Day 5: Online Skills

Yesterday, I shared with you how I design my life with intention. One of the cornerstones of living deliberately is practicing discernment in EVERY choice I make. As I am now building my career trajectory in the corporate world, I have to be mindful of the skills which I already have. That way, I get to apply them more effectively and make excellence a habit. 

It is remarkable though that even in a corporate setting, my personal growth is made possible through skills which are valuable in online businesses. Corporations have an online presence, and knowing which online skills I innately have is going to make me a more valuable asset to my employer.  

Are you curious to know which online skills will enable you to thrive beyond the interwebs? Let me teach you how! 

I am on the third day of The Bucketlist Bombshells mini-course which I have shared with you a few days ago. I found out through the video class that I am proficient in tech skills more than graphic design, and it is an area where I can develop my potential to have an online tech business. This does not necessarily mean that I will be setting up my own tech business. It could simply mean that I could diversify my role in the company I will belong to by applying my innate skills in project management, web content strategy, writing, and blogging should there be opportunities in their online campaigns. I have also learned that I can grow and expand my tech skills by learning more about social media management and coding in the future.

To determine if you are more of a graphic designer or a tech professional, take the Day 3 video class in the mini course. You should also reflect on what excites you. Do you like browsing through typography, colour schemes, and mood boards online? Then you are most likely to be a graphic designer at heart. If you are more excited about managing online content, writing blog posts, and thinking of practical solutions to everyday tech problems, then you are more of a tech whiz. You do not have to be a coder or developer to work in tech. In fact, you can simply write content and have a potentially fruitful career online if you continuously research and study on ways to amp up your skills.

There are plenty of online courses to teach you how to acquire graphic design or tech skills, and there are also affordable classes in schools, univeristies, and even co-working spaces. Choose what works best for you and focus on the skills you want to develop, learn, and apply!

As always, I am being real and sharing with you my actual answers to the worksheet provided in the video course. I hope that this will inspire you to uncover which online skills could help you setup your own online side-hustle or diversify your current role in your company. Who knows, you might even have a more meaningful life in the process. Let me know how it goes, and tomorrow, I will teach you another lesson on self-improvement which you should not miss!

 ***Comments are welcome at speakoutsam@gmail.com***

Day 3: Hard Skills

I have decided to continue my self-improvement journey by discovering what my hard skills are. These are skills which are standard employable traits, such as computer programming and report writing. I have shared with you how I discovered my soft skills the other day, so now, I am going to teach you how to determine what your hard skills are. 

I am on my second day of the free four-day course from The Bucketlist Bombshells. You may also take it as it could help you probe into your untapped skill set and dormant dreams regarding your career. Do not be derailed by their business model, which is to educate women on how to put up online businesses so they could travel the world full-time. Their free course and ideas work even to those (like me) who do not plan to be a creative nomad but would like to amp up their careers. Be sure to download the worksheets which are included in the course (I opted to use a notebook though to answer the worksheets). Lastly, have a notebook, pen, and highlighter (or coloured pencils) so you can take notes and answer the questions!

I am being 100% real here, so I am sharing with you my actual notes from the exercise.  

The exercise includes Mind Mapping, which is an effective tool to determine what tasks you are capable of doing. I have included some of my mind maps here to serve as examples. The middle box will state your role and the outer boxes will correspond to each task and sub task that you have. You have to make a mind map for every work, school, and passion project role you’ve had.

Once you have made your mind maps, use a highlighter or coloured pencil to highlight the tasks which you have enjoyed doing. Once you are finished, list down all your enjoyable tasks to make it easier for you to consider when you are looking for a job or putting up your own business.

You will then have to find the common theme among these enjoyable tasks and determine what made you enjoy them. 

After doing so, you will have to go back to your 16Personalities test result from yesterday’s lesson and see if any of these tasks correlate with your personality profile. 

I hope that today’s lesson has inspired you to apply your skills more effectively at work or while pursuing your passion project. And who knows, you might even end up being a Bucketlist Bombshell yourself! I know that I am a corporate girl for now, so I am on the self-improvement train to help me build a better career.  

Tomorrow, I will share another self-improvement lesson so do stick around and learn from (and with) me!

 ***Comments are welcome at speakoutsam@gmail.com***

Day 1: Skills Discovery

I have decided to commit to self-improvement by listening to podcasts. You might be thinking that this is not an effective strategy to overhaul my personal life and career trajectory, but I would like to prove that podcasts can positively impact my journey. I will share with you my notes and even my lessons so that you too can change your life. 

My favorite podcast right now is Pursuit with Purpose. It is hosted by Melyssa Griffin, who gives easy and actionable steps to self-improvement. I find her show engagingly practical, and she features guests who share their strategies in building their brands and careers. I learned that it is possible to improve your life and career through finding your purpose. 

Let me show you how.  

Today, I will teach you how to discover your skills based on what I have learned from two of Melissa’s guests on her podcast.

The first one is Susie Moore of the Side Hustle Academy. By listening to the podcast episode on How to Create a Successful Side Hustle and Life, I have learned that it is possible to work full-time and still pursue a passion project. By doing so, it could positively impact my life and give me a sense of accomplishment. I also received a free workshop on starting your own side hustle which you can also participate in just by accessing this link. I started the workshop yesterday, and the first module is about determining which skills you have using her ingenious Skill Distiller Formula. 

I applied the formula and reflected on my own journey so far. Here’s what I have uncovered: 

By using the Skill Distiller Formula to unlock my unique strengths, I managed to validate myself. I was able to solve problems and innovate along the way. Most of all, I can apply my skills to new ways. I have then decided to listen to another episode of Melyssa’s podcast to discover more of my skills.

Enter Cassie + Shay of The Bucketlist Bombshells.  They are two best friends who travel the world while teaching other women how to run their own online businesses so they can do the same. Their guesting on Melyssa’s show resonated with me because (while I intend to work in corporate for now) I want to know what skills I can capitalize on and how I can develop them as I go along. I started taking their free online course on how to be a girl boss. It takes four days to complete, and I finished the first module yesterday.

The first day consisted of uncovering my soft skills. Here’s what I have learned: 

I already took the 16Personalities test for an interview, and I revisited the results to determine what my soft skills are. I never focused on them until now, and I learned that my weaknesses are basically my strengths on steroids. I have a Commander personality, which makes me an analyst who thrives in social engagement. By focusing on my soft skills and combining them with a closer look at my career path and workplace habits, I landed on career options that I can consider. This is invaluable as I am currently pursuing a corporate role while managing my website.

Can you imagine how amazing skills discovery can be for your life and career? You can innovate and diversify in your current role, or level up by taking a side hustle or becoming an entrepreneur. The choice is yours, and it is made easier through today’s lesson. I hope that you enjoyed learning with me, and I will be back tomorrow with Day Two of my self-improvement lesson! 

 ***Comments are welcome at speakoutsam@gmail.com***