6 Totally Unsolicited Tips for My Little Brother on Graduation Weekend

Nate Green, The Huffington Post

My little brother is graduating college this weekend, which makes him the first person in my immediate family to do that. It's a big accomplishment. So, naturally, I wrote him a list of six tips he didn't ask for and will probably ignore.

You know. To celebrate.

1. Learn how to make one amazing breakfast.

Why breakfast? Because you can eat it any time of the day.

Check it:
Breakfast -- Breakfast
Lunch -- Breakfast
Dinner -- Breakfast

In fact, breakfast for dinner is a truly amazing experience. Whenever I eat eggs and bacon at 8 p.m., I feel like I'm breaking some sort of antiquated rule and sticking it to The Man.

"Take that, society!"

But... what to cook? I suggest starting with scrambled eggs. But not the flaky, crumbly kind. I'm talking about the slightly-runny good kind.

A few tips:
Get a non-stick pan.
Use butter instead of olive oil.
Get a rubber spatula. (Not the kind you flip burgers with. Amateur.)

2. Learn how to make one amazing cocktail.
Why a cocktail? Because you can drink it any time of the day.

OK, I'm kidding. No cocktails in the morning. (Except for brunch.)

Anyway, knowing how to make a good cocktail is like having a superpower. One that makes you look cool in front of girls and livens up any party.

Plus, you'll have a valuable skill for when you're sitting at home alone trying to figure out what the hell you want to do with the evening (or your life).

Start by learning how to make a Manhattan. Why?

It's a classic cocktail, the ingredients are easy to find anywhere, and it's really, really hard to screw up.

3. Ask more questions (especially when you meet someone for the first time).

At some point you'll be in a situation where you'll have to talk to people.

Repeat after me: Small talk sucks.

So, a few rules: No talking about the weather. No asking how many brothers and sisters somebody has. No asking where they grew up.

Instead, show an actual interest in the person.

You're graduating with a degree in journalism for chrissakes. Put it to use.

Ask questions. Lots of them.

By asking questions and listening, people will begin to feel like you really understand them. They'll trust you. They'll see you as an ally.

That's important, because it gives you an opportunity to learn how to help that person and add value to their life.

And value for them means value for you. Eventually.

4. Once you find something you're interested in, go deep.

Maybe it's learning how to start a business or a blog. Maybe it's learning Spanish or yoga. Maybe it's learning something so crazy I can't even think of an example right now.

Whatever it is, if you're into it, go deep.

Learn everything you can about it. Research the history. Practice it incessantly. Find the best in the world at it and see how they do it.

It won't take over your life. Usually just a few weeks. Or months. Or years.

But by then, it'll be so second-nature it'll just bleed into other parts of your life and become a part of your identity.

That's usually a good thing.

Read the full article online... 

15 Best Leadership Books Every Young Leader Needs To Read

by Joe Vennare

Reading is an essential life skill. It’s how we record our history and share stories. Sure, there are countless books jam-packed from cover to cover with valuable facts. But there are also limitless volumes containing invaluable insights on the human experience. Generations of people have scribed their experiences and struggles, their emotions and confessions onto blank pages, thereby transforming them into rich resources. Given this truth, it’s disheartening to report that global literacy rates are in decline. Individuals young and old all around the world are reading less, less absorbedly.

According to author John Coleman, this lack of literature extends into the business world and all the way up the corporate ladder. In his experience, “business people seem to be reading less.” Which is bad news considering the fact that “broad reading habits are often a defining characteristic of our greatest leaders.” Perhaps it’s because reading has been shown to improve communication, emotional intelligence, organizational effectiveness, and to reduce stress. All of which are critical requirements for an effective leader.

Now that you’ve been sufficiently convinced of the importance of reading, especially for would-be leaders, you’re probably wondering what you should be reading. You might also be thinking that you don’t have the time. Well, the truth is that you do have the time:
“reading must become as natural as eating and breathing to you.” You don’t have to read 52 books in a year, but you do have to make time for more reading. And when you do, this list of the 15 best leadership books will inform and inspire young leaders.

