Stevie Puckett

Tag: presence

  • Goal Setting Process

    There is joy to be had by deciding what you want to create in your life, setting a goal to achieve it, and knocking it out.

    Goal setting is personal. Finding what works best for you is a trial and error exercise. Most importantly, keep trying!

    Take the time to learn what works best for you. Make it a priority to learn about goal management techniques early on. If a method sounds useful to you, try it for a month or so. Check your motivation and results at the end of the month to determine if that system is a keeper.

    Keep this in mind too. When there is a goal you don’t reach by the deadline, it’s time to reassess whether that goal is still relevant and whether to keep it on next year’s list. If it is, no harm done, you just estimated wrong about when you could get it accomplished. So put it on the list again and spend time feeling what it will be like to reach that goal while trying again.

    If you determine that the missed goal is no longer relevant to you, let it go without worry. It turns out that it was not important enough to focus on in the grander scheme, or maybe the exercise of feeling for it reveals to you that it’s not worthy of your goals list after all. If so, again, let it go.

    Learning to let it go is a valuable skill. When you release what you don’t want, you make room for what you do want!

    Living in the moment and being fully present is a critical point to remember when goal setting. It can be easy to be distracted by anticipating a future goal or accomplishment that you must achieve before allowing happiness in your life, but be happy now! Even though it is good to outline goals and work towards achievements, it’s most important to enjoy the process.

    Goal setting is about creating more of how you want to feel in your life. Set goals to feel good and make your life better even while working to achieve them. If a goal feels as if it will inspire an adventure in your life that you want to participate in, it deserves to be one of your goals.

    It is not about shoulds or what other people set as their goals. It’s personal. Goal setting is about what you want, WHAT YOU WANT TO FEEL IN YOUR LIFE.

    Does the idea for a goal seem like a drudgery? If so, that’s a sure bet you aren’t ready for it. Take some time to change your attitude about it before you add it to your goals list. It’s also possible that something that seems like it should be your goal may never make your list, and that’s okay. It must be okay; otherwise you spend energy battling yourself and essentially holding yourself back from more enlivening endeavors.

    Tap into your creative power and set goals that empower you more, not less. When there is a feeling of increased energy and interest that accompanies an idea for a goal, that is how you know it goes on your list.

  • How to Capture Ideas

    Once captured, an idea is available to you for future reference and further reflection and to combine with other appealing ideas.

    You capture an idea by bookmarking it, putting it in your social media streams, journaling it, sending yourself an email or voicemail, or using your digital recorder. No matter which way you decide to capture ideas, establish your system and use it religiously. Then be sure to review and revise them regularly.

    My favorite way to capture ideas is Evernote.com. With it, you can mingle audio recording, web page links, photos, and your written words together in an organized and searchable way that is fully digital. I keep a pen and notebook handy for quick notes when I’m not at my computer, then transfer my handwritten notes to Evernote later. I also have the Evernote App on my phone so that I can get to my notes anytime. I love the new Moleskine notebook made for Evernote. It is called the Moleskine Evernote Smart Notebook.

    You will not believe the increased effectiveness of your self-development endeavors due to getting clear on how to capture your ideas.

  • Advance Your Image

    I received a complimentary copy of Advance Your Image: Putting your best foot forward never goes out of style. 2nd Edition by Lori Bumgarner for review and wanted to share it with you because it is a good find and a timely topic. I received no other compensation for this review.

    Lori is on a mission to help people by building poise and self-confidence. She strives to bring the beauty within each person out in the best possible light. As a career advisor to college students turned image consultant to musicians, Lori has an excellent take on the big picture for how personal image plays into career development planning.

    In this book, she points out the nuances of why and how to strategically manage your image for the desired result of connecting with the audience, be it a potential employer or your network of supporters. Lori has advice for what you can do to improve your image. She sees image improvement as a fast-track to healthy self-confidence, which then leads to making better first impressions and being received better by others…a win-win!

    Lori also weaves together your in-person appearance with your job search marketing materials and online presence in a practical and easy to understand way. She outlines a helpful rule that I had never heard before called the Rule of 12 within her powerful strategies for making an excellent first impression.

    Learn more about Lori on her website, paNASHstyle.com.

  • On Interviewing, Part 4

    Of course, you will have done your research when you go into an interview for a position. You looked into what’s going on with the company. You checked out their website. You prepared for potential questions. You have questions of your own. You reviewed your power stories.

    Now realize that the people who are hiring have a problem. And they need to find someone who can solve that problem. So be sure you are aware of why they are hiring right now. Make that a part of your research. Begin to think in terms of how you can be a solution to that problem. That’s what they want to hear, and that’s what will make you stand out. They’re looking for a solution, and you can be that solution. Position yourself to show that you’re aware of what they intend to accomplish by hiring someone. 

    Check-in with them. When you go into your interview, say, “I imagine that blah blah blah is a problem, and I think that I could contribute by blah.” Doing so will help you demonstrate how you want to be a solution to their problem. They’ll like that.

    Much of what goes on in an interview is the interviewer seeking to understand your personal brand. It’s often an awkward situation because each question is basically, “What makes you the best choice for us?” And, that is such a mind trick of a question. You can get into this idea of, “Oh my gosh, is it okay to say that I’m special…that I’m the best one?” You know what, it’s okay. You have a personal brand, and they want to know about that to determine if you will fit into the company culture. Be okay with saying, “This is who I am. This is what I do especially well. This is how I contribute.” Take pride in that.

    Prepare yourself by losing that awkwardness about how they’re going to ask you what makes you unique. What makes you better than the other applicants? Understand that it is your invitation to tell them about your brand what you embody. Go ahead and be yourself and stand for something. Know in advance who you are and what you are looking for, and say it with calmness and pride. Question them too. It’s the only way to find out if the match is a good fit for you both.

    On Interviewing: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5

  • On Interviewing, Part 3

    You may likely be fired at some point in the course of your career. This, of course, can come as a total shock, but it is imperative to come to terms with such an experience so that you can recover quickly and be able to represent yourself well in upcoming job interviews.

    Spend some time processing what happened and practice verbalizing the lessons learned in a non-emotional way. Keep a positive attitude that you are preparing to go on to bigger and better things. The reality is that to many employers these days, even being fired isn’t necessarily a mark against you, depending on how you recover.

    Many successful people have been fired at some point in their career before becoming a superstar.

    On Interviewing: Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5