How to stay productive while working from home

How to stay productive while working from home by Amber Rolfe The coronavirus pandemic has brought on a range of government restrictions and guidelines to help keep people safe.One of them is only going to work if you absolutely have to. As a result, many companies have implemented voluntary or mandatory working from home policies; which means many workers are dealing with an unusual challenge a sudden (and extended) shift from office life to home life.To help you maintain productivity during COVID-19, here are our top tips on how to stay productive while working from home:    Recreate your commuteOK, so we’re not suggesting you literally commute to work and back. That would be counterproductive, not to mention downright dangerous during the current pandemic.  However, your commute does more than get you from A to B. It also mentally prepares you for the day. To make sure you’re getting the same level of preparedness at home, it’s a good idea to carve out an equivalent routine that’ll help ease you into your work day.  Outdoor activity may be a no-go right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t carry out exercise at home that emulates your walk to work.  Other common commuting activities to incorporate could include listening to music, watching Netflix, reading, taking a free course, or if you’re extra organised, writing a to-do-list for the day. Whatever you used to do on your commute, set aside an hour to do it while you work from home.  The same goes for your would-be journey home.  Going straight from work-based tasks to cooking dinner or doing chores is a big leap and gives you no time to switch off from work and unwind. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up burning your lasagne because you’re still busy wondering whether Tim from Accounts has replied to your email. No one wants that.      Six productive things you can do with your commuteEstablish boundaries  When you’re working from home, it can be all too easy to blur the lines between your work life and your personal lif e.  Before you know it, they’ve blended into one; you’re working on spreadsheets, on a conference call, cleaning the kitchen, and feeding the dog all at the same time. Seems impossible, right? That’s because it is.Routine is an important part of work. And it doesn’t become any less important because you’re working from home. That coffee you make at 10am every day in the office? Do it at home. The lunch you take at 1pm? Put it in your calendar. That task you unconsciously do while chatting to your colleague on a Monday morning? Keep doing it.  Creating a routine will not only allow you to take breaks (and avoid inevitable burnout), it’ll also allow you to uphold the same level of productivity that you had at work. If working from home is a brand new experience for you, this could also be a great way to maintain some normality.        And at the end of the day? You actually go home (metaphorically). As tempting as it can be to lose track of time and keep working over your office hours, doing this in excess could have a negative impact on your mental health, not to mention the quality of your work.  So work set office hours (whatever they may be for you), have regular breaks, and switch off at the end of the day. Your productivity will thank you.    How to: Achieve a work-life balanceFive benefits of work-life balanceEight good habits to start right nowLimit distractions  â€˜I am so ready to have a productive work day just after I watch the rest of this TV show. Oh look, that’s a nice pigeon outside. I wonder if I could have a pet pigeon. I’m hungry. I should clean. Time to bake some cookies. Wait, what was I doing again?’Sound familiar? If you’re easily distracted (or just a human), working from home without getting sucked into everything around you can be a tricky task.    After all, you’re used to home being a haven for free time and relaxation not for work time. The challenge now is to distinguish between the two, and switch off from o ne while you’re doing the other. And the key is just that. Switch. Off.  No matter how good you are at multitasking, you’re not going to get your best work done when you’re trying to focus on Whatsapp, the TV, the news, and the pigeon outside all at once. No one is that good of a multitasker.    When it comes to maximising productivity, the first step is to identify your triggers then do what you can do to minimise them.  For example, if you’re likely to get distracted by a messy living room, make sure you clean before you start work. If your phone is what keeps you from living your best work life, mute it. And if you’re often overcome with the urge to cook, surround yourself with pre-prepared food.  It’s practically flawless.  Top 5 â€" Desktop distractionsHow to work from homeStay on the grid  Working from home can make you feel isolated. It can also take some getting used to.    That’s why it’s absolutely vital to stay connected with your colleagues. Everything f rom one-on-one video calls and group conferences, to phone calls, emails, and IM chatting, will allow you to stay in touch with the people you work with remotely in the most in-person way possible.    And it doesn’t have to just be about work.  Whilst keeping in touch with your manager and colleagues about your tasks, duties, and accomplishments will help you to stay motivated, it’s not the only reason to communicate.  