure the field-tested wisdom found in these pages.

Create Headlines That Will Compel Your Brand Audience - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Create Headlines That Will Compel Your Brand Audience - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Having a well-planned headline is an important element for your personal brand in which your content can stand out right away. The right words can either pull in a reader or make them move on to a competitor. There are several ways that the right title can work for your brand, which can bring more website visitors and social media fans and followers. Knowing the needs of your audience enables your company to write emotionally compelling words that speak to them directly. Creating the right headline takes testing, and involves knowing what words to use according to each topic. Here are several ways your titles can bring more attention: Keep it simple Avoid using too many words â€" a clear, concise, and simple description is much easier to understand. Keep in mind that many people are reading your content on their mobile devices and don’t want to scroll through a lot of text to get to the message. Use uncommon words Phrases that are used often are just like the other thousands of posts online. These appear like spam, and can be a real turn-off for the reader. Go beyond the sales message and write titles that present their problem in a unique way. Ask people to share their opinion Questions are a fun way for your readers to engage with your content and for you as a brand to learn more about your target market. This type of headline can help you improve upon your content and provide more value for your customers.  Make a deadline A specific date will compel your audience to want to find more about the an event, launch ect. This can work for a historical reference as well as something coming in the future. By providing a deadline they will be more likely to read about why they should take action. Writing headlines that cater to your readers will keep your personal brands content attractive and shareable. It’s more important than ever that your posts get seen above the ordinary copy that is often published online.

Guest Post Essential Tech Tools for Telecommuting

Guest Post Essential Tech Tools for Telecommuting Telecommuting is fast becoming part of the mainstream workforce.   If you’re considering a career change that allows telecommuting or planning to implement a remote workflow into your current job, these tech tools will help make cutting the office cord work for you, and more importantly for your employer. A Tablet Turns the World Into Your Office Thanks to technology, the choice is no longer between a germ-ridden communal office and the isolation of a home office. With a tablet, todays telecommuter can work from anywhere theres a really good WiFi or LTE signal. Hooked up to the office via a remote access program such as GoToMyPC or LogMeIn, a tablet can free you from a desk 90 percent of the time. Depending on your office eco-system, the choice is likely between Apples iPad, which works far better as a productivity device than it was ever intended to do, and Microsofts Surface 2, which, when equipped with LTE in early 2014, looks set to become the darling of telecommuters everywhere. Cut the Cord With the Cloud Cloud computing has taken office cord-cutting mainstream. By moving your entire workflow out of your devices and into the ether, you can access your files anytime, anywhere. Your choice of online storage service is the key to a seamless cloud experience. Dropbox is the most popular and offers the simplest interface. But if you deal with highly sensitive information a robust encrypted service is best. The blog Lifehacker recently rounded up some of the most secure cloud storage solutions. Evernote, Your Electronic Post-It Note Working remotely calls for Type AAA organization. When you dont sit in the front of the same stationary device all day, a rainbow of Post-It notes on the screen no longer cuts it. There are a myriad of To Do list-type applications available, but the shining star is undoubtedly Evernote. Incorporating notes, schedules, reminders and even word processing in one elegant package, Evernote is the ultimate cloud-based organizational tool. Evernotes biggest selling point is its cross-platform functionality. Your lists will sync seamlessly across your devices, even if your smartphone is Android, your laptop a Mac and your desktop a Windows PC. Instant Messaging: Not Just for Teens Keep up with the water-cooler banter and dont be the last to know about the position that just opened up, or the big deal that fell through. Tap into the grapevine with instant messaging services such as Yahoo, Facebook and iMessage, and always be available for your co-workers. Also, take advantage of products such as Skype and Google Hangouts to join meetings and conference calls in person, not just as a disembodied voice at the end of a phone line. Ultimately the success of telecommuting lies in your hands. If you are self-motivated and committed to the process, it can be a liberating and life-enhancing experience. But if you see it as an ideal way to slack off, you will likely not only fail, but get fired too. Guest post by: Jennifer Tuohy is a technology writer for ebay, as well as an editor and social media consultant.

How Art Installations Can Help Your Workplace CareerMetis.com

How Art Installations Can Help Your Workplace Source â€" Pexels.comIt is widely recognized that having art in your life, whether you are viewing or creating it, can have a variety of benefits. Art provides insight, entertainment, relaxation, and even an outlet for stress. Given the gains the inclusion of art in our life can produce, it makes sense to build it into your offices and workplaces to improve your business’s productivity.To really harness the power of art for your organization it’s important to understand the benefits it can bring and what your employees want from you when it comes to their office décor. Displaying ill-thought out design and artworks could end up being counterproductive. Office furniture supplier Vikinghas recently surveyed 1,500 employees to uncover what benefits they feel art offers them, and what they’d most like to see from their employers in this area.What are the benefits of office artworks?Art is now relatively commonplace in many offices. Almost two-thirds of workplaces in the UK display some form of art for their employees and clients. As art becomes more commonplace in the office, it’s important to not let it become just another thing to tick off the list when planning a renovation.evalYour office artwork should be more than something used to fill wall space, it should engage staff and allow them the advantages of having art in their workplace. Generic artwork chosen at random may have no overall effect on office productivity, but if you give employees the chance to choose art that really connects with them personally it’s far more likely to boost motivation.Over half of workers Staring at grey walls all day can be uninspiring, and the lack of variation tiring to the eye. Four in ten In the long-term, this will help you reduce staff turnover and increase loyalty to your business, and staff have a more positive view to coming in to work for you.4) You can get a boost in creativityIf your business operates in a creative industry, it’s of particular importance that you factor in artworks when planning your workplace. 46% of workers say that the presence of artworks in their office helps with their creative process, giving inspiration during idea generation and keeping their mind active.eval5) It’s not just employees that benefitAlthough boosts to your employees’ happiness and productivity are reason enough to invest in art for your office, there are other benefits too.Half of employees Despite employees clearly indicating that there is an appetite for and benefits to having art in the office, there is a disconnect with what their employers are currently providing. Almost one-third of workers If you struggle to get the time to let this happen, consider hosting an email poll, asking your staff what they prefer from office artwork and build your plan around their responses. Giving staff the ability to contribute to the way their office is decorated will not only result in artwork that they actually appreciate it but will help them feel invested in your business and that they are really part of the team.If you can get your staff involved in selecting distinctive, well thought out artwork to reflect your business you should be able to reap many of the benefits of office artwork discussed above. Get started to boost creativity, productivity and give your employees a more positive experience at work.

