Some Things To Check Out:

First, if you have followed this blog check out all our latest post at: talesofwork.com here I continue what I started with this blog and talk about work. Now I was thinking about this and I know a lot of people talk about work. With this website and this blog I want to talk about work a little differently, I want to talk about it from the everyday working persons perspective. I hope with what I'm doing I'm speaking with "the voice of the average worker".

I also talk about all this and a lot more in my book, you can find it in various places below:

AMAZON: http://tinyurl.com/3jd3bn5
BARNES AND NOBLES: http://tinyurl.com/3b3zyct
SMASHWORDS (WHICH HAS EVERY OTHER EBOOK SITE): http://tinyurl.com/3kfojvt

Also, if you buy the book directly from my website (talesofwork.com) I want to hook you up with a special deal. When you click on the book go to buy the pdf directly from the site. When checking out enter the coupon code "friend" and you'll get $1.50 off the book. So if you want to hear some funny and real work stories and get some advice on the path, check out the book!

I also would love to answer any questions you have about work, hit me up!

Moved To A New Site

My website is finally up and all new post will be on it, check it out! A lot of helpful things that I have talked about will be on there. Here is the link   talesofwork.com please come and check it out!

How To Get a Girlfriend

I’m guessing when I look at my numbers to see how many people have looked at this blog post I’ll see a super spike in numbers, and I’m guessing it’s because of the title.

 I have to be honest, I just tricked you! (HA HA) This post is about why you would buy my book; I fooled you (sorry, but not really). I just want to give you a few reasons why you would want to buy my book and then it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the $4.99.

1.       The price: $4.99 if you get one good idea from the book, it will make you a lot more then $4.99!

Do you have $5 bucks? I’m sure if you lifted up your couch cushions you would find it (so go and lift them up, get that $5 and buy the book do it NOW!). In all seriousness, if you buy my book, read it and can take away one good idea, I’ll personally guarantee that you’ll make up that $5 bucks and make a lot more than that!

2.       The motivation: at the very least it will make you think of where you’re at and what you’re doing about it!   

This book is filled with real life examples of what some of you are probably going through in your lives and with your work. I read a report that one third of Americans say they hate their jobs, I believe it. The question is: why then are they still there? Why are you still there? There are a number of reasons that I list in the book but I also bash those reasons and give you motivation to stop making excuses and move on to work that you love. Some of us have woken up and feel it’s our responsibility to share with you the beautifulness of getting on the path of your true calling!

3.       The length: it’s not a very long book, but who has time these days to read a long book?

This book will be a pretty quick read for you, but don’t be fooled. I know how busy life is with work, soccer practice, your friends group and everything else. So I wanted to pack a bunch of good material into a book that the busy person won’t tie up too much of their time trying to read. I know if I want to read a book and it looks too long then it’s probably going to sit for a while! So if you buy it and you have a busy life (we all do) then this won’t take a big time commitment from you!

4.       The support: some of us are starting to wake up and see that we are the only ones that can change things.

Every day you see another story in the news about how bad things are. Some of us have woken up and realize that the government is not going to be able to fix anything, they can’t (and if they tell you they can they’re lying to you!). You are the only one that has the power to change your life, and if we are going to fix this mess then a lot of us need to wake up and change our lives! If we start taking care of our money, what would that do for the economy? We throw it away on garbage and then expect the government to bail us out and that’s how we pile debt on top of debt. This book is part of the “wake yourself up” movement, so buy the book and support the movement!

5.       The truth: you know you need to move on but can’t face the truth!   

Do you wake up every day and cringe when you think about going to work that day? I know that there can be negative situations at any job, that’s not what I’m talking about. Are you at a job that better’s your life and the lives of others? What did you want to be when you were younger? Are you proud of what you’re doing now? Look, my book is not the magical answer, but it does show what someone like you has gone through to discover the path he was supposed to be on. This book will give you a few helpful tips for you to discover your own path. Even those of my friends that read this and are Christians, there is a danger in Christianity between confusing “being thankful” with indecision and procrastination. In Dan Miller’s book (48 Days To The Work You Love) he says that as Christians we sometimes fall into “sanctified ignorance” when we say “Lord show me the path” then we just sit there and do nothing. The Lord doesn’t call us to inaction, just sitting there waiting for “the sign”. If you’re at a job that affects your family time or Church time or things you should be doing for the Lord, that’s NOT what the Lord calls us to with our work!  

For all of us our work should fit into our lives, not our life into our work. If this is where you’re at then it’s time for a change. So start by buying my book, it’s not a magical answer but it will give you a few ideas to STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND MOVE TO WORK THAT FURTHERS YOUR LIFE!

Here are the links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Everyday-Workingman-Woman-ebook/dp/B005GXS35A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313352870&sr=8-1
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/80706

No More Excuses

“The beauty of free will is that you have the power to change your own life!” Unknown

Have you been enjoying your summer so far? I know I have, even though the weather has been unbearable hot at times. For us that live in Wisconsin, we have to enjoy every minute regardless of the heat because it could snow tomorrow! As summer is coming to a close, those of us who have children are thinking about our kids going back to school. For some parents, that might mean an empty house (you’re smiling right now, aren’t you?). Here’s the question that I want you to think about:

What are you going to do with your extra time?

 A couple of days ago the central air went out in our home, and I have to admit, I whined like a little baby. The repair guy came and fixed the mother board, he turned it on and it still didn’t work. Upon closer inspection he found the problem was the motor and he didn’t have a replacement in his truck. The only thing he could do was to take it and bring it back the next evening.  During the two days without central air the temperature in our house was 88 degrees and I was pretty much an invalid (I acted like one). I know I can admit to you guys that all I did was sleep most of this time. My wife got pretty frustrated with me (she had every right) and asked me to get up and help out. My response was I couldn’t help because of the heat, I told her I just couldn’t handle it (I know what you’re thinking, what a little baby. You’re right, I was).

