Koala-T Assistant (MyKTA)

If you haven’t signed up to receive this online magazine, you are missing out. It provides great information for the administrative professional, relevant, and great reading. I keep a link on my sidebar for my readers to access the archives, but the archive contains prior magazines starting a year ago. So if you want to be kept up-to-date with current magazines that are distributed monthly, you will need to subscribe and you will be sent an email with the link for each month’s issue.

The month of February contains the following articles:

1. Katherine Sauser-Kriegerl, Assistant Extraordinaire
2. Job Search Myths Debunked
3. Getting Ahead How to Make Your Boss Love You
4. How to Resign Professionally
5. Sick Leave vs H1N1 Virus – Can You Afford to Stay Home Sick?

You can even download the magazine and read it offline. As a professional, it is your responsibility to stay abreast of your trade and industry. This is a great resource to include in your reading materials. You can sign up here.

Sometimes life is a circus and everyone else is the Ringmaster. Don’t let that deter you from getting what you are after. Push through and enlist help whenever and wherever you can. Most people are more than willing to help, 1. if they can, and 2. if it costs them nothing more than a little bit of time and effort, without burden or expectation.

Over the past month I have been focusing on couple of my goals. At times, there are moments that seem to be effortless. At others, I feel stuck and frustrated. I feel like I have hit a wall and my progress has become stilted. It is in these moments that I must remember to forge ahead, think of alternate and different methods of getting to the next desired step of the process.

In getting a task completed, I must talk to various personnel in different state departments. Some people will have an attitude right out of the gate. Well, a less than helpful one anyway. I believe that there are many people who do not appreciate what they do or do not see the value in what they do. Instead of being helpful, they go to lengths to make it difficult for the person on the receiving end to get what they are looking for. So it is my goal to get them on my side by letting them know that I appreciate everything they are doing to help me. They probably feel unappreciated, underpaid, overworked, and undervalued. Well, I appreciate and value what they are doing for me even if in the end I still need to seek out another resource to get the task completed. And, I will let them know that too by thanking them for their time and effort at the conclusion of our conversation.

When enlisting help or getting someone on your side, tell them what you are trying to do and why. Sometimes it brings out the cheerleader in them. It creates purpose instead of just doing the job. They now have a reason to help you succeed and who doesn’t like seeing someone achieve their goal. They get to be a part of your success. And, to be honest, we really can’t do it all on our own without the help of others doing what they can on their side to get to the finished result.

If they are not able to provide you with what you need, ask questions. Ask them where or who you can talk to get the information you need. Ask for suggestions or solutions. Ask for names and phone numbers of possible resources. If they have information, but need some time to collect or process it, follow up with them later. Let them know that you will be following up and when so they don’t feel like you are taking up their time when there is nothing else they can do on their end. They will let you know if they have done everything they can and a nice courtesy would be to thank them for their time and to let them know that you will not be contacting them until you have the information you need to provide to them.

You may feel like you are running around in circles. It is possible that you just might be. Forge on. Move on to another portion of your task and it is possible, with time, the information you are seeking will appear. Sometimes, things need a little bit of time to work themselves out and come together.  I call that,

Giving it time to marinate.

I have found that many things work in an ebb and flow kind of manner. Some things seem to just roll through and you find yourself speedily getting what you need done. Then there are the times when you are at a standstill or even lost in the process. Take those times to recharge, come up with creative solutions, ask for help, and muster up determination. Also, start your day out with a positive affirmation. Something like,

Today is a great day. I will get so much done and everything will come together perfectly for me.

Create a positive attitude in that if you do not get what you need at that instantaneous moment, there is a perfect time that it is supposed to be resolved that is to your advantage. Pushing harder on something that doesn’t give just elevates frustration and stress. Step away and take a look at the situation in a different perspective or angle. Just like a wall, you might need to dig a tunnel to go under it, or you may need to go around it, or find a way to climb over it. Many times our biggest hurdle is our own attitude.

You are the Ringmaster of your life. Don’t let others make you feel like you don’t have the controls. You get to make the decisions and that includes how you treat people along the way. Be gracious, helpful, and accommodating and they will do whatever they can on their end to help you get through the hoop.

