The End is Near

With the end of the semester getting closer and closer, I hope all of us close strong and accomplish what we expected from this semester. Here some words that I hope help you get through this last two weeks of school.

Are we following the right Path?

As you may have noticed we are approaching to the end of the semester. This is the time when we have to close strong. I know some of us are struggling with some final projects or final papers in our classes. However, I would like to ask you a question: Don't you love when someone recommends you the right class with the right professor that meets your needs? I have been in both sides of the road and trust me, it is nicer when you know what class to take along with  the professor that will meet your academic needs. Well, attached to this post is a link to a survey with some questions about the classes you have taken and the past that you would recommend others to take. Feel free to answer these questions to help others in their academic journey.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/126kFieDPkbuYrtESL0VG8k6fSXGlbGEZ_nrQCIfO0OI/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link

Build upon The good Foundations

One of my favorite Bloggers is Jay Baer. Most of my own post have been inspired by Jay's post. This week I read his post about building a super brand. This resonated in my mind as the ability I have to market myself to others. We are starting our careers somehow and we should be able to "sale" ourselves to potential employees. I will leave a link to Jay's post and hope we have the chance to go over his words and figure out a way to apply his words to enhance the best brand ever: "Us".



http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/can-you-build-a-content-marketing-super-brand/

Closing Strong

One of my favorites sports is running. It is really convenient, all you need is some running shoes and the wiliness to go out and do it.  In addition, when you set up a distance goal while running things turn better. A few years ago I had the pleasure to talk to a former cross country runner. Even in his 50's and after retirement he was a stupendous athlete. 

He shared with me one vital tip. He told me that no matter what you do during the whole race, the final meters are the most important part of the race. He was best known for the amazing closing in his races. He would wipe everybody out in the last 100 meters of the race. In my own experience, the last minutes of my running routines are killers. It is so hard to keep the pace after my energy is out. However, as with any other physical activity, this time of pain, this last minutes of suffering are the most vital to our health and body. It is during the times when our muscles can handle any more load that hypertrophy takes place at its max. 

It is similar in life, when we face our greatest challenges in school or work is when we can discover our true potential. We are getting near the end of this routine (Winter semester), now is when we need to close strong and feel how our bodies struggle to handle the load. Nevertheless, if we finish the race I can promise you that we will be stronger and more capable for the next one which could be and internship, a job offers, a new son, or that hot date we have been dreaming about.         

Virtual Meeting

This past week I had the chance to do a virtual meeting with my team through google hangouts. It was a new/good experience. I had had the opportunity to use skype, FaceTime, and other virtual applications to talk to people. However, this time was an interaction with all my school team instead on-to-one.

It was a little difficult to coordinate who would talk and when. But after a few minutes we got a hold to it. We were able to go over the feedback given by our classmates about or in-class presentations. It was interesting to read all the comments from our audience.

I realized that technology is playing a major role in business today. We must be capable of adapting to this new era and take advantages of all benefits technology can give us. The time will come where we won’t be able to meet face to face and we had better be ready to use the resources around us. We always have to be thinking ahead and be planning for changing. Thus, by having a virtual meeting with my group I was able to slightly experience the roll of technology in today's business world.ld.

Heros

Roberto Gomez Bolanos (a.k.a. Chespirito) was a Mexican writer and a genius of the comedy. He was the master mind behind the TV show "El chavo del Ocho" which was a boom in the 70's. One of his best creations whas a superhero name "El Chapulin Colorado". It was a silly, stupid, and powerless hero.



During one interview he was asked: what do you thing about superheroes like Superman or Batman. Chespirito simply answered they are not heroes at all. After this clever answer the interviewer asked him how come? Chespirito stated the superheroes like them are not real superheroes. An almighty superhero with no contender that can his or her abilities cannot be called superhero. This is easy to do, if superman is the strongest man in the world, he will not fear to fight against anybody. On the other hand, el Chapulin Colorado is a real superhero. El Chapulin does not have special powers, he is stupid and weak. However, he faces tough situations and fight his worst fears.

A successful man is not the one that has all means to achieve great things. A hero is not the one that has all sources to success and achieve al his/her goals. A successful man is the one that has no talents, not special qualities nor the help of everybody to succeed. A hero is the one the fights his/her way to the top. Hero is the one that fights in a level ground and is able to overcome the fears and challenges in his/her way. From now on, let’s be real heroes and fight out way up to the summing.  

Going Back to the Fundamentals

With Summer around the corner things in life get better. As a matter of fact a few weeks ago I bought and old 94 jeep cherokee for a few hundred dollars. My wife and I are all excited for the Summer. Jeep plus Summer means a lot of camping, outdoors, and fun.

Unfortunately as any old car, my Jeep needs some love and care. This week the ignition circuits in the car was not properly working. The car would not start at times. Oh dear, this is what comes with you buy an old car- my wife said- she was right indeed. As any handyman I started to troubleshot the problem. My masculine pride wouldn't let me take it to the mechanic. I tested the circuit, I removed the ignition switch and did other things that took me in total a few hours of my day. No result, I could not find the short. Nevertheless, I had the impression to looked at the main connection for the ignition switch, and surprise surprise, the cord was unplugged.

Sometimes we need to go back to the fundamentals. When we reach a specific level of knowledge and confident in life we like to overthink stuff. Either we have been working for a few years at a job or if we feel we know a lot about cars,  we must start by the fundamentals and find out basic mistakes. Somethings, the easiest fix is the most appropriate for our problems.