I tell you this story to illustrate two things for you to think about:

  1. There are no valid excuses you can make anymore, since you have the power to change your circumstances.

I used the heat as an excuses but the truth was, I still could have gotten things down. Have you ever done this in your life? (Be honest!) I had the power to ignore the heat and get on with my life; you have the power to ignore whatever is holding you back in your life from accomplishing your goals.

 -When you use excuses and don’t make progress on your goals, you lose that time and time is the one thing that you can’t get back. As I said in the beginning of this post, some parents will have a lot of extra time with their kids going back to school. 

Have you wasted time by making excuses?

I think we are all guilty of this. For those couple of days, I didn’t make any progress on some things I had to do to get my book out. The result of that wasted time could be less sells, you never know the consequences. Those less sells could mean me staying longer in a job I hate and it would be my fault!

How has making excuses affected your life?

   2. Why haven’t you made any progress leaving that job that you hate?

While the repair guy was working I detected an accent, so I decided to investigate. The repairman was from Nigeria, Africa and had come to this country 16 years ago. In Africa he was an engineer with a higher paying job. However, when he came to the United States, his degrees and experience weren’t accepted. He worked lower paying jobs in hopes of these companies seeing his skills and eventually promoting him. You know what happened right? They loved his work but loved the fact that they had a great worker that they could pay less. After years of this he had enough and decided to go into business for himself, and the rest is history.

Things started off slow but he was able to get a few jobs, and if you remember, he does good work. Word of mouth did all his marketing for him and now he has more work then he can handle. While he was working at our house, his phone was ringing off the hook. That’s what happens when you do good work as a business.

It’s a great and inspirational story, and now the question is: how is your story coming together? He was in several work situations that weren’t right for him so he decided that he had the power to change those situations. Are you at a job you hate? Well guess what, you can change that!

 For too long we have settled for jobs we hate and have made every excuse under the sun, it has to end now. This is exactly what I talk about in my book: Tales of the Everyday Workingman and Woman.

The book will be out August 12 on all the ebook sites and on my website: talesofwork.com. The site will be up within the next week, so look out for it!  If you want to get real life inspiration from someone like you, then buy my book.

“You should be happy you have a job in this economy”

A good number of people lately have asked me about my book, about my job, and about my plans. Those that are in my general radius (150 miles or so) have asked me if my book (Tales of the Everyday Workingman and Woman) takes off if I plan to quit. The answer is YES, but not in the way that they think.

For as long as I’ve been writing this blog, and also in my book, I have never advocated just quitting your job (that’s suicide!). I have always talked about formulating an exit strategy and that’s what I’ve done. Releasing this book is only the first step in my exit strategy, and after that there are several more steps. Having a plan is the key!

When people have asked how I’m going to make money, I’ve told them through the book and some other online endeavors. A few of my friends as well as some random people (who were eavesdropping, mind your own business) have said: “you’re going to quit your job in this economy?”

Let me put it into perspective; you might be saying the same thing once you hear this (you better not!). Do to some politics at our warehouse; I now am working a 3 day, 36 hour schedule. “What, you only work 3 days, are you kidding?” Yes, now shut up! To put the cherry on top of the ice cream, I work: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, yes I have off on Saturday and Monday (again I hear what you’re thinking, shut up!).

Even with the 3 days, even with the “good money” I make, even with this bad economy, I’m still moving on. If you really just can’t wrap your mind around why, then buy my book, it talks about the reasons why! The bottom line is even with 3 days and everything else, my “job” is not the right fit for me, therefore making it not something I can invest 40 hours (think about that, 40 hours) of my week in. This “job” is not supporting anything positive in my life and is not getting me towards my life goals.

So all you who think I’m crazy, what do you have to say now? (You just got lawyered!) Even with this “bad economy” there’s unlimited opportunity for those that are willing to put in the work! I’ve mentioned several examples of people that got away from the TV and did something to make money (are you one of those people who watched every minute of the Casey Anthony trial?). Just in the last 2 weeks I was inspired by a friend of mine who had a very original idea that once implemented, I know will make him a fortune (you’ll be hearing about him on my website).       

I am happy to have a “job” that pays well, and is only three days a week, don’t get me wrong. The only caveat is that I’m not settling for just a “job”, I have to follow the path to my vocation (my true calling in life).

So support me on my path to that calling by buying my book: Tales of the Everyday Workingman and Woman. It will be out in mid-August on Amazon and all the other ebook sites. You’ll also be able to buy it off my website (it’s in the works). Tell everyone you know about it as well. You want to know what the book is about? You just got a little preview with this post (I know, I can’t wait either!). Here is the cover:

 

  

Let Me Tell You About My Mother

I think a lot of people would say they have a great mother, but I want to say I have a GREAT MOTHER!

When looking at her life, she has overcome some things that most people only see in the movies. She is an inspiration to me to work hard and follow my dreams. She has always encouraged me to follow my dreams and to never look back. Words can’t express how much I love my mother!

Her History:

She was born in Nairobi (Kenya), she had 12 other siblings. Life in Africa was and still is rough; she was taught to work very hard from a young age. Now I know there are people here in the United States that works hard, but it’s different when you have to work very hard just to survive! Food is scarce in Africa and if she didn’t do her part, she wouldn’t eat (as well as numerous family members).

Even with the everyday work load, her mother (my grandmother) would always encourage her to work hard and study long in school. Her mother knew there was a better life out there, but you needed an education to access it. My mother was a good student and graduated High School with good grades. In Africa though, there is very limited space so getting into college is very difficult. Her brother (my uncle) was already in the United States, so knowing how hard it would be for her to go to college; he saved up some money and paid for her to come to college in the United States.