Lead yourself.

Before you can lead someone else, a group, or a company, you must be able to lead yourself. That means discipline, self-actualization, sense of purpose, and humility.
  
1. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays translation)
Although Aurelius was writing for himself, the surviving text is a road map to living a better life. By removing the excess, Aurelius shows us all how to rise above distractions to maintain our principles. Rooted in Stoic philosophy, Meditations is practical advice for controlling your thoughts, emotions, and actions to remove stress from your life.

2. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel

This book recounts Viktor Frankel’s experience in Auschwitz, the Nazi prison camp, during the Holocaust. Through all the pain and suffering Frankel was able to maintain perspective and conclude that there “must be meaning in suffering.” He reminds us that the meaning of life is to define that meaning for ourselves through action.

3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Life is a journey. Each one of us should be trying to follow our own personal legend (that is, what you have always wanted to accomplish). The tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, reveals what happens when we pursue our own legend: “the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Define leadership.

After building your foundation from which to lead, it’s important to understand exactly what leadership is and how it’s applied. It’s also helpful to study other successful leaders and businesses.

Read the full article online.

10 Lessons For Entrepreneurs From Coach John Wooden

Lewis Howes, Contributor, Forbes

 

Coach John Wooden, a.k.a. the “Wizard of Westwood,” is best known for his 27-year legacy at UCLA, where he led the Bruins to 10 NCAA national championships, and for coaching basketball legends such as Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But his words and practices about what it takes to win don’t just apply to the basketball court; they apply to all areas of life – especially entrepreneurship.

Even though Coach Wooden was known for his simple and old school approach to practice and playing, the results speak for themselves.

This man knew how to win.

Below are 10 quotes from John Wooden.  I believe his words still have as much relevance in our digital world today as they did when he first spoke them.

Words Of Wisdom From John Wooden

1.  “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
There’s always going to be something “extra” that can enhance your business or potentially boost sales.

Maybe it’s a new technology platform or a social media strategy.  Whatever it is, I think Coach Wooden would encourage us to strive for those things, but don’t let them become an excuse for not doing our best with what we already have.


2.  “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.  I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

I think one of the biggest reasons why seasoned entrepreneurs stop innovating and taking risks is because they’re afraid of ruining a “winning streak.”

Nothing is for certain in the world of innovation.  You’ve got to remember that out of every failed innovation comes unexpected knowledge that sends us in a new direction or reveals something we would have never known.

3.  “It’s the little details that are vital.  Little things make big things happen.”

Once you realize the truth behind, “Little things make big things happen,” you’ll never again view the details of your business as boring or insignificant – especially when it comes to marketing.

Consumers don’t become loyal brand buyers by accident.  It takes strategic planning and execution to cut through the estimated 3,000 marketing messages the average American sees each day.

Every picture, every image and every email within your marketing has a job to do.

Read the full article online.

In Debt…Again? How to Break the Borrowing Cycle

By Credit.com

You hate debt.

You got out of debt once and vowed you’d never let it happen again. But here you are – stuck in debt again.

It’s not fair! How did it happen so quickly?

And what can you do to create a permanent debt solution so that you never repeat the pattern again?

The Permanent Debt Solution

Defining the source of your debt problem is critical to solving it.

You believe your debt is a financial problem, but it’s actually a personal problem masquerading as a financial one. That’s why a permanent debt solution eludes you.

Treating debt as if it were a financial problem is similar to trying to cure the flu by blowing your nose. You relieve an obvious symptom but don’t address the underlying cause.

When you don’t address the cause, you don’t get better.

In other words, debt is often just a symptom of a much larger problem: an addiction to an unsupportable self-image and lifestyle that results in overspending.

Until you address the real problem, the symptom will recur, which may explain why you are in debt again.

What that means is debt’s real cause is often personal life habits and attitudes that result in overspending.

The rule is simple – you must spend less than you earn. There’s no way around it.

