Academic Writing Help

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Academic writing help thrives on the use of rationality. Resources, research, and reasoning are the guiding facets of academic writing help. It is thesis oriented and purpose driven. The facts, figures, and points of views call for a cogent and logical analysis. It is essential to realize that academic papers are different than other types of writing. For instance, as opposed to a letter to a friend or an informal article, academic papers are a formal type of writing. Although contractions are acceptable in informal or friendly writing, they are not used in formal, academic writing. Furthermore, with the exception of essays and term papers, a bibliography or reference page is usually required in academic writing.

Academia is replete with a wide variety of disciplines and within these subjects is a virtually limitless range of subtopics and theses. Nevertheless, regardless of your academic level and whether you are writing an essay, research paper, term paper, thesis, MBA thesis, or Ph.D. dissertation, students are expected to adhere to the specific conventions of writing.

To best support the thesis statement, the professionals who offer academic writing help understand the importance of using relevant, cited, and up-to-date facts and figures. In addition, their understanding of structure results in superb writing. An academic writer has to be research oriented and analytic in his or her approach. A student who hires services that provide academic writing help will be better prepared to leap over any hurdles that may be impeding successful writing.

Much depends on the presentation and organization of factual information and the flow of logical ideas that support the thesis statement. When done well, the reader is able to fulfill his or her zeal for curiosity and leaves with a new perspective of the topic. As such, it is necessary for an academic writer to delve deeply into the details of an idea to be able to establish and thoroughly support the overall viewpoint or thesis statement. Whether you need help researching, organizing your writing, editing, or simply want an honest assessment and suggestions or improvement, academic writing help is the answer.

By working with a professional academic writing, you can substantially increase both your grades and understanding of the subject matter. Learning how to write well is a skill that can be applied to a wide variety of fields. Regardless of the subject of your academic paper, a professional writer can help you create a superb academic document.

Weight Training for Fat Loss

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To put it simply if you want to lose fat and transform your body, lifting weights is absolutely key. Nutrition and cardio are also important, but to achieve the lean athletic look, weight training is vital.

So why weight training?

Well if you are interested in achieving any of the following you will need to start a weight training program:

– Increase strength.

– Lose Weight.

– Speeding up your metabolism which in turn leads to burning fat.

– Enhance your ability to perform day to day tasks.

– Have better balance and coordination.

– Decrease your risk of injuries.

– Boost your confidence.

– Increase your bone strength.

Starting a weight training program can be daunting. People have visions of massively oiled up and shaved down bodybuilders. These visions promote a fear that if you train with weights, you will end up looking like a bulked up muscle machine.

The truth is this is just a misconception. There are a number of reasons why this is a misconception, but to keep it simple it is a matter of with basic science.

If you don’t eat a surplus of calories, then in simple terms you won’t gain weight and look bulky. It is no different for males or females, your body doesn’t magically make muscle while you are lifting weights.

Weight training is the stimulus or stress on your body, you are actually breaking down muscle while you are lifting weight (at a microscopic level).

Your body’s response to this stimulation/stress is to repair the muscle and grow more muscle in order to be better prepared next time that sort of stress is placed on it again.

Now in very basic terms, you body needs a surplus of calories to grow more muscle. So if you are only eating a maintenance level of calories you will not add to your body weight and you will not become too bulky. Again this principle is no different for males or female.

After reading this you might be wondering, if your goal isn’t to get muscular and bulky, then what is the point of weight training. Good question.

The point is weight training will change you body composition as it has a drastic ability to speed up your metabolism.

Through correct weight training you can remain the same body weight but you can significantly reduce your body fat percentage whilst at the same time increase you lean muscle mass.

The end result is that you will look leaner and your actually body measurements will have reduced in areas of your body that typically store fat.

A primary example of this is myself, over the last 2 years, my body weight has only varied about 1-2kgs, however in that time I have increased my lean muscle mass and decreased my body fat levels from about 18% to 10% and my waist measurement has gone from 92cm to 81cm.

It is this increase in lean muscle mass that speeds your metabolism up. It takes your body more calories to support muscle than it does fat, so the more lean muscle mass you have the greater amount of calories your body needs to burn to support itself.

Even when you are sitting still you body is burning more calories, than that of a person who has less muscle mass than you.

For people that are trying to loss weight my advice is that weight training is probably the best form of training to transform you body shape due to these reasons.

