Do you belong in NYC Take the test

Do you belong in NYC Take the test More than 80% of young people say they want to live in New York City, according to Time Out New York. I can understand that. I lived there for seven years. Of course, NYC is amazing. But I have also lived for about ten years each in Chicago, LA, and Boston. And now I live in Madison, WI. And I can tell you with certainty that anywhere you live requires you to give up some things. NYC has the most extreme benefits to it, but it also requires the most extreme concessions in order to get those benefits. This makes sense. Its how most of life is. So in order to understand how good a fit youd be in NYC, you dont need to look at the benefits â€" we all want the benefits of NYC. What you need to look at is what you give up. Here are three questions to ask yourself. You need to answer yes to at least two before you start researching movers in New York. 1. Are you a maximizer? Optimizers are people who are always looking for the best of everything. You know if you are this kind of person because you are never complacent. You are always trying to find if there is something better. It could be a someone who cuts bangs better, a better pickup basketball game, you keep trading up boyfriends, maximizers are always looking for something better, and they usually get greatness in their lives in many aspects. Non-maximizers can be satisfied with what they have. Each of us falls somewhere on this spectrum. New Yorkers skew heavily to strong maximizers. This is because you can find pretty much the best of everything in NYC. (Yes, maybe there are some things, like the best ski slope, that you cannot find there, but if thats what you want most, you probably shouldnt be in NYC.) I know you have heard that NYC is expensive. But you will never really know how insanely expensive it is until you live there.Its like having children. Everyone will tell you having kids is really, really hard. Harder than anything theyve ever done. And everyone will also say that after all those warnings, they still were not prepared for how hard it was when the baby came. This is what money is like in NYC â€" you absolutely cannot imagine how expensive it is there until you are there, living day to day. So New Yorkers constantly have to ask themselves: What am I paying so much for? What am I suffering so much for? Life in NYC is very hard (heres funny commentary on that), and if you go to any city in the US, there is a bond that ex-New Yorkers have because they know they each understand how hard life was. I say this to tell you that the only way to justify the cost and hardship of NYC is because youre an optimizer. You appreciate having access to the best of things. Not everything â€" you probably have a few things that are really important to you. And youre willing to trade off a lot of comforts to get it. 2. Do you want to be at the top of your field (or marry someone like that)? In many cases, people have to work in NYC in order to rise to the top in their field. (Or, they want to marry someone like this â€" NYC is a very competitive place to find a husband but only because women recognize that the pickings are superior: Maximizing knows no bounds.) Wanting to be at the top of your field is not for everyone. Business Week reports that eighty percent of generation Y thinks they are in the top ten percent of all workers. So a bunch of you are overestimating your capabilities, right? But the truth is that NYC is very, very competitive, because its a magnet for ambitious, strong performers, and if you are not in the top, you will probably not do very well there. So if you do not go to NYC thinking you will work your way to the top of your field, you probably dont need to be going there for your work. And, of course, you do not necessarily have to live in NYC to work in NYC, but in order to get a substantially lower cost of living, you would have to move pretty far from the city. This is why New York has the longest commute times of anywhere in the country. This is a fine line to walk, though, because long commutes do a lot of damage to ones ability to be happy. So you are probably better off paying to high price to live closer to work if you want to get to the top of your field. 3. Do you value an interesting life over happy life? New Yorkers are not known for being happy. In fact, they are known for being unhappy, and they dont care. On balance, New Yorkers understand that most people who are happy are complacent â€" they like the status quo. And people who like what they have do not do innovative things to change the world. They like the world just fine how it is. This is probably why 95% of New Yorkers voted democrat in the last presidential election. Republicans are typically happier with their lives than democrats. And most New Yorkers are maximizers, and maximizers are almost never happy. New Yorkers think an interesting life is more important than a happy life. What you really pay for with the exorbitant cost of living and the hard lifestyle is to be surrounded by strong performers, huge ambitions, and constant need for change and innovation. To live in New York City, you have to trade happiness for this. To most New Yorkers, its a no-brainer. They would take that trade any day. To most people outside of New York City the trade-off is crazy. Hat tip: Time Out New York

