Have you heard the saying ”knowledge is power” well it’s not power its potential power. If you learn something new and then do nothing with it it’s like you have never been taught. Knowledge is not enough get yourself to follow through.

You can do as many courses as you like go to seminars but if you don’t take action immediately not only do you lose the knowledge but the motivation to do so. To get the success from the course you must take the steps and action them consistently. Put what you learn into action, so many people have gotten the results and you probably will too as well… if you put in the effort.

You would make an educated effort. Once you add in a little determination and then stick to it then you become unstoppable.  Repetition is the key. The teacher will give you 25% of the information the other 75% is up to you. So that’s why so many people buy courses, books without implementing anything they have learnt buy more.

So what can you do?

1.        Get into a course this month. Read what is required and prepare before you start.
2.        Once you are there write lots of notes and have a column on the right hand side with the actions that you can implement immediately.
3.        Turn off the TV and computer and write down all the great stuff you have learnt.
4.        Review your notes and write down all the action steps to take immediately.  Don’t over think it as Nike says “Just Do It”
5.        Measure the results you achieved from taking this action.

Happy learning!

Build your business 5 steps at a time…

I was reading a book summary from new book” The bare foot Executive” by Carries Wilkerson. The one point that really stood out for me was so easy to do, so why don’t business owners do it?

Do five things per day for your business. Jack Cranfield calls it the “Five a day Rule” and John C Maxwell calls it the “Law of five.” Whether it is to right five follow up notes, make five phone calls, write five articles, brainstorm five ideas, speak to five employees and thank them for their contribution, five power point slides, create five new contacts, create five new product  idea’s or even read five pages of a book on development it’s about doing five of something!!!

For me it must be to action five something’s that will help grow my business.  If you consistently discipline yourself and five is just such an easy number. It feels achievable as this becomes easy then the number increases.

So  I tried this!!!

Well I’ve been going for a few weeks now and seeing the fruits of my labour. My sales have increased and my business is growing. I am now increasing my five to six, it now just is part of my daily habit each day in the morning I decide what will be the five (now six) things I will do today that will increase my business success.

I am excited about these results hope you are too…

Here’s the deal: we think it’s really important that people finish what they start. This is especially true when it comes to finishing courses that affect their careers. We thought really hard about what we could do to reward people for finishing a Certificate with us and we came up with this rewards scheme*:

Complete a Certificate II and get an IPOD Touch

Complete a Certificate III and get a Laptop

Complete a Certificate IV and get an IPAD

We are really proud of this reward scheme because it’s really important to celebrate the completion of your goals.

And what better way to celebrate than with a cool, new gadget?

The best part is that you could also be eligible for government funding. For example, you could invest as low as $187.50 for a Certificate III and also get a laptop when you graduate! This offer may sound too good to be true, but it is 100% true. Since we started this promotion not even 2 weeks ago we have had a 200% surge in enrolments.

We are looking forward to handing out these laptops to our graduates – we’ll keep you posted and publish photographs of our new graduates with their new laptops in the near future!

If you want to take advantae og this offer, just call (03) 9091 3150 or email miam@cttraining.net.au.

*Conditions apply: Successful graduation means CTT has deemed you have met all the requirements of accreditation and fully paid your course fee. This means you will have attended and participated in all classes, completed all assessments and activities to a satisfactory standard and undertook the required amount of hours at work placement. Reward not given until certicate has been awarded to the graduate. Gifts are not transferable or redeemable for cash or other items. Please see specications of each gift – pictures are only indicative. **The laptop is not supplied with a microsoft o-ce license but is available for purchase at a discount. ***While stocks last.

There’s a guy called Craig Ferguson in the United States who has his own late night talk show. You may have seen him because his show is on TV here too. He’s a very funny guy and I think Craig’s show is fantastic. On top of his stand up comedy, ridiculously funny puppet monolgues and cheeky demeanour, what I really enjoy about his show is the opening song (which Craig wrote). Some of the chorus goes something like “Tomorrow is just your future, yesterday…”

I’m sure Craig meant nothing to deep about the show’s opening diddy; it’s definitely a fun and upbeat start to his show. But as a keen student of human behaviour, I find “tomorrow is just your future, yesterday” particularly meaningful. This is because people don’t realise what they do on a daily basis can really affect their overall destiny. In other words, all those little decisions, actions and non-actions have an overall cumulative affect on their life’s direction. As a life coach I find it particularly surprising that people do not plan their life  – they spend more time planning outings and holidays than planning their financial, career and relationships goals.

The net result is people that are haphazard in their actions, which means their results are haphazard and mediocre too. Tomorrow is just your future, yesterday. If you read Craig’s story on wiki, you’ll see that he has worked hard for his success. He has paid his dues. Craig’s success is no accident. Under that cheeky veneer I’m sure Craig is an astute, clever, ambitous man. Having wrote that song, Craig really understands the value of hard work and does not underestimate how he can create his future.

Success is there for you too. But it rarely happens by accident. It may seem like that, but really, success occurs because you have taken the time to prepare for it.

