Self awareness

Lei’s 2013 Experiences

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Lei 2013

Every year seem to go by faster and faster. Do you feel that too?  Well, it’s New Year’s Eve Day and it’s time to look back and take stock of what happened in 2013.  It’s my way to slow down today and be grateful for 2013.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to make 2013 about experiences instead of goals.  Now I can look back and appreciate all the new and challenging experiences I had this year.  Some are big and some are small.  All of them taught me something new.    As you will see, it’s a work in progress for many experiences.   Life is about the journey and not the destination, right? ...  read more

Soft Skills – Note to Self: Shut Up and Take Action

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It is New Year’s Eve day.  I am supposed to be happy and excited.  Instead I wake up very agitated.  My mind is teeming with negative thoughts.  I have been sick for two weeks.  I feel behind.  I feel unaccomplished. I feel tired even though I just got a full night’s sleep.

Then I catch myself.  I realize that, because I have not done much for my soft skills blog lately, the voice in my head is scolding me.  Negative thoughts fill my mind.  I feel deflated.  These feelings had been building up for a few days already. I knew I had to do something to break this pattern.  Instead of letting my negative thoughts control me, I decided to go for a run and de-stress a little. ...  read more

How to Stop Lack of Confidence

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A reader recently asked, via email, “How can one make up for a lack of self-confidence?  How do I beat this nasty character flaw?” Having self-confidence is integral to building Inner Excellence, so I thought this would be a good time to address this question.

First, let me start by telling you a story: ...  read more

How to Make a Change in Yourself at Work

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We have been talking a lot about the different soft skills we need to accelerate our career success, including self-management skills, which are needed to build inner excellence (like patience, persistence, confidence), and people skills (like communication skills, managing people skills, etc.).  Well, one thing is common between all of these topics: in order to master any of these skills, we need to make changes in our behaviors at work. ...  read more

How to Ask for Help – 7 Tips

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ask for help

Whether you are searching for a job or working in a job, at some point you will need to ask for help if you don’t want to hinder your progress.  No man or woman should be an island in their life or work.  It’s unrealistic to expect yourself to know it all or do it alone.

This is why the ability to ask for help is one of the most critical soft skills to develop in order to achieve excellence in your career.  Tom Peters, the author of the famous management book, “In Search of Excellence,” agrees.  Assuming that you also agree, let’s talk about how to best ask for help, since the approach matters.  Here are 7 tips on how to ask for help effectively: ...  read more

Know When to Change Jobs – Watch for Six Signs

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when to change jobs

Do you know when it’s time to change jobs?  I find this topic interesting because when and how often you decide to change jobs can determine how fast you can progress in your career.   Those who stay at a job too long can stignant their own career progression without knowing it as opposed to those who are in tune with the overall job market and their market value.   It’s important to realize when to change jobs so you can giving yourself the best chance for upward progression.   For this question of when to change jobs,  I have two answers. ...  read more