Be all that you can be

Following on from my recent post about ‘The Apprentice’, the BBC have announced that Sir Alan Sugar is now on the hunt for a Junior Apprentice. Sir Alan announced on ‘The Apprentice - You’re Hired’ that there are plans in place to launch a Junior Apprentice, aimed an grooming 16-17 year olds into budding entrepreneurs.

The series is set to feature 5 girls and 5 boys who will be set a variety of tasks with a prize in the region of £25K up for grabs for the winner. Obviously the select few will not have the business experience of the ‘older generation’ on the usual show but the prize money will be tailored towards the winners career prospects. The key aim behind the show is to look at providing entrepreneurs of the future to aid the British economy.

So if you’ve had enough of revision and exams and feel that you have a chance, then why not go for it! Applicants can apply through The Apprentice Website - The series is due to be shown in 2010.

This post is all about ensuring that you have a happy and positive outlook on life. As I write this it’s Monday afternoon and the sun is shining so I’m already in a positive mood. I think that happiness breeds happiness and here are my 5 tips to ensure that you continue to be happy in work and play:

1. Think Positive - try and be optimistic, or a least be realistic about things during your time at work and outside work.
2. Eat Healthy - a good diet will help give you energy to last the course of the day. Eat your 5-a-day and be happy in mind and body.
3. Exercise - simple but true. Exercise regularly to give you energy. Exercise will help ensure you look good and feel attractive.
4. Drink Plenty of Water - Drinking lots of water will help detoxify your body.
5. Kick your bad habits into touch - Try to cut out all your vices - smoking, drinking alcohol to excess, eating take-aways 3 days a week, and not getting enough sleep. This will help ensure that your brain and mental health is in top working order.

If you can’t do all the above straight away then try doing one at a time…good luck…and let me know how it goes.

I have been glued to my seats most nights watching the Apprentice and I was overjoyed when Sir Alan Sugar pointed at Yasmina Siadatan and told her that she was hired!

15 contestants and 12 tasks later this girl deserved to win from day one, I loved Yasmina’s approach to business and that fierce look she gives, she means business and you would not mess with her. Everyone on the Apprentice inspires me and hundreds of other people as they all come from different backgrounds and work ethics and all have one goal to push them self to the highest limit and become Sir Alan’s next apprentice.

Yasmini, only 27 owns her own restaurant in Reading, Berks with her brother and still she has gone on to win this years Apprentice showing that she never gives up and always wants to better and challenge herself in life.

A quote she made recently sums her up and many people who think like this will go far:

“Business is about a simple formula. Make more than you spend. That’s what I do, I keep business simple and it works. I’m good at it.”

I also think that the Apprentice is flying the flag for female women to go into business. This year it was an all-female finalist proving that it is not just men who think business women are equally as talented and successful.

I know 4 people who have gone on to open small businesses in the past 2 years by watching the Apprentice and being inspired by the individuals who take part in the show.

Are you a fan of the Apprentice? If so has the programme inspired you to go in to business or become an entrepreneur?

With all the doom and gloom recently its hard to stay happy about anything, so why not put a little excitement back in to your life, there seems to be more and more of these turning up all around the country from a relaxing day in the spa, to a white knuckle ride round a race track and from a Hot air balloon flight to scuba diving lessons. so why keep in the boring 9 to 5. I myself have just been on a rally driving experience and absolutely loved it, a great day at a great price and an awesome experience.

As we all know time are very hard and money is extremely tight, and we are all having to cut back on the luxuries in life, everyone is staying home more and the house swap game has come to a halt, so now would be the perfect time to enjoy what we already have, decorate the kitchen or have you ever thought about something so simple as Towel Warmers for the bathroom or maybe a new sofa, there are some great deals about that will still allow you to purchase some of the luxuries in life, but dont forget to set a budget and dont go over the top.

Following on from our last article, once you have got yourself a clear list of all the things that you think have been holding you back you need to start tackling them so that you can finally move onward and upward!

Bear in mind that if these things are things that you can’t physically change, like the fact that you have some sort of physical disability (perhaps you have recently become bound to wheelchair use), then the point isn’t to rail against them or just wish for miracles. Aim to tackle those things that you CAN alter with a bit of motivation and courage.

For instance, if you need to clear the air with an old friend or a family member whom you haven’t spoken to for a while, just do it! If you ever meant to keep in touch with someone and then never got around to it and then felt that it would be weird to contact them after all this time even though you often wonder about them – again, just call or write to them. Explain what happened in an honest and light-hearted way, then tell them you’d like to keep in touch properly now.