However, teaching a chronic debtor to spend less and earn more is like telling an overweight person to lose weight by eating less and exercising more.

Everyone already knows what to do. The difficult part is actually getting it done.

How to Slay the Debt Monster

Sure, you want to get out of debt as fast as possible, but superficial financial solutions result in repeat offenders.

Using debt consolidation, or transferring balances to a HELOC or a 0% credit card, or selling assets such as a house, boat or car does not address the root cause of the problem.
You are trying to relieve the symptom by looking only at financial issues.

Instead, what you must first do is figure out what is causing your debt.

What are all the ways you spend more than you earn? But there are ways to identify these habits and change them.

The permanent cure is to plug all the habitual ways you leak money so that you never go into debt again. This isn’t sexy, but it permanently solves the problem.


You must persist in plugging these leaks until you are spending less than you earn.

It may take you months (or years) to achieve this objective.

That’s OK.

Read the full article online. 

10 Tips to Turning Your Internship Into a Full-Time Gig

“10 Tips to Turning Your Internship Into a Full-Time Gig” was provided by POPSUGAR Smart Living.

For a lot of us, graduating from college was the easy part — it was finding a job afterward that made us wish we could start freshman year all over again.

This stage of life is an unfortunate time that every postgraduate must endure.

If you weren’t given a trust fund or poached by recruiters, then you know this “rite of passage” all too well.

Searching the web for hours on end, connecting on LinkedIn, and completing countless applications without any response becomes your daily routine.

I went through the same experience after I graduated college.

Even with four internships under my belt, I had no idea just how competitive the job market was.

I realized that the best way to get my foot in the door was to expand my search. I started looking for internships (that would accept recent graduates) with the hope it could lead to a job offer.

Lucky for me, it did!

Here are 10 tips on how to turn your internship into a job:

Make friends

It’s tough to be new in the office, especially if you’re an intern.

That’s why it’s so important to put yourself out there and get to know your co-workers.
Take an extra trip to the water cooler or bathroom — the more people you meet in these communal spaces, the better.

Here are some conversation starters!

Another great way to mingle with new co-workers is to join in on any company events.
Go to happy hours, game nights, and other office get-togethers to show your fun side.

Be professional

Just because you are one of the youngest in the office doesn’t mean you have to act that way.

Stay professional, and show that you are mature.


You can still crack jokes and have fun; just avoid talking about partying with your friends every weekend.

If your co-workers view you as responsible, then they will trust you with more projects.

Ask the right questions

After you receive an assignment, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if the directions are unclear.

You want to avoid completing a task incorrectly because you were too nervous to ask questions.

However, try not to bother your manager with tons of obvious questions if the answer can be found on the Internet or an office training manual.

You don’t want them to regret giving you the project when they could have done it themselves in the first place.

Read the full article online... 

10 Great Tips for Success in Both Life and Business

by Robert Chen IN Lifestyle, Lifehack.org
Sometimes what helps us to be successful in our professional lives is not such a great idea in our personal lives — competition is a quality that comes to mind. At the same time, we all have a limited amount of time each day to do the things that we want to do.

So for the sake of saving time and energy, I’m sharing a list of tips that will help you be successful in both life and in business.

1. Add Value

No matter what you do and where you go, you can’t go wrong with adding value. Simply put value is anything that people are willing to pay for. In your professional life, the more value you can offer the more money you can make. In your personal life, more value translates to closer relationships and strong personal growth. The best way to add value is to find the intersection between what people are willing to pay for and what service or product you can offer that is aligned with your values, strengths and goals.

How are you adding value to your employers and loved ones today? What can you do to increase your ability to add value?

2. Follow Your Passion

Reading numerous biographies on great people and from my own personal observations and encounters, I’ve realized that those who achieve greatness professional and personally follow their passion. The reason why great people are few and far in-between is because most people don’t even know what their passion is. For those that do figure out their passion, most of them don’t follow their passion consistently. This is one of the main reasons why people don’t reach their goals.

Do you know what your passion is? If not, what are you going to do to find out? If  you do know what you passion is, are you following it?

