COLLEGE EDGE & BEYOND!

College Edge! Success Key: "Just Do It!" (2-min)

Excellent inspirational and motivational "Just Do It!" speech by Art Williams, founder of A.L Williams and Associates.

 

College Edge! Bright-eyed and Bushy-tailed Students

I have a friend who visits the local high schools quite often to to talk about our local running programs. He told me he could always tell the athletes in the classrooms because they were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  What he meant was these students were alert and focused.  He also mentioned they were well groomed.  I tend to agree with him on this observation.  Students who are athletes tend to be very focused and take good care of themselves, mind and body.  

I just spent the weekend in Gainesville, Florida with a group of cyclists from my son's school, Mars Hill College, Asheville, NC, as well as with students from several other colleges from around the Southeast. I am amazed at how dedicated these kids are to their sport.  They train and cycle grueling hours for their race season all year long.  

This weekend they were faced with cold weather and rain for most of the races.  I did not hear anyone complain other than their bikes were completely filthy.  When they finished racing, they chatted with their competitors and talked among themselves about the races.  I was amazed at how well everyone got along even though they were competitors.  After racing, the focus was on eating, cleaning equipment, getting ready for the next race day and hitting the sack early to get adequate rest.  

I know many of these students have high GPA's and study as hard as they cycle. Their dedication to school and their sport translates to every aspect of their life.  Their training leaves little or no time for staying up late and partying which helps them be bright eyed and bushy tailed.  I say to all you bright eyed, bushy tailed students - good for you!  You will succeed and I anticipate become our next leaders!

Read more:  Cycling Success Story

 

College Edge! Your Parents’ Career Path vs. Yours – How Things Have Changed

Ted Heckman's blog on How Things Have Changed has some great insight.  My son is a college sophomore and often I talk about the "old" days and how things have changed.  Back in the "old" days, I became a Finance major in college because I knew I would make good money and jobs were abundant. It also helped that I worked for the FDIC who paid for my college tuition and expenses. When I graduated, I remained with the FDIC for a while but over the years I had numerous offers and opportunities enabling me to move from one financial organization to another, increasing my salary considerably each time.  I could go on and on but that will be another blog (about how I didn't find what I love until later in life)...  In the "old" days, it was easy to obtain a job (you really just had to be breathing) and then move when you had an urge. Yes, we have challenges today but the good things that are here are GREAT things!

Ted Heckman says:

Like much of the country (I hope), I watched the President’s State of the Union address the other night. One idea in his speech that caught my attention was his remarks about how the employment world is not the same employment world our parents were apart of. His point was to stress we needed to adapt, which I definitely agree with.

The President continued saying we need to look at the bright side of a changing world rather than let it bring us down. And in keeping with that spirit I decided to think of what those positives and “negatives” are. Here is a list of the positives and “negatives” to consider:

The “Negatives”

1. Job Stability/Security

One of the biggest changes since your parents set out on their career path is a change in job stability and security. When your parents joined the world of work, it was expected you would choose a career path and stay in it for life. You may also stay with your first employer for your entire career. Frequently, your career path was mapped out fairly clearly from day one, if you worked hard and proved yourself.

This is no longer the case. You are at a greater risk of getting laid off, as companies change and develop much more rapidly than in the past, and focus heavily on high levels of efficiency. Organizations are considerably flatter, with less opportunity for promotion, and a less clear route of progress to the top. This may at first glance appear to be a negative, but actually, it affords you more opportunities to move around and find what works for you in the workplace.

2. Less loyalty

Directly related to the job security issue, on both sides there is less loyalty. These days, that is not the case. No employer expects you to stay with them for life, and you certainly don’t plan to either. You will likely have a number of different employers over the course of your career, where your parents may have had just one or two. While this may seem risky, it is also considerably more fun. You will have more variety in your career than your parents could ever have hoped for.

3. More Competition

Education levels have changed, and this has meant a change in your career opportunities and prospects. Back in your parents’ day, fewer people went to university to get a degree. These days, it is almost an expectation at 18 years old, you will go to university. Having a degree no longer distinguishes you the way it did in the past. You have a degree, but it doesn’t mean as much as it used to for employers. You might find you need to study for a Masters or other higher level qualification just to gain entry to your field. Overall, competition is greater. On the plus side, education is much more accessible, to allow you to compete effectively.

The Positives

1. Greater opportunities

You have a lot more opportunities open to you than your parents had. Technological advances have led to the world becoming more accessible. Two changes in particular are relevant. One is the development of the Internet. The other is the advances in air transportation that have taken place.

