5 Apps for Students to Use

Apps students can use

How many of you are most likely to be working on a computer or tablet than with a notebook and pen? The chances are most of us are found with some mobile device whether it’s a laptop, tablet, or phone, it makes accessing information and completing tasks easier and in an organized fashion. We all have some reminders on our phone because they keep us on track for the day or week. As students, we are busy from one class to another or both going to school and working, we are always on the go, and it can be hard to complete tasks and be organized.

With new technology especially apps, being a student makes it easier to organize our files and notes to have a successful and smoother learning process. With all the various apps at our disposal, finding the app that will work to our advantage can be difficult to find so here are five apps you can try.

Dropbox

Are you in need of lots of storage? Maybe USB and external hard drives aren’t storing enough files, then perhaps storing in a cloud is the solution. Dropbox is designed to be used and taken anywhere with access to it from any device. Store all your files, documentation and everything you need in one place with security, plus organize it to your liking. Depending on the plan you choose for yourself, you can sync files in devices and share links, records or documents. You don’t have to worry about hauling around an external drive or keeping track of your USB. If you get the plus plan, you can get access to Dropbox without having to be online, now that’s a perk. Dropbox is becoming popular among schools and businesses. Why not give it a go?  

Microsoft Office Mobile Apps

Microsoft is making their Office apps more accessible not only to desktops but other devices. Did you know that Microsoft Office mobile apps are free? Yes, you heard right, and it includes all the essentials, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote, and Outlook. If you’re always on the go, Microsoft Office mobile apps make it easier for you to work on papers and projects, store documents in the cloud and have access to your email. No matter what device you work from, they will all be sync to one another making it a smooth transition from mobile to tablet to laptop or desktop. You won’t have to worry about emailing a saved version or putting it on a USB. Not to mention it has OneNote, an excellent way of keeping track and organizing all of your notes in one place and makes collaboration easy.

Wunderlist

Are you a list maker? Maybe it’s time to update from pen and paper to an app. Wunderlist is perfect for anyone who makes lists for anything whether it’s for grocery lists, to-do lists, or project lists. This app allows you to work from any device since it syncs and helps you track your progress on your lists. Not mention you can set reminders and due dates on your list, write notes on your lists, and link web pages. It’s great for keeping yourself organized and keeping information together for items on your list.   

Evernote

As students, we all have our ways of learning and processing information. Evernote is an excellent choice for students who like to incorporate all forms of note taking into one. With Evernote, you can take a picture, record video or audio, write notes by hand, or type notes; it even allows you to make a checklist. You can organize, track, and find everything you need through tags or search to find it quickly. Save everything, share it and sync it to your other devices while still being able to use it when offline. You can choose from three plans to determine which will work to your advantage.  

Google Drive

Google Drive works the same way as Dropbox regarding storage, where you can store files, documents, and images. However, the perk is you create word docs, PowerPoint, and spreadsheet onto Google Drive. You can save your data on their servers and sync files to other devices including sharing them via email or link. It is perfect for collaborating with others. Plus it’s linked to your Gmail.

Technology has its perks of keeping us on track and ready to go from one place to another with the ability to work from anywhere. We use apps on a daily from our computers to our phones; they are everywhere we go and have been quite useful in completing our tasks. They are excellent for storage and for students to organize their studies. There are many apps out there for us to try and use, so if we didn’t mention the app you use on our list, tell us in the comments below what app you use?

5 Tips To Improve Your To-Do List

improve to-do list

How do you manage to get things done? We all aim for productivity, most days we’re more successful than others. If you’re a list maker like me, you may notice writing an endless list of tasks to do for the day becomes an incomplete list. Creating to-do lists are excellent for keeping a record of what needs to get done for the day or week but there is more to them than having to cross them off. One of the ways we can increase our productivity with our list is by altering it to fit our needs and what works best for you.

So, what are some of the ways you can alter your list to work for you? Here are some five quick, start tips to improve your to-do lists to get you to complete your tasks.

Use Apps

Let’s face it we are in the age where technology is used daily than pen and paper. There are many apps now making it easier for you add to your list, organize your list by categories, add reminders, and place days on them. There are many apps such as Evernote, Google Tasks, Todoist, to name a few that have different features which will work for you. They’ll keep you organized and allow you to refer back to your lists without having to rummage through papers.  