Her Tragedy’s:

My mother was nineteen years old when she arrived in the United States. She came here for college but still had that work ethic instilled in her, so all throughout college she worked and went through college debt free. It was here that she met my father and they were married. To be honest, it was a rough marriage for her. My father started off as a good man but became a loser; he was verbally and physically abusive to her. The whole time she supported the house as she went to school to become a nurse.

Eventually it got so bad that the police had to get involved and remove him, so she was a single mother with two kids going through school, and working. Wow! To support it all she held jobs as a C.N.A., and a teacher, until she graduated and was able to get her dream job as a R.N. It was a long hard road, but she accomplished her dream!

Her Triumphs:

Since then, she has remarried and we now have a beautiful, blended but united family. She works as a nurse but also opened a daycare. In order to make it successful, she would work in the daycare during the day, but work as a nurse during the night. To this day a lot of her shifts are 12 to 18 hours. She has recently closed the daycare to open a group home for elderly adults. The whole time that she has worked all these hours, I have never heard her complain once, I’m serious, not once! She sees what needs to be done and just does it; she’s a true inspiration to me and my children!

Her life and example of doing whatever it takes to achieve your dreams is one of the main reasons for me to write my book: TALES OF THE EVERYDAY WORKING MAN (and WOMAN). Too long we’ve been happy to settle for less in our work because even though we dislike the job: “there are other people who have it worse”. Look, those people and you can be doing the work that you are truly called to in life and that’s exactly what I talk about in:  TALES OF THE EVERYDAY WORKING MAN (and WOMAN).

Do you love what you do for work? This is not just another motivational book that has a lot of “great theories”, this book is real life wisdom from one of you. I didn’t write this in my office on the 10^th floor, I wrote this at my kitchen table.

The book will be out in mid-August, so please be ready to buy it and tell everyone you know about it! Very shortly I will also be launching a website, so stay tuned! As promised, here is the cover:

     

I Lost My Job, But I'll Be Ok!

Last post we talked about some of the things that happen immediately after losing your job. The main points were to stay positive, keep yourself busy, and hold on to your family. These are the things that will keep you from getting bitter or depressed, which will only make things worse. So you got the emotional side of things under control, now what? Your next few moves will either make or break you so:

1. Use your down time to formulate a plan! Look most people will lose their job and the next day go and apply at 100 jobs only to find no work. I'd like to submit a few thoughts to you:
A. No one hires anyone anymore based off of applications. Look, I guess to be fair there might be one company out there, but I'm telling you, that's it. With the state of our economy today, companies are flooded with thousands of applications each day. Do you think they're going to put the pile on the desk and magically find yours? The only real way to get a job in our economy today is to network with someone you know at that company. Do you know some one who works there? It doesn't have to be someone you know well, it could be a friend of a friend, they are your key to getting hired there.
B. Since you aren't going to get hired right away, take a little (I want to stress little) time to plan out your next move. Just take a few days to figure out what's best for your future. Who knows, this might be your chance to move on to work that you actually enjoy, don't just settle for whatever job will hire you (McDonald's), you'll end up regretting it.

2. While you're taking some time to plan things out, do any odd jobs to make quick cash. You got bills to pay so you need some money in your bank account yesterday, do whatever odds jobs you can to make that happen. Can you get hired at the local pizza place as a delivery driver? That would put cash in your pocket daily. Can you cut grass in your neighborhood or another neighborhood? Look, you're smart, you get the picture, just do what it takes to make some money. I want to stress that this isn't a long term solution unless you can see a business being built out of it (like a landscaping company). You're just doing this until you can start implementing that plan.

3. Get hired in a better company or start your own business. This should be a big part of that plan you came up with. Look for companies that you know you'll be a good fit at, then apply there whether they're hiring or not. Or use this as a chance to start up that business that has always been in the back of your mind. Maybe that odd work you did for cash was your opportunity to launch this business.

Look I have so much more I want to tell you, do you want to hear about my experience losing a job?

Do you want to hear about a process to get hired at a company whether or not they're hiring?

Do you want to see how all of this plays out in real life?

If you want answers or are a fan of what I talk about in this blog, stay tuned for my book!

In a couples of days I'll be able to show you guys a sneak peak of the cover and the title of my book!

Can you do me a favour?
Tell all your friends about a book coming out by Kimanzi Constable, it will be available as an ebook on Amazon or Nook or other ebook sites. Please spread the word about my book, and please buy the book when it comes out! In a couples of days, it will be revealed!!!

I Just Lost My Job, Now What?

Whether you get fired or laid off, losing your job has the same effect: IT MAKES YOU WANT TO SCREAM! Going outside and having a good scream can be good for you, just make sure you come inside and follow it up with a good cry. It sucks to lose your job, it's like getting punched in the stomach (I know because I've been there). Look, the reason why I say to scream and cry is our first point:

- Don't hold it all inside, let those emotions out! When we are going through difficult situations in life, we tend to bottle it up inside. The problem is that nothing can stay bottled up forever, eventually it will come out in a nuclear explosion of emotions. Have you ever experienced this in your life? Let me answer this for you, yes you have! There's been times in my life when my wife would constantly ask me what's wrong and I would say "nothing", by the end of that night the fourth of July was happening at our house (sorry hunny!). Share what's going on with your significant other, share what you are going through with your friends, just don't bottle it up inside. On a serious note, if you feel like you can't talk to anyone in your life, you can email me at kconstable29@gmail.com and I'll be there for you any way I can (I've been there and understand). Once you have gotten everything off your chest:

- Keep your self distracted with everything positive! The very next morning after the job loss, wake up early, throw on some workout clothes, grab your I Pod, and go outside for a long run or walk! Do this every morning, this will keep your mind and body distracted (and you can lose a little weight, which is never a bad thing). While you are on that run or walk, make sure you're only listening to things that are positive, no garbage music or cheesy romance novels (you need to lift yourself up, not drag yourself down). When you get home, make sure you're only doing things that are positive. This might mean turning off those garbage, waste of time TV shows. READ A BOOK! Look as a practical matter, you just lost your job, who cares who won American Idol (they're making money while you're sitting there watching them jobless, seems pretty dumb!). You have to be positive not only for your self but for everyone in your house that are looking to you for guidance for what's next! Also make sure you:


- Hold on to your wife or partner for dear life! Look you're angry, scared, sad, and depressed, take these feelings you have and multiply them by 10 and you'll understand what your wife or partner feels like. They are scared out of their mind, not matter how strong of a front they put on. Not to get sexist, but women have a larger security gland then men do, so what do you think of job loss does for that security gland? I know your scared, but suck it up and comfort her any way you can. Show your partner extra affection, be honest with them and hear what they have to say (you need to be their sounding board). Hold tight to each other and put up a united front that your children see (their scared too!). Go for walks together at night when the kids are sleeping, and just talk about random stuff, don't talk about the stupid job you just lost! HOLD ON TIGHT AND DON'T LET GO! In this same spirit:

- Don't scare your kids! Look, you always want to be honest with your kids, but you have to decide what they're old enough to know. You don't want to give a bunch of details to your 8 year old, they shouldn't have to process that information! Make sure your wife and you put up that strong front so they can go to bed at night without any nightmare's of living on the street. You have to remember that kids make everything bigger in their minds, so them hearing about a job loss could be them ending up in foster care in their little minds. That's why the first point is so important (staying positive) because kids can sense and feel all that tension in and around you, they don't need that. It's your job as a parent to make them feel safe, so be strong and stop thinking about yourself!

Look, I hate to leave it here but if you want to see more, tune in to my next post. I'd like to continue this discussion and give you some practical tips on what to do and how to get through it. If you've lost your job and just want to talk, don't hesitate to email me! Here's some food for thought before next time: Do you have a back up plan for if you lost your job?     

Positive People

I've been running around all day doing different errands, causing me to delay putting out my post. I thought I'd write a little blurb about a topic and then something amazing happened. I've just gotten done writing my book and gave several people that are close to me copies to help me proof read it. 

I have been doing interviews of different people for the end of the book, so I went to my friend Chaka's house. He is one of the members of our group that blogs about parenting and has been a close friend for years (everydayparentforlife.blogspot.com). I had gone to his house to get back the copy of the book but I walked away with so much more. What I got was inspiration by a positive person. 

So many times in our life's were dragged down by negative people. You know what I'm talking about, you've gone to those friends and told them a certain idea, but they've given you the 100 reasons why it won't work. YOU DON'T NEED THAT IN YOUR LIFE! There just as much reason to believe something will work out versus it not working out.

If you want to have any chance to move on to the work you love, you have to surround yourself with positive people. There's already to many negative people in the world, you don't need them in your life. You need cheerleaders in your corner, that will propel and inspire you to push forward. If you keep surrounding yourself with negative people, you will eventually give up and stay in that job that you hate!

Thank you for giving me what I needed today Chaka!

A little encouragem​ent goes a long way

Today I'll like to bring you a guest post by David Constable. David has been self-employed for the last several years, and is definitely an everyday working man! He has a vacation relief service and is a avid Internet entrepreneur. This is his message: "Being human, we always need some form of encouragement to keep us doing our best. It can be as simple as a pat on the back or even better, a raise! As a business owner, your encouragement should come from a satisfied customer. What inspired me to write this post was an incident I watched at a grocery store. A bakery lady was doing her job of cleaning the glass cases that hold donuts. Her supervisor just made a little comment about how good she cleans. When she heard that, she start scrubbing and wiping just a little bit more. She was already doing a good job but that little compliment made her give 120%!! We all need and love encouragement. If you are a boss, compliment those under you and see how much your productivity will go up. It's a little different for business owners that don't have employees. You should instead strive to get compliments from your customers. A successful business is a business that's number one focus is pleasing the customer. I just want to leave you with this note: your life will be a lot more satisfying when you strive to please others!" Who will you encourage today?

85% Employment

I did a post a while back about a conversation someone close to me had about a story they saw on the news talking about the 15% unemployment rate (look it up, it's worth a read). I had talked about how it was the news stations job to only focus on the negative side of things and that most people watched this, and actually believe this garbage.

Flash forward to today, I saw something this weekend that put things into perspective for me. As I was driving home from some merchandising, I saw a family going up and down my block cutting grass. It was a father, mother, son, and daughter, and each of them had lawnmowers. I saw them get done with the grass at home, then go and talked to people at the next house seeing if they wanted their grass cut. They were going up and down the block and cut almost every yard. I watched when they got done and took their lawnmowers to their truck and saw my opportunity.


I went up to the dad and did a little interview about what they were doing. He told me how he had gotten laid off from a company he worked at for 20 years and that his family was helping make ends meet any way they could. He said he looks for jobs all week, and on the weekends they cut grass making about $500 for Saturday and Sunday (not bad!). I shook his hand and congratulated him and his family for doing whatever it takes!

With the economy being as bad as it is, and with the fact that it will take a lot longer than we thought to come back, we have to do whatever it takes. The news will down play everything and make it seem like the world's coming to an end, IT'S NOT! They love to talk about the 15% unemployment rate but neglect to talk about the 85% that are employed. Moreover, they would never even consider people like that family of grass cutters, someone who doesn't have an "official" job but is still making money.

