Peak Pathway Magazine's Blog : career development forum

1.  Write down your goals. You  set these goals. Don’t let anybody else tell you what your goals should be. Think of success like breathing air; your last breath is important, but it’s your next breath that’s vital. Goals keep you focused on what’s next, and writing them down keeps you on track. 2. Choose things just out of reach. Don’t just think about what is “realistic.” The problem with realistic thinking is that it’s usually based on what others think is possible. They don’t know your potential. Whenever you start a task with a mind toward the potential outcome, you will limit the actions required to accomplish that goal. 3. Take massive action. Never do anything normal. Take massive action until one day it is no longer an unusual activity but a habit for you. People will ask you: “Why are you still out this late?” “What are you doing calling on a Saturday?” “You never quit, do you?” And even “What are you on?” Big goals require big action...

1. Your character is unique. This is essential—not an elective. It’s a must if you want to do something of significance. This usually gets top billing when you are observed. What is it that marks your character for those who know you the best? How can you be intentional in creating it and building on it? Write down two. 2. Your experiences are unique. The total of your experiences has left an indelible mark. You can’t deny them, make them up, nor change them. They are yours. Even though time moves on, it passes to the present from those experiences. They are, therefore, to be embraced. What are the two experiences that were points of demarcation for you? 3. Your advantages are unique. There are things in life that have given you a competitive advantage. Do you know what they are? Others do! This should not be a haven for self-pity because of what you lacked, or guilt because of what you gained. They are what they are—advantages. No two people’s advantages are t...

1. Be with those who bring out the best in you, not the stress in you. The people you spend the majority of your time with will have the biggest influence on your life. If you spend time with people who are constantly talking about their goals and pushing each other to improve rather than gossiping and complaining about their circumstances, you will be more likely to achieve your own goals, and your attitude (and life) will improve. 2. Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. (Rumi) Sometimes you have to let go of things that are no longer serving you. If you’re holding on to something—like a goal—that is no longer in reach, it’s time to walk away. If you’re holding on to a relationship that is causing stress rather than growth, it’s time to walk away. Take an audit of the things in your life that you’re holding on to and assess whether they’re worth it. 3. It’s not the length of life, but the depth of life. People all over the world are continually ...

  1. Think outside the box. Many people get caught up in one activity for exercise and one idea about what exercise looks like. If you’ve always been a runner, it might not occur to you to drop into a dance class during your lunch break. If you are dedicated to the gym, you might not realize that your office is the perfect place for a quick round of crunches or some yoga. There are plenty of ways to exercise. Even little changes, like upping your daily step count by taking the stairs or parking further away from the entrance to your building, can improve your general health. The mentality that a workout has to be intense to matter is dangerous. Focus instead on fitting small, active bursts into your day. You can also mix things up by getting a workout partner, which is an approach I’ve found to be hugely beneficial. I meet up with a colleague to play squash during our lunch break. Not only does meeting up with someone provide me with accountability, but the exercise also b...

1. Find a quiet place. Reflection is best done away from distraction. It gives your mind space to think. 2. Take a regular time. Whether it is once a week, every other week, once a month or quarter, be sure to set aside regular time at regular intervals to evaluate and reflect. 3. Look at what you have accomplished and where you are. Be specific. Be truthful. Be ruthlessly honest. 4. Write it down. Keep a record. This gives you the chance at the next stage of evaluation to see exactly where you were last time and keeps it as objective as possible. 5. Look forward and set your next goal. Stretch yourself according to what works for you. That is the basic process of evaluation and reflection. If you have not done this before, then this will get you going. Be sure to follow the general idea and set aside time for your evaluation and reflection. Now, the purpose of the evaluation is twofold. First, it gives you an objective way to look at your accomplishme...

1. Take time to define your vision and your passion. There is no vision without seeing. So step out of your comfort zone. Experience, feel and taste what you are passionate about. Get out there and discover yourself, what you stand for and what you stand against. Then ask yourself what you want in life and why it’s important to you. Find what gets you fired up. Your vision is about you and your desires, and it has to be complete, clear and brutally honest. 2. Become clear and very precise about what you want. People are usually vague; they have only a pale vision of what they want. Try stopping and taking a break from the day-to-day race. Take a notebook, choose a quiet place and time, and write down what you specifically want to achieve and how you’ll know when you’ve achieved it. Write down  everything.  Your brain will do what you want, but in order to get there, you need to be very specific about your mission. So start writing your dreams...

1. You need to increase your productivity. “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”  —William Penn Very rarely does one actually need more time; people usually just need to make better use of the time they do have. In  Essentialism , one of my favorite books on the subject of time management, author Greg McKeown says that one will find more time when they understand the disciplined pursuit of less. A person’s ability to focus on what is important and eliminate distractions is what separates the most productive people in the world from the most unproductive people you will ever meet. 2. You need more patience. When Milton Hershey first started his career in 1875, he was just a 14-year-old kid trying to figure out how the business worked. He actually had to shut down three separate candy businesses before he would find success with Hershey’s chocolate, but these obstacles along the way didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams. It t...

