How leaders can underpromise and overdeliver

How leaders can underpromise and overdeliverHow leaders can underpromise and overdeliverSay a little and do a lot.Let your actions speak for themselves.Show me. Dont tell me.The maxims about hard work can go on for days. Its easy to copy/paste one of the timeless expressions on a motivational poster or catchy meme.But what does Say a little a do a lot mean in the context of leading your team?What does work ethic look like in real life?On my blog, were all about the practical side of leadership and the nitty gritty moments when you need to, in fact, let your actions speak for themselves.Less theory, more doing.Here are three examples.1. You wrap up a staff discussion about how to sell a new product. You can tell the team still has a rough idea about the product and the best ways to offer the item to new and existing customers.That night, you spend an hour and draft a schlussverkauf manual for the new product. You share best practices for email/phone engagements and a follow-up process with interested buyers.The next day, you email the team the finished sales manual as a shared document. You didnt make a big deal that you were going to stay up all night and work on the manual. In fact, you didnt tell anyone at all.No, you went home, sat at the computer and knocked it out.Then, when the team sees the manual in the morning, it comes as a welcomed surprise.You saw a need. You worked hard tomeetthe need. Nothing more to it.In other words, Say a little a do a lot.2. You want to give your development staff a leg up during next years fundraising push.You look across your network and find an outside expert on capital campaigns and fundraising drives. You coordinate for the person to lead a half-day workshop for you and your development team.Youre the leader so the decision to coordinate the workshop rests in your hands. You dont delegate out the decision or talk about bringing in an expert - and then never follow through on the idea.No. You do research, make phone calls , schedule the workshop and make it all happen.In other words, you let your actions speak for themselves.3. You have a policy that all nine employees can attend one professional development conference or vorstellung per year on the companys dime.You realize such an offer, while generous, can be overwhelming to staff members who may not be familiar with the conference circuit.Thats when you step into action. Without broadcasting your plans, you spend an afternoon and research 2-3 appropriate conferences for each employee.You then send an email to every employee, share the conference options and ask people to choose one (or to share another conference they found on their own).Did employees ask you to research the conferences? No. Is it helpful that you put in the time anyway? Yes.You didnt need to make a big pronouncement like, No calls on Tuesday afternoon. I will spend the time researching conferences for everyone.No. You sat down and did the work. Plain and simple. And now your emp loyees can make plans to attend conferences that will sharpen their skills and, ideally, boost your bottom line.In other words, Show me. Dont tell me.- Leadership is a collection of all the little moments where you decide to make stuff happen, set new ideas in motion and put your employees in a position to be successful.Anyone can make a motivational poster.But it takes a special person tolead.This article first appeared on DannyHRubin.com

3 Steps to Find the Job You Want Quickly

3 Steps to Find the Job You Want Quickly3 Steps to Find the Job You Want QuicklyAre you unemployed?Are you looking for a job but dont know where to begin?This is a daunting place to be. It doesnt matter how you got here. It matters what you do next.As you may have already discovered by now the job market is very competitive. Applying to jobs ansprechbar has changed the game in many ways. Youre going to need to prepare yourself for the search. I am going to tell you 3 steps to find the job you want quickly.Step 1 - Find ClarityFind clarity to determine how to begin your job search. It is important to be clear on what kind of job you are looking for. Consider your background and the roles youve already held.Where do you want to go from here? You have to narrow it down to be most efficient. Once you are clear on what you want, there are resources to help you find the six-figure job that suits you best.Look at the basics.What type of schedule are you looking for?What would your ideal sal ary and benefits package look like?Are you willing to relocate for the right opportunity?Fine-tune by exploring the size and type of company youd like to work for. Imagine yourself in different office environments ranging from large corporations to fast-growing start-ups. Do you binnensee yourself in a leadership role or as a strong member of the team?Gain a clear understanding of where you fit best. This will help you begin to shape your resume and narrow down your search.Step 2 - Create a StrategyCreating a strategy for your job search will help you focus on the process. One strategy is to give yourself deadlines along the way. As you determine what actions you need to take in your job search, attach a deadline to each item. This will motivate you and help you see your progress.Dont forget about your support system.Reach out to friends and former colleagues that you admire and trust. Share your ideas and strategy with them to stay accountable. Be open to feedback.These days most j obs are obtained through networking.There is no shame in asking for help. People you know will be your best foot in the door. If you cultivate and maintain strong relationships, they will be happy to help you. Recognizing the benefits of your LinkedIn network is essential in the job search process. Consider this - you are already somehow connected with the hiring manager at your next job.You have to connect the dots.Step 3 - Establish an Action PlanEstablish an action plan to follow to be more efficient in your job search. The sooner you find a job the better, but you want a plan to get you to the right job.The first priority is your resume. The online application process is more difficult than ever. If possible, hire a well-reviewed resume writer. This trained professional will build a resume that gets through the online application process. A strong resume will impress the hiring manager and set you apart from other candidates.Next step is your LinkedIn profile. Many people do not realize how to leverage the power of LinkedIn during a job search. This is your opportunity to network and get close to the hiring manager to secure an interview.Start searching for your top jobs to apply for. Choose wisely and dont overwhelm yourself with too many jobs at one time. It is a time-consuming process. You dont want to waste time and energy on jobs that are not ideal for you.Your resume and LinkedIn profile are the most important tools you have to showcase yourself to potential employers. Networking and utilizing the power of LinkedIn takes skill and strong connectionsAn executive search firm like Find My Profession will do all this for you.There are times when it makes sense to hire someone to professionally manage your job search. Find My Profession has the experience and resources to help you land the job you want in the shortest amount of time.With such a highsuccess rate, you cant go wrong with Find My Profession in your corner.

