Unleashing and Channeling Your Power To Succeed

With Thanksgiving around the corner and the beginning of the holiday season, there is so much to be thankful for. Yes, we’re thankful for our health, our safety, our loved ones. But what else? What do we take for granted? What moves us? What would fill our hearts daily if we would just notice it? 

Especially during tough times, we tend to forget about some of the “little things” in life. Here are a few things to be grateful for, from my perspective (and thoughts from clients).

1. The senses. Sight, sound, touch, smell and taste—daily miracles each of them. 

2. The plant world. From the productivity of a late-summer tomato plant to the delicate unfurling of a fern, nature’s exuberance and tenderness is something to behold.

3. Opportunity. Our steady companion, opportunity is always ready to take us down a path yet unknown. (Hint: We have to say “Yes!”) 

4. Beauty. What do your eyes feast on? What splendor makes your soul rejoice? It is all around us every day. How often do you stop to drink it in? 

5. The ability to learn. There is no age limit on learning—period. When we stop learning, we really stop living. 

6. Young children. They model for us innocence, faith, resilience, playfulness and unconditional love.

7. Music. What inspires you, lifts your mood? Rock & roll, African drumming, violin concertos, gospel?

8. The ability to give. Every act of love benefits the giver as much as the receiver. 

9. Color.  Sunsets, Gauguin paintings, green peppers, blue eyes. Imagine a world without color…. 

10. Change. It’s unavoidable; the only constant. Change can be unsettling or challenging. But the mystery of it and what lies beyond it can keep us young at heart.

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT AND COMMITTING YOURSELF TO OBTAINING IT ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN YOUR CAREER AND PERSONAL LIFE.

Paul is one of those people at work you just love to hate—but can’t, really, because he’s so darned nice. Things seem to go so easily for him. He lands contracts, the head of the company pops in with interesting projects, and customers call him with huge orders. It’s as if he’s just kicking back on an inner tube and being carried along on a current of good luck.

Contrast that with Sean, who puts in long, hard hours every day, plus more on weekends. He exerts tremendous effort with every deal he puts together and every project he takes on, yet he rarely achieves exactly what he’s striving so hard to create. Rather than floating down a river, Sean feels like he’s slogging through mud.

What’s the difference? On the outside, things look relatively equal. Both men have master’s degrees from wellrespected universities. They’re both competent and well-liked by co-workers and those they supervise.

Hint: It’s in the river image. When Paul works hard, it doesn’t feel like a struggle—he’s “in the flow.” He’s in tune with his life purpose, his passions, and his vision for himself and the work he does in the world. As a consequence, he’s just naturally able to attract what he wants, with enviable ease.

Ingredients of Attraction

The law of attraction isn’t just some woowoo theory, it’s scientific. Matter attracts like matter. It’s similar to a radio broadcast—when a radio is tuned to a particular station, you will only hear (attract) the frequency of radio waves that match that station’s signal. When it happens, everything seems easy, like it does for Paul.

“Once you change the way you are inside, the outer world changes,” writes Joe Vitale, author of the recent best seller, The Attractor Factor. Vitale is one of dozens of authors who write persuasively on this seemingly mysterious subject. Call it synchronicity, coincidence, chance or what have you, attraction is a phenomenon that, as author Julia Cameron puts it, some of us might prefer to ignore: the possibility of an intelligent and responsive universe, acting and reacting in our interests.

Following are some of the key ingredients for attracting what you want into your life and work.

Get clear about what you want and why you want it. It’s not enough to know what you don’t want. You can’t get what you want until you know what that is.

Napoleon Hill, whose classic Think and Grow Rich has inspired several generations, wrote that a burning desire is essential to personal success. What was true in 1937 during the Great Depression, when Hill wrote the book, is just as true now: “There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose—the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to possess it.”

What do you want? A job with flex time so that you can go to your daughter’s soccer games? The financial freedom to be able to take on a pro-bono case for a nonprofit client? The opportunity to indulge your passion for chocolate (and inflame others with it) by opening a chocolate café downtown?

Many of us have forgotten how to dream. We’ve become more connected to our to-do lists than to what we really want. But becoming crystal clear about what you want and why you want it is where the “magic” of attraction all begins. When you know the “what,” the “how” can begin to fall into place.

