Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Make a plan and set goals. Get as much education and training as you can. Have confidence and believe that you will be successful professionally. Be passionate about what you do. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Be an effective communicator. Foster good working relationships. Take breaks- and vacations.

Answer: Just as you do for your personal life, you need to set goals for your professional life. By tangibly establishing what your aims are in the short, mid, and long terms, you have an easy way to remind yourself of what you’re working towards. This will also help you formulate a plan to achieve those goals.  Write down your goals on paper. It’s a good idea to have a visual reminder of your goals. For example you could write: “My short term goal is to do an internship as an editor, my mid-term goal is to get a Master’s in English, and my long-term goal is to work as the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue.” Make sure to update your goals as you meet them. Once or twice a year, reevaluate your goals to make sure they’re still realistic and attainable and set new ones as necessary. It is often useful to discuss these with a colleague or even your boss. Don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself. This will not only cause you unnecessary anxiety, but can also hamper your ability to meet other goals. For example, if you’re currently working in the mailroom, it’s highly unlikely you will be the CEO within a year. But you can work up from the mailroom to the reception area and then up from that position, for example. Talking with a senior colleague or trusted supervisor can help allay any concerns or anxiety you may have regarding your career. Having an education and job-related training is integral to being successful professionally. But you also want to make sure that you continue your education and training throughout your career so that you stay valuable to your workplace or are marketable if you choose to change jobs.  There are many ways to get education for your job. It’s a good idea to research the requirements for your chosen profession. For example, if you want to be a university professor, you’ll need a PhD and some training for being in the classroom. If you want to be a wedding planner, on the other hand, you’ll need more on the job education and training than actual degrees. Training and the type of education that comes from practical experience is also very valuable when you’re marketing yourself professionally. For example, working as an editorial assistant at a magazine can help you get a job as an editor. Knowing that you have the right education and training is also helpful because it will build your confidence and make you more attractive to employers or potential employers. Two characteristics of a successful person is that they not only have confidence in themselves, but also that they believe in their ability to succeed. By cultivating and projecting confidence in yourself, you set yourself on the path for success not only to yourself, but also to employers.  Knowing that you have a good education and training can help boost your confidence. If you are lacking confidence in certain areas, take proactive steps to boost it. For example, if you don’t feel confident because your colleagues are often promoted over you, then work towards garnering more professional success through education or even a promotion. Talking to your boss or another colleague about how to improve your performance is also an excellent idea. It’s important to know that even if you are confident and successful, that failure is a part of the equation. Both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs experienced failures before they found success. You can’t be truly successful unless you are passionate about your profession. If you don’t love your job, you’re less likely to go above and beyond for success. Your job will feel like chore if you don’t love it. This will make you more likely to be sloppy in your assignments and not take any initiative that would help you succeed. Changing your professional course to put yourself on the path to success requires taking some risk. However, this doesn’t mean making reckless decisions, rather that you should take a calculated risk. The idea is to take a calculated risk, not something that could ultimately hinder your goals. For example, maybe you love your current workplace, but have hit the glass ceiling. When an opportunity for a promotion at another company comes up, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of taking the job and assess how much risk the switch could have on you personally and professionally. Either way you decide, you’re taking a calculated risk. As the work place increasingly shifts towards more team-based work, greater customer contact, more diversity, and ever-higher employee expectations, the ability to effectively and positively communicate with colleagues is absolutely integral to your professional success. Being an effective communicator demands everything from being a good listener to being polite and having the ability to express your gratitude.  Be a good listener to anyone associated with you professionally. The ability to listen to someone’s needs or problems will not only help cultivate your relationship with the person, but also may help your own goals down the road. Always be polite to people, even if they aren’t. The truism “you win more bees with honey than vinegar” is something you can apply to your professional life. Leaving a bad impression on colleagues or associates can have lasting consequences for you professionally.  Being polite extends to when you have to deliver bad news to someone professionally. For example, if you have to fire someone, say something positive to the person, followed by the negative, and then sandwich that in without another bit of positive feedback. Express gratitude to your colleagues. The ability to recognize when someone has supported you is important to maintaining good working relationships. Not only will it make the person feel appreciated and show them that you respect their contributions, but you will gain personal capital among your colleagues. Without having positive working relationships with colleagues at all of your jobs, you cannot be successful. It’s thus important to maintain and expand your professional support system over time.  Part of fostering good working relationships is networking. Having a broad network of colleagues and even professional friends on whom you can rely will serve you professionally not only in your current job, but also among former colleagues or those you may have down the road.  Having a mentor who has experience in your profession is a good idea. She can provide you valuable guidance from everything on taking risks, to dealing with colleagues, or improving your skills. Don’t expect perfection your colleagues- or yourself. This can seriously and negatively affect your working relationships, and you’re your professional success.  Know that it’s also acceptable to be wrong, especially if it means maintaining a professional relationship. This shows that you’re the bigger person. Having time away from your job for everything from ten minutes a day to a full vacation is important to your success as well. Time away refreshes you, helps you avoid burn out, and can reset you on your path to success.  Take breaks during the day. They give your brain and body a chance to relax and refresh.  Schedule annual vacations to further help you refresh. While a ten-minute walk or a run will help you decompress throughout a workday, an annual vacation where you completely unplug from your job will refresh your body and mind.


Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Volunteer. Do good deeds. Show love and concern to find God.

Answer:
Try giving to others less fortunate than you by helping out at a soup kitchen or food drive.  Believing in a higher power means shifting the emphasis off yourself.  Helping others is a great opportunity to look at your life from a different perspective. Interacting with others who are less fortunate often helps you appreciate things you take for granted in your life. Basic things like having shelter, eating food, or being able to sleep soundly are luxuries that some don't have.  These are all things that you can thank God for and can help you believe God is looking out for you. Be thankful and be persistent. Notice how people who have been not had certain things can still thrive.  Tony Melendez, a man born without arms, recently played the guitar for Pope John Paul II using his feet.  Being thankful for the things you have shifts attention from all the things that are missing in your life.  Focus on the positive; optimism is a stepping stone to believing in something greater than yourself. Try extending your charitable acts to everyday life.  Volunteering is both unselfish and generous, but don't overlook the little things. When Peter talked about the healing of the paralysed man (Acts 3:2-8) he described it as a good deed (Acts 4:9)  True believers in God can also offer healing of the sick as Peter did You can team with God to serve as His hands and feet. Simply holding open the door for someone can brighten that person's day.  Little things like smiling, giving up your seat to the elderly on public transportation, or just saying "thank you" can bring you closer to God.  Don't underestimate the effect a good deed can have on your feeling and believing how a higher power affects others through you.  Think of times when someone, maybe even a complete stranger, has done something good to you.  Maybe you dropped your cell phone and someone picked it up and stopped you to return it.  Did you ever pause to think about that person's actions?  Maybe that person was an answer to your simplest prayer: "Please God, just help me get through today." "God bless you", have you ever helped someone and been told that?  Try letting those words truly sink in and appreciate that deeply.  What if a good deed is really God telling you that He hears and sees us and allows your intents and purposes to express His love?