We understand the value of lists, but do we really use them to our best advantage? Is your life complicated? Lists can uncomplicated it and give it more structure. Is it uncomplicated? A list can give you direction in where you want to go in life. Is your life controlled externally, making you feel like your days are dictated by the urgencies of others or circumstances? Make a list.

There are lots of different kinds of lists:

• The To-Do List
• The Christmas List
• The Wish List
• The Shopping List
• The Goals List
• The Procedures List
• The Master List

What got me to thinking about lists were a couple of things:

1. During the week, I work my 8-hour shift, eat dinner, and go to the gym. Needless to say, my place blows up through the course of the week and I am left with lots of cleaning and organizing through the weekend.
2. Two things I need to make a priority to do each day is going to the gym and sending out resumes for promotional positions.

This would consist of a list for each day.

1. Create lists of goals.
2. Break those goals down into their respective tasks of what it takes to achieve them.
3. Incorporate a task from each important goal into the list for each respective day.

Doing something small each day removes it from being a large task later on.

Here would be an example of my Monday:

As you can see, from 7:00am to 5:00pm and the end of the day would be pretty consistent. If I workout 2 days on and 1 day off, that would give me Wednesdays to run an errand during that time, write on here, get in some reading time, or go out with friends or family. My weekends would have room to go to the lake, ride my motorcycle, go to a museum or gallery, have coffee with a friend, have a spa day, or do absolutely nothing. I will be accomplishing all the things that are important to reaching my goals without making me feel like I don’t get a day off to just relax. Those days are important too.

So start creating your lists.

Create a list for:

• Work
• Family
• Home
• Social
• Community
• Spiritual
• Health / Fitness
• Educational
• Fun

You will be amazed at the progress you make in only a couple of months, how much you will rediscover and nurture you, and how much more joy you will bring into your life by living more consciously. You will still have time for the spontaneous, probably more time by living your life with purpose and on purpose.

What a great day… and it’s Valentine’s Day! It is a beautiful day outside and I get to hear the horse carriages trotting around my corner waking me up this morning with an Old World feeling. There are days when it is so amazing to get to wake up in Old Sacramento. All the lovely couples will be down here treating their sweetie to a gorgeous day of interesting shops and restaurants and either sitting alongside the river or sitting on the deck enjoying a cocktail on the Delta King overlooking the river. Old Sacramento really gives you that Old West feeling when women were ladies and men were gentlemen.

In two days, the 16th, it will be my birthday and I feel kind of spoiled today. I usually take the whole week for my birthday because I have Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, and I take the week off from work. Yes, I have this week off. Also, this year starts the 2010 Winter Olympics and the United States is doing pretty good and we’re ranking pretty decently. So grab your cup of coffee because I’ve got something for you. My gift to you. I know it’s my birthday, but I love to share great things.

Goal setting and evaluating my accomplishments and my “stupid” moments really hit me around my birthday. That is why I joined the gym in November and set the goal to weigh 145 by my 45th birthday (I am super duper close) and weigh 125 by the end of May (that’s my daughter’s birthday). Also, big decades are motivators, this being 2010. So my big reflective milestones every 5 years.

I failed to mention this to you at the beginning of the year, but you still have time to catch up. My first gift is for you to check out Darren Hardy’s blog at the Success blog (this is one of the links I share on the sidebar). He is literally giving away his Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life for FREE. I actually paid for this last year and it is the exact same material, with accompanying worksheets (downloaded PDF), for all who register for their blog feed. What I love about this idea is that it is like joining a massive Mastermind group. You can read and participate in the comments. With the written material, this interaction isn’t available. So how awesome is that?!

If you use Firefox, I do, you can use Add-ons. Here is the second part of my combined gift to you. Grab the add-on called “Read It Later.” I mentioned in an earlier article that I purchased the iTouch for my birthday. I love it and have a technique for utilizing it in your productivity. “Read It Later” can be downloaded as an App to your iTouch or iPhone, and it’s FREE.

