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Have you ever wandered what separates those who are consistently successful from those who fail for a living? It seems somewhat obvious and yet illusive at the same time that certain people have characteristics which set them apart from the crowd. Some people just “get it” while others just don’t. What’s the difference? More importantly, are you one of those few people who will be abundantly successful?

Simple answer to the last question: you will be one of those successful people if you know and apply the greatest personal development lesson ever told.

The greatest lesson won’t blow your mind at first. In fact, it may seem so obvious that you will blow it off and return to life as normal. So be it. That’s your choice.

However, if you listen carefully and choose to apply the lesson discussed here, your future will open up like a vast ocean. You will literally be able to accomplish whatever you choose.

Earl Nightingale

The Strangest Secret is a book and audio program, written and recorded in the 1950s by Earl Nightingale. Earl was an American motivational speaker and is widely known now as the founder of the modern-day personal development industry. He is the architect of achievement, the grandfather of goals, and the CEO of success itself.

If long-term success and achievement is one of your goals, Earl’s 30-minute recording you are about to hear is going to rock your world.

First Take

When I first heard these words I literally couldn’t sit still. I got so excited about changing my life that I began reading voraciously. I searched for every seed of knowledge available and absorbed wisdom wherever I could find it.

I hope you have the same reaction. I believe you will. I believe that you will fully grasp the concept and embrace the message. You may have to listen to it a few times. You may have to hear it once and then come back to it in a few months before it clicks. Once it clicks, game over. You will be be on a warpath of daily success. Let me know when you begin that journey. I’d love to hear about it.

Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret”

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The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Photo Courtesy of cgarrett

Here’s the pink elephant in the room: I talk to myself . . . out loud . . . everyday . . . all the time. I have full-on conversations and sometimes I ask and answer my own questions as if I’m speaking for two different people. Weird? I’ll let you be the judge. Socially acceptable? Nope. Effective as a tool for productivity and emotional sanity? Most certainly, yes.

I can’t remember when I first began talking to myself. I can only assume this personality trait evolved as a coping mechanism for some childhood trauma, of which I have no memory. I talk to myself whenever I’m alone: in the car, the shower, at work, while walking my dog, running, and any other situation in which I feel that know one else will notice.

The reality is that I prefer talking to myself over most people. Am I just that arrogant? Probably. But, I will say that the benefits seem to far outweigh the alternative of keeping my thoughts in my head or simply on paper. The audibility of my mind brings out more genius than you would ever imagine.

The Science

According to a poll by Nottingham Trent University, research subjects felt that is was legitimate to audibly communicate with others, but not with themselves. However, when asked to try a little self-talk, those same subjects noticeably decreased their own stress levels.

Dr. Adam Winsler of George Mason University deduced that kindergarten kids who talk to themselves are more confident, participating actively during class compared to their more introverted peers. By chatting with themselves, they are able to put their problems into perspective and reflect upon their past actions. Dr. Adam says “private speech” was essential in childhood development and should not be censured, but rather heartily embraced and encouraged.

- HealthMad.com

3 Strategic Benefits of Talking to Yourself

1. Audible Thoughts are Different Than Other Thoughts

When you allow yourself to literally speak your mind you will most likely tap into a genius that you would otherwise never have access to. It’s hard to put a number on it, but I would argue that I have considerably more moments of brilliance during a rant than during a writing frenzy. I believe that some of the smartest things I’ve ever come up with, or the best ideas I’ve ever had, came as a result of allowing myself to speak one-on-one with me.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

2. It’s Therapeutic

Much like journaling or writing in a diary helps to get your inner thoughts out of you head, speaking out loud lets your emotions fly freely. Open up. Scream, yell, cry, laugh, and embrace your emotional journey. The mind is a complicated mess of trillions of neurons firing in an infinite number of directions at any given moment. That’s a lot of potential traffic jams. Give yourself the freedom to express your innermost thoughts in every way possible. This is especially effective if you are typically a reserved, shy, or introverted person.

3. Problem Solving Skills Increase Dramatically

In college, the capstone project for my Theatre degree was to direct a play. I had been in rehearsal for weeks and found myself with a dull performance. I decided to spice things up and make my actors perform the entire play as normal, expect for one small change. Every thirty seconds they had to spontaneously alter their character’s speech pattern – not their dialogue or blocking – just their accent. This one small change gave their characters completely new personalities, new movements, new interactions, and a completely new perspective on what they thought they knew. After an hour of this we ran the show one more time as “normal.” Needless to say, what transpired was anything but normal. The energy, personality, and character development was oozing out of them. The entire show changed in just sixty minutes of vulnerability.

Were the actors talking to themselves? Sort of. What they did was alter what came out of their mouth. They didn’t hold back. They let themselves experiment with all new possibilities, even the ones that seemed too outlandish to ever make any sense. The end result was nothing short of phenomenal.

Am I advocating that everyone begin talking to themselves like the loonies at psych wards? Yes. Don’t get me wrong, I respect crazy people. Just check out Apple’s famous commercial and you’ll see what I mean.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
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Jeff Sanders
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This is a guest post by Lindsey Harper Mac, who specializes in writing about career building and professional development.

With unemployment still in the high single digits, being picky about your first job can seem impractical. However, there are certain job qualities you should lean toward when searching for potential positions. Even if you have been out of work for an extended period of time, it might still be in your best interest to hold out for a job that exhibits the following characteristics, rather than settle for one with no positive prospects. As a young professional, your time is highly valuable and should be used toward gaining professional experience rather than wasted in an unpromising position. To ensure a more fruitful job search, consider the following four areas in your first job.

1. Opportunities to Work with Different People

One of the most valuable lessons you will learn on the job will come from your interaction with professionals in various departments of your work. Having the opportunity to work with people in senior management positions and professionals in technology, sales, finance and other departments can help you get a better idea of how the company functions as a whole. This kind of collective experience within the company might also help you better market your own skills when you want to advance in the company, or in your search for new job opportunities.

2. Potential for Advancement Beyond Your Job Description

One of the worst mistakes you can make when beginning your career is getting into what’s known as a “dead-end job.” A dead-end job offers no opportunity for progression or advancement within the company, which can become frustrating and provide little motivation to work to the best of your abilities. When searching for your first job, look specifically for jobs that give you the opportunity to try new things and work your way up the corporate ladder.

3. Tuition Reimbursement

If you have always wanted to extend your education but feel discouraged by the high price of college tuition, you should look for jobs that offer tuition reimbursement. Working for a company with tuition reimbursement can allow you to gain experience in your field and to develop the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in your industry. To balance both educational and career responsibilities, consider online education alternatives to study according to your own schedule.

4. A Manager Invested in Your Success

Although some managers may stray from their role as a mentor to the position of a dictator, you can also find managers who genuinely care about your success on the job, and who will actively strive to provide you with the tools and instruction you need to perform on an outstanding level. When searching for a job, look for managers who offer guidance and advice to new employees, work to ensure quicker understanding of the tasks involved, and encourage a greater opportunity for advancement within your career. Generally, you will want to look for a manager who treats his or her employees as apprentices rather than just workers below him or her.

