Are You The Right Kind of Smart?

March 8, 2010 -- 12:21 pm

Your IQ – your hardwired intelligence (actually your ability to learn) accounts for 4 – 10% of your career success. Important, but not the most important.

Your EQ – your emotional intelligence (your ability to know yourself, manage yourself and get along with others) accounts for 40 – 60% of your career success. Very important.

Today’s workplace is a service-based (relationship) workplace. Since employees are paid to think through their responses to customers, and they control their minds, managers must now engage and inspire employees to activate their performance. Today’s managers must be able to listen, hear, watch and connect – they must be relationship builders, connectors and communicators.

To be a relationship builder requires strong EQ – a clear knowledge of yourself and how to successfully relate to others. This enables a manager to better connect with and understand employees – to know their talents, values and interests to put them in the right jobs, motivate them and activate their performance.

To improve your EQ:
1. Become more aware or your responses, reactions and emotions. Noticing how you react helps you assess its effectiveness and ineffectiveness.
2. Manage your emotions to improve your ability to listen, respond and successfully react with others.
3. Watch the behaviors of others; understand their moods and communication method to improve how you connect with them. Learn to listen so people will talk, and talk so people will listen.

Smarts – defined today – relate more to your ability to know yourself and to connect successfully with others rather than just what you know. Though some people are naturally better at “connection” and EQ, studies support all of us can improve. Improving your EQ has a direct impact on the quality of your work and life relationships, the quality of your work and the quality of your life.

Leave a Comment   

Half-full or Half-Empty?

March 4, 2010 -- 5:55 am

Are you a half-full or a half-empty kind of person? Are you optimistic or are you sure to find the down side if there is one to be had?

One of my favorite books is Arianne de Bonvoisin’s First 30 Days. In it, she outlines nine principles of handling change and building a more positive perspective. Her first principle is “People who successfully navigate change have positive beliefs.”

Positive beliefs come from you – you may not be able to control the things that happen to you but you can control how you respond to them. You can choose to see “half-full” – upbeat, optimistic and confident – or choose to see “half-empty” – down, pessimistic and unsure.

Consider these ways to build a more positive perspective:
1. Notice when you become negative and immediately focus on something positive. Have others help you see your behavior.
2. Read a power quote or an inspirational passage to start your day on a positive tone.
3. Create an upbeat “break” during the day. Focus on 3 things that have gone well so far.
4. Choose your friends wisely; associate with positive and confident people.

To make the point, here are some great half-empty/half-full perspectives from the website www.businessballs.com.
o The project manager/engineer says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. 

o The bar fly says is not about whether the glass is half full or half empty, it’s about who is paying for the next round.
o The consultant says let’s examine the question, prepare a strategy for an answer, and all for a daily rate of…
o The worrier frets that the remaining half will evaporate by tomorrow.
o The fanatic thinks the glass is completely full, even though it isn’t. 

o The entrepreneur sees the glass as undervalued by half its potential.
o The computer specialist says that next year the glass capacity will double and will cost half the price.
o The Buddhist says don’t worry, remember the glass is already broken.
o The personal coach knows that the glass goes from full to empty depending on the circumstances, and reminds the drinker that he can always fill the glass when he wishes.
o The grammarian says that while the terms half-full and half-empty are colloquially acceptable the glass can technically be neither since both full and empty are absolute states and therefore are incapable of being halved or modified in any way. 


You control your attitude. Know yourself; choose to be positive and upbeat. It is great for your health and happiness.

Leave a Comment   

Don’t Let Little Things Become Big Things

February 25, 2010 -- 5:24 am

Day in and day out little nuisance things happen to us – little things – you stumble, drop some papers, take a wrong turn, spill a cup of coffee or lose your cell phone connection. In our busy and over-scheduled lives, little events become big events. And when already frazzled, a truly large event now becomes completely unmanageable.

In 2004 Dr. Robert Sapolsky published a book titled, Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers. In it, he presents that animals and humans are equipped to handle both calm and danger. The parasympathetic system runs all of the routine internal body systems, day in and day out (periods of calm). The sympathetic system is designed to help us survive in a period of danger, stress or euphoria, and interrupts the parasympathetic system.

I am not a scientist, so here is my simple summary of his findings. When we are calm (we are not affected by the nuisance events), our internal maintenance systems respond – we stay healthy.

