Kimanzi Constable's Blog, page 75

LIfe Lessons

As many of you know I started a discussion in one of the forums here (48 days.net) asking for ideas on how to increase sales of my book. The book has done pretty well and I have made back the money I put into, which is a huge blessing. That being said I have still been depressed that I haven't woken up one day and seen that the book sold 10,000 copies (I'm a little wacky, I know). I've been moping around just kinda of coasting through things in my life for about the last week, until yesterday.

I had submitted a comment to a contest on a popular blog, and I got an email back from the author telling me I won (Yeah!), what I had won was a signed book from a very famous author who I respect. I interacted with this author, which was totally awesome, and told him how much respect I had for a friend of his who is an even bigger author. Yesterday he called me to tell me he sent the book out and he said there was someone who wanted to say Hi to me; it was a man who I absolutely admire!

I had sent this man a free copy of my book and asked him to read it, he told me that he gets 10,000 emails a day and was extremely busy and would not have time to read my book (a little downer if I'm being honest). He did say that he had looked at my site and had read some of my post. He gave me some advice that has changed my outlook on everything.

He asked me if I wanted to make money or if I wanted to help people? He said the people who just want to make money don't last very long but those that are there to truly help people will last long and the money will come in on its own! WOW! I'm still blown away by this advice. He told me that looking at my writing he sensed that I was holding something back; he said to let it all go. He said that he could see I was only giving people tidbits and didn't want to reveal things from my book because if I gave the info away, no one would buy it. He told me to put it all out there, truly help people and they will become your disciples and spread the word for you. It's truly amazing advice.

So I thought long and hard and decided I do really want to help those that are in job's that aren't right for them. I won't hold anything back anymore because even if I don't make another single dollar, I'm doing what I truly love and am called to do: write (especially about work)!

Dan Miller's book was a true inspiration and a call to action for me. I would never copy his material but I do want to have a part in helping him spread the message that there are people out there doing jobs and businesses that they TRULY LOVE! I saw a report in USA today that said 1/3 of Americans are in jobs they hate, with that many people unhappy with their work, Dan could definitely use some help spreading this message of hope.

I wrote a book all about my work experiences and the journey to discovering my true calling; I'm now dedicating my blog and everything I write to help people find work that they love.

The question is will you join this movement to truly help people or do you just want to make money?

Tip of the Week: Applications

Warning: this is not original material.

I had a guy comment on one of my post recently and said everything I write seems scripted and not original, so I wanted to warn you up front that you can find an explanation of what I'm going to say (and a lot better explanation) in Dan Miller's book: 48 Days to the Work You Love. In response to the comment guy I wrote that I saw a report in USA today that says 1/3 of Americans aren't happy with their job. If that many people still aren't happy, then obviously whether this message is original or not, it needs some help being spread! So that's what I'm doing, spreading the message that you can "like" your work.

So let's get to the point of this post. Every week I want to endeavor to bring you one tip that I hope will be a help to you in finding work you love, or just finding work to pay the bills until you're in a position to move on. This week I want to talk about applying at companies: STOP FILLING OUT APPLICATION AFTER APPLICATION, YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME! What?

With the state of our economy today I'm sure you're aware that a lot of people are looking for work, so when a company advertises that they're hiring, how many people do you think will apply? That's right, thousands will be applying with you. Think about this, if a company has thousands of applications to look through, how will they notice your's? That's right, your odds are seem to zero! The HR persons not just going to walk by the stack of applications and see a dot of dirt on your application and pull it out and say; "that's the person we need to hire", not in real life anyways. So what can you do?

In today's economy the best way to get a job is to: NETWORK. What do you mean? Who do you know that works at that company? Who do you know that knows someone who works at the company? Have you bought something from that company and made a connection with anyone there? You get the point right?

If I were to walk up to you to tell you something you might believe it, you might even do it. However, if someone you knows tells you something the chances of you doing it are a lot higher. You see where I'm going with this, right? If someone from within that company talks to their boss or HR about you, your chances are signficantly higher of getting that job, think about it.

So now what?

You have to see who you know at a company that you want to work at, or someone you know who knows someone who works at that company. This might require a little work but remember my post a couple of weeks ago: focus on the "why".

I hope this has been a help to you, good luck in finding whatever work you're looking for! Leave a comment below with any advice you think someone else would be helped out with:

 

Bumps on the Road

If you have followed my blog for any amount of time whether here or my blogspot site, then I hoped you have been inspired to take some action. I hope you have seen that your work does affect the rest of your life, so to do a job you hate drags down the other area's of your life. If you have decided to do something about your work or are thinking about doing something about your work, then you should be aware of something: there are going to be bumps on the road to the work you love!

