How You Can Be a Leader and Break Away From Mediocrity

What makes someone stand out as a leader? Is it their ability to excel under pressure? Do they possess the charm that is needed when you are one on one with clients? Those who find themselves in leadership positions tend to be anything but mediocre. They often have those specific attributes about them that help them to stand apart from their other colleagues. So if you are looking to get into a leadership position how do you make yourself stand out from being what others might consider mediocre

Have the Mentality of a Hero

For a leader to demonstrate excellence, they must think and act as their heroes. Successful leaders have a unique way of doing things. They all have a philosophy that governs them. While it is hard to keep off from all distractions, it is a brilliant way to achieve one’s dreams.

Leaders Should Avoid Being Money Minded

To break from mediocrity, a leader should not prioritize money. Arguably, numerous individuals earn high salaries at their tender ages, yet they are not happy with their lives. One should concentrate on finding and pursuing their passion. Doing what one loves provides a way for money to flow.

A Leader Should Shun Fear

Many business leaders suffer from a fear of failure. Some even lack the confidence to believe that they can register achievements. What they fail to understand is that failure presents a second chance to try once more. History has countless successful individuals that started with a series of disappointments. Accepting disappointments and learning from them provides a way to find leadership success.

A Leader Should Learn to Avoid Unhealthy Relationships.

A wise leader should choose friends that motivate them in actualizing their dreams. Any group of friends that do not add value contributes to making one less productive. Practically, a leader is a product of whatever company they keep.

Leaders Should Discourage Themselves From Being Content

While it is usual to get content, this mindset is one of the chief contributors to laxity, making one stagnate and fail to achieve more. Factors such as vacations, salaries, and an excellent working environment are among those that can make one content.

Breaking out of mediocrity is an excellent starting point for becoming successful. Every leader should aspire to achieve more and work towards attaining those dreams. They should embrace every opportunity that can make them better in their professions.

 

The Top Careers For Women in 2020

Women have made huge strides in breaking the glass ceiling that kept them in a permanent second-tier workplace for hundreds of years. Since the fight for gender equality began in earnest in the early 20th century, pioneering and brave women have muscled their way into leadership positions at the top of several industries.

 

Now, in 2020, women dominate several professions. These are some of them.

 

Early Education

 

While underpaid for the value they produce, teachers are nonetheless a highly respected class of workers. While there are limitations in terms of salary (a conversation for another day), these positions make up for substantial government benefits and stability.

 

The good news is that teachers’ demand will continue to grow as school districts attempt to whittle down the student-to-teacher ratios in their classrooms and populations grow. For example, preschool teacher demand is expected to increase by as much as 7% in the next ten years – amounting to thousands of new positions throughout the US.

 

Speech-Language Pathologists

 

As the scientific understanding behind autism and other conditions affecting child development and adults is improved through research, the demand for specialists who know how to approach these special-needs cases has increased.

 

Careers available to certified speech-language pathologists with a master’s degree vary dramatically, from working in a classroom setting to helping the elderly with cognitive decline issues such as Alzheimer’s.

 

The demand for these speech-language pathologist professionals may climb by nearly 30% in the coming decade.

 

Chief Executive Officers

 

With CEOs at the helm, the top tier of business leadership has traditionally been dominated by males. However, that has started to change as corporations have realized the benefits of bringing a fresh perspective that a woman leader offers.

 

Despite the horrific consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the exemplary leadership of women in positions of authority (in government) around the globe has done a great deal to sway public opinion in favor of female leadership – both political and economic.

 

The reshaping of the global economy currently underway, while presenting severe challenges, will also likely open the door further for women to break into new career paths previously off-limits.

Aspiring to Grow as a Leader

Growing as a leader calls for sacrifice. You have to give up old ways and be willing to learn new and better ways of doing things. It means admitting you do not know everything and willing to learn even from the people you lead. Leaders at every level should desire for opportunities for growth.

Are you a leader yearning for growth? Here are some valuable insights to guide you.

Listen to feedback. A leader should enable a conducive environment that encourages the sharing of feedback. As a leader, do not mistake feedback for criticism. Sincere feedback provides a leader with valuable information that leads to better decision making.

Cultivate a cocktail of skills. Leaders cannot be one-dimensional. Best leaders have multiple skills. Also, they are always upgrading their existing competencies. Comfort-zone is never their thing.

Find what motivates you. People are motivated by many things. It could be internal or external. As a leader, identify with what motivates you. Self-motivation provides the daily drive that keeps you going even when you face setbacks.

Learn from your past. People say experience is the best teacher. The mindset of good leadership is to view every experience as an opportunity to learn. To grow as a leader, you must take lessons from previous experiences and apply them in current situations.

