Instead of Seeking Praise, Seek Criticism
Several years ago, I had a girlfriend who would literally fly off the handle at the slightest criticism. It didn’t matter who was criticizing her. She would call people ugly, smelly, short – whatever attack she could muster in response to what she perceived as criticism. She would also do everything within her power to avoid being criticized. In school, for example, many mornings she would work until 4 a.m. to ensure she got a perfect grade in her class. In her personal life, she made sure to only associate with people she knew would never criticize her. [Read more]
Harness the Power of Your Subconscious Mind to Get a Job and Improve Your Career
I know of so many people who fail to get jobs and, ultimately, do not have good careers because they keep their minds cluttered with things that have nothing to do with their job search. I have wanted to write for some time about how to harness the subconscious mind in your job search. Many people get suspicious about this topic, however. The wonderful thing about our minds is they can empower us. However, they can also lead us away from what we are trying to achieve. Throughout my career I have done my best to help people understand the power of the subconscious mind, especially in a job search. It is one of the most important factors to be aware of when it comes to looking for work. In fact, I think having an awareness of the subconscious mind is what enables the most successful people out there to achieve their goals. I would like to tell you a few stories about very successful people I have known and how they’ve used their subconscious minds to really shine. As a child, I grew up with a friend who was a championship swimmer. To look at him, I could not figure out why he was so successful. Where the other swimmers were long and lean, he was heavyset. He had a secret, though. A few hours before every swim meet, he would say he was going to take a nap. He would not sleep, however. Instead, he would visualize what he wanted to happen at the swim meet. He visualized himself winning each race. He told me he viewed this as more important than swim practice. My friend did this instinctively. No one told him to do it. No one taught him. He was naturally inclined to motivate his subconscious mind. He was creating the result he wanted by visualizing it. He saw what the race would look like, how hard he would need to push himself to win, what it would sound like when he won. This process worked for him. Several years later, I was in Harper Library at the University of Chicago. A friend next to me was studying for an economics test. This friend never studied for more than an hour or two for any test. Other students, like me, would hole up for weeks in the library cramming for the same tests. He would breeze through each exam and enjoy some downtime while others were studying. All he would do was look briefly at the page he was studying, then look up and begin thinking for a few minutes. I asked him later what he was doing. He told me he was visualizing what would happen in each economics problem. This was a unique use of his subconscious mind. Here, he was becoming incredibly familiar with the subject matter and incorporating it into who he was, and into his entire understanding about life. He was someone who received perfect grades and went on to do very important work in the field of economics. There are many ways to program your subconscious mind in order to become the kind of person you want to be. Programming your mind can put you in the job you desire and get you the promotions and advancement that you seek, if you do it correctly. The most popular way to program your subconscious mind, of course, is through visualization. Visualize the result you want to achieve before the [Read more]
Focus on Other Geographic Areas to Get Your Job Search Going
“The median job search among those winning positions in the third quarter lasted nearly 4.4 months,” up from 3.6 months in the second quarter.
It’s also notable that 13.4 percent of the job seekers ended up relocating to take new positions. That’s up from a first-quarter figure of 8.9 percent, but still lower than the share who relocated in 2006 and most of 2007.
Moving is stressful and expensive, and some people may simply be unwilling to take that step. However, fewer people are relocating, no doubt, due to the state of the housing market. Job seekers eager to move for the right job may find themselves trapped by an inability to sell their homes, and perhaps are even wishing they were renters right now. One of the reasons it’s taking so [Read more]