Resolving, or at least letting go of all those if’s and maybe’s from your past will lighten you more than you might expect. Even if you don’t feel weighed down by them particularly be aware that you may well have just got used to the weight. Getting rid of them will still make you feel more free and lighter within.

Try it…!

Today!

If you are carrying around a lot of emotional baggage that you feel is holding you back from achieving your ambitions, you need to let them go if you want to forge inward with your life.

You are only young once and you only live once, so there’s little point allowing yourself to be stuck in a rut because of things that are fully within your capacity to change.

Carrying around disappointments or problems without dealing with them is ultimately destructive to our emotional wellbeing, and if our emotional wellbeing is shot to ribbons then there will invariably be negative knock on effects throughout the rest of our lives, even if it is just to our confidence and self esteem.

Take a long hard look at your life and you can start getting rid of this baggage by asking yourself a series of personal questions. In effect, what you need to do is identify those things that you feel have been holding you back, draw a line under them and then start moving on. You can even clear your mind by getting away from it all. Get away from your work, from society and get back to urban life. Perhaps one of the many camping holidays in Italy, or a backpacking tour of France?

Here follow a list of questions to get you started. You can either do them all at once or over a few days, but DO them! Also, write them out, don’t just leave them in your head along with the answers to them. You’d be surprised the difference putting problems onto paper can make, even if it is only to make things seem a bit clearer.

What do you feel you are ‘putting up’ with rather than living contentedly with?

- Make a list of ten things that you feel you are putting up with at home.
- Do the same with work.
- Do the same with any other area of your life that you feel might be relevant.

Once done, you need to start considering what sort of action plan you need to wrap up these issues and make them at least tolerable if not wholly rectified. Take them slowly. Don’t rush. The point here is to clear up for yourself exactly what is holding you back and why.

If you have a desire to be self employed but have never had the courage or the opportunity, remember this if you are suddenly made redundant from your current job.

Redundancy can give you the motivation, freedom and even time to set up your own business and to be your own boss. There is help available to you if you choose to become self employed, but think about the pitfalls too:

- The buck stops with you. There is no-one else to turn to if things fall through.
- You have to be everything from cleaner to managing director – unless you become successful enough to hire employees of your own of course!
- You will almost certainly work longer hours and will inevitably take home work with you.
- It can take a considerable amount of time before you will be able to draw a decent and regular income, so you will probably have to have a means of paying the bills in the interim period.

Before you get carried away with never having to answer to another boss again you have to decide just what you want to do and then make a business plan. Many are the businesses that have failed because the owners did not do enough planning and research before making investments of time and money.

Ask yourself:

- Is there a need for your business?
- How are you going to fund your business at first?
- How will you drum up custom?

Ask yourself whether this is a good time for you to retrain.

If you have a particular course or scheme in mind, make certain that you have researched it thoroughly and that you have preferably discussed it with friends and colleagues whom you trust the opinion of.

Keep in mind the relevance of the course you have your eye on to sorts of jobs and careers that are available in your area. Also, you should consider that many employers prefer to take on people with a track record in a particular field over someone with only qualifications in it.

Also be aware that if your current or potential employer offers training it may not present you with a nationally recognised qualification (like an NVQ., B-Tech, A Level or whatever) upon completion of it and yet it may still cost you quite a lot of money Be sure to check for yourself what part time courses are being run by the local community centres, Job Centres, colleges and universities, as these are sometimes run at special rates.

Don’t overlook the development of your interpersonal skills, for example, office diplomacy, negotiation and assertiveness.

Also have a chat with local agencies or anyone you might know who is a freelance worker or who does contract work. Ask them what benefits and pitfalls you should look out for.

Retraining or returning to education to learn new skills is a positive step if you have lost your job. You may have been made redundant and the market place for your skills is limited, in which case you could see this as an opportunity to retrain. Maybe you know redundancy or dismissal is imminent and you want to proactively look for a way to get out of the industry you have been in.

Maybe you want to change the direction of your career and/or expand on your current skill base. Whatever the case, if change is in the air and you feel you want to move elsewhere professionally, perhaps you could start by asking yourself some basic questions:

1. What skills do you have?
2. What would you like to do every day?
3. How important is financial security?

Whatever your answers to these questions, they will help to prepare you to make important decisions when applying for retraining or education.

Once you have a better picture of what you might like from your future career you can embark on some in-depth research. A good place to start would be websites like DirectGov Education & Learning, which have pages dedicated to adult learning, how to find the right courses, as well as gratis advice on matching together courses with whatever your skills and interests may be.