Imagine it. Act as if what you want to happen is already happening and see how that changes your thoughts.

“Conscious change is brought about by the two qualities inherent in consciousness: attention and intention,” writes Deepak Chopra in The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. “Attention energizes, and intention transforms.

Whatever you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life.”

Commit. A quotation often attributed to Goethe but actually written by W. H. Murray in his 1951 book The Scottish Himalayan Expedition speaks eloquently to the power of commitment. “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness,” Murray wrote. “Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”

 Click here to read more.

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

In a competitive job market, it is imperative to develop a job search strategy that will help you outshine your competition.

In my video I share with you some important and effctive job search tips.  I invite you to view my video here:
http://www.mbrownassociates.com/get-clarity-career-coaching.html

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

If your organization is like most, you are operating in a storm of constant demands, reacting to crises but not really taking time out to think about (or plan) how to make your company better in a big way.

There are a lot of things you can do to move your organization to world-class status. One of the most important is to focus on the people who make up the organization. You need to have top-notch people working hard to make it a success. But, you also need to make sure that those people have the TOOLS, UNDERSTANDING, and CAPABILITIES that are needed to excel.

Click here to view my video  to help your organization!

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

Do you want to keep your career healthy? Improve the quality of your life?  Be more effective at work? Heighten your sense of self-awareness and get greater clarity about your purpose and goals? Career coaching gives you greater focus and an increased awareness of the choices you make.

I have a new video that will give you some insights.  Check it out here:

http://www.mbrownassociates.com/careercoaching.html

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

A career change as an experienced professional

Changing careers completely is one of the most difficult transitions to make successfully – that is to change both work tasks and work fields. For example, Charles, a Corporate Director of Training with 20 years of experience has decided to make a career change from working in private industry to teaching in higher education. One of the concerns he faces, like many senior level job seekers making this type of transition is the age factor. Employers tend to focus on salary and benefit package requirements and the possibility of you being overqualified when looking at high-level professionals seeking a job outside of their usual specialized practices or industry.

One good strategy is having the reviewer concentrate on your transferable skills and knowledge as well as the benefits of hiring a seasoned professional so that your disadvantages fade into the background. Use your age to your advantage by identifying the chosen market needs, how you can meet those needs, and stressing your solid experience and significant achievements.

In being realistic about making a career change, you need to also consider the possibility that you may actually have to accept a position at a lower level of responsibility and leadership than your present one and to do so with a salary cut. Your résumé’s fundamental role is to project your professional image in a way that improves the chance of this scenario not happening.

Another defensive strategy is to thoroughly research your new career interest and work environment. By doing your homework, you become aware of the essential required skills and knowledge. Follow-up with identifying the proficiencies you possess or in lieu of actual experiences can substitute education/training. As a selling point, consider taking professional development course to fill the gaps in you qualifications as proof of your strong commitment to this transition.

For making a career change, as you identify information for inclusion in your resume ask yourself the following questions:
Click here to read more.

Take advantage of our resume services bfore October 4th and receive 10% Off!

Read more here:

http://www.mbrownassociates.com/resume-services.html

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

A move within present organization

When making a move within your organization, it is usually one of two basic options: a) A move that is a step up (a promotion) or b) A move that is across the career ladder and/or the organizational structure (a lateral move). Since people are quite familiar with the concept of moving up or advancing your career and what a promotion implies, no further explanation is needed.

However, not everyone may fully understand what is and why someone wants to make a lateral move. A lateral move involves transferring to a different but equal to the one you presently have. This is a professional shift to consider when you want to remain with your present employer, but want to further develop as a professional and therefore, interested in expanding your skills and experience base. For example, Bill a HR Specialist with some responsibility for writing training materials, develops a growing interest in writing and editing. This results in his request for a lateral move to the In House Publications Department since one future possibility is working for an organization specializing in HR publications.

In either of these moves, one of the challenges that you may have to deal with is – how other people see you. If you are seeking a promotion: Do they see you as someone on their way up in the organizational structure or not? Or, if making a lateral move to learn new skills, do people who are only aware of your desire to make this transfer without knowing the reasons for the change may see you as a not very ambitious person.