When reflecting on these concepts, you will find that not a single one was focused on money. Although your salary should play an important role in whether or not you will stick with a job, it shouldn’t be quite as important for professionals who are newly entering the field. Focus on developing yourself as a professional first, and then you will earn the right to be selective about your salary.

Lindsey Harper Mac specializes in writing about education, professional and personal development, and career building. She writes on behalf of Colorado Technical University.

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Jeff Sanders
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Here’s the goal: experience all life has to offer – especially the stuff that doesn’t fit into a neat little box. You will be able to make this happen more often with a well-balanced life. However, balance is not a daily activity. If anything, you should seek to balance out your life on an annual basis. What I mean is that it’s ludicrous to think you can give equal weight to your health, relationships, business, spirituality, money, and career every single day. It’s just too much. So, how does it work? Projects and priorities. It all starts with knowing what you want to accomplish and intentionally scheduling everything you can in advance. Some things can be done in huge chunks (like cleaning out your apartment or completing a 30-day trial on a new diet), while other things (like making time for your significant other or showering), have to be addressed much more frequently.

The Dilemma

The challenge you will face is the dilemma of the great decision. By making a choice to do one thing is also a choice to NOT do everything else. I can’t stress enough how important it is to grasp this concept when you are seeking to discover your life path. The natural tendency is to keep your options open. However, the necessary evil that accompanies this line of thinking is that you will never truly choose anything. You will always find a reason to not fully pursue something important because something else might come up. The end result is that you give mediocre effort to everything in an attempt to “balance” your life, but the results end up sub-par and extremely disappointing.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

In my own life this just may be the one factor holding me back more than anything else. I have a very hard time making decisive choices, mostly due to the fact that I get a thousand new ideas every day and I think that all of them are brilliant! Some of them are, but they are horribly distracting nonetheless.

Balance is all about the long-term. Make time in the next 12 months to address all of the necessary areas of life. On a daily basis your focus should be on one of those areas, not all of them.

The Action Plan:

1. Prioritize your top 3 goals for the next 12 months.

2. Schedule time in large chunks to complete each task (unless your goal requires daily activity throughout the entire year). This is a great way to form new habits, one at a time, over a long period of time.

3. Focus on the top goal for the next few months and make progress on that goal each and every day. This is crucial. Daily progress is nearly equivalent to guaranteed success. The goal is a good as done if you work on it every single day, without fail.

4. In between the big goals, make time for the smaller ones. Plan a day or two every few weeks to devote to the miscellaneous tasks that don’t seem to fit anywhere else. Make the small stuff a priority then. After all, life (and any big goal for that matter) is simple a compilation of a bunch of tiny priorities. Think big, start small, and keep moving.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
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Jeff Sanders
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Hi Jeff,

Thank God I found your website!

My name is Chris. I am 24 and from Poland but I studied in London and I have traveled to the US a lot. For the past 2 months I have been hunting for an entry-level marketing position at a small to medium-sized company (either in England or the US).

After sending out HUNDREDS of emails, resumes, cover letters, and connecting with dozens of professionals on LinkedIn, I think I am stuck.

I would love to hear your advice on what my next move should be here.

Best regards,

Chris

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Hey Chris!

Thanks for reaching out to me! The position you’re in is very similar to nearly every recent college graduate. My wife actually has a Master’s in marketing and tried to pursue getting entry-level positions right out of school but ended up with nothing. She has since found her calling as a teacher, but the circumstances around finding a marketing job hits close to home.

The reality is that sending out blind resumes is the worst way to find a job, as you have noticed first hand. What you will need to do, especially in marketing, is offer your services to a company by showing them how you can help them. If you look like a desperate job seeker who only wants to collect a paycheck and climb a corporate ladder, no one will care about you specifically.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

What I want you to do is target companies you want to work for and research them. Find out what they do and how they do it. Look at their advertising and public image. Then, make recommendations to them about what they could do to improve their image, make more money, or improve their customer service. Then, offer to be the guy that makes those things happen.

For example, if you have web design skills, you could offer to tweak their website for them, for free. Offer whatever assistance you could to get their attention. When they realize you have great ideas and a new, fresh perspective on their company, your resume will float to the top of their pile.

Don’t forget to send all of your suggestions to a specific person. Locate a few email addresses of people who work at the company and target them individually.

I realize this is only one strategy, but it has proven to be very effective.

Remember, people get jobs – resumes get ignored. No one cares where you went to school or even where you have worked. They want to know how you can help them grow their business. That’s it.

Let me know how this strategy works out for you.

Jeff

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

The Most Important Lesson in this Letter

. . .

No one cares about you.

Ouch! I know, that sucks to hear, but let’s get real. Think about the job search from the employer’s perspective. Why would they require a Master’s degree for an open position or demand you have 5 years or more of relevant work experience?

First, they want to know you have a brain.

Second, they want to know they won’t have to waste time training you on the basics of how their industry operates.

Third, and this is the most important, employers want to know how you will help THEM. Employers are not interested in your career trajectory. They really don’t care that you went to an ivy league school or that you had a killer internship in New York City during your summer break after college (although everyone will tell you that these two things are very important – believe me – they are almost meaningless).

You can prove you have a brain and that you understand their industry (and their company) by recommending ways to make their company better. Prove to them you’re smart, experienced, and willing to help by actually using your brain to help them directly. This method will always be more powerful than fancy resume paper.

What matters is how you will help them. That is the bottom line. That is the game. That is how employment works. That is also how entrepreneurship works. Businesses give customers what they want and customers give businesses money. Likewise, if job seekers give employers what they want, job seekers get money. The parallel is identical.

Focus on the employer. Give them what they want, every day, all the time, from the beginning.

If you are interested in one-on-one career coaching with me, including how to make your resume work, how to sparkle in an interview, or other strategies to get the attention of employers, let me know. I’m here to help.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Here’s the goal: create a career that is more exciting to you than anything else you have ever created. Note that a career is a creation, not something you find or something someone else offers you. Your career is also your main source of contribution and it is your opportunity to create real, lasting value. If you don’t have a long-term career goal, now is the time to begin brainstorming. Write down ideas that inspire you, scare you, and energize you like nothing else. The sweet spot, the gem, your ideal career, will encompass your greatest skills and passions, while simultaneously overlapping with what other people want. Let me explain.

Meaning AND Money

Zig Ziglar is famous for saying, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” If you pursue a career that you love, but no one else cares about it, you will be a phenomenal starving artist. If you help other people by doing things you hate, you will be just like most people, making money but crushing your soul. You want the best of both worlds. Love what you do AND love that it provides a service to others in return for financial prosperity. The goal is meaning AND money. If you lack either one you will not have a career – you will have a hobby or a hellhole. Finding the middle ground is the challenge. It is as much an artistic endeavor as it is a skillful pursuit of willpower.

