Everybody wants to get to the top, whether it is the top of a career, a company, the earnings scale, or the many other ways that we as individuals can define the “top”  in our own lives! But with so many people trying to get to the top, how come so many people aren’t moving up? I think there are some fundamental reasons why. Reasons that can be addressed and changed!

Here are some thoughts for you this week!

First of all, define what the “top” means for you. 
This is extremely important because if you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there! Some people don’t want to be the CEO of the company. In fact, many think they are better off then the CEO even though they don’t make as much money. Instead, they think they are at the top because of less stress, weekends with their families, etc, and I see their point. It doesn’t matter what others think is the top, only what you do, since you are only gauging whether or not YOU get there! So where is it for you? That is the first question for you to answer.

Be passionate about your goal. 
Passion is the energy that drives us, or, as Alexander Pope said, passions are the “gales of life.” Passion is the wind in the sales of work. Find something you love and you will find something you can get to the top of. If you don’t love it, you may still make it to the top, though highly unlikely. And even if you do, there will be no joy. Let your passion carry you, because it will carry you far! Thomas Fuller put it this way: A man with passion rides a horse that runs away with him.

The will to continue in the face of hardship. 
Another reason most will not get to the top is because they simply refuse to scale the mountains of hardship that separate them from the top. If you want to get to the beautiful view from the top, you will have to climb over any obstacles. Instead, many choose to stay at base camp!

One would think that Bjorn Borg, one of the greatest tennis players to ever live, would consider his skill his greatest asset. Instead, this is what he says, “My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories.”

Continue until you get to the top!

Love people and treat them right. 
Because if you are going to get to the top, you are going to need other people. Be a jerk and you will find people dragging their feet on you. Treat them right and you will find them helping you and even cheering you on!

Master the appropriate skills. 
Average skills will get you to the middle. Top skills will get you to the TOP! This is most assuredly true when combined with the points above. Are you achieving excellence in the skills you need? Are you growing day by day, month by month, year by year? You can always get better and getting better will take you closer to the top! Even if you only improve a little, you can keep improving that small amount and it will eventually become a big amount! Demand the best from yourself and you will get to the top. Remember the words of Jose Ortega y Gasset: “We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands on himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself.”

Regards,

Rashi.

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Fear melts when you take action towards a goal you really want.-Robert G Allen 

For high school or college students, internships play an important role in determining how their next step in life will work out. Potential universities and companies give more attention to students who take the initiative in seeking internships, as it shows a level of proactiveness and responsibility on their part. When a student willingly agrees to sacrifice their free time in order to learn more, that says a lot about the kind of values he or she holds. The number one reason why students should go on internships is that it provides the experience and knowledge about the corporate world that can’t be learned inside the classrooms. It is where students see the theories they learn in school being applied for real challenges. For example, being part of a business pitch in an advertising company exposes the student on the various processes that are as equally important as the learned strategy taught in school. Furthermore, this experience actually enhances or contributes to valuable knowledge in the chosen field of study.

Internships also help students improve their skills needed for work—oral and written communication, presentation, leadership, time, and project management skills. Even if the task is simple, interns are challenged to step up to the challenge and polish some of their work habits to prove themselves to their employers. Students get to know themselves better in a real work environment because they come face to face with the reality of being able to know whether they can finish the task required or not. Most find that working in the industry of their chosen field helps them to know if they are on the right career path—if they successfully complete the internship and end up liking their preferred expertise, they are motivated more than ever to make it big in when the real opportunity comes.

Another great advantage of taking an internship is the opportunity to begin a career and start a good network within the student’s preferred industry. When an intern joins a company, his or her colleagues will not see the intern as a student, but as an individual who is ready to make a contribution to the same company they work for. And if that intern proves that he or she is able to add to the success of the company, employers see that individual as a potentially valuable asset in the long run, and may just offer a real job right after the internship.

