Career Planning, Learning and Performance

. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? No idea. Which came first your career or your lifestyle? Erm… well, your lifestyle had a say in your career choice of course. But your career choice has determined your current lifestyle and will continue to do so.  So, do you enjoy your lifestyle inside and [...]

I think this is a great question to ask yourself every so often.  I ask myself this question a lot.  This post shows how I escape what I’m caught up in.  It works. There’s nothing worse than being (or feeling) caught up in something, whether it’s work, relationships, business, your environment, whatever.  If you feel [...]

Its about time I nailed this. Positive thinking is encouraged everywhere you look these days. But I think it can land some people in trouble. How to Think Smart Smart thinking requires looking at potential consequences, both positive and negative of decisions and actions in the short, medium and long term. You want to check [...]

Lack of ideas, and therefore options prevents many of us from heading down new paths and trying new things.  The thing is, once you take your first step towards something new, lack of ideas is no longer a problem.  Once you’ve decided and stepped forward, your mind is no longer split and your focus tightens.  [...]

A lot of people in my seminars say to me ‘but I’m not a creative thinker’.  What they don’t realise is that they have the ability, they just don’t know how to turn it on. Here’s one way: Whatever area you’re trying to get creative solutions for, list the common popular solutions (the way it’s [...]

I sent this post out as a newsletter back in 2008. For those who missed it, it’s worth a look: My advice this month was given to me 10 years ago by a colleague who I deeply respected.  It still holds true and I often think about it.  He explained to me that to increase [...]

Often you don’t need to learn theory by attending a course or reading – you can extract it yourself from examples and analogies that you’re already aware of.  It’s an incredibly powerful way to learn and make highly memorable connections in your mind. Use What You Know Learning is attaching what you don’t know to [...]

Most people seem to throw around the idea that you must be a big ‘risk taker’ to make it in business.  It’s a viral message passed between people who haven’t thought about it enough.  Unfortunately it gets passed on to some poor hopeful who is rather risk-averse.  He definitely doesn’t want to risk making himself [...]

When you say ‘yes’ to a task or activity, remember you’re simultaneously saying ‘no’ to a whole lot of others. When you say ‘yes’, make sure you acknowledge what you’re saying ‘no’ to. Are you saying ‘no’ to something more important? Are you saying ‘no’ to something that will have a bigger impact on your [...]

This post is about flying solo in business, but the same ideas apply to you in your career too. If you’re flying solo in your work or thinking about flying solo do you know clearly what sort of flight you’re going on?  Have you thought about: where you’re flying to? why you’re flying there? what [...]