What your career could be is where the magic lies. Your career could be uplifting. It could be transformational. It could be the fantasy you imagined when you were four years old. The reality is that most people kill their own dreams. They let others squish their goals into tiny, meaningless chores that are only completed out of fear.

You have a choice. Your career could be the best thing that has ever happened to you – an opportunity to change the world. It could also be that thing most people exponentially regret as they age.

What Choice Will You Make?

I’m here to help you make the choice that results in meaning AND money. This is where my own career path has taken me. Through the 14 jobs I have worked and the 2 businesses I have owned, I have experienced my fair share of frustration and success. The path is wacky, but worth it.

Join me and the many others at Graduated and Clueless as we find the path of most resistance – the career you have dreamed about your entire life.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

Your Next (or First) Steps

1. Find someone super successful in an industry that inspires you like none other. Examples:

• Mike Arnstein in the world of ultra-distance running and raw nutrition.
• Brian Tracy in the sales, speaking, and publishing industries.
• Gary Vaynerchuk in the wine, social media, and the crushing it to no end industries.

2. Jump in with your whole body, heart, and soul. Learn everything you can about how to become just like your superhero. Examples:

• Read the top 5 books in your industry.
• Join a club that gets you out in the community interacting with like-minded people (this could include the Internet, but try to meet people in person whenever possible).
• Pitch your services to someone successful in your industry and do whatever you can to work for that person directly, even if it’s for free. Apprenticeships like this can change the entire direction of your life.

3. Become a Thought Leader, meaning: have an original thought and tell someone what it is. Examples:

• Start your own business, like a blog, and share your thoughts with the world in a creative, authoritative, and meaningful way.
• Get on the mic and start your own podcast. Talk until someone listens.
• Pitch ideas to your boss and do whatever you can to bring on additional, creative responsibilities at the office. Authentic ambition is impossible to ignore and people that matter will take notice.

4. Create a plan that inspires and scares you at the same time. Examples:

• Based on what you learned about your superhero, do exactly what they did (at least as close as possible).
• Pick a career that will require tremendous growth on your part, as long as the final result is both possible and insanely cool.
• Be super specific as to what you want to be doing in 10 years. Make sure it makes you money and make sure you can create a very detailed path to get there. Smaller steps are MUCH easier to complete than monstrous leaps of faith.

5. Read “The Compound Effect” – Examples:

• Go to Amazon.com. Type in “The Compound Effect” into the search bar. Locate the book and buy it.
• Visit your local bookstore. Ask a salesperson where “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy is located. Pick it up. Buy it.
• Click on this link. Buy “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy.

I’m serious when I say that your career is either a hobby or a hellhole. It is so easy to waste years doing tons of stuff you hate. Yes, it does require a TON of work to create your ideal career. However, once you find it, the work won’t seem like work, it will actually become a labor of love. Wow. Sorry that is so cheesy. But seriously, it works that way. Writing this blog post for me was not difficult. It was not a pain in the butt and I don’t care that I spent two hours writing it. In fact, besides running a marathon, I really don’t know what else I would enjoy more at this very moment. That feeling is what I want for you. Find what drives you. Experiment until it hurts. Try and fail as much as it takes. If you give up, don’t sweat it. I gave up hundreds of times in the last week and I’m still here.

Send me your questions if this stuff is too wacky for you. I want to hear your story and I want to help. You could even consider utilizing my coaching program. Either way, fight for your dreams. The four year-old version of You would appreciate it.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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This is a guest post by Jesse Langley, who specializes in writing about education, careers, and professional development.

A new study released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that unemployment dropped by 0.4 percent in November of this past year, to 8.6 percent. Although this number is still not ideal, it offers promise and hope for graduates who are hesitantly entering the job market at the beginning of 2012. Further studies revealed that unemployment is much lower among college graduates, with a rate of 7.6 percent for those with some college or an associate’s degree and an even lower 4.4 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Despite the fact that statistics are heading in a positive direction, graduates must still remain on their toes when entering the job market to ensure an advantage over the competition. Read on to discover a few helpful tips for finding success as a recent graduate in the current job market.

Broaden Your Network

The phrase, “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” applies perfectly to the job market. Naturally, your degree, certifications, and skills will get you noticed to an extent, but if you really want to improve your chances of landing a good job, you have to broaden your network to include other established professionals in your field. You can do this in a number of ways: connect with others through social networking sites, build stronger professional relationships with peers and professors from your college, and take on several internships relevant to your field.

Consider Graduate School

Studies have shown that the more education you acquire, the better your chances are of landing a job in general. If your bachelor’s degree isn’t getting you the results you had hoped for in the job market, consider attending graduate school to further your education and increase your appeal when re-entering the workforce. Online education opportunities make it more accessible for students to work toward a graduate degree, while building experience in their profession as well.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

Polish Your Resume

Throughout your job search you can easily hand out more than 100 resumes per week. If yours isn’t current, comprehensive, and appealing, it can just as easily get pushed to the bottom of the pile. To set a good first impression for your potential employers, you should have your resume designed by a professional and proofread several times. This is your opportunity to sell yourself to the employer, so focus on highlighting your skills and accomplishments in the document. Always tailor each resume to the company you are applying for, and include a personalized cover letter with each one as well.

Look Your Best

Image plays a key role in your appeal to the hiring manager because your image would be representing the company in the event that you are hired. Focus on presenting a clean, poised and professional image when you submit your resume and attend interviews. You should be well-groomed, dressed in professional attire, and free from flashy or disruptive accessories. Aside from aesthetics, exude a warm, friendly personality, while simultaneously balancing a sense of refinement and professionalism.

The New Year is sure to bring new challenges along with it for job seekers, but taking a new approach to your job search can give you an edge on the competition.

Jesse Langley specializes in writing about education, professional and personal development, and career building. He writes on behalf of Colorado Technical University.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for months now. To say that I’m overly excited about organization would be an understatement. This stuff may not seem revolutionary or radical to you, but the potential here is definitely life altering. As a personal development junky, I know the long-term benefits of positive daily habits. I discuss this in full as Daily Bold Action in my book. Hang with me as I divulge how I manage to get more stuff done now than ever before.

What it Means to Go Paperless

I don’t know how organized you are, but I guarantee you that everyone could do more to streamline their productivity, find their stuff faster, and manage their projects with greater ease. Maybe this pertains to you. If so, read on. The system I outline below will show you what I have put together over the last few months, utilizing many free resources, in an attempt to access everything I need, regardless of my location, without hesitation or difficulty.

In a nut shell, I have officially gone paperless and moved my life online, including every document, project, to-do list, financial transaction, media file, and of course my email, contacts, and daily calendar. What could this mean for you? Everything or nothing. As a self-defined productivity nerd, this transition has revolutionized the way I execute high-priority tasks. If you have little interest in cleaning up your digital life, I can only assume this is because you are more OCD than I and have little room for growth, or the daily act of swimming through your paperwork gives you a high I will never understand or fully appreciate.