3. Be Extraordinary

If you do the same thing as everyone else, it’s hard to be successful. It is important to find the edge and then push past it. That is how you become noticed and get what you want. Whether it is money, meaningful relationships and/or a sense of personal accomplishment, the extraordinary person attracts them all.

How are you extraordinary?  If you feel just ordinary, what are you going to do to become extraordinary? For those who don’t know, you may want to check out articles on my blog and also How to go from Ordinary to Extraordinary.

Read the full article online...  

18 Tips For Success From Richard Branson

Melissa Stanger, Business Insider

Richard Branson founded Virgin in 1970 at the age of 20, and he hasn’t looked back.
He’s the only entrepreneur to have built eight separate billion-dollar companies in eight different industries — and he did it all without a degree in business.

"Had I pursued my education long enough to learn all the conventional dos and don'ts of starting a business I often wonder how different my life and career might have been," he writes in his new book, Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School.

We’ve compiled some of the best tips from his book here.

Don't do it if you don't enjoy it.

Running a business takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and caffeine). But at the end of the day, you should be building something you will be proud of.

Branson says, "When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire ... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives."

Be visible.

Branson received some timeless advice when building Virgin Airlines from Sir Freddie Laker, a British airline “tycoon.” 

“Make sure you appear on the front page and not the back pages,” said Laker. “You are going to have to get out there and sell yourself. Make a fool of yourself, whatever it takes. Otherwise you won’t survive”.

Branson always makes a point of traveling often and meeting as many people as he can. This, he says, is how he came by some of the best suggestions and ideas for his business.

Choose your name wisely.

The unique name and brand that Virgin employs is one of the things that has made the company a success. Branson makes sure that the name ‘Virgin’ represents added value, improved service, and a fresh, sexy approach.

Branson says that he is asked all the time about the origin of the Virgin name, back when Virgin was just starting. "One night, I was chatting with a group of sixteen-year-old girls over a few drinks about a name for the record store," he says. "A bunch of ideas were bounced around, then, as we were all new to business, someone suggested Virgin. It smacked of new and fresh and at the time the word was still slightly risqué, so, thinking it would be an attention-grabber, we went with it."

Read the full article online.

ell beyond your comfort zone. Action is

1. Identify where you are stuck in your life. Take steps toward getting unstuck, even if it means pushing well beyond your comfort zone. Action is the only remedy for fear.
2. Develop your observing ego by stepping outside yourself and seeing who you are during the day. How do you come across to others? Do you like what you see? If you don't, modify your behavior.
3. Identify your biggest strengths and make sure you use those strengths in your profession. If you do, it's likely you have found your passion.
4. Scared to speak up? Preparation and practice can help you pull off the perfect speech. Oh, and don't forget to give yourself a positive pep talk. You can do it!
5. Get a good night's sleep. Not only will eight hours keep you mentally sharp, but a full night's rest can keep your appetite in check too. Experts recommend eight hours for everyone.
- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/30-tips-to-take-control-of-your-life-now#sthash.XkO3Hhci.dpuf

1. Identify where you are stuck in your life. Take steps toward getting unstuck, even if it means pushing well beyond your comfort zone. Action is the only remedy for fear.
2. Develop your observing ego by stepping outside yourself and seeing who you are during the day. How do you come across to others? Do you like what you see? If you don't, modify your behavior.
3. Identify your biggest strengths and make sure you use those strengths in your profession. If you do, it's likely you have found your passion.
4. Scared to speak up? Preparation and practice can help you pull off the perfect speech. Oh, and don't forget to give yourself a positive pep talk. You can do it!
5. Get a good night's sleep. Not only will eight hours keep you mentally sharp, but a full night's rest can keep your appetite in check too. Experts recommend eight hours for everyone.
- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/30-tips-to-take-control-of-your-life-now#sthash.XkO3Hhci.dpuf

