"It has the power to change your frame of mind, and the day ahead."

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Let’s face it, not everyone wakes up every day excited about going to work.

In fact, bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch says when she started covering careers a decade ago, she was “stunned to discover how many people actually despair going to work every morning.”

“I can’t put an exact number on it,” Welch tells CNBC Make It, “but it has to be upwards of 20%.”

The reasons so many people clock into jobs they hate day after day, she says, are usually money, kids and “all the messy complexities that make life, life.”

That’s why, Welch says, anyone struggling with morning despair should develop and repeat a simple mantra “that digs deep and makes meaning out of your personal messiness.”

“It’s a thesis basically,” she says, “that takes you out of the bed you’d love to stay in counting all the ways you despise your job and up to 20,000 feet for some clarifying, calming perspective.”

For example, she says, your mantra might include one of the following:

- “I can’t get where I want to go next without being here now.”
- “These are my trade-off years; they won’t last forever.”

Starting your morning with this mindset can have a huge impact on how you feel throughout the day.

“I had a mantra once, back when I was working 50-hour work weeks as a single mom with four young kids,” she says. “It was, ‘Stay the course,’ which was shorthand for, ‘This is how kids learn the importance of hard work and sacrifice; I’m doing this for us.’”

Those words, Welch says, got her through many difficult mornings and days — but they’re not a permanent fix. “I’m not claiming a mantra suddenly makes your life perfect,” she says. “It’s a coping mechanism, not a cure.”

And in some cases, she says, “a mantra expires,” and is no longer a useful tool for “making sense of your circumstances.”

When that happens, it’s “actually a good thing, because if your mantra has expired, your alarm clock is a literal wake-up call” that signals it may be time for a new job.

But until that time comes, Welch says, “let your mantra help you rise and shine. Repeat it to yourself with every sound of your alarm. It has the power to change your frame of mind, and the day ahead.”

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Suzy Welch: The simple trick for motivating yourself when you don’t want to go to work | CNBC Make It.

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Bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch calls this common blunder "totally avoidable."

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You wrote a dazzling cover letter, aced multiple rounds of interviews and sent thank-you notes to everyone you met with. Now all you’ve got to do is sit back and wait for an offer letter, right?

Wrong.

The final, deal-sealing step in any interview process is a reference check, and failing to adequately prepare your references is a blunder bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch calls “really embarrassing and totally avoidable.”

“At any decent organization, reference checks are critical,” Welch tells CNBC Make It, which is why one of the biggest mistakes a job seeker can make is failing “to even tell their references that they’re references.”

“It’s crazy, but it happens all the time,” she says. “And then what? Your references get called out of the blue, and they can be like, ‘Who? What? Oh yeah, let me think for a minute.’”

To avoid this kind of embarrassing encounter Welch says you should not only alert your references to the possibility of a phone call, but prepare them for what they should discuss.

“Call your references in the day or two before they’re called to let them know what skills, traits and experiences the hiring company seems to be valuing in you, so that they can emphasize those in their conversation.”

For example, she says, you can say something like, “Hi there, beloved reference. The job I’m interviewing for requires quantitative analysis and collaboration, so you might want to mention my success on the ACME project.”

It may feel like you’re overstepping your boundaries or being too self-promotional, but Welch says you’ll be surprised by how much your references appreciate the heads-up. “The last thing your references have time for is sitting around thinking about the highlights of your career. By ‘educating’ them with a prep call, you’re actually doing them a favor.”

Don’t underestimate the importance of glowing — and prepared — references to help you land a position.

“If you really want that job,” Welch says, “your references have to close the deal for you — and you have to help them.”

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Suzy Welch: The embarrassing (and common) mistake that can cost you a job offer | CNBC Make It.

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Don't make this dead-end gig your "unhealthy full-time side hustle."

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Are you the person in your company who cleans up your boss’s messes and soothes the hurt feelings they leave in their wake?

If the answer is yes, says bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch, “you’re probably a toxic handler — a job likely handed to you without having been asked, and one you should shed as soon as humanly possible.”

The concept of the “toxic handler” was first introduced in a 1999 Harvard Business Review article written by Canadian business academics Sandra Robinson and the late Peter Frost. In the article, Welch tells CNBC Make It, “Frost and Robinson did a brilliant job describing the heroics that toxic handlers often perform to keep their teams functioning.”