What exactly did you do yesterday? Did you spend at least part of your day doing something that would have a real, lasting effect on tomorrow?

Skills Victoria is running a Facebook competition to find out what job you’d love to have and why. If you’re 13 or over, go to their facebook page and tell them in words or video what job you’d love to have and be in the running to win a pair of 2011 Toyota AFL Grand Final tickets.

The competition is open from Saturday 20 August to Friday 23 September.

Blues’ star is preparing for a job he’d love to have.

Andrew Carrozzo know what he’s doing. Apart from being a star Blues player, he’s preparing for a great life after footy as an electrician and business owner. Carrazzo has completed his apprenticeship in Electro Technology at Box Hill TAFE. He was thinking ahead.

“I understand that football doesn’t last forever, and when my playing days are over I don’t want to have to wake up one day thinking what ‘am I going to do?’ It’s important to have a skill in a particular area that I’m interested in.”Carrazzo has used his qualification to reach his goal of owning his own business, Clap Electrical Services.Lots of his teammates are also planning for their futures. It’s something the club encourages.

“David Ellard and Jeremy Laidler are completing a building and construction course together.” Just like on the footy field, Andrew takes pride in the detail of the job.

“On the field, I’m a smoother, the shepherd, taking pride in the small details to help us win.” It’s the same with his work. “I suppose the detailed work of being an electrician appealed to me. You have to be careful and take care of every little thing because people’s lives are at stake.”

Andrew Carrazzo’s prepared for a job he’d love after footy. What job would your students love to do and why? Students over 13 years of age can enter Skills Victoria’s Real Skills Facebook competition to be in the running to win a pair of 2011 Toyota AFL Grand Final tickets.

They can go to here and tell them in words or show us by video what job they’d love to have and why.

I recently asked one of our students “What is the one burning question you have about your career?” This young lady piped up with “What job can I get with a Certificate III in Business?”

Immediately, I thought ‘what a great question!’  The thing about business courses is that they can be quite generic, however some do offer specialisations, such as medical administration.

However, if you’re not interested in any particular specialisation, then business courses can definitely offer a wide range of career options.

I was tempted to come up with a list of jobs, but the possibilities are endless. Instead, I decided to compile a list of skills that you would acquire with a Certificate III in Business.

Apart from obvious roles in reception or administration, I decided to I have included a list of not-so-obvious skills you can begin to cultivate with a Certificate III in Business:

• Planning and completing projects.
• Negotiator (with clients and suppliers).
• Reviewer/evaluator of technology and equipment (includes phone systems, copiers, and purchasing and leasing of equipment).
• Coordinator of mass mailings (includes dealing with the printer and determining the most cost-efficient method).
• Storing and retrieval of information, along with ensuring they are linked.
• Scheduler and maintainer of calendars for yourself and others (mostly done electronically and includes scheduling facilities).
• Meeting planner (includes negotiating hotel contracts, scheduling catering, preparing for cyber- and video-conferencing).
• Travel planner (includes online research, booking, tracking, preparing the traveller, securing needed info such as maps, phone numbers, alternatives, emergency numbers).
• Desktop publishing (such as brochures, flyers, annual reports, and other things that are sent directly and electronically to the printer, Web design and postings).
• Team leader dealing with virtual members (from other facilities, travelling executives or with outside business partners).

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but  you can start matching some items on this list to skills employers are looking for in their job ads. In that way, you can start to find jobs you may be interested in applying for. Remember, though, some employers might require more experience. So, be preapred to ‘work up to’ the position you want.

You can go to any bookstore and find a tonne of books on time management. Similarly, you’ll find heaps of advice on the net.

Why is there so much advice and tips out there on how to manage our time?

The answer, I believe, is rooted in two issues we face on a daily basis:

Firstly, we lead really busy lives. If you’re a student, chances are you also have other commitments other than study. These commitments may consist of paid employment and family matters. These commitments make up the ‘shoulds’ in your life; I should work to make money to pay my bills, I should get home and get dinner ready for my family. All these shoulds can add to the pressure and stress you experience in your life and sometimes they can push other ‘shoulds’ down the list of your priorities, like ‘I should finish my homework’.

Secondly,  there are many ‘wants’ in your life. These wants are made up of what gives you joy, these are usually your hobbies and social life (friends and outings).  Many times your ‘shoulds’ end up causing you to forego your wants. But when you do that, you may find yourself unfulfilled, stressed and unable to relax.

Whenever I speak to students I hear similar stories as to why they did not complete their assignments “I am really busy” or “there’s not enough time”. I smile to myself when I hear the latter excuse; this is because everyone on this planet has the same amount of time – there are people out there who are successful in their jobs, study, have fulfilling relationships and also indulge in their hobbies. In other words, with the same amount of time as you they are able to achieve and complete more.

