Step 1 – Make your days count with high impact business-building activities. And this to me was the most important step.  I had to ask myself, on a daily and sometimes hourly basis, “What am I doing now that should be delegated or dropped in order for me to work part-time?”  What can go… what must go so that I can accomplish this?

First, figure out what days and hours would work best for you in order to have your ideal lifestyle.  Once you decide the part-time hours you want, block that time off.  These are your new, dedicated work hours, and your productivity becomes magnified during these hours.  Get rid of all non-service delivery tasks, for example writing copy for ads, scheduling meetings, checking your emails, networking, working on your e-zine, even sales activity.  And when you work from home, like I did, you have to resist the urge to start cleaning the house, make shopping lists, and start dinner.

You will need to develop what I call a “delegation consciousness”.  In every moment of every day, ask yourself, “should I be doing this?”  I’ll give you an example of how this worked for me, and it was life-changing.  I have an e-zine that I send out to my list, and I decided to hire a virtual assistant team to take charge of the process for me, because I was spending way too much time on it.  By delegating my e-zine maintenance, that put into place a circumstance that allowed me to have a team already in place when the floodgates opened and business started pouring in.  I was ready for it.  I needed to push against my fears that I should do it myself and that I couldn’t afford to outsource this.  And it felt great when I let go of it.

Are you making proclamations that don’t really apply to the person you are now?  Maybe you’ve caught yourself being sucked into something you know isn’t the best use of your time, and you swear you’re not going to get caught up in it again.  But the next time it comes up, there you go.  We go to business events, read books, attend networking meetings, make cold calls… and this is ok to do once you’ve gotten your part-time hours under control.  But for now, get rid of anything that is not essential to you right now.  This is going to be extreme, you will be cutting back to bare minimums.  But don’t just cut back, be very conscious of what you are bringing in to your business, as well.

Solutions only have the opportunity to present themselves when you make a decision.  You’ll find many things that can wait if you really want to work part-time.  What is the benefit of working part-time?  Only you can answer that for yourself.  For me, it re-energized me, and gave purpose to everything I did with my business, and allowed me to live the life I’d only dreamed of.

About the Author:

Lisa Cherney, a.k.a. the Juicy Marketing Expert, founded Conscious Marketing 12 years ago to help small business owners find their authentic marketing voice, attract their ideal clients and increase their sales. Following her own Stand Out & Be Juicy program, which centers on owning your unique self and laser-focus marketing, Lisa has tripled her income while working
part-time.

Prior to Conscious Marketing, Lisa worked with many Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, Lipton, Nissan, Blue Cross and Equal. She is a highly sought after speaker and often shares the stage with experts such as Jack Assaraf (The Secret), Jack Canfield and Jill Lublin. Learn more about Lisa at www.consciousmarketing.com or call 887-771-0156.

AccountingDegree.com: The worlds of business and dating have more in common than you may think. There are relationships, growth, and negotiation in both situations, and good ideas from one may apply in the other. Check out these trusted business rules that are great to follow in the dating world as well.

1. Be ready for growth: Businesses and relationships can both start out small, but grow quickly. Always have a plan for what you’d like to do with future growth.

2. Build trust: Businesses must be trustworthy to win and keep clients, and the same is true in relationships. Build trust within your relationship so that you’ll have a strong foundation.

3. He who cares least, wins: This saying is true in negotiations as it is in relationships. Be careful not to invest too much into a new relationship too fast, while the person you’re dating cares less than you do.

4. Find a mentor: It’s a great idea to have a mentor for your career, but there’s great value in having one for your dating life as well. Enlist a trusted friend who has been there to offer advice and emotional support.

5. It costs much more to get a new customer than it does to retain an existing one: Saving a relationship that’s worth working through is usually better than starting over from scratch.

6. Interview lots of customers (dates): This is particularly true in online dating. Cast a wide net, and pick out only the best.

7. Get involved in the community: Businesses can improve their profile by interacting within their communities, and those who are dating can benefit from this as well. Getting out there and being involved in your community can be great for meeting new people and enriching yourself.