Being on the Same Page

Setting individual goals is one of the best habits we can develop; however, being able to set up goals as a team can set us apart from the others. In fact, we can find one of the best opportunities to practice  this principle in our marriage. We have to make sure we are in the same page with our spouse in whatever goals we have as a couple.

When we work as a team, we will achieve those goals easier. We as a couple can work and pull together towards the same goal. It is always easier when we share the workload and the rewards of life. I am constantly working with my spouse to reach our dreams and achieve our goals. The wonderful part of this experience is that we know where we want to go and what we need to do to get there.

This is a principle that can be applied in our professional life. We are social beings and we will be exposed to situations where teamwork will be the key. We had better develop this principle in life sooner rather than later. We have plenty of opportunities for practicing in school, we just have to make sure we take advantage of it.

Divide and Conquer? Gather and Succeed!

"Two heads think more than one" now imagine having 5 heads from different countries with different perspectives. That is the way to go. In one of my extracurricular activities I had the chance to participate in a study regarding teamwork. We were assigned several task that we needed to complete individually and then as a team. It is not necessary to mention that we perform better as a team.

The experience was unique because my team had people from Middle East, Asia, Latin American, and the US. The approaches we took were so different and effective at the same time. This lesson was so important for me because I was able to see how teamwork and diversity have a huge impact in our work. 

Whenever I have the chance I will try to team up with people to accomplish the challenges of school, work, and life. It is a good skill to keep developing. We are social beings, it is in our nature, we all have talents that we can share with others to achieve our goals. Let’s team up and life will get easier.

The Job Interview

What a great opportunity to mess up. Recording myself anwering a common job interview this week was one learning experience I will never forget. This assignment was more than a due homewor, for me it was the perfect time to mess up and learn from my mistakes.

Practicing our answers for job interviews will give us the cofidence and security that will help us to land that internship, job, and first date. It was such as productive activity that helped me to see my weaknesses and what I talents.  I dont know about my classmates, but it is quite interesting watching myself speaking.

From now on I will take advantaje of technology and get prepared for potential job interviews. We have a say in Mexico that goes along the lines of "Practicing makes masters" It is not about who is the smartest or most capable candidate, it is about who is the best prepared for the interview.

Entitled of Nothing

For this week's post I want to talk about a great comment made by Brad Wiskirchen, who had a long career working for the Bank of San Fransisco. During his Q&A session, one of his answers caught my attention " The problem with this generation is that young people believe they are entitled of everything" This is not the first time I have heard something  along these lines by a successful person.

We tend to be the ones who always ask What's in it for me? It is always about how much we will get paid, what benefits we will have. I believe we have to stop thinking we are entitled to great things and start working hard for what we want. I know it is not bad to negotiate of our benefits and salary, but we have to work hard and demonstrate we are worth it.

From now on I will work harder for what I think I deserve. I have to earn it and prove myself I am worthy of my dreams. We are a good generation, we have great ideas, vision, and ambitions. However, we have to work harder, just like our past generation.

Never Rush Over

This week I had a learning experience that seems stupid but believe it or not, I took something away from it. On Monday I had to go up to Murray to do some personal business. However, my wife had to use the car that day so I decided to ride the front runner. I wanted to be in time for the train so I left home early (Which is a couple of blocks away from the Provo station). I bought my ticket and got onboard. When I was in my sit waiting for the train to leave I realized I had not brought my cellphone.

How was I supposed to meet my contact once I arrive in Murray? Well I had to rush to my house to get my phone and see if I could run back to still catch the train. As you may have guessed, I did not make it and missed the train. In addition, when I look for my boarding ticket I could not find it ! ! what I bad luck, I was gonna be late for my meeting and I had to pay twice for my ride. Nevertheless, I took a deep breath and relax for a minute. I enjoyed the view and the moment. I looked at my wallet and somehow I had placed the ticket inside it. For some reason I did not remember doing it at all. But there it was, my ticket.

I learned that rushing things over not always end well. There is a time for everything and we have to stop in life once in awhile and ask ourselves where are we heading and if we have our "phones" with us. We have to take a minute to remember where we have placed that ticket that will take us to our destination. Not everything has to be done rapidly. We have to enjoy the moment.

From now on I will try to take my time to ponder and plan for those special things in my life. In that way I will make sure I do not lose the important things to me.

Out of The Comfort Zone

Being comfortable is one of the best feelings in life. However, in business, comfort may be your enemy. While doing one assignment for a class a came across a great article that presented the idea of working out of our comfort zone.

The article provided me with guidelines of how to work out of my comfort zone when it comes to networking. We have to open our eyes and minds  to be more receptive to ideas that may be different than ours. By doing this we will enrich our work and find new approaches to problems. It is easy to get along with people who are similar to us. But the real challenge comes when we have to interact with those that do not think like us. This is not necessary bad, we have to remember that diversification will always reduce risk.

I will apply this guidelines to my networking meetings from now on. I will try to interact with people that shared a complete different point of view from mine to enrich my own knowledge. It may be hard at the beginning but it is worth the try.

Always be Ready for Change

Change is a constant part of life. The question is not if something will change but when it will change. I had the opportunity to attend a networking event this week and the topic discussed was how to take advantage of changes.

We have to be ready to embrace changes and turn them to our advantage. A change is a good opportunity to start over or to jump to the next level. We have to see the positive side of changing. If we are mentally prepare we will find good opportunities along with the change. One of my  bosses always said that changing is the opportunity to adjust our direction and press forward with more intensity.

What I took away from this event is that being prepare for a change has a lot to do with us approaching the change with the right mentallity. Usually I do not like changes but now I will pay more attention to changes in school, life, and work and take advantage of those changes.