It’s also a good idea to emulate those ‘water cooler’ chats that you’d usually have in the office. Yep, small talk is important. So set up video calls to catch up on your weekends, arrange virtual pizza parties at lunch time, or even organise Friday night beers over video chat. It’s basically like the pub, just with less people and cheaper beer (silver linings).Without these regular interactions that you’d usually get on a daily basis in person, your morale is likely to drop over time with your overall productivity taking a hit too.  Focus on self-car eCOVID-19 is affecting all aspects of the world meaning you’re probably in a constant state of worry about your family, friends, and your job, all on top of whether you’ll ever be able to buy toilet paper again.  It’s normal for what’s going on around you to affect your mood. But this could also have a knock-on effect on your productivity.    That’s why it’s important to avoid getting so wrapped up in the news or stressed about your workload that you forget to take care of yourself. Self-care looks different for everyone, but the most important thing is that you pay attention to the signs, and do what makes you happy.    After all, the drastic switch from office life to working from home life can make you forget about the things you used to do to keep sane and healthy; you know, like eat, sleep, and exercise. And we’re not just talking about frozen pizzas and copious amounts of coffee.  Were talking about lots of water, three solid meals a day, and, most importantly fruit and vegetables. You know the drill.  Additionally, reminding yourself of what’s good in the world, or even just spending some time (outside of work hours) on your hobbies will all help to maintain a positive mindset. There are also a number of wellbeing courses on offer, that are designed to boost your mood.  And if you have an off day? Don’t beat yourself up. Rest, reset, and try again tomorrow.  Six tips to improve your workplace wellbeingSix signs you’re working too hardWork from home jobsStill searching for your perfect position? View all available jobs now.  Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. COVID-19 a nd work Features Flexible working Work from home jobs Work-life balance

Uses For Professional RN Resume Writing Services

Uses For Professional RN Resume Writing ServicesProfessional RN resume writing services provide writers for a variety of purposes. They could be freelance writers that are employed by a company or business to write the business resume and cover letter for its employees. These writers could be of any level in the organization and could be hired only by executives of the company, who can use their skills to produce an executive-quality CV.The CV for RN professionals could also be a tool to get them into management positions. This professional resume does not necessarily have to be made by the company's in-house, as freelance writers could also be hired to write these applications. They can either write it themselves or just be contracted by the company to write the letters. These freelance writers may also be asked to review previous resume samples of applicants and give suggestions on how to make the CV easier to read and decipher.Other uses of RN resume writing services could be to w ork as a freelancer writing on the web. It is possible for a RN professional to start her own online website or blog, which could be an ideal marketing tool. Her online resume could include an 'About me' section, along with links to her other websites. She could also post articles and write a few articles on the topic of nursing. This could be used as a freelance experience and as an educational resource in her field.Companies may be interested in having professional RN resume writing services promote the company's online and off-line marketing activities. They could place advertisements on various sites where nurses can find them. In addition, they could be used for social media marketing and could provide information about social networking sites. They could also provide news tips, and they could also help customers find answers to common questions.Personal and corporate applications can be prepared by professional RN resume writing services. These would include letters, resumes, and cover letters, which are all made by the professionals to meet the client's requirements. The types of CV papers for RN professionals can be updated and improved based on the client's needs.Another use of the CV for RN professionals is for training. If a person wants to go to nursing school, then a CV sample for a RN professional would be useful. If the person already has a degree, then he can ask the professional to write his resume.However, personal development is also important in RN professionals' CV samples. These could include ideas and plans for promotion. This includes their career goals, what they are hoping to achieve as professionals, and how they want to reach them. These could also contain, how they feel about their profession, their achievements, and tips for improvement.A person's CV for RN professionals will show his or her qualities, or abilities, which will make a lot of people want to hire them. It is important to understand how to use these documents correctl y so that they help the best.