8. Never sleep with your boss: This rule is true in business and dating — it’s just too messy to sleep with a coworker, especially your boss.

9. Use an appropriate tone in correspondence: When writing business emails, it’s important to consider how what you’re saying may be taken-and the same is true for dating.

10. Don’t leave customers in limbo: You wouldn’t leave a customer hanging with a need or a complaint, so make sure and resolve issues within relationships as well.

11. Listen to your employees: Business owners can’t get far without paying attention to the needs of their employees, and your relationship won’t do well if you don’t listen to your partner’s needs, either.

12. First impressions are important: When meeting someone for the first time, pay attention to how you may be coming across.

13. Show off your best work: Businesses like to highlight their best projects and most satisfied customers. Do the same in dating by highlighting your best attributes.

14. Under-promise and over-deliver: Businesses make their customers happy by exceeding expectations, and this concept works in the dating world, too. Surprise your date with something delightful and unexpected.

15. Remember to participate: Conversations work two ways, so listen and respond meaningfully.

16. Address problems promptly: Businesses can do well by finding and resolving problems quickly. In relationships, this is important as well, keeping small issues from becoming big ones.

17. Be consistent: Businesses must keep a consistent look, feel, and rules. When dating, make sure that you’re always your genuine self any time you’re interacting with others.

18. Stay flexible: In order to stay in business, it’s important to adapt to the needs of your market. In dating, you must be willing to be flexible and compromise in a relationship.

19. Get over it: Don’t let resentment and anger keep you down, whether it’s with a customer or your date.

20. Be honest: Businesses that engage in shady ethics often don’t stay in business very long, and the same is true for relationships. Be open, honest, and always tell the truth.

20 Established Business Rules You Should Bring to the Dating World [AccountingDegree.com]

Nearly 300 years ago, a British physician, preacher and intellectual by the name of Thomas Fuller said, “Health is not valued till sickness comes.”

Such sage historical wisdom still holds true today. Those who hope to achieve the highest heights in the 21st Century economy need to take care of something as simple as personal health. Making a commitment to healthy living is a prerequisite for success. But it’s not only physical health that matters.

Those who enjoy long-term success realize that their personal lives must be in order. That means you should care for your mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and financial health as much as the health of your career.

It is very difficult to be successful at work when your personal life is a mess. If your marriage is dysfunctional, it’s hard to focus on high-level career achievement. If you lack a set of core beliefs, you may not be able to create philosophy of life that guides you to some great achievement. If you are barely keeping your financial head above water, you don’t have the financial ability to take on entrepreneurial endeavors. Whatever the problem, you will be more successful in all facets of life if you take care of things at home.

A good attitude does wonders for your success. Think positive thoughts and constantly reinforce yourself in your own mind. As Norman Vincent Peale taught us in his famous book, The Power of Positive Thinking, you can cause successful outcomes by forcing yourself to be optimistic.

After you adopt a positive attitude, there are several other things you can do that will make you a healthier person.

If you have a faith, I recommend you practice it. Believing in and answering to a higher power has an amazing affect on career success. Prayer, meditation or whatever you choose to call it, purges the toxins from your mind and gives you strength and confidence.

After faith comes family. No matter how ambitious you are, your family should be one of your highest priorities. Do whatever it takes to protect your familial relationships. If things ever get really tough, you want to be able to depend on those who share your blood. Stick up for your family members and look out for their interests. In the long run you will be far richer if family comes before career.

Close friends are almost as important as family. A long-time friend who truly understands you is worth his or her weight in gold. Put the important people in your life on a pedestal and make them your priority. If you go out of your way to put people first, you will have more business opportunities than you can handle.

Because family and friends are so important, you should adopt an attitude of acceptance. Let them be who they are and enjoy them in spite of all their flaws and weaknesses. Forgive them any time they wrong you. Bite your tongue, when you feel like saying something hurtful to a friend or family member. These relationships are so important, that it’s foolish to put them at risk over some temporary passion.