Divide List

When it comes to creating our to-do lists, we can write an endless list of tasks to do, but it can sometimes be overwhelming. By dividing our list of to-dos into sections, we’re able to organize our tasks into parts of what we do, for example, project development, meetings, calls, or unscheduled items. When we create categories for our list, we’re able to detail out our to-dos based on our categories and work on them throughout the day.

Get Specific

The more specific you are with your list, the more likely you are to be motivated to complete the task and finish it. If you’re broad on your list, for example, say I write “add new employees to the website,” well how do I know when I’m finished with adding employees when they’re in the process of being hired? Now, if I was to be more specific and write” add five new employees to the website,”  there is an end to my goal which is both concrete and achievable. Writing specific to-dos helps you be realistic in setting goals and determined in completing your goal. Plus, you get the feeling of being productive.

Group Tasks And Prioritize

Grouping tasks can help you save time and energy. Not all tasks we do require the same amount of time or process from us which is why it’s important to know how to group tasks without having to switch back and forth from activities. How you arrange your tasks is dependent on the time of day you find yourself more productive. If you have a harder time concentrating in the morning, then do tasks that require less focus time like answering emails, or filling out paperwork. Grouping tasks with other similar responsibilities can make the transition to other work smoother and less energy.

As you write out your tasks, ask yourself what’s the level of seriousness of each task and when you need to complete it. Most of the time we write a list without prioritizing making us see our duties as random tasks we need to finish which results in us picking as we go. Not the most efficient way of tackling our responsibilities since some may require more time than others. Therefore as we make our list let’s ask what’s urgent and how long will it take if I don’t start today. Sometimes a task can seem like it can be done in a day or two when it can last longer. Writing our list based on what is top priority can help eliminate procrastination.

Reward Your Accomplishments

In the rush of the day, we sometimes forget to take a step back and look at what we have accomplished in the day even if they are items that weren’t accounted for. We need to focus on what’s been done not just what we need to do next. Celebrating the small accomplishes we did in the day gives us the sense of fulfillment and productivity we acknowledge what we’ve done by crossing them off your list. With celebration, reward yourself with something like ice cream, extra time watching tv, or dinner at your favorite restaurant.

Creating to-do lists promoting our productivity will keep us motivated to finish the task and to feel less overwhelmed. You don’t have to make your lists by hand anymore, get an app with features you can use to alter your to-do list to work for you. Tell us how you create your to-do list in the comments below.

 

How To Succeed In An Online Course

succeed online course

The way we’re learning is changing; there’s no surprise there, with technology making learning more accessible and possible from any place. Traditional forms of learning are still around; however, online courses are gaining more popularity as we become more busy with less time to spare.

When it comes to learning, we are more likely to choose online courses because we have the option of going anywhere with our studies. Whether it’s to the library, in the garden, or at my house, I get the option of choosing where I want to learn and how I learn. Like a traditional setting classroom, we want to be successful in our online course and here are three helpful tips for achieving it.

#1 Ensure You Have Technical Requirements

One of the perks of online courses is you have access to your learning any time of any day. However, if you’re not meeting the technical requirements you need, you can run into problems which hinder your progression. You want to ensure you have access to the course materials and that your computer will work with the online tools. When you meet the technical requirements you need for your course, it can prevent future complications when you’re studying and help you move smoothly through your study agenda.

#2 Contact Instructor Early

Online learning encourages independent study where you have to have the drive to continue, where you are responsible for comprehending the material through the tools they provide and for applying it. Not to say that traditional classes don’t do that, but you have quick access to answers when you have a question pending about the material. Whereas in online courses, you are left to wait for a while for the response to your question. Early contact with your instructor is critical to progressing your learning especially if you find yourself getting stuck. The sooner you contact your instructor for assistance the more likely you are to continue with your studies and understand the material.

#3 Creating A Good Study Environment

We all have a preferred study environment that keeps us focused, motivated, and productive with our studies and assignments. The environment we create to study is a vital piece of our success. I remember when I first took an online course, I had a hard time creating a good environment where I could function as a student since I was always finding myself going through these different information highways and readjusting my light fixture. One thing I learned was to succeed in my online class was to create a learning environment that worked for me. Part of creating that environment is finding a place where there are no distractions. For you it can be an isolating room or in a coffee shop where there is a lot of commotion going on. The key is to find what works best for you and how much information you can absorb. You don’t want to overdo it with the studying.  

