This is a leap of faith and there is definitely the chance of rejection.  However, when all you do is worry about rejection, you waste valuable time.  What if your next employment opportunity is lost because you put off applying to the position you got excited about and now the posting is filled by someone else less qualified than you?  What if you lost your next customer because you waited too long to call them, while another sales person with a similar service didn’t?  While you sit frustrated and scared to put yourself out there, you are missing out on potential fruitful opportunities.  These opportunities can get you closer to reaching your dreams.

How do you know when to act?  This part is very personal because you have to listen to your internal cues.  When you have a strong feeling, whether it’s a butterfly in your stomach, an excited feeling, or a fun daydream where you envision the positive outcome of your action– you must act on it.  Dump the fear, and take the leap.  This ship can potentially become the bridge you need to carry yourself to the next level.  I sent my ship out today, will you?

Searching for a new job can be exciting, thrilling and frustrating all at the same time. The shift in the economy has flooded the market with new job-seekers, making the challenge of landing the right position all the more difficult. It may take several months to find the right job, so keep yourself occupied and your skills updated while you search for your new position.

Learn a new skill

When seeking your new job, it is helpful to learn new skills that will help you in the workplace. If you’re a writer, learning basic accounting can prove useful, for example. Expanding your skills in new areas shows maturity and dedication, and may even help you to land a new job.

Volunteer

Not only does volunteering help others, it also helps you. Volunteering will help to relieve the stress of the job search, while providing a valuable service to others. To further help you in your job search, consider volunteering in your career area. If you’re looking for a job as an administrative assistant, for example, consider taking a volunteer position as a receptionist at a nonprofit. Looking for a job as a firefighter? Consider volunteering at the Red Cross or as an EMT.

Network

Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know that counts. Attend networking events, pink slip parties and social after-work events. Networking is not only a good way to meet people in your field, but a great way to release stress. Set aside one night per week to network with peers and colleagues.

Take Classes

Maybe you have a degree that you never finished, or you’ve always dreamed of going to dental school. Or maybe you just want to expand your base of knowledge. Consider taking a course or two at the local college and earning credits. You may learn a valuable new skill to use on your resume. Colleges also have great career services centers that may be able to assist you in your search.

Freelance

Have a talent that you can use to earn money? Try freelancing. Writers, graphic designers, webmasters—there are plenty of ways you can use your talents to earn money while you search for a new job. There are tons of websites that connect freelancers with clients seeking their services. Use your free time to earn cash while job seeking. Your next client may even become your next employer.

Job seeking can be tough and stressful. But you can make the most of your time between jobs. Sharpen your skills by taking a new course or two. Make a difference by volunteering. Earn a few bucks through freelance work. Your new dream job could be closer than you think.

Louise Baker blogs about getting an online degree at Zen College Life. Her most recent post looked at the best online schools.

I’ll be describing a tool that has worked to keep my assignments and papers under control.

First of all, if you think that you can do everything over the weekend and be just as efficient as if you were splitting up tasks over the week, you’re mistaken.  You may jeopardize your grades.

In fact, by working long stretches of time over the weekend, you will become less efficient, more ineffective, and you will try to get stuff done just to get it done and not to get it done right. Sound familiar?

So what are you supposed to do and how do you save time on the weekends for family and household tasks?  By Chunking.

A chunk of time is a short span of time (like 15-30 mins) and can be found anywhere during the weekday, weekend, whenever.  Use chunks of time to do chunkable tasks.

Chunkable tasks are things that:

• take up only 15-30 minute blocks of time such as reading sections in your textbook that have already been subdivided for you;
• writing short sections for short papers and discussion boards;
• solving a few problems in a problem set when it doesn’t have to be done all at the same time.

Now, what does this leave for the weekends?

On the weekends you should do tasks that reward long uninterrupted spans of time.

Things like:

• reading information that has to be read all at once;
• project and problem solving that should be done in long spans of time;
• writing longer papers that require sustained effort.
• Meeting with your study groups to go over what you have accomplished during the work week.

In Summary to save your weekends:

1. Realize that you cannot do all of your work over the weekend.
2. Use the process of chunking to put more of your assignments into the work week.
3. And finally, reserve for the weekend those tasks that reward long and sustained effort.

We all want to become more authentic and true to ourselves.  When searching for a career or calling use these techniques adapted from the movie and book to help you find it.

