5 tips for making it in a corporate environment

I have worked in a big company for about a few months now. Things have gone well. I haven't "made" it yet but I am trying my hardest.Here are 5 things that I've learned that have helped me stake my claim and not become another number.1. Be outspoken - not loudThis is extremely important when you are trying to make a name for yourself. If you are subordinate at every turn you become a lacky, a number, a worker. Workers work hard, leaders work smart. Leaders also get ahead.2. Dress like you - for successDress code is something that I have struggled with immensely at my "corporate" job. I like to be individual, I like to stand out. Heck, I studies at Rhodes University where everyone is unique, just like everyone else. Doing this in a corporate environment takes effort. Don't think that its irrelevant because it isn't.I shaved my head today and have already received 10 comments from people telling me how neat I look. I got contact lenses and a fair number of people commented. That means they notice me. That's a good thing.3. Do what you doMany people have succeeded in a corporate environment by doing anything and everything. I personally think this works for a small niche of people. For most of us I think it is important to get in to a space where you are able to do what you are great at. Being good at something is wonderful but it wont set you apart. You need to be great and be noticed.4. Challenge the old way of thinkingMake sure that you know what you are doing because this one could get you fired. Challenging your seniors is generally not a great idea, unless you can certifiably guarantee that what you suggest will work. If it works you look like a gunner but if it doesn't you're going down because you pissed off your boss and failed.5. Play the man, not the ballThis one is particularly interesting and certainly the most challenging of all. Make friends, make alliances and make adversaries. They are all necessary in the bureaucratic world of business. Whether you are a tea lady or a journalist or a stock broker, you need people to back you up.Pick someone close to your age (give or take 10 years) who is fairly weighty in the company and make sure that they like you, they buy in to your ideas and they give you credit for those ideas.A friend in a corporate environment is an imperative career booster. Pick wisely and play the game carefully. Not everyone can be used as a bargaining tool, some friends are just friends and they are even more important.image: varshesh

Competitive and cooperative success

There is a massive difference in the world we live in today and the world others experienced in the past. There is a massive difference between the emerging market of Africa and that of Asia in the past.The difference of the latter is simple and was explained to me in a presentation today; Asia has a competitive market while here we are still trying to be "brother" and "sisters". I firmly agree with this thought and it applies to almost everything in life.A few quick examples that I can think of:Sport: Imagine if the worst rugby players were put in the same team as the best rugby players (your team) and you were asked to win a tournament. You wouldn't want to compete at your best because you would know that it wouldn't be fair and equal on the field.School: If you were in a mathematics class that consisted of every level of mathematics student and you were the brightest, you would be bored. You would not be driven to beat the guy next to you because he would not be able to achieve your marks on his best day. No push.Now to business and the current state of affairs. Imagine if management was filled with incompetant people. You, working under management (the idiots) would not be driven to compete, you would not be pushed to do better, your spark would be trampled by ignorance. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Investec, RMB, you name them (the top ones) and they all hire the best. The best managers, the best ganitors, the best secretaries, the best of everything.It is in an environment such as the ones above where skills thrive, where ambition, competancy and responsibility are rewarded. This is where good people become great people and great people become better.I think that cooperative success is very, very viable in some circumstances. I work in a room filled with 60 people cooperating together toward a single goal; the weekly publication. This could not be done unless everyone knew thier place and was working cooperatively together. These people are the best at what they do, no doubt, and they are working together, not apart, to succeed.Competitive success works wonders too and is present in the entrepreneurial world as well as the world of the Gates' and Jobs' of the world. This competitive edge, the need to beat someone else has made these two men the best in the world at what they do.It is very much a matter of personal context where an individual decides what role they want to take and what role they are willing to accept. I was a cutthroat entrepreneur willing to do everything myself to get ahead. Now I still have those traits but have chosen to dull them down and use others to make my current situation work the best it can for me.Cooperative, competitive or both?

The Secret To Everything - I Promise

The Law of Attraction. That is it. Right there. The end, the beggining, the solution and the secret.You think I'm talking rubbish don't you? Well I'm not. I promise. I am talking about attracting the things that you want, in to your life. Don't get me wrong, I am no genius, no expert and no kind of Secret guru at all. I am simply someone who lives his life doing positive things and reaping the benefit. In fact, as of late, I am a person who has seen a light of sorts.This light came in the form of a movie/documentary (movie-mentary) that I watched recently: The Secret.The Secret is a movie-mentary that explains The Secret. To what I hear you ask? To everything. The secret to wealth, happiness, health, success and anything else that you want. The Secret is simple, the implementation of The Secret however is a whole other ball game.The movie-mentary explains that the law of attraction is an integral part of every persons life. If you are constantly talking about and fussing over debt then that is precisely what you attract to yourself. Even if you are talking about getting out of debt you are still telling the Universe that you are in debt and that is what you are focusing on. Focus instead, as an example, on telling yourself that you are wealthy, you are happy, you are safe, secure and going to earn R50 000 this month. This is then what you will attract to yourself.If you are constantly berating your life and the Universe's effect thereon then this is what will happen in return. The movie-mentary talks of the genie in the bottle and the 3 wishes that are presented when the lamp is rubbed. Apparently this is not a myth of any sort, this is a belief system that people have believed in forever. In place of the genie read "Universe" in place of Aladin read "Your Name". Then try this: When you fuss over debt and focus all your energy on that the Universe (Genie) answers: "Your wish is my command". Thus in this way you are wishing yourself debt.This is where the difficult part comes in. Everyone knows that if you are constantly negative, positive things can't happen to you. Have you tried to think 100% positively lately? It's tough. This is the art to mastering the secret.I am not claiming that if you sit on your butt 24/7 and wish for riches, the love of your life and a Ferrari that they will magically appear. This is not true at all in my opinion. I do believe that if you positively live your life with correlating positive thought and visualisation that you will come out on top in a very large way.It's not easy to change the way you live and think and talk, but it is necessary. Write down your goals, realistic or pipe dreams and do as much as you can to progress towards these goals. Whether what you do is conscious or subconscious you will still be conditioning yourself to achieve that greatness that you are owed. The trick is to believe that you are owed greatness.

The Honest Post

The honest postThis is going to be the most honest thing that I have written in years. I am going to make this simple, and let it be known that life happens to people while they’re living.I am scared that the love that I have will leave me. I am scared that I will die. I am not scared of death. I am scared of what I will never experience because of death. I don’t think I will live to old age, I don’t think that I will die young. I know that there are some things that I will never get the chance to do, never get to feel, live or experience and that scares me. I am scared of failure. I think that everyone is. I am scared of success. I think everyone is.I am in love, but scared to love. I am in lust but scared to touch. I am a success but scared to be successful and living while scared to feel. I am brave but a coward and weak while trying to be strong. I am none of the things that I say I am and everything at the same time.I’m not sure why I am writing all of this but to be honest I think that we all feel like we are alone, but we are not. I know that I am loved and in love, I know that I have friends and I make sure that my friends know they have me. I am trying to get better at telling the people I love that I do love them and telling the people I hate that I don’t.

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