Tag Archives: career success

Dec 6 2025

AI-Proof Your Career

Artificial Intelligence (AI), as with any new technology, creates a changing job market. While news stories may produce fear among workers, be reminded that new technologies always create a need for adapted job skills. In the case of AI, career experts recommend: (1) focusing on skills that humans do best, and (2) adapting to what AI can help you do better.

The skills that humans do best involve activities related to emotional intelligence, ethics, and creativity. For ongoing career success, develop soft skills in the areas of communication, empathy, leadership, teamwork, and negotiation. In addition, enhance critical thinking abilities to question assumptions and analyze complex situations. Also important is improved creativity related to designing, writing, innovation, and generating ideas.

These high-touch human skills, which are harder to automate, are essential in jobs requiring trust, collaboration, and intricate decision-making. Career fields requiring in-person contact and discernment include healthcare, counseling, teaching, mentoring, therapy, customer experience, coaching, legal guidance, technical trades, crisis support, and creative and performance arts.

Since every worker will be affected by AI, basic technical competency is necessary. A well-prepared career person will need to be AI-literate. While you don’t have to be a programmer or software engineer, your AI skills should include:

  • knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of AI.
  • an ability to write clear, complete prompts to optimize responses.
  • using AI tools for workflows and other career tasks.
  • awareness of current AI trends and applications in your industry.

Using AI as your productivity partner means you will be able to leverage it to automate repetitive tasks, brainstorm ideas, develop preliminary drafts, and suggest analyses.

Ongoing learning and continually updating your skills is vital. Actions to achieve these competencies include taking online courses, earning AI certifications, joining online AI forums, starting an AI club, building a personal project, learning a programming language such as Python, and subscribing to AI and machine language YouTube channels.

While AI won’t replace all jobs, it will impact every worker in some way. To best prepare for the future, blend basic tech competency with strong human skills and seek opportunities for learning and growth. The most successful employees will be those who collaborate with AI and do what technology cannot do. 

For additional information on AI proofing your career, go to:

Link #1

Link #2

Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students identify online resources to enhance their AI skills.
  • Have students create a plan to enhance their soft skills for ongoing career success.

Discussion Questions 

  1. What soft skills might be most valuable for a person’s ongoing career success?
  2. Describe actions a person might take to better use AI for their daily activities and work tasks.

Feb 8 2025

MINDSETS AND HABITS FOR IMPROVED FINANCIAL WELLBEING

Warren Buffet, a renowned investor, offers five mindset actions that can contribute to your financial wellbeing and long-term wealth.  These are:

1. Invest in Yourself.  You are your most valuable asset. Critical to financial and professional success is self-improvement and personal growth.  Obtain further education, specialized certifications, and new career skills for increased marketability and earning power.  This can be achieved through online courses, workshops, or working with a mentor.

2. Think Long-Term.  Avoid a get-rich-quick belief, which is very often destructive. Instead, identify investments with the potential to grow steadily over time. Expect market values to fluctuate in the short term so resist the temptation to be concerned about these ups and downs. Focus on your long-term plan to achieve your goal of financial wealth.

3. Develop Financial Discipline. Too often people save what is leftover. Instead, develop good financial habits with a budget that avoids unnecessary spending and emphasizes saving and investing. Live below you means, even as your income increases. Automate your savings with a set amount transferred to an investment account each month.

4. Surround yourself with wise, informed individuals.  You tend to become like those with whom you associate.  Seek those who will motivate you, reveal new ideas and opportunities, and help you develop positive financial habits.

5. Be patient.  Building wealth requires patience, persistence, and staying with your plan despite short-term difficulties.

In addition to these mindsets, other habits that contribute to financial wellbeing include:

  • Set clear goals in writing with action steps and deadlines to achieve savings targets and other financial success.
  • Develop a growth mindset in which you seek feedback, learn from failure, and maintain a desire to improve.
  • Plan for continuing education. Read extensively, take courses, and develop new skills. 
  • Connect with a mentor who can provide guidance based on their experiences.
  • Practice wise money management by tracking spending, using a budget, and maintaining detailed financial records.
  • Start investing early, even with only a small amount. Be consistent with your deposits. 
  • Build a network of successful individuals who can provide financial and career guidance.
  • Volunteer in your community to make connections and gather business opportunities.
  • Consider starting a side business while working full time. 
  • Practice wise time management to prioritize high-value activities and to eliminate time-wasting activities. 
  • For physical and mental wellness obtain adequate sleep, regular exercise, proper nutrition, and stress management. 
  • Stay informed about industry trends, new technology, and economic conditions to adapt to new investment and career opportunities. 

Bottom of Form

For additional information on improved financial mindsets and habits, go to:

Link #1

Link #2

Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students talk to others to obtain suggestions for successful investment and wealth-building actions.
  • Have students create a visual (poster, slide presentation, or video) that communicates wise mindset habits for obtaining financial wellbeing.

Discussion Questions 

  1. Which of the mindset actions are you currently using? Which ones might you implement in the near future?
  2. Describe barriers that people might encounter to prevent them from achieving long-term financial wellbeing.