Online courses are a great way of learning to become more accessible and to study in increments. You decide when and how you learn which is great if you would like to have more control of your studying time. However, online courses do require you to have a stronger drive, focus, and motivation to succeed in your course. What are some things you learned while taking online courses that have helped you succeed, tell us in the comments below?

At The Core Foundation, we are now offering an online course for our Dental Administration Training and Development Program that provides students with the inner workings of both the business and health aspects of working at a dental clinic. Earn your Dental Administration certification at your own pace to begin working in a small niche with working professionals. Learn more about our Online Dental Administration program and other core programs.

Online Dental Administration

Core Online courses

Find Out The 5 Habits Successful Students Have

Habits Successful Students Have

How does a student succeed in school? There are many factors which play a role in their success but cultivating good habits is what makes them successful. Our daily habits are what makes us get into a rhythm where we complete our responsibilities and tasks. When we have cultivated good practices, we tend to weed out the bad habits that stop us from accomplishing what we need.

If we want to succeed during our studies, here are 5 habits successful students have to thrive and achieve more than a certificate or degree.

#1 Learn Time Management

Time management is a critical part of achieving everything you plan on doing. If you are planning to make time for everything, then you have to learn how it is going to fit into your schedule. Being a scattered student who plans on winning their time and tasks is more likely to find the time to achieve what they need to.

Think about how you spend your time on a daily basis and design a schedule where you can block out time to dedicate to one of your tasks. Time management allows to account for your time, use it effectively, and keep records of upcoming events or exams. Setting a schedule will enable you to ask yourself whether you’re spending enough time studying or focusing on a specific subject that requires your full attention and whether you’re getting enough rest. Schedules increase your productivity and focus when you begin to cultivate it to be a good habit.    

#2 Studying Effectively

Studying effectively goes hand-in-hand with time management. We may not have all the time we need to reread a text three times for understanding or to study for an exam. We need to acknowledge that cramming and studying for hours isn’t beneficial to your learning and understanding the material. You want to learn what works for you to work smarter and not harder.

Some the ways you can learn how to work effectively is dividing your studying time into days and for short period of times say an hour to an hour and a half, know what’s expected from you, asking questions, to name a few. We all have a matter of learning and retaining information, and the sooner we discover what works for us, the better we are at studying.

#3 Knowing When To Take A Break Or To Push Through

Knowing our limits is as vital as knowing how we learn best. We’ve all been at a point where we’ve looked at an assignment or text and hit a roadblock. When we hit a wall in our study, we can find it hard to concentrate, hard to complete the job or understand our text, or getting frustrated. At this point, we want to walk away from our task to get detached from it at least 10 to 15 minutes, no more. In that brief break, you can restore your energy by getting a healthy snack, closing your eyes, or a small exercise routine. Taking a short break will allow you to refocus to complete an assignment or clear your mind.

Now, there are times where we’re studying or working on an assignment but wanting a break to watch our show, to listen to music, or to watch videos not because our mind or body is telling us we need one. When you find yourself working but wanting to get a break to do something else which leads you astray, then it’s the moment to push through. Stopping midway to break for want of distraction when it isn’t needed can delay you from finishing your studying for the day. Remember you want to cultivate good habits and part of doing that is by sticking with the time blocked out to study.

#4 Asking Questions And For Help

For some, it is hard to admit we need help or even to ask a question because we want to feel we can do it on our own. There is nothing wrong with asking for assistance; it’s not a form of failure because you’re taking steps to move forward to accomplish what you need to. Don’t wait to ask for help or to ask a question when you need clarification or assistance. If you’re having trouble and have exhausted your possibilities of accomplishing what you need to, seek the guidance you need.   

#5 Maintain Your Health

Part of succeeding is taking care of yourself. Stay healthy by giving your body the nutrients it needs to function at an optimal level and to keep a healthy mind. Not to mention you can avoid getting sick often that you need a few days to recuperate. You want to ensure you’re keeping your body hydrated especially when you’re drinking caffeinated drinks, and you want to eat a healthy snack which gives you energy naturally. We need to care for our body, so we don’t feel fatigue. Our bodies are what keeps us going, and the more we care for, the better we will feel physically and mentally.

We all want to thrive in our studies especially when we’ve chosen what we’ve wanted to study. But it can be hard to find a rhythm of what works of us when we’ve got other things going on or when it’s been a while since we’ve been in school. We all develop the habits that work for us. What are some of your habits which help you succeed?    

