The same way that barbeques are a great way to relax and build friendships, they are also a great and unique way to build business relationships as well. Are there some people at work or in your line of business that you would like to spend more time with? A casual barbeque setting makes it easy for friends and business associates to get to know each other better and bond in a way that you sometimes can’t do in an office environment. A casual setting is a great way to make connections, and making connections will greatly enhance your career path and achieve your professional goals.

Plus barbeques are so easy. Simply throw some chicken, steak or burgers on the grill and maybe some sliced veggies such as zucchini,corn on the cob or baked potatoes and voila!. Have some drinks on the side and maybe some sliced watermelon for dessert. Done. That’s all. Soda and water are always staples.

If you’re looking for a refreshing summer drink, this is the best margarita recipe I have ever used. If you’re feeling ambitious you can go a little fancier on the barbeque recipes.There’s a free cookbook I downloaded and tried some of these recipes on my own before inviting anyone over. (it’s a free download so why not, right?). I loved the mozzarella chicken (who would have thought of putting cheese on the grill), but the teriyaki kebobs were my favorite ones in this cookbook. As a die hard griller, I was always accustomed to using barbeque sauce for grilling so the teriyaki sauce was new for me on the grill. It was a big hit with the family so this weekend we’ll try it on friends!

And of course, if you’re grilling this weekend, don’t forget to check out our favorite burger, the Unbelievably Addicting Burger. This one is really amazing and always a big hit at our summer barbeques. It takes a little bit of chopping but it’s well worth it!

So whether you’re taking a break from business this weekend or having some business associates over, enjoy the time off and start again refreshed on Monday.

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Part of it depends on what kind of professional goals you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re an entrepreneur, it’s likely that you’re already very comfortable thinking outside the box. In your case, marching to the beat of your own drum is likely to be what produces your success. While many entrepreneurs will find they need to conform to standards within their industry, others will be the ones who set the new industry standards, or simply not conform for a variety of reasons. But if you are your own bosses there’s quite e bit of room for you to be and act independently of others. Hey, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, wears sandals wherever he goes…work, business meeting, wherever. Marching to his own beat seems to have worked really well for him in achieving his professional goals.

And yes, I very much admire the fact that he didn’t conform in that way. It makes him unique and true to himself.

But for the rest of us non-billionaires, do we need to conform in order to achieve our professional goals?

To a certain extent, everyone conforms in order to live in any given society. Adhering to company standards is part of what you need to do in order to achieve your professional goals in most corporate cultures. So the questions becomes, how do you maintain your personal identity while simultaneously adhering to company policies? And how do you become the kind of person that can grow with your company so you can achieve your professional goals and not lose yourself?

I would have to say that there are many factors to consider and the answer will be different for everyone. Clearly a lot of thought and contemplation will be required. One good place to start will be to consider the company culture before accepting a job. Does the culture and environment match what you’re looking for? Rather than accept the first job offer that comes along, take time to research the companies you would like to work for. Are you looking for a more conservative environment or a more independent and free-spirited environment. Neither is better or worse, it is simply a question of what is better for you.

In my first job out of college, I was working in an international trading company and loving the opportunities that were being offered to me. I got to travel, have an expense account and work in a large office environment with many other perks. When the company had a class action law suit brought against them I was called into the President’s office and told that I needed to support the company side. In doing so I would have had to lie. In exchange for this lie I would have been guaranteed an extremely strong and bright future with the company for my loyalty.

I left the company and never looked back.
Do I march to my own beat? You bet I do. Do I conform? Well, to some extent we all do. But I never compromise my principles. Never. Because if you compromise your principles, even if you win in the short run, you ultimately lose the game.

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Anything that is done to excess without balance, including setting and achieving professional goals, will ultimately come back to bite you. The balance of having other things in your life aside from your professional goals will help you enjoy your life more and appreciate your professional goals when they are accomplished.

So what exactly is a bucket list?

