When people's response to us is, "No, I don't want to be friends," that hurts. Seldom do we consider how God feels when we say, "No," to Him.

We're created in God's image. Whatever we long for, He does too. He desires not yours, but you ... someone to walk and talk with, listening to His inner most thoughts as well as hearing yours.

Once realizing God's heart is like ours, we begin to avoid noticing outward appearances ~ to see needs of other's hearts. Only then, can we start to love like Him.

© by Joyce C. Lock http://our.homewithgod.com/heavenlyinspirations/ This writing may be used in its entirety, with credits in tact, for non-profit ministering purposes.

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.