Benefits

I used to carry a man purse, wear a watch, store “important” documents in a physical filing cabinet, organize my projects with college-ruled notebooks, and carry a checkbook. This list is only a few of the many old school things I used to do that are now virtually irrelevant in my life today. The real benefit of moving your life online is the clutter-free lifestyle you will encounter immediately. With less stuff around you will be able to clearly see the important things that will be staring you right in the face. Don’t forget that nearly everything stored online is backed up and extremely secure.

“Simplicity doesn’t mean you have less – it means everyone else has too much”
- Jeff Sanders

A Word of Caution

I know many people who store their stuff on a computer or website and are just as unorganized and sloppy as they were with physical stuff. Don’t let this be the case for you. Start simple and stay there. The real core of this system is not the list of companies or services I use; it’s the way I organize my stuff inside of these services. In other words, you can hand two people a filing cabinet and bunch of paper and end up with two completely different final products. One may be properly labeled, easy to access, and simple to update. The other could be more confusing and disorganized than a pile of random paper on the floor.

The trick is to create a system BEFORE you begin transferring documents or creating things within the services. Know ahead of time how you would like to organize the stuff you have now and the stuff you might be adding in the future. For example, within my project management system I have 4 major folders: Current Projects, Future Projects, Ongoing Projects, and Storage (Previous Projects). Choose a system that makes sense to you and then work that system to its full capacity. Just don’t forget to always lean towards simplicity whenever possible. Take the advice from Steve Jobs, “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

The Jeff Sanders Paperless System

1. Documents

Dropbox – Besides being free to store up to 2 GBs of data, Dropbox has a desktop app that lets you easily store all of your documents locally on your hard drive with automatic saving to Dropbox’s server. They also have an iPhone app and you can purchase additional storage for a reasonable price. I personally keep ALL of my documents on Dropbox and I backup everything with other service providers that I discuss below. I recently spent a weekend scanning all of my “important” documents and storing the PDFs on Dropbox. I know only have a handful of physical documents that I keep locked up in a small safe. If you want to scan documents with your iPhone, check out JotNotPro. It’s only $2.

2. Finances

Mint – I have recommended Mint before and there still seems to be no other company that can compete with their free service. If you want an easy way to organize all of your financial accounts and see their balances in real time, Mint is the simply the best.

ClearCheckbook – I have always used a checkbook to organize my money. There is no other way to forecast your future balance if you don’t have a system that lets you setup recurring and future transactions. Hint, this is how most people end up with bounced checks and endless overdraft fees. ClearCheckbook is the only service I have found that allows you to track your money online with all of these features for only $42 per year. With this system in place, you can update your checkbook while at work, traveling, or on the fly with their iPhone app.

3. Projects

Evernote – The lovely picture above with the heart on the elephant is Evernote. I recently converted to the premium version, which is only $45 per year, and I really can’t get enough. All of my current, future, and ongoing projects are organized here. I keep records of important notes, ideas, and goals. Evernote has become my go-to application for seeing the big picture of my life. Don’t forget, Evernote has a stellar desktop app, iPhone app, and website that gives you complete access to all of your notes, all the time. Check out Michael Hyatt’s blog posts to learn more about how to efficiently utilize all the Evernote has to offer.

iWork.com – If only Apple would copy off Evernote. Or, if only Apple would just buy Evernote, iWork.com might actually be useful. iWork.com is Apple’s version of online project management and document storage, but it’s only useful if you have an iPad. So, for those of you that own an iPad and frequently use Numbers, Pages, and Keynote, this is a very handy tool. For everyone else, just ignore this site completely.

iCloud – If you haven’t signed up for iCloud yet, now is the time. Apple has this side of the market nailed. Between emails, contacts, and calendars that all can be accessed from anywhere, it’s hard to compete with this system (unless you’re a Google fanatic and refuse to give up your gmail account). Either way, make the transition and get your stuff on the web.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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I believe in personal development. I believe in the process of teaching and growing myself beyond what anyone else could ever do for me. This is not to say that I don’t value formal education in a classroom with a knowledgeable professor, or sitting down to coffee with an old chap who has a grand story to tell. The reality is that my successes in the last four years have come primarily from my investigation, discipline, and sheer curiosity into anything and everything that sparks my soul.

If you’ve read my book, you know that I am highly fanatical about non-fiction books, especially ones on finance, entrepreneurship, and natural health. I give all the credit to this phenomena in my life to a man I hated for 9 weeks, my former employer, Mr. Moon Whang. Moon was a great boss, but I didn’t understand him, his business strategies, or the silly sales games he would make me play. I was required to work long hours, sell products I didn’t like, and read books he told me would “change my life.” All in all, I was disgusted with my experience and wanted nothing to do with him, his cheesy sales company, or any of the ridiculous training that he promised would increase my sales.

During my last week on the job I started reading a book Moon recommended, John Maxwell’s Your Road Map For Success. Up until that point in time I had only used a highlighter in college textbooks to make cramming for tests a little easier. When I found myself using a highlighter in this book, I was a little thrown off. The text was incredibly easy to follow, unmistakably genuine, and remarkably inspirational. I was hooked.

I knew that I would quit my job for a dozen reasons, but something about this book changed me. I began reading other books on personal finance, internet business, leadership, and spirituality. I discovered the self-help section in book stores and become a personal development junky. I was reading faster than I could comprehend the information and I didn’t see an end in sight.

Fast forward one year and I had run my first marathon, got engaged to the girl of my dreams, moved 1,000 miles across the country, and cut up all of my credit cards. One year later, I had started this blog, changed jobs three times, began writing my book, and discovered my love for mind-bending documentaries. Another year after that, I finished my book, become a raw vegan, and ran my first ultramarathon. Finally, in the last twelve months, I was promoted twice at my day job, found Jesus, completed a half-marathon, full marathon, ultramarathon, and a 200-mile relay race, and I have just recently put together a plan for my next business.

This sequence of events is not meant to shock you. For me, this is just the tip of the iceberg for what personal development can do. It has literally changed my life. I am a completely different person than I was four years ago when I sat down with Moon Whang and told him why I really wanted to sell Verizon Business Phone Service to unwilling patrons in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Where do I go from here?

Anywhere. I can literally pick up a good book, learn something new, and change anything I want about my life. Want to eliminate your frustrating debt? Check out Dave Ramsey. Thinking about starting your own business online? Look no further than Tim Ferriss. Considering losing a few pounds after the holidays? The China Study and The 80/10/10 Diet will surely redirect those fat cells to someone else, forever.

I’m serious when I say that personal development can change anything about who you are, where you want to go, and how you will enjoy the ride along the way. Genuine change takes time, but it only takes an instant to change  your mind. Pick up a good book today. If you need a recommendation, start with mine. Cheers!

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The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Why do you go to work? On the surface this is an easy question to answer. Most would say they work to earn money, to support their drinking habit, or to pursue a passion on the weekends. But really, why do you do what you do every day?

