Monthly Archive for February, 2008

If you are not taking a chance now and then, you are not making an all-out effort to achieve success. That’s true because mistakes are the handmaiden of taking the kinds of chances that lead to success on the career path.

It’s been said that “Good people are good because they come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success…”

Mel Kiper, a sports commentator for ESPN, declares, “You can’t be right if you’re always afraid to be wrong.”

Career Tip: You’re handicapped in your pursuit of career success if you are working for an employer who insists that you always be right.

“Assert your right to make a few mistakes,” advises Dr. David M. Burns. “If people can’t accept your imperfections, that’s their fault.”

Here are some words of wisdom from Mary Pickford, the famous actress: “If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not falling down, but staying down.”

I’ll have some further comments on mistakes on a posting tomorrow.

For more common sense career advice Click Here.

I wish you success!

Ramon Greenwood, Head Career Coach
Common Sense At Work

If you are not snoozing now and then at work, there’s ample reason to think you are missing an opportunity to enhance your career.

A survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that 50 million Americans get on average of 6.7 hours sleep on weeknights. (Eight hours is recommended.) Just over one-half of the adult population say that drowsiness keep them from being as productive as they could be.

This problem could be alleviated considerably, according to the experts, if the sleep deprived made a practice of taking a catnap (powernap, if you prefer) during the workday. Sara C. Mednick at the Salk Institute, says, “…napping is a necessary and effective tool that can be used by anyone in the pursuit of optimum health, happiness and productivity.”

Makes sense, but it is easier said than done because employers at large haven’t embraced the idea.

So, we are most often left to taking a nap on the sly: nodding off in a restroom stall; reclining on the backseat of our cars in the parking log; sprawled out on the couch in the employee lounger; resting one’s head on his desk. More than one person has been known to crawl under his desk for a nap break.

Some degree of relaxation can be achieved with a nap lasting five minutes or so, some studies show. Twenty minutes is probably the magic number. Beyond that gets to be deep sleep, which is to come back from.

Career Tip: Figure out a way to take that powernap on the job. You and your employer will benefit. Napping is not wasting time.

Let me know what you think via your comments on this posting.

I wish you career success!

Ramon Greenwood, Head Career Coach
Common Sense At Work