Reports in the NY Times and elsewhere point to the rise of Chinese language instruction in our schools, against the backdrop of the demise of language learning in general. People justify this rush to Chinese by referring to the growth of the Chinese economy. The US government has declared Chinese a “critical language.” How realistic is this Chinese boom, and will it last? Here is a reality check.

1) Chinese will probably not help your kid get a job.

Chinese is being touted as the language of the future, given the growth of the Chinese economy. Some predict that a knowledge of Chinese will be big advantage in the job markets of the future. It is worthwhile remembering that Chinese is the language of business in only one country, China. Relatively few American kids are going to be working in China after graduating.

2) Chinese is not an international language and unlikely to become one.

Almost all Chinese speakers are in one country. Chinese is not an international language. It is not used widely by speakers of third languages. It is unlikely that this will change in the short term because Chinese is very difficult to learn, for most people.

3) Chinese is difficult.

Chinese has no vocabulary in common with English, unlike Spanish, where over the half the words are similar to English words. Most kids in the US who study Spanish do not  learn to speak. English speaking school kids in Canada have had similarly poor results with their French studies. It is likely that kids who study Mandarin in schools will have even more difficulty.

4) Learning the Chinese writing system is time consuming.

To write Chinese requires the learning of several thousand characters. Each character consists of up to 15 or more strokes.  Chinese children are surrounded by the written language from early childhood. Our kids would have devote an immense amount of time to this task. There is already a fundamental problem with literacy in English in our schools. Learning to write Chinese would be a major distraction for most school children.

5) There is little chance to use Chinese.

While there are around 40 – 50 million Spanish speakers in the US, there are only 2 million Chinese speakers. However, most of these Chinese speakers speak Cantonese, so students studying Mandarin would not have many native speakers to practice with, even assuming that some would learn to speak.

6) The rush to Chinese is being pushed by the Chinese government.

The Chinese government has a major program to promote Chinese language studies around the world and appears willing to pay for teachers and for trips to China for school administrators. This represents an opportunity to establish Chinese language programs in certain schools, no doubt. Is it advisable, however, for school curricula to be determined by the promotional activities of foreign governments?

7) Learning Mandarin makes sense for other reasons.

There are excellent reasons to offer Mandarin, as an option, in our schools, without the hype and without making it a “critical language”. For much of the last 4,000 years of history about 20% of humanity has been Chinese. Chinese culture has had an important influence on the course of history. The number of schools in the US offering Chinese has grown from 1% to 4% from 1997 to 2008. This is hardly surprising and is, in fact, largely overdue. Mandarin language instruction should be offered, and looked upon from a longer term educational perspective, and not as a sudden reaction to recent Chinese economic growth.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, and President of KP Wood Ltd. He is also the founder and CEO of LingQ.com. Steve speaks eleven languages and maintains a blog on language learning. He wrote the book The Linguist, A Language Learning Odyssey.

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When we talk about learning a foreign language, we often talk about different methods, if you should go to school or not and how much time is ideal to spend on the target language each day. Of course, those are  interesting questions to ask, but I think they’re not as important as one thing: motivation.

We all look for ways to improve our language learning, but often forget that all important thing called motivation. We try to motivate ourselves for many things, but somehow we only look at methods when learning a foreign language.

Woody Allen once said:

“80% of success is showing up.”

Now, that is an interesting quote, but what do I want to tell with it? It’s really simple actually.

When you’re not motivated, you won’t show up to learn your target language (or anything else in fact). Unfortunately, it’s not possible to learn a language through osmosis, you need to work, you need to show up.

That’s why I think being motivated is the most important thing in language learning. It’s possible to learn many things in a short amount of time, but to truly learn a language to fluency you need years of input, study and practice.

Ask yourself: Why do I want to learn this language? Can I actually use it? Are there enough materials to learn it from? Am I sure I still want to be learning this language three years from now? If your answer to those questions is yes, you’re probably enough motivated to go on and learn that language you want to learn.

Still, take your time to decide which language you want to learn. Make a plan to learn it, don’t you just rush in with a dream of ’speaking it one day’. That won’t get you motivated as it isn’t a realistic goal without thinking about the steps between.