The Ultimate Productivity Hack - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Ultimate Productivity Hack - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This is something you do not want to hear. It’s the opposite of human nature. It is anti-happiness. The only thing good about it? It’s the truth about productivity. The ultimate productivity hack is sticking to a very boring routine. A life filled â€" at least for a short time â€" with almost no variety. No choices. No novelty. Happiness has been dissected by the experts. Novel, fun experiences create happiness. So the highest level of productivity comes down to eschewing anything that is new and exciting. The anti-happiness regimen is largely about removing any variety, any distraction and any fun for a period of time. That time is when you are able to fully engage in whatever your work or project demands. I can hear the life balance people moaning. Take heart. This is not a prescription for living your life. It is the prescription for getting something done rapidly, with the full force of your intelligence and imagination. How many times in your life do you need to be ultra productive? It depends on your life, your desired ultimate outcome and your ability to pledge allegiance to a burning desire. Without a burning desire, this won’t work. I just finished writing my third book. It took 32 edits. It isâ€" as each book has been â€" my life’s work for a period of time. It â€" like the other books â€" aren’t my whole story. I work. I teach. I coach. I speak. Oh yes, and I live. Bathe. Dress. Drive. Work. Teach. Coach. Speak. But mostly I WRITE. READ. EDIT. REVISE. And repeat. (You get the idea.) The secret of the ultimate productivity hack is to put everything possible on auto-pilot. At the simplest level, I start with what I eat. I make something I call my “writer’s mix.” It is turkey, Brussels sprouts, spinach, carrots, and a huge volume of turmeric and chile paste. I eat it three times a day. I start out with a huge stewing pot of this stuff. Then, for breakfast, lunch and dinner: I eat it. The goal is simple: no joy of eating. I start out hungry. I eat the mix. I am full. I do the same with every other task in my life, while I am writing and editing. I do my social media interactions every three hours. I pick up my email while I’m eating. I walk my dogs for an hour, during twilight so it’s cool enough for them and the right time to clear my head. I don’t hibernate nor am I rigid. I went to a wedding of a dear friend last Friday evening. I met another dear friend for lunch on Sunday afternoon. So, part of the routine is two times over a weekend, I have three hours with people I know well and adore. There’s a religious text with a passage about there being a time for everything. When you have a project that must be done and have a life that must be folded in around it: this is the time for being focused on your purpose. Promise yourself, you will be happy. Later. For now: set up the rules, routines, rituals and habits that protect you from distraction, confusion, choices and decision-making. The more boring your life is the better, when it comes to being super successful at getting something important done. Need some tips on setting up your routine? Email me at Nance@NanceRosen.com. Subject line: Productivity.

