"Balance between Soul, Mind and Body"

"The most important relationship you have in your life,

is the relationship you have with yourself"

~Diane Von Furstenberg

Hi Dear Readers,

In this post I wanted to share with you my journey of self-developing process. But first, let me explain where I was and where I am now...

On December 2008, I was 27 years old decided to leave my five years full time job and dedicate 100% to finish school and my self-development. The decision was tough and I am sure you can understand this, because I pay my own expenses, it was my first professional job; I was alone in this country.

My body and mind were screaming to me; asking me to take this decision. I couldn't handle this lifestyle anymore. For almost three years I was working and going to school in the same time. I guess things were going acceptable in both places. At school, I was obtaining average good grades and at work, I was obtaining promotions. However, one day when things went worst after finding that someone that I love in my family was really sick.

I remember really clearly how that day, the left side of my body was dumb but I didn’t stop and instead, I was trying to finish work and going to school for night classes. I realized that couldn't find me anymore, I didn’t know who I am; I was like a zombie walking for one place to another. I took vacations to visit my family who lived in another country (I moved to this country by myself) but this couldn’t help the feeling of unhappiness and emptiness I had.

Many people were keeping reminding me to take care of myself because even under my eyes were forming puffy purple bags. To make it worse, I was not happy of how I look and how I feel. I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror because I knew I was neglecting taking care of myself. Thus, I took the tough decision and left my full time job.

Since my decision to quit my job, things are much better but I am still in the process of recovery. Currently, I am still in school really close to graduate. I went for 3 months to Europe to study abroad and also took the opportunity to backpack around Europe. On the beginning of this year, 2010 I decided to participated in a 6 months co-op internship within my career field.

Regarding my mind and body, I don’t have the puffy purple bags anymore, I feel like smiling instead of crying from the nothing, I am starting practicing yoga and running at least 3 times a week. I am still in the fight to loss all the weight I put in the 5 years of work/school. I feel more motivated to live, creative, special and of course happier than ever.

Something that is still a challenge is to be more open and friendly to people. I used to be a social butterfly but I lost that on me. However, I am working on bringing this back and I can see in small steps that I am going in the correct path.

I am reading many self-developing books to help me in this process, reading magazines, attending seminars, watching videos, talking to different key people and writing this blog to help me in this process. I wish I can help others with my experience.

In a few words: “I am working hard to find the balance between my soul, mind and body”

A Checklist for Successful Onboarding

An interesting article:

"Onboarding — easing a new hire into his or her job as quickly and efficiently as possible — is a technique that a growing number of businesses are adopting. But while onboarding programs are becoming increasingly popular, it's also true that many businesses fail to exploit the process to its full potential. That's a shame, because a little time and energy spent helping a worker at the beginning of his or her employment can pay big benefits in terms of job performance and loyalty for many years to come.

This checklist can help any company get the most out of its onboarding program.

• Be professional. While new employees are typically concerned with putting their best foot forward, the hiring company also needs to leave a good first impression. An ad-hoc or slipshod onboarding program will make the new employee feel as if he or she has just signed up with a second-rate company. Over time, a poor onboarding program will damage employee morale, productivity and, ultimately, retention.
  
• Be clear and precise. Onboarding is a particularly terrible time to deliver weak or inconsistent messages. Miscommunication at the start of a job can lead to disastrous mistakes down the road as the employee naively performs actions that are contrary to best practices. To reinforce verbal instruction, companies should give a new hire an employee manual and other critical documents before their first day on the job.
  
• Keep it simple and low-key. Even if the employee's new job involves complex duties and responsibilities, the onboarding process should be kept as simple and as low-key as possible. This means that while you should divulge the information that the new hire needs to know to become a full team player, you should not overload him or her with every possible bit of available intelligence. There will come a time when the new hire needs to know that the company holds a picnic every Labor Day and that Nov. 21 is the company founder's birthday. That time, however, is not the first week on the job.
• Keep it interesting. Onboarding, by nature, will always require new employees to fill out forms, watch orientation videos and perform various other mind-numbing tasks. But try to make the process less boring by alternating rote tasks with more engaging activities, such as touring production facilities, examining new tools and meeting colleagues.
  
• Designate a mentor. The new hire shouldn't feel like a lonely piece of driftwood bobbing in a vast ocean. Assigning an experienced mentor to the new hire, preferably someone in the same general business area, will give the newcomer a reliable escort and contact source. The mentor should be available for consultation throughout the business day for at least the first week or so of a new hire's employment. After that, you may trim access back to scheduled meetings.
• Take time to listen. Onboarding is a two-way process: The mentor provides facts and support, and the new hire asks crucial questions about his or her job. To facilitate the ongoing flow of information, build time into the onboarding schedule to allow both parties to sit down and discuss — uninterrupted — whatever happens to be on their minds.
  