“Usually,” Welch says, ”[toxic handlers] are close in stature to the boss — a second-in-command, so to speak. And in that role, they manage to do their own jobs, plus spend an inordinate amount of time putting out the fires their boss has started.”

Welch says this job is an “unhealthy full-time side hustle,” and one that probably sounds all too familiar to many professionals.

In almost every situation, “being a toxic handler is a dead-end gig.” For one, it’s emotionally draining. And in many cases, “jerk bosses do get fired, and their toxic handlers are usually the collateral damage that goes out the door with them.”

“There’s no shame in being a toxic handler,” she emphasizes. “It’s a role usually imposed on the nicest people in an organization.”

But if that role has been given to you then it’s in your best interest to give it back, even if that means going to HR about the situation. “Your toxic boss may not be happy — he needs you to survive,” she says. “But if you want to survive, you have to let him clean up that mess himself. ”

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Suzy Welch: This is the one job offer you should never accept | CNBC Make It.

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"Learn to code" has become conventional wisdom — but it's not right for everyone.

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These days, “learn to code” is the conventional wisdom doled out to anyone who’s been laid off or feels stalled professionally.

But bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch says you’ll want to think carefully before pursuing something that’s being presented as a professional quick-fix.

“Coding is great for some people,” she tells CNBC Make It. “I have a nephew who was born doing calculus. He majored in comp sci at college, and now earns a six-figure salary at 24 years old. That kind of story is why boot camps are popping up everywhere and their classrooms are full.”

But Welch says there is a “cold, hard truth” you won’t often hear about boot camps: “Most of them only teach the basics.”

As a result, many graduates don’t leave boot camp with the knowledge they’d need to take on a high-paying engineering job. In fact, Welch says, boot camp graduates often fall victim to a common pattern: Big companies hire boot camp coders in huge groups, fully expecting to lay off half of them.

“Boot camps promise you a job paying $60 or $70K upon graduation, and they typically deliver. But they very rarely say that afterward, most big companies put you through their own in-house training programs, and for every hundred boot camp graduates hired, 50 are screened out after six months.”

Welch notes that in a tight labor market, boot camp-trained coders shouldn’t worry — the odds they’ll get hired again are strong. “But,” she says, “that reality suggests boot camp mainly makes sense under two circumstances.”

1. You’re talented

An excellent reason to go to a coding boot camp, says Welch, is if you have “an actual aptitude for coding.”

“You have to have some skill to succeed,” she says. “Before handing over your credit card, do yourself a favor and take one of the many online classes or tests to see if you have an aptitude for coding, which — hello! — is actually an inextricable prerequisite for a real dev career.”

2. You’ve exhausted other options

The second circumstance that Welch says should lead you to coding school is if you’ve exhausted other professional avenues and lack a specific passion for any one career.

“It happens,” she says. “And when it does, again given this economy, serial $60K coding jobs are not just better than nothing, they’re a lot better. I get that.”

“Should you learn to code? I’m not saying the answer is ‘no,‘” says Welch. “It’s ‘maybe’ — just make sure you face reality first.”

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Suzy Welch: The only 2 reasons you should drop everything and learn to code | CNBC Make It.

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Failing to say your full name during an introduction could be hindering your professional advancement.

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Many professionals will probably recognize this situation: You go to a meeting or an event and, assuming that everyone there already knows you, or that you're playing a minor role, you introduce yourself with your first name — or not at all.

No big deal, right?

Wrong. "I see it happen all the time, and it's terrible," bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch tells CNBC Make It. "Your identity is an important piece of information for context in any business situation."

Welch, a career coach, says it drives her crazy when people fail to say their full names during an introduction. But worse, this blunder could be hindering your professional advancement. "Not stating your full name at the beginning of a business encounter essentially announces, 'I don't matter,' or 'I lack confidence' — or both."

Welch says that a failed introduction is not just "first-impression poison," but "it can be a career killer, because who wants to listen to a person who doesn't believe in themselves?"

This was first pointed out to her 10 years ago, when bestselling author and financial advisor Suze Orman scolded her for making this mistake during a speech. Welch says that after she left the stage, Orman grabbed her and said, "You didn't say your name!"

Welch protested that she had been introduced, but Orman said it didn't matter. "Even when you think people know who you are, say your name — both first and last. Own your name and you own the room."

