How to Be a Rockstar at Your Job!

While the economists debate the true state of the economy, others are taking a look around for themselves and deciding to take action based on what they see. Recession, downturn, market correction,depression, whatever you call it, people are starting to lose their jobs in some parts of the country and in some industries.

So, how can you hold on? Be a rockstar! Even rockstars do get laid off, but they get re-hired sooner, too.

Make sure you truly are doing a great job. Then, try to do it better. It can be really fun to do great even better! Raise your own bar!

Ask other people to help you do better. Build a team of like-minded individuals who want to excel. Brainstorm and create dynamic action plans to get you there.

Think in terms of accomplishments. What have you accomplished or helped the business accomplish? Showing up for work is not an accomplishment. Reducing costs is. Bringing in a new client is. Increasing your sales is. Training a new rockstar totally is!

Read the rest of the tips in this lens and put them to work for you and you'll be a rockstar in no time. It's really easy once you decide to do it--work hard and smart and there you go!

Sure, it can be fun to swap virtual drinks and find out if you are bangable or discover your porn star name and brag about your weekend wild party ways online with your friends. Where's the harm?

Well, how about when you apply for a great job, you're totally qualified, then someone googles you and finds out all your dirty little public secrets?

It happens every day. It's good practice to find out about applicants before you hire them, right?

You'll probably never be told "We'd rather not have someone work for us who is a fan of 47 porn stars and uses more recreational drugs than we knew existed." You'll hear, "Thank you for applying at CorpZ, but we have selected another candidate."

That's no way for a rockstar to lose a job!

Do you spend hours dreading your performance review or wonder how you will do on it? You can actually take almost all of the mystery out of your performance review and vastly improve your odds of acing it by following these five steps:

1-Learn what is to be evaluated. Review your job description and make sure you are meeting or exceeding all of the duties. Ask your supervisor for a performance update, a "how am I doing?" sort of thing. Ask them what you are doing well and what needs improvement. Ask specifically "What do I need to do to get top marks on my performance review?" Take notes.

2-Listen to and make notes of what your supervisor says. It can be hard to remain objective when you are listening to someone tell you how you need to improve. But, do listen. Keeping your mouth shut can enable you to learn valuable lessons if you remain detached from them for the time being. Do not try to defend yourself or make any excuses. Just calmly make notes. Ask questions for clarity only. "So, my tendency to not smile when I say hello is read as unfriendly?"

3-Ask your coworkers for their feedback, too. Your question can go something like, "I am looking for feedback on my performance. What do you think I need to improve?" and again, take notes without comment. Ask questions for clarity only. Then, ask "What do you think I do well-what are my strengths?" Same guidelines-just take notes. Thank them for their help.

4-Create an Action Plan. Wait a day or two after you have gathered your notes and then review them. Pick out at least three things you are doing well (your strengths) and write them down. Keep doing these things well, or even better. Pick three (and only three) things you need to improve and make a plan to do better. If you do not naturally smile a lot, practice. Put reminders on your monitor, your desk, your dashboard, your car. Do the same for other items on your list. For example, if one of your "needs improvement" items was turning in reports on time, make a plan to complete reports earlier than their deadlines. Then, work your plan.

5-Schedule a weekly review for yourself, and then a "how am I doing" update with your supervisor monthly. This should take just a few minutes. Say something like "I have been working on some of the things we talked about last time," and then list some of the actions you have taken. Ask if she has other ideas you can implement. And, ask her if you are on track to ace your review. Honestly, do not fall into victim mode here-your supervisor is evaluated on how well she helps you perform, and if you fail, she fails. Which means, if you succeed, she succeeds! Aim for that.

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1--Thou shalt not be an a--hole. I don't really have to explain this, do I?

2--Thou shalt not complain about one's coworkers. If you have a legitimate gripe (like if someone always takes the last cup of coffee and walks away like a princess without making more), go to the source and work it out.

