ine Doog to Your ruere rlow t© Oven | I arte 3 eek 4 OLE ailFrom the desk of David Beach, Executive Director Dear Friend, How to make more money, . Get a promotion or a better job, .. Manage your time better. . Devote more time to your family. . I'm sure you want one or all of these things! This book, “How to Open the Door to Your Future,” can tell you how to do all that and mure! This book is full of advice and helpful hints that show you how to get more of what you want out of life! And it’s published by Education Direct, the at-home educators who have helped millions of students achieve their goals. This book will help you, tool Education Direct know-how and your determination to succeed will make your dreams come true. Find out how to get the training you need to change your life for the better. We can tell you how to “open the door to your future” — but have to make the choice to walk through it! est Regards, Opuill Sek. avid BeachHow to OPEN the DOOR to YOUR FUTURE Published by Education Direct Copyright © 2002, Thomean Education Direct All nghts reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, or by any meana, without te pertniasion of the publiaher, PA 18505, Edited for Education Direct by Dan 5. Kennedy Printed in the Ustied States af Armenca. Notice This pubbication is desayned te provide accurate and au the publisher is mot engaged in rendering legal, accounting. or other profesional advior if legal advior or other expert assistance is required, the services of a qualified profewskcanal person should be seayht, -From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Comnnitter of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Annociationn,What REALLY Leads To Success In America in The 215t COMury nesses S17 Chapter Two What Holds ‘You Back? What Moves You Forwand? 18-31 How To Manage Your Tima, To Get Ahead In Life... Chapter Four How To Manage Your Money, 32-41 For Your ideas And Your AbIMDIGS ..........-.0---- 68-73 For Getting Ahead tm Lif@ ........cccccsene ie - 74-78 a:Chapter One What REALLY Leads To Success In America In The 2ist Century Relax! This is NOT going to be some gray-haired guy in a sweater lecturing you about how tough he had it growing Up and telling you lo “keep your nose to the grindstone.” Who needs to hear any more of that? For starters, let's agree that we can disagree about what “success” is. It certainly means different things to different people. For one person, “success” may pop up pictures of a Corvette, a boal, a fancy house, maybe a business of your own, or a white collar, management career with a solid company, or all thase things. For somebody else, just the thought of having to put on a shirt and tie and go to an office everyday is as tightening as a Stephen King novel, For somebody else, the emphasis may be on family, not money. So there's no paint in trying to force tit any one idea of success onto you. However, we may be able to agree more easily on the Opposites of success, on what we do NOT want our lives to become. For example, consider these checklist tems: — Naot having enough money to pay bills — Living paycheck to paycheck __ No money to save, invest, make a down-payment on a house_— Frustration at seeing others get ahead faster than you do __ Stuck in a dead-end job _— Passed over for raises or promotions — Lack of job security __ Embarrassment when visiting your relatives or your spouse's relatives or in other social gatherings. . embarrassment about your job __. Worry about the future in general __ Desire to do better but not sure what to do, what steps to take — Lack of education or know-how about Do ANY of these apply to you? Chances are, al least several do, just as they do to hundreds of thousands of Other Americans, especially men and women in the 19 to 30 age group. In fact, most people wind up going through their entire adult lives never solving any of these issues. They get stuck just “going with the flow.” What we'd like to do here, in the beginning of this book, is to challenge you to take a completely fresh look at where you are, where you COULD go In lite, whare you'd LIKE to go in lite, and how you can take control of that process. 4“THE ONLY CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE.” Change |S constant. Your physical body changes on a minute by minute, day by day, month by month, year by year basis. You know that you CAN exert considerable control over that, by, say, smoking or not smoking, exercising or not exercising, the foods you eat, and soon, Some people choose to do certain things deliberately, to control their weight, get and stay fit, and stay healthy. Others do not. But everybody changes physically. Change happens in every other aspect of living too, for everybody. Marriage, Divorce. Kids. Get a job. Lose a job. Buy a home. Move. Get older. Leam something new. Education. The list of changes is endless, You just cannot escape constant change. Bul you can make it work for you or let It work agains! you. Se cane ee eae OF all the creatures on earth, only human beings have been given this power. Will you use your power or ignore it? It may be time to STOP “going with the flow." “WHO — ME? CONTROL MY FUTURE! HOW?” Maybe you fee! that you do not have the ability or Opportunity to control your life and your future. These days, it seems everybody is a “Victim.” And in some Circles, i's even popular to be “anti-achievernent.” You will undoubtedly hear people insisting that the deck is Stacked against them to such a degree there's no point in trying to do anything, Or that “society” owes them a job 5Of € certain standard of living. Only you can deckle — whether such altitudes are right for you. It's important to remember, though, that every aspect of life operates on Cause And Effect — for every Effect or result or outcome, there is a Gause. “Victim” thinking or “i's no use" thinking — becomes a Cause in and ol itself. What kind of Effect do. you think it has to have? You may very well have some disadvantages fo overcome. Maybe you grew up in a broken home or a terrible neighborhood. Maybe you were abused. Maybe you don't evan have a high school education. Or maybe you don't read very well, can't do math, you're shy, whatever, Each person's obstacles appear very large to them. But here are two absolutely inarquabie truths: First, regardless of what your particular obstacles may be, there are many people who have had those exact same obstacles — or worse ones — who have overcome thase obstacles to become successful in lite. The fact that others have overcome your obstacles is proof positive that you can too. Second, if you continue to DO the things you've always done, you can only expect to get whal you've always got. Whatever change happens, will work against you. Opportunities will pass you by. Only by first changing your own actions and behavior can you create other desirable changes in your life. So, let's talk about some of the very basic, fundamental things you can DO to get a grip on what kind of success in life you want and how you can go about gaiting it, We call these: THE FIVE ESSENTIAL FOUNDATIONS OF SUGCESS IN LIFE. 6IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, ANY ROAD WILL TAKE YOU THERE. -The Cheshire Cat in ‘Alice In Wonderland’ ineari? Well, first “direction” 1 means where you are headed, where you are going, where you want to go. Here's a shocker: Most people spend more time planning @ weekend activity with trends or a vacation than thay do planning their futures! in fact, most people never really THINK about “directions” at all. One writer in the field of ‘sall-improvement once spent a whola moming on a busy city sidewalk, stopping people on their way to work, and asking them why they were going to work. Why are you (going to work today? The answers he heard most were: * ‘To put food on the table * To pay my bills * Because I have to * Everybody else does These are all ferrible reasons for getting up every Moming and going to work! Yes, terrible. Why terrible? Weil, if one of the above is your only reason, how are you going to feel about your job and yourself after ten years of that? Twenty years? Thirty years? Probably pretty awtul. You'll feel trapped. Bored. Wasted. Stuck in a rut —and the only difference between a rut and grave is the rut is open at both ends! Actually, going to work should be a means of accomplishing many other appealing, rewarding goals. Buying your i.cuauecnetcee meen are wish, Rlaising a family and helping your kids go to college. Pursuing some hobby or interest of yours: without limitation — re-building