1. Identify where you are stuck in your life. Take steps toward getting unstuck, even if it means pushing well beyond your comfort zone. Action is the only remedy for fear.
2. Develop your observing ego by stepping outside yourself and seeing who you are during the day. How do you come across to others? Do you like what you see? If you don't, modify your behavior.
3. Identify your biggest strengths and make sure you use those strengths in your profession. If you do, it's likely you have found your passion.
4. Scared to speak up? Preparation and practice can help you pull off the perfect speech. Oh, and don't forget to give yourself a positive pep talk. You can do it!
5. Get a good night's sleep. Not only will eight hours keep you mentally sharp, but a full night's rest can keep your appetite in check too. Experts recommend eight hours for everyone.
6. Is the Web site for your business representing your company in the best light possible? If not, spruce it up.
7. Set benchmarks for the progress of your business. Are you holding yourself accountable for meeting them? You should be.
8. Write to achieve. Write down your goals and dreams to declare yourself in the game. It's like holding up an "Open for Business" sign for your life.
9. Keep a notebook with you at all times. If you wake up at 3 a.m. with a brilliant idea, write it down. A blank notebook becomes a suggestion box for your brain, opening you up to new ideas.
10. Think of a favorite memory. When your mind is on overload, recalling a great memory can relax your mind. And it just might make you smile too.
- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/30-tips-to-take-control-of-your-life-now#sthash.XkO3Hhci.dpuf

1. Identify where you are stuck in your life. Take steps toward getting unstuck, even if it means pushing well beyond your comfort zone. Action is the only remedy for fear.
2. Develop your observing ego by stepping outside yourself and seeing who you are during the day. How do you come across to others? Do you like what you see? If you don't, modify your behavior.
3. Identify your biggest strengths and make sure you use those strengths in your profession. If you do, it's likely you have found your passion.
4. Scared to speak up? Preparation and practice can help you pull off the perfect speech. Oh, and don't forget to give yourself a positive pep talk. You can do it!
5. Get a good night's sleep. Not only will eight hours keep you mentally sharp, but a full night's rest can keep your appetite in check too. Experts recommend eight hours for everyone.
6. Is the Web site for your business representing your company in the best light possible? If not, spruce it up.
7. Set benchmarks for the progress of your business. Are you holding yourself accountable for meeting them? You should be.
8. Write to achieve. Write down your goals and dreams to declare yourself in the game. It's like holding up an "Open for Business" sign for your life.
9. Keep a notebook with you at all times. If you wake up at 3 a.m. with a brilliant idea, write it down. A blank notebook becomes a suggestion box for your brain, opening you up to new ideas.
10. Think of a favorite memory. When your mind is on overload, recalling a great memory can relax your mind. And it just might make you smile too.
- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/30-tips-to-take-control-of-your-life-now#sthash.XkO3Hhci.dpuf

11 Essential Money Tips For New College Grads-- from Forbes

Kerry Hannon, Contributor 

When my nephew Michael walked across the graduation stage at Wake Forest University last week to pick up his bachelor of science diploma, I wasn’t worried about his financial future.

Ever since he was a teenager he has always saved and invested the money earned from a potluck of summer jobs. (I put that down to good parenting skills and the financial lessons modeled by my sister and her husband.)

But not every recent college graduate is as knowledgeable about personal finances.
So, inspired by Mike’s Wake Forest ceremony, I couldn’t resist jotting down 11 pieces of financial wisdom that I would’ve imparted if I’d been asked to be the commencement speaker.

11 Personal Finance Tips for College Grads

Here goes:

1. Pick up a book or two on money basics. A couple that I like, written specifically for young adults, are Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing and Giving Back, by U.S. News & World Report senior editor Kimberly Palmer and the bestselling Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your 20s and 30s by Beth Kobliner, a noted personal finance commentator and former colleague of mine at Money magazine.

2. Pencil out a budget. After working for a few months and getting used to the amount of take-home pay (after taxes) you’re earning, figure out how much money you can afford to spend each month.