I recently stumbled upon a strategy that I found to be very helpful in digging up the true reason all of us make the choices we do. Starting with why will lay a stronger foundation than almost anything else.

“If you don’t have a strong enough why, the how will never be revealed to you.”

- Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning

The 10 Whys Strategy

Start with why, then ask it again 9 more times. You could call this the 10 Whys Strategy, or simply asking why til it hurts. Begin by making a statement such as, “I want to go to grad school.” Then ask yourself, why? You might say, “Because I want a fancy diploma.” Then ask why again. Why do you want a fancy diploma? “Because I want to impress my friends.” Why do you want to impress your friends? And so on. Continue this process until you’ve asked why at least ten times. Feel free to go beyond ten if you feel the need. The final answer will be very revealing. You will have dug to a much deeper level than the likely shallow beginnings.

I’ve included an example here that I did for my future career in real estate. This was my first attempt and I was rather surprised by my own answers. Try this strategy for yourself and see what you come up with. If you’d like, copy the results in the comments below and share your experience with others. Don’t forget that you can use this strategy for anything, not just your career.

Jeff’s 10 Whys of Real Estate

1. I want to sell Real Estate. Why?
2. Because I want to be an entrepreneur. Why?
3. Because I want to work for myself and control my income. Why?
4. Because I want the ability to earn a lot of money. Why?
5. Because I want the option to do what I want when I want. Why?
6. Because I like to control my life. Why?
7. Because I feel accomplished when I complete goals that I set for myself. Why?
8. Because I feel fulfilled and purposeful when I accomplish something meaningful to me. Why?
9. Because I feel like I’m living out God’s plan for my life. Why?
10. Because I feel closer to God.

Also, check out Simon Sinek’s new book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. He also has a TED Talk video on YouTube that is really fascinating.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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The long-awaited audio book is finally here! Now, for only $4.95 you can get your copy of Graduated And Clueless as a 6-hour MP3 audio book and I’m throwing in the eBook for free. I thought you’d like that. No red tape here. No asterisks. Just a good deal for a great product.

If you’re on the fence about making the purchase, just click here to learn more about it or click here to ask me whatever is on your mind.

For a sneak peak into the book, don’t forget to download the Introduction, Table of Contents, and Deleted Chapter: “Productivity”.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE AUDIO BOOK

This is a book that will make you think about what your next big move is going to be. Will you go to grad school or move to Paris? Will you work for the family business or start your own enterprise? Will you take that 9-5 job being offered or just take a year off?

More importantly, how will you go about making these tough choices? What aspects of life have you forgotten to consider? Will you work for money or passion? Will you work at all?

These questions and so much more are discussed throughout the book and I’m sure you will come away with plenty of answers to those pesky life-altering questions that are surely flooding your mind. Take a minute to read through the book or listen to the audio program. If none of it works for you I’ll give you back your five bucks. Simple.

I do believe in this book because I believe in personal development. I believe in asking questions and taking the time to find the best answers. Life is not structured like school. The real world does not come with a manual, but this book may act as a guide to get you started in the right direction.

My goal is simple: I want you to conquer your clue-lessness. I want to roll away the boulders that are blocking you from exploding with passion. I want to provide you with the resources, tools, tips, and experiences that will strengthen your resolve to push forward and actively create the life you want.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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It’s time to make something happen. After graduating college the tendency is to get a random job and hope for the best. Really? I think you can do better.

Let’s take a minute and consider two things: 1) what graduation means to you and, more importantly, 2) why so many people think getting a job is the most logical next step.

Graduation = New Job? . . . . No

First, graduation from college is an enormous accomplishment in formal education. However, graduation is not a free pass into the business world. A college degree is just one marker of success on a resume or life achievement list. A diploma is just a piece of paper that says you spent a lot of time in the library. It doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to do anything practical in the real world. That may sound a little harsh, but just wait, it gets worse. The real world is not a hand-holding best-friend that will let you cry on its shoulder when times get tough. If you’re lost in the real world you will have one person to rely on, you. Your friends are going to grad school in another state or enrolled in an online masters program. Your family is still at home and nothing has changed since high school. You are now on your own and you will need a butt-kicking plan to make things happen.

You Don’t Know Everything – In Fact, You Know Nothing

Secondly, college is a wonderful thing, but it’s over. You now have an amazing opportunity to start fresh with a new life plan.For most people, that new life plan is a job. Why? Because their parents told them to. Because their friend got an “amazing” offer at some big corporation and they think $40k will change their life forever. Because they have nothing better to do with their time besides drinking themselves into a coma, again.

If you want to use your college degree to further your career, that’s one option. You can also do . . well . . anything else in the entire world! Seriously, getting a job immediately after college is what everyone else does, but they are only doing that because everyone else is doing it. If you want to live an engaging life, one that actually means something to you, this may be the best opportunity in your life to take some seriously bold action.

Get Out of the U.S.

I’m a huge fan of studying abroad. I spent 4 months in Prague and traveled all over Eastern Europe. Why did I go? Because I could. Nothing more. I wanted to do it and I knew it may not ever happen if I didn’t act quickly. Those four months were easily the most phenomenal months of my life. It’s hard not to write an entire book on my experiences abroad because there were so many wonderful moments. What this means for you is that after graduation you have the same opportunity to take yourself anywhere. Join the Peace Corps, move to Africa for two years, volunteer on a boat heading to Japan, or any other crazy adventure that sounds too good to pass up.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

Don’t Start Working for the Man

You don’t have to travel to make life exciting, though I firmly believe travel will open your eyes faster than most experiences. You can also open your entrepreneurial eyes. Getting a random job is the fast track to mediocrity. Starting a business is the fast track to making a thousand mistakes, all of which you will learn the best life lessons from. What I’m encouraging you to do is fail. Starting a business will force you to expand your thinking and creativity more than a classroom assignment. Real world practicality is an entirely different beast than academic theory. Anything you can do that will get your out of the house and into the world will be an eye-opening opportunity to learn more about yourself and the rest of the human race.

Paint a Picture, Build a House, Make a Dirty Movie

If you didn’t spend enough time in the Fine Arts building during college, this is your change to open your soul just a bit. Now that the rigor of weekly assignments, test, projects, and presentations are over with, you can actually take the time to breathe and get creative. Some of my best creative work only became available to me after I took a mental break from the chaos of school. I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders and I was able to expand my right brand further than ever. This time period may offer an exquisite opportunity to write a book, design a fashionable line of clothing, or join an improv troupe.

Stop Reading and Start . . . Reading

Remember how you use to read books, for fun? Yeah, I forgot about that too. College professors forced me to read so much junk that I forgot good books actually existed. Yes, the books I read in school taught me some useful stuff, but not the stuff I really wanted to learn. In the first six months after college I officially read zero books. In the next six months I read an average of a book a week. What changed? I figured out that reading is actually one of the most fantastic ways to improve your life, expand your mind, and open up your life to so many new things. Here I am four years later and reading is still a huge part of my life, enough so that I wrote my own book. You don’t have to become an author to reap the benefits of great literature or personal development books. But, leaders are readers. The best minds have always voluntarily fed their brains with the best literary works in existence. Believe me when I say that once you find a niche of books that fascinate you, you will not be able to put them down.