3--Thou shalt not b-tch about one's boss. Bosses have jobs to do and while some of them are major tools, you can almost never change that. Spend your time being a rockstar, however, and pretty soon you'll be a boss. Then, don't be a tool.

4--Thou shalt think like a rockstar. Amaze and astound thy co-workers, bosses and customers!

5--Thou shalt look the part. Express yourself however you want in your private life, but show up in corporate America with facial piercings, visible tattoos, clothing that looks like you stole it from a corpse, rainbow-colored hair, or vampire makeup and don't be surprised if you get stuck making minimum wage. Be neat and clean and look professional.

6--Thou shalt give before receiving. Give your best to your job for a really long time before you start complaining about "what's in it for me?" If you focus on what you can do and do it, the rewards will come. If they don't, go elsewhere. But, for the most part, people are rewarded for their performance, not for thinking "that's not my job" and having a lousy attitude.

Are you a whiner? If so, stop immediately! Whiners do not succeed. Look at the lists of Top Whatevers -- you will not find whiners there.

Whiners usually are in deep denial of their whining behaviors, so take a look and see if you might possibly be a bit of a whiner:

1--When someone else gets a promotion, great job, raise or kudos at work, you chalk it up to looks, office politics, or luck. If you had the same looks, friends and luck, you could succeed, too.

2--Your list of excuses is ever-growing. You dont' have enough time, education, social standing, experience, talent, connections, and so on.

3--You haven't heard a good idea since the first season of Survivor. When someone wants to do something new, you are the first to roll your eyes.

4--You are doing exactly what they pay you for. If they want better work, they should give you a raise.

5--Your boss(es) just don't like you.

6--You are not happy in your career, but you have been there for years and have no intention of looking for a new one now.

7--You wish someone at work would fix the problems that cause you headaches, stress and anger.

8--Your conversation and thoughts about work are negative, snarky and depressing.

9--You hate your job.

If any of this is you, start looking for ways to change your behaviors today. Pay attention to your comments and anytime you hear yourself being whiney, stop and say something nice. Even if you have to make stuff up at first, find something good to say.

Your life is so much dependent on what you think--change your own attitide and you can change your world.

Affirmations can be great success tools. There is pretty convincing evidence that what you think about is what is created. So, if you think about failure, you will create it. But, if you think of success, you will create that. You probably can find evidence of affirmation working in your own life. I know I spent a few busy months last year thinking "I have too much to do," and sure enough, I did.

To use affirmations for yourself, define your success first. It is not the same for all of us. Your success is unique to you. Once you are clear on what you want, keep your focus on that reality. Not on "wanting" it, but on having it. That is what an affirmation is. It is not a wish for something, but rather validation or confirmation of something.

"I want a new computer" is a wish. "I have a new computer" is an affirmation. Big difference there. To think of wanting affirms wanting and you will "want" something. Think of having, so that you "have'.

Motivational gurus have suggested for ages that we write our goals down, put them where we can see them, and read them several times a day. This is, in effect, affirming the goals and implanting into your thoughts what you want.

When we pray, we say "Amen" at the end of the prayer. Amen means "so be it." Prayer is an affirmation. It is probably the oldest and most-used affirmation technique still practiced. No matter what you call it, affirmations can help you be more confident, calm and focused on what you want.

Using visualization can add power to your affirmations, too. In fact, visualization is simply a different forum for affirming. We are visually motivated, and I find it better to "see" what you are affirming. See yourself successful. What does it look like? What does it feel like?

Here are some affirmations for success you can try:

I am successful.

I am growing professionally every day.

I manage a successful department.

I am an expert salesperson.

You can of course make these more specific.

I am closing five more deals every week.

I am a great manager.

I am opening three new stores this year.

Pick a few affirmations (no more than three) and write them on index cards. Keep one in your car, one at your desk, one on your nightstand, one in your planner. Read and then affirm them several times every day. Just take a few seconds to repeat them to yourself or out loud and see them as true and real.