If you have any local school contacts — from teacher to superintendent — will you help me pass the word?

All public schools and school districts in the United States have to assess the technology skills of all of their students by the 8th grade — new federal mandate.

My company, InfoSource Learning, is providing a free, no-strings attached way to do that.  It’s for unlimited students and unlimited schools and there’s not a dime’s cost to the school or district.

We do all of the hosting, provide free student tracking and reporting… the whole shebang!

No catch.  No cost.

Check this out and let others know, please:  SimpleAssessment.com.

Last year we had over a million kids register for SimpleAssessment in over 1200 school districts.

Pass the assessments around anyone?

Popularity: 34% [?]

Are you using Twitter in your dream job quest?

If not, I think you should give ‘er a look-see.

While it took about six months for my marketing team at InfoSource Learning to convince me to start tweeting (yup, that’s what you do when you send out your short 140-character or less messages on Twitter), I’m now starting to “get” the whole thing.

If you haven’t checked it out, Twitter lets you post very short messages to be seen by anyone who’s following you.  More importantly, you can follow other people — specifically people who’re living and working your dream job.  Follow them, watch what they do, learn from them.  And, over time, you might develop a relationship so that you can start communicating with them.

Twitter takes a little time to learn how to use effectively, but I believe it’s a useful tool to have in your Dream Job Quest bag-o-tricks.

Wanna follow me over there?  Find me @mindtrekker.

And, let me know how you use the tool.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Check this out.

One of the easiest ways to carve out more time for yourself so you can learn more about what you should be doing with the rest of your life is to steal it from one of the time-wasters we all have in our lives.

Here Jeff Cobb from Mission to Learn covers 15 places to look for a time saver or two.

They add up…  and, with enough of them, you may find enough to create a new work life for yourself.

Good stuff, check ‘er out.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Jeff Gitomer, love him to pieces… check him out.

From his latest newsletter:

BIG QUESTION: What are you “accepting” right now that you might be able to change if you took a few more risks, or were willing to put in a bit more (or a lot more) effort?

BIGGER QUESTION: What are the three of four things in your life that you “wish” were different than they are now? And what the hell are you waiting for? Don’t you hate waiting? Traffic. Late flights. Long lines. On hold. Slow service. You do everything you can to avoid a 10-minute or 60-minute wait, yet you’re willing to wait YEARS to achieve your life’s desire. Not me. I’m not waiting for anything or anyone. I don’t accept waiting, either in a doctor’s office or in life.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Came across a delightful new resource and it’s a doozy and well worth checking out… all about self-learning.  This Self-Made Scholar caught my attention right off because it’s about (a) learning and (b) free!

More importantly, I think it’s relevant to everyone who’s in the process of reinvention and dream jobbing.

Below is an extract from a recent post there that I thought might ring true for a few of you who know you want to change your life, know you need to learn something new, but dread the thought of traditional schooling.  Here goes:

Dispelling Misconceptions

Many former students have a hard time separating learning from the act of sitting at a school desk or doing busywork. If you’re having problems learning on your own, try to clear your mind of these common myths:

Don’t Think: “Students can only learn with a qualified teacher”
Think: “I am the most qualified person to be in charge of my learning.”

Don’t Think: “Education happens in schools.”
Think: “Learning can happen anywhere.”

Don’t Think: “A curriculum is required to learn.”
Think: “I can learn any way I want. Informally or formally.”

Don’t Think: “Math sucks” or “I hate ____”
Think: “A lot of subjects seem lame when studied in isolation of anything meaningful. I may end up hating it after all, but I’ll keep an open mind about these subjects.”

Check ‘er out, good stuff.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Hey.

I’ll show you mine, if you’ll show me yours.

Quest that is.

Where are you heading and what are you trying to do with your (work) life?

Can be big or small.

Tell me your goal and A STEP (just one) you’re going to take to move toward that goal.

Examples:

1. I want to own and run a restaurant, so I’ll do anything to get started.  For the next month, I’m going to spend five hours a week looking for a part-time job — any job — in a restaurant.
2. I want to become an outdoor trail guide, but I work in a cubicle creating marketing materials all week long.  For the next six months, I’m going to organize and lead a monthly trail walk (and invite friends and their friends) for free in areas near my hometown.  If I live a large urban area, I’ll create and run urban walks.
3. I’m a salesrep for a software company, but I really want to become a high school math teacher.  I’m going to work out a deal with my employer so that I can take my vacation time in very short chunks (one day a week for the next several weeks, for example) and sign up as a substitute teacher in my local school district on those days off.

Okay, so that’s it.  Goal and step.

Eazy peezy.

Give it to me, Dream Jobbers!

Popularity: 36% [?]

I love Bob Brezny and his Free Will Astrology.

Because my horoscope for this week relates so closely to our work here at DreamJobsDialog, I thought I’d share it with you:

As the season of riddles kicks into high gear, I present you with a two-part quiz.

Part 1:  Since it has taken you your whole life to become the person you are today, is it reasonable to expect that you can transform yourself in a flash?

Part 2:  On the other hand, since you are more creative than you give yourself credit for, and in a phase when your ability to change is greater than usual, is it reasonable to assume that you must remain stuck in your old ways of doing things?

Yummy stuff, and a Top 5er to boot.  Check out Bob’s stuff.

Popularity: 36% [?]

photo credit: aloshbennett

Listen to the mustn’ts, child.
Listen to the don’ts.
Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . .
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be.
– Shel Silverstein

Popularity: 59% [?]

Try this (I promise, it won’t hurt) and report back to me in a week or so and tell me what happened.

Step 1.  Get a blank sheet of paper.

Step 2.  Turn it sideways (landscape view).

Step 3.  Across the top, write:  “You are the problem” in small letters with a regular pen.

Step 4.  Then, fill up the rest of the sheet in bold marker-type lettering, with this:  “You are also the solution.”

Step 5.  Tape this to your bathroom mirror and keep it there for a week.

Popularity: 63% [?]

Success is yours tomorrow.

Really.

All you need do is define it by your standards, and not someone else’s.

Stop making it all about the money (unless, after that inner search, for you it really is all about the money).

I define success by a job I love, a home I want to come back to, and a physical surrounding that energizes me.

Oh yeah, and a calendar that I’m in control of… not an employer or “boss.”

But, that’s me… not you.

You define success.

So, tell me, what is it for you?

Popularity: 63% [?]