But where to start? It can be confusing, just Google weight training and you will be flooded with articles and programs promising mind blowing results.

The program you choose should be based on you fitness goals, what equipment you have available to you and how it will fit into your lifestyle.

So how do you chose what program to do?

To be able to answer this questions you need to get gain an understanding of some basic weight training principles. Understanding these principles will assist you in choosing a routine that ensures you use sufficient weight for the right amount of reps and sets and will guarantee you are always making progress in your training.

Principle #1: Overload

You need to place stress on you muscles for them to grow. How do you do this? Make your muscle perform a movement with more resistance than it is used to. Your body’s reaction to this stress is to repair and grow more muscle in order to be better prepared for next time the same stress is placed on it.

In terms of weight training you should be overloading your muscles to the point where you can only complete the specified number of reps in your routine. This means you need to select a weight that allows you to complete the specified number of reps with difficulty but whilst also maintaining good form.

Principle #2: Progression

The body is an amazing and adaptable machine. To avoid adaptation or training plateaus, you need to train with consistency and intensity. What this means in real terms is every time you train you either need to lift more weight for the same amount of reps as your last session, or lift the same weight for more reps. If you continue to do the same thing week after week, your body will not change.

Sounds pretty simply doesn’t it? In theory, the principle is an easy one to understand, putting it in to practice is the hard part. It will take focus, determination and intensity to make progress with every workout, but it is achievable.

Principle #3: Goal Setting

Your weight training should have a purpose. In order to achieve in our health and fitness endeavors, you need to know exactly what you are working towards. For each person the reason will differ, once you figure out your reason, use it as your motivating factor. If you start a weight training program and you don’t have goals, then you will fail. How do I know you will fail? Because if you don’t know what you are trying to achieve, you don’t have a finish line.

Principle #4: Rest and Recovery

Rest days are just as important as training days. The reason for this is with weight training, more is not better. Remember the weight training is the stress on your body, muscle growth occurs as a response to this stress on your body, WHEN YOU ARE RESTING. Muscle growth does not occur in the gym! You need to provide your muscles with adequate rest and good nutrition.

With this in mind training frequency dictates that a muscle group, such as legs, back, or chest, should only be trained once a week in order to allow the muscle enough time to fully recuperate and recover to handle the next workout. Since progressive overload is the key to muscle growth, you want your muscles to be well rested so that they may handle more weight or complete more reps with the same weight during your next training session.

If you train a body part too often you will risk over training, because the muscle has not had a chance to fully recover. Your muscle needs to fully recover from its previous stress, before it can handle additional stress.

There are numerous weight training principles out there. Some are good, some are bad, some even contradict one another. The important thing is to understand the basics as outlined in the above principles, attack you training with consistency and intensity and you can use weight training for fat loss.

Stay tuned for more articles about:

– How to chose the right program.

– How long your workouts should take.

– The optimal amount of reps and sets per workout.

– How long to rest between sets and exercises.

– How to choose the right exercises.

– Why training like a bodybuilder sucks.

How to Choose Top Private Schools

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There are many people who send their sons and daughters to private school and there are many more who send their children to public schools. The important thing to note is that a lot of people in the US don’t know about the advantages of top private schools over public schools. If you have been thinking of enrolling your child in one of the top private schools in the US then it is a great decision but how do you find out if the school really offers what your child needs.

You need to consider several aspects of a school before reaching a decision. Let us look at some of the important aspects that will help in decision making.

Your needs: First and foremost is identifying your needs or your child’s requirements. It is extremely important that you start to look within your family and start working out the various needs of your child before thinking about applying to one of the top schools. If you are wondering why then the answer is that most top schools look the same from the outside. Each school has their own strength but it is not necessary that the private school you choose will be able to satisfy the need of your child. Every child has varied requirements and hence you need to focus on finding a school depending on your child’s need. While identifying your child’s requirements, you need to segregate them on the basis of their desire, extra curricular activities they prefer, and their practical ability. The following pointers will help you to segregate your requirements:

Practical requirements: These requirements have to be met so that your child can have a better future. When you are looking through top private schools, you will come across some great schools that offer just about everything but they might not be able to meet your practical requirements. At that point you will have to rule out that particular school as a possibility. When we say practical requirements, then it suggests the following:

– How far is the school from your home?
– Will your child require transportation or will the school provide the same?
– Does your child require a before-school or after-school care?
– Does your child have any kind of linguistic, emotional, physical, or any other learning need that would demand special attention?
– How much is the education and enrollment fee in top private schools? What is your budget?
– Are you looking for a private boarding school or a day school?