Let the sky be the limit. To grow as a leader, do not settle for mediocrity. Stretch your limits. Hold yourself accountable to nothing short of excellence. Constantly exceed expectations.

Do not shy from asking questions. Seek clarity when things are not clear. Leaders are not all-knowing. Growth involves asking the right questions to make informed decisions.

Accept failure as part of leadership. Man is to error, and so are leaders. Growing as a leader entails holding yourself accountable for your failures. However, this does not mean failures should hold you back. Learn from them and respond appropriately.

Listen to those above you. To grow, embrace mentorship from people with more experience. They could be internal or external. The more you walk with those with experience, the more the leadership shoes will grow into you.

Growth as a leader is a personal challenge. It calls for a lot of self-motivation. However, the tips highlighted above can go a long way into helping you grow to become a great leader. Put them into practice. If you fail, dust yourself up and try again until you become what you aspire to be.

Does Your Astrological Sign Actually Mean That?

The year 2020 has meant that many things are coming and going out of trends. A big one that seems to have made a comeback are astrological signs. Now depending on whether you go off the old chart with the original twelve symbols or you have crossed over to now recognizing the 13th Sign, many can often wonder, how true does your astrological Sign fit to you and your personality? 

 

The Original Signs 

 

The original signs comprised of: 

 

Capricorn 

Aquarius 

Pisces 

Aries 

Taurus 

Gemini 

Cancer 

Leo 

Virgo 

Libra 

Scorpio 

Sagitarus 

 

All have their traits and personalities. The “newest” signs of Ophiucus (Oh-Fee-U-cus) and Cetus (See-tus) were never actually viewed as part of the astrological calendar due to the Babylonian followed a 12-month calendar and assigned the 12 constellations of zodiac signs. The constellation of Ophiucus is from December 6th to December 31st, while Cetus is from May 12th to June 6th. However, don’t go into a panic, thinking your zodiac is wholly messed up now. Many still follow the standard “old” zodiac chart. 

 

Personalities

 

 Many firmly believe that their zodiac sign plays a huge role in what makes up their personalities. 

 

Sun Sign

 

Your sun sign dictates your personality.

 

Moon Sign 

 

It is believed that your moon sign plays a part in determining your emotions and how you handle things in everyday life. 

 

Ascendant Sign (rising Sign) 

 

Your ascendant sign helps to determine your social personality. This Sign was on the eastern horizon at the date and time that you were born. It also represents your outward style and appearance. 

 

All of these signs combined are supposed to create you as a whole, but do they? A lot of the time, horoscopes and zodiac profiles are made up of entirely vague paragraphs that you may or may not relate to. Whether you believe them or not is entirely up to you. However, this year alone, many have been flocking to see their astrology makeup and determine if that is true to their personalities. 

 

In an article written on The Guardian, writer Jessa Crispin explains how we are living through an astrological boom, where many books are coming out regarding the subject, the craze of celebrity astrologers, and the numerous astrology apps that have come out, and ever major fashion organization has taken to writing a regular horoscope column in their magazines. You can’t even go on social media without feeling attacked by dozens of astrology pages and memes. Whether astrology holds will continue to be a widely debated topic for as long as we still talk about it. 

 

Outfits to Rule the Boardroom

So you have graduated from college and you are getting ready for your first job in the corporate world. Congratulations first off! But now you need to know what you should wear to make you look like the fierce businesswoman that you are set on being. What can you wear that still reflects your personality but is proper for a business board room? Take a look at these fashion tips that will not only make you look smart but give you the confidence to rule the boardroom or rock an interview. 

 

Boardroom Formal 

 

If you are just getting out of the world of college and stepping into the world of professionalism you are going to hear the words boardroom formal quite a bit. Be aware of the dress code especially if you are still going out on interviews. If they don’t mention it in the interview email don’t be afraid to ask what the attire is for the interview. Most professional offices the dress code is formal or business professional. Most times this means a blazer, dress slacks, or a dressier skirt, and a blouse is appropriate for this case. Make sure when you are going for an interview you look clean and polished to promote a professionalism vibe. Your outfit can convey a lot about you, and having that perfect matching pantsuit can often make the hiring professional view you as detail-oriented and organized. 

 

Dress for the job you want 

 

Dressing for the job you want is probably the most heard phrase when job hunting. If you are in a job where they let you have a bit of free-range with the fashion, it is ok to still have the mentality of, yeah I am in this job and I can wear what I want, but I am still going to put together a look that makes me look a little bit better than the person next to me. This may show those above you that you put effort into yourself and how you present yourself. When you dress well it shows that you want to make a positive impression on those that are around you. 

