10 tips to make your mark and bring others along for the ride

10 tips to make your mark and bring others along for the ride10 tips to make your mark and bring others along for the rideYoure working really hard. Youre paying your dues and have more blood, sweat, and tears to show than you ever thought possible. The journey to the top isnt easy, but deep down you know that one day its all going to be worth it. Since were all stronger when we work together, the question is How do you make your mark and bring others along for the ride?The following 10 tips help you leave a legacy and incorporate others in the quest for success.1. Know what is worth it to youSometimes, sacrifice is necessary to manifest what you want most in life. The hard work required to meet your goals may come at the expense of lost time and resources in another aspect of life. Set goals early and clearly to know what is worth it to you. Your passion drives the action you build.2. Create something that betters the worldFrom geschftliches miteinander to personal matters, you must always think of others. How does this help others? What can I do to help make the world a better place? Stem your action from the seeds of altruism and others will gladly help you on your journey.3. Focus externally rather than internallyBy no means, dont ever forget about yourself and your role, but you have to think about the big picture. Become a positive force in the world that ignites passion and inspires others. It sounds like a daunting task, but it is quite simple if you have sincere objectives. Dont crush people in the wake of your success, but rather, bring them along with you. Pick others up when they need an extra hand.4. Nurture and guide your awarenessAwareness is an under-recognized aspect of success. Those who are hyper-vigilant of others and various environments can more aptly adapt to situations. Sometimes all you need to overcome an obstacle is to become aware of it. Listen to constructive criticism and feedback from others because you can learn something new.5. Make it all a learning opportunityFailure is often the best teacher in life. Dont inhibit yourself from making mistakes. Stay humble in your quest for success and utilize other individuals in your trek. See every opportunity as an option to learn more and garner more awareness. You cant do it alone. Be open to input from others. Your best idea might just be the starting point, and someone elses input is what could catapult it to the next level of success. Remember, we are living in the collaboration economy.6. Save space for communityTeam development is more important than the goals you set. Those who surround you significantly determine the outlook for projects and success. It doesnt have to be all work. Save time for play, too, and dont forget to nurture your relationships. Be open to new connections and helping others achieve their goals. We all win when we work together.7. Engage every aspect of yourself in your projectsThe main reason many projects fail is that the people behin d them are haphazardly invested. No matter the goal, always invest fully. From business to pleasure and anything in between, put your heart and soul into all projects. People will take note of your dedication and feel more inclined to invest in your vision.8. Pay it forwardYour success is not achieved by you and you alone. There are lessons others can learn about your process. Encourage symbiotic relationships in business and life. Consider taking on a mentee or apprentice to help them begin their journey towards success as well. Gather inspiration from people you encounter to put out the best product you can with your prosperity.9. Dont be afraid to pivotDont be too rigid in your goals. As stated above, making your mark presents an opportunity for you to learn lessons, too. You must progressively receive feedback and move forward accordingly. Sometimes that means taking in new information and shifting your goals to better fit your pursuits. Dont compromise if it gets difficult, but also dont fear the addition of a few turnsto better the outcomes of your goals.10. Believe and commit to seeing it through until the endThere are many individuals who have excellent ideas. A great idea is just the first step. Setting goals and seeing them through demonstrates an ability to commit to a mission and execute the necessary action. Even if the project isnt ending the way you hoped, the finalization is a needed step. Regardless, lessons are learned from opportunities taken and executed appropriately.Success is not an overnight experience. The most successful people have learned from a lifetime of mistakes and continue to strive for better every day. Applying action to your dreams to bring them to fruition is harder to do than say. Incorporate inspirational individuals to help you leave a powerful mark on the work around you. Helen Keller said it best Alone we can do so little together we can do so much.Melinda Garvey is the founder of OnTheDot Woman, a movement dedicated to helping women around the globe achieve success through access to relatable role models with adaily 4-minute podcast.