Run All the Way Home

College destroyed my body. Correction, I destroyed my body and used college as the excuse to do so. One of my greatest personal revolutions occurred because of my unwillingness to take care of myself during school. I never saw the need to to the gym instead of the bars until after graduation. My doctor enlightened me to that fact a “24-beers a week diet” wouldn’t do me any good, ever. I needed a change and it only happened at all because I chose to make a change. No one came to my rescue. There was no intervention. I simply decided that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. The rest is history. I now run ultra marathons, eat a diet that consists of only organic fruits, vegetables, and spring water, and make my personal health a priority over almost everything else. What this means for you is that if college made a mess of your body, now is a great time to reinvent yourself.

But Jeff, I Want to Get a Job – I NEED A JOB!!

OK, maybe you’re already supporting yourself. Maybe you have three kids, your parents don’t help at all financially, and you will starve without an income source. If you are completely unable to make any of the above ideas a reality in your life today, you will need to become very familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Start at the bottom and work your way up, one step at a time. Paying the electric bill is more important than self-actualization, at least for now. I recognize that everyone has bills to pay and practical needs to fulfill. However, those basic necessities have a tendency to take over your life, if  you let them. The trick is to stay focused on a long-term goal that gets you out of the rat race and into a lifestyle that fosters enormous growth. In this case, personal development books are your best friend. It’s time to kick it up a notch and keep your laser beam focus on a goal that inspires you more than anything else.

Fill the Void With Something Meaningful

Life after college is an enormous blank slate. Nothing has to be done a certain way. Family traditions, societal norms, and peer pressure can all take a back seat to you doing whatever you want, how you want to, when you want to. If your life has been dictated by someone else up to this point, this is your chance to rebuild your entire life from scratch.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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What would it take for you to quit your job? How much security to you really need? What, specifically, scares you more than anything when you dream about working for yourself? Entrepreneurship is a ridiculous goal for many and a normal existence for a select few. What would it take for you to join the ranks of the top 1% of those who own 40% of the wealth in America?

There is no doubt that entrepreneurship is an American ideal that is still alive and well today. 74% of America’s self-made millionaires are entrepreneurs. Many of them are immigrants who believed in the American Dream more than naturally born citizens. The ability to take an idea and turn it into an enterprise that serves the needs of the marketplace is an incredible reality in America that many Americans simply believe is only possible for someone else.

Now is the time to believe in yourself. Now is the time to acknowledge that you have what it takes, right now, to start your first business. Today is your day for bold action. How will you get started?

Take a look below at an excerpt from Chapter 9 – Your Dream Business, taken directly from my new eBook, Graduated And Clueless.

“As I’ve watched what people do, I’ve discovered that the ones I want with me are people who make things happen. These people discover resources in places you thought were barren. They find prospects where you believed there weren’t any. They create opportunities where you thought none existed. They take something average and make it exceptional. They never make excuses – they always find a way to make things happen.”

- John C. Maxwell, entrepreneur and author

If the idea of working for another person makes you uncomfortable, agitated, or simply pissed off, then get excited! There are alternatives to working the 9-5 that far exceed the false securities of employment. If going off on your own makes you a little frightened, do not worry; just breathe. Starting your own business opens new doors that are nearly impossible to crack if you are trying to climb to the top of the corporate ladder. The chains of employment can be very difficult to break free from – entrepreneurship is your ticket out. It is your freedom, your life, and your virtually unlimited resource of opportunity just waiting to be seized.

Your dream business is much like your dream career. The mindset, passion, and strategies required in order to maximize them are virtually identical. The core principles of entrepreneurship, which are discussed later in this chapter, carry over to nearly every arena of life and if you learn to utilize them, you will increase your ability to achieve greatness. To create the life you have always wanted, you simply have to believe that you can start where you are today and make continual progress. Your dream business is the ideal form of contribution – the greatest opportunity to create lasting, genuine value for yourself and others. Whether you pursue your own business or not, the ambition, perseverance, and incredible optimism of the best entrepreneurs should excite and motivate you to emulate their qualities. Some of the most challenging and most rewarding opportunities in life will come about through projects, businesses, and experiences that only the entrepreneurial mindset can produce. In this chapter I will show you why it is imperative that you create your dream business, because it will inevitably shape your future and your legacy.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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How much sense does it make to learn a skill you won’t need for 10 years? Not much. That’s why I love my education today more than I did in school. Now, I practice self-education, not formal education. I am in control of my learning. I am not invested in learning skills in a classroom that I may or may not use, ever. I teach myself what I want to learn, when I need to learn it. In other words, I don’t waste time memorizing endless amounts of information just to regurgitate it on a test a few hours later and never use that knowledge ever again. If I need to learn something, I learn how to do it when it matters.

This one simple skill has transformed my productivity and my interest in self-improvement. I buy books about topics that are important now. I focus my energy today on tasks that matter today. I do appreciate learning things I may never use, especially when the topic is interesting. But, when I am aiming for a specific result, I want specific actions that will get me there as efficiently as possible. Just-in-Time Learning may be the greatest tool that I have ever practically utilized to get phenomenal results.

Take a look below at an excerpt from Chapter 5 – Personal Development, taken directly from my new eBook, Graduated And Clueless.

“I find television to be very educational. Every time someone

turns on the set I go into the other room and read a book.”

- Groucho Marx, comedian and actor

Your personal growth will be catapulted in the right direction as soon as you begin consuming the right information, at the right time, through the best means possible. One of the best approaches to keep in mind is called just-in-time learning. The idea behind this approach is to acquire knowledge or skills as they are needed, or when they are most essential. For example, if you decide that you want to learn a specific ballroom dance for your wedding, it would be a waste of your time to learn the dance two years in advance. Just-in-time learning will focus your growth when the time is right, meaning you learn the dance a couple of weeks before the big show. Keep in mind that you should be learning only the information that is absolutely critical for your next goal. Otherwise, you run the risk of wasting your time because you will be learning information you will never use or you will be delaying progress on the goal that matters most in your life right now.

Another common trap, which happens to me more often than I care to admit, is paralysis by analysis. In other words, consuming so much information at one time that you freeze and accomplish nothing. This is very common and potentially damaging to your own self-confidence. The key is to minimize the amount of information, focusing only on acquiring actionable knowledge. If you cannot quickly convert the information you learned into an actionable to-do list item, it is useless information for you at that specific moment in your life.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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What you do every day matters. How you earn a living may be your greatest potential for success, fulfillment, and your ultimate legacy.

If you think your career is simply a way to pay the bills, you may be missing out on so much more that a career can be. I grew up with the impression that I should go to college in order to become an employee, earn a paycheck, and save for retirement. The problem I see is that a secure retirement is not the ultimate goal of my life. I have no formal plans of retirement.