Eat

Find pleasure in your craft and journey.

Nourish your soul with things you find pleasurable.  What things move you and create a positive emotional reaction?

Research and shadow someone in your desired field.  Just like when you’re eating something new, try it to see if you like it.

Fill your mind and soul with new experiences.

Pray

Go inward and still your mind.  Begin writing about your ideal career situation.

Envision it and don’t censor your writing.  Let it flow and you’ll soon see patterns emerging.

Distract yourself from stress by listening to a meditation or soothing music.

Get a massage, and feel tension melt away while opening your mind and heart to new inspiration.

Pray on it – if it comforts you.

Love

Love the process

Know that you’re not just searching for a career, you’re looking for yourself.

Don’t pass negative judgments on your ideas.  Say yes to them and think them through.  Give them a chance to develop.

Love yourself unconditionally and surround yourself with loving and supportive people.

You don’t have to travel across the globe to find yourself.  You just have to be present, open and welcoming when you decide to show up.  Embrace your positive emotions whenever they are present and make note of any patterns that emerge.  Such as, “I get so excited talking to people about how to market themselves better” or “I love making floral arrangements and personalizing them for others.”  When these patterns and positive emotions occur they mean you’re on the right track.

PepsiCo Announces their Women 5G Network

I had a wonderful time at my first Blogher conference in NYC.  There were many great moments but one that stood out to me was attending PepsiCo’s “Sofa Summit” and the launch of their Women5G Network.

Only 30 bloggers were invited to this intimate breakfast to discuss women as leaders, and I was very excited to be one of them.

It was moderated by award winning journalist formerly of CNN and NBC Campbell Brown, and included three of PepsiCo’s female leaders, Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Chief Marketing Officer, Gatorade; Julie Hamp, Senior Vice President, Chief Communications Officer, PepsiCo; and Dondeena Bradley, Vice President, Global Design and Development, Nutrition Ventures.

How cool was this?

A highlight of the conversation was having each woman discuss their path to success.  Some tokens of wisdom were:

Know your roles and responsibility in your career and home life.

Attend nontraditional conferences and find more niches for yourself.  Provide a broader platform of understanding.  (Meaning don’t sell yourself short or pigeon-hole yourself into one area.  Honor your passions.

Stay true to yourself and to your values.

Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself.

When I heard Dondeena Bradley say that she reinvented herself many times, I was intrigued.  I couldn’t wait to ask a follow up question to her statement.  When I had the chance I raised my hand.  This was the best thing I did because I was only 1 of 4 women who were able to ask their question on camera due to time constraints.

My question was: “Dondeena, you touched upon the concept of reinventing yourself earlier.  I meet so many women who are afraid to do just that.  Can you give us your top 3 tips to help women overcome their fears?

Dondeena’s Answer:

Lean on your network: Dondeena wrote 10 letters to high level women in her company and other companies she worked with through the years.  She focused on what she admired about them and kept in touch on their career movements.  A woman from her network helped her land her current position at PepsiCo.

Create a community, so that women can network and reach out.  Focus on building relationships.

Listen and collect information in your area of expertise and distribute knowledge to others.  Be a resource.

Additionally, other pearls of wisdom given were:

Lead confidently: many times we create our own barriers around ourselves.

Be aware of the leadership around you.  Model their behavior, because change starts with you.

Speak up!  Say it in a way that doesn’t offend others but gets your point across.  Get your voice out there.

Adopt a “Who Cares” attitude and don’t be afraid to be provocative.

After the great Sofa Summit, a woman from PepsiCo’s PR firm approached me and asked if I would like to be interviewed on camera along with the PepsiCo leadership at their blogcast studio in the exhibit area.  Now ladies, let me give you a visual.  I was dressed in a t-shirt, flip-flops and no makeup.  I was dressed for schlepping through the conference, not to have an on-camera interview.  But you know what?  I said yes.  Always say yes.  Next thing I know, I’m on the 3^rd floor of the Hilton being placed on a beautiful white sofa with a PepsiCo leader on either side of me and getting makeup put on my face.  Ready for my close-up?  Not really, but I was so excited I didn’t care.  I put my game face on and did my interview as if I was wearing a $1000 suit and hot Louboutin heels.  It was a great opportunity and it taught me a lesson to always be prepared and feel my best because you never know what is going to happen next.

