4. Announce That You Want It! Many times employees miss out on promotions because decision makers and career influencers do not know they are interested in being promoted.

Announce that you want to go to next career level!

Take time to sit down with your supervisor, manager, director, etc. and let them know you are interested in going to next level. Ask them for their honest assessment of your skills. Then ask what you need to do to be ready when next career opportunity appears.

Also announce your career aspirations to influencers in Human Resources Department. Remember more people they can hire from outside, less work they need to do. Make it easy for them to hire you.

Announce it to any one who can influence decision for your promotion.

5. Join Groups to Accelerate Promotions Join committees within organization. This shows management that you care enough to make a difference.

Also join professional groups and associations. Professional groups and associations are a perfect way to let influencers outside your organization about your skills. Don’t just join, participant in association’s activities to show your creativity, teamwork, and other skills.

One of most important groups that you could ever join…is Toastmasters. This is a worldwide organization with over 175,000 members dedicated to helping it’s improve their public speaking, evaluation, think-on-your-feet, and leadership skills. The main reasons you should join Toastmaster is following:

* Toastmasters give you confidence to approach any opportunity with confidence. * Toastmaster gives you speaking skills to stand up in front of group and present your point in a persuasive manner while others shy away from this opportunity. * You develop your leadership skills by learning how to do effective, positive, and encouraging feedback and evaluations while learning how to empower receiver to do better. * You have opportunity to develop your leadership skills by volunteering for positions at club, area, state, regional, and international level. I always say if you can’t get skills at your organization, you can get it at Toastmasters.

Join and let your organization know you’ve joined these groups. I remember a student telling me he wanted job of Network Administrator in a large organization. He never seemed to get past first interviews. Then he joined Toastmasters. He shared with me he gained confidence and think-on-your-feet skills needed to master his interviews. Shortly after joining Toastmasters, he landed his dream job as Network Administrator at a major hospital. It can make difference for you.

I challenge you to apply these techniques. You will see immediate results and go to next level.

By taking on small tasks and enlisting help of others, job of organizing your home is not as daunting, and you set wheels in motion for other jobs that lie ahead.

It is absolutely amazing how putting things in order in your home has a related effect on other areas of your life.

When someone is “stuck” and can’t move forward on a personal or professional level, experts advise them to clean out garage or tidy up their office. Organizing and putting your physical surroundings in order creates a “cleaning” or “clearing” of your cluttered mind.

The correlation between your physical and mental state is powerful.

Getting house organized isn’t exciting for most people, but to create some form of reward after a task is done can be a great motivator.

For example, I have two favorite television shows, one Sunday night and one Wednesday night. When I assign an uninspiring task for myself, I create a condition. If I don’t have that task completed by deadline I’ve given myself, I don’t allow myself to watch my show.

This may seem a little harsh and childlike, but we are motivated by reward. Everything we do has a pay-off and if you know what your pay-off is and if you abide by your own conditions, you will be more apt to complete your tasks.

When I sit down and watch my favorite programs, I am as happy as can be. The feeling could be likened to an eight-year old being handed a triple-decker strawberry swirl ice cream cone with sprinkles on top.

Remember, state of your surroundings has a direct connection to state of your being. If you are feeling undecided or scattered with no clear direction, take a look at your physical environment.

Get organized. Take small steps and create rewards for yourself for accomplishing each task. Enlist help of others.

By staying in action and observing positive changes you are creating, you will elevate your energy, increase your creative forces and clear your mind for greater things.