While relationship-building contributes to career success, so does physical health. You don’t have to be an obsessive gym rat, but being in shape and consuming the right nutrition gives you more energy and stamina.

Keep your home life organized. Make sure your house is generally clean and tidy. Have a good system for organizing your bills and other important papers. Develop systems and routines for the simple, daily things. If you run a tight ship at home, you will have time for important things. After all, it’s awfully hard to conquer the world if you’re constantly misplacing your car keys.

Hobbies and recreation are also parts of a healthy life. Having enjoyable stimulation outside work recharges your battery and contributes to creative thinking. Just don’t go too hog wild with your hobbies. Some people get so deeply involved in hobbies that they hurt their job performance and drain their bank accounts.

Speaking of bank accounts, personal financial discipline is part of a healthy lifestyle. Just as you need to get your body in shape, you need to shape up your financial condition as well. A long time ago, philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.”

There has always been a portion of the population that has chosen to live on the edge of the financial abyss, recklessly spending all they have, investing little or nothing. Unfortunately, that portion of the population has been growing rapidly, and it’s becoming quite a problem.

Living a financially reckless life will eventually catch up with you and hurt your career. If you have no savings, you have no “go-to-hell-money,” the power to walk away from a job or a client when you’re not happy. A lot of financial debt can prevent you from taking some lower paying job that might actually make you happier. For every minute you spend worrying and fretting about how you will make ends meet, you are taking away time from your grander goals.

It sounds so elementary, but it’s worth a reminder. Live a balanced and healthful life in order to reach the top.

That said, let’s end with one disclaimer: don’t be obsessive-compulsive in your quest for a healthy lifestyle, because as comedian Redd Foxx said, “Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.”

About the Author:

Jeff Beals is an award-winning author, who helps professionals do more business and have a greater impact on the world through effective sales, marketing and personal branding techniques.  As a professional speaker, he delivers energetic and humorous keynote speeches and workshops to audiences worldwide.   You can learn more and follow his “Business Motivation Blog” at http://www.JeffBeals.com.

If you are like most people, every January you make a few New Year’s Resolutions: “This is the year I am going to. . . lose that extra 10 pounds, finally get organized, stop watching so much television, etc., etc.” But if you are like most people, by the time you get to mid-February (or even earlier) all of your good intentions, dedication, and will power have succumbed to the relentless force of your daily routine.

Likewise, every year there are articles from various sources telling what you need to do to do to stick to your resolutions, or why they’re so hard to keep. These articles focus on discipline or the lack thereof, habit formation, (i.e., it takes 21 days to turn a new behavior into a habit), will power and how to get it, changing your environment to support the change you want—the list goes on and on.

All of these articles suggest that you need to grow, develop, strengthen, or adopt some behavior that doesn’t come naturally to you. This isn’t the only way to approach meaningful change. In fact, the number one reason why most New Year’s Resolutions fail is that they are set up in a way that requires behavior that is not supported by your Perceptual Style.

Consider the resolution to ‘finally get organized.’ The first step of setting up almost any conventional system of organization is to fill in your calendar, set your goals, create your plan, etc.—but for many people, trying to achieve those simple steps is what keeps them in limbo.

The fact is, there are only a few Perceptual Styles that can actually use one of these step-by-step organization methods, and those are the types that most likely already somewhat organized!

When we choose a system, approach, or method that does not draw on our inherent natural skills and talents, we are setting ourselves up for failure. As with all intended changes in behavior, New Year’s Resolutions most always fail when they involve set prescriptions or hard and fast rules about ‘how to.’ If the method you choose sounds like work, it probably will be.  But if it sounds easy, or like fun, it will probably be a fit for you.

For instance, an Activity person might dread spring cleaning, but love clearing out space in time for a spring gathering or party. A Visions person might dread a day-by-day checklist for launching a new business, but love doing something everyday for the new business, based on opportunities as they present themselves.