Now, why do you need to have a strong motivation to learn a foreign language? Simply because it isn’t an easy task. Like I said: it will take several years to become fluent, and several years more to completely master it. This isn’t something you just do, you need to have a dream, a goal to work towards.

If you don’t set yourself goals you’ll just fail. And that’s not just the case with language study. In any field of study you need to have a goal, otherwise you’ll just give up and look for something else to do.

The title of this article isn’t entirely true. It isn’t that motivation is all that matters, but I do think that it makes up about 80% of your progress in your target language.

Methods, schools and the amount of time you put in all matter, but it’s the motivation that can make or break your study. When all things fail, you need at least your motivation to get you through and continue learning.

Are you currently learning a language? If so, I’ll give you some ‘homework’. Think about why you’re learning the language you’re currently learning. Is it because you’re in school that you have to learn it? Maybe you’ve chosen to study it, but are you still happy with your decision?

What are your long-term goals regarding your target language? Are you having fun learning it, or do you just see it as a daily chore? Sometimes it’s not a shame to quit studying a language. If you’re not enjoying it and have no real motivation learning it, you’re better off investing your time in another language.

So investigate if your target language is really worth. If it is, think of things why you think it’s worth the time and effort and put that on a paper. Then, hang that paper in a place you can see it easily, that’s it’s impossible to not see it. This way you’ll remind yourself of your goals every day, and why you should continue learning this cool language.

Good luck and happy learning!

Ramses Oudt is a Guest Blogger for PickTheBrain and a Spanish
major who writes about learning Spanish on your own through
immersion at his blog Spanish-Only.com. Although he has a
passion for Spanish, he also writes about language learning
in general both at Twitter (@spanishonly) and his blog.


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Image courtesy of Isadore Weiner/Illinois State Museum

Written by Vincent Kovar

We’ve all had that sensation of reading a selection of text then, only moments later, not remember anything we’ve just read. Sometimes we can read something over and over but never really feel like we “get it.”

Reading comprehension is crucial for every profession and lifestyle. Whether you’re reading a repair manual or the latest business best-seller, comprehension tools add value to the time spent over the page.

Here are 5 quick strategies for increasing your reading comprehension, remembering material and sparking new ideas.

Pre-reading predictions

Before reading the article or chapter, create a three column chart.

In the left-hand column, write down everything you think that the reading will cover and what conclusions it will arrive at. Look at the title, the abstract or summary (if included) and the chapter or section headings. Do some quick online research about the writer and try to get a picture of the shape of his or her ideas. Make your list of predictions as detailed as you can including what topics the writer will introduce and what evidence they might present.

Read the text over once and make notations of what the writer actually included in the middle column.

Compare and contrast the predictions in the first two columns of your chart. What was new, different or unexpected? Try to explain the differences between the first two columns in the third column.

Chunk summaries

As you read, try to boil each paragraph down to 1-2 sentences (grammar doesn’t count here) written in your own words. Once you have finished a section or sub-section, summarize your summaries for that entire chunk before going on to the next.

Compare your summaries with those of a classmate. As the old saying goes, “four eyes are better than two.” Do you agree or disagree on the meaning of each paragraph?

Make notes of unanswered questions and either bring them to class or post them in the class forum for discussion and further study.

3-step post reading review

After you’ve read the entire chapter or article, create a 3-step review.

• step one: write a summary of 100-150 words that describes what the author said in the selection. What was his or her thesis? Use the short paragraph-by-paragraph chunk-summaries to guide you. In other words, make an abstract of what the writer set out to tell you.
• step two: jot down another 100-150 words that describes why this material is important. Think about why it was important to the author. Also write down why it was important to you personally. Is it important to the planet or a specific community? What are the consequences of ignoring this information? What are the risks of adopting the author’s viewpoint?
• step three: determine how the author structured their writing. What type of reasoning did he or she use: cause-effect, model building, induction/deduction, or deconstruction? What types of rhetorical techniques did the writer use to convince you the thesis is correct? Which parts rely on ethos (ethics)? Which parts are mostly pathos (emotional appeal) and which parts are logos (logical)?

Describe the reading to someone else

Using your own words, describe what you’ve been reading to a family member, friend or classmate. Use all the materials you created so far to help you but use language and ideas that you think your listener will best understand.

