Happy Ground Hog’s Day
by Michelle LaBrosse, PMP
Ground Hog’s day is a holiday near and dear to my heart as it is also my birthday. I have been celebrating Ground Hog’s day now for 47 years. Yes this means that I am a prime number this year. And I am happy to report that no, I have not yet seen my shadow so spring is still just around the corner. (I discovered long ago on Ground Hog’s day that it really paid to get up while it was still dark outside). What else I am very happy to report on is that 47 is the new 29 and I feel and look quite a bit younger than my actual chronological age. I still get mistaken for my oldest daughter’s sister rather than her Mom (that might be because she looks and acts a lot more mature for her age though rather than that I look so much younger).
So, where did this whole thing of celebrating a small rodent emerging from hibernation come about? It’s an ancient tradition that marks the emerging spring. As small rodents start to emerge from hibernation it means that spring is just around the corner. This happens about mid-way between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. The Germans brought this celebration to the United States when they emigrated and the Ground Hog was their animal of choice. The Christian’s holiday of Candelmas (a celebration of light representing the purification of Mary 40 days after Jesus’ birth) was on February 2nd and they chose that day to celebrate Ground Hog’s day as well.
I celebrate this day as the emerging opportunities coming forth in another year of life for me. And to help everyone celebrate emerging opportunities with me, we are doing a special buzz day at Cheetah Learning. There are some great things in store for people this year who are prepared to go after opportunities. If you are one to listen to (and believe) the media, on this day, it might seem like a better idea to just pull the covers up over your head and go back to sleep – to be scared like the ground hog and go back into your burrow to nestle in for six more weeks of winter. But I believe that those who are prepared will be the lucky ones as luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
To be one of the lucky ones, look at the dynamic duo – that is diversify and differences. What this means that to create more luck in your life – diversify how you can use your differences. How can you make yourself different and stand out from the crowd? Lets look at some stats:
- There are about 15 million people worldwide who call themselves Project Managers.
- There are a little over 300,000 people who are Project Management Professional (PMP) certified.
- The US Government is looking at creating stimulus packages to fix it’s ailing infrastructure issues.
- To manage those projects, they do require people to be Project Management Professional certified.
You can better position yourself to go after that emerging opportunity if you can diversify your skill set so you’re qualified to manage those project types, AND if you are PMP certified.
So here is what we’re doing at Cheetah Learning to help you learn how to diversify and leverage your differences to go after emerging opportunities:
1. We have an online course called Project Portfolio Management – in this course you can learn how to select a diverse group of projects that can help you create a stable base of business to pursue. By diversifying, you create more opportunities.
2. We love differences – as it is our differences that create the most value for each other. We have two online courses where you can learn how to leverage your differences to create more value with and for others. The first course is called Project Management Strength Builder and in this course, you learn how your differences lead to your strength as a project manager. The second course, Cheetah Negotiations, you learn how to leverage yours and other people’s differences to create more value for all.
All three of these courses – Project Portfolio Management, PM Strength Builder, and Cheetah Negotiations, for today, we are offering 50% off to celebrate Ground Hog’s Day – use the promotion code groundhog09 when you register.
3. If you are not PMP certified, get the credential. Cheetah Learning has a free download that tells you everything you need to know to earn the PMP certification and an award winning accelerated PMP exam prep class we have been doing for the past 8 years to get people to pass the PMP exam, FAST (it’s really hard). Because I’m celebrating my birthday, we set up a promotion code so you could get 20% off our the PMP course this week. Contact rita.soto@cheetahlearning to get more info..
I did a podcast as well to talk about the emerging opportunities and how to go after them with my cohort – Bryne Edwards. You can listen to it by visiting the Cheetah Learning podcast page.
And for those of you inclined to eat small rodents as they emerge from hibernation I have one question to ask? Is it really worth it – they only weigh about 7 pounds and most of that is fur.
Tags: Diversify, Ground Hog's Day, Negotiations, Project Management, Project Portfolio Management