Career Articles & Advice

Goal Setting, Goal Achievement and the Universal Law of Gender by Nickolove Lovemore

Goal setting is relatively easy. Goal achievement, however, is another matter and we often struggle to achieve our goals because we are not working in harmony with Universal Laws.

We are taught that we should set goals according to the SMART principle, i.e. goals should be:

~ Specific,

~ Measurable,

~ Achievable,

~ Realistic, and

~ Time-framed.

And with respect to goals being “time-framed”, Napoleon Hill said that:

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”

Hence, it’s easy to understand why people become frustrated when they are unable to manifest their goals within the time that they originally set for their goal.

However the Law of Gender states that all seeds have a gestation or incubation period before they manifest in form. This applies to your goals as well. The difficulty is that although we know the gestation period for many physical seeds, we don’t know the gestation periods for goals.

Take the example of building a large, ultra-modern stadium. Such a project would naturally have a target date. However, at some point during the build the constructors will hit a snag - something that will adversely affect the building schedule. They may even have to resolve a problem that they not only didn’t expect but had not experienced before.

Do you think the builders will just abandon the project? No. Instead they’ll work around the clock to find a solution. Then they may adjust the rest of their schedule or even the design of the stadium in an aim to bring the project back on target and within budget.

Yet many people, when their goal doesn’t initially work out think that their goal is unachievable. And, not having the faith to believe that they could materialise their goal, they give up on their goal.

Bob Proctor advises that at times like this that you don’t give up on your goals. So long as your goal is worthy of you:

“Never change the goal - change the time - change the plan, but keep focused on the goal. You’ll receive it on the third level of creation, the physical level.”
Bob Proctor

As William James said:

“Believe and your belief will create the fact.”

You see, goal achievement can be likened to the growth of bamboo. Bamboo spends years growing underground before it breaks the surface. Similarly, things may be coming together to create your goal - things that you may not be able to see. If you abandon your goal at this point you’ll never know what might have been.

Goal achievement is a lawful process and as you learn how to successfully apply the Universal Laws to your life you will achieve your goals with much greater consistency and greater speed.

The movie “The Secret” brought attention to just one of the Universal Laws - The Law of Attraction. And many people have found understanding just how this law operates to be a challenge. So it makes sense to take time out to study the Universal Laws and consciously apply them to your life. Just like the Law of Gravity is constantly in operation although for the most part you don’t think about it so too are the Universal Laws.

So at any moment in your life you’re either successfully moving towards your goals or you’re moving away from your goals. When you understand the Law of Gender, you will understand that you can be moving towards your goal even though there may be no physical evidence of that fact. Knowing and accepting this will help you to persevere towards achieving your goals.

Remember:

“Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.”
St Augustine

For a greater understanding of the Universal Laws and how you can manifest your ideal life check out The 11 Forgotten Laws for a FREE teleseminar and a FREE report.

Article Source: ArticlesArticles.Net

Two Essential Leadership Strategies for Changing Company Culture by Jacqueline Moore

When money is tight, what do you do? Stop spending cash? And what does your company do? The same, I bet. You stop taking risks. You stop doing new things. You hope your problems will clear up soon.

There’s something else you can do besides freeze like a deer in the headlights. Something constructive. And it could turn your business round faster than you imagine. You could take an unusual lesson from the banks.

Today’s financial chaos is no joke. The global credit crunch and recent financial scandals have rocked many of the world’s biggest banks. Several chief executives have quit. Many others are hanging on - for now.

Unless you work in the financial sector, you might think this chaos doesn’t have a lot to do with you. But some banks are trying to tackle the financial crisis in an unusual way and we can learn from them.

They’re not just tightening up their checks and balances, making sure they have tighter control on spending and risk-taking. They’re also taking a long, hard look at their company culture.

The culture of your company, or “how we do things round here”, is something that affects each and every one of us as leaders. It affects each and every company. When your latest attempt to introduce a change fails, there’s a good chance it’s because your staff believe “that’s NOT the way we do things round here”.