Personal Branding Interview Laura Ries - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Laura Ries - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke with Laura Ries, who is an expert on marketing and building brand strategy, and is the best-selling author of some of the nations most respected branding books, including her latest called War In The Boardroom.   In this interview, Laura talks to us about how there is a struggle between marketing and management, how that affects business and some insight into how we can become better marketers. What is the struggle between marketing and management?   Why is this happening now? The struggle between marketing and management had been going on forever. The reason for the struggle is not something new; everybody who has ever worked at a big company knows about it. What is new is figuring out the reason marketing and management don’t understand each other. The reason they don’t understand each other is that they think differently.   Management people tend to be left-brain thinkers. Left brainers are verbal, logical and analytical. Marketing people tend to be right-brain thinkers.   Right brainers are visual, intuitive and holistic. Right brainers and left brainers are both important influences in a company’s organization. But to be truly successful, each side must understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. What is the difference between a good CEO and a good CMO? A good CEO is a good “people” person who can manage and oversee many different areas. CEOs usually trust their financial people for finance, their lawyers for legal, their engineers for technology but a good CEO will also trust his/her right-brain marketing people for marketing. Too often marketing is underappreciated and believed to just be common sense. Nothing could be further from the truth. The best marketing ideas usually defy common sense entirely. A good CMO is a strong right-brainer who excels in the principals of marketing but also understand how to sell his/her ideas to left-brain management. A CMO will never sell management with big picture ideas expressed with visuals. A good CMO knows how to sell ideas to management with lots of talking and the facts and figures to support the ideas. Can you talk about the different mindsets that conflict in companies and yield poor marketing/advertising programs? The worst campaigns come from companies where left-brain thinking wins the battle in the boardroom. Where the emphasis is on abstractions and cleverness especially the ideas that the better product wins. Why is it that powerful new brands like Red Bull, Google, BlackBerry, Starbucks and Under Armour have not come from big companies, but from entrepreneurs? Big companies run by left-brain managers tend to ignore the advice of their right-brain marketing people. Entrepreneurs, of course, tend to be right brainers with marketing instincts and the intuition to follow it through. Before Dietrich Mateschitz introduced Red Bull, he tested the name and the concept. “People didn’t believe the taste, the logo, the brand name. I’ve never before experienced such a disaster.”   But Mr. Mateschitz introduced Red Bull anyway, something that a right-brain entrepreneur would do, but not something that most big companies would do. In 2009, how can we become better marketers, both for our companies and as personal brands? The recent financial meltdown has gotten everyone worried. When people worry, they tend to tinker. Tinkering is harmful for brands. Changing the message, the package and/or the price is often the worst thing you can do. The best strategy for any brand, no matter what the economy, is to stay consistent.   When you change, your strategy, you lose some of the power of your brand. Brands that are successful in the long run need to be authentic. And change undermines a brand’s authenticity. As for your personal brand, find your word and get focused. Over time we all tend to get unfocused. It is like your clothes closet. One day you clean it all out and make it nice and neat; then you promise to keep it just like that. After 3 months, it is a mess again. It is a law of life; as time goes on, things get messy. So what you need to do every six months is step back and take a good look. Make sure you are focused. Get rid of the stuff that doesn’t make sense. And reinforce what your brand stands for. How is social media impacting the War in the Boardroom? Social media is great for sharing information, experiences and observations. Here at Ries Ries we have our website, my blog, our video reports, Al’s Adage.com articles, LinkedIn and Facebook all fired up and getting our message out. We have a great quiz LeftRightBrainQuiz.com with 12 questions to quickly let you know if you are a right brainer or a left brainer. Many people have no idea which side of their brains they favor. We hope to get people interested in the left brain/right brain concept and especially how it affects the battle between marketing vs. management. Are you on the left side or the right side? Which side is winning at your company? What are you doing to win your marketing battles with management? - Laura Ries, an expert on marketing and building brand strategy,  is the best-selling author of some of the nations most respected branding books. Her books include The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding, The Fall of Advertising and The Rise of PR, and The Origin of Brands.   Her latest book is called War In The Boardroom. In 2002, Business 2.0 named Ries a management guru and issued trading cards with her photo and business statistics. Laura Ries has appeared on the Fox News Channel, CNBC, ABC World News Tonight, and makes regular appearances as a branding expert on CNN. Laura Ries is a frequently quoted marketing expert in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Associated Press, Advertising Age, and many more publications.