I am able to save my Google Reader items that have some length to them and sync to read it later on my computer offline if I choose, but this isn’t where I really need it. If I’m sitting at my computer already, than I can read it. I need it for when I can use it productively away from my computer. Such as, commuting and you are not the driver, waiting in an office, standing in a lengthy line, etc. For me, I use it when I’m on the cycle at the gym.

Yesterday, for my one hour cycle workout, I listened to music in the background for the rhythm intensity to keep my legs pumping me into a sweat and read my Darren Hardy blog. “Read It Later” has you sync for offline. Here is my learning lesson for you after using it yesterday in my workout. You can sync for offline web and/or text viewing. I only had it on web viewing. It’s pretty, but small and on the iTouch you are not able to zoom. So, my suggestion would be to sync the text view for readability.

So with the combination of these various technology items, you can still be productive during your downtime when you don’t have access or it isn’t reasonable to have your computer in front of you. It is a great series and I promise you will get so much information, ideas, and motivation by reading it. You don’t have to sign up to view the blog, but you do to access the worksheets and the worksheets are a great supplement to the program. I highly suggest it. Darren also does videos, which were not a part of the written material purchased last year. So the program has really expanded with how he has incorporated this being a live participation model. Do not leave this site without checking it out.

I promise, you will love what he is doing with this program. Like me, I can’t afford the thousands of dollars it costs to go to week-long seminars, and I don’t have the time. This is like an online education/seminar for everyone who participates for FREE. I know there are some people who don’t tend to value information or things unless they have to pay for it, but I am telling you that it is the same thing and, to be honest, an expanded version of what you had to pay for just a year ago. So I appreciate Darren for offering this to so many people who can use it, but can’t afford to pay for something like this and who need it the most to acquire the skills, techniques, and tips that it takes to be successful.

So, Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Happy Birthday to me, and I wish you all great success.

I would love to hear from you if you decided to join and your thoughts on the program and any other ideas you have that make you productive and encourages your success. I also hope you find information here helpful, so please share with the people who could you positive things in their life. Also let me know how fantastic your Valentine’s Day is. I’m off to see my mom for Valentine’s Day and I texted my daughter to tell her she is my lovely Valentine’s girl. Did you tell your special people how amazing and appreciated they are today? Well… get to it!

With great love and affection to my Sparkle peeps.
-Layne

I attempt to lead a relatively simple and, to a certain degree, quite a minimalist lifestyle. Sometimes that makes me feel like a bit of an outsider at times. Not always going with the direction of what would be considered “normal” or necessarily mainstream. Not so much a follower of the population, but I do try to follow my heart, listen to my intuition, and keep my eyes open for “signs.” I don’t mean to sound metaphysical, just to express that, with all the craziness of trying to keep up, I make every effort to retain my perspective, the idea of who I am and want to be, and my sanity by not getting bogged down by all the activity that takes place around me that can steer me off of who I inherently am inside or question the greatness that is within me and provoke me to act in a way that is against my best judgment or call into question my morals and values of what I believe is right. Living my life with integrity that represents the core of who I am, the contribution that I make with the people I interact with each day, and the appreciation I receive when I am authentic.

What You Already Know

There are things that you already know about yourself. What you like, what you don’t like. Do you find when you do something that you already know you don’t like, you find yourself disappointed? I do. So why do we keep doing it? Is it thinking that there will be a different outcome? Or that the situation deserves another chance? I love trying new things, new foods, new styles, new destinations, meeting new people. That’s different. When you continue to do things that you know doesn’t work for you, what does it take to make you clear your closet of that and replace with something that doesn’t work for you with something new that may be even better.

Moments of Epiphany

It dawned on me that I don’t look good in grey. I love black and white, those are always my classic colors, but grey completely washes me out and makes me look and feel drab. I know I have a pair of grey pants, so why do I keep them? To reduce the clutter in my life for what doesn’t work for me it is time to get rid of the grey in my life. I also have a wide array of lipstick colors, but there is only one that I always “want” to wear, because no matter what I wear it always looks great. I do have a second color that adds a little punch, and I stroke a bit of my favorite over the top of that. I can also wear just about any gloss over the top of my favorite and it looks fabulous. So why do I hold onto the rest of the colors? I keep thinking if I wear pink, the pink lipstick would look good; or I would wear red during the Christmas holidays, but when I do, I don’t think it is my best color. What I should do is toss all the lipsticks that are taking up space and stick with my “classic” and splurge every once in a while on a fun gloss to mix things up. I’ve also come to realize that black eyeliner is just too much for me and the browns always make my blue eyes that much more bluer. The solution… get rid of the colors that don’t make me feel good, get colors that do make me feel good, and try some new colors that just might make me feel good.