classic cars, fishing in all the great rivers and “Positive directions” means choosing directions that are most likely to lead you to the kind of life and lifestyle you wart. Just for example, one direction you could take is spending ail your free time hanging out at the local pub, watching Sports, playing pool, drinking beer, and spending ail your money that way, That is a “direction.” It is going to take you toward a destination, It is a “cause” that wil have a predictable “effect.” OF, taking two nights a week of your ‘free time’ and using those to go fo classes or seminars or the library to jeam some new skill and setting aside even a small amount of money each paycheck, this too is a “directon.” Which is “positive” and which is: "negative"? Which is most likely to lead “sornewhere,” which most likely to lead "nowhere"? Well, you certainly know that without being told! But what you may not have given a lot of thought to is the idea of sitting down and CHOOSING certain “destinations,” things you want to accomplish, things you want to have, and then DECIDING on certain positive directions most likely to lead thera. You can do that. Regardiess of where you are right now, you can start | doing this. ) 8| At the: end of: tie: Chapter, you'll sind. some: pages headlined “Brainstorming Your Future.” ‘You might copy thease onto bigger pieces ol paper, on a pad or a notebook, or use these as is and write in the book. Either try something: lock out the world, get into a quiet, [pevate place for an hour or so, no distractions, no TV, no CO player, just you and these pages. Put your pencil or down the answers to the questions, Make the lists. You may find this to be a wery exciting, # challanging experiance. THERE IS A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN EDUCATION AND INCOME, EDUCATION AND OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICA. YOU CANNOT “BEAT THIS SYSTEM.” Foundation ff2 is. Education, Certain things are “tacts of ite.” The Law of Gravity, for example, is a fact of life. Any ‘object you drop out of your hand will fall to the ground. ‘What goes up must come down. You are actually a tiny bit shorter at the end of the day than you are each moming, after lying flat all night, as an effect of the Law of Gravity. And there is absolutely nothing you can do to change or “beaf" this fact of life: gravity. Join: a gang. get @ gun, beat up somebody, the people who do these things canNOT escape this fact of life we call gravity. The fichest men and women in the world canNOT escape this fact of life. The most talented athletes canNOT. (Sure, Michael Jordan pushed the limits of gravity. But he could fot escape it. His most spectacular leaps always ended with his feat coming back down to the floor.) A fact of life is a fact of life, period,Weil, there are certain facts of life relating to education that are just as “always true” as is gravity. Youmay not like these facts of life, but you are affected by them nonetheless. You can ignore them and you WILL suffer as a result. Or you can accep! them and then change directions and do things to make these facts of lite benefit you. Here are the facts: Fact#1: Government studies and statistics clearly Also, the number of good jobs that you just cannot get without a high school diploma keep increasing. Fact#2: Above a high school education, Career Training and a Career Diploma are known to make an income difference of ANOTHER $25,000.00 to $100.000,00 OF MORE over a person's working career. Fact#3: Above that, an Associate Degree is known to equate to about $10,000.00 a year more in income. . 23 much as $400,000.00 over a working lifetime. To make this simple: more education equals more income and more varied career options and opportunities. Now, knowing these facts, if you do not have a high school diploma, what “direction” seems obvious to youas the most “positive direction” you could choose for — yoursell, as soon as possible? 10i ‘Or, knowing these facts, if you have only a high school diploma. what “direction” seems obvious to you as the mast “positive direction” you could choose for yourself, as 800n as possible? Or, inowing these facts. 1 you have both a high school diploma and some specialized career training, what “direction” seems obvious to you as the most “positive “Tf aman empties his wailet into his head, ne one can take it from him.“ - Benjamin Franklin IT IS DIFFICULT TO SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE IF YOU HANG OUT WITH THE BUZZARDS AND CHICKENS ALL THE TIME. Foundation #3 is: Association. There is a ‘principle of success’ called “The Power Of Positive ASSOCIATION.” It basically maans that you either hold yoursell back or improve yourself based on the people you hang out with the most, because their values, ideas and directions are always influencing your own IIIf you can't honestly answer “yes" to those questions, then you probably need to make some changes in your friends — who you spend time with, who you listan to. You may need to get involved in very differant activities, where you will get to maet new and differant people, Everybody needs a “support group.” Your “support group” can include family members, friends, neighbors, co- workers, a mentor on the job, teachers and coaches. It must feature people who share your directions or who have already traveled successfully in the directions you want to go. 12YOU HAVE TO GET IN THE GAME! Foundation #4 is: Beginning. There is a certain process to ‘success, an order of steps you hawe to go through, bases you have to run in order. And to begin, you have to get into ‘the game. How do you get into the “game of success"? Ital Seems to start with Gaintul Employment. A job. Even if it is mot the job you want. Not the job you've prepared for. Not a job that seems like it naturally points toward the kind of job you want. Any job is better than mo job. Employment is better than unemployment. The way you get into the game is with a job. ‘When you go and apply for a “batter job,” what will you be asked about? Well, one set of questions will center around your education. The Next set of questions will ‘center around your work Comedian and movie-maker Woody Allen once said, "50% of success is showing up.” He may not have been far off. One study of business managers, executives and 13don't make the mistake of drifting into negative thinking about that job. , .of just going through the motions or worse, failing to show up, show up on time, show up ready and able to work. The best way to get a better job is to out-perform the one you have! If you are not now employed, re-think your position on this. Maybe it would be better to gat in the game with ANY job than to sit on the sidelines waiting for the right job. “SCHOOL IS NEVER OUT FOR THE PRO.” + Cavett Robert Foundation #5 is: Lifelong Leaming. Many people have the idea that once they graduate from high school, they can “stop teaming.” No more school books. No more study, This is reflected in the tact that the majority of adults get ALL their news and information from television (not reading), that the majority of adults NEVER visit the public fibrary, and about half of all adults NEVER go into a bookstore. Unfortunately, many people have leamed how to be taught, but have not isamed to enjoy leaming on their own. 14—- In contrast, successful people are usually involved in “ifalong leaming.” They tend to pick a subject, leam a lot about it, then pick another one and do the same, one after another, They tend to continually read and improve in their own career area. ft you haven't visited a public library in a while, and you do so with an open, curious mind, you may be very Pleasantly surprised at everything that is available for you there — all (ree of charge! ‘You will find every imaginable magazine, both current and back issues. Books on every conceivable topic. There are easy-to-use compullers you can “ask" for haip in assembling information about any topic. There are books to help you in choosing careers, Preparing resumes, getting ready for job interviews, leaming certain skills, even managing your money. And the library staff members are usually very eager to help and very patient with newcomers. This is a graat environment for you to get comfortable with and use frequently as an adult.Describe your life as you would fike it to be 3 to 5 years from today, by category. 1. Career and Work. | 2. Income and Finances.List 5 Things You Dofinitaly Want To CHANGE About Your Life in The Next 3 Years. 1.