She took Orman's advice to heart. Recently, Welch spent a day coaching MBA students. The event included a Q & A, and Welch says she "watched person after person take the mic and say, 'Hi, umm, my question is blah blah...'" As each student came forward, she sat there thinking, "Who is going to hire you if you can't even introduce yourself properly?"

"Please take this advice about your name," she says. "I promise you'll see an impact on you and everyone in the room right away — and eventually on your career."

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Suzy Welch: Making this common mistake can be a 'career killer' | CNBC Make It.

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There's a single trait that separates successful people from everyone else, and it can be explained in just six words.

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There are endless books, podcasts, articles and films devoted to the study of success — why do some people achieve it while others flounder?

Bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch tells CNBC Make It that there’s a single thing that separates successful people from everyone else, and it can be explained in just six words.

“Successful people have no plan B.”

“Here’s what I mean,” says Welch. “I’ve always been fascinated by Hollywood, and specifically, what makes some people stars and not others,” says Welch. “After all, untold thousands of hopefuls flood to L.A. every year and only a handful see their name in lights. Surely talent matters — but it’s not everything.”

Welch says that a few years ago she asked her daughter Sophia, who works in casting in Hollywood, what makes some people more successful than others. Without hesitation, Sophia told her that the people who make it are “the ones who come to Hollywood believing that not making it isn’t even a possibility. No matter how many times they fall down, they get up again and keep going.”

“Talk about an ‘oh yeah’ moment,” says Welch. “Sophia’s observation described virtually every successful business person I’ve ever met, studied, written or read about. None of them had a plan B.”

It makes sense that most people with a plan B don’t achieve the same level of success as someone without one, says Welch, because “when you have a safe place to run to when things get tough, you can, and often do.” By contrast, “people who see their end goal as the only alternative stay on the track that gets them there — bumps, bruises, setbacks and delays be damned.”

“Here’s my question for those of you with a big dream,” she says. “Do you also have a fallback strategy?” If you do, Welch says she doesn’t blame you for planning ahead.

“Just know,” she warns, “your plan B, as sensible as it seems, may be exactly what undercuts the amazing plan A for your life.”

Suzy Welch is the co-founder of the Jack Welch Management Institute and a noted business journalist, TV commentator and public speaker. Think you need Suzy to fix your career? Email her at gettowork@cnbc.com.

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Suzy Welch: This is the one trait that separates successful people from everyone else | CNBC Make It.

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Warren Buffett once said, "You cannot make a good deal with a bad person."

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Legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett “isn’t called the Oracle of Omaha for nothing,” says bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch.

At 88 years old, Buffett has a net worth of $83.3 billion and is often considered a voice of reason when it comes to the volatile stock market, investments and business advice.

“That man is a walking truth bomb,” Welch tells CNBC Make It, explaining that it was Buffett who gave her the career advice that has helped her more than any other wisdom she’s received.

“This may sound like straight-up business advice,” Welch says. “Like, ‘Don’t sign a join venture with a shady CEO.’ But it’s so much more than that.”

Though some measure of luck plays a role in every professional journey, “there is one thing you can do to nudge your luck in the right direction,” says Welch. “Make sure you associate yourself with good people. People who tell the truth and honor commitments. People who have emotional intelligence.”

These “good people,” she explains, should be the “bosses, co-workers and employees you choose to work with.”

“Yes, choose. Because even though it can feel as if you have no control over who you work with, you do have say in where you work. ” If you find yourself in a situation where you’re working with people who lack integrity, regardless of how great the job is, Welch says emphatically, “you must move on.”

“The truth is, you can’t learn anything positive from negative people,” she says. “And strategically, you need to protect your professional reputation.”

Even if you’re a good person, she says, associating yourself with people who “are found out to be jerks,” can result in “collateral damage” to your career.

“Do no let this piece of Warren wisdom go unheeded,” Welch emphasizes. “You cannot build a good career with bad people. The Oracle has spoken.”

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Suzy Welch: Warren Buffett’s simple career advice will transform how you approach your job | CNBC Make It.

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Public speaking can be frustrating, anxiety-producing, or, for some, downright terrifying.

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Should you rehearse a ton, and risk sounding scripted? Should you speak off the cuff, and risk getting tongue-tied? There are tons of factors to consider — including the size and temperament of your intended audience — and it can be tough to know what tone to strike, especially in a situation where you suspect you’ll be nervous.

But bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch says that no matter the nature of your message or the size of the crowd, there’s one fool-proof tip that can help anyone deliver a great speech: Speak from the heart.

Ten years ago, Welch was gearing up to speak at a leadership conference in Toronto, Canada, as part of an international book tour. There were 5,000 people in the audience.

“I’d been on the road for eight weeks,” Welch tells CNBC Make It. “I missed my husband and my kids. I was exhausted. I should have gone home.” The book she was promoting was all about creating a life with balance, but admittedly, Welch says, “my own life had gotten away from me.”

“As I walked out on the stage, I looked at the audience and thought, ‘I just can’t do this. I’ve got nothing left.’ I heard myself asking for a chair, and when it arrived, I sat down in the middle of the stage.”

Rather than delivering her carefully-crafted speech, Welch says she “just started to speak from my heart.” She told the crowd, “I was supposed to talk to you today about work-life balance, but here’s the truth: I’ve kind of lost mine.”

Welch delivered the key parts of her prepared speech, but says her words were “fortified with more authenticity, pain and humor than usual.”

To her surprise, she says, it was her most successful speech ever.

“I learned a valuable lesson that day,” she says. “A speaking persona, no matter how impressive, builds a wall between you and your audience. My advice: If you have one, kiss it goodbye.”

Instead, Welch says, you should “compose every speech as if you are presenting your ideas to friends.”

“Assume intimacy,” she emphasizes. “Assume trust. And then talk that way.”

This advice is not, Welch warns, license to “wing your next public speaking engagement.” Your presentation “still needs great content, data and stories.” But keep in mind that “people don’t respond to slides or concepts or polished delivery — they respond to people. They respond to real people. ”

“Whether you’re speaking to an audience of 5,000 or five, take down the wall and open a door,” Welch says. “The audience will walk right in.”

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Suzy Welch: The fool-proof public speaking tip that will make you sound like a pro | CNBC Make It.

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Do you feel bored, stuck or uninspired by your current career? You're not alone.

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In fact, bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch tells CNBC Make It that feeling uncertain about your current career is incredibly common. But before you make a change, there are a few things you should consider to ensure that you're taking the right next step for your career.

Below, Welch shares three questions that she says anyone considering changing their professional trajectory should be able to answer with a hearty "yes."

1. Are you sure you don't just need a break?
It's easy to get overwhelmed by the non-stop competition, never-ending changes and the intense pace of today's professional world. The emotional toll can be significant, says Welch, and as a result, "it's not uncommon to hear an 'I just can't do this anymore' voice drumming in our heads."

But before you put in your two weeks' notice, you want to be absolutely certain that that voice isn't just a sign of burnout.

"Don't get me wrong," Welch says, "burnout is real and can feel awful. But it's curable with an extended vacation or change in assignment, both of which your boss may be glad to accommodate, if it means not losing you forever."

"Maybe you really do want to change careers," she says, "but a break of some kind may be a good first step — just to make sure."

2. Do you have the self-confidence and passion to let your ego get crushed for a while?
If you want to make a drastic professional change, you'll need to be prepared to start over at a lower title.

"Very few career changes are lateral, especially if you're over 30," says Welch. In most cases, she says, you have to go backwards in order to gain the necessary experience to move forward. You may have to take a lower position with a pay cut or return to school to learn a new skill. You may even have to be an intern again.

With all of this in mind, she says, you have to honestly ask yourself if you're "ready, willing and able to live though a humbling year — or two, or five?"

3. Does your comfort zone bore you to death?
"The truth is," says Welch, "a professional reinvention only happens if you're willing to do stuff that makes you squirm."

This, she says, could mean attending multiple conferences, striking up conversations with complete strangers, cold calling people and putting in the work to land informational interviews. It could also mean relocating to a different city or state.

"It's scary. I know," she says. "I remember what it felt like when I took the leap from a newspaper reporter to a management consultant. Practically everything I did that first year, I was doing for the first time in my life."

But Welch says it was worth it to put in the work to get acclimated to her new role, "because when you're ready for a career change, the answer to these questions is 'yes.' There are no maybes about it."

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Suzy Welch: Ask these 3 questions before changing careers | CNBC Make It.

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