Why is this? People who achieve a lot on their lives understand that how much they achieve depends on what you they with their time and in what order they tackle their tasks. In order to get you on the same track as these high achievers, I thought I’d share these 3 simple strategies:

1. Cut out unproductive activity.

There are 24 hours in a day. You spend approximately eight hours (give or take) in paid employment and eight hours sleeping. What are you doing with the rest of your time, the other 8 hours? Are you watching TV, spending  hours aimlessly surfing on the net, talking to friends on the phone gossiping about others? These activities may seem fulfilling, but are ultimately pointless. This is especially true if these types of activities are carried on day after day, year after year. Eventually, you look back on the last 5-10 years and realise little was achieved.

In order to cut our unproductive activity, start to be consciously aware of what you are doing every 15 minutes. At the end of every 15 minute  intervals ask yourself, ‘what was I doing in the past 15 minutes?’ As time passes, you will start to notice which activities are wasting your time and which are productive. This process will also give birth to a desire in you to stop wasting your time and use it effectively.

2.  Do it now or diarise

The pressure you feel at any given moment may be the result of knowing that you have a lot to do but no idea when it will be completed. A useful motto for any tasks you are to do is: “DO IT NOW OR DIARISE”. This motto allows you decide whether you will finish a task in the moment or whether you will put it in our diary to be completed in the future. In this way, you either get a task done immediately or at least have set up an appointment to have it done. Bear in mind that if you diarise a task that the entry if for when you intend to get it done, that is to say the time that you will actually do the task. This is vastly different from a ‘due date’ which is merely a date by which sometime should be done. By setting up an appointment you have not set up a deadline but a firm commitment to do a task.

3. Get ugly tasks done first  

Brian Tracy, author of Eat That Frog, says that people who get many tasks done tend to tackle their ‘frog’ first, that is to say the biggest, most challenging task. By doing this, you are less likely to put the activity off til another day and  you get more done because you’ll be motivated to finish the easier tasks since worst one has now been completed.

There are heaps of ways to achieve more. Please feel free to share your tips with us below.

Good hygiene in food retail is not only about safety – it’s about good customer service. Therefore, as part of our courses in retail we ensure our students learn the fundamental rules of handling food safely.

Here’s a just a taste of what you’ll learn in any of our retail courses:

Here are a few basic tips you should follow in any food handling establishment:

• Avoid touching your body and then food.
• Do not run fingers through your hair and ensure your hair is secured at all times.
• Do not wipe or touch your nose.
• Do not cough or sneeze into your hand
• Wash your hand thoroughly before and after you touch the food.
• Throw away gloves when you have completed a task. Never reuse them.
• You should wash your hands before putting on gloves and when changing to a new pair.
• Never defrost food at room temperature. Food must be kept at a safe temperature during thawing. There are three safe ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
• Wash cutting boards and knives with hot soapy water after food preparation, especially after cutting raw meat, poultry or seafood. Sanitize cutting boards and counters with a dilute bleach solution.

Ensuring your customers are receiving properly handled food is imperative in having them return to you again and again and in ensuring they recommend you to friends and family.

Alot of theory and not enough practice…

Courses with this flaw wind up churning out graduates who don’t know what it’s really like to work in the ‘real world’.

That’s why it’s so important to choose an aged care course that can offer you the opportunity to work in environments that are the same, or close to, aged care facilities. In aged care, students learn lots of theory about how to make clients feel comfortable, facilitate their mobility and foster their independence and welfare. Such theory is invaluable and necessary as this gives students a solid grounding of what is required as a carer. But all this theory means nothing if it’s not complimented by practical experience.

A reputable training facility will offer two types of practice – practical activities in simulated environments and workplacements.

What is a simulated work environment?

It’s pretty much an area or a room set up to look and function like a particular work environment.

At Consider This Training, we have whole classroom decked out in equipment you’ll find in an aged care facility; a bed, a hoist (similar to what is pictured), medication cabinet, shower seats/chairs, first aid equipment, lounge and dining furniture. These are all set out for use by students and trainers during practicals.

The great thing about this equipment is that our trainers use the equipment to demonstrate how they can be used safely and effectively and students also get to practice their new-found skills.

So, when choosing a training organisation, make sure you find one that offers a good mixture of theory and practice. It’ll make your first job so much easier…

We recently ordered a brand new coffee machine for our training facility (it looks something like the picture, but we couldn’t find the exact model). We are really excited because we will be using this machine to train our retail students in coffee making.

If you’re like me, you love to have your coffee every day. And there’s nothing better than a perfectly prepared cuppa. That’s why we should be forever grateful to Luigi Bezzera who, circa 1901, patented the first restaurant quality espresso machine.

Luigi’s machine successfully reduced the time it took his restaurant employees to make coffee, but the combination of steam and hot water produced a bitter taste. Desiderio Pavoni purchased Luigi’s patent in 1905 and went on to improve the taste by tweaking the steam’s pressure.

A good cup of coffee takes skill and has become an art; that is why good baristas are in demand and are usually paid a good salary. After all, I know of people – including myself – who will go out of their way to get a good coffee, as well as avoid cafe`s that serve ‘bad’ coffee.

A certificate in retail at Consider This Training is more than just a course in making coffee, it’s also about excellent customer service in the food service industry. When you combine the two (good coffee and great service), you’ll find your career can take-off.

Want to know more? Call us on (03) 9091 3150 for more information.