- “L grew up ina bad neighborhood” - "I don't have a car to get to work” - "My boss doesn’t like me” « “The economy's very bad here in my town” What we'd Ske to explore a bil in this Chapter are ‘intemal forces” that hold us back or move us forward. Often, the extemal forces. are not as influential and powerful in reality as they are in our own minds. After all, i's comfortable to blame other people or aroumstances beyond our control for things we're not happy or proud about Unfortunately, people sam “The Blame Game” earty in lite —as kids, ‘he Started it!" . "Bobby made me do it” etc, — and then carry that into adult life, even though it is more of a handicap than a@ help. Only by honestly examining the intemal forces can you begin to really conto! your present and your future, (One such intemal force is a thing psychologists call “Setl- Image.” The literally means the image or picture you hold in your mind about yourself. Lots of things contribute to the sellimage, Things your parents or other family members said repeatedly about you and to you as you were growing up. Things your friends or co-workers now Say about you. Past experiences. Comparisons you maka 18between yoursel! and others. From these and many other or in her chunch. But is she reaily so limited’? Probably only by her sell-image. You see, there really is no ‘such thing as a “bom? leader or “bom” salesperson or “bom” communicator, There really is no such thing as a genefically shy person. These are all acquired batiets and leamad behaviors. In her childhood, she may have had strict and protective what she will do and won't do based on this idea, so her experience reinforces her self-image. Before long, she has drawn a line in the sand across which she tries never to cross. If no one or no thing ever shoves her across that line, she may never discover whal is often true: As an adult, she has abilities and talents unknown to her. Are YOU being held back by a limiting setHimage? A line 19drawn in the sand? Maybe. It's worth thinking about. If you react to the ideas of getfing more education. . .preparing for a better career. . seting goals. . .with “not for me,” you may very wall be doing battle with your own self-image limits. You can't out-perform your set]-image, but you (CAN change i You can test your limits. Push at them, Experiment. HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR HIDDEN TALENTS AND NEW INTERESTS When a person says “Tm not much of a reader or “i don't ke to read,” offen the truth is that he never leamed to read well and, since school, has iat what reading skills he did have get rusty. Further, he was always forced to read, so Ne naturally resists it Most adults share this experience: There is some food, maybe a vegetable, you hated as a kid, haven't eaten in along time, and absolutely believe you don't like, For one reason or another, you taste it for the first time in years and discover that, now, it tastes good fo you! This same kind of experience can happen with anything, including this example: reading. When a person says something like “I'm no good with computers. It's just too complicated for me,” often the truth is that they simply lack information, knowledge, training and assistance about that particular subject or skill. How The ‘Nerd’ Discovered His Secret Talent As A Pool Shark We know a math whiz who had great interest in computers, im science, in technical topics, but no interest at aii in playing 2r pool with his buddies, who were avid pool players. “Tm no good at A,” he sam, “Tm clumsy. I'm not good at games or sports, That's just the way | am.” (By saying these things, he was verbalizing part of his self-image, describing the picture he cared in his mind about himself.)0 ee today its common knowledge in the sports word thet “mental Practice” has almost as much impact as: actual, physical practice. And, in mental practice, athletes practice perfectly. Basketball players, for example, have proven they can improve their success at shooting baskets from the foul line just by sitting in @ quiet room for an hour, themselves standing on the foul line and shooting one perfect basket afler another. The imagination |S a powerful thing. ironically, as a kid, you may have been accused of being a “day-dreamer.” Yet the truth is that “day-dreaming” has a place and serves a constructive purpase. Let's say that you feel weak in communication skills and dread going on job interviews. ‘You might build a “mental movie” of you going on a job interview, getting along very well with the interviewer, being calm and relaxed. answering the questions brilliantly, and getting hired instantly, Or. Maxwell Maltz, an earty pioneer in sell-image psychology", called this using “The Thaater in Your Mind.” To make this “mental movie" realistic, you would consult a couple books on interviewing skills. to leam techniques, and you would make up or get a list of questions most interviewers would ask, and use those questions. in your “mental movie.” Ono built and run, your “mental movie" is stored in memory and can be recalled at will. Visualization, then, is simply the re-running of this “mental movie" over and over and over again. Another term for all this is “synthetic experience” Synthetic means imitation or substitute — for example, cotton is “real” fabric, a polyester-cotton blend is called a “synthetic” fabric because it perfectly imitates the real thing. Now here's a very interesting thing about how your ) aanything. 'm such a screw-up." John has translated the incident into an indictment, a criticism of himself. It's a3interesting, by the wery, that most peoples’ self-talk is critical. Obviously, you do @ great many smart, good and right things everyday, yet, in self-talk, you probably do not praise yourself for doing those things. Bul make a mistake, and you're all over yourself, like your worst enemy! The reason that is so harmful is that your subconscious mind accepts cumulative affirmations (the same affirmation heard and said repeatedly) as a “command,” then it does everything in its power to fulfill the command. If you tall it that you are clumsy over and over again, it will exert its control_over your physical body to literally make you even. clumsier. The good news |s that you can tell It something you want to be over and over again, and it will work on making that command a reality. Now this is not “magic” It won't do much by itself. But as a reinforcement tool, it can be very powerful. Let's say you're always late and have decided to change that about yoursall. You have chosen a new direction; you are going to be a punctual person. Your affirmations might be: 1. Lam the kind of person who always shows up on time. 2 Being on time and reliable is very important to me, 3. I value and respect my own time and others’ time, so [honor my commitments. You might want to write thease down on a 3x5 card until you mamorize them. Than you should say them out loud at least several times a day. Repeat them out loud or a4i silently over and over again as you fall asleep, You may fea] silly at first — until you see the results! But, just saying these affirmations and doing nothing else will have a very limited effect. But saying these affirmations while also DOING certain things to improve your on time: behavior, setting all your clocks and watch 15 minutes ahead, starting to use an appointment calendar, picking out the day's clothes the night before; the combination of Affirmations and Actions can be very dramatic. incidentally, today’s “sports psychologists.” relied on by virtually every pro team, individual pro athletes, and Olympic athletes all use “affirmations” as one of their tools, Athletes who get ina slump — the baseball player who stops hitting. the football player who starts furnbling the ball, the golfer who. starts slicing — all tend to “gat down on themselves" with negative, critical self-talk. And the more of that they do, the worse the problem gets. The kind of constructive a@ffirmatons we just discussed have been proven helpful in fuming such situations around and getting these athletes out of their slumps. Mf it's good enough for multi-million dolar a year pro athletes, maybe it's something you should lear more about and experiment with too. ("if viaualization, affirmation and similar techniques interest you, @ good piace fo begin laaming more is with Dr. Maxwel Maltz’ ‘onginal book, ‘Psycho-Cybematics,' which you can easily obtain ‘at the public library or almost any bookstore. ) EDUCATION or INFORMATION is the next important tool. Simply put, the more you know about something, the less: intimidating or difficult It is to deal with. Think