Include any thoughts that start popping into your mind and discuss how the information has an impact on your life. Or, if the information does not affect you in any way, theorize why not and what it would take for that subject to have benefits or consequences in your life.

Make a mind-map

One of the best ways to cement a set of ideas and thoughts in your mind is to translate it into a different medium or shape. Pour all your summaries, thoughts and reactions into a graphical map. You don’t need to write everything down in detail, just include enough notes so that you understand the relationship that each piece of information has to other pieces. There are many shapes of graphical maps try a few different ones and notice which work best for you and which work best for various kinds of information.

The best news is that even if you use all five techniques described here, it really won’t take more time than other forms of study. Improving your reading skills will make the overall experience both faster and more enjoyable.

Vincent Kovar is a writer, instructor, editor, and entrepreneur based in Seattle, Washington. An Adjunct Faculty member at both Antioch University and the University of Phoenix, Vincent writes about online colleges for eLearners.com

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In Western society, we often think of “learning” in very narrow terms: it’s what we do in school, and once we’ve got our college degree, the learning phase is over – it’s time to work.

Of course, things aren’t really that black and white: we carry on learning after we’ve left school, and not just in our careers but in every aspect of our lives. And learning often doesn’t equate to taking qualifications or passing exams. Approached the right way, learning isn’t a process of ticking boxes on a curriculum or course outline – it’s about exploration, growth and enrichment.

Learning Adds Depth to Your Life

For me, the primary reason to keep learning new things is because I enjoy it. It’s not quite the same enjoyment that I get from watching a movie, and there are always frustrating and even miserable moments in learning anything new … but I’m happier in the long run.

If you take the time to consciously learn new things, you’ll find that you live life more deeply. Instead of chasing quick entertainment that fails to satisfy, you’ll have the pure pleasure of those aha! moments when something finally clicks. The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to make connections between pieces of knowledge – and the more creative you’ll become.

Learning Keeps You From Getting Bored

One of the reasons that I left my day job last year was because I was bored. The first month was fairly novel: it was my first experience of “real” work (I’d had a few student jobs) and I was learning a lot of new things, some of them stretching me beyond my comfort zone. But after that, the routine was the same day in and day out.

A huge advantage to working for myself is having the opportunity to learn all sorts of new things: both hard skills (including some CSS and PHP) and soft skills (like knowing how to interact well with clients). Each week, I’m learning new things – and this keeps me interested, motivated and happy.

Can you go on a training course at work to learn something that you’re interested in? Can you study in your free time, perhaps by joining an evening class or discussion group?

Learning Keeps You Healthy

Studies have shown that our mental facilities are best protected when we use them. Older folk who carry on learning and who stay mentally active are much less likely to suffer from illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease.

Taking the time to learn about nutrition will let you know how to eat well, and learning how to prepare and cook foods ensures that you can take charge of exactly what’s going into your body. Learning a new sport or exercise is a great way to take this even further. And learning about good time management habits can prevent you from developing stress-related illnesses.

Learning Puts You on the Fast Track to Success

The final reason to continue with life-long learning is because that’s what successful people do. If you settle back and decide that you’ve learnt everything you need to know about running a business, about succeeding in your career or about managing and motivating your team … you’ll lose out to competitors who have a passion for learning.

In your personal life, you’ll want to keep learning too. That might mean learning how to bring up your kids well. It could involve learning skills that let you maintain your house without having to pay for or rely on outside help. Learning about personal finance and money management – something which we’re rarely taught in school – can turn your life around.

What have you learnt this week? What benefits has learning brought you in your life so far? What do you want to learn during the next year?

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The most common phobia people have is the “Fear of public speaking”. Some people dread public speaking even more than death. Most of us live with this fear throughout our lives. Being an underrated skill we fail to get proper guidance to overcome our stage fright. As schools and colleges do not provide any training on public speaking, most of us lack the confidence to speak in public when we reach adulthood. Public speaking is necessary for each one of us irrespective of our age or profession. If you are wondering how public speaking can help you in your life, then let me list out some of its benefits–

As public speaking boosts your confidence levels there are more chances of you succeeding at job interviews

You will be more comfortable working in a team and giving effective presentations and seminars in the workplace. This improves your professional life and your relationship with your colleagues.

