Fashion Career Expert: Maria Pesin

Should You Hire A Career Coach? Part 1

Look at all the major successful athletes and you will see that they all have coaches. They don’t even have just one, but many. In baseball you would have a batting coach, a pitching coach, an assistant coach, a head coach. There are different coaches for different aspects. Coaches can see things that you cannot because you are in the thick of things.

James Malinchak, top college speaker and speaking expert, tells a story from his teenage years. He was a high school basketball player. His goal one summer was to become proficient in the 3 point basket. He practiced for 10 hours a day, day after day to accomplish this. Unfortunately he could not get the hang of it. One day he became so frustrated that he threw the ball down and decided to give up. Now all this time his neighbor had been watching him. The neighbor suggested that his arm was sticking out at the wrong angle. With just that one change James was able to go on to be the 3 point man on his team.

Coaches are experts that can guide you through the shoals of your career. When it is your own career you can sometimes get so caught up in the day to day that you cannot see if “your arm is sticking out”. That is one of the things you need your coach for.

Keeping Your Mind and Body In Shape!

If you want to accomplish a lot in your life you need to start strong. Athletes train their bodies hard, eat properly, sleep well and in general take good care of themselves so that they perform at their peak. Musicians tune their instruments constantly and take very good care of them in order for their instruments to perform at their best. You should think of your body as the instrument that will take you where you want to go.

Have you ever had a night where you didn’t have a good night sleep and the next day you couldn’t think clearly? So you know from experience that you need to be at your best in order to do well during the day. Take care of yourself. When on an airplane you are told if the air mask comes down put it on before you help anyone else. That is because you cannot take care of another till you yourself are taken care of.

What does it mean to take care of yourself? I am going to sound like your mother, but it is pretty easy. Eat right, exercise consistently, take vitamins, get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep, and get regular check ups with your doctor and dentist. Being strong in your body gives you clarity of mind, and the energy to achieve your goals.

What To Do When You Are Overwhelmed At Work?

How many times have you found yourself with a to do list that was so long that you couldn’t come close to making a dent in it. Then to make things worse the phone won’t stop ringing, the emails are piling up and your boss just called you into a meeting to discuss a new project she is laying on your desk. You want to scream A-H-H-H-H!!! What do you do?

First take a deep breath. Nothing gets accomplished when you are feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you need to take a walk to the water cooler or have a cup of tea. Do whatever you have to do to calm yourself. Then you tackle.

Look at your list of things to do. If you don’t have one then make a list of the things you have to do.. Look at the list and put a letter besides each action. Put an “A” next to anything that is urgent and important to your goals. Put a “B” next to to do’s that can wait. Put a “C” next to anything you can delegate. Put a “D” next to anything that you don’t really need to do. OK first delegate what has a “C“. Second cross off your “D” list. Then number in order what you need to do first, second, or third on your “A” list. Then do the same for your “B” list. Clean your desk off so it isn’t a mess. You can then start tackling your list one at a time in the order you made. Do not multi task. It is better if you concentrate on your actions one at a time. If you allow yourself to be interrupted by co workers, phone calls, or emails than you not only loose the time you spend with the interruption but also the time it takes to get back into the groove. You might also need to put in some extra hours to catch up.

This system works perfectly for times when you are overwhelmed, but come to think of it, this works great even when you are not.