But when we get upset (the brain senses danger – big or small), it activates a fight or flight response. The body calls all its resources to be ready for something big, shutting down its focus on the daily support functions. We are now ready for a fight or a flight.

Here is the point. The body is designed to handle a temporary fight or flight response. Animals know this. And according to Sapolsky, when the lion gets his prey, or the zebra gets away, the fight or flight response ends and the body resumes its normal response. But humans are different. When we experience recurring nuisance events, we move our systems into a state of perpetual stress; we constantly signal to our bodies to be ready to fight or hit the road. And when this happens, the regular, healthy and maintenance functions of the body are interrupted. The result – a challenged immune system resulting in ulcers, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses.

How we perceive events activates emotions; emotions activate neurological and biological responses in our body. We must train ourselves to manage our emotional responses to all types of events – to know what is danger and what is only a nuisance- to stay healthy and sane.

So consider this:
1. Is this a nuisance and you should laugh it off? (Laughing is great for our health).
2. Is this truly serious and worth the attention?

Life throws out small tests to get us ready for larger ones. Manage your responses and use fight or flight only when it is needed – the body was designed that way. Learn from the zebras – they don’t get ulcers. They don’t let the little stuff get them down. That way, when they need to run, they are really ready – and they survive. And at every other point, they are loving life.

Leave a Comment   

Get Hired in 2010 – Week 4 of the Plan

February 24, 2010 -- 5:08 am

I have been presenting a new way to get hired in 2010 – click here to see my full plan. Today – it is time to talk about fit.

Here is how it works: identify what you are good at and passionate about doing AND the hot industries or jobs that need your talents and passions. These are the jobs to apply for.

Let’s see an example:
Your talents: You are detailed-oriented, love being in charge and are focused on great results (these are your talents). Your passions include persuading others, organizing, leading things and making a difference.

Hot industries: Healthcare

Job possibilities:
o Medical office manager
o Security in medical facility/hospital
o Facilities employee/facilities manager/Spa management

o Hospital/health facility management

o Medical records management

o Personal trainer

Hot industry: Accounting/Regulation/Finance

Job possibilities:
o Accountant, financial analyst, tax specialist
o Compliance auditor, government auditor
o Researcher for investment company, demographer or trend analyst \
o Forensic accountant
o Actuary

Hot industry: Technology

Job possibilities:
o Geek squad
o PC application specialist

o Artificial intelligence engineer
o CAD technician
o Repair technician
o Network engineer

These are just ideas – see the process in action. Know you. Know your world. Find your fit. Use my list of Hot Jobs to help you consider what roles allow you to play to your strengths.

Go to www.LiveFiredUp.com for more tools – click on the For JobSeeker link.

Leave a Comment   

Never Miss An Opportunity To…

February 18, 2010 -- 9:55 am

With Valentine’s day just behind us, I was reminded of our tradition to take a day and celebrate special events. We celebrate mothers, fathers, pilgrims, veterans, workers, religions traditions, famous people and presidents. Overall, a good idea.

What struck me more is the concept of a holi “day.” If these are really important events, why do we limit the celebration to just a day? Shouldn’t they be recurring events or recurring celebrations?

Here’s my thought. Holi “days” aren’t cutting it. The daily celebrations are too infrequent and don’t encourage enough of the right behaviors to last all year. In a world that is increasingly unkind, selfish and confrontational, couldn’t we make an improvement if we were to extend the celebrations? Couldn’t we stay more focused on being kind, considerate, passionate, loving and respectful?

So I decided to create a “never miss an opportunity” list – a list of things I should celebrate or do on a regular basis – not just once. Here’s the start of my list. What would you add?

Never miss an opportunity to…:
o Tell (and show) the people you love how much you love them and what they mean to you.
o Share a story about your life’s success and failures to teach someone else.
o Make someone else feel important, even if you did most of the work.
o Show your patriotism and respect for your country.
o Show your tolerance for someone who does not look like you or believe in what you do.
o Stop and appreciate a flower, a tree, the wind, a star, rock formation or any other part of nature.
o Know yourself, your talents and passions, so you can build a life that makes you happy and helps you feel content.
o Say thank you, hold a door open, let another person or car pass ahead of you, or to be kind to someone you don’t know.
o Give away some of your “extras” to someone who has no “extras.”
o Learn something new to expand what you know and your contribution to the world.
o Make the first call even when it is the other person’s obligation or turn.
o Share a call, thought, card or gift with someone you love or who needs to hear from you – just because.
o Say you are sorry when you hurt someone – even if you didn’t mean to.
o Allow another to have an opinion different than yours, and still respect them.
o Spend more time with your pet.
o Sing, dance, laugh, tell a joke, cry or be more human, even when others you don’t know are watching. Invite them to join it.
o Smile at someone you don’t know.
o Bound out of bed, excited you have another day.