The name was coined as a list of things that you want to accomplish before you kick the bucket. And as charming as that concept can be, its importance is none-the-less the reason for creating it. If nothing else, it reminds us that whether you’re 22 or 52 or 82, life is limited. Making sure you get the things done that you want is part of what makes life worth living.

So how do you make a bucket list? There isn’t one set way but here are the basics. Think about some of the things that you want to do or accomplish, not including any professional goals. The fun things. Places you want to visit, people you want to meet, or activities you want to do. Maybe there is something you want to learn and you’ll need to take a class, or you want to volunteer somewhere or go snorkeling and swim with the dolphins. Any particular place you want to travel or play golf?

There is no right or wrong when you write a bucket list. Its purpose is to redirect you and allow you to live more and experience more, so life isn’t all about work and survival. We are fortunate to live in a country with so much abundance. There are opportunities all around us to live more but we often get so caught up in the day-to-day grind and forget to live. Sure achieving professional goals is important. But a life filled only with professional goals would be rather boring. Combine it with fun, exciting and rewarding experiences and let those experiences be a part of your life as well.

If you’re thinking of starting a bucket list, and I highly recommend it, don’t wait until you think you have enough things to put on the list. Start it right now…even with just one thing that you want to do. Add to your list anytime you think of something. Don’t be worried about how far fetched your idea is. Be creative. Creativity helps achieve your professional goals too! And as you begin to do some of the things on your list, cross them off and write more. Because a life filled with happiness and achievement, is a life well lived.

So go out and live the dream!

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1 – It’s never too early or too late to start. Whether you’re 21 and first able to get a credit card of your own, or if you’re older and haven’t focused on good credit yet, just get started. Is it better to get started early? Sure… just like any good habit. But no matter what age you are, good credit is usually associated with good financial habits.

2 – Use your card instead of cash. Have some cash on hand if you like and keep the rest in the bank, but don’t use cash and your card or you will likely use up your cash and not have it available for use when you need to pay your credit card bill.

3 – With the exception of a car or house, think carefully before buying anything you can’t afford to pay off within the month. Sure it’s fun to be able to buy something right away when you like it. But if you don’t have the cash available to pay for it with the next paycheck, then often by the time you actually do finish paying for it, you have paid a lot if interest payments which really increased the original price of the item.

4 – Always know approximately how much your credit card is at any given time. Keep a mental note in your head or mark it on a list every time you use your card so you don’t have a big surprise when the bill comes in.

5 – If a store offers a discount for using their card on a certain day, that’s a good day to shop. Often department stores will do this. Don’t buy more than you would have bought without a discount, but if you have a choice to get an additional 15% off by using your store credit card, by all means do.

6 – Pay your cards off monthly. There are some people that say that in order to build up credit you have to pay it off little by little instead of paying it monthly. I have always paid my cards off monthly and I have a credit score in the top 5%. You can ask around on this one but for me it has worked to pay them off right away.

7 – Always use a credit card that offers cash back or other perks and never pay to have a credit card. I used to have a “prestige card” that I paid a yearly fee for. No more! Discover Card is easy to get and was one of the first credit card companies to offer cash back while other companies were still charging their customers to have a credit card. I have been getting cash back for years from Discover (which by the way they are currently offering approval in 60 seconds if you qualify which is kind of cool )and I love having them pay me!

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If the latest findings in the June issue of The Journal of Labor Research are correct, then those who work out regularly at the gym could be earning an average of 9% per year more than their fellow workers who don’t work out. So if you want to achieve your professional goals and earn a better income along the way, then why not give the gym a whirl!
This isn’t the first study to conclude similar findings. There have been many other studies over the years revealing that people who are overweight earn less than their more fit counterparts. According to a 2008 Rudd Center report, overweight job applicants are less likely to be hired and receive more negative reviews. Knowing this statistic can arm you with a bit more ammunition while you’re on the path toward professional goal achievement.
While it is difficult to conclude why this happens, knowing it does, puts you an advantage. It is well known fact that exercise increases mental function, which contributes to better performance at work. Working out also increases energy levels, giving you more stamina. Combine the two and you often have an intellectually capable person who is willing to go the extra mile and do what others are not willing to do. This is a huge success factor in achieving your professional goals. Additionally, exercise increases endorphins, which make people happier and thereby better able to work with other people, a vital characteristic in most employment atmospheres.