Mapping out your budget is a great way to help you quickly uncover whether you’re on the rocky road to spending more than you make — as I was for a while after college.
I’m not ashamed to tell you that it was scary and stomach-turning to get phone calls from credit card companies. To set things straight, I borrowed money from my older brother to erase my credit-card debt (I repaid him over time, without interest) and began using my cards only when I knew I could pay them in full each month.

After that experience, I vowed never to let anything like it happen again.

To begin budgeting, first add up the essentials, like your rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, student loans and a car loan. That’ll let you know how much is left over for other spending and saving.

Try not to eat out at restaurants too much, take taxis or spend frivolously on clothes. You’ll probably need to jump-start your wardrobe for work, but there are plenty of ways to do so frugally. Don’t forget to check out secondhand stores for lightly used clothing buys — I found a terrific black Armani suit in one for a song not that long ago. (Some smart money habits stay with you.)

Bottom line: Always spend less than you make. Websites like Mint.com and Youneedabudget.com can help you create a workable budget.

Read the full article online.

5 Financial Habits That Will Change Your Life

By Credit.com

With 2014 underway, New Year’s resolutions are a dime a dozen.

Study after study concludes that annual resolutions are rarely kept. In the words of Mary Poppins, resolutions are like a pie crust promise — easily made, easily broken.

Resolutions aim too high. While getting out of debt, spending less, and saving more are admirable goals, they do little to change our day-to-day actions.

Instead of lofty resolutions, we need to change our core habits.

Here are five habits to develop in 2014 to significantly improve your finances.

Track One Expense

A lot of people hate to budget. Tracking every dime spent is tedious and often unhelpful.
Just because one knows where they spent their money doesn’t mean their budget actually influences their spending decisions

Instead, develop the habit of tracking just one spending category. Pick an expense that you believe may be a problem area for your budget, and keep track of spending in just that one category.

Once you get spending in that category under control, start tracking the next expense that’s causing you to blow through your budget.

Audit Your Monthly Bills

We’re taught to check the batteries in our smoke detectors twice a year when the time changes.

Likewise, make it a habit to examine your monthly bills. You may find that you can get rid of services you don’t really need (e.g., 500 channels of cable you never watch) or at least reduce the cost.

I call this the One-N-Done method of saving because you make just one change that saves money month after month.

Automate Saving

One of the hardest habits to develop is saving and investing money.
Fortunately, we can easily automate this process, which makes developing the habit of saving much easier.

You can automate the building of an emergency fund by setting up monthly transfers from a checking account to a savings account that pays a decent interest rate.

Even better, sign up for your company’s 401k or an IRA and have money set aside each month automatically.

Learn Daily

Build learning into your daily routine. That may mean spending 15 minutes every day reading a book about finance or your career or a side business.
It could mean following blogs relevant to finances or your chosen career.

Successful finances and building wealth are about more than spending less than you earn and saving for a rainy day.

You need to learn how money works, and have a good grasp of the fundamentals if you want to turn your money into long-term wealth.

Track Your Progress

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. The measuring stick for finances is a personal balance sheet, which lists what an individual owns and owes.

Commit to updating your balance sheet every month. It takes just a few minutes, and this habit will cause you to refocus every month on your financial progress.

To make it even easier, there are free online tools you can use to track your investments and debts automatically.

In the words of Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” The same is true for financial freedom.

“5 Financial Habits That Will Change Your Life” was provided by Credit.com.  

Read the full article online.

How to Invest $100, $1,000, or $10,000-- from Mint.com

To start your day off with a happy hypothetical, let’s say you’ve been following our advice on how to build a buffer account.

It’s going so well that now you’ve got a little money you’d like to invest.
“Great—I’m going to get started today!” you think.

Then you Google “How do I get started investing?” and learn that you can choose from thousands and thousands of mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, brokerages, and asset classes.

“Hmm, I’ll get started investing tomorrow. Today: Candy Crush.”

I know how you feel. Last month I was in Japan, and my earbuds broke. So I went to a big electronics store, figuring they’d have a few to choose from.

Did they ever.

I had to contend with ten aisles that looked like this:

I spent over an hour trying out earbuds before buying a new pair of the same ones that broke.