What are your beliefs about finding a job - Hire Imaging

What are your beliefs about finding a job - Hire Imaging You have the power to control how you deal with challenge, adversity … stuff that happens in life, including a job search. There are always things beyond your control. The power lies in your belief system. No magic; just your perception. Nothing else has to change for things to change. Same glass but your call There’s an old idiom: “Is your glass half full or half empty?” It’s a great example of how people perceive events and situations. If you have the same glass, same amount of liquid in it, the view will be yours. Your beliefs will affect how you think! Your thinking will affect how you respond. And that could make all the difference! Client transformations I recently took a look through last year’s notes for clients whom I have coached in their careersâ€"these specifically in job search mode. I thought it would be fun to pull out some beliefs they turned around; and to a person, it positively impacted their outcomes. Here’s what I like to call their beliefs conversion collage. No names to protect their privacy; but all quotes are from their mouths: OLD: “We’re in a recession. There are no jobs out there.” NEW: “Times are tough. That said, if I work hard and smart, there are lots of opportunities waiting for me.” OLD: “I had a great salary. It’s going to be next to impossible to find another job that will pay me what I earned then.” NEW: “I know the value and contributions I can bring to an employer. I’ll leverage this to land the compensation I want in no time.” OLD: “It’s going to take a long, long time to find a new job.” NEW: “I will land a job fairly quickly with the right strategies, tools and action.” OLD: “I want to keep my job search on the low-down. It’s humiliating and hard.” NEW: “Where doors close, they open. This job search is going to be an adventure that makes me stronger and more confident. With this confidence, I’ll enlist my family, friends and others to support my efforts.” OLD: “My resume will be general to cover all bases. It’s only beneficial to maybe getting my foot in the door anyway.” NEW: “My resume will be a powerful marketing document that sets me apart from the competition. The process in its development will increase my confidence and ability to sell myself in networking and interviewing situations.” OLD: “An interview is just an interrogation where I am under the microscope, tested and judged. I really hate that.” NEW: “An interview is a friendly conversation to determine fit on both sides. It’s also great continued practice in exploring what organizations need and where I shine, or areas I may want to strengthen.” OLD: “I will take it day by day and wing it.” NEW: “If I fail to plan, I can plan to fail. I’ll set up a feasible action plan with realistic goals and timelines.” OLD: “I’m scared of networking, and can’t imagine where to begin.” NEW: “I know lots of people. I’ll start with a list of 50. I’ll contact them by phone. I’ll get involved on LinkedIn. I’ll ask questions when I need help from those who know. This could actually be okay.” This isn’t about easy. It is about self-fulfilling prophecy. You know … that mantra where negative beliefs influence negative. And vice versa. If your belief system is not serving you well, not producing positive results, then I can help. You can’t change the economy or job market. But you can navigate your job search framed around your belief system. It’s your choice to take this job search seriously as a job in itself. Let’s work together to get back your power! Photo:   Cali4beach

Sign Me Up Genius Review - Does This Work?

Sign Me Up Genius Review - Does This Work?For me, signing up for the 'For Me' product from Sign Me Up Genius is a winner. I've learned so much by listening to this podcast that has helped me out so much with my weight loss journey. It is also a very affordable way to take charge of your health. And I mean taking charge in your life and how you live it.Michael Greene is the creator of the podcast and his talk show is very inspirational and uplifting. He's been a diet and fitness expert for years. He's also a very accomplished writer and speaker.The biggest thing about Sign Me Up Genius is the fact that it's a proven plan to lose weight and be healthy. They are very different than other programs because they are actually helping you achieve the lifestyle you want to have. The program is easy to follow and you can even use their free updates and get great support at any time. Sign Me Up is going to work for you.I'm very used to looking into the mirror and seeing that I am not happy with my own weight and body shape, but what I don't see in the mirror is success. I want to look good, I want to feel good, but I can't seem to do anything about my weight loss. I am a professional in the weight loss industry, so to me the key is to get healthy and lose weight! I want to shed those extra pounds and feel good about myself again.So why not get help to get rid of those extra pounds? You're not alone. Millions of people are struggling to lose weight and get healthy. Most are forced to use the traditional ways of doing this such as diet pills, the treadmill and barre workouts and health clubs. But there is a new, easy, effective method that can make you lose those extra pounds fast and easily.So, how does this work? Well, you have to use these vitamins to create a workout routine that you can perform every day and get the results you want. Then sign up for the online videos that will show you how to apply the vitamins into your own exercise routines.What you are really doing here is gaining access to an iPhone or smart phone app that can train you. Instead of sitting in a health club and spending hundreds of dollars, just get your own workout schedule from the app and perform your own cardio workouts and strength training. You don't have to wait for a professional to teach you; you can get the information instantly.You know what this means to me is the possibilities of becoming involved in these fitness systems. With these apps, you don't have to spend a lot of money, but can still get the results you want. You can even look into enrolling in a six-month plan and actually get healthier and lose weight in those six months.