What I do have is a series of goals that align with my ability to contribute as much as possible to the rest of the world. I have plans to earn a lot of money in order to give a lot of money. I have goals of self-improvement that will be brought to fruition through my career. What I do to earn a living will also become my vehicle to enhance my skills, experiences, and ability to make a real difference in the world.

What I’m trying to say is that a career is so much more than a paycheck every other Friday. A career is an empire that can be built to improve the world or simply keep you Just Over Broke (JOB).

Take a look below at an excerpt from Chapter 8 – Your Ultimate Career, taken directly from my new eBook, Graduated And Clueless.

Your Career is Your Primary Gateway to Contribute and Acquire Money

The best way to create value is to focus your life on providing a product or service that others want. Though my wife’s students may not want an education ever day, they certainly appreciate free snacks when they answer a question correctly. Zig Ziglar, famous personal development author and speaker, said it best, “You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want.” Your career is your opportunity to make this happen. How much value you create is your choice; therefore, how much you receive in return is your choice as well. The value of the paycheck you receive from your company should be congruent with the level of value you have provided. However, there are many careers that do not offer substantial financial compensation directly based upon your contributions. If your goal is to contribute and acquire wealth from your career, it will require you to be creative and take bold action. There is a reason why professional athletes earn more than teachers. Not all careers are created equal. The market is not always fair. Study it and find the best place to make a difference.

How do you get more money? Contribute more. Practically speaking, you attract it, earn it, or trade for it. I would not recommend stealing it. You career is your opportunity to maximize your skills, passions, and knowledge in a way that creates the most amount of value for individuals, businesses, and society. The more effectively you leverage your skills, passions, and knowledge, combining them with the desires of the market, the more money you will receive in return. Your career should start and end as a pursuit to benefit others. Your career will be your greatest opportunity for purpose, prosperity, and stewardship.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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As much as I think and talk about passion, it seems to elude me more than anything else. I am passionate about many things, but I can’t seem to nail down why on earth I exist. I can’t seem to figure out what I was sent here to do. I literally struggle with this ultimate predicament every day of my life. I question my job, the city I live in, the things I claim to be passionate about, and even the book I spent 2 years creating. I don’t understand how I am supposed to choose my future when I have no understanding of my past or present. I feel stuck. I seem to lack the ability to choose because I change my mind about who I want to be every 30 seconds. Choosing one thing to do means I am also choosing not to pursue everything else. The grass is always greener in my head and I love to second guess myself to the point of insanity.

So, where do I go from here? To be honest, I’m not really sure, save one thing. I always know that going back to the basics solves my biggest problems. When I am stressed, frustrated, or simply stuck on something that doesn’t seem to have an obvious solution, I do what always works for me. Mostly, this includes taking care of my basic needs. My wife and I are big fans of Abraham Maslow. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a staple discussion in our house and it always seems to clarify my difficulties. When I go back to the basics I always seem to do the same three things: clean and organize my stuff, workout until I can’t stand up, and sleep as much as possible. These fundamentals allow me to clear my head by doing repetitive activities that make me feel accomplished. Doing the dishes has a calming effect on me. Working out is a great stress reliever.  Sleeping is the one of the most energizing things I can think of. After spending a few days, or even just a few hours, focused on these basic life necessities I am able to slow things down and see the bigger picture. I am able to more clearly identify what’s bugging me and exactly what needs to be done to address the issue.

I don’t have all the answers, but what I do have is the ability to change the way I perceive my own existence. I can choose to find solutions or wallow in my own self-pity. I can think about all the crap in my life, or I can focus on being grateful for what I have and optimistic about what I am about to do.

Take a look below at an excerpt from Chapter 3 – Passion and Purpose, taken directly from my new eBook, Graduated And Clueless.

Passion, the Steppingstone to Purpose

You life purpose will be clear in hindsight. This concept was difficult for me to grasp because I am impatient. I always want the answer now. Let your purpose find you, instead of you directly pursuing it. In other words, live with passion and the purpose of your life will be clear in time. This may seem like a contradiction to the idea that you must seek out your own purpose, but it is in fact a method that may lead to a meaningful life faster than you could imagine. Finding your passion is like finding your spouse, you can set all the parameters for what you are looking for and then find a great match with someone who is completely different than what you thought you wanted. It is quite likely your passion will find you before you ever find it. However, that does not mean you do not try to look for it.

Focus on creating a life that attracts purpose by seeking out what you love to do and doing it as often as possible. Purpose is based upon authentic passion and skill, combined with daily decision-making that fosters the growth of those two elements. The goal is to identify the unique combination of your most powerful passions and your most competent skills. This influential combination is an enormous steppingstone in attracting purpose. As you pursue activities, hobbies, careers, and the like, which are based upon your interests and areas of competence, you enable meaning to sneak into your work. You put more of yourself into what you do. You may even find yourself working longer and harder on accident because you care about what you do so much it becomes a part of your identity.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Photo Courtesy of Connie and Sheila

I’m breaking away from my book release series just this once to announce some big news. This is officially the 100th blog post of Graduated and Clueless! Not to mention, we’re celebrating this occasion with a podcast interview. On Monday I was interviewed by Connie Williams and Sheila Tidwell, two real estate investors in Nashville, Tennessee who host a real estate podcast at ConnieAndSheilaTalk.com. I met Connie while out to lunch one day when she noticed a personal development program I was working on. Strangely enough, when she tossed me her business card I noticed the name of her website and realized I had heard of them from another podcast I listen to frequently, Podcast Answer Man. Small world.

What made the meeting even more bizarre for me was that I had just recently decided to change directions with my career and look into real estate. Meeting Connie that day was no coincidence. After exchanging contact info and chatting on facebook in the days that followed, Connie saw this blog and noticed that I wrote a book. From there I wound up as guest on their show and the episode is now available on iTunes and their website for free. It’s a fun-filled 48 minutes that is definitely worth your time. I recommend listening to it and, if you’re at all interested in real estate investing as a career, definitely subscribe to Connie and Sheila’s podcast because it rocks! They know their stuff and the shows are fun, while informative, at the same time.

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Jeff Sanders
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Spirit fingers are to cheerleading what creativity is to your daily life. Okay, maybe that’s a goofy example, but creativity really is the pizazz that could be missing from your five-year plan or day-to-day routine. I’m fairly left brained, so analysis, logic, and structure tend to work well for me. Creativity falls into the less tangible right brain of life. Though I have a background in theater and the arts, I am more skilled in math and science than I care to admit. For me, creativity is hard work. It requires me to think outside of the box and look at my life from a new perspective. Creativity forces me to break out of my shell and become a new person. As an avid goal setter, breaking out of my shell is not new, but the creative process never seems to get any easier. Much like running a marathon, no matter how long you train, 26 miles is still 26 miles.

However, knowing that creativity is hard doesn’t deter me from pursuing it. In fact, it just may be the missing link between living a life of security and living on the edge. Creativity is the beast that cracks open your wild side and lowers your inhibitions. Whether you use creativity to paint a picture or design a business, the endorphins fly either way. My recommendation – be creative at all costs. Dive in and see what you come up with. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results.