You Have So Many Choices

I loved working in law, I also loved working in engineering. I find both industries to be dynamic, interesting, intellectual, and challenging. I’ve worked in other industries and find them rather boring in comparison. So why haven’t I focused on finding more work that is in line with law or engineering? I guess I never took the time to realize some of the specifics about what I love about being a executive professional other than being really good at getting things done and how to get things done. Still, the industry in which you work can provide passion in the details of what you are doing and why.

Create a List of You

I’ve written in the past about making a list of what you want to accomplish and listing what you need to do to get there. But, I never suggested, starting your list of assessing who you are and what you already know you love or what makes you feel good. If you use this as a starting point, you are able to hone in on what activities or goals are really a perfect match for you, instead of chasing after what you think you should be doing. You will avoid a lot of wasted time and disappointment by going after things that really make your spirit sing. I don’t regret working in the various different industries. After all, that is what helped me discover more clearly what I do love in the work I do. I can also expand on the skills I provide because I have become more conscious of what I naturally have a knack for, what I struggle with, or what I’m really not very good at.

Make It Work For You

I work out at the gym five or six days a week. There are times when I can’t wait to get into the gym that day and am actually looking forward to it. Other days, I have to literally drag myself to the gym, but once I get there, I am full steam and motivated. I didn’t think I would like the elliptical, but found it to be less stressful on my knees and, after a while, now find myself enjoying it as I get into the rhythm of the music for the pace that makes me feel pumped up. I didn’t think I would enjoy the cycle because I am sitting down, I think I could be accomplishing much more aerobically by doing something else. Now I find the cycle almost meditative, I’m able to decompress on the cycle and even watch a movie, and still break a sweat. I also spend an hour on the elliptical and a half-hour on the cycle to offset my thinking that I am not pushing myself like I should. I tend to feel intimidated by weights, but have found that I can get through them very quickly and find myself already done. So I have found ways that make my workouts enjoyable, makes me look forward to going in each day, and feel like I’m missing out when I don’t go. The pros: I feel more fit, my weight is more manageable, and I’m reaching health goals. The cons: being early in the year, the gym is sometimes pretty crowded and it is almost like “Where is Waldo?” when looking for a piece of equipment. I don’t care for crowded locations to a certain degree and would prefer a lighter amount of traffic that makes me feel like there is more air and space flow that surrounds me. So I go as late as possible without getting out of the gym at midnight when I have to get up early in the morning.

Just Do It!

By eliminating what doesn’t work for you and replacing it with the things that do, you create more balance in your life. Believe it or not, many times it is the “things” in our life that we don’t let go of, knowing that it isn’t right for us, that clutters our minds and our life. By removing these things, you allow better things to come into your life, whether you know it or not. And you become more particular and more focused on what you already know works for you to allow them in. This includes friendships and relationships. You and I are sometimes the very people who set up our own roadblocks by letting the unimportant take up space in our lives. We allow it take up residence in our psyche thinking we have a reason for letting it be there.

Don’t! Get rid of what is unnecessary. Make room for what makes you feel good. There are some things that you just can’t change at this very moment, but you can make a concerted effort to step away for a moment to clear your mind space and come back centered and focused. Sometimes you may just need to let what is going on around you just sort of flow past you. To let the energy around the activity sort of pass by with very little reaction from you. To just not take that day so seriously. And, sometimes, to just take a personal day and step away to shake off and let some of the intensive energy settle in order to get back in, hopefully with your perspective, your energy, and your authentic self to reemerge.

