Successful people are adept at building strong relationships. They understand and use the career advice in Tweet 127 in Success Tweets. “Pay it forward. Build relationships by giving with no expectation of return. Give of yourself to build strong relationships.” Reaching out to lonely or isolated colleagues is one way of paying it forward — and is the opposite of quid pro quo. When you go first – reach out to someone or give of yourself to help someone else, with no expectations of return – you are laying the foundation for a successful relationship. When you wait for people to reach out to you, or to reciprocate a good deed by another person, you are engaging in quid pro quo behavior that usually results in lost relationship opportunities. Do yourself a favor, follow this career advice when it comes to relationship building – pay it forward. You’ll be helping yourself – and others around you.

Requests to do a guest post for this career success blog are very gratifying to me. They mean that somebody is paying attention to what I have to say and thinks that others are too. The other day I received an offer from the folks at www.college.com to do a guest post. I suggested that they write about how to make a good first impression when starting a new job. Here’s what they have to say…

Successful people are great presenters. As Tweet 115 in Success Tweets says, “Become an excellent presenter. Careers have been made on the strength of one or two great presentations.” Stories make presentations come alive. They are not difficult to create. Follow my 1 – 2 – 3 formula for creating and telling great stories. First, identify your truth – something that in your heart of hearts you know to be “true.” Second, think of the critical experiences you’ve had that have led you to this “truth.” Third, shape those experiences into a story that you can tell at the drop of a hat.

While good performance is not enough to guarantee your life and career success, it is a necessary component of your success plan. A healthy lifestyle will make it easier for you to become a top performer. You don’t have to become a fitness fanatic to be a high performer. However, eating well and exercising will keep you sharp and on top of your game. It will keep your stress in check. And while a little stress is a good thing, too much stress can knock you out of the game.

Successful people seek out inspiration and life and career success advice. One of the best ways to do this is to read books like Rodolfo Costa’s “Advice My Parents Gave Me and Other Lessons I Learned from My Mistakes.” Once you find inspiration or advice take some time to think. Figure out how that inspiration and advice applies to you. Then do something. Take positive action to help you move toward your life and career success.

Here are two ways to resolve conflict in a manner that strengthens, rather than destroys relationships you have worked hard to build. First, take responsibility for yourself. Tell people how you feel. Don’t let others do things that make your life unpleasant. Second, stand up for yourself and resolve conflict in an assertive, non-aggressive, collaborative manner. Follow the career advice in Tweet 133 in Success Tweets. “Resolve conflict positively. Treat conflict as an opportunity to strengthen, not destroy, the relationships you’ve worked hard to build.” Conflict can destroy relationships – and it can strengthen them. When you find yourself in conflict with another person, choose to see it as an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with them. Collaborate with them to solve your joint problem. In this way, you’ll resolve conflict positively and strengthen the relationships that are key to your life and career success.

That’s my career advice on conflict resolution – and that of the Childcare Network as well. What do you think? Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment. As always, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success. I value you and I appreciate you.

Successful people follow the career advice in Tweet 123 in Success Tweets. “Use every social interaction to build and strengthen relationships. Strong relationships are your ticket to success.” Build and strengthen relationships by sweating the small stuff. T H I N K before you speak. Focus sending positive micro messages – the small things that show another person that you value him or her. Avoid “micro-inequities” – behaviors that demean people in small ways. Instead, focus on “micro-affirmations” – behaviors that encourage others and build their self-esteem.

Van Horsley of First Citizens Bank says that there are seven things he’s done over the course of his career to create his success. 1) Always act with integrity. 2) Show up early. 3) Work harder than your peers. 4) Learn your company’s business. 5) Get engaged in your company’s business. 6) Understand how what you do contributes to your company’s business success. 7) Make yourself indispensable to your boss. If you apply these common sense ideas in your career you’ll be on your way to the life and career success you want and deserve.

Your appearance says a lot about you. Dress in a manner that shows you respect yourself – and the people you will meet during your day. Take the time to show that you care – and people will respond positively to you. Dress one level up from what is expected and you will stand out from the crowd.

Creating positive personal impact is one of the competencies all successful people possess. You create positive personal impact by developing and nurturing your unique personal brand, being impeccable in your presentation of self, and knowing and following the basic rules of etiquette. Your personal brand should be uniquely you, but it should be built on integrity. Follow the advice in Tweet 62 in Success Tweets. “Your personal brand should be uniquely you, but built on integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.” As the sad ending to Joe Paterno’s career and life demonstrates, even a momentary lapse in your integrity can lead to serious consequences for a carefully crafted brand.