Desired requirements: This includes the various options and criteria’s that you will most likely focus on while looking at top private schools. Some of the questions that you need to ask here are:

– What type of curriculum are you looking at? Some parents opt for science while others opt for art or commerce.
– Are you looking for modern facilities at the private school?
– What type of school environment will you prefer for your child – small or large?
– Are you looking for top private schools with multiple grade levels like K-12?
– Are you looking for a private school where parent teacher involvement is stressed upon?
– How is a particular school communicating with parents?

These questions will help you in filtering out schools and help you in choosing the top private schools for your child.

8 Steps To Accelerated Hypnotic Learning

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During the past couple of months, I have been privileged and overjoyed to have spent some time with my Brother and sister-in-law’s beautiful 6 month old baby. It is truly amazing to behold how she learns and develops.

While most of us are holding down jobs and/or raising children, and generally leading busy lives, learning things faster would be a very welcome skill to acquire. Wouldn’t you agree?

If you want to know how to accelerate your ability to learn, it is useful to engage in a little modelling of the most amazing learning machines in the world: Babies, toddlers and children. Seeing my niece developing so fast made me think. When we were children we learnt a phenomenal amount in a very short time, not just information and knowledge but also social skills, body-mind co-ordination and much, much more. So how did we do this?

I want to show you how to identify the right conditions for learning, so that you can once more be free to learn as effectively as you did when you were a small child.

So how did you manage it all those years ago? The first five years of your life represent the most amazing accelerated learning programme ever developed. Not all of this is necessarily “good”, of course, in terms of its usefulness later in life but certainly small children learn thoroughly and with every part of themselves. They learn without labelling what they are doing as learning. They begin to map out their world through the fullest use of all their senses every waking moment. This is truly total immersion learning. Everyone starts out as a fast learner. I mean everyone.

8 Steps To Fast Learning:

Step One: You have to want to learn.

When we are little, life is fascinating because everything is utterly new to us. We don’t yet have experiences or filters that tell us some things are more important or more worthwhile than others. Everything is new, everything gives us more to absorb.

Learning is highly meaningful for a number of reasons: because it is interesting, because it relates to some immediate goal, because it is rewarded, because it helps us to model someone who is important to us, because it gives us more autonomy, power or means of self-expression – and because we are curious and just want to know.

All these reasons give us important incentives to learn fast and learn well. The process of learning is something the learner actively wants to do.

So, make sure you are motivated – have a good reason for anything that you want to learn, and know what it is.

Step Two: Engage In The Moment.

Very small children pay a lot of attention to what is going on around them and what they are doing. They are not thinking about how today compares with yesterday or looking for references of similar experiences. Those concepts come later in life.

They are not distracting themselves. They can and do get distracted, but then they are totally immersed in the distraction. Attention is 100 per cent. They focus and are concentrated.

So, catch wandering thoughts. It may well help to write down things that require action later, so that you do not have to carry them alongside what you are currently doing. Having done so, bring yourself back to the here-and-now.

Step Three: Be immersed in the learning experience.

At those young ages, learning is done in a highly associated state which produces high neurological and physiological engagement and enables the learner to make huge strides very rapidly.

Choose your timing, and your setting, and your state to give yourself the best chance of becoming immersed. Cultivate the art of being fully associated in your experience. So really tune in, be aware of what you are seeing, hearing and feeling. This leads nicely on to our next step…

Step Four: Use all your senses when learning.

Children do not think about how they learn, or should learn. All their senses are on-line to pick up and process information.

This means that what they are learning can be encoded in multiple ways, making it more rapidly and effectively part of them.

Therefore, engage more of your senses in the act of consciously learning. Always consider how you can incorporate more of the senses into even formal learning using more visual, more auditory and more kinaesthetic stimulus. For instance, you could make notes, construct models and literally walk things through (kinaesthetic), create mind-maps, colourful visuals and use coloured pens (visual), or play music by Baroque composers such as Bach or Vivaldi, which has been shown to enhance concentration and learning (auditory).