 

What To Consider With Cloud-based Dental Software

cloud-based dental software

Modern software programs are helping to organize better and advance practices faster and efficiently. You’ve probably heard of cloud-based dental software and are starting to wonder if you should make the switch from your desktop version to a cloud-based software?

You want to know what all the fuss is about and what a cloud-based software can offer. We know what you mean. When you are planning on making a switch, there is a lot of factors to consider. The cloud-based dental software can already offer more than traditional software, and here is a list what it can provide for your practice.

  1. Cloud Storage  –  there will no longer be a need for physical storage or manual backups. With cloud-based software, it will do the automatic backup for you in addition to storing all information in the cloud.
  2. Syncs Data – with cloud storage, your practice will be able to access record information across other computers. There is no need for having the software installed and maintained on the computers your office is using plus it reduces the costs of having expensive computers to do the processing. All information will be accessible over the internet via middleware. It allows multiple users and devices to use the information and save it so; it’s available to other users. All you’ll need is web-access!
  3. Automatic Updates – don’t worry about the cost of software maintenance or upgrades. For an additional fee, you can have your software update automatically 24/7 which reduces the costs of paying an IT specialist to do the maintenance and upgrade. All you need to worry about is that the computers in used are updated to work efficiently and connected to the web.
  4. Security – cloud-based software is known for their security foundation. They offer protection when records information is transferred and stored in the cloud and doesn’t cost more.
  5. Competitive Advantage – when you are searching for dental cloud-based software, you want to ensure it provides a competitive advantage to your clinic. You want to ensure cloud service is partnered up with a partner or has the appropriate monitoring system, recovery, and business continuity plans. The more cost-effective, secure and time efficient the software can be the more competitive your practice can be.

Making a switch from your current traditional software to a cloud-based dental software is not an easy decision. There will be other factors you will have to account for in your decision such as training and migration of information and data. If the resources and time are present, think about whether it’s the move is right for your practice. What are some of your thoughts on cloud-based dental software, tell us in the comments below?

3 Ways for Your Dental Team to Engage with Patients and Your Practice

dental team engagement

Being part of a dental practice and staff requires more than your service to the patients but service to your dental practice. You are part of business and brand that fosters care to patients dental needs; there should be some form of participation from you as a dental staff member to engage in the practice.   

Whether it’s engaging with patients, prospective patients or with the practice itself, there are ways to make engagement possible. How? Well, we all know patients are a huge part of a dental clinic. They are the primary source of commitment we should participate in. There are two ways of doing so.

Create An Excellent Patient Experience

Patient experience and satisfaction are very critical. The way we speak, react, and handle our patients adds to the overall experience. When a patient is satisfied with their experience, they are more likely to share that experience with others. Some of the ways you can achieve an excellent patient experience are by:

  • Painless – being aware of patient’s discomforts and responding to them will let you become more attentive to your patients. Every patient, especially children, wants to have a painless experience at the dentist.
  • Be amiable and conversational – sit with the patient for a few minutes to talk with the patient. Get to know their concerns and fears. Let them voice their concerns and let them have a say. The idea is to generate a brief conversation to help ease the tension and to explain in detail of the procedure they will be undergoing.  
  • Be a provider and advocate – patients look for both for an exceptional experience. The advocate who presents the outcomes of the treatment, the one who reassures the confidence, comfort, and peace of mind you will experience if you undergo treatment. The provider will present the treatment in what will be done, allowing patients to be notified of their treatment.

You want to ensure you’re attentive and treating your patients as more than just patients but as a human. The connection, understanding, and engagement you have with your patients make the difference between them coming back to you and your dental practice for dental care or going to another dental practice.

Ask For A Review/Testimony

This is a more upfront direct engagement towards your patient. Patient reviews are what let other prospective patients know how dental staff treats patients. It reflects a more personal aspect of the dental services your practice might be dental team engagement offering that we can’t express. Ask patients to give you or your dental practice an online review. Let them know you are open to feedback and ways to help improve. It lets patients know they matter and that we care about what they have to say. It helps engage your staff and dental practice with your patients and prospective patients.

Engagement on Social Media

Social media engagement is a critical part of what connects everyone to anyone now. Social media networks are plenty and having dental staff engage with your practice’s social media channels can help boost visibility among their networks and others. If there is engagement on your social media pages, people are more likely to interact with the content but also keep in mind the content has to spark conversation, entertainment, or value.

