Steps to Enter Your Inner Career Game

How often have you heard that defining your career is an inside job? If so, or even if you have not, ask yourself these questions:

• Are you now looking for work out of desperation?
• Are you more concerned about getting the job just because you have the skills or because the job appeals to you?
• Are you applying for everything and anything you can put your hands on that you think you may qualify for out of "guilt."?
• Are you doing everything that the career gurus say to do (at least the ones you find for free on the internet) to find a job, but feel deep inside that there is something still missing?
• Did you take their advice, get the job, and once you got there ended up wanting to leave after the first week, month... you get the picture.

If you are buying into the song and dance that "the economy" has something to do with why you may still find pieces missing in the work you are doing, no worries. There is no mistake that you are reading this now.
This is not an article about how to find your spiritual path. However, this is an article that will not sugar coat the fact that finding your true career direction - the one that represents who you are as a person and will make you happy, requires going inside for the answers first. By that I mean allowing yourself to dream the big dream and connect with the part of you that wants to have it all... and defines precisely what that is.
So you may ask yourself (or me), "yes, but what does this have to do with reality." My answer? Everything. Here's why: If we are perpetually using the "economy" or some other reason why we are not finding career passion or finding a job at all and blaming others - our boss, our co-workers, our spouses, significant others, etc., too old, not enough education, yes but... , guess what happens? Correct - we go back to square one. By defining our dream work from an inner perspective, we are literally creating enormous possibilities that would never have materialized had we not.
Make that shift to knowing our career passions with no doubts and doors begin to open and opportunities abound.
However, I must confess that not everyone is ready in his or her life cycle to make this shift. It can bring up a host of feelings such as regret, guilt, resistance and even anger at even having to look within for the answers. Some even give up and go back to the same old same old. My question to you is, are you ready?
My friend, Michael, is a great example. I love him dearly. Yet, he is struggling with returning to a job in the career he is "comfortable" with and, leaving the exact job that has created more grief and disharmony than anyone should have to deal with in a lifetime. If he returns to this career, he can be assured of experiencing the same challenges and perhaps reaching a breaking point that could have physical repercussions. We are now working together on a way for him to take the time to do the inner work that will allow joy to come back into his life by creating opportunities for him to do what he is truly meant to do. It is not surprising that he has Career ADD. How much he is willing to accept, let go and redefine is up to him.
Here are a few examples of steps you can take to get the inner ball rolling:

• Relax and decide that you are going to take the time to discover now what you have spent perhaps a lifetime eluding - Career Happiness.
• Make a list of EVERYTHING in your past jobs that you did not like or that you were resistant to.
• Include in this list every task, skill, type of people or specific people and why you think you did not resonate with them, working environment (down to the type of chair you sat in), product you were selling or involved with through your work, industry you were in, etc. that made you feel bad.
• Now take that list and decide what the opposite of each item is for you - in other words what is your PREFERENCE to what you have listed (not necessarily the literal opposite.) You must be completely honest or this will not work.

Congratulations! You have begun your inner journey to career happiness. This will be vital information to use in developing a career direction. Explore more blog posts on this site for inspiration or contact me directly at to schedule your complimentary session and let's explore your inner game.
To your joyful livelihood.

Shell Mendelson, MS, is a Career Counselor and ADD/ADHD Career Coach. Shell was mentored and trained directly by Richard Bolles, Master Career Counselor and author of What Color Is Your Parachute and has been listed as a resource for the past 20 years in the annual Parachute edition. Shell has helped hundreds of clients manage their Career ADD and find a career direction that fits them like a glove. She is recognized as a Career ADD Expert. Her mission and purpose is to guide her clients to joyful livelihood, which helps manage symptoms and impacts all aspects of life far beyond career.

Book Review - 'What You're Really Meant To Do'

The book - 'What You're Really Meant To Do - A Road Map For Reaching Your Unique Potential' written by Robert Steven Kaplan is simply great because it is simple to read & absorb without any complex models.

The book is conceptually divided into three parts.

The first part of the book is about 'Know Thyself First'. It provides the tools & tips to understand your own strengths & talents better by analyzing your own life and aspirations. Robert Kaplan doesn't go into any complex psychological models. The book suggests writing your own life story and doing personal introspection where you can find all the answers.

The second part is about 'Connecting with the Right Opportunities'. It is about how to align what you learn about yourself in order to carve out a path in alignment with your own best strengths for a fulfilling life.

The last third part is about 'Going the Extra Mile' in order to achieve the excellence in what you do - The Good versus Great.

It is probably a common knowledge that all these concepts in one way or the other have been written extensively in hundreds of books. Most of the things may not be new for those who have read many other good self help and inspirational books. But what matters is how well it is written, which appeals to your heart, mind & soul.

The simplicity of this book in narrating as well as unfolding the complex life's knots is done in a superb way.

I always feel that these books do play a great role in reinforcing and helping you to take a pause and re-inspect your life - where you are, who you are and where you want to reach or have already reached.