about skydiving, for example. To someone who: has never done i, and knows nothing about # except 25This |s a painstaking process with double-checks. Then you could read watch a video about skydiving. Then “skydiving school” — required in almost eve before you are allowed to jump. At the “school,” learn how to properly exit the plane, position your count, pull the cord, navigate and land. You practice gach of these things over and over, with the help of a very experienced instructor, Finally, on your first jump, pull your cord on time, he'll pull it for you. As you went through ail of this, chances are excellent that your fears and worries were diminished and your interests increased. That's the way the human mind works. ‘Of course, you may have NO interest whatsoever in skydiving. But you can benefit from this same “process” with any skill you want to jaam, improve or master. By ‘exposing yourself to as much information about it as possible, your confidence and your competence will ‘automatically get stronger.example, youl never get better if the only people you bow! with are less skilled than you are, To get better as a bowler, you'd bow! with people slightly better than you are, who would challange you, from whom you could leam by observing. ACTION ts the fifth tool. None of the above tools ara of much value unless and until you take action on your thoughts and ideas. And, incidentally, most people drop entire lives. The world is full of people who will tell you about the “great idea” they had, did nothing about, then Saw someone else tum if into a successful product or business. Procrastination — the putting off of doing something — is the universal lanquage of the POOR! N you study successful people in any field, but especially in the business world, in terms of careers, you'll quickly notice that they have a tendency to quickly follow decisions with actions. You become what you DO, not whal you think or say, and not what others think or say about you.5 TOOLS FOR CHANGE 1. VISUALIZATION Describe a picture, a mental movie of yourself doing something you want to do and doling it su (Exp. A successful day in the work you'd like to be doing. I Remodeling your house. Competing ina stock carrace.) Run this mental movie at least once a day, every day for 30 days — you'll probably be surprised by retated events that occur in your life!| 2. AFFIRMATION Create at Isast 3 of your own, limit-lifting affirmations in keeping with the Positive Directions you'd like to move in, in your life. Try using your Affirmations for 30 days. Carry them with you. Read and repeat them a number of times each day. Even though this will feel uncomfortable, maybe foolish, itis PROVEN to yield results!3. EDUCATION 3 Things | Gan Do Now To Further Education That Is Important To Me. 4, ASSOCIATION Considering My Directions, 3 People | Should AssociateHi — = 5, ACTION Bete) What! Will Do In The Next 10 Days To Advance iin My Positive Directions CHECK OFF WHEN DONE 3Chapter Three How To Manage Your Time, To Get Ahead In Life At age 20, age 40 seems as far away as a distant planet, and age 60 seems inconceivable. At age 40, people wonder what the heck happened to all that time between age 20 and 40! And at age 60, most adults, sadly, look back and see how they wasted and squandered time — and wish they could do it all over again. Which they can’. The “breakthrough idea” to living your life differently and getting much more out of your life is “goal-setting.” you've never set and systematically achieved goals, the idea may be frightening and intimidating. Or you may think it is too “pin-stripe suit-y" for you. Something other people do, but why should you? Or @ may stnke you because you don't have ‘enough true information ‘about goal-setting. Once you understand why and how it works, you just cannot argue: against iL ‘Consider the game of baseball or softball. You've undoubtedly played it Maybe you're good at it or know 4asomebody who is. So let's take you or the best hitter you know oF even one you ‘draft’ from the major leagues out to the nearest batting cage, pay our money, get a bucket of balls, and let's play “Blind Baseball,” The hitter can try to hit the balls only while blindfokted. He's probably not going to get very many hits. Going through lie without goals is like playing “Bind Life.” You are @ wandering, meandering soul, bumping into things, reacting to things, at the mercy of every litte breeze or bump in the road. Setting up goals for yourself ig much like taking the blindfold off. Engineers have determined that the weight, per square inch, is actually greater from the average woman's single Spike heal than from an elephant's foot. This is because all the woman's weight and power is focused in that tiny spike; the elaphant’s ls spread out (diffused) over a much broader surface. This is like the power of focus. Or Perhaps you remember the little experiment you probably had to do in junior high science. Focus the sun's rays through a magnifying glass and start a fire. The sun's rays do not start fires. normally, because the healt is diffused ‘over a large area. Bul focus those rays, and you will slart a fire, When you direct all your “weight”; energy, creativity, Power and effort on achieving a very specific goal, you benefit from the power of focus. HOW TO BEGIN MAKING GOALS WORK FOR YOU Getting involved in goal-setting first forces you to focus your thinking, then your resources, then, finally your 33Forms are provided at the end of this Chapter to engage you in the goal-setting process. You'll see that we start with LONG-RANGE GOAL IDEAS, for 3 to 5 years away, with the process divided into 8 categories of living: 1, Careers 2. Money 3, Social — Friendships 4. Love Relationships — Family 5. Physical — Health 6. Mental — Intellectual 7. Spiritual — Philosophical 4, Recreation — Fun Next, we move to MEDIUM-RANGE GOALS, for 1 to 3 years. Next, SHORT-AANGE; 3 to 12 months. Finally, “THIS MONTH" — what can be done “this month’ to move toward the goals you set HOW TO GOVERN THE WAY YOU INVEST YOUR TIME WITH GOALS For many, the idea of “investing” time is a naw way of locking at things. Barf For one thing, a lot of your time has been managed for | you. You haven't had much control over it. You had to be in class @ certain number of hours each day, and now maybe you have to be on the job a certain number of hours a day. It takes a certain number of minutes to drive to and from work each day, Time to eat, To slaap, When can'treally point to many desired changes in any category Of living resulting fram the use of this "YOUR TIME.” Ina wary real sense, thay just “spent that time. often, they let others determine how it would be A buddy drops by, says ‘Let's shoat hoops," you and go shoot hoops for three hours. There's with that, of course. in fact, you might set shoot hoops or otherwise get at least 5 hours a exercise. So there's nothing wrong with , But over time, if you casually let others TIME for you, on impulse, haphazardly, will probably find yoursell disappointed with your progress in life, i ia ef “Time Is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” - Cari Sandburg, Great American author 35“A tough lesson in life is that not everybody wishes you weil.” - Dan Rather CBS Evening News Anchor When you look at your goals, you'll see there are ways you could deliberately “invest certain amounts of your time to move toward achieving tham. The difference between “spending” and “investing” is that when you “spend,” you have litte to show for it after the fact; when you “invest.” you have something of tangible value to show for it after the fact, There's nothing wrong with “spending” a lot of YOUR TIME, but.dan't you think it'd be smart to “invest” some of it? THE MAGIC POWER OF JUST ONE HOUR A DAY Earl Nightingale, one of the most respected authorities of ail in the field of human potential and self-improvement, became convinced that if a person dedicated just one hour a day to study one particular subject or skill, he would be a world class expert in that subject in less than three years. Imagine doing nothing but watching videos of great Players shooting foul shots, studying the mechanics of shooting from the line in slow motion, and practicing shooting from the line for one hour everyday, every single day, for three years. You'd probably get pretty damed good at it, even if, in the beginning, you had never touched a basketball, watched a basketball game or done anything athletic before. (Of course, this 15 the kind %of dechcated investment of fime a pro athlete does