Another thought is that people who are committed to a long term consistent work out routine have quite a bit of self-control in order to maintain that kind of schedule. Studies have shown that people with more self-control are much more likely to achieve not only their professional goals but also greater levels of success at work as well.

And while 9% might not seem like a huge number, let’s do the math. Taking a salary of $50, 000 per year, a 9% increase would bring in an additional $4,500 per year. I don’t know about you but I like that. Not only is that more than the cost of most gym membership but you can throw in a couple of self-development classes as well which will help with achieving your professional goals. And if you want to try a a gym for free, there are many gyms that will offer you a complimentary trial membership. Another great deal!

Even if working out didn’t come with an increase in income, I would still continue my workout routine because I love how it makes me look and feel. But just in case the study is right, I’m sticking with it. See you at the gym!

The post Workouts That Pay appeared first on Professional Goals | Life Goals | Educational Goals.

However working from home isn’t for everyone. There are a lot of distractions and you need to be organized…extremely organized. If you are an entrepreneur or find yourself working from home for any reason, take a look at this checklist to help you achieve your professional goals in your home office. If you treat your work from home situation like any other job, only with the added perk of not having to drive through traffic to get there you will already be ahead of the game. So here we with your …

Lucky 7 List of Work From Home Tips

1 – Dress for success…no working in your jammies.

When you look good, you feel good so dress the part. If you have to make professional business calls, dress accordingly. Just consider working from your home office to be an extension of a business location. Whatever you would wear in the office, wear it at home.

2 – Have a designated work space.

This is crucial for your success, especially if there are other people living with you. In addition to the fact that papers and other important business necessities can get lost or destroyed if they are in other peoples way or all over the house, the other people will probably not appreciate your mess. And perhaps more importantly, when you have an area that is designated specifically for your work then when you enter that area, you can go directly into work mode which is critical in order to be achieve your professional goals when working from home.

3 – Set your hours.

Depending on your personality, working from home can have one of two opposite effects if you don’t monitor your work hours. First, time can get wasted away if you get distracted from work related activities and instead begin home related activities. Know that you are committed to your work schedule. The opposite can also be true as well. You can end up working many more hours than expected and continue to work so much that you don’t pay attention to other areas of your life. When creating a long-term path toward achieving your professional goals from your home office, just like anything else, balance is critical.

4 – Make your to-do list every day

Just as if you were in the office and had a boss telling you what you needed to get done that day, make your own list. Have a daily planner, set your priorities and follow your plan. Don’t leave work until it all gets done.

5– Stay organized

Staying organized is a major factor in achieving your professional goals and even more important for people who work from home. Find the methods and supplies that work best for you. If you have all the supplies that you need within arms reach, that will reduce time spent looking all over the house for a pen or stapler. Have a filing system that makes sense to you so you can easily access important documents and information. You might have to invest a little money but in the long run you will save time.

6 – Get out of the house

Whether you work from home for 4, 8 or more hours, make sure to get out of the house everyday and do something that you enjoy. Spend time with friends, get to the gym, or do anything that gets you out of work mode. Don’t become isolated in your own home

7 – Evaluate your work

Take time once a month to evaluate what you have gotten done during the past 4 weeks. Are there any areas that you need to work on? Do you procrastinate? Do you manage your time well? Do a self-evaluation and get the additional skills that you need. Even if you are not getting a review by a boss, be your own best boss and get better because it will benefit you.

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At the gym this morning, I got into a discussion with someone about the educational system and how small incremental changes toward creating positive change within the educational system are necessary to counteract the small incremental changes that have taken place in the opposite direction over the years. We can all see and read about various challenges that our educational system is currently dealing with, and they are not only financial. The standard of acceptable behavior by both teachers and students has shifted, and while many of these changes have created a better system, (i.e. a teacher can no longer legally hit a student), many of the changes that were implemented to create positive change, have backfired and as a result have allowed small incremental changes to creep in that have instead contributed to a system that is no longer able to produce the best possible educational results.

