Life Long Skills Enhancement

There was once a time when we said that the only two things you could really count in life were death and taxes. Now there is a third. It's called life long learning.

Computers, the internet, new applications, new industries, social marketing, etc., all require some form of continuous education, and that's just what recruiters want to see.

If you want to rewire® and have a competitive advantage in our complex world, it means making an even deeper dive into your field. If are changing careers, you may have to go back to school and start the learning journey from the beginning.

New York Times columnist Steven Greenhouse nails it with Learning Curves On the Career Path. The good news is that learning today is more accomodating with online education, weekend courses abbreviated on campus courses, and more. Colleges and universities have pumped up their offerings in new fields like Green, energy management, global ecology, etc., and the government is making more training money available.

Read between the lines, it's even more important today to select a job and work that you really enjoy. After all you will be spending more and more time learning about it as well as doing it.

Mature Job Seekers Take Note

The unemployment numbers don't seem to be going down. More people have been out of work and in transition longer than at any time since the Great Depression. Many of the unemployed are getting overwhelmed by the absence of a job like they used to have. Unfortunately, many of the "used to have" jobs aren't coming back soon or ever. But there is an often over looked route that may lead to pay dirt: Temp Work. The New York Times featured a great article on the subject last week. Temporary work shouldn't be frowned upon. It can fill the pocket short term and often leads to permanent employment when the economy starts turning around. You may think it isn't the ideal job, but it is a job that just may lead to a new future for you. A few of the big temp firms also called Workforce Management companies are Kelly, Adecco, Spherion, and Randstad. It's all part of the Rewiring® journey. Temp jobs are also great for retirees looking for a short term gig.

REWIRE® INTO BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR

In the past few years there has been a marked rise in the number of 50+ entrepreneurs. The increase is a result of several factors. First, people 50+ are not getting new jobs or re-hired as quickly as they had hoped, and second, there are many people who have always dreamed of doing their own thing and now is the time. But I believe there is a third reason, and maybe the best reason...you see a need and you create a product or business to fill it.

I just read a story about two Baby Boomers in Verona, New Jersey,who haven't completely rewired, but used their smarts acquired in other careers to invent a product that is catching on in the senior market: the STAY CANE.
Their story is both fun and inspirational and their product is both needed and a revenue generator!

So keep your eyes open; do your own market research and maybe the next big idea will be yours! As I love to say-- you never know!

REWIRING® TIPS FOR EXPERIENCED WORKERS

I recently gave a talk to a group of recent Wake Forest graduates in New York City. I opened up my program by saying, "I'm not a Mom so this is NOT repackaged material that I have told my kids, and secondly, this information is what I tell job candidates who are 50 plus, and looking for new work or an encore career, so listen up and understand that these ideas will last you a lifetime."


This surprised the students but I said," Industries have changed, and some have collapsed. Like you, older job seekers don't have a curriculum to follow; this is a new landscape for them too. And they, like you students, have to rewire® and adapt a new mindset, new thinking and new actions if they are going to achieve the job they are seeking." The key thing is that there are smart people and organizations out there who want to help you with your job search and see you succeed. I told the students that there are great career sites to check out and to all of you I say use the internet for ideas and remember to check out sites like TheLadders.com for insights and positions.


So first, let me share what I call the back story which applies regardless of age:

• DON'T read every article about unemployment. Headlines like: "Jobless Numbers Are Worse Than You Think," don't serve anyone well, especially a job candidate. Be wary of the headlines but be aware of them and don't succumb to the negativity of the message.


• If your computer opens up on Yahoo or Google News, or if you constantly have the tv or radio news on in the background, view the news with a new set of eyes and ears.


• Look for what industries are being praised in the news for being innovative.


• Listen for where talent shortages are occurring and think do I have those skills? Could I if I went back to school for an additional class or program? Or do I have them but just not focus on them?


• Recognize new companies are EMERGING so don't assume you know what is going on out there...be out there to hear and see it all and don't DISCARD an idea before you investigate it. Check it out. Treat a job search like a scavenger hunt and you're looking for clues.


• Adopt the motto: You never know!


• If you don't know why you work beyond the money and need to have your motivators verified, read DON'T RETIRE, REWIRE! and discover or reconfirm what drives you.

Secondly, here are some other ideas to consider:

• Manage your expectations in terms of b0th the actual job and lead up interviews.


• You know you're terrific but make sure you manage yourself.


• Think like an actor---they are always auditioning and going from one gig to another. That is the new mentality for today and tomorrow.


• Like it or not, people "still" judge the book by the cover--(difficult for a Nook or Kindle!) but not for people.


• Make sure your attitude is as good as your abilities and that your substance and style match up!


• Believe that resources are all around you, and they will be. LinkedIn and Facebook are tools but need to be managed.


