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!!!