Personal Branding and the Email Signature Dilemma - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Personal Branding and the Email Signature Dilemma Your executive job search is underway, or about to be, and you’re working on your branded email signature. What’s the best way to design it â€" with graphics, logos, and other pretty visual effects or just text with no enhancements? Weve all received email messages with impressive signature sections at the bottom that were well-branded and attractively designed . . . with logos, graphics and hyperlinks functioning perfectly. On the other hand, weve all also received email signatures that didnt function properly or come through as intended. Images and logos were blocked, hyperlinks dissolved, text strings wrapped badly. The sender may have designed a great email signature, but you’re not seeing it. For your own email signature, youd naturally prefer the former. Okay. No problem designing a beautiful one enhanced with graphics. But you want to be assured that it will function perfectly for everyone receiving it. No such luck. Its not possible. Why not? This problem was deftly explained by Rex Weston in his recent blog post, Email Signature Design, Layout and Content: [An email signature] begins simply enough, the user composing a message using their email program (Outlook, iPhone, Gmail, etc.). The formatting of an email message, and signature, almost always starts out perfect. The next step though, is that it’s received by someone who: may be using a computer or may be using a phone; may receive email in Outlook, Gmail, iOS, Android, Yahoo, BlackBerry or something else; may have image blocking turned on (and if so, may or may not choose to display the images); may convert all received email into plain text. They then may reply or forward. In so doing, the settings and capabilities of whatever email program / device they are using apply to the whole message, not just to the new content they’ve added. The whole message includes the original email signature. Depending upon the combination of the above listed factors, the email signature may survive intact or may degrade (fail) in various ways.” So, how do you play it safe, and create a branded email signature that will function properly for every recipient? You settle for a stripped down, plain text version, with stacked content and include URLs instead of hyperlinks. But, you make sure to pack it with brand-reinforcing content that will impress without graphics and other visual effects. Here’s what a well-branded, text-based email signature for executive job search should include (not necessarily in this order): ?  Your Name (use whatever name, full name, or nickname you consistently use online) ?  Current job title and employer (if employed). If not, include the job title or job function you’re seeking, such as “Global Business Operations Leader” or “Senior Turnaround Management Executive” ?  Brief brand statement highlighting the unique value you offer (your branded, keyword-rich profile headline may work here) ?  Email address (use your personal email, not one associated with your current employer, unless you’re self-employed) ?  Phone (the best one to reach you don’t confuse by including more than one) ?  Your personal website name with URL (if you have one and it’s job search-focused) or webpage or web resume ?  One or two briefly-stated career distinctions (could include relevant certifications/credentials, a recent noteworthy publication (book, e-book, white paper, etc.), a link to a professional video of you [Social media include links to each of your accounts, if you’re active there. At the very least,  you should have a fully complete profile, to lead people to further information about your brand and value.] â€" your LI URL Twitter â€" your Twitter URL

Top 10 Ways to Cope with Job Transition - Sterling Career Concepts

Top 10 Ways to Cope with Job Transition Top 10 Ways to Cope with Job Transition Job transitions are almost always stressfulâ€"whether they’re due to layoff, a new job, or working extra hours because colleagues were laid off. If you’re facing one, consider the following: 1. Take an honest look at yourself. What are your strengths, weaknesses, skills? How did those influenceâ€"positively or negativelyâ€"your transition? 2. Step up your self-care. Major changes are physically and emotionally taxing. You need self-care now more than ever. 3. Engage your curiosity. What went wrong, or right? What could you have done better? What worked really well? 4. Focus on what you want, and less on what you don’t want. Keep your eye on the prize. 5. Find support. Since your transition affects your family as well, it may be better to seek the outside support of friends or professionals. 6. Work on your thoughts. Calm your fears and reinforce your sense of hope and happiness. 7. Reassure (or avoid) those who are threatened by, or jealous of, the change. 8. Create your own rite of passage. Ceremony and ritual help with all transitions. 9. Let go of how things were “supposed to be” and accept “how things are.” Find appreciation for what is. 10. Keep things in perspective. Or try on a new perspective. Don’t get stuck. Remember, the only constant is change. In my next post, I’ll dig a little deeper with you into point #9 â€" letting go and accepting how things are now, but for now, connect with me if you’d like some assistance working through a transition. There’s no reason to go it alone.

Protect Your Professional Reputation

Protect Your Professional Reputation Just recently one big pharmaceutical company was fined 1.2 billion dollars for failing to disclose possible serious side effects of one of their FDA-approved drugs. Some companies take these fines in stride as the cost of doing business. Other potential employers realize that there are risks of employing someone from a company who repeatedly breaks the law. Think hard about how one of these companies will look on your resume before you accept a job. Protect your professional reputation. You are a perceived liability to future employers when you work at a company with major infractions â€" so major that they are paying out big dollars in fines. If the company thinks it’s  okay to do business this way, then you as their employee may be perceived as someone who bends or breaks the law at work, when in reality you actually are a very ethical employee. But todays employers are not  only concerned with what you do on the job, they also want to ensure that their employees represent them well  outside of the workplace. While many people feel that their personal and professional lives should be separate, in todays social media-saturated world, what you do outside of work could also affect your chances of being hired for a new job. The recent rash of people faking their educational credentials on their resumes has employers doing full background checks, not just on educational credentials, but credit checks, Department of Motor Vehicles checks, drug screenings and anything else that can turn up infractions or crimes. Your best option if you have DUI’s on your record, or if you have served jail time, is to admit to it up front on a background check. You may still be able to work for the company that wishes to hire you, especially if you will not be driving or handling money or other valuables while on the job. However, the best way to protect your reputation is to not engage in any behavior that will disqualify you on a background check in the first place.