Now, you probably appreciate that your leadership style can profoundly influence your company’s culture. If you’re the sort of boss who holds people to account for every mistake, who insists on knowing all the details, who is afraid to delegate, then your staff are going to be reluctant to risk making a mistake. They’re going to be afraid to innovate.

Doesn’t this sound like the company culture in a bank? But in the wake of the recent scandals and financial losses we’ve seen, things are changing. And we can learn a tremendous amount from what some of the big banks are trying to do.

They’re trying to change their company culture. They are trying to overturn years of doing things the same old way. The jury’s out on whether the changes will have an impact. Changing company culture is notoriously difficult. So it will be interesting to see whether they succeed in the long term. But we can still gain some inspiration from what they’ve started doing right now.

Let’s look at a couple of examples. A rogue trader blew a large hole in the finances of the French bank, Societe Generale (or SocGen), when he lost them more than $7bn. An internal report into the scandal says that, within SocGen, managers were not alert enough to the risk of fraud. “It’ll never happen here,” they thought. Managers were also used to working on their own and sorting their problems out themselves. There was a strong culture of independence and entrepreneurialism. And this made it a place where management just left people to get on with things.

Straight away the bank clamped down on almost everything to prevent further fraud. But it also recognized the need for bigger changes. While it wanted to prevent further fraud, it didn’t want to lose the entrepreneurial spirit that made it successful in the first place.

So the success of the bank’s transformation programme relies on the bank’s ability to spread among all employees what it calls “a culture of responsibility, discipline and mutual respect”. And here are some of the strategies it’s using to spread the word.

1) The bank is preparing practical handbooks, tailored to each business, that specify each participant’s roles and responsibilities.

2) It’s introducing formal trader mandates, documents that spell out what a trader can and can’t do.

3) It’s also developing a training programme on how to prevent fraud.

4) Next, it’s overhauling the appraisal process so that it deals with people and behaviour as well as numbers and profits.

5) It’s also implementing a communication and awareness programme on how to make its principles of professional ethics real and do-able.

6) And finally it’s developing a hiring programme and reviewing pay scales to help identify the different kinds of senior manager and support staff the bank needs in future.

Now I’m not sure creating more paperwork will help. It probably won’t be read, to be honest. But bringing new people in from outside will definitely help, as long as they’re supported by senior managers at the beginning.

What I really hope the bank will achieve with all this activity is not just add layers of bureaucracy. I hope it’ll succeed in changing some of the stories that are told round the institution.

My main concern is that the rogue trader will be regarded as a maverick by most employees, as a legend. And the myths of what he did will be passed from person to person, like stories about Robin Hood or any other folk hero.

These stories can’t be stopped, but they can be crowded out by new stories about new “mavericks” and new leaders. But this won’t happen through the official grapevine, such as the company newsletter or the intranet. These stories have to be spread through the unofficial grapevine: round the water cooler, in the coffee bars, in the corridors. And that will take a lot of sustained effort by the senior managers in the company. That’s where the guidelines and courses will be useful, for spreading stories about the new mavericks and the new ways of working.

Now, anyone who has tried to change a company culture knows what a struggle this is going to be. Trying to get something intangible spread, like new stories, is going to be tough. It’s difficult enough trying to use a pen with your ‘other’ hand, or to fold your arms ‘the other way’. But to change the way a large group of people thinks and works? This is a big challenge.

In the USA, another sprawling bank, Citigroup, is also tackling its corporate culture. But with perhaps a more pragmatic programme.

Citibank lost $40bn in credit-related losses and - as a result - lost its CEO, Chuck Prince. The new man at the top, Vikram Pandit, aims to foster a more co-operative environment.

Now, the lesson here is that he is doing this partly by overhauling the bonus system for top managers. Yes, in future, Citibank employees will be tangibly, financially rewarded for co-operating with each other and behaving like true partners. (Not just partners in name only.)

