10 things that are 100% in your control and will impact your career greatly!

You may have seen and article or quote that list…

“Ten things that require zero talent”

I believe this statement is a myth and that these 10 things require a large amount of talent and discipline. Instead, I like to say that these 10 things are 100% within your control. To me that is a more accurate statement. 

Let’s take a look at some of the impact these 10 things will have on your career. 

1. Being on time ~ This seems simple but good attendance and punctuality will allow you to separate yourself from others who struggle with this. This is a must to get promoted and something that every hiring manager looks at for every position at every company. 
2. Work ethic ~  Don’t want to work hard? Someone else will and they’ll be getting better while you’re just standing still. A good work ethic is the intangible quality that top employees exemplify daily in their determination to do the best job possible. A great work ethic : hiring managers crave it, high performance depends on it, satisfaction comes from it, and upward movement is the result of it. 
3. Effort ~ We all know those employees that come in, do the minimum to get by and go home. The funny thing is that sometimes these people are the same ones to say there is no advancement opportunities. In most jobs these days you get out of it what you put into it. Effort is required to move up in your career. If you aren’t sure how to put forth a better effort then ask! “There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you.” – Derek Jeter
4. Body language ~ With all of the technology today we’re losing social skills and the ability to read body language. Great body language is great communication and great communication is lacking in todays workforce. Ask a friend to be honest with you about your body language. Sometimes we don’t even realize that we have issues with our body language and it’s so important as about 80% of our communication comes from body language and tone of voice. Molly Fletcher said, “Anyone can improve, and here’s a TED talk that explains why and how.”
5. Energy ~ Your energy will say a lot about you at work. Think about this for a second. Do you gravitate towards those who have negative energy or do you surround yourself with those who are positive? How do you think each would effect your energy at work? Having a positive energy about you will go a long way to those looking to hire someone.
6. Attitude ~ I recently wrote an article about attitude where I talked about 5 ways to maintain a positive attitude. Your attitude is the most important thing to your career / life and will make the most impact out of all of these on your career. 
7. Passion ~ This is simple. If you aren’t passionate about your job someone else will be and you will be passed up. You have to tap into something you are passionate about at work and if you don’t know, let your boss know what you are passionate about. They may be able to help place you around something that you love. Once you find something that you are passionate about you will be more motivated to go the extra mile and it will help the other 9 things on here.
8. Be coachable ~ Regardless of your numbers of years’ experience.  If you aspire to be successful, being open to mentoring, coaching and training is vital. Remember – no one likes a know it all! You can learn from anyone, but you have to choose to.
9. Doing extra ~ When you have worked hard, gone beyond what is expected and given 110%, it will set you aside from your competition. Be the first to volunteer and put in the extra work. It will pay off. Again if you aren’t sure how to go above and beyond just ask your leadership team. 
10. Be prepared ~ When your opportunity comes along it’s too late to get ready and prepare yourself. Start preparing today for the opportunity that will come your way tomorrow.