So if you really want to make some lasting and meaningful changes in your life, take the time to discover your inherent Perceptual Style and the natural repertoire of skills that derive from it. When you do, you’ll be able to make resolutions (whatever they are) that work with who you are and how you really operate, and even pick resolutions that allow you to further develop your natural potential. You never know, you just might change your life!

About the Author:

Lynda-Ross Vega: A partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., Lynda-Ross specializes in helping entrepreneurs and coaches build dynamite teams and systems that WORK. She is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.ACIforCoaches.com and www.ACIforEntrepreneurs.com.

Article Contributed by Dr. Patty Ann Tublin

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? If you did, have you stuck with it? Or has it already gone by the wayside? If you didn’t, is this because you don’t believe in them? Or did you just forget to make one? If you haven’t made one or it’s been neglected, there’s no reason why you can’t make a new resolution dedicated to your relationship.

Let’s make 2011 the best year ever for your relationship. Here are three great ways to get your relationship in shape:

1. Prioritize your relationship.
The most important thing you must do is NOT take your loved ones for granted. Human nature being what it is, we tend to take the things we have and the ones we love for granted. This is the kiss of death for your relationship.

So prioritize your relationship in 2011! It sounds so simple and easy to do, and it is, if you do it! Have you noticed how life has a way of getting in the way of your relationship? We are all guilty of this. Our job, the bills, the kids, the shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, even our favorite TV show finds a way of creeping up on us and taking away all our “free” time, including the time we have to spend with our partner. Try really hard not to allow this to happen to your relationship.

Life seems to have taken on such a hectic pace. Slow it down – it’s easy if you try and spend quality time with the one you love. If you have to schedule time together, do it. Do whatever it takes to make your relationship your #1 priority in 2011.

2. Bring back the romance
Bring back the romance your relationship was built on. Remember how you used to flirt with each other with your eyes? Bring that back and rekindle the romance. Send little love notes to each other throughout the week. With modern technology there are a million ways to do this, such as email, IMing, text messaging, bbm, etc. Or bring home a rose to your partner for no reason at all! Bringing back the romance in your relationship is a sure fire way to heat things up in 2011!

3. Speak politely to your partner; say “please” and “thank-you”
Everything you need to know about manners you learned in kindergarten. As I mentioned earlier, we tend to take our loved ones for granted and this includes forgetting our manners when we speak with them. Civility goes a long way to enhance the quality of your relationship. Try it – your partner will like it. Trust me.

Resolve to focus on your relationship this year and don’t take your partner for granted. If you follow these three easy, simple, and effective tips you’ll be on your way to making 2011 the best year ever in your relationship.

About the Author:

During the past 25 years, renowned relationship expert Dr. Patty Ann Tublin has helped hundreds of people rekindle romance and reignite passion in their relationships. The solutions in her Relationship Toolbox™ help couples re-build romance so intimacy inside and outside the bedroom can flourish. Through her successful 25-year marriage and her experience of raising 4 children, Dr. Patty Ann has earned an international reputation for saving relationships. To reignite your flames of passion, visit her site at www.drpattyann.com.

Four and a half years ago I became a mother to a beautiful and sweet girl named Bella. I knew I wanted to be a “mom” but also continue to expand my business. I committed to a three day a week work schedule so I could be mom on Mondays and Fridays and be Lisa Cherney, CEO of Conscious Marketing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I took many steps to expand my business in 2009 and ultimately triple my income, and one of these steps was affirming this three days a week work lifestyle.
Think about your life and your business. Affirm and explore and decide on what lifestyle you want to have while balancing everything there is to balance. I work with a lot of entrepreneurs who were like me many years ago, working six days a week, up late at night, not taking vacations. A lot of us are in business for ourselves because we didn’t want a boss. But we find that we’ve traded one boss for a worse boss – ourselves!
One of the things I really needed to do was to affirm what kind of lifestyle I wanted to have. So I did some soul searching and asked, is this three days a week work schedule for me? Maybe I should be working more – maybe that’s what’s going to help me increase my income.
I realized that working more was not the answer. The answer was that I needed to be smarter. This included questioning the way I was doing things and running my business. It led me to get some needed help for those tasks all businesses must deal with. It led me to think smarter about my approach and how I was selling (and charging for) it and completely overhaul many aspects of what I was doing. Because I need – and want – to stick with my three days a week schedule.
So affirm the kind of lifestyle you want to have and take the steps to make sure you can have it by designing your business to fit your lifestyle. For me it wasn’t trading hours for dollars anymore.