Internships give students the opportunity to work in a real corporate environment without having to leave school. These programs are usually offered during school breaks, and will usually take about a month up to a year to complete. While there are still students who are hesitant to take internships because of the absence of salary compensation, they should change their perspective and see it as a good investment of their time and career for the future.

Regards,

Prazact  Team.

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Our revised one-year internship courses aims at providing students with the latest & in-demand technologies, besides providing real work environment exposure.- UditenduBose

Fortunately there are many actions you can take and mental adjustments you can make that will help you shift from uncertainty to certainty. Here are 6 tips for infusing your life with more clarity:

1. Assume 100% responsibility for your own level of clarity: Many people assume that clarity is something that will arrive in good time if they simply wait patiently. Others feel stunted that they aren’t gifted with the same degree of clarity as others. The common pattern is that clarity is seen as something that is bestowed from the outside in, that it’s something God, the universe, or the world at large has the power to grant you — or that it’s an accident in some way. Some people get lucky; others don’t. These attitudes are pointless and self-defeating. Clarity isn’t something that arrives from outside of you. Clarity isn’t a matter of luck either. Clarity is what you create for yourself. Clarity is a decision. If you want more clarity, then it’s time to treat the generation of clarity as a serious undertaking that’s entirely 100% your responsibility. It’s not going to happen unless you make it happen.

2. Stop creating the opposite of clarity: Some thoughts and actions lead to increased clarity. Other thoughts and actions have the opposite effect. Clarity-reducing patterns include:

• Hanging out with fuzzy, unfocused people who are drifting aimlessly with no direction.
• Living with people whose goals and values are in conflict with yours.
• Distracting yourself with excessive TV, web surfing, video games, or other time-wasting habits.
• Numbing your mind and emotions with junk food, alcohol, or other addictions.
• Over stimulating yourself with caffeine.
• Whining about your lack of certainty or complaining that you don’t know what to do

 
3. Put your goals in writing, and review them daily: This is a well-known habit of success, yet its practice remains inconsistent for most people. As soon as you write down your goals, you’ll experience a boost in clarity. And each time you review your goals, you’ll gain more clarity. Writing down your goals pushes you to make them clearer and more precise. It’s easy for a goal to remain fuzzy when it’s only in your mind, but if it’s stuck in your head and you can’t even write it down, it’s more of a fantasy than a goal. Putting your goal in writing is the first key action step toward making it real.

4. Accept that any goal is better than no goal: When asked to take a few minutes to write down some goals, certain people love to whine, “But I don’t know what to write down. I don’t know what my goals are.” In that case you can write down, “I want nothing!” If all you have is a blank page — or no page at all — then your goal is nothing. That’s what you’re asking for, so that’s what you’ll receive. Surely you can come up with something to ask for that’s better than nothing. As you get into the habit of setting and achieving goals, better goals will come to you. Don’t worry so much about changing the world if you’re still new to goal setting. Focus on some appealing but smaller achievements first, and as you get good at achieving those goals, continue to expand your goals in new directions.

5. Pay attention to the path, not just the end result: Sometimes the way you achieve a particular goal is more important than the goal itself. When a goal is too straightforward, it can become demotivating because the action steps may get tedious and repetitive after a while. But if you can spice up the process used to achieve the goal, you may discover some newfound excitement. Sometimes it’s fun to take the scenic route.

6. Explore and experiment: Sometimes it’s tough to set a clear goal because you don’t know what you’re getting into. In that case you can experiment in order to gain clarity about the goal space you’re exploring. When you’re stuck in a state of ambivalence, do whatever it takes to break the impasse. Do something radically different than what you’ve been doing. For example, if you know your current job is unfulfilling, but you don’t know what kind of work you’d enjoy, then quit the unfulfilling job immediately, and do something completely different for a while. Don’t expect to get it perfect on the first try. Go out and rack up a string of failed experiments, and you’ll be much closer to figuring out what you truly love. Don’t wait for clarity to come to you. You’re responsible for creating your own clarity from within.

Regards,

Prazact Team.