I do believe that no book on earth can actually change the things for you. It is only 'Us' who can change things for us or we may even choose to remain the same even after reading number of such books. There is a famous saying that 'you can take the horse to the pond, but you cannot force him to drink water'.

So these books also play the same role. They take us to that pond of knowledge and understanding, but it is up to us to apply it if we really want it for us.

The book is an interesting read and has a very simple flow with very simple real life stories to narrate. 200 + pages book goes straight to your heart and stays there for quite sometime. I guess I finished this book in almost in a continuous flow and didn't want to put it down.



The learning out of it is very straight forward, meaningful and useful. But it will matter how much you take care to apply the suggested tips & tools in your personal & professional life.

From time to time, I like to take stock of my life's direction and always want to take some corrective measures if I feel I don't connect well with what I do. So it has been a good useful book for me, and I really treasure its learning and hope it should do the same for all others who read it too.

About The Author

I have been with corporate sector for more than 20 years now. I have served in Banking, Quality, Process Management, HR, IT, Marketing, Advertising, PR and CRM. I have obtained diverse exposure mostly in Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Egypt) and now in Lahore, Pakistan.

Besides, I love the concept & model of E-Business and I believe it has lots of potential for individuals, Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as large corporate sector to take full benefit from.

How to Become A Paid Book Reviewer

A Paid Book Reviewer is a great way for a avid reader to make a little extra money from their hobby. While a beginner book reviewer usually starts by writing for themselves or for a free publication, some Paid book reviewers can make $150 to a $1000 a book review. Learn how to become a Paid Book Reviewer.
Instructions
1
Get some experience writing book reviews. The fastest way to get experience and earn a little extra cash is to write reviews on books you have read in a chosen niche and write reviews on a free blog. You can earn money by becoming an affiliate to a website such as Amazon, that sells the book titles you are writing a review on. Keep a blog for each type of book you review. For example if you read horror, romance, and books about parenting you will want to keep a blog for each subject.
2
In order to get the attention of prestigious magazines, newspapers, or website you may want to publish a few book reviews through local magazines and newspapers. Most of the time the only compensation you will earn is the cost of the book if that but you will gain valuable experience.
3
Now that you have the experience you need to become a Paid Book Reviewer research publications that use book reviews in your subject area. Read up on their guidelines given and be sure to follow them to a tee. Sometimes you can research forums and look for other writers who publish in specific publications to get hints on what the editors are looking for.
4
The best place to start your road to become a book reviewer is to contact editors of magazines or websites you already read that reviews books. Or better yet find a venue that you already read that does not publish such content (but it would go good with content) and offer to start one. There are to many to name, but if you start out with venues that you already know you are more likely to know what they are looking for.

How to Write a Professional Book Review

Are you an avid reader and a decent writer? Maybe you should look into writing book reviews. There are many publications that pay for freelance book reviews. You might be able to make some extra cash.

Instructions
1
Read book reviews in major publications. You need to get a feel for how the professionals do it.
2
Research publications that hire freelancers. Read the reviews they have published. Check the guidelines for specific requirements. Some publications want everything squeezed into 300 words or less. Others like long, detailed reviews.
3
Pick a book. It's best not to choose a bestselling or well known author; those are over reviewed and major publications probably already have copies to review and someone on staff to do it. Try picking a book from a little known or new author.
4
Take notes. While reading the book, take notes about style, character development, anything that really appeals to you or stands out--both positive and negative. If it is your book, go ahead and write in it. If it's not your book or you hate defiling sacred texts (even if it is just a plain old everyday paperback), grab some sticky notes to save the pages. Maybe try those little arrow sticky tabs to point to the area of text that stood out.
5
Write a practice review. Don't use first person. The review is not about you, it's about the book and the author. Some informal reviews use first person; professional reviews, however, are all about the book. Major publications and readers have no idea who you are, and they don't care.
6
Put the facts first. Pretty much every publication puts all the info about the book at the top: title, author name, publisher, date released, price. Some include number of pages, type of book and genre of the book, such as fiction or non-fiction mystery, self help, paranormal romance and so on.
7
Make it interesting. Open with something that grabs the reader's attention, like a good quote from the book.
8
Give complete information. What type of book is it? Is it the author's first book or thirtieth book? Is it a book in a series? If so what number in the series is it, are there more to come?
9
Summarize the book quickly. In a paragraph or two describe what the book is about and what happens without giving away any important information. No plot spoilers please. Give enough info to make it interesting and give the reader a good idea of what the book is about.
10
Critique away. Tell them what you thought of the book, but not in first person. Example: "The author successfully blended elements of the paranormal with real historical events to create a spellbinding story that was believable and highly engaging. The characters were alive and the story was gripping, a complete pageturner. You won't want to put it down."
11
Polish the review, check for errors and submit to a publication. Good luck.

How to Make Money Writing Book Reviews

If you enjoy reading and have the ability to write clear, professional reviews of what you read, you can make money writing book reviews for various websites and magazines. A lot of freelance writers supplement their incomes writing book reviews for these outlets. Today, the Internet provides quick access to current freelance writing jobs, allowing writers to search for new work daily. Writing book reviews can be not only an excellent source of extra income for freelancers, it can be pleasurable work as well.


