For Better Results, Be Better

I have a good voice, but not a great voice. I do not sing with power, and my voice cracks sometimes when I try to hit high notes. Yet something magical happens when I sing in our awarding winning choir. How do you create that kind of magic? For those of you in a career transition or even a life transition, it helps tremendously to surround yourself with others who bring out your best. If you currently do not have such a group, it can be found. How do you create a group who encourages your best?

First, get clear what kind of group would bring out the best in you. Your interests may not necessarily be job related. Build Your Group. If you like books, go to free library sponsored events. Get there early, introduce yourself, exchange contact information, follow-up and meet for coffee. If you like coffee and lively conversation about current events, go to a coffee shop several times a week, until your face becomes familiar to others. This is a great activity for introverts, because at coffee shops sometimes you don’t even have to initiate the conversation; after several weeks of hanging out there, they come up to you! Build Your Group. Try out several interests: square dancing or chess or civil war history.

Once you have surrounded yourself with others who bring out your best, allow yourself to be better. And then support them to be better, too. Each week at choir practice I have an opportunity to choose. Will I sing from my egotistical self or my authentic self? Singing from my ego, I only care how I look which often leads me down the road of anxiety, fear and even arrogance. When I sing authentically, I am spiritually grounded, grateful, and even astonished. When our choir competed nationally and performed on the same stage as Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, we rose to the occasion and sang better than we ever have. Who will help you be better?

On a job search, pay attention where you focus your attention. When I focus my eyes on my choir director, I sing better. When I focus on the 30,000 people at the Staples Center who would be watching us perform, my singing would have gotten worse. I sang with one voice with 49 other choir members and beautiful music was made.

Each of you have been given some incredible gifts, too; yet, where are you focusing your attention? If you focus on your mistakes, guess what? You will make more mistakes. If you focus on being adaptable and resilient, you’ll bounce back from mistakes faster.

Have you found yourself in a situation where there was no obvious way out? If your best efforts are not getting you where you want to be, and your best thinking is keeping you stuck, perhaps it’s time to try a different way.

DON’T GO IT ALONE

Under what conditions would you bring in an outside career expert, like me? Regardless, bring me up to date about your current situation by calling 314-560-1088 or if you are ready to get started now,  sign up for my two-hour diagnostic session that will pinpoint what’s getting in the way and how to fix it. Why wait? Ready To Get Started?