Thank You

We are continually on a journey of self-discovery. Find appreciation in the things that make you remarkable; find appreciation in the remarkable things around you; find appreciation in the little things that come your way; find appreciation in the challenges that you take on and overcome along the way that make you stronger, wiser, and more patient.

Find the Grace of God in each day, whenever you can.

If you find this article helpful, pass it on to someone who can use a boost.  If you know someone who always seems overwhelmed or a bit harried in life taking over, this article might remind them of their value and the importance of taking the time to appreciate themselves.  And, if you liked this article and it really kind of hits home with you, leave a comment and let me know.  I would love to hear from you and hear about what keeps you authentic.  And thank you for stopping by to visit with me.

I have come across a great resource worth sharing.  It is located on the Office Arrow website and titled, The Effective Executive Assistant, A Guide to Creating Long-Term Career Success.

When I first started writing on my website to give tips, ideas, suggestions, and information for the professional, it was because I tried looking for information that related to the administrative field.  I couldn’t throw a stone and hit anything worthwhile to inspire me in my profession.  This blog has opened up a wide range of other websites to come into my radar and I am grateful to be able to share some of these with you.

The publication that I speak of here is a 61-page PDF.  To download the document, you must sign up to their website.  Don’t worry, the sign up process is simple and easy, very basic.  There are choices for membership, but I chose the Basic and the Basic is free, which gives you access to a lot of information and various templates, so you will find the information definitely worth the “free” price of signing up.

The document breaks down the various elements of the field as an Administrative Professional.  If you are looking at it as a career option, it will tell you what an assistant is and does, what core competencies or characteristics and skills it entails, and the types of assistants there are.  It will give you an idea of the type of setting and environment you would be working in, as well as covering the various myths associated with the position.  The final portion details great suggestions in creating a successful career as an Administrative Professional, concluding with an extensive resource listing and a recommended “Reading List.”

They really did a good job putting together a beautiful document that flows well and is chock full of information.  It really gets to the meat.  It is not necessarily a “How-To” reference, that would be more along the lines of an Office Handbook.  So if you are looking for a great resource for information on what it takes to be an Executive Assistant or what you should be doing to elevate what you are doing as an Executive Assistant, this material will give it to you.

So go over to their website, sign up, and check out a great website of information to keep you at the top of your game.  You can be just one of many assistants that are out there or you can be that “one in a million.”

Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. Everyone is unique and adds value. You find value and appreciation in a job when your boss recognizes what you are good at and gives you plenty of opportunity to shine in, not only what you are great at, but what you love to do. It is equally crushing to have a boss who takes away projects that you are great at and seems to seek every opportunity to either make your job unpleasant or look for ways to see you fail or sabotage you. However, when given a task that you aren’t very knowledgeable in or lack the expertise, see it as a challenge, an opportunity to develop another skillset.

In everything you do, do with excellence. Your work and your talents are a reflection of you. The quality of your work isn’t about whom you give it to, appreciative or unappreciative, it’s about you. Anything worth doing is worth doing great. So that means, it’s not about anybody else, it’s all about you. Take pride in your work and what you have to offer. You seem to have a knack to make spreadsheets sing or words just flow on a page. You make it look so easy that other’s don’t realize the actual knowledge and talent it takes to create something so fabulous.

When my boss said that he wanted to assign a spreadsheet to someone else to help me in reducing my workload, at first I was a bit peeved. The work on my side was complete, I was waiting for another department to put together their portion for me to integrate into multiple workbooks. To me, that project was easy. Also, if he assigned the project to someone else, most people would get lost in the code. It’s all over the place, running across multiple sheets, and ultimately it would be linked and consolidated into another workbook.

It quickly dawned on me that the workbook was, in fact, not mine. It was my boss’s to do with what he wishes. So, in my head, I let it go. I responded to my boss that if he felt it was in the best interest of the assignment to have someone else do it, then it should be reassigned. Needless to say, I am still managing the workbooks and working on the consolidation process. The lesson for me was to learn to let go. To realize that in a power struggle, there is no ownership. So even if you win, it will have been with conflict and, more to the point, you will have created more grief for yourself in the long run. It’s a lose-lose situation.  You will have won the battle, but lost the war.