Additionally, when attempting to make any type of organizational move try to be aware of any inside competition you may have and how you can offset their advantages with some of your own. Use the company’s informal networking system or your intuitive sense of other colleagues and be aware of whom else maybe applying for this position. On the other hand, if a specific opening does not exist, determine an organizational need/issue, and plan to promote yourself as the person who not only can solve the problem, but is interested, ready, and available to make a move and you will not have any competition.

Click here to read more.

Take advantage of our resume services bfore October 4th and receive 10% Off!

Read more here:

http://www.mbrownassociates.com/resume-services.html

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

Resume Technical Points

A reviewer not only looks for reasons to select a resume for the short initial interview pile, but also looks for reasons to reject a resume. When a document has a “high polish”, clarity, balance, and “togetherness” look to it, the hiring agent receives the message that you are a consummate professional. This is particularly true when a person, who has never met you, uses the resume as their main tool for selecting candidates for the initial interview invite.

Frequently, a resume is rejected simply because of typos, grammar errors or just not easy to read. Therefore, it is essential to pay close attention to the required or preferred resume technical points. Some of the rules are just Standard English and writing usage and others are good resume development procedures. Fifteen accepted guidelines to follow as you develop your resume are:

1. Be accurate and check and if necessary, double check all dates and figures
2. Omit jargon and other language that is organization or industry specific, particularly when making a career change or professional shift to another field and/or industry e.g., acronyms, titles, phrases and so forth.
3. Try and not to repeat or overuse the same professional skill word, action verb or other characterizing words in describing your background and experiences.
4. Do not abbreviate to save space other than the usual accepted ones e.g., state names, academic degrees, part of an organization’s name, commonly used in a specific field or industry
5. Use wide space and wide margins to make the resume visually appealing

Click here to read more

Take advantage of our resume services bfore October 4th and receive 10% Off!

Read more here:

http://www.mbrownassociates.com/resume-services.html

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

With September just around the corner our thoughts start to move away from ‘vacation mode’ and back to ‘business mode’. With this in mind I wanted to share with you excerpts from my book High-Level Resumes.

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Resume Format Options

The traditional chronological and functional resume formats are not usually the most efficient and effective ways for senior level professionals to present their varied specialized, in-depth experiences and qualifications. A quick review of the descriptions of these types of resume will indicate why. In today’s highly competitive job market where there are more candidates than positions, you do not want the reader to have to take too long to figure out whom you really are and what you have to offer. Many reviewers take only ten to thirty seconds to scan a resume and decide whether to place it in the call in for an interview or reject pile.

You can read more here:

http://www.mbrownassociates.com/book-excerpts.html

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com

Today’s work world is full of uncertainty, and the jobs available now and in the future will be very different from the past. Whether in good times or bad, you must take charge of your own career, because no one else is going to do it for you.

Here are eight steps to help you survive in today’s changing world of work:

1. You are in charge. Think of yourself as working for yourself. You are the person in control of your own career and have to manage it. No one else can do it for you. Ask yourself what values drive you and what impact you want to have, and develop a plan to make it happen.

2. You need to know you best. It is imperative in today’s competitive job market to know yourself. Know what you have to offer and then market yourself as the person with that information. This will help to separate you from your competition. Your marketability will depend on your ability to demonstrate, on paper and verbally, your skills (even if within the same organization). What do you bring to the table in the way of strengths and abilities?

3. You must keep on learning. Look beyond your current skill set and develop additional benefits that will help you market yourself. Come up with specific ways you might want to work on improving your product (you) in the next six months.

4. You become the expert. Read industry papers, keep track of the fast-changing economic and social landscape, and understand your competition. Be the go-to person for the latest information—become the expert.

Read more here:

http://snipurl.com/ptvfh

Paul Copcutt and I (Marshall Brown) will present a Learning Lab titled “Developing a Successful Job Search Strategy” on Sunday, August 16, from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m., at ASAE & The Center’s 2009 Annual Meeting & Expo. Hope to see you there!

Marshall
http://www.mbrownassociates.com