As a confident speaker you will be comfortable breaking the ice and starting conversations with strangers. This expands your social circle and improves your personal life.

If you are passionate about public speaking then you can also consider being a professional speaker. There are many people out there who make a living out of speaking or use it as a source of additional income.

With all these and many more rewards that it offers don’t you feel it is worth conquering your fear of public speaking? Let us look into some ways to overcome our fear of public speaking.

1. Take the Plunge

The only way you can get over your fear of public speaking is by going ahead and speaking. It might sound counter intuitive but this is true. The longer we wait to do whatever it is that is causing the fear, the more intense our fear would become. So go ahead and give that speech or presentation you have been pondering over for such a long time. Enroll yourself in public speaking groups or organizations like toastmasters club where you get to constantly challenge yourself and move out of your comfort zone. (Check the Toastmasters International website -  http://www.toastmasters.org/ to know more about this organization and to find a club near your area)

2. Mind matters

Dr. Robert Schuller once said “You are what you think about all day long”. This statement is true when it comes to public speaking. We all have this preconceived notion about the things we can do and the things we cannot do. I have heard some people say “Oh…I am such a terrible speaker” When I ask them how many speeches they have given so far, they would say “ Well… none” How can you assume that you are not good at something even before trying it?

Change these self -sabotaging beliefs you are holding in your mind. You can become a good speaker only when you believe you can.

3. Preparation pays

Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration – Thomas Edison

I remember my initial stages of transformation from a shy and incompetent speaker to a more confident speaker. I would practice my speech around 15-20 times before delivering it in Toastmasters club. This preparation played a major role in alleviating the jitters I would feel on the day of my speech. When you are well prepared you are more confident that your speech would turn out well and this keeps you in a relaxed mode.

Public speaking is not an inborn talent but rather a skill which can be cultivated by anyone. It’s true that for some people it comes naturally but even they have to practice in order to spruce up their skills. I have seen some excellent speakers not doing well due to lack of preparation. A word of caution though – Do not over practice. Preparation should be done well in advance and just relax in the in the last 15-30 minutes before delivering your speech .

4. Know your audience

Get to know your audience. We get nervous when we are speaking in front of a group of strangers. If we were to give the same speech in front of our friends we would not be that fearful. Try mingling with few people in the audience before starting out your speech. This makes you feel that those in the audience are not aliens but people just like you. Apart from relaxing your tension this also helps in improving your connection with the audience.

5. Reach out to like-minded people

The best thing about joining a public speaking group is that you get to meet people who are highly supportive and encouraging. You realize that you are not alone; in fact there are millions of people out there with the same mission as yours. You get inspired by those who have transformed from a timid speaker to a confident speaker. You think “If he is capable of doing it then why not me?” You also learn a lot from the experienced speakers. They will be ready to lend you a helping hand by giving you tips on how they have achieved success. There are also people who can give you some genuine feedback on the areas you are good at and the areas you need to work on.

6. Take criticism positively

We all love to receive compliments but when it comes to criticism we prefer to be on the giving end rather than the receiving end. The successful you are, the more criticisms you will have to handle so learn to handle them with a positive attitude. I have seen people who have given up after receiving few negative comments from their peers. Don’t dwell on your criticisms. When someone‘s giving you a negative feedback take it as an opportunity to learn and grow, not a reason to quit.

7. Persevere

Be patient. Do not expect things to change in a jiffy. Some people might take more time to improve and others might take less. Do not push yourself too hard by comparing yourself with others. Just go with the flow.

8. Let go of the perfectionist in you

There are people who are unable to take the first step, forever waiting to attain a state of perfection. You feel that your speech is not perfect or your preparation is not up to the mark and wait endlessly for the moment when you would feel everything is perfect. But that moment never comes resulting in never ending procrastination. You don’t have to be perfect in order to be good speaker. All that matters is how passionate you are about what you are saying. Just speak from your heart and your audience will appreciate you for your sincerity.