How will you never miss an opportunity to connect the very special people in your world? And what can you bring to the world that will make it better for all of us? Never miss your opportunity to celebrate and to make a difference.

Leave a Comment   

Get Hired in 2010 – Week 3’s Plan – Know Your World

February 17, 2010 -- 5:33 am

Week 3 of our plan to get hired: Know your world – what fields are hiring, what are the hot jobs and the growing industries.

It is not the same world that was in place when many of you got your last jobs. The nature of work changes quickly – some industries die, others grow almost overnight. So what is hot and what is not with jobs. And what hot jobs need your talents and passions.

So here is how to proceed:
1. Connect to information that keeps you current about the hot jobs. Google “hot jobs” and see links. Connect to www.Smartmoney.com, www.monster.com, www.hotjobs.yahoo.com, and www.careerplanner.com.

2. Identify the industries that interest you AND are growing industries (why select a job in a dying industry?).
a. Growing industries:
i. Healthcare (including mental health, wellness and fitness)
ii. Technology (including web, design, engineering, programming)
iii. Accounting/Regulation/Finance
iv. Retail/Customer Service
v. Transportation/Travel
vi. Education/Teaching/Instruction
vii. Entertainment
viii. Law enforcement/Law/Government
ix. Science, Pharmacology, Medical research
x. Trades/Life Services (including construction, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, hair styling, bakers, mechanics, etc).

b. Companies who are hiring:
i. Click here for the link to see Hot Jobs’ top 100 companies who are hiring.

3. What jobs are Hot Hot Hot!
i. Click to my “Hot Job” list by industry.

Staying connected is critical for you to be aware of the opportunities and to know how to start the process of finding the right job for you. Always know what jobs are growing and which are fading. Position yourself in a high growth industry.


Next week – we focus on a finding a job that fits you. These are jobs that match your talents and passions and give you a competitive advantage in the hiring process.

See the great “get hired” tools at www.LiveFiredUp.com – click on “Job Seeker.”
Pass this on to your friends who are job hunting.

Leave a Comment   

Schedule Some Whine Time

February 13, 2010 -- 10:23 am

Go ahead, schedule some whine time – complain away.

Jill Bolte Taylor, the author of the amazing book My Stroke of Insight; A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, explains our left brain is our controlling, judgmental and critical brain; our open, accepting and optimistic brain is our right brain. In our performance-focused world, most of us favor our analytical left brain. We listen more to our “critic” that more readily finds fault and complains, than applauds and supports.

She shares that the right brain imposes fewer restrictions, judges less, sees things as they are, appreciates the richness of the moment, is open, creative and sensitive to nonverbal communication. This is the inner peace standard equipment we all receive – but we frequently can’t hear it over the louder, more controlling left brain.

So to manage the left brain judgmental rhetoric, she puts her “critic” on a time schedule. She allows it to whine rampantly for 30 minutes – then it is over. She even gives it a daily time slot. That is the only time any whining is allowed. And if the time slot is missed for some reason, she does not allow the whine time until the next scheduled session – the next day. What a great idea.

Each of us has things we need to complain about; it is part of our process to successfully deal with things. The problem develops when we allow too much our self- and social-talk to be negative and unhealthy – when our left brain critic takes over.

Focus on directing your self-talk into more a more supportive, caring and optimistic (right brain) dialog. Treat yourself lovingly and with kindness. Watch the caustic left brain “critic” that can sometimes keep us in line, but mostly sees us as underachieving and underperforming.

Learn from Dr. Bolte Taylor and build some whine time into your day. Impose a time limit – and when it’s over, it’s over – until tomorrow. Start with 30 minutes if you have a very loud critic. Set the timer. Soon, you will see you only need just a moment or two to vent, realign and move on. Silence your critic (left brain). Activate your admirer and dreamer (right brain). The conversation is so much better.

