A few weeks ago I received an incredible “gift” via email from halfway around the world. Jeszlene Zhou of First Comms Job reached out to me to share some insights of my blog. Having followed Jeszlene and been inspired by great content and advice, I was very flattered that she would take the time out of her busy schedule to provide her take on my humble beginnings in blogging. So, without further ado, here’s Jeszlene…
Jeszlene Zhou of First Comms Job
I found ChadMillerBlog some time ago and I’ve the habit of revisiting blogs for bulk reading, instead of regular feeds. So instead of commenting on Chad’s individual posts, I thought why not write him a guest post?
Let’s start with Stop Using the Busy Excise, 7 Ways to be More Productive
I am almost always busy, because I love juggling a million pursuits in my life, as it makes me feel energetic and alive! However, as Chad pointed out, the key word is excuse. Why turn such a positive thing such as productive busy-ness into a negative concept?
Using Chad’s suggestions why not reorganize your thoughts and learn to say…
- I’m busy, therefore I need discipline to prioritize and say no to time-wasters.
- I’m busy, therefore I need proper rest to be extra productive during my working hours.
- I’m busy, there I need proper focus, in order to maximize my efforts.
I seriously believe that productivity and success is a matter of attitude and mindset, which is why I love this other post by Chad, 3 Steps to Change Your Attitude.
Like a business needs to revisit its strategic plan on a regular basis, people need to reflect on their lives and consider why they are unhappy instead of flinging negativity at innocent parties around them. As they say kindness begets kindness, I believe that positivity begets positivity. Maybe things aren’t going your way because your negativity has blocked off all possibilities. Maybe the waitress was mean to you because you were behaving like a grumpy ogre. Maybe your child didn’t dare to hug you because your brooding energy scared her off.
Sometimes you need some “me time” and time out from reality but sometimes you need to face reality and question why things are not going your way. I’m totally with Chad on “Don’t let the small stuff steal your joy. Someone always has it worse than you.” The next time when things aren’t going your way, why not take a deep breathe, focus on one thing that makes you smile, and turn that frown upside down instead?
Finally, it’s time to (kinda) disagree with Chad on 4 Simple Vocabulary Changes for Maximum Influence.
Keep asking, “why,” just don’t end it there. Like Chad mentioned, “why” on its own “carries a negative tone, and is snarky.” Perhaps “why do you think we should go in that direction,” or “list me some advantages of that proposed idea.” Nobody enjoys being cornered and questioned, yet people enjoy talking about ideas behind their decision making process. Keep asking why, because someone might eventually blow your mind with a perspective vastly different from your own. (Tweet that)
There are many lessons in life to learn, and everyone picks up different ideas of the “right” way from personal experiences. I enjoy reading ideas from others on self-improvement as continuous learning has become my way of life. Thanks Chad for sharing his experiences and lessons learnt, while keeping an open mind for debate and discussions.
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Jeszlene Zhou is a communication practitioner who runs First Comms Job, a blog that provides tips for landing your first communications job. She is also an advocate of living life to the fullest via heaps of positivity!