Pandit’s plan is to minimize infighting among the many different parts of the business. Previously, your bonus at Citibank largely depended on the performance of your own division.

Business analysts fear that some managers are going to resist these changes. Some bosses won’t want their pay linked to businesses outside their control, they think.

But co-operative behaviour is not something that comes easily, especially if a business previously had a culture of competitiveness. Collaboration is a skill and a set of practices that needs to be learned and applied.

The journey from one culture to another is fraught with anxiety. It’s difficult to control or guide such a complex beast. But if you put in place intangible mechanisms, like creating new stories, with tangible mechanisms, like rewarding collaboration, you’re likely to be far more successful than the average leader.

If you want the leadership success you deserve, get the leadership training you deserve. Download more free articles and leadership training videos from business journalist Jacqueline Moore and Steven Sonsino, authors of the Amazon bestseller “The Seven Failings of Really Useless Leaders”
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Article Source: ArticlesArticles.Net

Home-Based Business-Success and the Common Man by Ben Needles

You are the only one who can use your ability. It is an awesome responsibility. - Zig Ziglar

The figures are staggering; a startling 150 million individuals are making over 400 billion dollars in home-based business income. This figure eclipses the food industry. It even puts the pharmaceutical industry to shame.

By some estimates, home-based entrepreneurs are earning an average of $63,000 or more annually. The freedom of being self-employed allows many home-based business owners to consider a return to the corporate world something theyd avoid at all costs.

Consider some of these findings…

* Owning and operating a home-based business offers entrepreneurs an achievable point of entry. More than 40 percent of all home-based businesses require less than $5,000 for startup.

* Home-based entrepreneurialism is growing in importance and diversity. It offers opportunities for entrepreneurs and at-home professionals in every demographic and ethnic group.

* According to IDC, a top national research firm, there are between 34.3 million and 36.6 million home office households in the United States alone.

* According to The Success Factory International, America is in the midst of an extraordinary workplace transformation; the home-based business phenomenon shows no sign of slowing down

* Information technology (IT) has made it possible for e-commerce and has enabled small, medium-sized, and home-based businesses to compete more effectively in the global market. Ecommerce makes it possible for more people to start their own businesses.

Many home-based business startups are an outgrowth of either personal interest or a profession that severely limited the individual freedom of the worker. In either case, there seems to be growing satisfaction among those who have chosen a home-based business alternative.

Interestingly home-based businesses are extensively populated with women or aging workers. The reasonings behind this trend would require an article of its own, but the point is the Internet is filled with highly successful non-traditional business owners.

What comes as a surprise to many home-based business owners is the fact that their business started at home in an effort to save money with full intentions of moving the business to a brick and mortar store front. However, it is estimated that only 5% of existing home-based businesses will ultimately move out of the home.

Part of the lure of home-based businesses is the empowerment provided to the owner who understands the return of control in their life as a priceless benefit of home-based businesses ownership.

My list of ingredients for success is divided into four basic groups: Inward, Outward, Upward and Onward. - David Thomas

About the Author (text)

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. Make your own website in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites at: http://www.highpowersites.com or Build A Website at: http://www.buildagreatsite.com. Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com

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Article Source: ArticlesArticles.Net

Currency Trading Basics is a Great way to Determine if Investing in the Forex Markets is for You by William R Alheim, Jr.

Let’s face it, investing in the Forex market is not for everybody. If your one of those that avoids risk at all cost, despite the potential rewards, you would be one of those that should avoid the FX markets. However, if your one of those which understands there are risk involved in every facet of our lives, then having a go in the Forex markets could be just what the doctor ordered. Obtaining a free Forex education and learning currency trading basics could supply you with the answer of whether you might want to pursue this further.

There are many web sites that offer free Forex tutorials and training articles to help you learn Forex trading at the ground floor level. Many Forex brokerage firms offer tutorials and a free demo account to practice trading with. There are many other web sites and blogs that also supply a multitude of free information on the subject.