9. Bounce back

Failures are stumbling blocks to success. Let me quote my personal experience here – It was my 9th speech in toastmasters club. After uttering few lines, my mind went blank and I forgot my entire speech.  Standing silent I tried to recollect the speech but could not recall a word. I pulled out the sheet where I had written my speech, went through it for few minutes and then continued the speech from where I had left. It was a bit disappointing at that moment but not as dreadful as we think. Now looking back I am glad to have experienced this. Had this not happened I would not have been overjoyed after successfully delivering my 10^th speech. You learn a lot from your failures. Resist the temptation to give up and keep bouncing back

10. Celebrate your success

We often take our success for granted. Reward yourself for the success you have achieved however small it might be. Give yourself a pat on the back for having the courage to get over your fear. By rewarding yourself you will feel good and stay motivated to take the next step.

Don’t take yourself very seriously. Approach public speaking with a committed yet playful manner. Children rarely experience stage fright because they approach public speaking in a playful manner. They are having fun while doing it. Adopt the same attitude

Let today be the day you take the first step to triumph over your public speaking fear. So go ahead and rock the stage.

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Learning is one of the greatest joys in life and it can also be critical to staying employable and keeping our minds healthy as we grow older. Even with the great rewards that learning promises, however, few of us put much thought into how we might be better at it.

Here are seven practices that will help you take your learning to new levels.

Commit to learning

Most people can get on board with the idea of lifelong learning, but few of us really commit to making learning a regular, focused part of our lives. Commitment means setting clear goals for what you what to learn, how you plan to go about it, and how long it will take. Write your goals and your plan down, and set a specific time each week for reviewing your progress.

Schedule a time for learning

We’re learning all the time, often without even knowing it, but when it comes to achieving focused learning goals, our minds appreciate regularity and rhythm. Carve out a specific time each day, ideally, always in the same place – to devote to your learning activities. Get rid of distractions like e-mail and your cell phone during this time and focus your attention on your learning goals.

Organize

I tend to write things down all over the place, which can make it very hard to retrieve the information I am looking for when I need it. Don’t fall into this trap. Determine a small number of specific places where you will store all of the materials related to your learning. Go digital to the greatest extent possible‚  among other advantages, this puts the power of search on your side. And you might want to try Web-based tools like Evernote for note-taking, or Penzu for keeping a journal.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

This one can’t be said often enough. We build and maintain connections in our long -term memory over time. For truly mastering a subject-area or skill there simply is no substitute for putting in the time to review and practice. Of course, this can’t just be mindless, mechanical repetition. You need to really focus your attention ‚ and ideally, your passion ‚ on what you are trying to learn.

Don’t do too much

Multi-tasking and information overload are the enemies of effective learning. The human brain is an amazing organ, but it can only do so much at once. If you want to be successful in your learning efforts, you will have to set priorities. This is a key part of the goal-setting already mentioned above. Determine which learning goals are most important to you now, set aside other goals for later, and eliminate things that really aren’t all that important to you.

Treat your mind and body right

Learning is a physical as well as a mental activity. We need enough sleep each night,  7 to 8 hours for most adults,  to ensure that our brain functions properly. We need the healthy blood flow that aerobic exercise can help support to ensure that the brain gets enough oxygen. And there is increasing evidence that our diets can have a significant impact on our cognitive abilities. In short, eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep if you want to be a truly effective learner.

Relax

Leaving aside special circumstances like cramming for a test, we don’t learn well under stress. In fact, excessive stress over a long period of time can cause damage to the hippocampus, one of the parts of our brain that is critical for long-term memory. Living and learning are not about some grand, ultimate goal. They are simply about living and learning. Relax, and the learning will come.

Jeff Cobb is the founder of Mission to Learn where he blogs weekly about lifelong learning and self-education in a hyper-connected, Web 2.0 world.

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With the world becoming more culturally diverse everyday, it is becoming increasing important for everyone to learn a new language. Whether you are learning for your career, education, or just want to increase you knowledge of other languages, the Internet provides a wide variety of tools that can enhance your learning experience. Here is a list of 15 free language learning tools to explore today:

Popling – Popling is free online web software that is great for practicing language vocabulary without any real effort. This unique software works by having a window (flash card) pop up at certain intervals on your desktop. You can either click on the window to study the full flash card or ignore it and the window will disappear.

Radio Lingua Network – The Radio Linga Network offers free online podcasts that you can use to enhance listening comprehension and language learning skills for 20 different languages. The podcast episodes range from one-minute quick lessons to longer, five-minute lessons.