Intimidated by long person specifications Dont be ! Tips to make it easier University of Manchester Careers Blog

Intimidated by long person specifications Dont be ! Tips to make it easier University of Manchester Careers Blog So you see a vacancy listed and it sounds ideal you open up the person specification and see the 3 pages of requirements and give up.   Sound familiar? Its quite common in the public sector (and some others) for job specifications to be very long.    Do not be put off, its  not that hard to break it down into something more digestible. Example: This job  is looking for some specialist skills but a long list of transferable ones.  With 44 items listed it  appears  pretty daunting. The blue highlighted areas are the specialist skills for this particular job, you can imagine the specialist skills for the job you want here. There are 44 things on the essentials and desirables, 27 of which are fairly generic transferable skills, the others you either have or you don’t due to your degree or perhaps some work experience. What if this job wanted you to apply using a CV plus cover letter or personal statement â€" what would you focus on? Most jobs will have something that is role specific that will need addressing, in this case it is scientific knowledge and experience. Transferable skills   ouch there are a lot of them, how are you going to tackle that? They have given you a handy list use it. There are too many items to go through individually, your application  would become repetitive and over-long, so break it down into some sensible chunks. I would suggest something around: 2.1   Analytical skills including numeracy, recording  and reporting. This should also cover off meticulous, accurate and attention to detail and possibly IT skills too 2.2   Team work , flexibility, organisation skills, equality  communication skills 2.3   Project management, innovation, creativity, problem solving, organisation, time management. You will want to blend into your examples: Ability to learn new techniques  and ways of working its flexibility again. The specialist (scientific) context or experience they are looking for,   but also  give some examples from other areas such as extra curricular activities or other jobs if you have them.  This is where transferable comes in! The CV would need: Information from your degree to match the blue areas some academic  modules and some practical  examples  from labs and projects. A relevant work experience section if possible. You might have a lab skills or scientific skills section. The evidence you give will cover the key areas you have identified above, now its just a few its not so daunting. Spread your examples across your whole CV. See our blog about creating a skills audit The cover letter or personal statement would address: Motivation   why this organsiation and why this job, show that you appreciate who they are, what they do and how this role fits in. Your skills so now you have to look at your broad areas again Specialist (science) stuff The analytical / reporting stuff The team / people  stuff The problem solving and working on a task stuff If its a cover letter you have only 1 page to do this in, so you might choose a lot of scientific context to base your other skills in, thus killing 2 birds with one stone. If its a  personal statement there could be a word limit but if its unlimited dont go crazy. 1-2 pages of A4  is usually plenty for a graduate entry-level role.   The extra space will give you the opportunity to go into more detail and cover off some of the key points at a more granular level  (especially if you have some of the desirables) Dont be put off YOU DO have the skills!   Its hard reflecting on what you have done, its easy to overlook  or be modest about experience. I suggest talking it over with a friend or family member  who knows you reasonably well, they can help you identify examples. (see tips on skills audit post) Lets take an easy one  team work. Working with other people has its challenges as well as its positives, so really think about instances where you have worked with other people on: A course project, while volunteering, in a society, playing sport, in a job, as part of a university role you may have. Think ..what went well?   What was difficult and why? How did you make it work? Use the CAR model CONTEXT ACTION RESULT. CONTEXT What was the situation? ACTION What did  I do that had an impact? RESULT what was the impact of your actions or what did you learn? It doesnt have to be formulaic in approach, you can see in the examples below  how a number of skills or attributes can be evidenced in one example if you are short of space. It could also be spread over several bullet points with more detail on the actions  to  provide more evidence of a particular skill.    (I have underlined the skills or abilities  in the examples below) Team work / working with people example: Promoted to Team Leader after working for the company for ten months, I managed a team of five and motivated them to meet individual sales targets by devising a graph which plotted the amount of bonuses they could earn through securing additional sales. Example of managing a task: As social secretary of the Faculty of Life Sciences Society, working to tight deadlines, I coordinated the printing and sale of tickets for the society’s summer ball and negotiated with a local hotel to get a good rate for the venue. Check out our employablity skills pages  for some examples of skills, ways to gain them while at University and skills based questions you could encounter on application forms and at interview. All Applications and interviews Careers advice Graduate jobs Undergraduate Undergraduate-highlighted

What is Jobscan.co?