The downside to the free learning materials is that it does not go into sophisticated trading strategies required to successfully trade and make money in the Forex markets. However, what this data will be able to do for you is to give you a good idea what the markets are all about and help you make up your mind, rather you want to take the next step and invest in a commercially available course designed to make you a profitable FX trader.

There are many high quality Forex training courses on the market today that have educated thousands of students in the finer points of investing in the markets. Many of there past students have gone on to become very prosperous investors and have become wealthy individuals. But of course, not everybody that has participated in these programs have experienced the same level of success.

There are a few very easy methods to follow that are taught in specific courses that produce very consistent profitable results which do not require a comprehensive understanding of advanced trading techniques. There are also special Forex mentoring programs where you are trained by a Forex professional trader. A special learning feature of these courses is that you are permitted to watch the pro trade in real time and have the exact same currency portfolio as he does. Thus guaranteeing a profitable trading career.

In each of the above mention Forex courses the success and profitability rate for past students has been exceptionally high. If you truly desire to create financial freedom for yourself and your family, the currency markets certainly can do that. The free currency trading basic programs on the internet are the first step you should follow if you are not sure if you really want to do this. If after reading up on this information you decide you want to go a little further you can be assured there are many outstanding ways to learn Forex trading at its highest level and take the next step to becoming a highly lucrative trader yourself.

We have researched, tested and reviewed 100’s of Forex Training Courses, Software Systems and Brokerage Firms. We kept the best and eliminated the rest for you to examine at TOP RATED FOREX PRODUCT REVIEWS.

For the internets MOST comprehensive FREE Forex learning tools, which included 100’s of FREE training articles and FREE tutorials check out FREE FOREX TRAINING. Good luck on the trading floor today! William R. Alheim, Jr., CPA, MA

Article Source: ArticlesArticles.Net

Court Reporting: The Shift From School To Employment by Christine Harrell

In any profession, school is an idealized version of what the work will be like. A career in court transcription is no different. Court reporters can find that transition to a work environment is surprisingly hard if they aren’t prepared.

Before You Start Work

Your court transcription education used the school’s equipment but your machine may be different. Practice with it before heading out on your first job. Set it up, turn on the TV and start writing what you hear. Try to practice as much as possible because it’s going to be a bit nerve wracking the first time you have to set up and use your machine with the eyes of the court on you.

Set up long practice sessions. School might have had you taking mock legal depositions that lasted a few minutes. Real court transcription can require you to stay focused for two hours or longer without a break. In school you were listening to a single speaker at a consistent speed but real people vary speech patterns and you will have to adjust your speed to match theirs.

Always eat a good breakfast the day of an assignment. You never know when or even if you will get a lunch break. Circumstances of the case or deposition may require a long session and you don’t want to be distracted by hunger.

Your First Day of Work

It’s normal to be nervous on your first assignment. Court transcription is a job where you have to hit the ground running. No one is going to slow the proceedings because it’s the court reporter’s first day. It’s your job to keep up not theirs.

New court stenographers are often intimidated and afraid to speak up during a proceeding. Surrounded by judges and attorneys and sometimes, even witnesses with more experience and education, the reporter can feel insignificant. Nothing could be further from the truth.

You are a legal professional with not just the right but also the obligation to interrupt proceedings if you need the witness to speak louder or repeat something. If you didn’t hear the witness, probably the attorney didn’t either. What are you going to say when asked to read back something you didn’t hear clearly?

After It’s All Over

Congratulations. You’ve completed your first day as a court transcriptionist. Whether you realize it or not, you have learned a lot in that one day. Your first day may have been hard but your second will be better.

As you gain more experience, the job will become easier and less stressful. You get more comfortable in the courtroom environment and more confident in your own skills. You will see the rewards of the career and know you made the right choice of profession.

Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on Court
Transcription, visit http://www.huseby.com/.

Article Source: ArticlesArticles.Net