Download Genius Reviews to Find the Best

Download Genius Reviews to Find the BestIf you are looking for a download file of the best review site, then you may be wondering how you could access the most complete and reliable lists of these. There are a number of such sites that you can easily get your hands on. Just simply search on the Internet and get the best sites, you need to get the best results. These sites have great resources at their disposal and you will surely get the best for your download needs.The most important thing is that you should have a good understanding of where to get these files. If you only get the first link, then you may not have much of a choice. So if you go through the links carefully, you may actually save yourself a lot of time and trouble. You will find that in some cases, it may take up to three days for the download to be completed.So it is better to get the best for your download needs. Now the biggest question is how to get these sites. Simply all you need to do is just Google search in the topic and you will find hundreds of links.One of the advantages of using the Internet is that you can just get an unlimited amount of download files at one time. All you need to do is just log in to your favorite account. This will automatically download these. Now you can even get these even when you are offline.If you are unable to get your hands on the best, then you can still download from other websites. There are some sites that will give you one free of charge. This is very helpful because you will be able to get the best from them. In this way, you will not be worrying about the quality.Many of these sites offer free downloads. You may not need to pay anything, but you will have the best files available for your downloads. Sometimes, some sites have some rules in terms of offering free files. You need to keep on checking these and get the best.There are so many sites that you can get these downloads from, but you need to choose the best one. There are a lot of details in these reviews and you can find more information that will help you in choosing the best one. Once you get to know a few sites, you will definitely have the best ones to get your downloads.