What is Jobscan.co?Jobscan.co is an online resume database which helps recruiters to find any type of job from any location around the world. It is easy to use, and it will not cost you any money to use.The way it works is that the website gathers together all the highly qualified candidates who have a proven track record of successfully submitting high quality resumes to hundreds of job sites. This way, all of these candidates can be provided with free personal and professional references. As a result, a candidate's resume can be well researched to identify any special skills and traits they may have that employers may look for.It is not difficult to see why this website would cost very little money to use; this service is completely free. Unlike many other sites, which are free, but only provide limited information, Jobscan.co will provide candidates with real, face-to-face contact with the people running the hiring process. This means that candidates can start building their own r esume with the information they are seeking in order to enhance their chances of being hired.Once candidates have filled out their details, they will start to complete a very thorough research of their intended career path. This helps the site to collect and send out job alerts, which help to direct candidates to the best positions. In addition, each candidate can build a professional page which includes a detailed job description and career overview.Jobscan.co is continually expanding to meet the needs of their clients. They now provide recruiting software to their clients, which allows them to perform searches on different positions simultaneously. This will allow applicants to apply to jobs instantly, without the need to wait for further interviews to take place.The final touch of professionalism is provided by customer service support. If a candidate needs further assistance in the beginning stages of their career, or if they have a question about their application, they can rea ch out to the online support team in just a few minutes.One of the main benefits of using this site is that the information is completely confidential. While employers would prefer to find good candidates themselves, this will help to create a strong network of potential employees for their organization. Candidates also do not have to worry about feeling like they are advertising their CV in a negative way when they use the site, since it will not reveal their full employment history to anyone.Other jobseekers will find Jobscan.co extremely useful and will find it very easy to use. Its research tools, as well as its customer service support, will ensure that each member of the community knows exactly what they are doing. This is the most straightforward way to get the information they need, without any risks of embarrassing mistakes or information leakage.

Great comments - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Great comments - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog The best thing about writing this blog, are all the great comments it gets. As the blog gets more and more popular (and its totally getting out of hand right now, I love it), it seems that I get more and more great ideas, feedback, thoughts, input. Here are a few of my favorite recent comments. Mack asked why we want to be happy at work at all and a great conversation ensued, including this comment: I?ve seen businesses make drastic moves and have a groundswell of support from the employees regardless of the sacrifices they endure. I?ve seen businesses throw goodies at employees and they still complain. What it?s about is trust, and it?s more than just having an HR slogan of ?we will be trustworthy???. The problem is that corporations don?t want people working for them, they want human resources. Trust? If you?re arguing to make corporations see the bottom line from the long term picture (by promoting trust and human decency towards employees), you?re fighting the entire history of business in this country, buddy. Good luck! Jeremy Yes that is exactly what were up against about 200-300 years of tradition for doing the opposite. Call me an optimist, but I really believe that us happy people are so much more efficient and creative that we are the ones who will define the future of business. I wrote a post about why happines at work does not mean coddling employees. Frank had a poetic reply: Its like removing valleys that make the mountains disappear. Its like shortening the marathon.. Its like a lottery with a money-back guarantee. Its like a sponge hammer that wont hurt you when hitting your fingers. Frank Schophuizen Exactly! A.M. Starkins latest entry is about getting people to buy into some much-needed changes. Heres one thought: A dysfunctional team can?t be fixed over night. Use the energy of those who are willing, and once others start seeing results and improvements, they?ll either get on board, or they?ll stay in your way, but if you?re always showing that you really on their side, and want to help, then they should come around. The comment ?My seniors have all adviced me to use fear as motivation??? made me laugh. It sounds like a number of people are already on their way out, and putting the fear of getting fired/laid off over their heads probably won?t motivate them. It?s one thing to say that people need to get their acts together at this time when you?re looking at turning the team around and the business you?re in, but make sure that doesn?t come off as, ?do what I say, or else??? because that?ll only make people more disgruntled. -MyNameIsMatt I agree. This process is an invitation, meaning you can invite people to come along, but you cant push them. Thanks for all the great comments, people. I cant begin to tell you how much Im learning and how much Im enjoying this. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related Great comments - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I thought you should all see some great comments that have come in recently with stories and ideas from all over the world. First, this comment that Inkling left on my post about The Cult of Overwork: I used to work at a company with a strong ?overwork?? culture. After two years obsessing about getting in at 7, leaving at 7 (and then working even more from home), my wife had a baby. I took a week off, then felt justified in limiting my work to 40 hours for the next couple of months (due to my lack of sleep and need to help around the house). In that two-month period I realized I accomplished exactly as much and was exactly as busy as I was when I worked ~60 hours/week. From then on, I was in at 8, out at 5, aside from the occasional large project, and I completely stopped working at home. I was never happier, more organized or more successful in that job. With this peace of mind and free time, I was able to invest a few hours in learning the GTD system, learning more about my field and getting more involved in professional and community organizations. (This may have averaged about 3 hours/week at the max.) All that I learned in this time enabled me to get a new job and a significantly higher salary. Meanwhile, when I talk to employees at the old company, they?re bragging about the 75-hour workweeks and discussing which anti-anxiety meds they take. Great stuff!! Can we please all agree that its the results that count, not the hours? Tanuki reports on happiness at work in Japan: Conformity and obedience are ingrained in the culture and reinforced through the education system focused on mindless repetition, so they just dont know any better. What it gives you is a team of mindless, uncreative and unhappy drones contrary to the stereotype, Japanese workers are one of the least productive and effective ones I have ever seen, and this coming from an eastern European like me is saying something ;) To a westerner like me the situation is horrible, bordering on ridiculous. One example I like to cite in discussions like this is that many people in my office work longer than ATM machines (in Japan many ATMs do not operate 24/7) somehow soulless boxes need more free time than living people? Sounds horrible to me. I wonder if its ingrained to the point where people are happy with it because the expect it or if theres still a lingering dissatisfaction. Im hoping for the latter! A great way to schedule appreciation from Kris Lea: I really appreciate recognition for work well done, so to role model that for others at my workplace, I do the following: set aside time on Fridays to write notes of praise to the person and their manager. If warranted, I send a ?goody??, which is a gift card. Setting time aside on my electronic calendar reminds me to thank those who?ve helped me during the week, and it gets the weekend off on a great start! Wonderful idea! If praising others doesnt come naturally to you (and to many people it doesnt) heres a great way to do it anyway. And finally, Ben tells the story of a great initiative thats being shut down: A few months ago, I mentioned we started an initiative for the supervisors to walk around and speak to employees more. In the end, I was the only one doing it and I was basically told not to because if I didn?t say hello to every single employee, it may appear to be discrimination or preferential treatment. It was even suggested that talking to one or two people of the opposite gender could appear to be an inter-office affair. There are so many biases there that I can?t even begin to comment. End result, employees are now upset that I never come by to check on them, I was the only one that did and they want to know why I stopped. No good deed goes unpunished. Indeed. I gotta wonder what school of management states that contact between employees and managers is such a minefield that it can only happen under strictly controlled circumstances and must be held at a minimum. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

10 Ways To Brave Up Gain More Power, Confidence and Authority in Your Life and Career Today - Kathy Caprino