How to Express Your Interest in Leveling Up in an Interview

How to Express Your Interest in Leveling Up in an bewerbungsgesprchHow to Express Your Interest in Leveling Up in an Interview Yes? Great Now we can move on to how you can show your interest in leveling up in an interview. Career opportunities are one of the leading predictors of employee satisfaction , so its important to suss out whether or not theres room for growth at your prospective company. Here are three ways to show youre invested in your career advancement when interviewing.You need to adopt a JFK mindset in job interviews. That is, you need to be able to show your interviewer that youre thinking not about what the company can do for you,but what you can do for the company. If you can frame your excitement to level up at the company as a way to better contribute to the organization, it will come across better than if you were to just express interest in a more prestigious title or the paycheck that comes with it. Employers want to promote employees who a rent just invested inthemselves, but also the company as a whole.Asking about the type of professional development opportunities an employer offers is as much a great way to learn about the company culture and values - be wary of any place that doesnt offer any professional development - as it is to show your interest in advancing your career. In addition to asking about general opportunities, ask a specific question tailored to what is important to you in your personal career advancement. For example, you can say something like Im interested in growing my skills in SEO strategy and then applying that new knowledge to create more tailored marketing content. Is there space in this role for that kind of professional development opportunity?Are current employees still in the same roles that they started in? Does the company encourage the team to learn about different departments within the company? Is there more seitlich movement than upward? Understanding the patterns and histor y of current employees careers is one of the best ways to professionally illustrate that youre thinking a few steps ahead of your immediate job. If you cant get the real scoop from your interviewer, try reaching out to current employees or reading Glassdoor reviews .It might seem a bit premature to think about a promotion before you even start working somewhere, but this is one investment that will pay off down the road. The more research and expectation setting you do now, the lower the risk that youll feel stuck in a dead-end career later on.