make iin mastering each skill invoived in his game.) ‘You could apply this to ANYTHING, For example, as you may know, people judge you, in part, by your vocabulary. Many high school graduates — even some college graduates — have very limited vocabularies. Many people are unable to confidently and effectively present their ideas in the workplace because of limited vocabulary. ‘So, let's say you decide to significantly expand and improve your vocabulary. All you would need to do is set @side one hour a day. That's all, one hour a day, There are approximately 50,000 words in a typical dictonary, You could easily go through every one of those words and their definitions and pro- funclations, if you're just an @verage reader, in two years. i To.approach this with graater |) open your mouth, ease, there are books of |) you let the world audio-cassette programs |} look into available in bookstores to your mind.” use in building a better * - Bruce Barton Pioneer and innovator in the field of advertisingHow Do You Eat An Elephant? Any “big improvement you want to make can be achieved with the magic one hour a day. The way you eal an elephant is the same way you eat a Big Mac — just one bite at a time. The famous at-home training method provided by Education Direct takes this “one bite at a time” approach into account, by the way, Only Education Direct offers “Career-in-a-‘Year” planned training. And you work entirely at your own pace, using as little as that magic one hour a day. “One bite at a time” you can train for an entirely new, exciting, high-paying career of your choice, in the comlort and convenience of your own home. We'll talk a lita more about this in Chapter 7. THE ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE OF A “PRODUCTIVE DAY" What is a “productive day," anyway? Here are several related definitions: 1, Atthe encl of the day, you can sev, feel and know that you have accomplished and achieved something. 2, At the end of the day, you can see, feel and know that you have done something that has moved you closer to one of your most important pals. 3, Atthe end of the day, you can take note of having learned something new, something you did not know before.\ it you're like mast people, you haven't given much thought to having productive days. The truth is: the day just ands. You tum off the tube, crash, get up, and go through the ee ee ee ae as a litte test, for a month, you may be very, very surprised at how differently you feel about yoursell and your life. The $25,000.00 “Secret” To Havi ini Back during America’s Industial Revolution, the top executive running Andrew Camegie's stee! mills was a man named Charles Schwab. Mr. Schwab was always looking for ways to improve “productivity” — in the mills, as well as his own. A consultant named Ivy Lee offered Schwab an idea to improve his productivity, and told Schwab he could pay him whatever he thought it was: worth, after trying it for a month, The idea he provided was incredibly simple: Each night, write down a list of the ten most important things you want to gat done the next day, in order of their importance, 1, 2, 3. Then force yourself to get Number One dane before moving on to Number Two. Check of each item as you finish it. After trying this simple idea for a month, Schwab reportedly sent Lee a check for $25,000.00. Why mat try it yoursell for 30 days and see how valuable you think it is?1. 2. 2 4. 5. MEDIUM-TERM GOALS (1 to 3 Years) 1, 2. =. 4. 5. SHORT-TERM GOALS (3 to 12 Months) T. 2. 3. 4. 5. i)1 I eich Paella ceeindenenenle- cite: dlChapter Four How To Manage Your Money, To Get Ahead In Life MONEY gives most people a whole lot of trouble! There is a lot of unhappiness that comes from nat having enough of it. Misuse or excessive use of credit, for many, is like the use of drugs: It temporarily feels good and masks some palin, but that's only temporary; “the moming atter,” there's mare pain. Govemment stalistics indicate that the majority of adults 90 through their entire lives without aver figuring out how to master money. During the average working person's life, well over a million to several milion dollars will nun through his fingers. You'd think: Hey, sorne of that has fo stick! But at retirement age, after forty plus years of work, fewer than 5% of the people have enough money saved, invested and in assets to produce a decent retirement income. 95% are dapendent on thelr measiy Social Security check for part or all of their basic needs, And # you gathered a random sampling of those 95%'ers together, you'd find they had one thing in common: surprise al reaching that age with so little to show for it financially. Of course, it's very hard to think that far ahead now. But you cannot wait until you are 50 either! There are certain “Money Habits” that make you a master over money, instead of a slave to it. The sooner you put thase habits to work for you, the better, 42 eeFirst, though, you might want to know about 'The Poverty Habits." There are three poverty inducing habits at work in the lives of everybody stuck in poverty. If you happen to have a lot of money troubles now, not enough income now, breaking these poverty habits is the first stap up and out. Poverty-Inducing Habit #1: Negative Attitude About Money President Abraham Lincoln once said, “A penny saved is @ penny gamed.” These days, you can scatter pennies on a sidewalk and nobody will even bother to stoop over and pick them up. This says: “A penny is too small. I's not important.” Maybe. Maybe not, People who work for low wages and have very little money tend to “blow” what litte they have left after paying for necessities, like rent and utilities, offen saying to themselves or to the world: ‘What the heck — what I've |) got is so litte it wont make | any difference, so | might as wel biow # and have 2 good time today. [7 suffer tomorrow anyway.” All this: | can ever do is guarantee | more of the same.The Only Law About Money You Ever Really Need To Know To Escape From Financial Prison! Going through lite paycheck to paycheck, using up all your money even before the next paycheck, is like locking yourse#f up in financial prison and throwing away the key. This negative cycle MUST be broken before you can ever 7 hope to get ahead, ‘You break It by obeying “The Only Law i About Money You Ever Really Need To Know.” This “Law” ! requires a habit that, over time, changes the lives of all i who use it for the better. At first, the resulis may seem insignificant. But 4 is the habit itself that leads to big = differances. The Law is: Pay Voursedf First, Out of every dollar that comes to you, in your paycheckor = from any and every other source, expected or 1 unexpected, you take a pre-determined percentage off | the top and put that aside as an “untouchable,” as savings, BEFORE you pay any other bill, You might choose just 1%: from a dollar, a penny. ‘You might choose 5%; from each dollar, a nickel. But “lock in” on that percentage and keep this promise to yourself no matter what.Now, we know this is going to sound crazy to many readers. “Hey,” you might argue, “I'm not getting all my bills paid now, using 100% of my income — now you want me to manage with 95% — how's thal gonna work?” We don't blame you for being doubtful. Fortunately, you don't have to believe this jaw makes any sense for if to pay dividends. All you have to do is obey it. Mf you will try this idea, and stick with it absolutely, for just three months, you will see for yourself how your attitudes about money AND your actual financial situation almost miraculously changes for the better. Here is a ‘bottom line’: ‘You must change the way you THINK about money, before the actual money situations of your fife will change. Poverty-Inducing Habit #2: Slavery To Debt (Our parents and, certainly, our grandparents lived very, very differently than we do with regard to credit versus cash. Hour grandparents decided to buy a new washing machine, they didn’t pop It on a credit card, get it the same day they decided they wanted it, and pay for it month after month for years. Instead, thay saved up money until they had enough to igo buy It Today, we are very much into “instant gratification.” We want it — and we want it NOW. Well, for certain purposes, modem credit is a wonderful thing. But misused and overused, it can literally make you a SLAVE to It Most people do not understand the true cost of credit. Take a look at the litte chart on the next page. It shows 5the result of just a $500.00 balance on the typical VISA, MasterCard of depariment store cred! card. As you'll sea, in