Business cards

Business cards are an essential tool to always have. It is neat and orderly. You only need to have your name, e-mail and phone number on them. If you can afford color, maybe a branding logo or even a favorite quote then go ahead and personalize it.
Most people need not put a title on the card as most of you can handle several roles. There is nothing wrong in having a few cards if you want. You can make your own, just remember that ink jet printers tend to run in the rain. I've learned over many years that people do remember a good business card.
You'll want to order a minimum of 500 the first time and don't be stingy with them.

Happy New Years-2012

Here we are again in a new year. For you this might be your first New Years out looking for your next opportunity or maybe you've been here before. Either way you have a lot to do. Getting to that next place on this journey usually takes a little work on your part. The more work you do the faster it will go. Yet if you cram too much into it you may make more errors than you need to make.
A little pre-planning on your part  will assist you in the long run. While watching "This Old House", on TV, the other day it was so obvious afterwards how just a little work ahead of time reduced a lot of extra work later.
A few helpers that may help: Business cards, tablet, writing tool, calendar for starters. An address book, of some sort, will be helpful for follow-ups. Some of these can be electronic or the standard old basic manual ones, up to you

New Years

2012 is almost here. What plans have you made? For some, they will stay home and ring the new year in quietly. Others may go out and party with the masses. No matter how you celebrate the new year will arrive.
A new year is a great reason to see the positive side to this dilemma you are traveling through. It's a new year, it is crispy and fresh out there. A great time to come up with new ideas of how to approach your search. Find new places to meet new people. Think of new occupations that may appeal to you and you can fit into. The world is at your feet, it is up to you to capture the moment.

Christmas eve

Here it is Christmas Eve and the present you wanted didn't seem to materialize. Maybe the fact is it just hasn't come in yet. Maybe you didn't check the right locations. We can make many excuses or whine about it. Monday will be here before you know it and you can get back into gear. Count your blessings and contemplate your positive thoughts about where you might go, who you may talk with.

Say to yourself that "I will be successful when the time is right. I just need to talk to as many people as I can and get enough choices out there".

Listening

Listening has been a topic on a few occasions and for good reason. Whether you have your own business or are searching for that next opportunity your ability to listen well, not just hear, will lead you to more success. Many times as the other person talks we are thinking of a retort, answer or even a question. What you really want to do it to listen well first then digest what you heard and decide what you might ask or say. Sometimes that may even be a re-clarification from the other person so we are sure we are understanding what was said.

What have you done well?

So many times we tend to dwell on what went wrong or how we screwed up. That is all fine and dandy and good in order to do it better the next time. Along with that attitude though comes a feeling of failure and even despair.

How about first looking at what you felt you did well, then look at how you could improve it the next time even you you felt it was good or even your best. The game is to constantly improve.

I heard a great reply to folks that say they are public speakers and Toastmasters can't help them. Until you are making $100,000.00 per speech there is still room for improvement.

Dwell on the positive!

Look back

Time to reflect back on your achievements, wins, accomplishments. As the old adage goes we are our own worst critic. We sometimes dwell on what we do wrong. It is important to reflect on what we do well also. We actually aren't as bad as we think. We may not be getting the the results as fast as we want though.
When we look back and see what we did well we can take the good and discard that which didn't work this time.