Shocking Purity

Shocking Purity Shocking Purity Shocking PurityAs the fresh waters of our world become murkier, theres an even greater need for better and cheaper ways to de-foul the befouled. Now theres a new method for making salty, poisoned, or otherwise undrinkable water pure shock it, and watch it turn clean.In 2009 Martin Bazant, now a professor of chemical engineering and applied mathematics at MIT, was at Stanford, where researchers had just discovered that by applying a charge to microfluidic channels, water could be effectively depleted of salt. But the phenomenon occurred on unmoving water for a lab on a chip. When I saw their work, I understood the basic physics at play, which had to do with surface transports and surface conduction and surface convection, says Bazant. That was where I got the inspiration for my work.And Bazants work has now resulted in a first prototype that transforms dirty water to pure.ElectrodialysisIn any kind of electrodialysis a current is applied to an electroly te and positive ions go to one side and negatives to the other. What limits traditional electrodialyses, and many other electro chemical processes, is when the concentration of salt goes to zero youve reached transport limitation, says Bazant. His ordnungsprinzip overcomes that by adding a shockwave.The shockwave (red line) pushes the salt ions off to one side of the flow, leaving fresh water at the other side, where it can be separated out. Image MITWhen you reach strong depletion, the electric fields are getting big because the conductivity is going down, and youre imposing a high current and that electric field pushes on the ions that are in the double layer. Basically, it is able to carry the ions to the surface faster than diffusion by two mechanisms, he says. One is surface conduction, where the electrical field is literally dragging the ions to their place. The other is surface convection, which is driven by electroosmotic flow. The electric fields that are pulling the ions d rag the fluid with along too, creating convection. That brings salty fluid to the surface faster than diffusion, he says.Where other electrodialysis methods leave the water 90 percent pure, Bazants technology hits a purity level of 99.99 percent, with no detectable salt left in the water.And its not just salt. The technique can remove practically anything from the flow of water. Thanks to the shock wave, The flows will transport anything thats in the solution, says Bazant. So you can have neutral species being affected by these sort of unusual transport phenomenon.DesalinationFor the desalination of seawater, nothing is likely to beat reverse osmosis, despite the high-energy cost. But in cases where the salt concentration is lower, or theres a specific impurity in the water thats being targeted, shock electrodialysis would make a superior alternative. Think the Canary Islands. There, all drinking water comes from seawater ansturm through reverse osmosis. Then, because of high concen trations of boron, the water is run through reverse osmosis a second time. So theyre paying double to achieve this result, says Bazant. You could imagine that for them, after the first pass, you run our system. Similarly, the situation in Flint, MI, could be another potential application. I dont think it would make sense to run reverse osmosis on all that water just to remove some lead ions, says Bazant. We just have to remove the toxic ions, and do it with very high precision, and very thoroughly. So thats very well suited for the type of process that we have.The system also has the advantage of being scalable, he says. It could work for a hiker in the woods or a municipality interested in water recycling. The Army has already inquired, hoping to use a small-scale version for the individual soldier or platoon.Im getting a lot calls from people saying, Can you sell me a device right now? I say, Well, no, not really. I have this little thing that sits in the palm of your flosse and i ts the first of its kind. But I dont think were that far off. Its really a question of resources and what the pathway will be to commercialization. It will happen, but when, and how quickly, remains to be seen.Michael Abrams is an independent writer. For Further Discussion Im getting a lot calls from people saying Can you sell me a device right now? I say, Well, no, not really. I have this little thing that sits in the palm of your hand and its the first of its kind.Prof. Martin Bazant, MIT

if youre not getting interviews, read this

if youre elend getting interviews, read this if youre not getting interviews, read this I have talked to a lot of people lately who arent getting interviews and who cant figure out what the problem is. They tell me that they know their resume and cover letter are fine (and often people have looked those over for them and verified that), and they cant figure out what theyre doing wrong.Ive started asking to see their resume and cover letter anyway despite their confidence that those arent the problem. And you know what? Nearly always, those are the problem. The people who told them that they were fine were wrong they didnt have the experience or the insight to know what would make a really great resume or letter. And as a result, these job-seekers have been continuing to apply with mediocre materials and continuing to not get interviews, and are frustrated because they cant figure out why.Over at U.S. News World Report today, I talk about the these and two other reasons that youre not getting interviews, even if you think youre doing all the right things. Please read it for fruchtwein of you struggling with this issue, youre going to find the answers in there.And from there? Start fixing it. Read theseResumesthe 1 question your resume should answer10 mistakes youre making on your resumedont use a functional resumeobjectives leave them off your resumethose big paragraphs of text on your resume are putting people to sleepthe whole resumes section of my archives (There are 51 posts in there read them.)Cover letterswhat does a good cover letter look like?the point of a cover lettermore things not to say in your cover letterexample of a great cover letterthe whole cover letters section of my archives(There are 31 posts in there read them.)And yes, I know thats a lot and it will take time. But the alternative is to continue not getting interviews, and thats not a good alternative. Seriously follow the advice in these posts, and you should have a dramatically bett er resume and cover letter and if my reader mail is any guide, you should start getting calls for interviews once you do.Want more help finding a job?Get my e-book How To Get a Job / Secrets of a Hiring Manager If youve ever wished that you could look into the brain of a hiring manager to find out what you need to do to get hired, this e-book is for you. Ill give youstep-by-step help through every stage of your job search, explainingat each step what a hiring manager is thinking and what they want to see from you. Learn more here.