This made me think that people do the same thing. Change happens. It’s just part of life and growth. In order to achieve professional goals, there have to be forward moving positive changes that happen. For the most part, we all make small incremental changes in our life, and in what we do, and these changes often become the habits that we live by. In the best-case scenario, we try to create the kinds of changes that allow us to achieve our professional goals, such as becoming more organized or acquiring more education or experience. However, many of us often get caught in a slow moving downward spiral, often one that we don’t see happening, and that can dramatically impact our life. Bad habits create bad results.

One negative habit that people often develop slowly is speaking negatively about other co-workers for example. First we listen to what other have to say about a person, then we might begin to add to the conversation and before you know it we have been pulled in. These small incremental changes are not conducive toward achieving your professional goals and advancing in your company.

If on the other hand, you use your time, energy and resources to help other co-workers and build them up, you will get a very different kind of reputation within the office, one that will help advance you in achieving your professional goals. The reputation that you build for yourself in that area is built in small increments as well since you are viewed more as a leader than a follower. Small incremental changes happen either way. You either control them or they control you.

If your professional goals include moving up the ladder than you have to become the kind of leader that motivates and encourages others. If your professional goals include getting pay raises and increasing your income, then you have to show the company that you are working for that you are worthy of them paying you additional money. These justifications for your advancement come from showing your employer what YOU can do for THEM.

As long as you remember that in life, change will happen anyway, then why not decide what kind of changes you would like to create. It’s just the nature of life that change will happen. Small incremental changes. But it’s up to you to create the change you want to see in your own life.

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At some time or another, all of us come to a point where we feel like we have no idea who we are, where we’re going, or even why we made the decisions that we did in the past. It can happen at any time but it often happens during times of major life transition, such as losing a job or starting a new one, at the start or more likely at the end of a relationship, or when your children leave home for any reason. So is losing yourself an old age issue. Nope…it’s more like an age-old issue. That’s why philosophers as far back as Plato have been dealing with these kinds of philosophical thoughts and trying to come up with answers as to how to manage them.

The quality of your life is all about how you think…how you perceive each situation. How you think about a situation will affect 100% how you feel about that situation and therefore, how you feel about your life. Two people in the exact same situation can have completely different thoughts about what they each perceive as reality. Take the example of going to a party. You love it, your husband hates it. Your husband loves the food, you hate it. It’s the same party, but each of you have different expectations, different preconceived notions, and different taste, so you perceive each situation in life differently.

When it comes to our own life, we get caught up in our own thoughts, which is equivalent to our own reality. During times of transition, which can be brought on by anything, what once seemed like it was working, no longer seems to work. Change is imminent. A very common situation for many women is when our children are all out of the house for the first time we feel different, even lost. We now face living in the empty nest. Whether a woman has stayed at home with the children for many years or if she was working during all or part of that time, life is about to change dramatically.

Most women, although clearly not all women, get very caught up in the life of each of their children. We love them and want to make sure all goes well in their life. Then they become teenagers and understandably seek independence and so begins the battle. Finally, when they go to college or leave home to start a life outside the home that they grew up in, many women feel a loss. For some it can be the equivalent of a break up…even if you know that your adult child is moving on to bigger and better things. And when the last child leaves home, it can feel very empty.

Now you have to face the reality of who you are, who you were before they were born and how to combine that into who you will become. This is not always an easy task, especially if you are in an emotional state when you have to begin. Know this…you are not alone. Women have been facing this since the beginning of time. That doesn’t make it better, but knowing that women before you have successfully made the transition can give you hope.

