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Holidays

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Last week I mentioned that in the UK it was the May Bank Holiday weekend, the last long weekend for some time, in fact until the end of August.

On this occasion the weather forecasters seem to have got it right. It was pleasant sunny weather over much of the weekend, for those of us in the south at least.

I’m glad we stayed home. With the warm weather and no transport hassles we could just relax and enjoy.

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Formula 1 and Beliefs

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I saw a great example last weekend of how the right beliefs and mindset can help you a lot.

Last weekend was the Monaco Formula 1 race. (I was enjoying the weather so much I actually missed most of the race and only caught the end).

Lewis Hamilton, one of Britain’s favourite sports stars managed to finish only 12^th, losing out to fellow Briton Jenson Button who came 1^st, and probably in the process losing any hope of being world champion this year.

Was he upset? Presumably. But I watched the interview with him after the race and boy was I impressed. He actually seemed happy with life, warmly congratulated Jenson Button and The Braun Team on their win, and then said he’d be back next year, when he intended to win. That was a great performance by anyone, never mind one so young.

In the words of the old song “Pick yourself up”:

 

Thanks Lewis for setting a great example. As we keep pointing out in Jack’s Guides, the major barrier to success is your own belief system.

As Henry Ford said “Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.”

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More Princes

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Following last week’s article on changes to Prince2, I have had various questions from friends on the subject of how people come to be Project Managers or Business Analysts.

These are not the kind of jobs that you decide early in life you are going to do, take a degree in Project Management (or Business Analysis) and get a job. It doesn’t work like that.

In fact, I have never met anyone who got into these jobs via that traditional path. Every single person got into the job by moving into it from something else – and almost by accident.

Mostly people get into these jobs by already working in some other job in the IT industry. The truth is that IT PMs and BAs are in such demand that anyone who shows any inclination or ability seems to move into the job almost subconsciously

A cross section of people I have worked with over the years shows the variety of ways people get into these jobs. Before they were PMs or BAs they were:

Programmers

Support staff

Trainers

Salespeople

Managers or Team Leaders

Various clerical positions

Data analysts of various kinds

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So it’s more a case of being in the right place at the right time and getting that lucky break. This needn’t be as haphazard as it sounds.

There are ways to position yourself, no matter what you are doing right now and prepare yourself for the chance that will inevitably come to those who are looking for it.

We can show you how.

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These topics are discussed at length in our e-book “Jack’s Guide to Lots More Money” available at http://www.jacksguides.com/itjobs.html

If you are ready to make the leap into a much better paid job or contract, and be perfectly positioned as the recession eases, see our website at www.jacksguides.com