The 5-Minute Rule for List of Skills for a Resume

The 5-Minute Rule for List of Skills for a Resume New Step by Step Roadmap for List of Skills for a Resume For instance, say youre applying for the place of dump truck driver. It is possible to find below a list of the greatest skills you may put on your resume based on the kind of job that you are applying for. If youre on the lookout for a job for a sommelier, list your understanding of wine fundamentals and food pairing, and your experience with inventory administration. For example, if you submit an application for a Chinese-English interpreting job, you should be fluent in both languages otherwise you would just not qualify for the position. Getting the Best List of Skills for a Resume Most standard resume formats incorporate a skill section at or close to the bottom of the resume. You may receive an abundance of top Resume Writing Tips and advice at no cost from our blog. Review their About Us page and see whether your soft abilities or attributes are aligned with the businesss core values. Actually, there are particular jobs in which its important to set a skill section at or close to the top of the resume. Knowing the distinction is crucial when you desire your skills on a resume stand out. In reality, there are all those interpersonal skills that are linked to some level which you dont will need to list all of them. For the remainder of your skills, use your very best judgement. Youve got computer abilities. Hard skills arent skills that are tricky to learn. Then youve developed your communication abilities. Then youve developed your oral communication abilities. Hiring managers appreciate using bullet points as it makes it much easier to read through your list of qualifications. If youre interested in submitting an application for a particular job, review the deutsche bundespost carefully and observe the list of skill requirements. Dependent on the recommendation of our expert sources, here are a couple of broad sorts of skills y our resume could include, together with unique approaches to express them. Spell out your personal particulars and all your professional details to find the best outcomes. Irrespective of where you include your skills section on your resume, you can be confident that the hiring manager is likely to find it and definitely likely to ask about doing it. In addition, youre no longer on the lookout for a teaching job The previous project I want to talk about with you is the project I had to post every couple of weeks on, thats the blogs I have posted. Moreover, your education history may also change by the moment you should use another resume. In many instances, it is going to be simple to find out what skills you want to be thought about for the job. If youre still not positive if at least one of these skills are appropriate for your situation, one quick approach to check which skills the employer is seeking is to confirm the work description. Your skills are an overview of wha t you could do for the prospective employer if you were offered the work at the moment. Carefully reread the work description and choose which skills are unquestionably essential for the job. The Fundamentals of List of Skills for a Resume That You Will be Able to Learn From Beginning Right Away You are going to have tough time locating a work description that doesnt consist of communication as a required skill. To begin with, if youre seeing a great deal of hard skills that you just dont have, it could be far better move on to the next position. Soft skills are a little more vague and open to interpretation. The absolute most important point to take away from this is that selecting and understanding the acceptable skills for the position is the most significant thing. As you proceed through the list of skills above, make a distinct list with the skills which you already possess. Key skills are work-related skills that you will need to do a job. Technical skills are either something youve got or you dont, but theyre always something which you are able to learn. 3 First, you have to pick the best skills for your resume.

