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The Ever Changing World of Careers
You can choose Your careerAre you one of the many people who don't feel pleasant with your current job or career? Have you worked in one career for many years, and found yourself burned out? Or do you feel that your life is not what it could be, because you can't take out your full potential in the job or career you are in? Changing careers and jobs is indeed an issue that concerns many of us. What's really amazing me is the

can not accept anymore. Only if you empty your cup can I teach you anything.’

How often do we as people seek out knowledge but then remain un-teachable by our preconceived ideas? How often do we go to a class but then try to show the teacher how much we know rather then just learning what he has to offer? How often are we in a conversation with someone but rather than really hearing and understanding what they have to say we care much more about getting the other person to understand us.

Habit number four in ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey is ‘seek first to understand, then to be unde

Gorilla vs Guerilla - How Smaller Businesses Can Win
We make our living as guerillas – not the bad kind, but more of a freedom fighter. By using the term ‘guerilla’ I mean EMJ fights for business against big gorillas (other distributors) in the field. Our competitors are almost 100 times our size; EMJ is a Canadian-based, $165 million per year distributor. We have made an operating profit for the past 80 consecutive quarters. So even though we are up against the big gorillas as a distributor, w

To really connect with the people around you, it is vital that you have an empty mind. But what exactly is an ‘empty mind?’ Contrary to what it sounds like, having an empty mind does not mean that a person should sit there staring vacuously into space. Rather, it means having the ultimate open mind. Similar to an empty cup waiting to receive water, the mind should be in a state where it is ready to receive input.

In order for you to keep a properly empty mind, you must push all extraneous thoughts out. If you are speaking to someone then you must focus on what they are saying. You must not think about the meeting you have coming up, or the project you have to do, or the fight you just had with a friend.

You must also ignore the impulse to start formulating an answer before the other person is finished. Focus on what they are saying, not on what you want to say. Similarly, push aside what you think you already know. If someone is talking to you about a problem they are having and you have had a similar problem in your life, resist the urge to start thinking that you know all about their problem. Every situation is different, and sometimes what you think you know can have as strong negative consequences as what you don’t know. I’m not saying you can’t use your experience to help them; that’s probably why they came to you in the first place. What I am saying is that you need to listen and wait for them to finish before you start comparing it to your past. You may find that the situations are not 100% identical.

Keeping an empty and open mind is vital when interacting with others. One of my favorite Zen stories illustrates why, and I have included it here. I first read it in ‘Zen in the Martial Arts’ by Joe Hyams, but I have seen it in other sources as well.

In this story, an accomplished professor visits a Zen Master to learn about Zen. Whenever the Zen Master gets into a point, the professor begins to give his own opinions and viewpoints, This continues for some time, with the Zen Master being completely unable to convey his learnings to the professor. The Master decides to take a break and makes some tea. He puts a cup in front of the professor and begins to pour. He fills the cup all the way and then continues to pour. The cup overflows, but the Master keeps pouring, Finally, the professor can not hold back and blurts out, ‘Stop, the cup is full and can not take anymore tea.’ The Zen Master looks at the professor and says, ‘like this cup, you are so full of knowledge that you can not accept anymore. Only if you empty your cup can I teach you anything.’

Habit number four in ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey is ‘seek first to understand, then to be under

Paralegals Practice Unparalleled Phone Propriety
Your mission, legal assistants, should you decide to accept it, is to handle many of your boss’ phone calls. A good legal assistant continually strives to free up the attorney’s time for court appearances, meetings, and more in-depth legal research. After all, this is how an attorney earns his fees. But in order to have fees that can be earned, new work must materialize. The majority of new work for attorneys comes in the form of phone ca

coming up, or the project you have to do, or the fight you just had with a friend.

Habit number four in ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey is ‘seek first to understand, then to be unde

Inventegration, Inventing and the Constant Flow of Newness
In the world of new product development, we the developers and inventors must see the need for a constant flow of newness. It's the consumers desire to see new items in retail stores that helps pull customers through the doors.It's a simple matter of following the path of attraction. We, the inventors, need to attract the manufacturers to our inventions and new products. Manufacturers need to attract retailers to buy these inventions a

you can’t use your experience to help them; that’s probably why they came to you in the first place. What I am saying is that you need to listen and wait for them to finish before you start comparing it to your past. You may find that the situations are not 100% identical.

Habit number four in ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey is ‘seek first to understand, then to be unde

An Opportunity is a Terrible Thing to Waste
When you have an opportunity to present yourself and your company in a speech to a room full of prospects, it seems obvious that you arrive prepared to impress your audience. Naturally, you would carefully prepare your talk taking time to craft it (and any visuals that accompany it) and embellish it with humor, quotations, and references to the audience. You would rehearse your talk a number of times, perhaps video tape it or practice it in

aster gets into a point, the professor begins to give his own opinions and viewpoints, This continues for some time, with the Zen Master being completely unable to convey his learnings to the professor. The Master decides to take a break and makes some tea. He puts a cup in front of the professor and begins to pour. He fills the cup all the way and then continues to pour. The cup overflows, but the Master keeps pouring, Finally, the professor can not hold back and blurts out, ‘Stop, the cup is full and can not take anymore tea.’ The Zen Master looks at the professor and says, ‘like this cup, you are so full of knowledge that you can not accept anymore. Only if you empty your cup can I teach you anything.’

Habit number four in ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey is ‘seek first to understand, then to be unde

The Dolly Parton Business Model
So I’m talking business models and you have a one person web site or a part time business. So how does this affect you?It does affect you - because the internet is a very large and very unforgiving business environment. Regardless of how many people tell you how you can make thousands every month, for every eBay there are millions of sites just taking a few $'s a month.So where does Dolly Parton come into it, I hear you say?

can not accept anymore. Only if you empty your cup can I teach you anything.’

Habit number four in ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey is ‘seek first to understand, then to be understood.’ This is an amazingly powerful principle for interacting with others, and the most powerful way to do it is to empty your cup.

Having a truly empty mind means staying in the moment. Don’t think ahead to what’s coming up or what you will say, and don’t think behind to past experiences. Just be in the moment and watch your creativity and communication skills go through the roof.

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In advertising on the radio for auto services it is important to paint a picture in the listener's mind and therefore it is important to describe events, objects and paint scenarios so that they can understand what they should be seeing in their minds when they listen to the radio.

The way in which you behave as a manager and the approach you take will have a marked effect on your ultimate success or failure. Having a range of approaches and styles of behaviour gives you more flexibility. It increases your options – and your chance of success.

You may ask why you would give something away and expect to make money at the same time. Read this article to find out why freebies are a good way to market your product or services.

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