Pick and choose your battles. Lots of other opportunities will come your way. Just be open to them. That includes trying new things. Shine in all your endeavors. After all, you are a consummate professional, you are able to perform with grace under pressure, and you are really good at what you do.

In goal setting, the method is to make a list of what it is you want. I’ve done this and I have lots of lists. But in order to achieve your goals, you need to break them down, set tasks, research, create a plan that gets you from Point A (where you are now) to Point B (where you want to be).

I am now in my third year returning to California where my family lives. My first year focus was getting work and then, shortly after that, finding a place of my own after helping my mom through surgery. Those were goals that weren’t written down, but came from necessity. Goals that a person takes immediate action on at the moment because it at level-urgency.

My second year consisted of getting settled into the new job, settling into my new place, and setting up my website and blog. Three things that I knew I wanted to create and design, but the individual tasks weren’t necessarily written down. Needless to say, I designed my life on the fly last year. I’m thrilled with the results, pursuing the things I wanted, but it would be interesting to know what would have been different if I had made a plan or mapped it out as a goal.

So this year, with things more settled and my mind space uncluttered with urgencies, and with the beginning of a whole new decade, this is a great time to map out exactly what I would like to achieve and see how it plays out.

Mindmap Tools

Mindmapping is a great technique to use. It’s kind of like throwing spaghetti on the wall to see if it sticks (an old technique that tells you if your spaghetti is done if you have never heard of it). There are several tools you can use that can help you mindmap.

1. Drawing it out on a piece of paper.
2. Visio by Microsoft is a great software.
3. Mindjet MindManager 8 (this is the software I use).

What I love about the software MindManager 8 by Mindjet is that it incorporates your already existing software to help you achieve your goal.

1. You can add start and end dates to a Task that will populate into your Outlook.
2. You can add an Appointment that will populate into your Outlook.
3. You can add a Note that will populate into your Outlook.
4. You can add a Contact that will populate into your Outlook
5. You can assign “markers” to indicate each goal and task priority.
6. You can give pictures to your goals.
7. You can assign people and resources to each task.
8. You can add goal and task details and information in its individual notes.
9. You can add website hyperlinks to your tasks.
10. You can attach documents.
11. You can connect databases or incorporate specific Excel ranges.
12. You can view as a MindMap or you can view it in outline form.
13. You can also track it in Microsoft Project.
14. You can send it as a Presentation, Word document, PDF.

I’ve already started my Goals Mindmap and it will take some time to break everything down and utilize the various components that make it actionable. Set dates, the people I need to talk to, information that is already available on the internet to let me know what I need to do. Really this is the easy part.

Action

Ultimately, it is about taking action. Once you see it on paper, I believe it makes it real and attainable. You have done your due diligence in getting all the information you need to make it happen. It’s creating your own personal step-by-step process. So, wondering what I could achieve with a detailed plan, it will be interesting to see what I can achieve in one year.

And, by default, it appears that me posting this, I am extending my accountability to all of you. I really hope you will do the same because you deserve it for you. You deserve and are entitled to all the successes you dream. Map your path and then go after it.

If you feel you’re doing it alone, I hope you will share here with me. I hope our successes inspire each other and you will be surprised to find you have a lot of other people out there who want to cheer you on too.

I extend my sincerest wish for you to have your most amazing year ever in 2010 and with great love,
-Layne

or others will do it for you.

Interestingly, I’m hoping this comes across as an inspirational piece. With the old year coming to a close and a new year just on the horizon, some may be looking ahead with a sigh instead of a glint of hope for their 2010 future. So I hope reading this is a gentle reminder of the contribution that you make every day as a professional assistant.

It is important that you take an active role in who you are. It’s easy to get beaten down. Don’t allow other people to define who you are. I tend to be a pretty straight forward kind of person. If I care about you, I will be completely honest with you; not brutal, but honest. On the flip side, if I don’t care what you think, I am more likely not to tell you what I think. There’s a point, really.

There are people out there who are so dissatisfied with their lives that they: 1) let everyone know, 2) make life miserable for anyone who comes within their sphere of contact, and/or 3) try to put other people down by being mean-spirited or doing everything they can to make others look bad, even if that means lying. First let me say, try not to let them get to you. Needless to say, these are the people I don’t bother to give my opinion or voice what I think. In fact, I make great efforts to speedily move on. Limit your contact as much as possible if you can.