Switching to a Different Recruiting Technology - Spark Hire

Switching to a Different Recruiting Technology - Spark HireWhen transitioning over to a new recruiting software, it is important that you take the right steps in ensuring that the software investment is a success.There are 4 key things you should do in order to get the fruchtwein ROI on your newrecruitingtechnology. 1. Research the technologyResearch is always helpful when learning a new program. Im sure you did a lot of research before purchasing the new technology, but that doesnt mean that the research is over.Continue researching how other recruiters are utilizing the system and you may find excellent first hand solutions and tips on making the most of the technology.If you know of other recruiters or contacts who are using the same system, ask them for tips on how they are getting the most out of the new recruiting technology.2. Learn the technologyMost recruiting systems will come with some sort of training program from the selling company. Take time to go through this training and learn how the system works. Make sure that anyone within your company who will be utilizing the system sits in on this training.3. Create SOPsOnce you know how to use the system, its time to figure out how your business will best utilize the system for its needs.If you have someone on your team who understands the technology and enjoys learning the ins and outs of the system, consider naming this person your in-house expert when it comes to the system.Your system expert should work with different departments regarding the usage of the new technology, thus developing SOPs or voreingestellt Operating Procedures for the system accordingly.These SOPs will provide a usage guide for each department which will help in the day to day operations.4. Provide in-house trainingDont think that training stops after the initial introductory training on the system. You must continuously offer training on system upgrades, new found functions and processes, as well as offer training to new team m embers. This type of training is quite often more beneficial if completed in-house, where you have control over how and when the training is conductedIf you are fortunate enough to have an in-house expert on the system, consider promoting this person to your designated trainer. Also, dont forget that many systems come with technical untersttzung for as long as you have the system. Your in-house trainer should be in frequent contact with this support in order to make the most of your training program.What are some other things you would do when changing your recruiting technology? Please share your tips in the comments below.

How to Spot Audit Your Payroll System

How to Spot Audit Your Payroll SystemHow to Spot Audit Your Payroll SystemThe possibility of payroll fraud occurring is always a concern for a business. But an even greater concern for organizations should be remaining in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.Fraud is an important issue but compliance is even mora so, says Jim Medlock, director of education and training for the American Payroll Association (APA). An organization is more likely to be found out of compliance and penalized as a result than it is to experience fraud.Alleviating risks, preventing mistakesMedlock advises businesses to conduct periodic spot audits of the payroll process to guard against the risks - and possible legal and financial consequences of noncompliance. Regular audits can confirm payroll accuracy and identify and correct problems, ensuring businesses remain in compliance with all state and local requirements, as well as federal regulations, such as those issued by the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor.Common pitfalls for companies include failing to calculate overtime pay correctly, including the employees regular rate of pay, especially if a worker also receives additional wage payments in the form of shift differentials, commissions or bonuses.Auditing your payroll process isnt overly complicated, according to Medlock. Even the smallest businesses usually have automated payroll ordnungsprinzips that have the capability to produce reports on demand.These reports allow employers to verify various aspects of payroll, such as whether mandatory deductions are being made and whether pretax deductions are handled properly. In addition, the IRS provides tools that give employers the ability to verify that withholding amounts and various tax payments are being reported and paid to the proper agencies.The value of regular payroll system auditsMedlock recommends auditing the payroll system every pay period. In addition, payrolls should be balanced and reconciled every pay period, as well as on a quarterly and annual basis. By reconciling your payroll system in a timely manner, problems can be identified and corrected sooner rather than later, reducing the potential for penalties.A payroll audit is best performed by compliance consultants or skilled payroll professionals. Even if a company outsources its payroll function to a service provider, Medlock cautions this doesnt remove the company from bearing responsibility for payroll accuracy.You can outsource the responsibility, but not the accountability, he says. It always comes back to your organization.He cites a case where a companys payroll service provider failed to pay taxes to state authorities, but the company was still held responsible for the problem, as well as any back taxes and penalties. Medlock notes that service providers rely on calculations and other information supplied by the employer, so employers must ensure they provide accurate inputs to the payroll process.Ensuring accurac yIn addition to auditing your payroll system automatically, Medlock suggests taking the following steps to ensure payroll accuracySegregate duties - The likelihood of payroll fraud occurring can be reduced by not allowing one employee to be responsible for multiple aspects of payroll.For instance, reconciliation shouldnt be performed by the same person who issues paychecks otherwise, you have the same individual validating his or her own work. The more you can divide duties among employees, the more youll have a system of checks and balances.Stay informed - Payroll and tax issues are always changing, and the professionals best equipped to manage ever-evolving changes are those who engage in continuous learning.Companies can help their staff enhance their skills by encouraging involvement in organizations such as the APA. Managers also should support ongoing education, including regulatory compliance training opportunities and professional payroll certifications, such as the Fundam ental Payroll Certification (FPC) and Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designations.Subscribe to our newsletterWhen you subscribe to the Robert Half newsletter, youll get articles and resources to help you build and manage a winning payroll gruppe - all sent directly to your inbox. Click the button below to sign up todaySUBSCRIBE NOW

