“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!!!!!!