~*~SIDEBAR~*~

Positive thinking is but a step in journey called 'success'. You need to back your thoughts with ACTION. You can think positive thoughts until your brain gets cramps but if all you do is think and not act, you'd be wasting your time.

The good thing about positive thinking is that it puts you in right frame of mind to take appropriate action.

~*~END of SIDEBAR~*~

Mark Twain (and later Napoleon Hill) said that 'What human mind can conceive and believe, human mind can achieve'.

The problem comes up after conceiving a potentially great idea. The little voice inside you starts saying things like 'that's a crazy idea' or 'nobody's ever done that before -who do you think you are?' . Your friends and family make fun of your idea. You begin to get discouraged and to think 'maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all'.

What should you do when this happens? Take control of your thoughts, that's what. Your mind has conceived it, remember, so your mind CAN achieve it. You just need to line up your thoughts and actions with what you want to do.

Tell all those naysayers (internal and external) that you will succeed in reaching your goal.

The next line of thinking after 'I CAN' is 'I WILL'.

Feed yourself with thoughts like that about yourself (and act accordingly) and you'll see your confidence, awareness and productivity soar. You'll find yourself attracting those things you want into your life.

Who says you can't make it? Tell them you CAN and you WILL. Then go out there and make it happen.

~*~ About author: DR Kem Thompson is a Personal and Business Success Coach. She teaches individuals and groups how to achieve success using Universal Principles of Success. Subscribe to her FR*EE newsletter, 'Days of Success!' and receive a thank-you gift by filling in form here: www.daysofsuccess.com

*** About the author: Dr Kem Thompson is a Success Coach, Speaker and Author of 'The Days of Success Collection: Articles To Help You Create Success Every Day'. Find out more here: www.daysofsuccess.com/successbk.htm. Subscribe to her FREE newsletter, 'The Days of Success', and receive a thank-you gift by filling the form here: www.daysofsuccess.com

It’s okay to use these opportunities to advance your career. Asking family, friends, and acquaintances for help will not get in way of your friendships. Actually, it’s opposite. You may be surprised at how many people are more than willing to provide valuable contact information and talk about their jobs or industry. Think about how happy you would be to offer information that could help any one of people on your contact list.

One of most important advantages of using your personal network to explore rewarding opportunities is that you will have name of a mutual acquaintance to use when you contact potential employers. For example, “Jane Doe suggested that I contact you as someone who would be a good person to give me some career advice.” Then, when you connect with this person, you also introduce potential for connecting with their contacts and opportunity to use their name in next introduction, and so on. The power of networking is that people you may never meet may help you advance your career.

Find a networking style that you are comfortable with, and take some time to prepare a few different introductions. Think about what you have to offer that would interest person you are contacting. For example if you are contacting a friend’s friend at your local Chamber of Commerce, highlight your corporate experience, “Hi, my name is Jack Doe. I am a project manager working on ABC project for our municipal government. Prior to this project, I have had great success completing projects for both EFG Corporation and HIJ organization.”

Networking involves establishing and nurturing relationships, sharing information, and having discussions with interesting people, including career related discussions with friends or family. You are prepared! It may seem too simple, but when you are prepared to ask people you know to help in your job search, you increase likelihood of discovering rewarding opportunities.