Step Five: Your efforts are frequently praised or rewarded.

Very young children usually get plenty of praise for trying to do things, as well as for actually achieving them. You know when everyone delights at them doing something. Even if there comes a time when the grown-ups start to take their skills for granted, there has usually been a good grounding of positive encouragement for first efforts at sitting, crawling, and standing, talking and walking. With luck, a foundation has been laid, which can become the basis of self-encouragement in their willingness to take on the risk of trying new things.

Today, find ways to praise and reward yourself. Use encouraging internal dialogue. Break your goal down into stages and give yourself treats for accomplishing each stage.

Step Six: Free yourself of success and failure notions.

The early learning child or baby has not yet learnt to think in terms of “success” and “failure” – so they are not easily daunted when something does not work out. In fact, being frustrated is more likely to make them want to try again.

Very small children mostly do not get labelled as failures when they try something that does not work. Children’s first words, or first steps, are too exciting and too major for most adults to discount them as not good enough. A new walker who falls is likely to be encouraged to try again.

Be kind about your mistakes and limitations. People who endlessly criticise themselves tend to become disheartened. Those who forgive errors and lapses make much better progress.

Step Seven: Pace Yourself.

When they lose interest, or get tired, babies simply switch to something else or fall asleep. They have not yet learnt to pressurise themselves unduly or to make unreasonable demands of themselves.

Pace yourself- do not drive yourself too hard. Even when you are doing well – perhaps especially when you are doing well – have a break. And do not move the goalposts because you achieved something sooner or more easily than you expected.

Step Eight: Digest and process.

The early learner sleeps long and deep, which gives the unconscious mind time to process what has been learnt, and the body time to recover from exertion and build its strength.

Sleep is a major ingredient in successful learning, it allows the body to rest and repair itself after exertion. Mental exertion requires energy and stamina, so any kind of learning is potentially tiring. Learning is processed and stored unconsciously – which is why we relatively soon forget the actual processes that are involved in even complex skills like walking, talking or reading. And sleep is a time when the unconscious part of the mind is very active in processing new material and making connections.

Respect your body’s need for rest. Give yourself enough sleep time to process what you have learnt.

So, now we have seen the criteria for that kind of fast learning that babies and toddlers do. Think of ways that you can apply these seven simple steps to your own learning processes whenever and wherever they may be. Have some fun with this.

Several Great Tips to Prepare the Entrance Exam for Nursing School

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The entrance exam in a certain nursing school is very important for your nursing school application. You will find that passing the exam entrance will be one of requirements that you should fulfill if you want get into the school.

However, there are many students that do not know what they should do before and during the test. This means that preparing the exam will be very important so that you will be able to pass the entrance exam. In order to help you prepare the exam, you should follow the following tips.

You should choose a study guide to help you study. You will find that this is the most efficient way when you are preparing for the entrance exam in a certain nursing school that you choose. If you cannot find a certain study guide in your area, you can order it online or you can join it through your school. Furthermore, you can also do the practice exam that has similar format with the real exam online created by the creators of the exam. But, this depends of the specific test that you will take.

You should make a group to practice together. You can make the group with those who want to take the exam for a certain nursing school. This is one of methods of learning that works well for many students. But, if you cannot do this in your group, you can continue your study by yourself.

You should do the exercise everyday. You will find that exercise can relieve stress. This will also help you to deal with your anxiety to entrance exam for the nursing school. You should also eat balanced meals. You will find that this is very important in order to make you be able to be in good working in the exam day.

You should avoid studying all night long before the exam. This is because this cannot help you. It is better for you to study in 20-minute increments during the day and the evening. You will find that this will allow your body to have rest between the study sessions that you do.

You should calm when you do doing the exam. You have to make sure that you do not spend much time in a certain question. You can come back to the question that you are not sure after finishing all the questions. But, if you run out of t he time, it is better for you to answer the questions by guessing them.

Now, you are ready to take the entrance exam for the nursing school that you take. Make sure that you do all those things so that you will be able to do the exam well. So, you will be accepted by that school and study for the nursing degree that you want.

Jobs in Education – How to Get a Job in Education

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Education today is one of the most booming career options available worldwide. The increasing number of educational institutes and the huge amount of capital invested in the education industry is offering serious challenges to many other industries. It is also a much more comfortable experience than it once used to be. There is no doubt about the fact that the jobs in education are varied and available in huge numbers today. Be it jobs in schools, colleges, or universities almost every educational career offers you a lucrative career.