10 Ways To Brave Up Gain More Power, Confidence and Authority in Your Life and Career Today When I was immersed in my 18-year corporate life, I struggled inwardly to feel successful, valued and to make what I felt was a positive contribution in the world. Back then, I thought I was brave, but I wasn’t. Not by a long shot. I was afraid all the time, and I didn’t muster the courage to speak up and stand up for myself, or for others. I didn’t have the strength to take on that which was wrong and unfair, glaring me right in the face. I was afraid of not being liked or accepted if I revealed my true feelings. And I was deeply afraid that I never really knew enough to “belong” there in a powerful way (the old impostor syndrome played big tricks with my head). Now that I’m in my own business and have chosen a direction that feels right and good to me, I’ve seen that thousands (dare I say millions) of people aren’t brave enough in their lives either, to be who they really are, and share what they believe, or make the impact they long to. I’ve worked with so many mid- to high-level professional men and women who have faced all forms of trauma, abuse, challenge, crisis, hardship and suffering in their lives and work, yet haven’t figured out the way to muster the bravery to step beyond that hardship, and honor why they came to this planet at this time. To me, it has often felt like my clients and course members are “bloodied, wounded soldiers on the battlefield,” and I’m desperately asking, “Where’s the Red Cross?” When that realization hit me hard this year, I finally took critical action to build my own form of the “Red Cross.” (I launched a new Coach Certification training program to share what I’ve found to be helpful in transforming challenge and hardship into growth.) The truth is that I continue to see over and over again that each and every one of needs to rise up even higher, to speak up more boldly, and stand up courageously for ourselves and for others, and when we do, it changes everything. Here are 10 critical ways that people need to brave up today â€" address and move through their fears, revise their feeling of unworthiness, and overcome their concerns about being rejected, isolated and hated if they reveal and honor who they really are. The 10 ways you need to Brave Up today: See Bravely It’s time to stop seeing yourself in the old, habitual, small way. Tell yourself a new story that makes you the hero of your life, not the loser. Understand what and who has formed and influenced you from the past, but know that those influences are from the past and don’t have to continue to hold you down. You can shape your future differently, right now. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps, move beyond your current challenges and hardships, and embrace all that you are to start stepping up towards your highest visions. And don’t let your over-attachment to “authenticity” keep you from becoming a stronger version of yourself. Tip: Understand the dominant way you take action towards a goal, and what you need to motivate you to move forward, and start leveraging your dominant style more fully. Stop pretending to be someone you’re not. Forget that. Just recognize who you are at your core and honor it. Speak Bravely So many of the women I’ve worked with are afraid to communicate powerfully, authoritatively and confidently. They’ve either been culturally trained not to, or they’ve had damaging experiences in life that taught them they’d be punished if they speak bravely about themselves. We don’t come out of the womb afraid to speak up for ourselves â€" it’s a learned behavior. Tip: Learn to recognize your many amazing talents and gifts, and share them with confidence. Yes, some people will be put off when you do this. Too bad. Those who are confident, strong and successful will appreciate your bravery.   Stop hiding your talents, and stop worrying that you’re bragging when you shine your light. (Read this for tips to communicate more confidently.) Ask Bravely Another way people hold themselves back and sabotage their own growth is to remain vague and muddy about what they really want. They waffle back and forth between their fantasies and dreams, running to and fro towards this shiny thing and that, but never do  anything. It’s time to identify exactly what you want â€" from yourself, your life, others and your work â€" ask for it and get it. In fact, demand it, but in an open, compassionate and flexible way that will be appreciated and respected. Don’t take “no” for an answer about what makes your life worth living. Tip: Figure out the one biggest goal for your life that will make your life worth living, and do something powerful about it today. (Here’s a way to fuel your energy to start something “stupid”  today.) And take my free Career Path Self-Assessment to understand what you really want in your life and work. Connect Bravely Networking is one thing, but truly connecting, from your spirit and your soul, with inspiring, enlivening people whom you admire and who wish to support and assist you, is a completely different matter (and a life-changer). Learn new ways to connect, network, find inspiring role models, mentors, and supporters who will help you become a braver version of yourself, and make a true difference in your life and work. Tip: One first, practical step is to start offering heartfelt recommendations on LinkedIn to people you love, respect and admire, and ask for their recommendations as well.Here’s some specific language to help you engage with others, and ask for help. Serve Bravely Stop waiting for the world to serve you. Understand that it’s what you put out in the world â€" how you serve, support, uplift and assist others and support the greater good of all with your talents that brings true abundance, prosperity, happiness, meaning and purpose. Where and how can you serve others with your amazing gifts and talents? Tip: Brainstorm three  new ways you can leverage your fantastic talents in ways that will be juicy and exciting to you. What causes do you care about? What situations do you want to change? What