A city is facing a ninja shortage even though the pay is $85,000 Ladders

A city is facing a shinobi shortage even though the pay is $85,000 LaddersA city is facing a ninja shortage even though the pay is $85,000 LaddersYou may have heard about Japans demographic crisis - but the country is facing another, lesser-known crisis as well.Japan does not have enough ninjas.In an episode of NPRs Planet Money podcast, Sally Herships visited Iga, a small city in central Japan that claims to be the birthplace of the ninja.Each year the city of around 100,000 swells by around 30,000 as tourists come to experience the annual ninja festival.Unfortunately, Iga is suffering from depopulation. Its facing a shortage of those two key things you need to keep an economy humming stuff to sell and people to buy the stuff, Herships cohost Stacey Vanek Smith says.Iga is also losing its young people, who dont want to live in the rural countryside They want life in the big city like Tokyo or Yokohama.In order to revive the local economy, the mayor of Iga, Sakae Okamoto, is promo ting its ninja heritage with the aim of drawing more tourists.Right now in Iga, we are working very hard to promote ninja tourism and get the most economic outcome. For example, we hold this ninja festival between late April to around the beginning of May. During this period visitors and also local people come here. Everybody will be dressed like a ninja and walks around and enjoys themselves - but recently I feel that its not enough, Okamoto tells Hership.Japan is currently experiencing a major tourist boom - the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that almost 29 million tourists visited Japan in 2017. Thats an increase of almost 20% from the year before.While some cities are benefitting economically from the influx of tourists, rural ones like Iga are apparently not.With the hope of encouraging tourists to stay longer than a day in Iga, Mayor Okamoto is relocating city hall and building a second ninja museum in its place. While the budget is not disclosed , Okamoto has received funding from the central government from the public - Japans government is funding ninjas, Herships says.The project faces some hurdles, though. Iga needs to attract labor forces to work and live in the rural city as the ninja tourism scheme is extended.This means not just builders and planners - but also ninjas themselves. Theres a ninja shortage, Herships says, or - to be accurate - a ninja performer shortage.This issue is especially difficult given Japans extremely low unemployment rate, which is just 2.5%.It is therefore hard to find workers in Japan, let alone highly-specialized ninja performers.Ninja is not an inheritable class. Without severe training, nobody could become a ninja. Thats why they have silently disappeared in history, Sugako Nakagawa, curator of the local Ninja museum, told Reuters in 2008.But this job does have a lot to offer, Herships says. First of all, the pay is quite competitive, today, ninjas can earn anything from $23,000 to a bout $85,000 - which is a really solid salary, and in fact, a lot more than real ninjas used to earn in medieval Japan.Herships quotes the International Ninja Research Centre, which states that in Iga, the typical ninja earned between $8,000 and $17,000 a year - salaries adjusted for inflation.Mayor Okamoto faces an uphill battle, though. The Mie Prefecture (the prefecture where Iga is located) as a whole attracted just 43 new young residents last year, meanwhile, Iga alone lost 1,000 residents.If ninjas are going to save Japans depopulation crisis, theyd better act fast.This article first appeared on Business Insider.