just two years, it costs you $180.00 for the $500.00. In five years, your cost doubles. This means, if you finance, Say & $500.00 stereo system on a credit card or plan, that stereo may cost you $680.00, $770.00, even $950.00 before you get it paid for. If you de that a lot, say with $5,000.00 worth of cred instead of $500.00, ff cost you at least $900.00 a year just to keep the interest current. If you go through lite paying double what you should for everything you buy, it stands to reason you're nat going to win the money game! A sure sign that you're losing badly, by the way, is making only the “minimum monthly payment" on your credit cards. Approximate Result Of A Continuous $500.00 Balance On A Credit Card At 18% Interest The 5 year result is being $450.00 poorer and still $500.00 in debt. if the interest on the interest was fot paid, the total arnount you owe would increase to $1,143.82 in those 5 years,Now, flip this around — let's say you have a litte bit of money saved or you are saving a bit each paycheck. . . where can you invest t and make 18% a year on it? Nowhere! (An ordinary savings account may pay only 3% Or 4% of 5% @ year in interest.) But you can get that high of @ return by using it to get out of debt and stay cut of dabt, Tha chan below shows how paying just $50.a month toward the principal (not the interest) of a credit cand balance pays off in a big way. Of $500.00 On A Credit Card At 18% interest Loan epay- Interest Principal As you can see, your cost of interest goas down ach month, month after month, By the 12th month, you are dabt free. a?I you are @ slave to debt now, you should very seriously think about breaking those chains of slavery as soon as possible. Hf you are deeply In debt and unable to make re toe Cae teats or ce ee month, you should eae get some professional assistance. Legitimate credit counselors can help you work with your creditors and devise a plan you can live with, to get your debts under control. Look in your city’s Yellow Pages under “Credit” and find “Credit Counselors” or another reputable credit counseling and assistance organization. if in doubt of which organization to call, check with your local Better Business Bureau, your bank manager or your family accountant for a referral. If you're just mildly in debt, you wll be able to reverse the process without help. One way or another, escape from high interest debt is 4 very smart financal move. in fact, here are the three steps to end slavery to debt: sui bettaace. ERA bala tinge on cident it. Lock your credit cards in a drawer and only take them oul for a carefully thought-out purchase if you must, bul don't carry them with you ail the time. I it's living way beyond your means, stop that. Pull back. Do without if you roust for a while. Delay major purchases, If there's a more serious problem, like drinking or gambling, get help, There is no shame lin getting halp for a problem. The shame is in refusing to honestly tace your problems. Suan IE ite BG Oe ct deeae Na: Woon ake pre-determined percentage of your paycheck and any and all other monies that come to you and use that to reduce debt if you happen to own your own home or 48 |some other mortgageable asset AND you have a lot of high interest consumer debt, like credit card debt, you may be able to use the equity in your home to get a debt consolidation joan, pay off a bundle of the high intenast debts, and have a lower interest! (ie. lower cost) loan in its: place. H you do this, though, you MUST avoid running up: the credit cards all over again — even if you have to cut them in half and close the accounts to do it. } n = IMPROVES your financial situation, such as incurring debt to buy a home and stop renting. or further your aducation, or move to a naw city to take a better job, or to fake advantage of a carefully chosen business opportunity, Poverty-Inducing Habit #3: Not Increasing Your Value In The ostetpince Just about everybody WANTS a bigger paycheck. And most people WANT better career opportunities. There's Certainly nothing wrong with that, and a whole lot night with it, but “wants” alone won't get much accomplished. Actually, the size of most paychecks, and the Opportunities that become available to different people, are largely determined by a concept called “value.” Think about the pro athlete, for example. A player has a phenomenal season, he plays a very important role in getting his team to the championship, and his popularity increases, which means more ticket sales, higher ticket prices and more television exposure for the team, That athlete has incraased his value through PERFORMANCE cdHe is, in a. very real way, more valuable this year than last year, and has a legitimate argument for a bigger paycheck. He may not get it instantly, though. His contract with his team may lint his raises. But one thing is certain: fhe continues to improve his value through improved performance, in another year or two or three at the most, when he negotiates his next contract with that taam {his current employer) or moves to a new team (next employer), he WILL gat a much bigger paycheck that reflects his increased value. But this is very, very important Note that the increase in his value comes BEFORE the increase in his paycheck. Here are the four main ways people can increase theirExperience increases some peoples’ value. Only ‘some’, because some people, even if in a job for twenty years, only rapeat the same one year of experiance twenty times. That does not appreciably increase their value. But if, with each passing month, you are leaming a new skill, getting better al the job, even finding ways to do things more efficiently and effectively, then experiance counts, (One great mistake, by the way, iis !o presume that you are entitied to more money just because of the number of faise after raise only because of the number of years of employment is as out-dated as the Model-T automobile great grandpa started with a hand crank; that worked when we had a “closed economy.” Today, just about every industry and business is part of a “global economy,” and ‘companies cannot compete in that environment if they [pay people a lot more than a particular job itself is worth, W they can get the job done right for $10.00 an hour, they (cannot justify paying you $20.00 to do that same job, ‘even if you've been there for twenty years. You may not like that, but that's the way things really are. Education is the great income MULTIPLIER! Education absolutely, definitely, inarguably increases your Marketplace value. These days, you need a PLAN for increasing your value. ‘Odds are excellent that someone starting out, say 18 to 25 years of age, will not only change employers but will change careers at least three to five times during his working lifetime. Computers. will play an ever-incraasing role in everyone's lives. And roughly one-third of all ‘adults will, at some time, choose to start and operate a Part-time, home-based business of one kind or another. There's going to be a tot of change in your lifa! Putting a1a your continuing education “on pace” with this change is a very good strategy. The Three Prosperity Building Habits dust as there are habits that induce and perpetuate poverty or ‘lack of money,” there are habits proven to build prosperity: “having more money than you need.” It you @pply these habits in your fife, you are CERTAIN to gradually but significantly improve your overall financial #1: Saving. Back to Lincoln's “a penny saved is a penny eamed” axiom; yes, even pennies matter! A penny saved helps build the habit of saving. Every time you “save.” you create a feeling, an inner sense of “building,” and you strengthen a habit. lf you ‘SYSTEMATICALLY save, that feeling becomes pretty powerful, It has an impact on your sell-image, selt-aateem and sell-confidence. t you SYSTEMATICALLY save, that habit becomes automatic behavior In the beginning, your saving activity may not mean much in pure dollars and sense, You may start just by putting “spare change” into a coflee can at the end of every day, and by putting a tiny 1% of every paycheck into a savings @ccount That WILL take a long time to bulk! up, But gating this habit working for you is what's important, regardless of the dollar amount. Later, as your savings build, you can begin using more sophisticated investment methods, lice Individual Retirement Accounts (IFAs), mutual funds, and so on. In the beginning, very ordinary savings vehicles are fine. And even small but CONSISTENT savings, in ordinary $2mechaniems like bank savings accounts, can add up, thanks to “compound interest,” as the litte chart below shows: 45 YEARS OF SAVING Approximate Example: Person Born 1925, ‘Started Working 1945, To Retire In 1990 Savings Approx. Approx. Time = Amount Acct. Valuein Value In Period Saved int Rate 10 Yrs 1990" 1045-1954....