Newsletter 43 - Aug-Sept, 2006

A monthly newsletter to conduct you on the way to successful performance and harmony in your work and personal life. Every issue brings you tips for interviews, resumes, networking, and strategies for career advancement.

Welcome to all new and continuing subscribers! I am thankful for your support in reading, sending me your comments, and passing the newsletter to others. Please forward it today and help us increase our circulation to include even more friends.
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New Certification
After many months of writing and rewriting and more rewriting, I submitted my application to become a Certified Performance Technologist. I received invaluable support from my mentor Jean and my attesters: Elizabeth, Pete, and Marie. The hard work was worth it. The International Society for Performance Improvement reviewed my report and awarded me the CPT designation. This certification acknowledges that I have completed performance improvement projects that fulfilled the ten critical performance standards set by ISPI. Yippee - three more letters to add after my name!

OK. I confess. I have been watching Project Runway, a reality TV program. The "survivors" in this case are an assortment of fashion designers who are competing for the chance to show their signature fashion collection. The leaders of Project Runway assign a series of challenges to the fashion designers. For each episode they must follow the directions and prepare a particular look. They have a very limited budget in dollars and time to do this. Despite the contrived drama that is inherent in any reality show, I have gleaned some helpful insight.

When we talk about creativity, we often do so with the idea that it always springs from within us. Any outside forces that we credit are usually considered to be peripheral to our creative project. Right?

Let's get real! Much of the time we are creating in response to an assignment or challenge from a client, a supervisor, or another person. And our muse could be any number of people or things.

In "Project Runway" the contestants must channel their creativity to satisfy a client, the judges, and themselves. We watch them as they work with all of these factors in mind, and we see how it affects their relationships with each other. This is the most entertaining and instructive aspect of the show. By watching these contestants you can consider how you might behave in their situation. Would you be able to stay focused, with the clock ticking away and your competitors working on their designs only a few feet from you - often commenting on your work?

It is a real testament to the maturity of the finalists that they can learn from the judges' critiques, respond objectively to other comments, and concentrate on how they are improving their professional skills through this rigorous process.

How well do you think you would do in this type of high-pressure atmosphere? Maybe that's where you are now in your own life. Your design challenge may be different, but your issues are similar. What are you learning?

The very struggle of the process is what makes you sharp and gives you valuable experience and maturity . . . True growth is not cheap. Emotional maturity and seasoning come through an intimate understanding of the process of life, the love of the journey, and the depth of subtlety that is achieved through a commitment to patience.

- Baron Baptiste

a)

Consider your own work or personal life challenges.
Do you have any that stand out for you right now?
Use one of them as your test case.

b)

Awareness is your first step. Who else is involved?

c)

Do you feel that you really understand what these other people need
and how they will be affected by what you do?

d)

Note how you are responding to other people - customers, co-workers, family, others. How are you allowing them to affect you?

e)

How is your emotional reaction and behavior serving you?
Note what is working and what is not working.

f)

Flex your risk muscle and try a new approach.
You might surprise yourself.

g)

Keep your eyes on the prize!

Discover the Power of Informational Interviews
Schedule: One Tuesday, September 12, 2006, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM Eastern/NY
Tuition: Free
http://www.teleclass.com/

Master Mind Group - Sample Session
Dates/Times: One Wednesday, September 20, 2006, from 8-9 pm Eastern/NY
Tuition: Free
http://www.teleclass.com/

Your Success Team: A Class for Winners
Dates/Times: One Tuesday, September 26, 2006 from 8-9 Eastern/NY
Tuition: Free
http://www.teleclass.com/

Master Mind Group - Sample Session
Dates/Times: One Wednesday, October 4, 2006, from 8-9 pm Eastern/NY
Tuition: Free
http://www.teleclassinternational.com/

Use These Links To Register for My Teleclasses

For my Teleclass International classes -
http://www.teleclassinternational.com/search_results.html?keyword=Watkins

For Teleclass.com classes -
http://www.teleclass.com/classsearch.lasso
Use keyword Watkins

Something New - Amazon Associate!
I have recently become an Amazon Associate. That means that my website visitors can order books from my website. So - if you have been meaning to get specific books that I mention in the course of my newsletters or coaching sessions, please go to the Resource Links on my website and buy a book. www.one-e-anna.com

4. Career Coaching Sessions
I coach people who are looking to enjoy their work, whether that means moving up in a current job or building a new career. It doesn't matter where you live - I can coach you by phone. Want to find out more? You can easily arrange this. Please contact me at info@one-e-anna.com and I will follow up with you to schedule a free consultation - no strings attached!

Just for Fun

More great metaphors! I hope you enjoyed the first installment in last month's newsletter. Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners.

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

Thinking about retirement? Check into the great resources and coaching available with Laurie Geary, Certified Retirement Coach at http://www.ingearcoaching.com Laurie also offers coaching for people in transition of all kinds.

A terrific site for business owners - Maria Marsala, former Wall Street trader and now business consultant, coach, and trainer has classes and other resources that are well worth the visit to www.coachmaria.com/

Attention, Trainers!
Many of our readers are in the training profession, so I am happy to tell you about a new ezine for you. Please visit the website of Ellen Dowling and subscribe to her monthly newsletter, "The Standup Trainer." www.standuptrainer.com/

Every issue will provide you with valuable training tips and a dose of Ellen's signature sense of humor. Enjoy!

I recommend
Jay Block Presents "Any Idiot Can Make It Through a Good Day" - a set of two CDS with Jay's program on how to think positive in difficult times. Learn the proven techniques of emotional channeling and the 10 Principles of Success. Go to www.jayblock.com for more information and to order.

Tips Booklets Online
Too many heavy books cluttering up your house or office? Paulette Ensign offers a vast array of tips booklets online for only $4.77 each! When you order an online book, it often arrives in your e-mail within minutes! No waiting for the mail to arrive every day and watching for that book you wanted. And - you won't have to search for it on bookshelves if you save it into a folder on your computer. Check out her website at www.tipsbooklets.com and peruse the titles there. Examples: 101 Travel Tips for Women, 113 Ideas To Secure Your Financial Future, and Presenting Your Message Like You Mean It

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