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More important than the quest for certainty is the quest for clarity- Francois Gautier

In order to relieve stress, sometimes it’s important to “lighten up” a bit. Most of us tend to take ourselves entirely too seriously and, as a result, open ourselves up to unnecessary stress and anxiety.

Are you finding it difficult to smile these days? You’re not alone. Many of us are experiencing new levels of stress due to the economic downturn and resulting financial hardships. Let’s face it, some of us are just wired differently. You just may be serious minded by nature. Serious issues like religion, politics and science fascinate you, while the thought of reading a fiction novel for the fun of it or watching a reality show on television is an utter waste of time to you.

Would people describe you as having a dry sense of humor? When was the last time you let out a hearty laugh or giggled until your sides hurt? Are you all work and no play? Do you find it hard to let go and enjoy life? If so, it may be high time for a healthy dose of fun to help ward off the stress and doldrums that try to gain a foot-hold during tough times. Even if your stress levels are sky-rocketing, a little “silliness” may be just what the is ordered to lighten your stress load.

In fact, it’s a well-known fact that laughter can help heal illness and disease. Even if you’re not ill but you suffer from regular anxiety due to stress, taking time for a little dose of fun can help put an end to cycle of stress, anxiety and depression you face from time to time. Laughter is one of the best ways to relieve stress because it’s healthy, convenient and free-or at least cheap! You can add more laughter to your life by following a few of these suggestions:

Make Time for Good Old-Fashioned Entertainment. There’s no shortage of funny movies or videos. While you may consider it a waste of time-if it makes you laugh or even smile, it’s beneficial.

Spend Time Laughing with Friends. Catch a movie with friends or go to a local comedy club. Good times with good friends is a great way to relax and relieve stress.

Cultivate a Sense of Humor. Make an effort to shift your attitude to find the humor in life. With a positive attitude, circumstances that would normally cause you stress or irritation can become amusingly absurd. Learn to laugh at yourself and when life throws you a “curve ball”-make a choice to find the humor, shake it off and move on.

Make a point to relieve stress by seeking out laughter and fun instead of waiting for it to come to you! Stress and anxiety affects each of us every day and especially during these trying economic times! Learn to cope with stress and anxiety using natural methods that are effective and safe! Take charge of your mental and emotional health today by being Prazactive.

Regards,

Prazact Team.

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Give your stress wings and let it fly away. –Carin Hartness

Whether you’ve been laid off or just burned out with your job, it’s important to understand that the biggest factor affecting most workers attitude today is a rapidly changing work environment. Change is occurring at warp speed all around us, and human nature tends to resist change. Why? Meg Montford, Executive Career Coach & President, throws light on it.

• Change can mean that you need more education to qualify for a new position, one that didn’t even exist when you earned your college degree and thought you were done with studying.
• Change can mean having to motivate yourself to meet new people and network to make connections to help lead you to your next position. (But what if you’re shy or don’t know the social rules of networking?)
• Change can mean asking for more responsibility at work - cross training - so that you can provide more value to your employer. (What if you feel you already work enough hours and are unappreciated?)
• Change can mean letting go of outdated ideas and embracing new methods, techniques, and ways of doing business. (But isn’t it more comfortable sticking with what you already know - no matter how bad for you - than taking a risk by going into the unknown?)

Change means accepting personal responsibility for your own career management by proactively designing and following a plan to achieve your goals. (Just because you want to change employers, it doesn’t mean you are willing to change your attitude - does it?)

Change can be fun, exciting, and full of promise and hope. Or it can be frightening, depressing, and just not fair. It’s all up to you - which perception of change do you choose to influence your attitude? Are you letting your attitude block your opportunity to work your passion because you’re not willing to change?

Most changes are not easy, but many, especially career change, can be very rewarding. Change will happen whether you want it to or not. Don’t fight it. Adopt a flexible attitude toward change, become friends with it, and you will discover how to have less stress in your life and more opportunity for career growth.

Regards,

Rashi.

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Sometimes it’s the smallest decision that can change your life forever.- Keri Russell