Should Recruiters Take Online Degrees Seriously

Should Recruiters Take Online Degrees Seriously Should Recruiters Take Online Degrees Seriously This presents a new issue for employers as with anything new, there can be fear and uncertainty, and online degrees have certainly suffered from a perception issue. Studies show that many employers frown on online degrees as there are concerns they lack muskelsteifheit and face-to-face interactions and that there is more scope for academic dishonesty. Online degrees also have an unenviable association with diploma mills, i.e. disreputable institutions that provide fake degrees.So ,with the subject of online degrees now banging at the doors of recruiters, its time to ask the question, Should employers take online degrees seriously? Heres my viewOne of the first big issues to address is whether the quality of online degrees matches that of traditional degrees. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Education, which looked at 99 research studies between 1996 and 2008, classes with online learning, (whether totally online or blended), on average produced stronger learning outcomes than classes with just face-to-face instruction. So, according to academic research, online degrees are, at the very least, as effective a teaching tool as classroom-led learning and arguably more effective.So now we know that online degrees are good quality, how can we be sure that the degree that we are looking at is of good quality and notlage from a diploma mill giving out fake degrees? This is a very easy one to resolve. The U.S. Government has tackled the issue of diploma mills, and now employers can check the authenticity of any online institution by contacting their states Better Business Bureau or state attorney generals office to see if the online degree institution they are concerned with is operating legally and whether it is accredited by a nationally recognized agency.We can now see whether an online degree institution is legitimate, but how do we know if it is any good ? This problem of quality is not unique to online institutions and is shared by face-to-face teaching colleges. In the face-to-face world, there are recognized league tables of degree quality by subject, which you can access to ascertain how good an institution/school actually is, and the same goes for online degrees. There are many surveys out there, but the fruchtwein reputable and comprehensive online degree program league table I could find was the Best Online Degrees Program Table by the U.S. News and World Report.This shows how easy it is to authenticate an online degree institution and assess its quality, which means that the last remaining detractor in relation to online degrees is the issue of student authentication, e.g. how can you be sure that the degree holder actually did the work and didnt simply pay someone else to do it. In truth, we can never be totally sure, but we should be clear that this issue ofstudent authenticationand faking are not unique to online institut ions it is a problem which afflicts traditional degrees, too.But, steps have been taken to reduce faking in online degrees. The College Opportunity and Affordability Actrequires online colleges that are receiving federal funds to ensure that the person enrolled in the course is actually doing the work. As a result, these online institutions take student authentication very seriously and many operate face-to-face or secure testing, and others use intensive camera surveillance at the student exam site along with third party monitors. Retinal scanning, electronic finger printing and key stroke analysis are all in the pipeline.So, as you can see, the online degree sector is maturing and evolving into a very credible education sector. Provided you can verify the educational institution is both legitimate and of sufficient quality, online degrees should be considered on an equal basis to face-to-face degrees.