The inspiration for this blog post came when @MsLatina tweeted this post , so we could see her face and recognize her at Blogher 2010.  After her great profile shots she writes, “Because sometimes it’s all about ME!”  She is absolutely right; sometimes it has to be all about you.

Ladies, when you become as driven and passionate about yourself as you are for your children, spouses, friends, family members, co-workers . . . then you will become unstoppable at reaching your dreams and everyone around you will benefit.  You will inspire and motivate your circle by being a living example of true love.

For my fellow Believers, you were made in God’s image and loving yourself is a reflection of loving your God.  So take pictures of yourself like @MsLatina did, and shout out with a smile, “it’s all about me!”

Many of us experience a crippling fear or anxiety when venturing into the unknown.  For some of us, it’s applying for a promotion or a new job.  For others, it’s starting your own business and putting yourself out there.  What should you do when faced with this?  Get out of your head!  That’s right, stop thinking about the problem and instead listen to your body.

The moment you feel the fear, analyze where it’s sitting.  Is it an ache in your head, a rock in the pit of your stomach, or does it feel more like butterflies?  Is your heart racing? Are your shoulders tensing up, or is your stomach tightened? Do you feel faint?  Stay with the feeling even though its uncomfortable because in a few moments, you will start to calm down.  It will pass like a wave and you will realize that the fear was not as big as your mind played it up to be.

Homework: Begin to break down your fears and have a reality check. On a piece of paper, start listing your fears when it comes to your career or business.  Get them out on paper and they begin to lose strength and power over you.  Afterward, write a few action steps that you can take to alleviate some of these fears.  Don’t make them too extravagent because then you won’t implement them.  Make them simple and attainable.  If you need to ask for help on a specific problem, determine who that should be.

1.  Assess where you are.  After being laid off and not getting hired after multiple interviews you must check in with yourself about how you’re feeling emotionally

• Are you feeling like a failure? Are you feeling rejected?

• Being accepted is one of our most primal and primary desires in life

2.  Don’t take rejection personally. Many times, not getting the job is usually because someone else was a better organizational fit. Skills alone will not get you the job.

3.  Do your homework on the organization prior to an interview. You must know ahead of time that you will be a good fit for the organization and vice versa.

4.  Talk about your feelings to a close friend or partner. Don’t hold your feelings inside, many times they are irrational and built up because of imagined fears. A friend or partner can help you see them for what they are.

5.  Resiliency is the key to rebuilding your confidence. When stressed, do you stretch like a rubber band or snap like a twig?

6.  List your skills and abilities regardless of job title. Write without censorship. Many times you have skills that you have discounted or dismissed that are very important to your job search.

7.  Try something new and conquer a fear. If you have a fear of heights, climb a rock wall. If you fear water, learn how to swim. Conquering these fears will help you build your self-confidence. Take karate lessons or other lessons to empower yourself. Have your friends and family join you in a 5k run or a mile hike. You will feel accomplished and ready for that next job interview.

St. Thomas sunset

Here is a quick update on my workout plan for St. Thomas.  We have 9 weeks to go and I have lost 2.5 pounds and 2 inches off my waist.  I am very proud of myself and am motivated to keep it going.  My husband has lost 4 pounds and 3 inches.  He is looking better than ever!  I have been using Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred video and my hubby has been hitting the gym.  We both have been taking snacks with us during the day and eating more vegetables.  My secret weapon is “The Soup Girl”, a new company here in CT.

Besides having great personalities, they make delicious homemade soups and sell them from a soup truck, so they are right outside of my office door.    They also offer free delivery to the Greater New Haven Area.  It’s a great way to comfort yourself on these cold winter days and also get your vegetables!  Visit  them on www.thesoupgirl.com!

I’m excited for these next 9 weeks and look forward to posting new exciting results.

My husband and I have challenged ourselves to get healthier in 12 weeks. We have a caribbean wedding to go to in April and this is our motivation.   I have more pounds and  waist inches to melt away but we are both supporting each other on this quest.

We have yet to think of a reward for who loses the biggest percentage of weight loss but I’m sure it will be good.  Maybe he’ll mop the floors and do laundry for a month and I’ll get my nails done and a bigger shopping allowance.  Any reward suggestions for winning this challenge are welcome.

We will be weighing-in on Sundays and taking our measurements.  He has already been joining me for workouts and that helps me stick with them.  In the end, the biggest reward is a healthier body, but looking great in my jeans again won’t hurt.