This may require steps that can feel like taking big risks, including:
1.    Saying “no” to low-end, smaller clients or projects that take a lot of time with little financial reward.

2.    Hiring help (virtual assistant, bookkeeper, cleaning service, etc.) even if it appears you can’t afford it right now.

3.    Raising your prices and/or creating a leveraged group program (or a high-end exclusive program). HINT: This is only limited by your ability to own and communicate the value of your expertise.
4.    Hiring a mentor that has achieved the goal you have (even it appears you can’t afford it right now).
5.    Slowing down and/or taking a break from the day-to-day of your business in order to steer the ship in a new direction
For most of us out there, we didn’t go into business for ourselves so we could work 100 weeks and never take a day off. We’re doing it to have a certain kind of lifestyle. Are you living the lifestyle you want?

About the Author:

Lisa Cherney is a Marketing Intuitive and President & Founder of Conscious Marketing™.  Lisa has helped thousands of business owners tap into their intuition and market their businesses from the ‘Inside Out’. For 15 years she worked at Fortune 500 companies and top advertising agencies.

Lisa tells her story in her co-authored book “Inspiration to Realization,” available at www.ConsciousMarketing.com. Conscious Marketing also offers workshops and coaching. Visit her website for more details or call 887-771-0156.

1. Plan, plan, plan. From scheduling a vacation or retreat for a company’s “quiet”  season, to creating a contingency plan if contact from a team member is absolutely critical, entrepreneurs will find that they can more easily enjoy themselves if they have carefully planned every aspect of rest and relaxation as it relates to their business.

o Decide on availability. If availability is not an option, provide team members with written instructions about exactly what to do during the vacation, and delegate decision-making authority to a specific person. Always provide emergency contact information, just in case. For partial availability, provide contact information only to a limited number of team members, and then check messages or e-mails periodically. Hint: being totally available by cell phone for an entire vacation not only takes away from the ability to relax, but it also takes attention away from traveling companions. Make a vacation a true vacation, and if it’s impossible to keep the phone off all the time, just check it a couple of times per day.
o If bills are due during a vacation, go online and schedule them to be paid when they’re due. Or, get them ready for mailing and ask a team member to send them on the appropriate day. Similarly, invoices can be made out ahead of time and then sent out on schedule.

o If winter is the busiest time of year for a business, reduce stress by planning the vacation for the summer. Similarly, if an entrepreneur is expecting a huge shipment of inventory and knows she’ll need to unpack it and get it on the shelves right away, she should arrange to return from her vacation before the shipment arrives or to leave for the vacation well after she’s had the time she needs to get it settled in. Working around such obstacles will allow the entrepreneur to truly relax while she is on vacation.

o If possible, delay the start of a new project until a few days after returning from a vacation. This provides time to check missed e-mails or phone messages. If that’s not possible, consider making all the preparations before leaving so it is possible to begin immediately upon returning. Ask a team member to help return calls or e-mails so it’s possible to devote more time to the project right away.

2. Take a real vacation. It may sound obvious, but many business owners find it difficult to remove themselves from their work, even for a short time. However, an entrepreneur will function at her best when she is revitalized and energized. Here are some tips for getting the most out of vacationing:

o Keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas that arise during vacation. Once they’re written down, put the notebook away for future use. Use this technique to temporarily “put away” the new ideas without worrying about forgetting them. This way, it’s possible to truly rest – and even if that rest provides excellent brainstorming opportunities, it’s possible to put them away until the vacation is over.
o Retain a positive mindset when thinking about leaving the business behind. Rather than worrying about whether the team can handle things, think of this as an opportunity for them to take responsibility. Rather than worrying about customers’ reactions to the vacation, consider that they’ll admire the strong and capable team taking care of them during the vacation. Notify customers of the upcoming vacation and take care of any concerns before departing.
o As mentioned above, limit availability. Spend time reconnecting with traveling companions, enjoying the new scenery, and recharging. Spending an entire vacation checking e-mail and answering the phone does not allow for true rest and relaxation – and it does not reenergize anyone.

