Soft Skills - Ask a Wharton MBA
Develop Soft Skills – Work Smart & Live More
I have been asked this question often in the last few years – How do I improve my communication skills when English is my second language. It’s time for me to share some tips that hopefully will help you all. The answer to this question comes in two sections: ...
My friend shared this quote with me over lunch today. I love its simplicity. “Your current situation is someone’s dream!” What a great reminder to be grateful.
I don’t know about you. I think it’s almost a national pass time to focus on looking up and comparing ourselves to someone who has a bigger house, more luxurious car, or more skills etc… This is especially true for us over-achievers who are trained to look for where we are still lacking – what is it that we are still not good at? ...
Whatever your career situation is today, I can help you “Stack the deck” in your favor. Job search and work are never fair. It will favor those who know how to play the game. I am here to help you with insider tips on how to play the game to your advantage in any career situation. If you are in any of the four situations below, I can point you to the insider tips I have gathered in the last 20 years, so you can work smart, get what you want in your career, and live more. ...
Have you made any New Year resolutions yet? “Eat Healthier” and “Get More Exercise” are
2018’s top 2 New Year resolutions. ...
I just found out a close friend has cancer. I was shocked by the news. Although her cancer is highly treatable, it was a complete surprise. She will need to go through 6 months of chemo and hell to recover. I share this with you to help you step back from the daily grind and see the big picture. Life is short and finite.
Our life is a gift. Don’t wait until you have shocking news in your life to reexamine. It’s never too early to reassess or take a different direction altogether. Today, I want to help you answer these questions.
Many of us work long hours, forgo time with family, friends, and skip vacations, so we can get ahead in our career. But do we know why we do it? The superficial answer is to make more money, or get promoted, or be recognized. But I would argue none of that really help us feel fulfilled.
Our career path must have a deeper meaning for it to be worth the effort and the time away from our families. That meaning will also help ground us if we receive sad unexpected news like this from a friend or from a doctor about our own health.
Here are 4 questions to help you examine your current career path and trajectory?
Question 1: Does my job & career make a difference somehow? I have shared the definition of success before. It’s not about material status, and much more about our level of contribution to others. Making a difference comes in all forms. For example, it can be about
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More than a year ago, I changed jobs and managers within the same company. I went from having one of the worst leaders I have ever experienced in my career, to having one of the best. On my first day with this new leader, she asked me a simple question – what make you happy at work? What was different about her is I realized she really cared and wanted to know my answer. I remember being a bit unprepared and told her what came to mind quickly
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Last month, I heard this great talk by Jyri Engestrom, a successful Internet entrepreneur on the topics of happiness. He said, most people have five regrets in life – all of which resonated with me. And you probably would agree these are the most common regrets as well. If so, then I ask you – why not address them now before you are dying so you can live life with no regrets.
Here are what these five regrets mean to me and what we can all do to live life without them today!
I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me – It’s amazing how hard this actually is. The more of an overachiever we are the harder this is. This is because we instinctively like to compare our achievements and career progression with that of others (e.g, my former classmates, siblings, even friends) or what others we care about may expect of us (e.g, my dad). While common, the act of comparison is destructive and the more we do it the more we move away from knowing how to live a life true to ourselves.
What to do to live life with out this regret: Stop comparing! Whenever you catch yourself comparing, stop and move on to more important things in life.
I wish I didn’t work so hard – I worked my butt off the first 12 years of my life and it affected my health. So I already got this message from the universe that working too hard may not be worth it. Luckily my healthy issues were temporary. I think I grew up with the concept that if I am not working hard, then I am lazy and that’s bad. It sounds a little ridiculous when I write it down.
What to do to live life with out this regret: Create a new concept that replaces the one above – Working hard will lead me to miss out on life, so don’t miss out. Work smart instead and make time for life as well before it’s too late
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings – Many times we repress our feelings only to hold on to the hurt, frustration, etc.. too long. It’s not good for us. I am glad to say this is one that I actually do often at work and in life. I hope you do too. It’s liberating.
What to do to live life with out this regret: Learn to express yourself and then let it go. This does not mean blurt out whatever you think. Express yourself in a constructive way takes practice and finesse. The first step is to let yourself do it and overtime, you can improve on the finesse. This also doesn’t mean expecting others to agree with you. It’s about feeling complete. Once you had a chance to say your piece, accept that you at least tried whether the outcome is what you expect or not.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends – As I get older and have a family, I am finding less and less time to stay in touch with friends. It just seems like a year would go by and I would be busy everyday with work, family, blog, etc.. Well, I decided to change this and make keeping in touch with friends a priority as well.
What to do to live life with out this regret: Here is how I am doing it without too much effort.
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