In the case of the Internet, you are able to work from anywhere. You could work for an employer in a full time position from home. Telecommuting is becoming ever more popular. You may never even meet your colleagues in person. The Internet also provides new types of jobs: Online Marketer, Social Marketing Manager, and more.

Advances in air transportation have made travel to other parts of the world significantly cheaper since your parents started out in their careers. This brings a couple of changes in terms of your career. One is you may end up being sent overseas, or to different parts of the country for work, because it is easier and cheaper for your employer to do so than in the past. The second change is you can work anywhere you can find a job. In your parents’ day it would have been much harder to fly to China, Australia, India or Argentina to find a job. These days, you can find all of the visa information you need online for a country that interests you, find a job online, get on a flight and go. Your career does not have to be limited to your home country in the way it may have been in the past.

2. Different types of jobs available

One of the big changes from your parents’ careers is you have a far greater range of jobs open to choose from. When your parents began working there were, for example, very few jobs available in computers and a lot less in the area of customer service, to name just a couple. Your career can take a path your parents could not even have imagined.

3. Greater variety of ways of working

These days you have the opportunity to freelance much more easily than your parents could have. The growth of the Internet, and to some degree, more social acceptance of freelancing, allows you to find work more easily and do it from home without ever meeting clients. This allows you develop your own career completely in your own way, without having an employer to worry about.

Article Source:  Written by Ted Heckman is the CEO of ResumeBucket.com, a FREE online resume storage service that also has one of the largest collections of resume templates on the internet.

CAREEREALSIM ARTICLE: Your Parents' Career Path vs. Yours - How Things Have Changed

College Edge! Are You Resilient?

I found this wonderful article and it made me think about how resilient I have become over the years. These four excellent points cover why I am more resilient.

“The truth is, everything that has happened in my life… that I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better.”--Warren Buffett (1930- ), American  businessman and philanthropist

resilience: noun: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change (from Merriam-Webster) 

We all fail from time-to-time (our doing, someone else’s doing, somethingelse’s doing, a combination of each). It’s life.

To be resilient…

1. Focus on results. Embrace the fact that results are what we’re all really after. Effort and attempts are great first steps, but we need to act with commitment to delivering (just like we want people to do for us).
2. Make lessons of failures. Minimize the tendency to make a mistake anything more than a lesson on how not to do something. We need to learn from our experiences and accept them as tuition for future success. And yes… Our mistakes might put us in a bind at times and have some uncomfortable consequences but again, that’s real life.
3. Continue on. Smarter.
4. Reinforce. Support each other (and ourselves) by continually reminding and encouraging one another to deliver on the first three points.

That’s it. Let’s practice it more.

Article Source: Inspiration in Your Work and Life - GIVEMORE

College Edge: You Can Choose Your Future

I found this wonderful article on Beliefnet that is completely inspiring.  For all the graduating high school and college seniors, please take a moment to read this.  

While you still may be seeking your first job upon graduation or seeking to get into the college of your choice, remember that life is a series of challenges but it is those challenges that make us who we are. You can choose how you face those challenges. Will you choose to face them head on and grow from them or will you choose to be defeated and not learn from your experience?  Only YOU can make those choices.  Good luck!

• If you so choose, the challenges can make you stronger. If you so choose, the disappointments can make you more determined.
• If you so choose, every mistake can lead to greater understanding and effectiveness. If you so choose, every frustration can help you to be more patient and more persistent.
• If you so choose, even the unexpected setbacks can bring new and positive possibilities. If you so choose, you can find value and fulfillment in every circumstance.
• If you so choose, each day can be filled with even more joy than the one before. If you so choose, even the most seemingly random events can work in your favor.
• If you so choose, you can remain steadily focused no matter what distractions may attempt to throw you off course. If you so choose, you can look back on this day with no regrets.
• Life is filled with an endless variety of circumstances, opportunities and possibilities. If you so choose, you can make the most of it all in this and every moment.

By Ralph Marston: Since 1995, Ralph Marston has published more than 4,000 brief, positive and empowering messages on The Daily Motivator website. To visit The Daily Motivator, go to Great Day.

Experience the peaceful, inspiring photo and music presentation "The Wonder of It All" by Ralph Marston at Wonder of it All.

College Edge: Will Smith Wisdom - Anything is Possible!

There is a necessity to make a difference.  The world is a better place if you make other lives better knowing your life will be better for it.  Anything is possible - you can make anything you want, you can create anything you want to create.  Will is an inspiration for all of us.

Listen to this video and change your life: