Your Present Level of Awareness

Everyone at some point has the thought, if I only knew then what I know now, how better off I would be. If only my parents or someone would have known this and passed it along, wouldn't that have been great. Sure, you learn by taking action and trial and error, but it can't hurt to have a little head start. There is an interesting concept known as your "present level of awareness". When you are young, you are aware of some things, but certainly not everything. As you get a little older, your present level of awareness on certain topics and issues changes. Everyone has moments where they say, oh ya, I never thought of it that way. We all have a present level of awareness and it changes all of the time, some more quickly than others.

So let's say you are just starting out, or looking for a fresh start. Congratulations, opportunity awaits. Here is a real easy "awareness change", and one that I can move you forward on having spent so much time on the subject. My awareness level on this topic changed when I began working in human resources, recruiting, and staffing many years ago. There is just no nice way to say it, but an overwhelming majority of resumes are not good. Your present level of awareness level on resumes might be telling you differently, but there is an excellent chance it's wrong. Remember, a resume you send to potential employers and hiring managers is a representation of you, and I can say unequivocally, most resume should not be sent out in their present state. That is an easy one that relates to job searching and career advancement. The ones below, maybe not so obvious.

These are some ideas to ponder that can change your awareness level of items that may not be on your radar currently, but will likely be sometime in the future.

1. Be wary when you hear people, media, or politicians talk of the "public good". What is to follow will usually be a discussion as to why your effort, work, and money belongs to others. America was the first society in history to recognize the individual. As a result of recognizing the individual, and individual rights and personal freedom, our system has brought more progress and prosperity than all other political and economic systems in history combined, and in a relatively short period of time. These were some pretty smart folks back then that got us going.

Understand that this prosperity has been achieved by those who took advantage of this gift, not by those who go through life making a mediocre effort and who seek the unearned, or what someone else can do and provide from them. You are not here to provide a life for others outside of your family. The people that think otherwise, are working off of a faulty present level of awareness.

2. Work on and develop your personal and emotional skills. Doing so will usually get you ahead further in life than book smarts. If you combine these somewhat difficult to quantify emotional intelligence skills with "book smarts", you have a recipe for success. Have you noticed that the smartest guy on the block is rarely the one progressing the fastest and to the highest ranks? It is often the person who has good "emotional intelligence" skills that usually ends up on top.

In terms of working on emotional skills, do you suffer from any of the seven deadly emotions; fear, hatred, anger, greed, jealousy, revenge, and superstition? We all have thoughts on occasion, but are any of these out of balance with you? A popular book on the topic of emotions is "Emotional Intelligence". The book explains the emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) and why it counts more than IQ for excelling on the job and in life.

3. You work for you. It is okay to say you work at XYZ Company, but don't say you work for XYZ company. You work for you as an independent personal services entity. The sooner you develop this awareness, the sooner you will become aware of many more related topics. You are a product in a marketplace. You are in charge of skills development, continuing education, accounting, sales, marketing, and everything else that a business must engage in to be successful.

Like any other business, you trade to companies your services and product (you) in exchange for payment. You are a trader. Do you want a bigger payment for your services, make yourself more valuable. If you want a higher profit, control your expenses or generate more revenue. Like any successful business, you need to constantly develop, stay ahead of the competition, change when necessary, and look for opportunities. There is no more gratifying awareness change than when you finally realize that you are a business.