• Tailor your search and your time. Get out and meet people. Sending resumes to recruiters, good friends or headhunters ISN'T enough---it never was!


• Get creative in how you reach people. Does your barber or stylist know someone you need to know? You never know!


• Update that elevator speech. It's easy to get stale and to sound stale.

And never forget to share. Help your peers and hopefully they'll help you. I do believe that people want to help each other so when you are networking make it easy for your network to work for you. Good luck--we are all in this together!

RINGO STARR HITS 70 STILL LIVING A PURPOSEFUL LIFE

Hurrah! More cracks are appearing in the "age wall." Last week Ringo Starr turned 70 and gave an interesting interview to The New York Times entitled: 'I'm Not Hiding From It,You Know'. I was intrigued how he talked about"it." What was the "it?" The chronological number 70? Or was the "it"about aging overall? Or was it the reality that Ringo was 70, a number that he admits is high? The thing I loved was that when asked about how he was feeling about the number 70...Ringo said, "In my head, I'm 24."

And that to me is the key to continous living, loving, laughing and rewiring regardless of one's age! My belief is focus on your functional age not on your chronological age! Lead with what your head is telling you, not with what the ache in your knee is saying!

Ringo Starr isn't hiding his age; he's not pulling any punches about it, in fact, just the opposite. He's out there with "it," and asking us to celebrate it with him! And Ringo has even taken 84 year old B.B. King as his new role model!

And the best thing is that Ringo hasn't deviated from his original purpose and mission of "love and peace." So many people today are looking for meaning and purpose in their futures, to them I say....go back and listen to some old Beatles tunes if you need a little or a lot of inspiration---if you're open to receive, you'll find some answers!

MORE PRINCIPLES FOR CHANGE

Change is the name of the game! I know, you're thinking, boy is that trite, so what else is new? The reality is is that change is the new constant in our lives...today, tomorrow and probably forever! When people ask me "when is it going back to the way it was before?" I just flat out say, "it's not," so we need to accept that fact and begin to bring change into our own lives, as and if needed.

I don't know where you are on the continium of change, but I've accepted that I can't control most of the change going on around me. Once that reality hits home, you realize that you can control change in your own life, at least the change you institute.

Change is about personal choices and consequences, whether it be at work, at play, or just in life overall. For every action we take, or don't take, regardless of our age or stage of life, there is a reaction. People will tell me they want to rewire® their lives. It doesn't matter if it is to secure a new career, to experience a different level of leisure and fun or to find new purpose at work and play, you can't hit a new goal or dream without experiencing some type of change.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are a nation of procrastinators. That's why I wanted to give you some principles for change. The goal is to help you coach yourself through a change. I don't claim ownership of these principles but I find them very sound for the times!
And they are new to the way we think about life and our future.
So here are four new principles for change for you to ponder and use:

• Choices & Prices- Life is an auction, and everything has a price ticket. The question is "how much are you willing to pay?" and "can afford to pay?"
• Responsibility-The person who feels the problem most has the greatest responsibility for correcting it.
• Replacement-The best way to ovecome a bad impulse is to repalce it with a better one.
• Levels-Every situation has many things going on that need to be recognized and assessed.

When times are challenging it's easy to become complacent. I hope that we can all be there to help each other...that's why I wanted to share these thoughts on change with you. They are slightly different from many other messages and I hope they help you think about your life in a different way. There are things you want to change and things you need to change--and as you go through the list appreciate what you have and don't ever want to change in our life!

I'm not saying that change is easy, but with some thought put into it, change does NOT have to be as hard as we sometimes think it will be or as hard as we make it!

12 PRINCIPLES FOR CHANGE

Over the weekend I was at a party and "change" was on everyone's mind. Each person wanted to, or was being forced to, make some type of change in their life. The desired change ran the gamut from changing their work, their weight, their time management, or moving into their next and not knowing what to do! The needs were as diverse as the ways in which people were approaching change.

Thinking about them, and all of us who want to change something in our life but are undeclared as of yet, I went into some old "paper" files and found a long forgetten list entitled: 12 Principles of Change. I don't know where I got it...I don't claim initial ownership of it, but I do take responsibility for getting the list to you over the next few blogs. I have listed the top four principles below.

Read them, then read them again. They look simple until you reflect on them and apply them to your life. The Top 4 Principles are as follows:

• Purpose- We are happiest when moving toward a goal.
• Perspective-Situations may look different depending on our point of view.
• Balance- Nature hates imbalance. Most problems are a sign that an imbalance has occurred.
• Escalation- Doing the same thing usually gets the same result.If we are not succeeding we need to change the balance of forces.

Just a few thoughts to get you going on your road to change and rewiring! Use these principles to coach yourself!