Livemocha – Livemocha is a free community language learning tool with online interactive lessons, user created courses, and language partners that are ready to practice with you. The language partners are a great way build your language confidence though conversations with live native speakers. You have the option of either using conversation exercises or submitting text and audio files to native speakers for corrections and edits.

Palabea – With this large international language learning community, you can interact with native speakers, find audio and visual learning aids, improve writing and grammar, and even find native speakers in your hometown. Through these tools, Palabea gives everyone the opportunity to learn or study their foreign speaking skills on an international web platform.

Freelang.net – Freelang.net offers free language dictionaries, translations, blogs, and forums to help you increase your language skills. These tools are an excellent way for you to improve your reading, writing, and speaking skills in the language you’re studying. This site also provides links to other translation software, learning tools, and more.

ForiegnWord.com – This site features four different tools that foreign language learners can use to translate text, find language links, and gain access to 265 online dictionaries. Just one of the tools featured on this site, Translate Now, provides access to 28 translators in over 38 different languages.

Lingro – Lingro is a free site with open content dictionaries that provide free online learning in 11 different languages. With this site, you can increase your language comprehension and understanding through online translations, word lists, games, a collaborative dictionary, and more.

Babbel – The Babbel site is a free online learning portal for Spanish, English, German, French, and Italian. Within this site, you will find multimedia learning methods and tools that are easy and fun to use. Babbel also offers a language exchange community with more than 400,000 registered users.

Transparent Language – Transparent Language provides language software that has helped millions of individuals worldwide with language learning. On this site you can find several free resources and tools, including language software, blogs, games, articles, and learning communities to enhance your language skills.

Open Culture – This free site provides podcasts for learning 37 different languages. The podcasts cover everything from Arabic to Yiddish and are perfect for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. You can listen to lessons instantly on your computer or download them in MP3 format for listening on the go.

SharedTalk – SharedTalk is an online language learning community that provides tools to practice and study a multitude of different languages. With this site, you can use language partners, voice chat, text chat, and email to enhance your language skills while helping other people to enhance theirs.

Lang-8 – This site encourages language learners to practice writing skills by writing in the language they are studying. Once your writing assignment is complete you can send it to a native speaker for editing and corrections. This site also works as an online exchange community–you will be asked to read and correct the writings of others who are studying your language.

Digital Dialects – Digital Dialects offers free interactive learning games for 58 different languages. The games provide practice with beginning phrases as well as vocabulary builders to help language learners increase their knowledge. The site is updated regularly with new material.

Translation2 – With four free online translators, Translation2 is a good site for increasing your understanding and comprehension in language learning. Translation tools include a text translator, dictionary, text to speech translator, and an IM translator. The text to speech translator is an excellent way to practice pronunciation and can be embedded in emails or web pages.

Karen Schweitzer is an education writer and Guest Blogger for PickTheBrain. She is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes for OnlineCollege.org, an accredited online college resource.

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Image courtesy of Rosswell86

It has been 7 years since my graduation day and I still remember the excitement; I was relieved that the ”exam phase” of my life was over; I looked with enthusiam towards my first job. Little did I know that the “working world” would require an extraodinary effort and loads of other skills!

My journey on the career ladder would have been smoother, had I known a few important lessons. While there are many ”on the job” lessons, some things in life must be experienced, to be truly understood. What follows are 8 such career lessons, I wish they’d handed out to me along with my diploma.

1. Your career is not your life. Many of us rely heavily on our careers for satisfaction in our lives. We get immersed in the day-to-day rush of our work and discover that we no longer have the time, energy or inspiration.
For some people (my former self included), it’s as if our jobs are part of our bodies, and if we don’t see ourselves as successful in them, we feel almost physically unhealthy. As a result, we question ourselves when things aren’t going in the direction we hoped. Consciously separating your self from your career allows for a greater perspective on both.

2. Be indispensible (at least one area)
There are certain things that you can do, or that you can learn to do, that can make you extraordinarily valuable to yourself and to others. Identify your special areas of uniqueness and then to commit yourself to becoming very, very good in those areas.
Take stock of your unique talents and abilities on a regular basis. What is it that you do especially well? What are you good at? What do you do easily and well that is difficult for other people? Identifying what separates you from thoses around you, and concentrating on those skills will make your unique skill set invaluable and hard to replace.