If a job in education is what you always dreamt of we have a few suggestions which you might find handy in securing a job. Now you must keep in mind that a good education is very necessary to build careers in education. You will need to plan your education right after high school if you want to get into an education job. The stream you want to build a career in will have to be emphasized on right from the beginning. There are numerous types of jobs in education and your higher studies definitely determine your suitability for the job. If you want to apply for the post of a teacher your specialization in a particular subject will get you the job where as if you want to be in non teaching jobs in education you will have to have a specialisation in that. Non teaching jobs include administrative jobs, superintendents, etc. The dimension with which schools are growing today make so it absolutely necessary for a big administrative team. Running a big school is not the job of a handful of people alone. If you had a nag for being in administration this is just the thing for you. A degree in administration from any reputed institute is counted as enough to get a good administrative place. Similarly other non teaching jobs like a superintendent, etc require specific qualifications.

Now experience is another think which counts with reputed educational institutions. Very rarely will you find fresher’s being absorbed in a place of high responsibility. It is hence advisable not to try to be at the top in a single go. One should rather work hard with determined efforts to get to the top. Getting promoted to a higher post just because of your determined efforts and work experience is indeed bliss. Never go for flattering your superiors to make your place at the top. It might help you a couple of times but is not going to do you any good in the long run.

Communication skills are another very important aspect of working in the education industry. You need to have it in you to convince people. One gets to see different kinds of people in this industry some friendly some rude. However the success lies in being cool and composed in dealing with them. The key to success is patience. Remember it’s your job to make them understand no matter what it takes.

Locating the Right Training Course

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Training courses are offered by many public and private companies. However even though you are spoilt for choice when it comes to courses to do, it is always difficult to locate the right one when required. This is because no matter what course one ends up selecting, they want it to be the best in the field offering the best results.

Tips To Find The Right Training Course

Here are a few tips that would help narrow down your search for find the right training courses for your needs:

– First you would need to determine the kind of training you are looking at. Are you changing your career altogether or are you just updating your skills for your present job? Look into your need and then locate the courses that offer the highest level of skills and knowledge. Know what you are seeking, because if you don’t you’ll surely get lost somewhere along the way.

– You can also make use of training analysis tools to help discover the kinds of courses best suited for your needs. These tools would first assess your current skills, analyze your resources and then quantify them to identify your currently standing. They would help you spot the areas where you lack and what you need to change to help your career move forward.

Once you know the kind of training courses you are in need of, your next step would be to select from the umpteen ones available. There is a full range of courses suitable for all career needs. You can choose to undergo professional or personal training to enhance your skills.

IT Training Courses In Demand

IT courses are the most in demand nowadays. The main reason behind the popularity of IT courses is that the world continues to grow and so do its industries. So it is but natural for training centers to come up with better and advanced IT courses to meet industry requirements.

There would be different levels and categories to the various IT training courses available at any center. You would come across introductory courses that would provide a fundamental foundation if you are a beginner. These courses would be shorter in duration and would be granted a certification on completion. As one moves higher up he can gain an in-depth knowledge of the subject by joining an advanced level course.

Besides picking an IT study program you can also consider hands-on training alongside. The training would help you understand the program physically as you would be allowed to work with the different aspects of the program. So it is not only what you learn in your training course that is important, it is also how you learn it.

An apt training course can be selected only once you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses. If you are already employed and need to still work hard on your learning skills, then it would be best to look for a public institution that provides online training courses. On the other hand, if you are a beginner and are in search of some courses that would grant you certification and credits then it would be better to join a university affiliated program.

Whatever course you end up selecting, just make sure that you are successfully able to choose the right one from among the variety of training courses available. Only if you are able to do so, would you be able to pick the best course for yourself.

College Student Orientation – Welcome Week Student Success Secrets – Success & Leadership Secrets

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Create an unforgettable and success filled college experience for new college students during welcome week and orientation by speaking students language and starting strong.

Separate your college and University campus from the rest of academia by initiating a relational and professional approach that appeals and wins the respect of incoming college students. Transcend the old school collegiate hierarchical mentality that immediately alienates and subordinates students.