CEO Pay Eddie Lampert, Richard Adkerson, Cheryl Swanson

CEO Pay Eddie Lampert, Richard Adkerson, Cheryl Swanson Skyrocketing CEO compensation is a huge and growing concern for investors â€" and no wonder. In 1965, the average CEO of publicly listed companies was paid 20 times more than the average worker. Last year, it was an incredible 303 times more. When executive compensation gets that extreme, it can take a bite out of company profitability. In fact, “compensation” doesn’t really capture the extent of the remuneration of some CEOs. There are stock grants and options, a standard form of compensation at most corporations, but one that boards often fling at top executives with reckless abandon. Perks are also many and lavish, including a company car, chauffeur, and unlimited personal use of the company’s corporate aircraft. Big pay also spells big controversy. Out-sized CEO compensation can make federal and state prosecutors take interest in a company, not to mention stockholder activists. It’s also often the case that big pay doesn’t equal big results, as is the case with the following examples from two of our Motley Fool contributors. But what if the company performs well under an exorbitantly paid CEO? The top executive’s take can still be so huge it threatens the future stock price. In fact, an analysis of mostly SP 1500 firms from 1994 through 2011 found a negative correlation between CEO compensation and the company’s one- and three-year share-price performance, according to the American Association of Individual Investors. Here are three CEOs our contributors believe are among the most rapacious pillagers of shareholder property. Sean Williams: How bad have things been for the CEO of Sears Holdings SHLD 0% Eddie Lampert? So bad that even a $1 salary seems excessive in my eyes. OK, so maybe I’m being a bit facetious, but the billionaire investor-turned-CEO of Sears has done a monstrously bad job of running the retailer since taking the helm in January 2013, with shares losing 30% of their value over that time. Despite taking just a $1 annual salary, Lampert was awarded a little over $4.3 million in stock in 2013 for his work as CEO, and he tacked on another $5.7 million in stock last year as a reward for seeing Sears’ stock drop another 11%. You could make the argument that paying Lampert in stock ties his interest in with shareholders (and he has been actively buying shares of stock), but the fact that a billionaire investor is being rewarded at all in stock that could dilute existing investors is beyond preposterous. Not to mention he’s getting what are essentially “bonuses” while Sears’ stock is falling. Also, Sears itself is far from healthy. It continues to skate by after reorganizing its crippling debt, revenue has shrunk every year since 2007 â€" its trailing 12-month total of $27.4 billion is down nearly 50% from the $53 billion it generated in 2007 â€" and the company hasn’t generated positive free cash flow on an annual basis since 2010. Put frankly, Lampert hasn’t been a very compelling CEO, and his ultra-low Glassdoor approval rating of 20% speaks to that point. It would appear that anything above and beyond $1 per year seems like a bad deal for shareholders. Cheryl Swanson: John Hammergren, the CEO of healthcare giant McKesson Corporation MCKESSON CORPORATION MCK -0.59% , saw his salary fall by almost half last fiscal year. Let’s not pass the hat for Hammergren just yet, though. The CEO still took home $25.9 million in salary and stock options, not to mention his reportedly record-setting pension, which was slated to total $159 million, before investors protested. After 78% of shareholders voted against the plan, the company agreed to reduce the pension to $114 million. In my book, that’s downright outrageous for a company where front-line employees’ pension plans were canceled in 1997. While McKesson has grown substantially under his tenure, Hammergren has had multiple confrontations with shareholders angry about his compensation package. One key sticking point is the size of Hammergren’s so-called “golden parachute” â€" those severance packages that ensure no CEO leaves the game without his or her booty wagon loaded, no matter how he or she performs. According to the 2015 proxy statement, McKesson will pay Hammergren $141.7 million in unearned compensation in the event of his termination. When you add that to more than $161 million in severance pay he already has forthcoming, Hammergren’s farewell package totals an incredible $300 million. As one wag said, golden parachutes are lead balloons for investors. While walking away from McKesson would clearly be a win for Hammergren, it’s a losing proposition for shareholders. I’m all for reasonable compensation, but this kind of lavish retirement package doesn’t lead to an alignment of CEO and shareholder interests. Selena Maranjian: It’s easy to get outraged at the thought of CEOs who earn many millions of dollars per year. After all, the system is rather rigged, with, as Warren Buffett has noted, compensation committees often featuring “tail-wagging puppy dogs meekly following recommendations by consultants, a breed not known for allegiance to the faceless shareholders who pay their fees.” One CEO who doesn’t appear to be earning his generous pay is Richard Adkerson of Freeport-McMoRan Copper Gold FREEPORT-MCMORAN INC. FCX -0.15% . Earlier this year, the As You Sow organization released a list of the 100 most overpaid CEOs among the 500 companies in the SP 500 (according to 2013 compensation), and Adkerson was ranked No. 3. His total disclosed compensation was $55.3 million, almost $44 million of which was calculated to be “excess pay,” considering the rather poor performance of the company over the previous five years. Freeport’s stock is down nearly 60% over the past year and has dropped by an annual average of 21% over the past five years. In its last quarter, revenue plunged 35% year over year. Freeport has been struggling in recent years, challenged, in part, by falling prices for oil and copper. In 2013, the company bought two other companies, McMoRan Exploration Co. and Plains Exploration, for a whopping $20 billion, once you take assumed debt into account. Shareholders found this an excessive price and sued, with the company settling by paying $137.5 million. As You Sow is not alone in viewing Adkerson’s pay as excessive. A shareholder lawsuit was initiated against the company, protesting a $35 million stock grant awarded to him. The massive award has been rationalized by some as a bargain, considering that should Adkerson leave the company, it will cost the company far more than that, because of excessive severance arrangements. Shareholders in this company are over a barrel. More From The Motley Fool: Warren Buffett Admits This Is A “Real Threat” Tiny Company Powering Apple’s Biggest Hits 3 Companies Running Big Cable Out Of Business