Powerful Three

Three is powerful.

Three is a very powerful, symbolic, and useful number.  “The triad or trinity is a symbol of the unity of body, mind and spirit. The symbol universally significant and found throughout history and all over the world.”

There are three great divisions completing time–past, present, and future.

Thought, word, and deed, complete the sum of human capability.

Three kingdoms embrace our ideas of matter–mineral, vegetable, and animal.

Three persons, in grammar, express and include all the relationships of mankind.

Here are three powerful suggestions to empower you and assist your job and career quest:

RSG – Ready, Set and Go.  The starter in track and other events uses this three-step command.  Each is a call to action starting with `ready’ meaning – complete your preparation. Next it’s time to get `set’ – focusing on your goal; and then, `go – on the track (in the arena) and moving.  Have you neglected your preparation, or are you stuck in this important process?  It’s important to take the next, aiming/prioritizing step (consider it a trial for learning, if you’re a perfectionist or a new experiment if you’re an inquisitive adventurer).  Taking action completes the cycle and puts you on the path of landing your new job and career direction.

LPR – Listen, Pause and Respond.  Landing a new job requires effective communication, and listening is a skill to be developed and improved by all of us.  Listening first requires focus, paying attention.  It helps to suspend judgment and concentrate on what’s being said or asked.  Learn to pause and reflect and to be patient before responding.  Briefly repeating (or paraphrasing) what’s been said or asked is a tool that provides time to consider possible responses and to choose an effective one.  Avoid long-winded and meandering responses.  Can you confine your answers to `less than a minute’?

GDR – Grace, Dignity and Respect.  The path to success is about being, about approach.  Years ago, a high-powered consultant taught us this acronym, and it became a reminder to consider and improve our personal behaviors and relationships.  It’s rather easy to be observant and often critical of the way others behave; however, examining ourselves is a truly challenging.  We waste time and energy trying to `change’ others as we neglect the opportunities to improve our own outlook and actions.  These guidewords are powerful, self-improvement tools and about:  forgiveness, letting go, walking tall and positively, as well as caring and considering others.

Reflect upon these three-part suggestions, try one to help you, and remember to practice.

Also, remember to ask questions before, during and after interviews.  What kind of organization surrounds the opening?  What is their business mission and culture?  What is expected from the position and successful employees?   What is the decision-making process for filling this position?  And, ASK for the job! Three letter words.   Following the interview, ask yourself – what you learned and discovered and how you could have improved?