Even in this bad economy there is money to be made out there, the questions is are you willing to do whatever it takes? What would you do if you were laid off tomorrow? It's all about your attitude and your perspective, are you going to be negative and make a bad situation worse? Or will you be positive and take full advantage of all the opportunity? They chose the later and are making it, what would you do? When you've got no income and your family is looking at you scared, will you step up like that father did? Or will you turn the news on, see the stories, and start crying? I hope you've got what it takes!!! 

Real Time Off

Since were about to go into a 3 day weekend I'll make this brief. If you have to work today, finish up what you need to finish. If you have to spend an extra couple of hours working, do it so you can truly enjoy this weekend. If your all done worth work, forget about work for 3 days, and ENJOY YOUR TIME OFF.

If you feel a little tired, ignore it so you can give everything you have to your family this weekend, you can sleep later. If your single, hit your friends up and reconnect. Work will be back before we know it so let's make this weekend last as long possible.

Also if you see a solider make sure you thank them for serving our country! Enjoy your 4th of July everyone!!!!!!

It Sucks To Be Him!

Well, in the past I've talked to you about having patience and I thought this was an area of my life that I had mastered, I WAS WRONG! On Tuesday I had just got done delivering and stocking the bread at my last store, it was a long day that started at 11pm the night before. By the time I walked out of the store that morning it was 9 am and I was tired and ready to go home. I thought I could just get in my truck and drive off, but boy was I wrong! The store I was at is in downtown Milwaukee so to deliver there you have to go underneath a parking structure. When I got out to the truck I saw there was a 7 UP truck blocking the entrance to the structure, I've put a picture here for you to see. Instead of pulling out straight, he tried to leave at angle getting his forks caught on the cement. He tried and tried to leave but he was completely stuck causing the rest of his that were beneath the structure to have to wait, in the end I waited for 2 hours! While he was trying to break the truck free, the other vendor's and I were getting more and more angry at the situation and eventually at the driver. "We all just wanted to leave but this guy ruined it by being dumb", was at we said and thought. The tow truck guy came (without a tow truck) and did some kind of maneuver that released air and got his forks high enough to get out, it was finally over! The very next day I was still a little angry until I saw something that put things into perspective, I've put the link here: http://t.co/qA3fyKB. I thought I had learned patience but I still needed a real life lesson and I wanted to share with you what I learned. It's simply this: put yourself in the other persons shoes. 

I was mad I had to wait but what would it have been like to have your semi stuck with a bunch of angry vendors and other cars ready to rip your head off! After I thought about things I was disappointed with my reaction, I should have been more helpful and understanding to that guy.

Next time your in a situation that requires patience, try and put yourself in the other persons shoes and that should put things into perspective. Maybe then we'll react the right way.

I've really seen first hand, that with all these issues of life that it's a learning process, the key is to open your eyes and truly learn the lessons. All of us should try and grow from these situations together because that's the only way we'll ever truly change. What situations have you gone through where you needed a little perspective? Tell me about them, it will help us all!

First Things First

Have you ever felt like 24 hours in a day is just not enough time? Think about it for a minute, how many different things do you have going on in your life right now? We, as a group of people, are very busy. So what should take priority? How do you decide what comes first? I deliver bread for a living and on the days that I work, it usually is a 10 to 12 hour day. Right when I get home, feeling like the living dead, my 3 kids and my wife usual need my immediate attention. They haven't seen me for 12 hours, so there's a lot to catch up on, is this the same way for you? I have work, family, church, my writing and blogging, friends, chores, errands, and life! It truly can be overwhelming! As I've been thinking about all of this the last few days, I've tried to put it all into perspective and put first things first. You cant let the balance of your life shift to far into any one direction.
  -For me, God has to come first, next is my family. Everything else I can plan out and work out, but those other things have to fall into second place. I use to make the mistake of trying to make my family time and my time with God fit into the rest of my life.
 - For example: I would get around to reading my Bible after I did the 13 other things I had to do that day. Sometimes it would go past my bed time and guess what, no time to read the Bible today, I'll make it up tomorrow (if I have time).
 - Any kind of activity my kids had at school, like a play or concert, would only happen if I got my nap for the day or if I didn't have to deliver as much bread the next day. It took a swift kick in the face from a friend for me to realize that every morning before I do anything I need to read my bible and pray. Next, any kind of activity that my kids had, or an event that my wife wanted me to go to, I was going to go!
 - If I have to deliver less bread or if I had to start work later so I could participate in these activities, that's what I have to do. The time we have here on earth is very precious and you have to place the most important things first. Everything else will have to fit into place with those priorities, not the other way around. Who or What has first place in your life? Who or What has the priority with your time? Based on your answers to the first two questions, what changes do you need to make?

What are you afraid of?