Like everything else in life, you have the choice of how to think about this situation. You can choose to think of this time as a loss or you can choose to think of this time as an opportunity to do more of the things that you love to do. You can choose to think of this as a time of emptiness or you can choose to fill this time with friends, hobbies or relaxing. And while the answer isn’t always so simple, and will take time and a bit of work, the transition will come about slowly but surely. So why not take the time to think about what you want to create and how you will go about creating it. We all move into the future and things change. So focus on the change you want to see, and on the things that you have control over. Day by day, you can make it happen.

For additional information on how to create change in your life, read our article entitled Create Your World.

Good luck and enjoy life everyday!

The post Who am I Now? appeared first on Professional Goals | Life Goals | Educational Goals.

Do you have a personality to be a successful entrepreneur? While there isn’t one specific personality, there are a few things that are important to understand about being a successful entrepreneur that are important to understand in order to make the decision that works best for you.

1 – You’re on your own. There are no bosses here except the one you see when you look in the mirror. Having an independent nature is crucial to becoming a successful entrepreneur because if you would like to achieve this professional goal you will need to be able to commit to working and creating a time schedule on your own.

2 – There are no weekly paychecks and, depending in the business, a fair amount of start up costs. Successful entrepreneurs need to be able to maintain a high tolerance for risk. Achieving all professional goals takes time but as an etrepreneur you are starting a business instead of joining one that already exists.

3 – It is quite likely that you will face a fair amount of adversity. Can you handle it? A successful entrepreneur will be an optimistic visionary. You have to be able to envision the type of business you aim to create. Your vision needs to be precise and you need to possess a larger than life dose of optimism to know you can achieve it no matter what.

4 – A successful entrepreneur is a someone with inner strength and self-confidence. It’s not only about believing in yourself, it’s about knowing that you can achieve what you set out to do despite any potential setbacks that might come your way.

5 – What propels a successful entrepreneur on a daily basis is an inner drive. Whether you have an inner drive to succeed, an inner drive to turn your dream into reality, an inner drive for helping others or a host of other choices, it is the inner drive that will prevent you from giving up. In order to complete a successful outcome at any endeavor, the bottom line is that you can never give up.

Study and learn as much as you can about your intended venture. Study and learn as much as you can about being in business for yourself. And after measuring the possibility of failure against the probability of success, if you come up with a positive result then don’t wait. Set your professional goals and start today!

For a jump start on goal setting see our article on 10 Tips For Successful Goal Setting

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I now know that this assumption was completely wrong and that there are plenty of adults that act like junior high school kids. However it has worked to my advantage in life to think that way while I was first starting out. That mentality is very engrained in me. While I’m not perfect, I continue to try to model the adults who set an example for me while I was growing up. Perfection is impossible but I strive to do the right thing and to become a better person than I was yesterday. I believe that this constant focus on self-improvement has made me a much stronger person than I might otherwise have been and has greatly affected my ability to achieve my professional goals.

There will always be people who you have to deal with in life who will be dishonest, mean or petty. They will be walking the low road and want company…your company. And often it is easy to be pulled into their path. Many people thrive on negativity and conflict. For them, there is always some kind of drama that is going on. For the most part, these people are dissatisfied with their life and want share that dissatisfaction with others. If you take the low road with them you are straying from the path of achievement and essentially putting your professional goals on hold while you take the low or slow path.

When it happens, and it will happen, this is the time to take the high road. And that’s not always easy when you are in the intensity of the situation. It’s easy to fight back and be pulled in, taking much needed energy and focus off your professional goals. It’s easy to let your emotions control your actions and be pulled in. It’s not as easy to stop and decide that you will handle the situation with the insight it deserves. As difficult as it is, choose to take the high road.

People like that pull you back to junior high school. Often, their mentality never changed. They have learned how to manipulate and control adult situations with childish antics, just as they got the attention of the teacher when they misbehaved. For them, nothing has changed.

You will never be able to control what other people do. Your control has to do with yourself. Your thoughts control everything that you do. Other people’s thoughts control what they do. All you can do in these types of situations is create thoughts that create the results you want. That is how you take control of your life when life throws you a curve ball. Take the high road and we’ll see you at the top!

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