I have worked with a variety of different bosses, with different styles. I come from a mid-size family, six siblings, and we all have very different personalities. It’s amazing we are all related. I have friends from all ranges of economic and educational backgrounds. The people we come into contact with have an affect on how we think of ourselves, our value, and our self-esteem.

It’s important that you manage, to the best extent you can because we cannot “control” every person or situation we come into contact with, the people and things that you do choose to bring into your life that greatly influences you. So make them count.

Some things you can do to be the best you believe you are destined to be:

Always Do Your Best.

There are a lot of people who work for very difficult bosses or clients. The first thing that always comes to my mind to say is, “Quit.” After a while people start avoiding them. Nobody wants to hear it, and if they really hate it, then why aren’t they making efforts to find something else, something better. Please go, so the rest of us can get our work done. No pity parties here.

I remember some friends of mine, when I lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that were teachers. I would always hear how they don’t get paid very much, that class sizes are a lot to manage, sometimes they feel like the babysitter or they were the ones that were supposed to teach a kid to be respectful, hard-working, industrious, and to treat others with respect, but they LOVE what they do. They absolutely love teaching. They love the satisfaction of possibly having an impact on a child. So for the teacher who goes into work each day, feeling under-appreciated, you have a major impact on our future. You make a difference.

In the administrative field, we can feel the same way. Our boss treats us like we’re uneducated or that it doesn’t take that much skill to type something up, or organize a filing system, or answer the phone and make each caller feel like they are important and the company’s number one priority, or put together a spreadsheet. I’ve seen some online job sites where the expectation for quality administrative services is requested at maybe $5.00 an hour.

If you love what you do and you are GREAT at what you do, don’t let “them” affect the output of your work. Define yourself by the quality of the work that you do. It’s not about the person, it’s YOUR work. How you submit your work each day or in every assignment is a testament to the quality and professionalism of what you bring to the industry.

Even attorneys get a bad rap. The hurdles, sacrifices, and time; the college, the cost of tuition, the bar exam, and there are people who treat them like they are all ambulance chasers. I used to work as the assistant to two partners of a law firm in St. Paul, Minnesota. One was a man, the other a woman. I have such a high regard for both of them, not only professionally, but how they conduct themselves personally as well. They define the law profession to me. It’s the rest who choose to perpetuate the reputation you want to stay clear of.

It’s the same in the administrative field. Stand out as someone exceptional. Have pride in what you do, your talents and skills, knowledge and education, and who you are. You bring a lot to the profession. We have to undo all the incompetence that bad assistants bring to the profession.

Keep Learning.

Read great information that keeps you informed and on top of your industry; blogs, books, audio, video. Take classes. Go to seminars. Find a mentor. Ask someone you admire how something is done that you don’t know.

Take Pride in Yourself.

I’m not saying to be proud in an arrogant kind of way, just that you are not always going to get that “pat on the back.” So you have to give them to yourself. Surround yourself with people who are proud of you and make you smile in your personal life. You may not necessarily find yourself working in an environment of great leadership, but you can surround yourself with the people who have the qualities and attitude that you wish to aspire each day.

…

In 1945, Jackie played one season in the Negro Baseball League, traveling all over the Midwest with the Kansas City Monarchs. But greater challenges and achievements were in store for him. In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey approached Jackie about joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Major Leagues had not had an African-American player since 1889, when baseball became segregated. When Jackie first donned a Brooklyn Dodger uniform, he pioneered the integration of professional athletics in America. By breaking the color barrier in baseball, the nation’s preeminent sport, he courageously challenged the deeply rooted custom of racial segregation in both the North and the South.

At the end of Robinson’s rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he had become National League Rookie of the Year with 12 homers, a league-leading 29 steals, and a .297 average. In 1949, he was selected as the NL’s Most Valuable player of the Year and also won the batting title with a .342 average that same year. As a result of his great success, Jackie was eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

…

http://www.jackierobinson.com/about/bio.html

Let me clarify that when Jackie Robinson started, he was spit on as he entered the field with the rest of his team. He was exceptional at what he did and did not let others define him or compromise his ethics when it came to doing what he loved, and what he was GREAT at.