Captivate, connect, and keep your college students and carry them fully through matriculation to commencement by cultivating academic and professional success. Celebrate, embrace, equip, and empower your college students to unlock greatness, achieve success, and assume a leadership role on your college campus to serve your academic community.

Quickly captivate your new college students during orientation and welcome week by speaking their language and starting strong with a message that awakens their hearts.

1. Identity is destiny.

Who am I? Who do I desire to become? For what reason am I in college in the first place?

2. Pinpoint college students purpose.

To begin strong and stay the course, a successful college student needs to have a powerful vision of his or her future. If it is not quite crystal clear initially, that is o.k., as vision is progressive as it is passionately and purposefully pursued continually.

3. Beyond books and school work, how will I structure my life?

Depending upon college students passion and purpose, they may want to pursue a variety of extra-curricular activities. Greek life is a wonderful way to make friends and align with an established organization on campus through whom you can do charitable work and let your voice be heard. If Greek life appeals to you, evaluate the mission statement of each fraternity or sorority.

Student associations and organizations on most college campuses are many, each possessing a different focus and objective. Get acquainted with your student union, student government, and Greek life director. As you become acquainted with these various organizations and associations on campus, attend some “meet and greet” socials early in the year or whenever possible to familiarize yourself with whatever groups spark an interest and seem to suit your personal preference.

Keep in mind you don’t want to stretch yourself thin by being over committed. Therefore be wise to stay focused on your primary purpose for attending college, after which you can choose a complimentary social or professional student group organization with whom to align yourself.

Remember also to eat healthy, get plenty of sleep, and exercise regularly. Many college students forget to do so and later suffer when their immune systems are run down by winter. Think long-term and prepare to go the distance and finish your college studies strong.

4. Proximity is key to fulfilling your destiny.

Sit at the front of class whenever possible to be sure to absorb all vital class information and test material. It is also harder to get distracted when you sit upfront. Less talking and disturbances occur in the front of the classroom. Always respect and befriend professors as much as possible, even if you don’t always fully agree with them. At the very least respect their position, remembering they will be grading you and hold the keys to your academic progress and ultimately your future.

5. Maintain close relationships with your family.

If you only can stay in touch with your family by phone, make the effort and do so. Since your parents may be financing or helping you finance in part your education and expenses, the least you can do is check in periodically on a bi-weekly basis and give them an update as to your academic progress and life.

Certainly if you were making a substantial financial investment in someone’s future you would want the same decency and courtesy to be shown you. Therefore be appreciative, courteous, and respectful toward your parents to further endear them to you and build a supportive bond, which in turn will serve you well throughout the course of your life.

6. Be proactive in pursuing and launching your career, while you are yet still in college.

Rather than sitting back and waiting for a resume alone (which usually ends up in a stack of paper) to produce your desirable results professionally, take the initiative to make things happen for yourself. Visit your college career center and begin reviewing various internships in your field tha are available to provide you further professional development. Even if these internships don’t pay you, the professional experience and knowledge you will gain will be priceless.

If no internships turn up for you, consider launching your own business as an entrepreneur. Providing a product or service is essential business in its simplest form. How can you serve people with your time, talent, and expertise? Consider ways you can serve the administration at your own college and University campus.

If necessary, begin serving people for free to get them to recognize and discover your value to them. When you add value, you always immediately become valuable. Thereafter once you have proven yourself, you can set your price and negotiate a pay raise or launch your own business.

7. Be patient with yourself as you evolve and your career comes into clear focus.

Life and professional development is not done in a microwave. Give yourself some time to evolve and go through the discovery process. As you sample various courses, you will discover in college what you like and dislike; what fits you and what is not you. Don’t try to rework or remake yourself to fit something you are not.

Be authentic and true to yourself. As you do, your own uniqueness and difference will emerge. As you delight in and continually develop the genius within, your own success and leadership capacities will emerge and begin to shine.

Keep a childlike heart while pursuing academic and professional life. Remain curious, carefree, fun, but remain simultaneously professional and courteous. As you show yourself friendly and have fun while you get the college schoolwork done, good things will happen for you!

I wish you great success and dream fulfillment as you arise and wholeheartedly enjoy the college experience!