You want to ensure you are actively participating with patients when they come in for dental treatment and to let them know their voice matters. Encouraging your team to engage with patients and your practice will help bring brand awareness to prospective patients. What are some of the ways you encourage your dental staff to engage with your patients and teams, tell us in the comments below?   

Which Social Media Apps Work for Your Business?

Social media apps are becoming an integral part of what builds a business, but not all social networks apply to all businesses. It isn’t a matter of what is in or out but what best suits the needs of your business. Knowing how social media apps can work for you will help you understand which apps are still great for business and specific to your professional needs. With so many social media networks coming out and million of users signing in, we have to be able to stay updated with social networks and how they can work for us.

Benefits of Social Media:

The accessibility to communicate with others and share information is far quicker than before. We‘re in a growing age where information and others’ feeds are open to the public to read and re-share which makes social media important to the success of businesses, especially if there’s a B2C relationship. Social media networks allow businesses to connect with existing customers while introducing new customers to their services and products. It broadens the opportunity to improve communication with current customers and potential customers since you gain insights into what they like, who they are, and how they feel about your brand and business. Through social media, you can gather customer data to make smarter business decisions by engaging in the conversation that is happening around your business, which in turn can improve your brand awareness.

Increasing your brand awareness is essential to you, and your customer and social media can help support you. By being actively involved in social media, customers can connect with you and find your business meaning you’re likely to increase your customer retention and loyalty. Remember we need customers for our business to succeed and flourish. Besides keeping customers loyalty, social media can provide an enriching experience, a valuable experience that now measures if others will be likely to choose your business.

In addition to the customer aspect of your business and social media, it provides you with the marketing platform to target specific demographics, increase website traffic, and share content faster and easier. The material we share can be about anything from the products we have to our services to promotions we might have going on to increase a buzz around our business.

Which Social Media Apps:

There are plenty more uses to what social media platforms can do for you as business owners. So, how can you know what social media app is great for business and is suited especially for your business? Ask yourself who you are trying to reach and why you want a social media presence? To generate sales, build brand awareness, or to be a socially active? Answering specifics provides you with a better understanding of what you should select for your business. But for the most part, the highly used social media apps business have are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Facebook is excellent for business and the most commonly used social media network since it connects people, companies, and brands all in one plus, it’s highly targeted for digital advertising. It’s used as the home base of social media as your website is. Not to mention Facebook allows you to boost not only on Facebook but on Instagram which helps reach a broader audience on both social platforms. It’s a platform permitting us to try new features where we can interact and improve our approaches to others.

Instagram is more visual and owned by Facebook, and it’s a perfect fit for those businesses with visual or physical products. Let’s face it with little attention span from internet audiences visual content is becoming as important as the content we write. Telling a story through images engages the audience while showcasing our products and services. It allows businesses to create high levels of engagement through images, the live story feature and use of hashtags.

Twitter is an excellent place to find trending topics and news, to give short updates and communicate people. A great tool to see people who are having problem with your business and addressing it. It’s becoming a social media app where the value is climbing in the ability to communicate with one another in real-time which is perfect for real-time customer service.

Youtube is another social app you might want to consider using. It can sound strange, but youtube is a popular video platform where the quality and value of the content matters. This is another platform to engage with, if you have video content to share plus, it becomes accessible and searchable on Youtube and Google.

Yelp is one of the social networks you should have an eye on and be on. Why? Well, Yelp is a major reviewing site where existing customers share their experience and review with others. It has over a million active users and is one of the social apps that’s trusted. This is a great platform to gain insight into your business and how people feel about it, it can even be a way of acquiring business if reviews are positive and ways to improve. Again, the platform is used and steered towards the customer service and experience customers have at your company.

Asking what apps are great for business depends on what your business is more geared towards, but Facebook is a social app that should be on your list of must-haves. Social media apps help us create and enrich experiences and services including the ability to digitally advertise and promote our business. Staying up with business innovations means we have to appeal to audiences who spend time on the internet and social networks. We know other social apps are extending beyond the ones we’ve mentioned and talked about and if there’s a social app that you use and has proven to be valuable to your business tell us all about it in the comments below! We would love to hear how social media apps work for you!  