As I’ve said many times before, “Love what you do.”

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” -Gandhi

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Anything worthwhile is worth doing with passion. Christmas is only a couple of days away and one week later the new year opens. I love New Year’s! It is probably my favorite day of the year. I always feel like, to a certain extent, everybody has the opportunity to start with a new slate. Dreams, wishes, and goals come flooding back making me think this is my year to accomplish something great.

It also means looking back on a whole year gone by and asking myself, “What did I accomplish this past year?” and “What do I appreciate that came into my life this past year?” Each year I reflect on the amazing opportunities that have come, the new people who have enriched my life, accomplishments and successes. It also means reflecting on where I fell short.

Make Goals for 2010

Make goals that mean something to you. If it helps, write down each goal and detail why it is important to you. Try writing down the pros and cons. The pros being the great things you receive from reaching the goal and the cons if you let it go another year. Goals really are as unique as you are. We each have our own reasons for attaining a specific goal, so own it and create the person that is inside you just waiting to break out.

Passion

Love it! Love it in your heart and soul, and feel it in your bones. It will make the journey more amazing. When the struggles come, you will see them more as a challenge. We live in an age of information. Anything that you want to know is out there and all this information is FREE. On my sidebar you will find some of my favorite websites. What the internet does not provide is YOU. Ultimately, it will take the action on your part to traverse the hills and valleys, the ups and downs, the good and the bad.

Give Back

There is an African proverb that states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Isn’t this so true? This relates to adults as well. You’ll be amazed at the people who are out there to encourage you and if they can help, they will. If you find that the people around you aren’t encouraging and even go to lengths to discourage you, be it by what they say, or what they do, or how they treat you and your dreams, replace those voices and that energy with people who do encourage you. Winners love winners, losers try to keep others at their level. Don’t let other people determine who you are and your value.

With access to people who believe in you, encourage you, and help you to reach your goals, remember to give back. It means helping others in their journey, believing in them and their dreams. I believe you get what you give. Life really does work in cycles. There are moments when we all need a little help along the way, you will find yourself in moments where you can help because you can.

And, who knows, maybe those who gave you the most grief end up becoming your biggest fans. Be an inspiration, be a catalyst.

In Conclusion

Because this is real for me and is written to share my hopes for you, I would like to wrap this up by letting you know what is important to me for the next year. I’m not coming up with something like 25 goals I would like to get done in one year, but to really focus on the ones that mean the most to me. Here is a list of what I love and would like to achieve and see become excellent. In no particular order:

• Health & Fitness. Since my car accident three years ago, my weight has gradually been increasing. I walk pretty much everywhere I need to go, but I am now older and my body and metabolism doesn’t let me get away with what it used to. I was involved in whatever sport was available when I was in school; working in an office, behind a desk all day doesn’t quite get the heart rate up.

My goal is to be 125 pounds. I’ve rejoined a gym. I have also joined SparkPeople that gives me a lot of information and a community of like-minded people.

• This Blog. This blog actually happened on accident. I created and started this blog this year, 2009. Working as a professional assistant for 20 years, I wanted to put out information to and for the administrative professional. To elevate the profession to a level of respect that so many of my fellow administrative professionals bring to their work each day. This profession has some of the most talented, creative, intelligent, and amazing people I know.

My goal for this blog is to write content that informs and inspires. I would like this website to be a great place for professionals to come to for ideas, encouragement, vent frustrations, share their achievements, and feel welcome to contribute their ideas.

• My career. I love what I do and I hope that is reflected in how and what I write on this blog.

My goal is to continue to advance and excel; expand my network of really great professionals; continue learning, whether taking classes, the vast resource that is the internet reading information provided by other really great bloggers, books, and just learning by doing.

Finally, let me just say that everyone who comes by my little blog home, you inspire me. I look forward to your comments, participation, and suggestions. I wish you great success in the year 2010!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Layne