As I'm delivering bread everyday I hear other vendor's tell me how they thought about buying into the company where I'm at but never wanted to take the risks. They give the usual reasons for not wanting to get into self-employment, no insurance, no benefits, no job security. They try to convince me that they made the smart decision by staying at the company they work for and I almost buy it. The reason I don't believe them is that little hesitation they give when talking about it, that little something in their voice that tells me even they don't believe what their saying. When it's all said and done we have to look at the end result, most of them are at a $50,000 a year job with benefits and the whole nine, but the guys that bought into the company I'm at (it's like a franchise situation) are in the $150,000 gross range. Now to be fair you have to take out the expenses, but even after you do, it's still a lot more money, and as far as job security goes: NO ONE HAS ANY JOB SECURITY ANYMORE! The reason why they never took that risk and the reason why we stay at the jobs we dislike is because of FEAR. The biggest fear we have is not being able to pay our bills, and it's a legitimate fear. I have 3 kids and a wife, cars, rent, phones and everything else you have, and the reason I don't just walk off and quit my job is the fear of not being able to pay those bills. Let me start off by saying, and I've said it numerous times, when you decide to move on to that job you love, you must have a plan. Having a well thought out plan will take your fear back done to level 2, and calm your scared to deaf spouse as well. In any move that you make, you must have the support of your partner, otherwise your doomed for failure right from the start, us guys can't properly function without our "better half". Next, as a practical matter, have an emergency fund saved up. I don't know what your amount should be, but have some money put aside in case of that unforeseen emergency. Even those of you who think you have a "secure job", hope for the best but plan for the worst! In moving on to the job you'll love, take a little of the fear out by planning, being organized and having that support from the one you love. Have a little cash as a fall back plan in case you meet any bumps in the road. People assume that if they move on to the work they really want to do, they'll make less money, why assume that? Just from a sheer numbers perspective, you have a 50/50 chance of making more then you make now! Chances are you will make more money because if your doing that job you love, you'll be the best at it, you'll give that little bit of extra effort that will put you over the top. What are the fears that keep you from moving on in your life? Are they legitimate or are they bigger in your mind then they should be? Have you talked it over with your loved one's? This is the best time in the world to move on because deep down inside you, you know you have what it takes! Why are you still standing around? Hurry up and get to work, it's time to move on to your true calling!  I'll see you there!!!!

Do you still dream?

Do you remember when you were a little kid and you would dream about your future? I remember reading a lot as a kid, and always wanted to have "my own book". Do you remember how you had a lot of the details of your future planned out? Those were the days (right!) no worries, no car payments and cell phone bills, just you running around in your "police" uniform chasing bad guys (your dog or cat). Obviously, we grow up and have the responsibilities of life, but what happened to our dreams along the way? When you were a kid some of your dreams might have been a little skewed (Spaceman, superhero) but those dreams should be the basis for figuring out what your dream work situation should be now. I always wanted to write (that's what I'm transitioning to now), what was the one thing you always wanted to do? Think long and hard about those dreams, once you have, do they match up to who you are now? I bet their pretty close. This is the key: once you've figured those dreams out, and you know what you want to do with your life, create a transition plan. A wise man said "a dream without a timetable attached to it is a pipe dream". We can't stop dreaming, sometimes it's the only thing that gets us through jobs that we hate, but we have to have a plan to make that dream a reality. What's you dream? You can leave comments below:

"To be honest with you...."

Have you ever used the expression: "to be honest with you"? Every time I hear someone say this to me, I think their about to lie to me. This little expression has been ringing out in my mind which has brought me to today's post: Integrity. This is the question I want to leave in your mind, what do you do at your job or business when no one is looking? When I was 18 years old I worked for a major soda company (the one that has a very popular green soda that has a lot of caffeine), my job was to go to grocery stores and take the soda from the back rooms of the store's and put it on the self in the soda section. There was little supervision in those day, they now use GPS technology, so a group of us would go to the warehouse, punch in, say we were going to the store's but instead we went home for 10 hours. We wouldn't even go to the store at all, then we would go back to the warehouse punch out and we would receive a paycheck every week for basically no work. Now some of you will read this and think I would never do anything like that but let me ask you: what other way's are you stealing from your company? Do you sit and talk on the clock dealing with your personal business and nothing related to work? Do you use the company computer to look at your Facebook account at work when you should be working? Do you steal supplies from the company? Do you steal products from the company (chips, bread, cakes)? In the example I gave you earlier I was completely wrong for what I did, and if you're stealing in any way, then so are you. I'm not sitting here trying to give a plug for these big companies that we sometimes hate, but if your working there, no one put a gun to your head and told you that you have to stay there. Our work at the companies were at is by choice, so we have no excuse! Even if you say "this company I work for is greedy and ruthless", your not the moral police. I admit that work place integrity is an issue that I have probably struggled with all my working life, but I'm making the necessary changes now! A friend of mine likes to say; "never let them see you sweat" by stealing or being dishonest, that's exactly what your doing. The goal as a everyday working man and woman is to improve every area of our life so we can move on to the next level in our growth. In the end, I have truly found this out in my life, the truth always comes out and that thing that you stole or that time you stole, is not worth putting your family through the stress of you loosing your job! TRUST ME, I've been there! Let's all grow in every area of our life together, that's how we can change this world!

Educate Your Children!

This post is an early father's day present to all the dad's, single dad's and moms who have both the role of mother and father. If you are in a job or business that your not happy with or suited for, then one of your primary responsibilities is to educate your children! When their little and they tell you they want to be a policeman or firefighter or even the President of the United States, DON'T EVER DISCOURAGE THEM FROM THEIR DREAMS! Where would you be right now at this point in your life if you had the proper encouragement growing up? Would you still be at that job you hate? It's our job as an everyday working parent to steer our kids away from the path we went down., isn't it natural to want more for your kids then we ever had? Teach them to shoot for the stars and never look back, teach them to ignore all those people that will put them down and try to stand in their way. Teach them that society, the news and even their friends are liar's when they tell them that what they want to do is impossible! It's all possible, our minds just make it seem impossible, don't follow your mind follow your heart! If you are blessed enough to be at a job or business you love, educate your children about that as well. Let them see that smile on your face the night before when you think of going to that job or business you love! Educate your children and help them in anyway you can, make any sacrifices to put them on the path of their true calling in life. And as always, the best way to educate them is to lead by example, so if you're in a job that you hate, MAKE PLANS TO MOVE ON TODAY!

Get Involved!!

If you've liked what you read so far, get involved by becoming a follower of this blog and our other blog (everydayparentforlife.blogspot.com). Also I do this to hear your feed back as well, so please make comments! Your comments help me learn as well. GET INVOLVED!