3. Make vacationing a priority, and give it as much importance as every other appointment and obligation. Even if it is not feasible to take several weeks off, or to travel to a faraway location, everyone needs time off – even if it is one day per week. Here are some tips for ensuring that time:

o Schedule “self-time” into the calendar. Literally. Schedule a lunch out with a friend, a pedicure, or a walk on a favorite trail once or twice a week. Make these appointments and stick to them. Even an hour-long break from work and all that comes with it can be refreshing enough to boost productivity and spirits for the rest of the day or week. If longer vacations aren’t possible, these shorter appointments will suffice – but try to plan for a longer vacation at some point in the future, and then look forward to it.
o Fit vacations in with longer-term plans and treat them as important as semi-annual business planning retreats or annual workshops. If something comes up and makes the vacation impossible, be sure to re-schedule the vacation immediately. Don’t cancel reservations – reschedule them. Putting off a vacation indefinitely makes it less likely to happen.
o If a traditional vacation isn’t possible because of time or money constraints, plan a mini vacation somewhere close by to your home or business. It’s inexpensive, requires less planning, and you can vacation for only a day or two if necessary.

Vacations don’t have to be long, far away, or expensive.  But they do have to be. Rest and relaxation provide hard-working entrepreneurs with the time they need to come back to work feeling refreshed and ready to dive back in.

About the Author:

Michele DeKinder-Smith is the founder of Jane out of the Box, an online resource dedicated to the women entrepreneur community. Discover more incredibly useful information for running a small business by taking the FREE Jane Types Assessment at Jane out of the Box. Offering networking and marketing opportunities, key resources and mentorship from successful women in business, Jane Out of the Box is online at www.janeoutofthebox.com.

One in three employees do not use their allotted vacation days each year, even though they said they are more productive after returning from vacation.

In the sometimes grueling world of sales, the negative impact of not taking vacations could be even greater.

Sales professionals are becoming less and less productive as they push on without vacations. They often feel compelled to keep working without vacations, to be available for every client call, and for every lead that may come their way. They don’t want to miss a beat. They end up “over working” and hurting their progress.

Here are 5 reasons why sales professionals should take all of their vacations days each year:

Avoid Burnout: We all need a break. Think about how refreshed and motivated you felt after your last vacation. If you keep going full force without a break, where are the rewards for all your hard work? Once you reach the burnout stage, you will often feel out of control and even less likely to take a vacation. Sales results will suffer and motivation will be lacking.

Reduce Stress: We all know stress can literally be a killer and no one is immune to stress. However, vacation can be one of the great ways to reduce stress and rejuvenate your energy and spirit. The bad stress won’t stop building until you give yourself some time to recover.

Increase Quality of Life & Work: We remember experiences more than anything. Science has even shown that material objects do not provide the lasting joy or happiness that positive experiences can create. Vacations are often all about experience and help to increase the quality of life. When a person experiences a greater quality of life, it is often the case that their quality of work will improve as well.

Creativity Boost: When we are constantly living on a schedule going from one task to another, it is hard to have the space and freedom to be creative. Think about when some of your best ideas came to you? Most likely, you were not at work. You were probably not even thinking about work at all, and were in a relaxed state. Those are the moments that creative genius can strike. But, it can’t strike if you are always on the go!