 

How to Get Super Rich According to Tony Robbins

Who wants to learn how to get super rich? I know I do, although, it is more of the financial freedom that comes from having more money that’s more appealing. Tony Robbins sat down with Larry King to talk about what he learned from writing his book, MONEY Master the Game, and how to become rich through investments. Who’s Tony Robbins? He is a life coach, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He has written self-help books and is a motivational speaker to motivate people to improve their lives including the financial aspect.

In the  interview with Larry, Robbins discusses two things wealth people are commonly obsessed with: not losing money and asymmetrical reward. The asymmetrical reward is a system where you take the least amount of risk to get possibly the biggest reward. It’s about calculating the risks and taking lowest chance to gain significant rewards which require us to have an understanding of both the risks and rewards and assess the potential downsides before making a decision. According to Robbins, you don’t have to have a lot of money, and it’s a wrong assumption we have about investing. What makes the difference and make us money is taking small amounts of money and compound it to make us money over the years.

He talks about the first things we need to do which is become an owner or investor no matter how much money we have. It’s about saving a small percentage of 10 or less to a saving account or in a retirement account. The idea is to trick ourselves into keeping more money in the years to come by having the first percentage taken away from our check.

In addition to keeping an eye on how you handle your money, Robbins found that a common thread among the wealthy is hunger. He isn’t talking about food hunger but the hunger to strive. A desire to be more, do more, and give more, eventually a hunger that never ends. Someone one who is continuously striving to improve and better result into having people who are the best at whatever they do. There needs to be a strategy with the motivation and energy driving you to move otherwise there is no real meaning to what you’re doing. He mentions that what he’s learned is you get what you tolerate in yourself and life. This an interesting concept to think of and ask ourselves when we reflect on our personal and professional life, and whether we want to change that about us. One of the advice given to him from his previous mentor and he now shares is “for things to change, you have to change; for things to get better, you have to get better.” It’s insightful advice to give since it requires us to reflect on ourselves and how were the ones who can make the difference in our lives. What are some key points you will be taking from Robbins to apply your life to achieve your personal and professional goals?  

 

Is Your Body Telling You It Might Be Time For A Career Change?

Are you due for a career change? How can we tell if we are? Our body can be indicators for many things but, did you know that a change of career was one of those indicators? Many signs cue us it is time to move on from our career, and our health is how our body mainly signals us a change is overdue. When our health declines due to our current job, we should consider assessing how it might be affecting us. We should ask ourselves if the feeling of exhaustion comes from waking up in the morning or after work. If it’s before, most likely our career is weighing us down. Being held down by our job isn’t ideal, not to mention it adds a constant stress to us. Consistent pressure, even though we might deal with it daily, is a major indicator when it becomes a hopeless kind of stress. Stress has many links to heart, blood pressure and mental health conditions.
Our mental health suffers when we begin to experience this kind of stress. It can cause us to be negative and carry the negativity around until we start to feel bitter and unhappy. We should ask ourselves if this behavior happens more often at work than outside of work? If we notice we’re starting to change into a person we don’t recognize then it is time to change our career.
The happiness we experience can be attributed to many things such as love, passion or purpose. Once we lose these three factors in our work, we find no meaning in our career; therefore, there is no purpose. A loss of passion for what we do means we’re starting to grow tired of our work and stop believing in what we do. There is lack of concentration and performance on our part when it happens. Happiness is critical to our performance and advances in our career. So, if we find that the job we took for the great salary is running us out of steam to continue, move on. Money isn’t everything, and it’s okay to leave if the money isn’t driving us to work.
Career change can also stem from our work environment. When we aren’t valued for our talents, it can be difficult to stay motivated, put forth the effort, and be loyal. Employers who don’t appreciate our talents might be an indication the job might not be the best fit. We need to value our potential and shouldn’t let it be taken for granted by anyone. However, there are moments where our employers recognize our value and work.
Sometimes recognition of our work can lead to rewards. With the way workplaces are changing, we are becoming more of our own managers and accountable for the rewards we receive. Rewards aren’t based solely on emotions but on the qualitative and quantitative measurements. What does that mean? It is the way an employer invests in our careers such as higher salary, bonus, leadership, mentorship or promotion. If we aren’t receiving the rewards based on the industry’s standards and for our work, then it is time to move on. We don’t want to spend our years working for a company where our professional growth is a stunt.
A career where we are unsatisfied, unfulfilled or bored cues us it is time to assess our job and ourselves. We should ask ourselves if we’re in a comfort zone restricting our growth or have we done all the growth we have? Another question we should ask is, how our employer is investing in our professional growth? An unchallenging career leaves us at a comfortable position with little room to grow and mature in a professional setting which is fine until there’s no fulfillment in the job we do. Being in a job position where we are professionally stunted can be a way of suppressing our brand.
When we are not authentic to ourselves it can be difficult to contribute, participate and perform at our best levels. If we have no room to grow, we are most likely to lose interest in performing for the job. In some cases, we run the chance of being demoted to a position that is well under our potential and how we work. Finding ourselves in situations where we are suppressed from growth and being authentic marks a need for a career change. Our decision to change course on our career might be steered by the social interactions at work such as work culture.
Work culture has become such an integral part of the workplace now that it can determine where we choose to work. Of course, the work culture we enter now might change as new employees come and go since every person brings something new to the table. A work culture deemed untrustworthy is reason enough to leave, even more so when we face a hostile environment we have a hard time trusting. Our work environment impacts our performance and advancements, and if we don’t have a work culture we can trust, move on to better things.
We shouldn’t fear to leave a career for another that will make us happier and less stressed. Remember our well-being is above everything else.

