Have you ever thought about what makes a person successful and why some achieve easier than others?

Over the years, we have seen numerous success tips to help and achieve the success we all crave. With all kinds of how-to’s out there, it’s hard to narrow down which ones actually work for you. 

When we become clear on our definition of success, it paints a clearer picture of how we view our lives. With this insight, your goals become more direct, and our desire to achieve success increases. 

Have a clear version of success 

Obtaining clarity on this will change your mindset positively. This is a critical part of being and feeling successful. 

We all have an understanding of what success means to us. However, we know this on an unconscious level, making it challenging to understand our truth. This is why it’s so important to communicate with ourselves to find those answers. 

Sit in a quiet place and write it out. We found that journaling is a great way to speak your truth. Another way is through meditation. 

When your mind feels still, ask yourself, “what does success mean to me?” and “what does success look and feel like?”

Define the end game

In order to achieve success, you need an end game. Once you set an outcome, the steps to achieve it become crystal clear. 

Creating generic goals is one of the biggest mistakes we make when defining an end game. It can’t be something too basic or lacks passion, or you will give up before you even start. Goal setting should be exciting from the moment you write it to the moment you achieve it. 

You can do this by closing your eyes and write down how you felt when you achieved that goal. If you saw anything or heard anything write that down as well. Date it for when you will achieve the goal. 

Doing this will give you the satisfaction of visualizing your goals and maximizing the opportunity to achieve them. 

Stay on track 

Have you heard of the importance of alignment? If not, that’s ok. We can help explain. 

Alignment is key to achieving success, and it’s about aligning your goals with what is important to you. Meaning your goals must run parallel with your values and your version of success. 

Your personal values are powerful core motivators, and if you write goals out of alignment, you could find yourself getting in your own way. 

For example, if you set a goal to grow your business, this means spending more time in your business than you usually would. But spending quality time with your family may be your top priority. So working on this goal would mean you will have less time with your family. 

If you don’t align this by adjusting the goal, your energy will dilute from trying to do everything. Or you might miss your family and start resenting your business. In both cases, your low energy or resentment will cause you to miss the target altogether. 

This is why alignment is crucial when goal setting. If your goal doesn’t align with your values and what’s important, you will misalign and forego the goal entirely. 

Take time and truly focus on alignment every time you set a new goal. It’s worth the energy and time to achieve the life you want. 

Attitude is everything

If you are someone who gives up quickly, you may find it more difficult to achieve the life you want. However, developing a ‘can-do attitude will give you the boost needed to get to the finish line. 

True success takes time and requires a positive attitude. This is not as easy for some people, but there are ways to stay positive towards your goals. 

Persistence is one way. Staying persistent through the ups and downs can help maintain a positive attitude. Not everything will go to plan, but not getting bogged down with the details and staying determined to do whatever it takes will always keep you moving forward. 

Bottom line

There are so many ways to achieve the life you want, and using some of these ideas could help, but it’s up to you to be clear on your definition of success so you know what is really important to you. 

Want to see more of our ideas? Please read our blog on 5 habits to be successful. 

 

One of the best ways to differentiate yourself in a job interview setting is to paint a picture of your skills. The way you demonstrate these skills may be different depending upon the type of skill. Let’s take a few moments to talk about two different kinds of skills, hard skills and soft skills, and how you may demonstrate these skills in a job interview. 

Hard Skills: 

Hard skills are often defined as concrete skills you use in job-specific situations. Hard skills are often learned formally through education, on-the-job training, or experience in using them regularly. Some examples of hard skills are things like using specific computer programs, using job-specific technical skills, speaking different languages, or sales or marketing skills.   

As we have already alluded to, hard skills are job-specific, so tailoring these skills to the type of job you are applying for is important. For example, if you are applying to a marketing position, your hard skills will be much different than if you were applying to a computer programming position. The demonstration of hard skills are often fairly straightforward. Some hard skills, like competency with specific computer programs, maybe demonstrated by having a specific training certification. Another way to demonstrate your hard skills is to provide examples of previous projects that you’ve worked on in a portfolio. 

Soft Skills: 

Soft skills are a little less quantifiable. When people talk about soft skills, they often refer to qualities, habits, and attitudes that are conducive to success on the job. When you hear about these skills, they are often around communication skills, leadership, teamwork, or interpersonal skills. While these skills can be learned, they are often less cut and dry than hard skills and are often learned over time.  

Soft skills are also usually more universal than hard skills. While many hard skills are very job-specific, soft skills are easily transferred to other positions as well. So it is often valuable to lead with more soft skills when making a career change or moving into a new position where you may need a little more job-specific training.  

The best way to demonstrate your soft skills to employers is to provide them with specific examples of how you previously used the skill. For example, suppose you want to demonstrate your communication skills. In that case, you may talk to them about a time where you used active listening to help a client or, perhaps you share a story about how you thought of a unique solution to demonstrate your problem-solving skills. The more you can paint a picture of your skill to the employer, the better. 

During your next interview, take time to think through the skills you would like to demonstrate in your job. Then, come up with a way that you plan to demonstrate these skills to your potential employer. 

Looking for more advice, read out blog on does your resume represent you.

Are you being bullied at work? Have you witnessed workplace bullying? If you have, you’re not alone. It is estimated that about 60 million people have either been bullied or witnessed bullying at their employer. While it is prevalent, it isn’t always cut and dry. Let’s focus on some steps you can take to identify bullying in your workplace and, if you do witness it, what steps you can take to address it.  

Identifying Bullying at Work

Workplace bullying isn’t always cut and dry. It’s easy to see if someone is yelling or being hostile, but there are many other types of workplace bullying. Let’s take a look at some different types of workplace bullying: 

• The aggressive bully: When people think of bullying, they often think of the aggressive bully. The aggressive bully behaves in a hostile manner when things don’t go their way. Typical behavior can include; yelling and screaming, name-calling, or talking in a hostile tone.

• The passive-aggressive bully: The passive-aggressive bully isn’t as easy to spot, but their behavior is just as hurtful. Passive-aggressive bullies may gossip about you, ignore or disregard you, or even tell lies about you.

• The control bully: The control bully doesn’t easily show their behavior. Instead, they use their power or control to push you around. These bullies might withhold resources from you or try to distance you from projects. These bullies are often in leadership positions.

Of course, these are just some examples, and bullying can come in many forms. 

What to do if you are being bullied:

If you are being bullied at your workplace, you must take action quickly. The longer you put up with the bullying, the higher the chances the bully will continue their behavior. Here are a few steps that you can take to address this situation: 

• Document the behavior: Document the instances of bullying you have experienced. Write down information such as the bully’s name, the dates of the bullying instances, and the behaviors that the bully is exhibiting. If other witnesses are present, it’s also important to include their names.

• Confront the bully: While this step will most likely be very uncomfortable, confront the bully on their behavior. Focus your conversation on what behaviors you are witnessing and the impact that behavior is having on you. It’s also important to let them know that you will need to talk to human resources if the behavior doesn’t stop.

• Get support: If the behavior continues, you must pull in your leader or human resources. These individuals can help you determine the next steps.

While workplace bullying can be very difficult, it doesn’t need to be permanent. Our resume writers can ensure that your resume is ready to land you another job.