Productivity Spike: Think about what happens on a Friday when you have planned to leave early or take a half day. Ever notice how you get so much done in less than 8 hours? Funny how that works, but tighter deadlines and looking forward to something can sure help you get more done faster. Use the vacation as something to get excited about and to work very hard up until your last day at the office. This will increase your productivity prior to the vacation. And, after relaxing for a week, when you come back, you will be energized, stress free, and ready to make a huge impact.

Don’t wait any longer. Plan and book your next vacation now!

About The Author:

Sales Coaching Expert, Jeremy Ulmer, has helped hundreds of sales professionals, sales leaders, and business owners just like you overcome sales challenges to increase productivity and win more clients faster.

For 100′s of unbeatable, sure-fire ways to increasing your sales results, subscribe for your free sales tips or request a free sales coaching consultation at: http://www.SalesCoachingHabits.com

“Karen, I just want to be passionate about what I do.  I am so tired of working so hard and not getting any recognition,” she exclaimed.

Can you relate?

Often we use the word “passion” to describe what we want in our next position.  Usually we use it as a code word to say we want to do something interesting in our next role.

And that’s where I begin to have a problem.

Since 2002, I conduct close to 300 free, no obligation, 30-minute Strategy Sessions in a single year.  I really enjoy doing them because each situation is unique and different.  Together, we brainstorm about how to approach a career or job search with fresh and insightful ideas, always looking to significantly improve your results right away.

But when someone, like Anna, says that they now want to pursue their passion in life, I get knots in my stomach.

Why?

Well, to be honest, pursuing your passion is NOT presenting your potential!

3 Reasons Why Your Current Thinking About Passion Should Change When Looking for New $100K+ Executive Roles

1) Passion is not something you pursue; it is something that you have.

Passion is applied to something that you are interested in.  It is not a beacon of light in the darkness that will tell you that you’ve arrived at your destiny.  When I talk to someone who is trying to find their passion – out there somewhere – I know that it will be a long time before they find it.

2) Passion is a result of success; not something you get when everything lines up right.

Passion is basically a follow-up emotion created when you are doing something you are good at.  I never thought I would start and run an executive coaching firm.  But as I got really successful at it, my passion came and now I love what I do.

3) Passion is the energy to persevere whenever we are challenged; it is not the momentum that propels you to a destination.

One of the reasons why, after landing, 80+% of executives become discouraged and disheartened within six months is because they are thinking incorrectly about “passion!”   Many are looking for the employer to give them “passion” while doing their job.  Within weeks of starting a new job, most realize that the new employer only wants a lot of hard work, doesn’t appreciate their experience and gives them very little recognition for what they know.

Passion can be a “dangerous delusion.”  It sounds right, but it is oh, so, wrong.

Opportunities are being fought for vigorously by many, many others who want that job as much as you do.  Making an emotional decision as to whether a position is right for you by using “passion” as the barometer, is a great way to extend your search, stay confused and/or get more stuck than before!

Now, I suggest you look at the pursuit of you next position by identifying your economic “potential.”

How to Use Your Economic Potential To Find Great $100K+ Executive Opportunities

Answering these 5 tough questions can identify your potential…

*  How you are meeting what the market demands today (not yesterday)?
*  Why would someone want you as opposed to someone else?
*  When will you provide a return on investment for the company?
*  What latent potential do you have that is of value to the employer?
*  How are you presenting yourself – as a luxury, top-end item or a commodity?

If a potential employer sees some of these elements in you, then you have an opportunity to plug into your passion. And once success is yours, it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g how this fuel called “passion” shows up on the scene.

For more tools and information about how to land an $100K+ executive role, read my bio and click on the link to my website: www.MarketOneExecutive.com or my blog, www.ExecutiveActions.blogspot.com

About the Author:
$100K+ Executive-Level Career Coach Karen Armon prepares leaders around the world for their next move. Her popular book, Market Your Potential, Not Your Past is a hit among executives who want a clear-cut, systematic game plan that drives careers forward. Now get her new FREE eBook, “Ten Micro-Trends that Impact Executive Careers Today” at http://www.marketoneexecutive.com/ebook.asp and take a critical look at today’s marketplace