Leave a Comment   

Stand Out and Get Hired in 2010 – Week 2 of the Plan

February 10, 2010 -- 5:18 am

Week 2: Know your talents and passions – learn what you are great at and love doing.

Most people continue to apply for the wrong jobs because they don’t know what they are good at. And today, to have the best performance, you must work in job that needs what you are great at and are passionate about. Without these, you don’t feel capable, competent or excited in your work – and it shows.

So here is how to proceed:
1. Write down what you think you are naturally good at – your talents – this will be things like connecting with others, focusing on details, committed to big performance, great at listening and relating to others, creating order out of chaos…etc. Don’t be humble. List everything you are good at; things that come naturally to you. This is difficult for many people so try these other two options:

2. Next, write down what you are passionate about. What do you love to do – what gets you out of bed in the morning and what you could do all day? It may be teaching, helping others, running a business, writing, painting, cooking, selling…whatever you love to do. List as many as come to mind. You will find that you generally do not need help with this – each of us is far more aware of our passions than our talents.

Now: look for the intersection of your two lists – what are you good at AND passionate about doing. This is the starting point for finding a job that fits you. This is key to finding a job AND loving your job.

You may be great at connecting with people and passionate about sharing stories. A job in sales, customer service or retail in any industry may be a good fit. You may be great at focusing on details and precision and are passionate making a difference. You may find that careers in the medical field, IT, law or similar fields will play to your talents and passions.

Know yourself – because your next step is to learn what the hot jobs are – so you can determine which jobs are a good fit for you and which needs what you are great at. This will give you a competitive advantage in getting hired.

Click here for the full “Get Hired” Plan. See all the “Get Hired” resources at www.LiveFIredUp.com, click on “Job Seeker.”

Leave a Comment   

Life – “Your Way”

February 4, 2010 -- 5:25 am

Today, each of us wants our music, our food, our cars, our houses and virtually everything else exactly our way. We personalize; we customize – because we have choices.

The amazing thing is that we are so quick to customize our food, but so reluctant to customize our lives.

Each of us is born with a unique set of neural pathways (brain responses) that create our natural abilities and our passions. Some are artistic and social. Others are empirical, detail-focused and analytical. Some can sing and others can solve puzzles. But most let others direct them to what they should do for work and how they should live their lives.

Your happiest moments happen when you use what you are good at and passionate about. The more of these moments you create, the better your work and life become – you feel more capable, competent and more fired up. And only you have the key to determine the “true you.”

So commit a little time each day to write your “owner’s manual”:
1. List what you are good at; what are your talents and strengths?
2. List what you are passionate about; what do you love to do?

Once known, how will you customize your work and life around your talents, strengths and passions? If you could have life “your way,” what would you choose?

For more information including my Talent and Thinking Style Assessment and my “For Life” section, see www.LiveFiredUp.com.

Leave a Comment   

Running on Empty?

January 28, 2010 -- 5:56 am

When your car’s gas tank is empty, you don’t sit and get depressed and think it’s permanent. You go fill it up. It is the same with life-when you’re running on empty, go fill up your tank with a better thought, emotion or action and get on with life.” Esther Hicks.

For many people, when things get tough, they shut down. They run out of gas, feel stuck and sit waiting for rescue.

As today’s quote so clearly says, you can’t side idle – you must get up, take ownership and get on with things. You are responsible for your rescue.

But here is what you need to know: You are infinitely more capable than you first believe. You have significant talents and strengths; you have wisdom and power – you need to access it.

Ariane de Bonvoisin explains in her book First 30 Days that when you encounter an obstacle, you are forced to stop – and now think. An obstacle is nothing more than an opportunity to look into yourself with new clarity to see your greater capabilities. Obstacles – tough times – actually can show us how much more capable we are.

So how do you keep driving when you feel like you are out of gas?

1. Find some quiet time and listen inward – get introduced (or re-introduced) to the more significant you.

5. Choose to act by creating a plan – start small; but start.

No one said life would be easy – but it is always good. Obstacles force us to better know ourselves and to see what we are really made of. So when you feel like you are out of gas, build a plan to get yourself back on the road of life. It is both an adventure and a great ride.

See the life power tools on www.LifeFiredUp.com and be sure to click on the Hunt for Opportunities.

Leave a Comment