This 10-minute routine will increase confidence and self-esteem

This 10-minute praxis will increase confidence and self-esteemThis 10-minute kenntnisse will increase confidence and self-esteemThe two most important times in your day are just before you go to bed, and just after you wake up. These are your bookends. If you learn to master the bookends of your day, you will quickly gain greater control over the rest of your life.You are the most important human being in your own life. While most people are trying to impress other people, its far mora inspiring to live a life that impresses yourself. Rita Mae Brown said, The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.Living in alignment and with intention is how you create inner confidence and peace. It does not matter how many times youve failed in the past. It doesnt matter how messy or conflicted your life may be right now. You can quickly learn to develop confidence and a deep sense of self-love. George Eliot said, It is never too late to be what you might have been.With this short routine, you can come to love and appreciate yourself far mora. This love and appreciate will give you momentum and motivation to make increasingly better decisions throughout your days, so that overtime, your life gets exponentially better.10 minutes before going to sleepWhen performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates. - Thomas MonsonBefore going to bed at night, pull out your journal and simply report to yourself what you did that day. If youre a fast typer, youre better off using a computer than a handwritten notepad for this journaling session.Report and account to yourself how the day went. Be completely honest and vulnerable with yourself.Share both your wins and your losses. Think about the triggers that may have set you off on a wrong course. In the process of accounting what happened during your day, write down how things could have gone differently if you had been more intentional.- - - According to Dr. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, there are several differences between optimists and pessimists.PessimistsPessimists explain negative events as a permanent fixture of their identity (something they cant change). They view themselves (or life in general) as the problem, and there is nothing that can really be done.OptimistsOptimists explain negative events as situation and short-lived. When something goes wrong, they focus on situational factors that can be altered and improved.- - - During your evening journaling session, write down how you could have altered the situation. Have no negative judgement about yourself. Just report back what happened and what you learned.While writing about what happened and what you learned, your mind will naturally begin projecting the future and what you could be doing differently. Ride this natural stream of thought and begin writing down how you plan to live tomorrow differently.Wri te in an affirmative way how you want to see tomorrow happen. Be positive and optimistic. Thomas Edison said, Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious. As you write down how you intend to see tomorrow, feel and imagine yourself being excellent tomorrow. Make a mental commitment that youre going to wake up at a certain time and that youre going to crush the next day. Imagine yourself the following evening in the same place you are now reporting how the day went, and being able to report incredible success and progress.Write down the potential barriers that could come up. In psychology, planning for obstacles is known as implementation intentions. Write about how you plan to face those obstacles or challenges when they come.Avoiding problems is far more intelligent than trying to overcome them. Consequently, write down how you can avoid being triggered into negative traps in the first place.Even if you had a bad day, this routine will make you feel better. Youll have b een honest with yourself about what happened. Youll have been able to re-live your day. Just by virtue of that fact that youre spending some time reflecting on how things went, youll begin to feel gratitude for the little things.If you had a negative experience with a friend, child, or spouse, your love for them will deepen as you reflect on how things could have gone differently. Youll commit to yourself that you will be better tomorrow. This commitment to yourself will also be a commitment to those you love - that tomorrow you will shift the pattern and help them feel more love than they ever have before.Over time, youll begin looking forward to these evening reporting and accountability journaling sessions. They will become one of the most treasured parts of your day. They will inspire you to live better each day so that you can honestly report to yourself how well you did.Your love for yourself will increase because day-by-day, youll be living more intentionally and congruently . Mahatma Gandhi has said, Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.The more harmonious your life becomes, the happier and more confident youll be. This evening writing session will help you develop incredible love and compassion for yourself. Jean Shinoda Bolen said, When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.10 minutes after you wake upResearch confirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active and readily creative immediately following sleep. Your subconscious mind has been loosely mind-wandering while you slept, making contextual and temporal connections. Creativity, after all, is making connections between different parts of the brain.In an interview with Tim Ferriss, Josh Waitzkin, former chess prodigy and tai chi world champion, explains his morning routine to tap into the subconscious breakthroughs and connections experien ced while he was sleeping.Unlike 80 percent of people between the ages of 1844 who check their smartphones within 15 minutes of waking up, Waitzkin goes to a quiet place, does some meditation and grabs his journal.In his journal, he thought-dumps for several minutes. Thus, rather than focusing on input like most people who check their notifications, Waitzkins focus is on output. This is how he taps into his higher realms of clarity, learning, and creativity - what he calls, crystallized intelligence.Writing in your journal first thing in the morning has a few key purposesTo clear your mindTo trigger and remind yourself your goalsTo experience deep gratitude for the dayTo help you get creative insights about people you need to reach out to, or projects youre working onYour mind is beautifully attuned first thing in the morning. If you learn how to use your morning-mind, youll