How to Be in the Right Place at the Right Time

Timing is everything.

It’s easy to disregard that phrase as a manifestation of “luck”—you either have it or you don’t. The concept certainly arises when job searching. You may feel stuck and hopeless; nothing seems to be working for you.

A simple change of attitude makes a world of difference. It boils down to what you make with what comes your way. You have the ability to overcome unfortunate conditions.

Timing, luck, and serendipity are factors that you control.

“Failure is an opportunity.” ~ Lao Tzu

Don’t force it.

Realizing that you’re not good at something (or you do not enjoy it) is as beneficial as finding one of your strengths. When you discover a weakness, you can choose to make it stronger, or you can let it go.

If something isn’t working for you, it’s your responsibility to change it. The uncertainty that comes with losing a job shakes up your world, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve also lost the ability to be grounded again.

Get used to things changing.

You have the power to change the direction of your life every moment. The concept of that power can be frightening, so individuals often choose to ignore their capacity to impact their own happiness. It doesn’t take much effort to have a mediocre life and blame your frustrations on someone or something else.

“Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” ~ Virginia Woolf

Focus on the experience.

Individual circumstances influence your professional life, not a formula.

Although I took multiple types of journalism classes all four years of high school and continued to copy edit throughout college, the looming idea of “what I wanted to do” was baffling. External and internal pressures evoke a quick answer to the “what do you want to do” question: go hide under the covers of your bed.

But I decided to have a career as a copy editor. Power lies in taking action. Never underestimate that first step, even if you decide to change directions shortly after you make it. I realized that I love editing and working with writers to perfect their ideas. If I didn’t, however, I would change the way that I spend my days in a heartbeat. There’s no reason to continue on a path that you know is not right for you. Retire the word “should.”

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman

Create opportunities.

Every experience has a positive pay off if you let it. If you genuinely care about the job that you do, you’ll naturally stand out as an asset in that field—opening yourself up to future opportunities.

Exploring freelance work in between full-time jobs is an effective way of learning about new types of careers, as well as your own abilities. Consulting or a full-time freelance profession may be a healthy fit for you. You’ll discover possibilities that you might have never thought of before.

When you prepare self-promotional materials during the job application process (resumes, writing samples, cover letters, etc.) writing mistakes are inevitable. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Take the time to fix careless errors and improve weak areas.

My clients want to do everything that they can to ensure that their image is flawless. They know that they are capable of putting out a fantastic product, whether it is website copy, marketing materials, or a novel. Utilizing my proofreading services enables them to take timing, luck, and serendipity into their own hands. They take action to meet their goals and create new life paths.

Focus on your passions, experiences, and resources at all times, and you’ll continually find yourself in the right place at the right time. It’s not supernatural; it’s the way it is.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Between vs. Among

A proofreader doesn’t get to take the day off because two words don’t look alike. Enter Between & Among.

“Between” and “among” are both prepositions. And each word may be used a lot of different ways. A lot. We’ll go over these so that you are clear on the proper circumstances for each use. This will take some time, but it will be okay.

While it’s my job to make sure that your grammar is impeccable, grammar gurus still debate about “between vs. among” rules.

Debating about rules doesn’t help you figure things out. I want you to be able to choose the correct word in your writing so that the meaning that you intend to express is as clear as possible.

Choose the word “between” to discuss an engagement between two nouns (people, places, or things).

Examples:

Just between you and me …

The flight is between New York and Chicago.

I’m choosing between peach pie and apple pie.

Choose the word “among” to describe an association among many items.

Examples:

My dogs like to play among the trees in the park.

Sally is the top student among her classmates.

Among his other talents, Tom was also a skilled pianist.

For each of these examples, it is clear that the meaning of each word (“between” or “among”) is slightly different, but the context is consistent.

With the “between” examples, the sentences end with ____ and ____.

With the “among” examples, a plural noun follows each use of the word “among.”

I’m going to throw you a curve ball now, so brace yourself.

If a sentence is about a united group—yes, more than two nouns—then you should use “between” instead of “among”:

Between the five of us, we had enough money for what we needed for the apartment.

Pay attention to the word “five.” Ignore the preposition that contains the word “us.”