• Prepare the workspace. Onboarding's primary goal should be to get new hires comfortable with their jobs and working at near peak efficiency out of the starting gate. But this isn't possible if the person's workspace isn't available or is missing essential tools or materials. That's why it's important to have a permanent workspace ready as soon as the new hire arrives for work.

• Provide follow-up support. Too many companies take a "sink-or-swim" approach to onboarding, designing the process as a stand-alone system with specific starting and ending dates. Actually, onboarding should be viewed as just the first step in an ongoing employee-support program. During the onboarding process, employees need to be introduced to the company's full spectrum of career-advancement, wellness, recreation and other programs, as well as encouraged to seek information and other assistance whenever the need arises."
  

17 Things You Should Always Know About Your Company

I am currently part of an internship and I found this article which I am using as a check list of things to do before I finish my 6 months internship.

I thinks is really important not only for full time employees, intern and if you are looking for a job. So, here goes the article:

"There are a lot of things to learn in every job. Besides the job description, there is the corporate culture, policies and expectations for every employee. Here are some of the things that each employee should know about a company.

1. Mission Statement: Companies seek profits, of course, but they do so by fulfilling a mission for their customers. You need to understand that mission in order to know why you were hired and what your contribution is expected to be.

2. Customers: Every company exists to serve customers, and so does every job within a company. Know your company’s customers, even if you have no direct contact with them, and you will be able to do your job better.

3. Financial Condition: There is no better harbinger of your fortunes than those of your employer. If you work for a publicly held company, pay attention to SEC(Securities and Exchange Commission) filings, reports to analysts and trade press about your company. If your employer is closely held, you will have to rely on more subtle hints such as the ebb and flow of budget dollars and the grapevine of business successes and failures.

4. Chain of Command: You should know your boss, your boss’s boss and everyone else in your chain of command up to the CEO. If you do not know your place in the organization, it can be hard to tell where you stand. Know your boss’s allies and who might be trying to undermine him or her.

5. Health Insurance: The place to ask about your deductible is not the emergency room. You should know your primary physician, whether you need referrals to specialists, the cost of in-network versus out-of-network care if you are in such a plan, co-payments for prescriptions, dental and vision benefits, and the details of any additional aspects of your health plan. Health-savings accounts can complicate issues even more.

6. Retirement Plan: Afterheath insurence,returement plan options may be the most complicated of all employee benefits. Your employer may offer a simple 401 (k) or no retirement plan at all. You should know your options, how much you can contribute, your employer’s matching contributions, vesting periods and how your money is invested.

7. Your HR Rep: By now, it may have dawned on you that you need help understanding employee benefits and corporate policies. That is where your HR department can help. Take advantage of education classes or make an appointment to discuss particulars that are giving you difficulty.

8. Drug and Alcohol Policies: Almost every company has a written policy prohibiting use of drugs or alcohol at work. Some reserve the right to test employees under certain circumstances or at random. It can pay to know these policies, what appeals processes are available and the consequences of refusing testing.

9. Public-Statement Policies: A growing number of employees are surprised to learn that what they post on their Web pages or social-networking sites matters to their employers. Policies about public statements that reflect upon the employer’s reputation are increasingly common.

10. IT Help-Desk Contact: Who are you going to call when your computer crashes or you cannot access the network? Help-desk staff can save you hours of frustration and downtime. Their phone numbers should be pasted to your computer monitor.

11. IT Acceptable-Use Policies: Most companies tolerate a certain amount of personal use of corporate IT resources, including personal phone calls. But they take very seriously activities that slow down the network for everyone, downloading pirated music and installing unauthorized software that may infect the network with a virus. Also, employees should never view adult or objectionable Web content at work.

12. How to Request Supplies: Whether you need a stapler or a new computer, you should know the procedure for requesting supplies. Do you have to go through your boss, or is there a central supplies hot line? What paperwork is involved?

13. Smoking Policy: Even if you do not smoke, you may want to know where your employer allows it so you can avoid those areas. If you smoke, you may find some companies ban smoking during business hours. A few firms even forbid smoking on your own time.

14. Grievance Procedure: Sometimes a grievance with a supervisor or a co-worker cannot be resolved informally. At such times, it is important to know how to begin a formal grievance procedure. Often, it starts in the HR department.

15. Disciplinary Procedures: Supervisors must know what disciplinary options are available to them, from informal admonitions to termination. Workers should know what each form of discipline means to them, and the consequences of further need for discipline.

16. Fraternization Policy: Office romances happen. Most companies have policies forbidding fraternization between supervisors and subordinates. Others have more stringent policies. Before you start a fling, consider the potential consequences.

17. Vendor Relations and Gifts Policies: In order to avoid even the appearance of undue influence upon business relationships, many employees are forbidden to accept gifts from vendors in excess of some nominal amount. You should know if such policies apply to you."