stand do you want to take in the world? Find a way to do it, even if you’re stuck in a job you hate, or employer you want to leave. Do it today. (For inspiration, here are 9 core behaviors of people who positively impact the world.) Protect  Bravely As the tragedies of this past month have reinforced, none of us are invulnerable â€" we all can be hurt, diminished and cast away in this life. But we can’t live in fear. We need to soldier on, living the lives that matter most to us. To do that, you need to protect yourself, your dreams and your highest visions with fierce commitment and very strong, well-developed boundaries. And you need to protect and support other men and women who are part of your global family. Stop allowing mistreatment and abuse into your life, and take a brave stand against it. Realize that you are a co-contributor of all that is around you. If you hate, hate will spread. If you love, love will spread and grow. Fiercely protect your spirit and your dreams and stand up for others, and for love, forgiveness and compassion in this world. Don’t become a hater just because hating is what we’re seeing a million times a day, every day â€" in the headlines, in the political arena, and on the global stage. Tip: Where are your boundaries being violated, either at work or in your personal life?  Where do you feel beleaguered, put upon and taken advantage of? That’s the place to start. Have a bold conversation with the one person you need to tell, “Enough!” Heal Bravely Life hurts (sometimes a lot), and can injure us badly. Every one of us has experienced some degree of trauma, pain, suffering, sadness, isolation and self-hatred. What can we do about it? We can learn how to heal ourselves. It’s possible for all of us. But only when we take different steps, with new, expansive mindsets, practices and commitments â€" and helpers â€" than we’ve ever experienced before. Right now, for instance, I’m working on my own healing process by taking beloved Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön’scourse The Heart of the Matter, and it’s already shifting my healing in a big way. Tip: Sit with yourself quietly for an hour this weekend, and bring to mind (I know it’s hard) the one thing that pains you the most about your life, and about your past and your present. What hurts you to think about? What takes your breath away because it’s so hard to face? That’s the very thing that needs healing today. Reach out to a therapeutic provider, friend or a mentor who has experience with this type of pain, and ask for help to feel it fully, process it, then heal through it. Stretch Bravely Humans are happiest and most fulfilled when they are growing towards their highest potential. But that requires seeking and stretching, every day. We need to get out of the tight box we’ve trapped ourselves in, and learn how to seek â€" to allow ourselves to long for new experiences, sensations and learnings and “try them on” so we can explore and expand, even amidst what we believe are the tight constraints of our present lives. Tip: What’s the new direction you’re longing to stretch to, but you feel too scared to move? Understand that you will feel scared â€" that’s the reality. Get used to it and get comfortable with it. It’s a sign that you’re growing. In fact, the more you grow, the more “scared” is not something you give attention or credence to, when it comes to expanding beyond where you are today. Scared is the feeling that all brave, impactful and hopeful people feel, every day. Take the step and stretch. Challenge Bravely I was so very saddened this week after posting  this piece on the Stanford rape case  on Forbes and LinkedIn, and hundreds of women privately told me and the interviewee Cheryl Hunter that they agreed with the article, but only a tiny handful of women had the courage to post their opinions publicly. That’s a terribly sad state of affairs. Women so often fail to bravely challenge the status quo. They fail to say “no” publicly to what is intolerable. They fail to do what’s necessary to risk, and say what needs to be said, with power and authority. Learn how to challenge â€" in an effective, constructive and life-giving way â€" what’s feels wrong to you, in your life and work. Challenge and revise what no longer works. And learn how to take on the haters without becoming a hater yourself. Only when we bravely challenge what is wrong, unjust, and hateful in the world, can we transform it. Tip: What do you need to challenge today? What in your life is wrong, unfair, and unjust that you’ve been an accomplice too because you haven’t said a thing. Challenge it this week. Love Bravely Finally, we all deeply desire love â€" to be honored, cherished, respected and nurtured (at both work and home), and to give abundant love in return. But to be loved and share love, we have to love ourselves without fail, with bravery, acceptance and forgiveness. And we need to heal and transform that which is unloving and unrelenting. Learn how to love yourself more bravely by exposing and exploring what’s hidden, secret, and “shameful,” and say “no” to behavior and treatment that tears down love. To become braver in both life and work, discover your dominant action style  and leverage it.  For hands-on guidance, take my Amazing Career Project video training series, and listen to my weekly podcast Best Work/Best Life with Mo Faul.