get the most important ideas of your life. Youll get insights and inspiration that will help you live better throughout your day. This is the crystalized intelligence that Waitzkin is talking about.Important ideas can change your life. Those ideas wont come if you dont give your mind the space to focus. Thats where this morning journaling comes in. This morning session is more meditation than anything else. Youre allowing your mind to loosely wander while you write down your goals, dreams, plans, and what you aim to accomplish that day.As you remind yourself of your goals and dreams, you want to be highly affirmative about what you intend to do that very day.Who do you want to be?How do you want to show up?What do you need to focus on first?Who do you need to reach out to?Affirm in writing that youre going to succeed that day. Affirm in writing that you will accomplish all of your goals, both short and long-term. By affirming and deeply visualizing and experiencing yourself succeeding, you are creating an emotional climate of success. You are creating a powerful state from which to operat e in the world. This is a peak-state.The goal of the peak-state is to be completely in the moment, to clear your mind, and to avoid unhealthy subconscious loops. You want to be completely clear on how youre feeling RIGHT NOW.Do these emotions match the goals you want to achieve?Do these emotions match the future you are trying to create?If your current emotions do not match the future youd like to create, then your behavior will be low-level and your day will be a repeat of the past. In order to create a new future, you need to proactively create the energy and emotions that matches the future you intend to create. You do this at the beginning of your day so that you can live out your day from those emotions. If you start right, youll be far more likely to continue right throughout the day.While writing in your morning journal, feel and know that youre going to succeed today. Know that the goals you aspire toward are already yours. Allow yourself to experience deep gratitude while w riting in your journal about the accomplishments youre going to have that day.Be as imaginative as possible. Albert Einstein has said, Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while vorstellungsvermgen embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.Allow your mind to go places. Dont squelch inspiration. Allow bold, big, and incredible thoughts to flow to you as you meditate and write in your journal. Be completely optimistic and affirmative about the goals and plans you set.Know in your mind that you can do it. As Napoleon Hill famously wrote, Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.This whole process will allow you to not only get clear, but also to get inspired. Every morning, you should be elevating your way of thinking and living. Your goals should continually be expanding because each day youre gaining confidence and learning.The clarity, affirmation, gratitud e, and inspiration from this routine put you into a deep level of presence, creating a peak-experience. According to Abraham Maslow, Peak experiences as rare, exciting, oceanic, deeply moving, exhilarating, elevating experiences that generate an advanced form of perceiving reality, and are even mystic and magical in their effect upon the experimenter.These peak experiences are rare because very few intentionally create them. You can and should be having peak experiences daily. As you have peak experiences every morning, and then act from those experiences, you live an intention and present life. You reshape your subconscious and become a super-learner, allowing all of life to come in.Peak experiences are rare for most people because they have deep emotional blocks, which cloud their minds. Due to the lack of clarity and lack of routines to get clarity, people live reactively to their environment and their body. They seek dopamine and distraction and sugar and carbs and the downward cycle continues - as does their confidence, self-love, and imagination. Over time, they become pessimistic about themselves and about life.ConclusionA man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. - Mark TwainYou yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection - BuddhaUntil you value yourself, you wont value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. - M. Scott PeckTo love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance - Oscar WildeThese journaling sessions can absolutely change your life. In the evening, you develop greater love, appreciation, insight, and compassion for yourself. You notice things you may not have seen in the busyness of your day. You report your learning so that it becomes more engrained. You make better plans for the future and positively affirm to yourself that youll succeed.As you write in the evening, youll shift your subconscious patterns while you sleep. When you wake up, youll have new memories, new emotions, and new neural connections to work with.As a result, its very important not to immediately get sucked BACK into the old reality of yesterday. Dont pull out your smartphone. Instead, seize access to those new neural connections through meditation and journaling. Go to a quiet place and pull out your journal. Begin writing down the things you plan to achieve and the person you intend to become.During your writing session, youll come to expect flashes of insight during the writing process itself. Psychologists call this epiphany ability and self-help gurus call this auto suggestion. They are both a way of saying that youll get inspired insights and clarity if you give yourself the space, and if you come to truly believe and feel what youre seeking to have in your life.When you do these two routines, your behavior DURING YOUR DAY will improve. Youll stop being so reactive to environments, emotions, and other people. Youll avoid terrible situations that were o nce your norm.Your days will get better and more intentional. Your life will transform. Youll begin living your dreams. Soon, those dreams will expand through the inspiration you get and the experiences you create. Your confidence will soar because youll be living in greater alignment with yourself.Youll love yourself.Youll have greater confidence.Youll appreciate those you love more.Youll be happier.Your emotions will translate to those around you and theyll love and appreciate you more.Youll be far more present and powerful.Youll end the cycle of addiction. Youll be clear.Ready to upgrade?Ive created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change very quickly.Get the cheat sheet hereThispostfirst appeared on Medium.