I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. In this book, the authors outline a system to meet goals in any area of life –from how to loose weight, how to better your finances, how to stop addictions, how to change relationships. They even talk about how to further your career. The strategies and tactics they outline are derived from research at the Change Anything Labs in Utah. They also have a membership website to provide resources and tools for you to use as scientist and subject in the process of customizing a unique approach to changing your habits in a way that gives you the results you want.

By reading this book, you will learn why willpower in and of itself is not enough to mount a successful change effort in most cases. The authors explain that if you are relying on willpower alone, you are blind and outnumbered! Most importantly, they provide lots of ideas and options for you to become aware of your own crucial moments and corresponding vital behaviors. You’ll also learn about the six sources of influence and how to leverage them toward your cause. It’s particularly enticing that their research shows that successful changers often experience improvements in another area of concern for themselves as they go through the process of meeting goals in their main area of focus.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of “Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. I received no other compensation for this review.

Video inspired by this narrative written by Barbara Zarrella and reprinted here with permission.

Power
Just saying the word emits force. The emphasis on the first syllable, the way your mouth has to round out to form the word, the way the air pushes the word out into sound.

Power is everywhere. Consider the commercial airliner. Remember the thrust that pushes you into your seat on take-off. Think of how many people are riding with you. This huge craft can be lifted into the air by a single person! That’s power.

Power
Coveted since the beginning of time. Two generals standing in a battlefield posturing. One points to one of his men and requests that he fight and defend though it may mean certain death. That soldier runs brave and mighty to fulfill that task. The other general retreats. That’s power.

Power
Nature at her best. See the dark clouds, smell the cool dampness in the breeze. Take mental inventory of loved ones. Are they home? Safe? Check around the estate. Pick up, put away, tie down, close up. The soft dance of raindrops begin followed by battering hail, then the sound of a train. All of a sudden it is quiet and sunny as if nothing happened. The splinters and broken glass prove the devastation. That’s power.

Power
The miracle of new life. The anticipation of a new human being forming in the womb. Old life is changing forever. So many goals, so many plans, so many decisions, so many surprises. How could such a tiny creature hold our entire soul in its grasp? Nothing can match the power of a child standing with open arms looking at you. A tiny voice says “up”. That’s power.

We all face some amount of stress in our lives. Some stress is caused by situations beyond our control, making it all the more important to do what we can to reduce stress in the circumstances we do control.

One thing within our control is our level of organization.

While on the face of it, organization may seem to have little to do with stress levels, a lack of organization will prove otherwise in a stressful situation.

If you’re under pressure to find an item in a stressful situation, imagine how much more stressed you will become when you cannot locate it.

As you shuffle through papers, folders and drawers, your frantic searching may cause further disorganization, setting the stage for a later repeat of the situation. If instead, you can quickly locate what you need when you need it, your stress levels will be lower than they might otherwise be.

Naturally, the first step is to do a thorough cleaning, eliminating clutter and organizing everything that is needed.

• Make sure you organize everything in a manner that makes sense for you, using a system you will remember and stick with.

• Once you get organized, stay organized.

• Each day, set aside a few minutes to get your work area back in order.

Ideally and when practical, follow a pattern where you handle each item only once. For example, when you get a new document or piece of mail, read it and then act on it, file it or recycle it. Eliminate the “I’ll do it later” items as much as possible. Too often, later never comes because of other more pressing needs. Additionally, you won’t suffer the stress of seeing a growing stack of “I’ll do it later” items sitting on your desk. You can better focus on the job at hand rather than being frustrated by the amount of work left to do.

Being better organized will not eliminate stress, but it can help keep it at reduced levels. Plus, it makes for a better and easier workplace, so there is no downside. Get organized and reap the benefits of increasing your productivity and reducing your stress level.

• Ever notice that often you’re trained to do tasks that aren’t on the job description?

• It seems that often one only gets “meets expectations” for doing what is outlined in the job description on annual reviews.

• One thing that is kind of neat is that often the highest praise and potential for advancement comes when taking charge of something that is not on the job description.

Morale of the story: Don’t take a job description too literally —and use that to your advantage to customize a job to best match your strengths.

Annual performance reviews provide excellent material for employer/manager quotes. Save them each year, and more than that set goals from them and use them as a reference before your next review.