 

What is the Definition of Success Today?

Times have changed. The internet became a dream platform for entrepreneurs and allowed people to re-define their working lives. Success used to be the big job title, the big house, the fancy cars, and dinner parties. Commonly known as the American Dream, it’s what most people in the US was working towards. Today, the American Dream has changed because the lines of success have been blurred. Right now, you are probably wondering what the new definition of success is if not a big house and a lot of money. Well, according to Liz Ryan in her article, Five Signs You Are Successful Whether You Know it or Not, these are the new standards of success.

You can access her article here!

 

1. Calling the Shots in Your Career

She states that “if you have a fancy job, but you’re afraid to tell your boss the truth because he or she might not like it, you are not successful yet!” I believe that you have to work a bit to earn this privilege if you are just starting out in a new career but the message is clear. If your boss trusts you enough to allow you to work the way you work best, then you are successful, and I completely agree.

 

2. You Know What You Bring to Employers/Clients to Help Them Be Successful

Have you ever felt like you showed up to work and had no idea the impact you had? Like someone else could easily do your job for you or they could hire someone else to do it? Alternatively, you show up wondering if you are going to have enough work to have a fulfilling work day. Days went by slow, and you did not feel like you were important. I hope you do not have a job like that! It is a terrible feeling. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s a great feeling if you know what you deliver results and are irreplaceable. Because of what you bring to a company, you do not have to let other people tell you what to do! If this is you, then you are successful in your career.

 

3. Speaking Up When it’s Appropriate

You are not a pushover. You have confidence in yourself, and you know that what you have to say is important. If you are quiet and let other people talk over you or share your idea’s as theirs, then you are not living a successful work life.

 

4. Allow Yourself to Dream Without Limits

Creating your vision for the life you want to live is important. For me, it creates my reason to get up every day and hope for the life I want to live. If you wake up every single day doing what you do love to do, then you are living your dream. In my opinion, this is the most defining measure of success that a person can have.

 

5. If You Have People Around You Who Love You

Finding people who truly care about you and believe in your dreams provide you with unlimited potential to succeed in whatever you want to do. Finding individuals who love, you, want the best for you and support your decisions to follow your dreams are far and in between. If you have a support system like this, then you are going to be successful in ways that you cannot imagine.

“You can always get another job if one job goes away. Your career status at any moment does not mean a lot. Your state of mind, your belief in yourself and your passion for your own values mean everything!”

Personally, my family plays a significant role for me because I know that no matter what I do they will support me and if I fail, they will be there to help pick me back up. If I want to try to get a new job or start a new company and it completely tanks, I can always move back home and get my barrings to start over. Having a support system that loves you endlessly provides you with incredible power. It can allow you to take risks that you normally couldn’t and have volunteers to help you at any time if needed.

For me, success is defined by waking up happy and doing what I love every day. I am lucky enough to have time on my side so I can follow my dreams, take risks, and create opportunities for myself. I believe if I work more than 40 hours a week then I am a failure. I am not spending time with people I love, and I am probably going to be less happy with overworking and creating more unnecessary stress for myself. I am not a person driven by money.

Some people are. If you define success by how much money you have in your account that is fine too. Success is subjective to the person, but remember, your health and time are the two most important aspects of this one life you have. If you are sacrificing money for both of those, then it may be time to re-evaluate what success means to you.