Why You Want to Partner With A Small Business Coach-Advisor

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According to The National Federation of Independent Business [NFIB] Education Foundation, over the lifetime of any small business, 30 percent will lose money, 30 percent will break even, and just fewer than 40 percent will be profitable. The Small Business Administration [SBA] reports that 50 percent of all small business fail after their first year, 33 percent fail after two years, and nearly 60 percent fail after four years. Reasons for failure cited by the SBA include: limited vision, over expansion, poor capital structure, over spending, lack of reserve funds or too little Free Cash Flow, failure to adjust to market changes, underestimating competition, poor business execution, poor business location, failure to establish company goals, poor market segmentation and strategy, poor knowledge of the competition, no management systems, over dependence on specific individuals, and/or focusing on the technical aspects more than the strategic aspects of the business, and an inadequate business plan.

Developing and growing a small business enterprise, either from a new venture or as an existing one, is difficult in a bull market, where the economy is growing. The difficulty factor is there none the less. However, in a down economy, in a recession, where the risk of business failure is magnified several times, the difficulty factor is increased by a significant magnitude. Entrepreneurs and small business enterprises find themselves working in their business as opposed to working on their business. That is, when times are tough, the small business owner feels compelled to spend all his or her time on operations just trying to keep the boat afloat, while putting off where the boat may be going. It is particularly critical in a recessionary economic cycle to spend as much time as possible on the direction of your boat, as it is on operations. If the vision is lost or clouded, it won’t really matter how hard you try to keep things afloat, at some point you may well run aground because you were not watching where you were going. Having an extra pair of eyes to help stir your ship and keep you in the right direction is critical to not only maintaining your business, but helping you to grow it. And as the principal in your small business, this is where you want to position yourself; at the helm stirring your enterprise in the direction of your vision.

Successful athletes typically hire a coach to help them achieve success. Certainly this is the case in professional golf. It is the case in the world of professional cycling. And it is the case in professional team sports, such as baseball. For the entrepreneur and small business enterprise, having a coach, advisor, on the sidelines as well as in the game, to provide critical objective guidance to help them attain their business objectives can be the difference in achieving real success. As a small business enterprise, you want to be in the category of a ‘small business growth’ company, positioned for IPO, acquisition, merger or growing into a medium-sized company. A Business Coach and Advisor will work with you to help avoid becoming an SBA or NFIB Education Foundation statistic on their list of small business failures. From time to time we all need outside guidance, counsel, mentoring and advice. A Business Coach/Advisor will actually help you to become a success story. The benefits of partnering with a Business Coach/Advisory far outweigh the costs. Five critical benefits of partnering with a Business Coach/Advisor include, but are not limited, to the following:

1. Accountability. A Business Coach /Advisor will help you to maintain focus on driving your business forward, and helping you to work through the temptation to work in your business and not on your business. A good Business Coach/Advisor will insist on holding you accountable for achieving your goals and objectives, and work with you to delegate operation tasks that need to be performed by key personal, and guiding you towards providing the strategic vision your business needs to grow. Your Business Coach, acting in an Advisory capacity will work with you to develop or refine strategic short- and long term goals and then hold you accountable to achieve them. You want your coach to be tough, yet personable having the capacity to understand your business and where it is you want to take it. There job is to help you formulate that and to get you positioned to attain it.

2. Formulating Strategic Goals, Ideas, Objectives. A Business Coach/Advisor will work with you to develop and refine your goals, ideas and objectives. A combination of coaching and advising is necessary here, and your Coach has the acquired expertise and experience to work through these with you and knows how to adapt them to your business.

3. Contributing Business Growth Strategies. A good Business Coach/Advisory will have the ability to share and communicate their experience and expertise in developing business growth strategies. Remember, no one has all the answers. No one. Not a coach or a business executive. Sharing ideas are critical. Thinking out of the box is essential. So, when you’ve just “run out of ideas” on how to market and sell your products and services, your Coach will work with you, as a partner, to develop and then implement the business growth strategy or strategies that are specific to your company and market to meet your growth objectives. To be most effective, weekly communication with your Coach will keep you on track.

4. Resources. When it is needed, your Business Coach/Advisor will provide referrals to contacts or resources for your business, such as expansion capital, legal and accounting services, social media marketing, technologies, and other resources that are relevant to helping you meet your goals and objectives. My view here is that it is incumbent on a business coach and advisory to have a teaming or partnering viewpoint, and it is essential for them to do so for the benefit of you, the small business owner.

