Spring Cleaning involves people too, get a head start…

I never thought I would take relationship/career advice from Lady GaGa but, one must admit she is the best marketer out there. We all could learn a few things from her strategic unpredictable tactics. (Check out Marketing Lessons from Lady Gaga)

“Some women choose to follow men. Some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go,remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore” – Lady Gaga

Although Lady Gaga is referring to our male/female relationships, I believe the same goes for our friendships. There’s a luggage limit to every passenger flying. The same rules apply in life. We must eliminate some extra baggage before we can fly.

It’s nearly 6am and I can’t sleep. I’m in love with possibility and sometimes it causes me to wake up, emotional and motivated (happy tears of course).  As humans it’s emotionally natural for us to want to feel some sort of belongingness and there are even a lot of us to fall into the Support Personality Trait (Personality Type Quiz) and it’s only been successful at biting you in the ass and making you feel lonely/depressed.

This blog post was inspired by a few people, who don’t understand what it means to put your dream first and trust that God will make sure everything (.i.e relationships) else lines up in place. I’ll admit, when you’re achieving or on a path to great things you want to have someone to go home to and share details on your day (Hence why so many people take their problems whether good or bad to Twitter/Facebook or Blogs). I am one of them…occasionally. But at what cost to you, your happiness, your sanity? Don’t settle. The people who are meant to be in your life, will be. It shouldn’t feel forced, don’t lose sleep over friendships. You’ll meet so many people along the journey who will fall right into place like they’ve been there the whole ride. Relationships aren’t about whom you’ve known the longest, they’re about those who came and never left.

Back to Lady Gaga’s point, I was in a serious relationship and when it came down to choosing  “Hoop Dreams” over me, he chose to go far away to pursue a dream that ended before it started. It was at that very moment that I realized, no matter how much I thought I loved this young man it wasn’t enough for me to just sit and be his cheerleader…forever. I’m not built for the “housewife” role. If you are, rock on. It’s not for Maya.

That emotional need of wanting to belong, whether it’s family, friend, or our significant others can cause us confusion and it often times becomes a stumbling block on our journey to success.

So what’s my point? My point is this, don’t be afraid to let go of relationships, friendships that don’t align with your blueprint for success. It might hurt, yes. The longterm damage that you are doing to your longevity of happiness depends on the choices and decisions you make TODAY (imagine me saying this as if I was the guy from the Everest College commercial). People will inspire you, or drain you — pick them wisely.

I’m Maya J Hicks, and this is How I Landed My Dream Job.

Remember: Spring Cleaning involves people too, get a head start…

Career Lessons from Powerful Women – Forbes

Long before we were blessed with Beyoncé‘s “Run The World(Girls)”  women have been making powerful strides in their careers. Forbes does an awesome job of highlighting successful women. As I began reading 10 Career Lessons from Powerful Women, I immediately knew I had to re-post the article.

Experience is the best teacher, so of course taking advice from women who have already reached their peak (and those still climbing) is motivating. I hope these lessons ignite a fire within you to jump up and get focused on Landing Your Dream Job!

Career Lessons from Powerful Women

• Wake Up Early– success comes easier when you have a jump on the day.
  • Vogue editor Anna Wintour is on the tennis court by 6 every morning before work.
• Adopt Mentors and Learn Them
  • Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says one thing you don’t want to do is ask someone, “Will you be my mentor?” It’s unnatural. Instead, you have to adopt them. After meeting, follow-up with an email. Send an interesting article or connect them with someone who might be helpful. Then maintain the relationship over time. And when an opportunity arises where they can really help you, ask: Will you recommend me for this job? Would you make the introduction?
• Stay Ever-Curious– “The smartest thing you can ever do is to constantly ask questions.”
  • Today, the lightning pace of change means you have to be ever-curious, always ready to learn and adapt to the new environment around you. Anne Sweeney, the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, describes herself as “driven by curiosity” because “it gets people excited” and “leads to new ideas, new jobs, new industries.”
• Listen
  • Hire people who are smarter than you, give them the tools to do their jobs and then listen carefully. If you’re able to be open to all different kinds of information, your conclusions will be that much better formed. Claire Watts, the U.S. CEO of retail and media company QVC, actually schedules open door times every Tuesday, so that anyone in the company who wants to come talk to her, ask her a question or share something they’ve noticed can do it then.
• Set Career Goals
  • Denise Morrison, the CEO of Campbell’s Soup, knew from a very young age she wanted to eventually run a company. She learned that just like you need to set goals to accomplish a business project, you need to set goals in your life, both short-term and long-term, and come up with a plan to achieve them. She always looked at her career as, “Where have I been? Where am I now? Where am I going, and what are the right assignments to get there?” If her current company would work with her to deliver those assignments, she was all-in. But if it didn’t, she knew she needed to move on.
• Be Courageous– Pinpoint what you want, and then you have to stand up and go after it
  • Beth Mooney, the CEO of KeyCorp, got her start in banking two years after she graduated from college by knocking on the door of every big bank in Dallas, Texas, and asking for a spot in their management training programs. At the Republic Bank of Dallas, she refused to leave the manager’s office until he offered her a job. So she waited. For three hours. And finally he said okay, he’d give her a chance if she earned an MBA by night. Raise your hand for the big opportunities.
• Get Comfortable With the Word “No” – Sometimes you’ll hear it. Sometimes you’ll need to say it.
  • Cozy up to the word “no.” Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the World Food Programme, says it’s one of the most difficult phrases for women to utter. Practice. It will get easier.
• Be Persistent– Success takes persistence, stamina and patience.
  • Thomas Edison failed thousands of times while inventing the light bulb. “I have found 10,000 ways something won’t work,” he said. But he wasn’t discouraged, “because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” Most women reach the top after three decades plugging away.

If you’re anything like me, the tip about getting comfortable with the word NO was a hard pill to swallow. Everything is indeed a learning lesson.

I’m Maya J Hicks, and this is How I Landed My Dream Job!