Instructions

1



Choose a freelance job resource guide to use for leads. There are many such sites on the web. Freelance Writing (Freelancewriting.com) pulls freelance writing jobs from a number of these sources and posts them daily, giving you fresh opportunities all the time. Many of these opportunities are for book review writers. The service is free to use.
2



Browse the freelance writing jobs as you would the job section of a newspaper. Start first thing in the morning, over a cup of coffee. Make a note of any book review job posted that sounds interesting.
3



Contact your leads with a letter describing your writing credentials. Keep the first-contact letter short and to the point. Assure the lead that you are good with deadlines. Offer to send samples of your previous work and point to any online samples a prospective client can review. Close with a thank you and let the lead know you look forward to working with the company.
4



Be professional and meet your deadlines. When you get a book review job, read the book all the way through and write succinctly, giving a thorough review without adding a lot of personal commentary. This, of course, may vary, depending upon the guidelines of the organization you're reviewing books for. The key is to write knowledgeable reviews that demonstrate you understand the book you're reviewing.
5



Be patient. If you're just getting started, it may take some time to build up a list of clients. Keep applying for any book review job that interests you. Check the markets every day. Once you begin building up a client list you do book reviews for, you may get job offers from other sources. Book reviews are excellent for web content, so there are plenty of jobs available.

How to Write Book Reviews

The basic principle of a book review is simple: Should your audience read this book or not? Why or why not? With a little practice, you can write clear, readable and succinct book reviews.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Read the book. A lot of review writers think they can get around this, but it’s not worth it. If necessary, also read about the book. If the book needs a context, read a little bit of history about the environment or the writer.
     
   • 2
     Assemble your ideas. Instead of just sitting down and telling yourself to start writing, take the time to let things fall into place. Wait a day and think about the book before you write the review. See what sticks in your mind as good and bad. Make lists of what you responded to and didn’t. Keep your audience in mind. It may be that things you liked will not appeal to them, and if you know your audience well, you can recommend something that you did not enjoy.
     
   • 3
     Start writing. Don’t write the review immediately, but write a few sentences. Try to boil the book down to a very simple three-sentence paragraph. A synopsis of the book is essential to a review, but you don’t want it to take up half of the review text! Write an outline or write an opening and a closing. Try to say what you liked most or least about the book in one sentence.
     
   • 4
     Write the body of the review. Now that your brain has started moving, write the meat of the review. Write an opening sentence or two, then move to the summary of the book’s events. If necessary, after that write briefly about the context of the book or the writer and why they may matter. Finally, get into what matters: What you thought. Identify what was good and bad, but more important, tell the audience why. Tell the audience whether you recommend the book or not.
     
   • 5
     Summarize with blurbs. A modern audience, particularly one online, enjoys information stripped down to very simple sentences. Your review can be much more marketable if you write up blurbs in advance instead of making an editor do it. Give a few bullet points with pros and cons and end with recommended or not.
     

How to Write Comic Book Reviews

Writing comic book reviews is a joy for me. I get to pick what I want to write about, I learn about the aspects of a good story and sometimes I even make money writing comic book or graphic novel reviews. Does any of that sound nice? The following steps focus on writing the basic comic book review.

Instructions
1
Start with the classics. If you want to become a comic book reviewer, you need to know the basics of this vast world. That means exploring titles like “Watchmen” and “The Dark Knight Returns,” and the writers behind them. Who is Alan Moore? Who is Frank Miller? Who is Neil Gaiman? You should be able to answer those questions if you want to write comic book reviews, since many titles are similar in theme and need to be compared.
2



Explore publishers outside of Marvel and DC. Sure, it’s fun reading 20 straight issues of Spider-Man or Batman. But as a comic book reviewer, you need to learn about small publishers, too. These comic publishers need your help more than the big two.
3
Decide your article slant, or thesis. You need to see the slant in writing style and artwork for this comic book. It will become the thesis for your review. This isn’t a school essay, since you are out to entertain and not explain, but developing a thesis can help you write the review. Is this a horror comic? What do you think of horror comics? Ask a question and find an answer in the story.
4
Ask questions of the story. Entertain readers by explaining the themes of this story. Even an old Spider-Man comic from the 1960s has a theme; all stories do. So ask questions, compare and contrast, all because you want to write a good review.
5
Write a 200- to 400-word review. Can you write a 400-word review of a 22-page comic book? Yes, but you usually don’t have to. If you are writing a graphic novel review, or a review of a trade, you have more material to review, so it actually isn’t that hard. But if you offer the main theme of the single-issue comic story, background on characters, an analysis of the artwork and a general discussion on its entertainment value, you can often push the 400-word review mark.
6
Ask for review copies and take joy in the fact people are reading your work. Because they are reading your work, whether it’s for a site like Silver Bullet Comic Books or your own comic blog, someone wants to read your stuff. The bigger publishers might not respond to requests for review copies, but some will, and you will get free comics. Isn’t that fun? From now on, you can pick what you read and save money doing it.