$3.00/wk......2%. 1955-1964,...$5.00/wk......4%,.. $2,737.00... $10,685.00 1985-1974... S10.00/wk... 5%, $6,289.00....815,072.00 1975-1989, ,..$15.00/wk._.6%......$17 467.00... $17,457.00 TOTAL: $52,700.00 “Assumes that all savings eamed at the stated interest — and most retireas will tall you that can make all the difference in tthe world!explain it. But we will INSIST that it works. Every individual who tries this idea reports remarkable results. if you have three apples and give one away to a hungry person, your “wealth” has DECREASED from three to two, right? On paper, yes. But in real lite, the act of giving Seems to increase wealth rather than to decrease it, The act of giving actually violates the math we leam in school. When people combine The Habit Of SAVING with The Habit Of GIVING, they seem to “attract new job Opportunities, promotions, mises, ever money coming to them from unusual and unexpected sources. You may want to pick a favorite charity, your church, a focal civic project, a food bank, a homeless shelter, whatever, and regularly and consistently give a small donation. Just like “paying yoursell first,” you might set a percentage, aven 1% of 2% or 3% of all the money that comes to you. Each time you get paid, give even just $5.00, The amounts are less important than consistency and frequency. Giving of time counts, too. ‘Your community is. overrun with worthy, charitable organizations and projects in need of volunteers. Volunteerism is an American tradition thal enriches everybody's lives. “The only certain way to multiply wealth is to divide it”. . “for just as you feel you are!” + Dr. Edward L. Kramer One of the earliest “self-improvement” authors= RU iakie Act eenmnns: testers formal education or informal education: reading, going to Seminars, people who experiance incmasing incomes and prosperity are always actively involved in sell- improvement. We are “the TV generation." No previous age group has spent as much time watching television as we do. Now, we're not going fo “bash” television, We enjoy TV just as: much as anybody. We use TV for news, for entertainment, for watching: sports, for information, even for shopping. But the person who uses the TV as an “escape” from real Iife...who flops in front of it as soon as thay arrive home from work and stays there until they fall asieep....this person does himself a terible disservice. Instead, some portion of your time should be deliberately and wisely When you stop to think about it, “YOU are the only thing in (fe over which you have a great deal of control. "YOU" are the one asset that can never be lost or stolen. Doesn't it make good sensa to invest time and money in improving that asset? Understanding The Incredible Power Of Habit if you've ever tried to STOP some habit — smoking, overeating, tardiness — you've @xperenced the incredi- ble power of habit. Our habits virtually contro! our lives! “The chains of the habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strang to be broken,” - Dr Samual fohnson fe‘You get dressed In the morning by habit. You chooge the foods you eat by habit. ‘You choose activities by habit. ‘You drive your car by habit. And most of these habits get fommed mostly by accident. Think ebout the foods we like, for example. Why do we prefer cake, cookies, ice cream and other sweets as desserts? Why don't we prefer fresh fruits and cheeses instead? Because of habit. 4s children, we got sweets as treats, Thinking of those foods as treats became a habit. ‘Had your parents started out and stayed consistent with @ying you fresh fruits as treats and never giving you Gookies or cakes, by the time you toddled off to kindergarten, you would have formed a habit of preferring all the other kids would have undoubtedly interfered with that in pretty short onder. But f we ALL were raised with the fresh fruit habit instead of the candy habit, we'd certainly be a healthier society! The good news is thal, as an independent thinking adult, you can CHOOSE to break certain habits, and to create other habits. You can choose habits that work for you, “Tf you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create character. IfESCAPE FROM DEBT LIST Ten Things | Can Start Doing NOW To Escape From Debt 10,Chanter Five How To Manage Your Career, To Get Ahead In Life A huge, positive step in life is switching from “working for a living” to “developing a career.” There has been a fairly recent societal trend of young people choosing just to take “jobs,” claiming to have little interest in the income or the nature of the work, and focusing entirely on their after-work pastimes and interests. This is sort of dropping Gut hallway. The truth is: It wears thin pretty quickly, And an interesting truth about human psychology is that we defive a great deal of our personal satisfaction and sel-esteem from our work. I tums out you can’t just stick your job in a pigean hole, go through the motions, and still feel good about yourself, Our work and our sel-estaem are Closely linked. If our work is unsatisfactory to us, we will be unhappy. People stuck in unsatisfactory jobs carry that unhappiness over into other areas of their lives and find that nothing else makes them happy either. How To Escape A Dead-End Job (Before It's Too Late) A trend of recent years in the American economy, unfortunate in many ways, has been that a beg chunk of the new jobs being created are low-end, low-wage Service-Oriented jobs, like fast food restaurants, delivery and store clerk jobs, This is not to say you cannot start out in such a job and work your way up to better and better positions. You can, And many companies in these types of industries go: out of their way fo “promote from within.” 5A“People are afraid of the future, the unknown. If a man faces up to it, and takes the dare of the future, he can have some control over his destiny. That's an. exciting idea to me. Better than waiting with everybody else to: see what's going to happen.” + John Glenn, Jr. Astnonaut, U.5. Senator Actually, Career THINKING even precedes Career Training. Career THINKING is the change, in your own mind, from “jobs” and “paychecks” to a “career” and a “career path.” The word “path” is important, it says you are involved in a career you can davelop, move forward with, progress from one level to the next. It says there is Opportunity for growth, now and in the foreseeable future. To stimulate your Career Thinking, a list of such careers appears al the end of this Chapter. Incidentally, as you look through this list and think about career choices and options, it's helpful to remember that your own intuition or “gut instinct" about which career patn to follow will probaly be right. put away there and consciously forgotten about. When 50you begin to focus your conscious thought on ane thing, tke a career choice, your subconscious does a kind of “computer sort through all the retated, stored information, quickly organizes and summarizes it, and communicates # to you, through that “ittie voice” inside your head. A proneer of the self-improvernent field, Dr, Edward Kramer, taught that “no problem ever comes to you for which the answer is not already within you" and “man is deaf until he hears the inner voice of his own being.” You can and should place quite a bit of trust in what your own “inner voice" has to say about your career. eine toe wine dete voor oan Take Next Step Up In Your Career (Even In A “Tough” Economy) What do you think the Number One “Workplace Problem” of the mid-1990's is? It may be the misconception that no one is hiring! The United States Bureau of Labor's officiais claim that over 1 million unemployed individuals believe that there just aren't any good jobs. The goverment has invented a term for these people, I calls them “discouraged workers.” These people have, for one reason of another, taken themselves out of the job market. They aren? even trying to get a job. And this doesn'l count the even larger number of “discouraged employed workers” who may be in jobs thay don't like or may be overdue for raises, promotions or advancement, but aré so fearful.of the “Slough” job market, they aren't loaking for better positions either. Actual statistics and business surveys do not support these fears and feelings. 