Do what you love. You reap a great sense of accomplishment and joy when you chase your passion—something you will do even if you aren’t paid. Following your passion allows you to gain skills in areas in which you are already strong and will push you to become better. Be true to yourself. Do not set your career or life path in a certain direction based on what friends or family members want for you. It’s also important for you to think honestly about your resources, skills, and abilities along with what you have and what is needed to help you move forward. Be open to suggestions and advice from others who are already doing what you’re trying to do. Stay the course and be resilient. As you set forth to achieve your goals and your dreams, you cannot be thin-skinned. You must be durable and strong with a determination that you will get to where you want to go. SOURCE: SUCCESS.COM

1. Self-awareness:  Spend time thinking about your strengths and weaknesses. Once they have been defined, focus on your strengths and hire others to shore up your weaknesses. 2. Physical conditioning:  Eating right and developing a training regimen should be on the top of your daily to-do lists. If you suffer from low physical energy and illness, it’s nearly impossible to have success at any level. 3. Emotional well-being:  Surround yourself with love and support. We are each the average of the five people we spend the most time with, so we must choose those relationships carefully, both personally and professionally. 4. Mental growth:  Find activities that inspire and challenge you. Schedule time to read and learn. Find a mentor. Sleep well. Allow your brain to be at its full performance potential so personal growth can blossom. 5. Spirituality:  It may be going to church, meditating or writing in a journal. Whatever the case, train yourself to...

1. Break the multitasking habit. I have to confess that I’m a work-in-progress when it comes to realizing that multitasking is not my friend. I knew I had a serious problem when one day I looked up and realized that I had a notebook, laptop, and iPhone all in front of me, and I was trying to do something different on each of them. Needless to say, I wasn’t very productive and ended up with a bunch of partially finished things—not one thing actually completed. No matter how skilled you think you are at dividing your attention, you really are more effective when you focus. Don’t jump ahead or try to do it all at once in an effort to save time. You’ll feel more accomplished, building the momentum you need to go onto the next task if you complete just one task at a time. 2. Catch some real ZZZs. Forget what you heard about sleep-deprived super-successful people. Getting no sleep and working through the night is overrated—the all-nighter, “I-only-need-four-hours-of-sleep” bit ...

1.  Start the day with a positive affirmation. How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Have you ever woken up late, panicked, and then felt like nothing good happened the rest of the day? This is likely because you started out the day with a negative emotion and a pessimistic view that carried into every other event you experienced. Instead of letting this dominate you, start your day with positive affirmations. Talk to yourself in the mirror, even if you feel silly, with statements like, “Today will be a good day” or “I’m going to be awesome today.” You’ll be amazed at how much your day improves. 2. Focus on the good things, however small. Almost invariably, you’re going to encounter obstacles throughout the day—there’s no such thing as a perfect day. When you encounter such a challenge, focus on the benefits, no matter how slight or unimportant they seem. For example, if you get stuck in traffic, think about how you now have time to listen t...

1.  Make good daily to-do lists. 2.  Be organized to the max. 3.  Schedule your time on your calendar! (In order to own your calendar, you have to learn to say “no” to certain things.) 4.  Constantly audit yourself. At the end of the day, ask  How did I do? Was I actually productive and focused on results, or did I just do a ton of activities?  Activities don’t count! Results do! source: success.com

1. Write it down. It’s one thing to have great ideas about what your business can and should accomplish, but it’s another thing completely to have those goals well documented. Having a general idea of where you would like to see your business down the road isn’t enough. Taking the time to write out a business plan not only forces you to sit down and analyze your objectives and what you need to do to accomplish them, but it also helps hold you accountable. Having tangible evidence of your plan can help you stay focused while giving your team a blueprint of action items to carry out. 2. Keep your eyes peeled for market trends. Business plans cannot be created—and  definitely  cannot be carried out—in a vacuum. It’s important to take the big picture into account and evaluate short-term and long-term trends that might have an impact on your industry. If you’re in retail, for example, you might want to consider implementing an omnichannel marketing strategy that serv...

Go Beyond Dreaming First, let’s talk about what a goal is not. It’s not a fantasy or a daydream, both of which seldom get past the mulling stage into concrete action; they’re simply notions that eventually tend to be discarded. And Oettingen, over the past two decades, has performed study after study to investigate why so many big wishes evaporate, with this conclusion: “Daydreams and fantasies may be pleasant at the moment, and they can spur us to perform easy tasks,” Oettingen says. “But they hinder us in handling the hard tasks.” For instance, the more frequently college students fantasized about a successful career transition, the fewer applications they sent out and the fewer job offers they received. Overweight women who pictured their svelte post-diet selves breezing past the dessert table lost 24 pounds less than those who anticipated wrestling with temptation. But dreams  can  play a vital role in helping us form goals if we juxtapose them with an acknow...

1) Redefine accountability. Does the mere mention of the word  accountability  make you shudder? The negative (and uninspiring) view of accountability is reinforced in the common dictionary definition: “Subject to having to report, explain or justify; being answerable, responsible.” Staying true to yourself and your goals should not be drudgery. You must view your accountability as a gift to yourself, a voluntary mindset to ensure success, not something you’re force-feeding yourself even though you hate it. 2) Think as if your life depended on it. When you shift to a determined, creative mindset, you begin to discover solutions for challenges that you may have believed were out of your control. If your life depended on it, would you come up with a new idea or strategy to save yourself? Absolutely. The goal you want to achieve or the problem you want to solve probably is not a life-or-death scenario, but many creative solutions come when you put ever...