It's all connected!

For most of us, we spend 40 hours of our week at work, if you own a business, you might spend double that amount of time building your business. If your at a work situation that you don't like, you might spend a good amount of that time dreaming about the moment when you can be done and forget that you even work at that job. Is this you? We (me included) assume that once we punch out for the day that whatever feelings we have towards that work situation, we can just leave them at work and not carry them over to our home life. I have to tell you, this is completely FALSE! Have you ever had a negative experience at work with another coworker or maybe your boss? We all have. Do you tell yourself once works over that it was stupid and your over it, you get home, see your family and your a little more subdued then normal? You go throughout the day and your significant other might ask you more then once, what's wrong? You say nothing, not realizing that your just letting that anger build you inside, and eventually, BOOM!! In the end you take it out on someone who doesn't deserve it, it's all connected. You can't separate what happens for the beginning 8 hours of your day with the rest of your day. If you had a negative situation that day, talk it out with your significant other, or a good friend, don't hold on to it, then explode, vent. If the problem is bigger then just one incident, like your at a job you absolutely hate, MAKE PLANS TO MOVE ON! I mentioned in my previous post the opportunities of starting your own business, or maybe move to a different company that you really like. I've said it a lot, but it's worth repeating, 40 hours a week is too long to spend doing something you don't like or don't believe in! If what I've talked about is a daily occurrence for you, then make a definite plan today to start moving on, but before you jump right back into the same situation, figure out what you would love to wake up everyday and do. If you've been following this blog and haven't done it already, start the process of figuring out your true calling in life, your vocation. Why wait when opportunities all around us! Doing work you love is not just a pipe dream, people all around us are experiencing this everyday!

15% unemployment!

Someone close to me called me recently to tell me that they have been following my blog and are really proud of the fact that I've found a good "hobby". They told me that I might want to tone it down because while people would like to have a job they love, it's just not possible with 9% unemployment in our economy (they saw a story on CNN). Before I got a chance to respond, this person called me to say that they saw another story that stated the actual unemployment rate is more like 15% (they saw another story on some other news channel). My response was SO WHAT!!! Even with 15% unemployment there are still companies willing to hire, their just looking for the right people, and those right people aren't the one's with the negative attitudes because they've been watching cable news. Our economy has changed and we must change with it. You can't get a traditional job? Why not work for yourself? "The economy's bad, you can't start a business", really? This is the best time to start a business because there's very little competition out there because everyone else is to busy watching and believing cable news. Here, let me give you one idea right now: do you have a lawn mower, can you borrow one? Get one and start "So and So lawn service". Can you do odd work around someones house? You just became "All Purpose Handy Service". I read a story about a 14 year old kid who wanted to make a little extra money for the summer doing all sort's of odd jobs around someones house. He went to a 450 home subdivision and worked it all summer, when it was all said and done, he made $10,000 in 3 months, why can't that be you? There's work out there for those that are willing to do whatever it takes, the days of the laid back, easy jobs are over, wake up and smell the opportunity! The question I'll leave you with is, do you agree with that person close to me because you guys watch the same always negative news cast? Or are you like that 14 year kid who wasn't afraid to do some hard work to achieve a goal? When that 14 year old kid grows up he probably end up being a millionaire and if you are that negative person, you'll still be on the couch watching him on that news cast you love so much!

A healthy risk or just plain stupidity!

I got an email from a guy who told me that he has been reading my blog and he was inspired. He said he was at a job he hated (McDonald's) so being inspired to do a job he actually loved, he quit the next day! I started this blog to inspire people and wake people up to the fact that 40 hours a week is too long to spend doing something you don't like, with the eventual goal of moving on to a job or business you actually love. I want to be clear about the process. Once you have identified what or where you should be, you have to have an exit strategy, DON'T JUST QUIT YOUR JOB! It's not a calculated risk, it's just plain stupid. Make a solid step by step plan giving yourself a timetable, a plan without a timetable attached to it, is just a pipe dream. If you are in a position to leave sooner, still don't burn any bridges, you don't want to put yourself in a corner with little hope of getting out. If you are reading this chances are that you are at a job or business you don't like or maybe it's just not suited for you. We've made it through this long, just stick it out with the sight of the finish line in the distance! If you are somewhere you don't like and haven't started making any plans, what are you waiting for? The guy at McDonald's lives at home and has very little bills (he's 19) so he's probably going to be OK, but don't make a mistake and set yourself up for failure by not having a plan!

One more look back

A couple of days ago I went to get some food at KFC. I went to the drive through and waited for what seemed like forever (2 minutes), so I drove around to walk into the restaurant. When I got into the restaurant, there was a huge line (3 people). I waited and waited forever (2 minutes) and got fed up and left! I'm being honest about my experience to talk about patience. This is the one thought I want to leave with you this post: when doing a work related task, or personal task, or any kind of project, after your finished and are ready to move on to the next thing, take one more look at your work. I think as a group of people, myself included, we are generally impatient. Take the extra few minutes to double check your work and see if there is that one thing you missed. I did this very thing at work this morning and corrected 3 mistakes by going back to double check my work. You never know how this will affect you, your boss might be considering giving you a raise and this might just be the extra thing that gets you one. Double checking your work might also keep your boss from firing you if you have been messing up lately. Looking back at a task or errand that you did at home might save you from having to call a professional!  Like determination, patience is a quality we all should strive for, I do daily and hope you will to. We might never reach perfection, but taking one more look back might get us one step closer!