5. Objectivity. A Business Coach/Advisor provides you with the necessary objectivity to see your business as it really is. This is essential for an honest assessment of where your business is in its life cycle. When you get used to the same processes and procedures, tasks, basic routine, you lose the ability to see your business with the same objective clarity that you once did. Your Business Coach provides you with a double perspective; looking into your business from the customer perspective, and looking out at the customer from your perspective. And then provide you with feedback about what works, what doesn’t and what your options are. To be effective, weekly communication with your Coach will keep you on track.

Partnering with a Business Coach/Advisor should be on a retainer basis for three to nine months, preferably six months. It will normally take a good Business Coach/Advisor two months, sixty days, at least to become fully knowledgeable about your business, its practices, your strengths, weakness, your vision, and your objectives. Then another month to begin working with you to arrive at your business objectives. While three months is the minimum time needed for a good Business Coach/Advisor to begin making a difference under a single retainer agreement, nine months is the maximum under a single retainer agreement, where six months is the optimal. During a six month retainer, a Business Coach/Advisor should be able to meet all goals and place in to practice the critical elements that a small business needs to attain strategic objectives. Typically, once a small business has partnered with a Business Coach/Advisor, they retain them continuously, or as needed.

In today’s troubled economic climate, the use of a Business Coach/Advisor makes strong financial sense. While you might feel you can go it alone, the resulting cost may far outweigh what it would be had you partnered with a Business Coach/Advisor when needed. It’s sort of like the old TV commercial about changing your oil, you can either do it now at the cost of an oil change, or wait until your engine blows and pay the cost then. Waiting will certainly cost you infinitely more. If you are facing a limited vision, over expansion, poor capital structure, over spending, lack of reserve funds or too little Free Cash Flow, failure to adjust to market changes, underestimating competition, poor business execution, poor business location, failure to establish company goals, poor market segmentation and strategy, poor knowledge of the competition, no management systems, over dependence on specific individuals, focusing on the technical aspects more than the strategic aspects of the business, or simply need help in growing your business, then partnering with a Business Coach/Advisor makes good financial sense.

Manage Yourself for the Career You Want

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“Your past cannot be changed, but you can change tomorrow by your actions today.”
– David McNally

The career you want doesn’t drop in your lap prefabricated the way it used to be. To have the career you want, you have to design and initiate your own path. In the past, on-the-job training was a popular means of creating the perfect employee. Businesses had the time and resources to teach workers what they needed to know, in order to develop a career with their company. Today, as companies are downsizing and restructuring to remain competitive, career-minded individuals must be that much better than others vying for the same position; and, they must be prepared to hit the ground running. You have to go after the job you want.

Career Tips

While career guidance is beneficial, the ultimate decisions are up to you. A career is more than simply a job. It’s not flipping burgers at the local fast food restaurant, until something better comes along. A career is a lifelong pursuit of professional success. It helps define who you are, and where your values lie. It gives your life purpose and meaning. It also happens to provide a paycheck.

If you really want a career, and not just a job, here are some suggestions to help facilitate your success:

* Know your personal and professional goals
* Keep a portfolio of your best work
* Keep track of your successes
* Commit to lifelong learning
* Invest time and money in developing your career
* Establish an advisory board
* Find a mentor
* Network

You can’t sit back and wait for your career to tack off. If you want to be a leader in your chosen occupation, you need to make your success happen.

Career Management

An expert in career guidance will provide suggestions based upon experience. He/she may even develop a personalized list of objectives you need, to put your career on the fast track. But, it’s you that will do the hard work and provide the initiative necessary for a successful outcome.

For example, only you know your personal and professional goals. You must recognize your own potential, adapt to changes when necessary, and do what it takes to continually build your career. Today, a college degree is simply not enough. Everyone has to have an education, in order to get a meaningful job. You need to recognize the education necessary to get your foot in the proverbial door. Then, you need to go above and beyond the competition. You will always have to consider how best to invest your time and money, in order to advance your career.

You will also need to keep track of the advancements and changes in your career field. Networking can keep you in the “know” and make sure that others know about you. Developing an advisory board can boost your credibility and convey that you are dedicated to advancing in your career, even if it means accepting change or going back to school. You are your own best tool for success.

In short, career management is not a job you can outsource. You need to manage yourself for the career you want.

Copyright, Cecile Peterkin. All rights reserved.