Take a look below at an excerpt from Chapter 12 – Create Your Future, taken directly from my new eBook, Graduated And Clueless.

The writing of this book was the ultimate challenge for me, to create something of value for others. It is the culmination of years of work: thinking, journaling, brainstorming, writing, re-writing, and finalizing the best ideas to guide college graduates into the real world with something tangible to work with. It was not until I began to write this final chapter that I made the connection between what this book had become and what I planned to do with the rest of my life. When I first set out to write a book for clueless grads, like myself, I intended to discover my own purpose in life at the same time. Though I cannot say with certainty why I am on this earth, I can say that the missing link between cluelessness and awareness is the creative process. Though daily bold action will move you from one step to the next, the creative process will spark your soul and give meaning to all the hard work. Creation is the essence of all things new and wonderful. It is the epitome of putting pieces together for the first time and finding meaning where it did not exist before, even if only in your mind.

This book is my largest creation to date. Countless hours were spent toiling over the title, the font size and type, the content of each chapter, and the marketing methods I would use to attract my target audience. Needless to say, the creative process forced me to stretch and strengthen my mental muscles quite a bit.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Photo Courtesy of Sea Kayaker Magazine

While researching my book I sent an email to John Goddard, a man known simply as the World’s Greatest Goal Setter. He called me back and agreed to do an interview for my book. John Goddard is, without a doubt, the most driven man I have ever spoken with. He was convicted in his beliefs and more assure of himself than most people I’ve ever known. Without a hint of arrogance, he walked me through one story after another: his exploration down the Nile in a kayak, his strong religious background, and his belief that modern young people are extraordinary distracted.

In 85+ years John Goddard has set and achieved more goals than most people would accomplish in twelve lifetimes. He has climbed mountains, rafted rivers, explored rain forests, and jumped out of planes. He is quite simply the most daring, adventurous, and free spirited person on earth. If you are even the slightest bit curious about how to live like John, just set a ridiculous goal and do it. That’s what he did, hundreds of times.

Take a look below at an excerpt from Chapter 4 – Ambitious Goals, taken directly from my new eBook, Graduated And Clueless.

John Goddard is widely considered to be the world’s greatest goal achiever. Quite a title, but he deserves it. He is a world famous adventurer, explorer, author, and motivational speaker. However, I would not be too surprised if you have never heard of John Goddard. He is not a media mogul or a celebrity. He does not throw himself in front of cameras or spend his free time beefing up his personal brand, though he has written two books about his adventures. You may not have heard of him because John Goddard is too busy working through his personal life achievement list. This list is what sets him apart from most traditional goal setters. At age 15, John wrote a list of 127 goals that he wanted to accomplish before he died. The list is impressive. It is challenging, bold, and even ridiculous in the eyes of many, even after he accomplished most of the items. On the list, John included exploring the Nile, climbing Mt. Everest, diving in a submarine, and even visiting the moon. Since the day the list was first written John has added hundreds of additional goals, many of which he has accomplished. To date, John has successfully tackled 109 out of his original 127 goals and he is still striving forward even though he is over 85 years old.

“From early childhood I had always dreamed of being an explorer. Somehow I had acquired the impression that an explorer was someone who lived in the jungle with natives and lots of wild animals, and I could not imagine anything better than that! Unlike other little boys, most of whom changed their minds about what they wanted to be several times as they grew older, I never wavered from this ambition.”

– John Goddard, goal setting expert

When I first sat down to write this book I made a clear decision to focus the entire message around goal setting. I was convinced then, as I am today, that setting bold and ambitious goals made the difference between a clueless individual and someone on a successful mission in life. It was not long before I stumbled upon stories about John Goddard and I was immediately impressed and in awe of his accomplishments.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Photo Courtesy of Sudhamshu (flickr)

I am fully aware of the fact that it’s hard to admit to yourself that you are clueless about anything. It’s difficult to be truthful about our own weaknesses because we want to display our lives to others (and to ourselves) with confidence and near flawlessness. Even the idea of buying a book about personal growth can be next to impossible for people because they feel well-equipped with their current knowledge.

However, if you have reached the point where you are sick and tired of being sick and tired about something, you have reached the point where you are willing to try new things to overcome your cluelessness. Self-awareness is the name of the game. It is the core of knowing what you want because you know who you are, including areas where you would like to improve. Whether it’s finding a career or deciding what to order at a restaurant, you will make better decisions if you know more about you. I have found that the best way to increase your self-awareness is to increase your knowledge about the world around you, so you know how you best fit in. For me, reading non-fiction, self-help books has been the key factor to increasing my knowledge and awareness. It is the best piece of advice I give because reading has such a tremendous impact on my personal growth.

Take a look below at an excerpt from Chapter 1 – The Clueless Graduate, taken directly from my new eBook, Graduated And Clueless.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty is the sweet spot of cluelessness, the core of misdirection, the danger zone of mediocrity. Most people fall into this category. When given a multitude of options it can be mesmerizing and highly complicated to make a decision. Even with limited options, the fear of making the wrong choice is daunting and often paralyzing. Which job should I apply for? How will I find someone to settle down with? Will I ever be able to lose this weight? How can I possibly afford to live on my own with my tiny salary? All of these questions and thousands more explode out of nearly every graduate and it can become enormously overwhelming to answer any of them. At a certain point, it can be too much to handle and people simply stop trying. The inability to choose forces some to make easy choices instead of the right ones. It corners them into lifestyles they hate, jobs they could easily do without, and into a spiral of seemingly unsolvable dilemmas. Overcoming uncertainty is a mental shift. It requires acute self-awareness, knowledge of the potential solutions, and the confidence to believe that the grass is not actually greener on the other side.

Laziness

Laziness is sneaky. It is harder to identify than you might think. As it relates to cluelessness and the concepts discussed in this book, I will define laziness as the opposite of goal achievement. It is the force that could hold you back more than anything else from realizing your dreams. When I create a mental picture of laziness I always think of an overweight, middle-aged, balding man, slouching and farting on his couch with a beer in one hand and a remote in the other. He is watching a professional football game on a big screen TV that he cannot afford. He is grouchy, unapproachable, and predictably useless. He hates his job, but not as much as he hates his wife and kids. He has no goals, no ambitions, and no hope. He pops prescription drugs whenever anything hurts, which is often. Deep inside he wants to improve his life but in light of his current state of affairs, it literally seems impossible. Overcoming laziness begins inside. It begins with self-respect. In order to pursue an ambitious goal you have to first believe that you are practically capable of making it happen. Unfortunately, the natural pattern for many adults is to slowly lose faith in themselves, their dreams, and their future. Mediocrity becomes the norm, a devious creature that converts otherwise successful people into lazy, unmotivated couch potatoes. Commit now to being in the top 10% of the smartest, savviest, wealthiest, and most successful people around.

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
Become a Fan on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
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