1. Skill Identification is a process that expands client’s personal skill vocabulary and effects and builds a positive change in self-confidence.
2. Explore both old jobs and new options. “New career direction.”
3. Development of different career options through a method/process that opens doors of opportunity that otherwise would be overlooked or discarded.
4. Personalized training and individual attention to those things that will set you apart from all other candidates.
5. Developing a clear self-presentation and unique marketing materials as well as learning key job searching tools.
6. Campaign focused mainly on personal one-on- one informational contacts where the jobs are in the making. When there is a vacancy or posted opening, “client usually gets an interview.”
7. In addition to posting a LinkedIn & Facebook profiles, all kinds of e-media are explored to build visibility and credibility in your chosen market.
8. Three-stage controlled networking campaign. Adeptly using internet for background research to locate, and connect with “countless” contacts.
9. Dual-approach to get interviews from employer-
identified ads: applying through personnel and
 approaching Hiring Decision Maker(s) directly.
10. Primary interview training: Referral Interviews, which build connections to the hiring decision makers. without waiting for “openings.” These interviews also train candidates for actual job interviews.
11. Step-by-step coaching to handling salary negotiations/questions given at the beginning of the search. Coaching at time of the offer generally increases comp package by 10% and more.
12. Client continues to build visibility and credibility in his/her chosen field. 5-year goals established as well as the development of your network “Power Team” that has been built to advance your career now and in the future.

Most people don’t land a great job or create a wonderful career by being open to anything, not at all. Instead, it is done by checking in with themselves about what they really want and going for it a hundred percent. This focus makes them more attractive candidates, too. Think about it as if you were the one hiring. You have two people to choose from. One lady has done a job for several years and is keeping her options open. The other lady is committed to being the very best at the job she knows she wants. Who would you be more likely to make an offer to?

It may seem counterintuitive, but the best way to find a job is be able to tell people exactly what kind of job you are seeking. Sometimes people think it is best to keep all options open for any type of job that may come along. But with that strategy there is a higher likelihood that they will not like the position they accept and will be looking for a job again real soon because they quit or got fired. A person who handles the job search that way risks quickly becoming a job hopper. And guess what, it all started because they didn’t define what they were looking for in the first place.

The process does not have to be difficult or long and drawn out. It can be quite enriching if a person takes the time, but it can be done quickly with a few educated guesses when food just needs to get to the table too.

Minimally, you need to know:

• What kind of work fits your lifestyle right now such as part time, full time or contract?

• What industry are you interested in?

• What are example job titles?

• What skills you have to offer and what kind of problems you can solve with those skills?

With this kind of information in mind you can start the job search by asking people you know and people you meet a very powerful question, “Who do you know in the retail clothing industry that may be looking for part-time employees?” As simple as that you can begin accessing the hidden job market and the power of networking.

We have all heard the statistics about setting goals. Those who write their goals down are more likely to reach them. For me, writing down main goals in several categories on an annual basis is the best way to go. I use the time around my birthday each year to inventory which goals were achieved and which were not, as well as to set goals for the next year. I pick the most important ones to me and break them down to smaller steps to be accomplished each month or quarter along the way to my next birthday.

Goal setting is a very personal thing, though. We all have to take time to learn what works best for us and stick to that. If a technique sounds good to you, try it for a month or so. Check your motivation and results at the end of the month to determine if that system is a keeper for you. Finding what works best is simply a trial and error exercise. The important thing is to keep trying.

When there is a goal you do not reach on a given year or time period that you established, it is time to reassess whether it’s important enough to keep it on the list for the next year. If it is important to you still, no harm done, you just guessed wrong about when you could get it accomplished. So put it on the list again and spend time reviewing the reasons why it is important to you still. Then try again. If the goal is no longer relevant or important to you then let it go without worrying about it any further. Turns out that goal was just not important in the grander scheme of things.

Living in the moment and being fully present is also an important idea to remember when goal setting. Sometimes it can be easy to be distracted with anticipating a future goal or accomplishment that must be achieved before you can move on. But, there is no need to be unhappy seeking a time in the future when all is accomplished. Even though it is important to outline goals and work towards accomplishments, it is also imperative to learn to enjoy the process!