Why happy and comfortable wont get you there

Why happy and comfortable wont get you thereWhy happy and comfortable wont get you thereMy hands are still sweating. I recently saw the outstanding documentary Free Solo. It chronicles the stunning achievement of free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he scales the famous El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.El Capitan is 3,200 feet of sheer granite, and Honnold climbs the whole thing in under four hours.Without ropes.I read Honnolds fascinating book, Alone on the Wall, but theres nothing like watching him in action on the big screen.The documentary shows his exhaustive preparations, practice runs, climbing journals, and more. It also examines the relationship he has with Sanni McCandless, his girlfriend.Dating a guy who risks his life climbing vertiginous walls of granite cant be easy. Not to mention Honnolds emotional remoteness, which helps him stay focused.An article in voanews.com quotes HonnoldSoloing always comes from some kind of particular mental space. And it has taken some effort to cultivate the right space for a relationship, the right space to still climb at a high level and just try to balance it.Theres a fascinating part in the documentary where Honnold contrasts McCandlesss desire to have a happy and comfortable life with his push for climbing excellence. He mentions how being comfortable doesnt lead to achievement.Clearly, Honnold would not be happy resting on his laurels, because excellence comes from serious effort, not settling into a life of leisure and comfort.In the documentary, we watch as Honnold and McCandless buy a new house and shop for refrigerators. Honnold previously embraced an ascetic life, living out of his van, shunning alcohol and red meat.While Honnolds fame brought endorsements and money, he remains largely unchanged. Still focused on the next climb.For Alex Honnold, settling into a conventional life wont do it for him. Happy and comfortable wont get him where he wants to go. He knows that to achieve greatness in climbing, he has to keep pushing. Keep training. Keep his eye on the next prize.The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for. Fyodor DostoyevskyI doubt the cat volunteeredAlex Honnold isnt the only partie to accomplish a dangerous challenge. Consider the life of Annie Edson Taylor. She welches born on October 24, 1838, in New York.A school teacher, Annie met David Taylor and they were married. The couple had one son, who sadly died in his infancy. Shortly after that, David passed away.Life does that sometimes. It completely destroys the happy and comfortable world you made for yourself. When that happens, what do you do?Do you give up? Throw in the towel? Or do you find a way forward? Rebuild and craft a new life?For Annie Taylor, she chose a bold, unorthodox way to move forward.After her husband died, she pursued various jobs and moved around. Concerned about finances for her later years, she decided to become the first person to ride o ver Niagara Falls in a barrel.She acquired a custom barrel made of oak and iron and cushioned the interior with a mattress. Then she tested the barrel by putting a cat inside and sending him over the waterfall.I doubt the cat volunteered. Thankfully, the cat survived and emerged from the barrel with only a small gash on his head.Wikipedia describes the rest of the storyOn October 24, 1901, her 63rd birthday, the barrel was put over the side of a rowboat, and Taylor climbed in, along with her lucky heart-shaped pillow. After screwing down the lid, friends used a bicycle tire pump to compress the air in the barrel. The hole used for this was plugged with a cork, and Taylor was set adrift near the American shore, south of Goat Island.The Niagara lake currents carried the barrel over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, which has since been the site for all daredevil stunting at Niagara Falls. Rescuers reached her barrel shortly after the plunge. Taylor was discovered to be alive and relativel y uninjured, except for a small gash on her head.Annie Taylor never achieved the financial success she hoped for. A corrupt manager took off with the barrel and some of her money. In her final years, she managed to craft a living. She posed for photographs with tourists at her souvenir stand and pursued a few other ventures.The point is, however unorthodox her plan, Annie Taylor didnt give up. There was a time when she had a happy and comfortable life, but it didnt last. So she lifted herself up, crafted a bold plan, and moved forward.Writer Margie Warrell, in an article for Forbes.com, notesOnly in giving up the security of the known can we create new opportunity, build capability, and grow influence. As we do, we expand the perimeter of our Courage Zone and our confidence to take on bigger challenges in the future.Warrell goes on to writeIn short, we must be willing to get comfortable with the discomfort involved with taking risks.We tend to live in our comfort zonesI live in Sout hern Nevada, in a Del Web type community of mostly retired folks. I enjoy coffee a few times a week with a bunch of guys who are older than me.I like hanging out with these men because they have many life lessons and wisdom to share. These guys could simply enjoy their homes and play golf, but they do more than that.One guy goes off on mountain hikes that many young people would fail to accomplish. Another guy, who is 80 years old, rises early every day and lifts weights. These guys are intellectually curious, travel frequently, and keep pushing themselves.What Ive learned is that happy and comfortable isnt enough. menschenwrdig beings thrive when we have challenges to tackle and goals to achieve.An article in timemanagementninja.com explains why happy and comfortable isnt enough. An excerptWe tend to live in our comfort zones.Most people rarely, if ever, venture outside of theirs.For most, its about going through the motions.It is a life of routine, slackness, and minimal effort.Ye t, to reach new heights you have to push yourself.You have to do the work. And you have to test your limits.There is a caveat. Important as it is to have goals and focus on achievement, we also need periods of downtime. Space in our lives to rest, think, and renew our creativity and drive.Being happy and comfortable is fine. Its a state we all aspire to, and theres nothing wrong with enjoying the spoils of our efforts. But in reservierung to keep growing and achieving, we have to push ourselves. Sometimes, when we get too comfortable, we get lazy.Id much rather sink into my leather couch and get lost on my laptop than drive down to the gym for another, brutal workout with my trainer. But the couch and laptop wont help me achieve my fitness goals.How about you? Have you been seduced by a comfortable routine and happy status quo? Its easy to let this happen, because who wants to struggle in life? And yet, pursuing goals and doing hard things is what moves the needle. Its how we keep g rowing and achieving.Take a close look at your life. Are you a bit settled? Have you let happy and comfortable get in the way of becoming the person you really want to be?Focused effort leads to breakthroughsYou dont have to risk your life climbing mountains of sheer granite, or tumble over Niagara Falls in a barrel. But you do have to get off the couch, get out of your comfort zone, and chase your passions and dreams with renewed focus and determination. Do that, and watch your life transform for the better.Before you goIm John P. Weiss. I paint landscapes, draw cartoons and write about artful living. Get on my free email list here.This article first appeared on Medium.