Determination- easier said, then done

"I'm going to lose 20 pounds this month". "I'm going to finish that project at work". "I'm going to do that thing that I've been putting off". That drive that propels you to get all these things accomplished is determination, you probably already know this. I'd like to submit one thought to you: Determination without a plan is a recipe for failure! You may be determined to lose 20 pounds, but if you don't hit the gym or diet, you may gain weight. You may be determined to do those things you've been putting off, but if you don't have a plan, you might not even know what all of those things are. If there are things in your life right know that you are determined to get accomplished, plan them out today! Are they goal's for this week? Are they goal's for this month? Are they goal's for this year? As an every day workingman spending 40 hours of our week at work, it's hard to have determination, it's hard sometimes to even have the energy. So the plan is a very important part of the equation. Sit down today, make a list of different things you are determined to see done, plan them out giving yourself a solid timeline. And my hope is, after following this blog, that one thing you're determined for this year is to move on to work that you actual enjoy!

Pulled apart from every direction!!

As an everyday working man or woman it seems like your constantly being pulled apart from every direction! At work, your boss seems to "miss" the 99 things you did right to focus on the 1 thing you made a mistake on, "hey buddy, I'm not perfect"! At home, whoops I'm at home? I was suppose to stop at the gym before I got home, looks like I'm staying fat today! At home, your kids require your immediate attention because they've been waiting all day to talk to you, your husband or wife needs the same! You have a 100 different errands to run, not to mention all the projects around the house! Don't forget to get those fiances in order, you got to get the mortgage payment out today, your already 1 month behind! You look at all this everyday and want to scream: AAAAHHHH!!! We've all heard the expression that when it rains, it pours? It's just all in our minds. As an everyday working man or woman we are faced with these things everyday, but instead of screaming or going crazy, let's try a different approach. As these things happen, let's try to stop for a minute, take a deep breath and tackle them one at a time. You need more help, take out your I pod or whatever you use, and listen to your favorite song and decompress. If your a Christian, like I am, you pray and ask for God's peace. For that complaining boss, my friend always says: "never let them see you sweat". If you miss that day at the gym, you'll workout twice as hard tomorrow. For the wife or husband and kids, you remember that you do it all for them and you give them every moment they need. Send out the bills. Tackle the errands one at a time. You miss them today, there's always tomorrow! It's all in your mind so don't give in!! Over come these things, learn from them, and grow from them, that's all you can do. Or I guess you can give in and go crazy! GOOD LUCK EITHER WAY!

Time- your best friend or your worst enemy

If you have been following my blog, I dedicated the next few posts to answer email questions. I have to detour a little for something that's been burning on my mind. As you know, there are 168 hours in a week. Let's take off 56 hours for sleep (assuming you get 8 hours a night of sleep, most of us don't). Let's also take off 50 hours for work (Most people work 40 hours, but let's say 50 to account for overtime), that leaves you 62 hours a week. The burning question is what do you do with your extra time? This question has been burning in my mind because I read a report that the average American watches 34.5 hours a week of TV, REALLY??? If we dedicated 34.5 hours a week to figure out what we want to be when we grow up, and then attack that goal, how long would it take to accomplish it? I'm guessing not very long. As an everyday working man or woman it's easy to have a hard day at work and come home and just want to veg out, I've done it. The problem is life is to short to waste any of those hours! Are you using your spare time to do everything you want to do? If your a parent, do you ignore your kids for your favorite show? When was the last time you read a good book, not fiction, something that would help improve your life? And let me just close with this: If your at a job or business that you constantly need to decompress from, what are you still doing there? Could you use any of those 62 hours to break free? Only you can answer that! I've found personal the answer is yes, and I hope you will to. Please feel free to get involved by becoming a follower of this blog, leaving comments, and telling everyone you know to check it out!

You will always have questions

As I've been writing this blog, I've had many questions from a lot of people, GREAT! It's been my goal through this to first, get people interested in my book when it comes out. Second, to open your mind and show you it's possible for you to wake up everyday and not have to go to a place you hate! The problem is not, that's where most of us are at, the problem is most of us are content to stay there, SAD! The most common questions are: How do I figure out what I love to do? Next: How can I start doing that? Third: Will I make less money? I'd like to take the next few post to answer these questions. First let me say right off the bat, that I'm no expert on anything, just ask my wife. The title of this blog is everyday working man because that's what I am, I'm one of you. So when I talk about anything or answer questions, it's from that perspective. Figuring out what it is you love to do is a very personal process. My advice is to start very basic: when you were a little kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? You have to take a lot of time to examine what your natural good at, what do you enjoy, and how does it fit with your personality. Even after you read this take some time to "figure yourself out", then once you've done that, you can look at what companies would be a good match for you. Or maybe you would be more suited to start your own business. For me personal, this process brought me exactly here, writing. Stay tuned for more answers!

Why have we lost faith?

As I was delivering bread to a store this morning I was causal talking to the receiver about his job. He was telling me how unhappy he was. I asked him why he didn't move on to something he would actually enjoy? He gave me all the usual excesses that we all have used, but he ended by saying that "most people" don't do a job that they really enjoy. Really? It's funny how we talk to the 100 or so people around us and think that covers "most people". At last check there is about 6.9 billion people in the world but I guess that "most of them" that are working, work jobs like his or mine. Why have we given up or lost faith to the fact that this is America? "People" come to this country everyday with nothing and make a better life for themselves. So we can't we that are here, and have lived here our whole lives do better. How is your job? Do you love it or are you one of the "most people"?

"living the dream"

As I got to my first store to deliver this morning, I saw another vendor and asked him how he was doing. His response was one I hear 10 times a day: "living the dream". I usual don't think much of it but today I spent sometime thinking about it. Now I know it's just an expression, but unless your at a job you love, it's kind of scary. I thought this isn't living my dream, this is actually a nightmare. That's why I started this blog in coordination with a book that I'm writing. I'm trying to wake people up to the fact that you can be living your dream. Stay tuned!!