If you focus on “us,” you’re going to think “plural noun = among.” But the word “five” is what you should recognize as significant.

“Five” is a number greater than “two”, but it is still a limited group.

“Trees, talents, and classmates” in the above examples, regarding when to use the word “among," are ambiguous and essentially indefinite.

It is time to divide and conquer. What have we learned from previous posts? We’ll make these words seem like they have nothing in common.

Between

The word “between” contains the letters “tw” to help remind you that you should use “between” if the preposition relates “two” items.

When choosing a preposition that refers to a finite group of items, also use “between.”

If the possibilities can be defined, use “between.”

Among

The word “among” contains the word “on”. “On-and-on-and-on” is a colloquial way to describe infinite possibilities. When the possibilities are ambiguous, vague, or infinite, use “among.”

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Effect vs. Affect

When your writing is finalized without a thorough proofreading, it can affect the quality of your document in a harmful way. A negative impression is not the effect that you want to have on your audience.

The misuse of the words “effect” and “affect” usually occurs when one believes that the two words can be used interchangeably—that they have the same meaning. Here’s a straightforward way to understand how to use each word properly.

The noun “effect” is “the result of something else.” The “effect” will occur after something else happens.

The outcome of an event is a result; it may also be thought of as an “effect.”

The verb “affect” “causes a change, or manipulates something else.”

It is an action, often associated with changing or causing emotions.

Effect

According to IMDb.com, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), created a “new high-bench mark for special effects” in films. The illusion of spaceships transported the viewer into a more advanced world. That’s the effect. Special effects.

Associate “special effects” with “effects” and you’ll remember that “effect” should be used as the noun to describe an outcome.

The phrase “cause and effect” is also helpful if you’re confused about whether to use the word “effect” or “affect.” A cause produces an effect.

Tip: Event Result = Effect

Affect

Let’s keep with the movie theme. Say you’re leaving a movie theater with a friend after sobbing your heart out during a tearjerker. (Those dramas are so manipulative!)

Concerned, your friend turns to you and says, “What’s wrong with you?”

Since fiction does not usually have that effect on you, you exclaim, “I don’t know! It just really affected me!”

The movie caused a change in your emotions. Causing a change is an action.

Tip: Action = Affect

Although the words “effect” and “affect” are commonly confused, the difference between the noun and the verb is quite simple.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Can vs. May

Since we’ve already discussed the meaning of the word “can,” the common “can” vs. “may” confusion is a reasonable error to examine next.

Picture yourself in seventh grade English class. You’re excited that Julie’s boring oral book report on Bridge to Terabithia is almost over. You want to grab the bathroom pass like it’s nobody’s business and stroll the middle school hallways for at least one more presentation.

“Mr. Jones, can I have the bathroom pass?” you ask, as you rise from your seat-desk combination.

“Yes; you can,” Mr. Jones replies without looking up from his notes. He quickly continues, “Okay, who’s next? Matthew, it’s your turn to present now.”

Matthew walks to the front of the room and begins rambling about Of Mice and Men.

The bathroom pass is still hanging on the nail next to Mr. Jones’ desk.

“What? Why didn’t Mr. Jones give me the pass?” you think as you look around the room awkwardly before you slump back down in your chair.

Of course, you can have the bathroom pass. You have the ability to possess it. (Remember, “can” and “able”). Mr. Jones felt, however, that you may not gain possession of the coveted item at that time.

Can

My third grade teacher was an advocate of the “I Can” attitude. You have the ability to do anything. On the first day of class, we decorated actual cans that had a big letter “I” glued onto them. An “I May” attitude is not as powerful.

May

“May,” besides a beautiful spring month, is a word used to express “possibility, intention, or permission.”

In the seventh-grade-bathroom scenario, you needed to ask permission to receive the bathroom pass; you asked for the ability to receive the bathroom pass by using the word “can.”

If you had asked, “May I have the bathroom pass?” then you would have already been romping down the hallway.

Fortunately, you did not need to actually use the bathroom. You just wanted to skip class. And if you skip the step of proofreading your text, you leave your document vulnerable to displaying this error.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.