3. Don’t grow stale in your career. We live in a world where technology is evolving rapidly. This has a direct consequence on your career. Stay up to speed on the latest happenings in your field. Read various articles and books to keep your mind sharp. Attend seminars at your present job if offered. Seek out mentors who can advise or educate you. Don’t become comfortable with the status quo or complacent about things you are already good at – you can always be better, so taket he time to find out how.

4. Guard your time like a hawk. At work, we often find ourselves bombarded with ‘urgent’ requests. All of these urgent requests can disrupt the thinking processes. Sometimes it may take twice as long to get something done, simply because of the interruption. Learn to say No (with good reason!) and prioritize your tasks.

5. Polish your people skills. You may do your job well, even so well that no one can complain. But you never seem to get ahead. Sound familiar?
People issues can be one of the main reasons people leave jobs. It can also be a cause for dissatisfaction and reduced productivity. Bottom line: you need people skills to move up.

6. Communicate effectively. No matter what career path you choose to follow, you have to have good written and oral communication skills to get ahead in your career.
Make a real effort to listen to everything that’s being said to you. Observe and learn from others who make it seem effortless.

7. Keep your cool. We sometimes forget that we are in a professional environment and tend to curse and behave like a teenager. Whatever happens, don’t explode or throw your arms up in resignation. Keep your mind clear at the worst of times and you’ll be able to handle anything. There’s nothing more respectable than being calm under fire. So take a deep breath, or a walk around the block, and find away to diffuse your frustration before you address whatever the problem is.

8. Shield your reputation. The people you hang out with will add value or break your good name. Also, if you spend time with people who gossip and tear others down, you are likely to catch it too.
So, identify ways to develop and maintain a professional image that is positive and genuine. Surround yourself with positive people who seek to grow and improve.
Looking back at your career, what has been most responsible for your success? Any lessons you would like to add to this graduation day handout?

Shamelle is a Guest Blogger for PickTheBrain and the founder of The Enhance Life, a blog offering real life wisdom, for modern life growth.

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One great question to ask if you’re interested in self-improvement is “Am I investing in myself?”  – particularly when you’re feeling stuck, or when your progress towards your goals hasn’t been so fast as you’d like.

So what does “investing in yourself” mean? This depends on what your goals are, but these are three big areas you might want to invest some time, money and thought in:
•    Your appearance
•    Your skills
•    Your health

All of these are important for success in many walks of life. Here’s why, and some ideas how you can invest in each.

Investing In Your Appearance

This might seem a very shallow thing to put at the top. Unfortunately, like it or not, we all tend to judge on appearances. In some jobs or roles, looking the part can make a real difference to how others perceive and treat you.

Just as importantly, your appearance can have huge effects on your self confidence. Have you ever been at an event where you misjudged the formality and ended up very under-dressed or over-dressed? I’ll bet you felt awkward and out of place. Conversely, you might well have taken extra care over your grooming before a big presentation, and felt more confident as a result.

Investing in your appearance might mean:
•    Saving up for a good suit
•    Getting up ten minutes earlier to have time to look your best for work
•    Asking a fashionable friend for advice on your usual “look”
•    Losing some weight (also important for health reasons)
•    Taking some time to revamp your wardrobe, ensuring you have clothes that mix and match well

If you feel that your appearance is the big area you need to invest in, Trent from The Simple Dollar has some strong advice (particularly if you’re in a fairly traditional job) in his article on The Value of Personal Appearance.

Investing in Your Skills

All of us have a certain skill set, often based on our jobs (current and past), our hobbies and our day-to-day experiences. Employers tend to be interested primarily in skills – what you can do. Some of these will be very specific to particular jobs (technical skills, such as being able to program a computer) and other skills are “transferable skills” that you can use in many careers as well as in day-to-day life (such as public speaking or presentational skills).

Clear five or ten uninterrupted minutes when you can sit down and list your skills. Put down little things as well as big ones – being able to bake the perfect cake is a skill!

What skills could you develop, with the investment of a little time or money? Could any of these form the basis of a new career, a side business, a fulfilling hobby, or something you could offer to your community?