60For every industry that is temporarily stalled in our economy, there are two others growing by leaps and bounds. You may read in the newspaper or hear on the news about some huge company laying off workers or eliminating jobs — but what they don't tel you about in the news are the hundreds. Yes, there is a shift going an in our economy called "Down- sizing.” and that fuels these news raports about the giant companies axing 500 jobs here, 1,000 jobs: there. But this trend is offset by growth elsewhere in the economy. The plain truth is that there are (and always will be) planty of opportunities for a person who steps forward with sufficient education and preparation, positive references from past employers and others, a positive attitude, and an honest desire to develop a career. 4 Proven Keys To Getting A Better Job stiove Texte '0 tent igus Waceuieanns ante “tough” economy or “tough” job market. Instead, focus on the fact that there are always opportunities for top-quality people — and that's you! Keyre: Organize Your “Sales Story”. Few people think of it this way, but you are actually “selling” yoursall and your services to an employer. Before even attempting to @rmange job interviews or going in to fill out any applications, make notes of your bes! qualities, past accomplishments, reasons why a company should hire you, and references. Cany these notes with you, if you ara filling out job applications, or use them in praparing a resume. And get this information firmly feed in your mind, 61$0 YOU can use |t in conversations and interviews, Reve: Dont rut foursell iO Advertised Oe anos Sure, you should check the "Help Wanteds™ in your city newspaper, maybe nearby city and town newspapers, maybe even publications like the National Employment Weekly or trade magazines in your particular field, depending on how far along you are in your career. But don't stop thera! Mos! people further their cansers through the “hidden job market,” not through advertised openings. The Secret Of The “Hidden” Job Market Based on research done by some of the largest employment agencies and outplacement firms in the country, we estimate that less than 25%. of all the jobs paying more than $1,500.00 a month are filled by employment agencies or applicants responding to help wanted ads. In fact, many of these jobs are never advertised at all! About 75% of these jobs are filled by recommendation and referral; someone already working at that company refers a fnend. . .by “tips* —“l hear X¥Z are known to be hiring or filling a position at that moment. This “75% Factor” tells you that you need to DIVERSIFY your job search, For example, you'll want to let everybody you know who is employed anywhere, as well as “center of influence” type people like your, or your family's, accountant, lawyer, banker, know that you are interested in finding @ particular type of position. Put the word out! Build @ “target list’ of companies you think you'd like to work for and contact them, even if they are not advertising any openings or known to be hinng_ 42 aThree svewen Says Te seh Senne, environment, Expanding the scope and value of a job. The “intrapreneur” not only does his assigned, described job well, but is alert for opportunities to expand that job, land is prone to bring new, carefully thought oul ideas for improving some aspect of his job or his employer's business forward.——— a Keyl: Become Over-Qualiied. Sometimes people are tumed down for certain jobs because they are "over- qualified.” But a sure way to move up from one job toa better one is to develop the education, thinking, habits, behavior and image of someone who has that better job, Should You Consider “Entrepreneurship” * ? There is a home-based business and entrepreneurial explosion going on all around you! By starting your own business, from home, in your spare time, you not only have an Opportunity to eam extra income but also to develop new and varied skis, greater self-confidence and useful contacts. You may tater find a way fo grow your spare time business into © full-time business, and become your own boss for Ite. Of course, not everybody is cut out to be an entrepreneur,” especially on a full-time basis. But you may want to at least explore this option. Information about Harcourt programs for people interested in having their own businesses appears in Chapter 7. “Entrepreneur” refers to someone who takes on a certain amount of risk to start his own business enterprise, is his own boss. “What I want to tell you today is. throw yourself into the convulsions of the world. . live-in it Take chances. Make your own work, take pride in it, seize the moment.” = Joan Didion WriterCAREERS LIST* Which of these interests you? Which career would you mast ike to make a part of your successful future?a Repair Techriciin i _. Booicezaping _— Motorcycle Repair Technician Se Cooking = jeocene —. Child Day Care Management = __ _. Gormputer Graphic Arist a _. Court Reportar _ Professional Bridal Consultant __. Desktop Publishing & Design __ _ Ormmamaking & _ Professional Lockamithing _— Etectican _. Smail Engine Fepar _ Fitness: and Nutrition re Agent — Floral Design _. TWVGR Repair — Gunerath _— Vetorinary Assistant __. Home: inspector __ Web Page Gesigne: a Home Remodeling and Repas HEALTH CARE __ Medical Office Assistant ts __ Medical Tranecaptonist Therapy Aaa __ Occupational Therapy Aide Veterinary Assistant 1 Certificate Programs, * Eduestion Direct cam help you get started m ANY of these exciting careers! (See Chapter 7)(Chapter Six How To Gain Favorable Attention For Your Ideas And Your Abilities Progress in just about any career requires the development | of cartain “people skis." Communication, persuasion, influence, and leadership all play a role, That's probably why, after not just years, but decades, the famous book written by Dale Camegie — “How To Win Friends And Influence People" — continues to sell tens of thousands of In most companies and business environments, there is competition for the aftention of upper management, for recognition, raises, promotions and other opportunities. Sometimes that competition among peers and co- workers is wery obvious and open, other times it is lass open and a bit more subtle. Still, from time to tima, you will be thrust into a situation where you have an opportunity to “shine.” And at all times, you'll have the opportunity to “stand out.” So, how do you gain favorable attention for yourself, your abilities and your ideas? seas ta SURE ee ee ok Oe your choice of words, the level and diversity of your vocabulary, and how well organized the thoughts you express are. For starters, the kind of ‘street slang’ and ‘verbal shorthand’ we commonly use with friends is not going to gain points for you in the business world. Bayond that, any number of surveys and studies have confirmed that people do judge your intelligence and ability based on the words you use, Fortunately, there are many things you &‘can do for yourself, to strengthen your ability and confidence as a communicator, There are books you can read, very inexpensive community college classes, Leaming Annex classes (if there's an Annex in your area), ‘even audio and video tapes you can listen to and watch. Second: your personal image. Here is the best advice you ‘can get about dress and personal appearance as. it relates fo a caneer: look and dress one “step” better than your current job requires. if you'ra a mechanic, for example, and could get away with ol-stained, dirty coveralls or work clothes, wear clean, neatly pressed work clothes. If you can get away with a sport coat and open-coflared shirt, wear a shirt and tie. Instead of doing what you can "get away with," go just one step better. And always look your best, under whatever conditions you find yoursell in. Haircuts, clean nails, neat clothes, if's all important. We had a conversation with a young woman who had applied for a job in a yogurtfast food chain store and bean told that she would have to dress differently and better than she had on the interview, to be able to work there, She had gone to the interview in a T-shirt with a rock group's name and images on It and washed out jeans with placed holes. She was outraged over this. Angry, Mad. “What right do they have to tell me how to dress?" Wail, they DON'T have that right — unless you want to get money from them, as a result of taking care of their customers. Then they certainly do have that right. And they're not just imposing their personal ideas and preferences. They have a certain image they want their business to put out, they believe their customers respond o