 

Say the CEO of your company comes into your office once a week, they see you in passing, maybe it’s in the elevator or potentially in the break room, but they see you and without knowing you they are able to gain an impression of you just by the way you dress. 

 

But my office allows us to wear jeans? 

 

If your office allows you to wear jeans you can still dress them up or give the jeans look an added flair. Try adding colored denim to your wardrobe, this will allow you to still be able to wear your jeans but have some added style to them. If colored jeans are not your forte try a more high waisted fit with a white button-down top slightly tucked into the front. This is a classic look that you can’t go wrong with but with the right accessories, you can easily dress this lookup and give it more appeal. 

 

If you are allowed to have fun with your outfits, if you have an office with a more lax dress code this can easily give you tons of room to play and experiment with your style. Try new things but remember to keep them in a professional range. While they may say they have a lax dress code there is still a dress code.

  

Understanding the Latest Passport Changes

Passports are a requirement for international and domestic travel. Increased threshold of threats to security, especially terrorism, are prompting most countries across the globe to revolutionize their passport regulations and requirements. The US and other European countries have been on the forefront as far as the introduction of the new passport changes and requirements are concerned. Here is an overview of what has changed or is expected to change in the near future regarding how you apply and use your passport.

 

  1. Passport Makeovers

 

To enhance the speed of processing of passengers in airports, passports are being incorporated with microchips designed to hold passengers’ data. The machine-readable microchip will make it possible for instant changes to be affected across all airports and countries. For instance, the microchip can be instantly updated across all airports, thereby affecting travel restrictions more effectively at the touch of a button.

 

  1. Improved Security Features

 

To make passports more tamper-proof, new security features are expected to be incorporated in order to decrease the prospects of criminals defrauding customs agencies and personnel. The data chip will be virtually impossible to replicate, thereby eliminating prospects of forgery and other forms of malicious tampering.

 

  1. Strict Application Rules

 

In order to curb the increased threat to national security, governments, led by the United States, have revised rules and regulations for applying for passports. For instance, if a passport photograph does not meet a certain requirement of clarity and size, the application will be turned down. Other aspects include the restriction on the use of eyeglasses on passport photographs and the requirement to produce proof of US citizenship, including birth certificates among other requirements which make the application process watertight.

 

  1. Passport Renewal Regulations

 

Governments across the globe have enforced a 6-month validity rule requiring all passport holders to have their passports’ expiry date not less than 6 months from the time of entry to a country. This implies that you will have to renew your passport way in advance before the 6 months travel restriction period. Individuals having passports expiring within 6 months will be denied entry. The entire passport renewal process has been made much simpler in most countries as one can renew online at the click of a button.

Themed Hotels Are Gaining Popularity

When going on vacation, you plan the activities around yourself or your family. If you have children, you include fun things to do, such as theme parks or beaches. For adults, you would go to the regions known for its wine, beer or cuisine, aside from the scenery. In the past ten years, there have been vacations designed around a theme, and hotels have not only have taken part in these themes, but some have their own individual theme. Why would a hotel create its own theme? There have always been themed hotel rooms (e.g. the Honeymoon Suite), but aside from theme-park resorts, themed hotels have been few until recently. What sparked my curiosity is the number of themes. And each state has its own claim to themed hotels, from ones that are underwater to the ones in trees.

The popularity of themed hotels began in the past decade, with the increase of boutique hotels. More than receiving customer feedback that guests would like more fitness equipment in the hotel gym or even creating a hotel gym, these hotels decided to make themselves stand apart from their competition (e.g. hotel chains) and create their own guest experience. There are many hotels themes that are based off of pop culture (including movies and TV shows), such as The Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, where everything is clowns. This will create smiles or cringes, since clowns have been made to be evil in some movies (e.g. It). Another theme is animals. The Dog Bark Park Inn is built to look like a huge dog. Located in Cottonwood, Indiana, the beagle-shaped hotel offers a low-tech stay with old-fashioned games instead of the latest TV in rooms. And there are themes based on nostalgia. The Legoland Hotel offers nostalgia for parents (LEGO is 86 years old) and plenty of fun for kids. The brightly-colored hotel located in Winter Haven, Florida, is an alternative to the beach hotels. It not only has themed rooms, but the entire resort is one big LEGO set.

Staying a themed hotel is not cheap, though. You can expect to pay hundreds of dollars a night. However, the experience is worth it, especially if it’s on a person’s bucket list. These hotels make every stay memorable without the guests paying for the activities in the town they are located in. They are easy to find since people post their experiences, which the hotel owners encourage since it’s free publicity. The number of themed hotels increases each year, and you can count on unique themes.