Some ways to invest in your skills are:
•    Read a book that teaches you something new in a particular area
•    Attend a local course
•    Take part in an online course
•    Ask someone to mentor you
•    Schedule regular time to practise

Investing in Your Health

Too many of us are storing up health problems for later life – one that could cause financial problems or give us a huge reduction in quality of life. It’s much cheaper to focus on staying healthy than to take preventative action once something’s gone wrong. If you’re in good health, you’ll perform better at work, you’ll have more energy to work towards your goals, and you’ll generally feel happier!

Don’t just think about your physical health, either; mental health is just as important (and, indeed, your mental and physical health can’t be considered in complete isolation). By investing some time and money now, you could save yourself a huge amount of both in the future. Here are some ideas to get you started:
•    If you’re over or under weight, start taking action
•    Get some exercise each day – great for your body and mind
•    Take good care of your teeth (dental hygiene, and regular visits to your dentist) – tooth  pain can be crippling
•    If you work at a computer, learn about RSI and how to prevent it.
•    Eat a healthy, balanced diet, focusing on fruits, veggies, wholegrains and lean proteins.
•    Don’t smoke, take drugs, or drink excessive amounts of alcohol.

What areas could you invest in? Is it worth spending some money or some time now in order to improve your position in the future?

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An entrepreneur needs to be someone who can both visualize and actualize.  He needs to be able to visual something-and once that “something” is visualized, he needs to see exactly how to make it happen.

In order to make it happen, there are several steps that you as an entrepreneur must take on your way to entrepreneurial success.  Do not just enhance what is, but advance towards what will be: keep the long term in sight.

It is essential that you are able to marry your work and what you love.

When in sales, there is no right or wrong way to sell: all you need is passion and enthusiasm for your product. This passion will ignite the minds of your potential client, facilitating connections, and connections between will be made.  Your passion and enthusiasm for your product will be what encourages the sale-not the rote duplication of someone else’s selling system. What you do to sell and promote your business has to be a reflection of what you are already willing to stay up late for and get up early for.

It has to connect to your why and be a part of your own experience.

Second, you must start working your plan, whether you are ready nor not.

Know the four good things that you are about to do: first, that your business is going to be built on a great idea; second, that great idea is going to connect you to a market; third, that you will create a plan based on what you learn, on an ongoing basis, about that market; fourth, that you will adjust that plan over time.

After you have visualized your plan, find the right partner… and avoid the wrong one!  You will have a significant advantage over one-man businesses if you come together with another person regularly to make important decisions.  Find someone with whom you have good chemistry, someone who fills your blind spots. Successful partnerships are based on the idea of taking different perspectives in a discussion and having different talents.

Once the groundwork has been established, set priorities for the absolutely crucial first year.  Concentrate on why you are doing something-not how.  Your why will keep you closely connected to your company and your product.  As soon as you lose sight of why, you will also lose sight of your driving force and your motivation.

Through your first year and beyond, court clients-and keep them coming back! In order that you become a successful entrepreneur, it is essential that you are the person who is willing to pick up the phone and call people to talk about making deals and doing business. When you make this phone call, make sure you are absolutely certain about the product that you are selling.  With this certainty, you can use confidence to build up a network of contacts.  The network cannot be established overnight-it is going to take a lot of phone calls.  You cannot just wave your magic wand over a corporation and change them into a profitable client.

In order to keep your client base, you need a great team to work with.

Make sure that your company has shared values, that there are rewards for quality improvements, and that there are strong internal and external relationships. Empower the best, lose the rest!

Inevitably, there will be failure.  You must learn from failure: use it as a stepping-stone. Do not forget what mistakes you have made, but do not allow yourself to dwell on them.  Take from your failure: take the lesson learned-do not let it take anything from you: not your energy, not your time and not your space.

Finally, in order to keep your company going and keep your clients happy, maintain good relations with your vendors.  It is essential that you support the people who support you.  If you are making a big commitment to a client, make sure you have a solid relationship with your vendor.

In the end, take energy from taking risks.  Live in the spirit of the entrepreneur!

Thinking about becoming an Entrepreneur? Get Your Questions Answered!

Robert Tuchman is a Guest Blogger for PickTheBrain.com. He is an Executive Vice President at Premiere Global Sports and the author of Young Guns: The Fearless Entrepreneurs Guide To Chasing Your Dreams and Breaking Out On Your Own.

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