I can’t help you choose headphones, but whether you have $100, $1000, or $10,000 to invest, I can help you get started.
In investing, as in headphones, “good enough” is better than driving yourself crazy figuring out the perfect solution.

I have $100 to invest

Buy one share of a stock market Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) and a good introductory book on investing such as The Elements of Investing, by Malkiel and Ellis.

Which ETF should you buy and where?

Let me make it easy. Open an account with TD Ameritrade. Opt into the commission-free ETF program. Buy one share of the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT) for about $59.

Congratulations! You now own (a piece of) 5351 different stocks from about 50 countries.
Now, read the investing book and keep saving money.

Why TD Ameritrade? They make it easy to get started with a low balance without zinging you with fees.

Another option: Betterment.com has a extremely simple sign-up process and will let you invest the whole $100.

They do charge higher fees than TD and require you to invest an additional $100/month minimum until you hit $10,000.

Read the full article online. 

Tips for Making the Most of Your First Entry-Level Job-- from Monster

Karen Knight, Monster Contributing Writer

Your entry-level resume has landed you your first entry-level job! Now what? Read some MonsterCollege tips and tricks for succeeding in your entry-level job and get professional work advice.

As you step into your first post-grad work experience, there are a lot of things you need to know that your textbooks didn’t teach you over the past four years. Here is what you should be gleaning from your first adventure in the world of work. 

Your First Job Is Not Your Destiny

Your first job in no way predicts where you will ultimately end up. Talk to any mid-career worker, and you will be shocked where his career began. Your main task on your first job is to test your wings, learning how organizations work, how business gets done, and what makes people and organizations successful. Remember: Career (not job) changes are in your future as you learn, grow and change.

Watch Your Attitude

One of the biggest complaints about new college grads is that they often expect too much too soon and come across as thinking they know more than seasoned employees. Know that you will need to earn your stripes, as well as the trust of colleagues and supervisors, before being given more responsibility. Especially watch your attitude with support staff so as not to come across as arrogant or condescending.

Learn About the Various Kinds of Power and Influence

Observe how the staff members interact with each other and how things get done. Who really calls the shots, compared with what the organizational chart says? Who seems to have more power than might be indicated by his job title? Who is looked up to, admired and why? How are decisions made: top down, bottom up or a combination of the two?

Figure Out the Organizational Culture

Pay attention to the behaviors and results valued in your organization. Also, find out what the company stands for. Ask what the organization’s mission statement is and how it is different from the competition. Do you get a feeling of teamwork? What are the written and unwritten rules? What kinds of people seem successful, and why?

Know Yourself

Your first job is a chance for you to learn more about yourself, what you’re good at, what you’re not and what work you prefer and enjoy. Pay attention to others’ body language as they come in contact with you; this will help you understand how others respond to you. Observe the kinds of people who energize you and, alternatively, the types who drain you. Pay attention to the types of management styles that bring out the best in you.

Build Skills

Understand the new work paradigm is that you, not the organization, are in charge of your career. Gone are the days when the organization takes responsibility for moving you along from first job to retirement. Your task is to make a contribution to the company and develop skills you can take with you when it’s time to leave. 

What are some good ways to build skills? Volunteer for interesting projects, and keep your eyes open for any professional-development opportunities both within and outside the organization. Keep a skills portfolio folder, and as you learn, develop or demonstrate a skill, write it down and stick it in that file.

Ask for Regular Feedback, and Keep a Compliments File

Even if it’s not part of the protocol, ask for a three-month and/or a six-month evaluation. Stay on top of how well you are meeting expectations, and nip any problem areas in the bud. Always ask how you can improve your performance. 

Put any compliments you receive, written or verbal, in a file, including any good work evaluations. You can use these comments for impact in both future cover letters and job interviews.

Read Internal Job Postings

Internal job postings can be used as a way of understanding the breadth of work done in the organization and other positions that might interest you down the road, either there or somewhere else. Pay particular attention to understanding the job requirements. 

Read more online...