I recently got to interview a good friend of mine that is on the path to the work he loves and is very passionate about (you can clearly see it in the interview). He knows more than a lot of people about these bumps, what they can be and how to deal with them. I love this interview because he's an everyday working person just like you and I, he's at a job he hates and is determined to move on. Please watch the whole interview, it is 9 minutes long but is worth watching every minute!

My friend's name is Chaka Dillion-El and he started a record company called "Scientific Minds Records", his CD is in the final stages of the process and will be released very shortly. The name of the CD is "Moorish Renaissance" and is a wake up call to the current music industry (make sure you send a message for all the garbage music out there by buying his CD)!

You can reach Chaka at Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002743001305 or email him directly here: cdillonel@wi.rr.com so here is the interview, enjoy:

So what have been your bumps on the road? Please let everyone know by leaving a comment below (it will help other's on the path):

How Do You Find A Job You Love?

Well to start out you're asking the wrong question. The real question you should ask yourself is why? I just tricked you a little (ha ha) the only way to get on the path to the work you love is to answer the question WHY. So to explain what I mean I just want to give you a few quick thoughts:

       1. When you focus on the "how" and the "what" you'll get discouraged and give up

If you have kids, have they ever asked you to build a tree house? They're super excited and so you think about it and say "yeah, shouldn't be too hard, I'll put it up". What happens the day before you're supposed to do it? Yeah, we all know what happens, you think about how you logistically have to do things. Then you think of what all the different things involved are and you get overwhelmed and 2 years later, your kids still have no tree house! When you figure out what your dream work situation would be, you can't focus on how to get there or what it will take. When you think of those things you'll easily get frustrated and give yourself every excuse under the sun to not move towards that path. Look at the example of the tree house, if you would focus on the why: how much fun and memories your kids will have with the tree house, then you'll work that much harder and you won't focus on all the little details. You'll see the bigger picture and that will push you to get it done. When you figure out your true calling look at why you need to get on that path immediately!

         2. When you focus on the "why" it gives you the right motivation

Here is an excerpt from my book to explain this point: "I know in the past I've read books that inspired me and I've been ready to take the world by storm, but it only lasted a week to a few days. It's real easy to get excited about something, to know it's really the direction you should be going in, and then you start thinking about everything that it would take to get that idea to happen and get completely overwhelmed and give up.

For me personally, I've had many different times when I was convinced about what I should be doing in life and was all pumped. I did the research about that certain idea, and things started to look completely impossible—I gave up!" Is this where you're at? Have you ever done this? If I had focused on why I needed to be on this path then I would have the right motivation. Do you have the right motivation to move on to work you love?

           3. So why should you do work that you love?   

I can't answer this question for you. You and only you can, no one else can tell you why! I can tell you my "why":

I want to watch my kids grow up: Parents, how fast do our kids grow up? The answer is super-fast. Today my wife and I went to a school orientation for our kids; we have a son going into 6th grade (WHAT!!!). It seems like just yesterday he was learning how to walk. That time goes to fast and I've already missed too much of it. How about you?
The work I'm doing now doesn't further my life or contribute anything positive to it: Here's another excerpt from my book: "Your work should fit into your life, not your life into your work. If you're at a job or business that takes you away from your family for more time then you feel is right, then that's a big red flag that it's probably not right for you!" As a matter of fact the job I'm at (this is me we're talking about) is an extremely negative environment from the top done to the guys that clean our warehouse. Everyone there (not an exaggeration) is not happy and probably won't be happy until they leave. For me to work there means I have to try hard and keep myself from bringing those negative vibes home.
I want to have passive income: How nice would it be to know that while you're relaxing on vacation you're still making money? That's the beauty of passive income; you're working smarter not harder. (Don't believe the lie that you can't have passive income) Having passive income will allow me to enjoy life and still make a living or I can work a job and get some extra to help me get closer to my goal.
The little things: How nice would it be to wake up and take your kids to school every day? How nice would it be to have passive income to the point where you can call your partner and tell her you're leaving for an unplanned vacation? I nice would it be to wake up and think about your work and actually have a smile on your face? It's totally possible!! What little things would you write down?

 These are MY reasons for wanting to leave and move on to the work I love (writing) and trust me there are many more. As a matter of fact I wrote a whole book about it! Look long and hard at your situation, what is your work doing for your life? Do you know it's time to move on? Do you have an idea of what you should be doing? Then start focusing on why you need to do that and you'll be on that path in no time!

 I talk about all this in my book, so if you haven't already bought it yet, please buy it and get an in-depth look at our work and how it affects our lives (plus you'll get some great motivation)! It's time for us as a people to start the "I'm not settling for any work" movement, will you join me? Also, while you're visiting the site, don't for get to sign up for the newsletter. It will contain help tools and future discounts!

Let me know what your "why" is, you can leave a comment below:

Your Last Day of a Job You Hate

I think I must have been dreaming pretty hard because I had one of those situations where you hear a noise that you think is part of your dream but then realize it's your alarm clock (that moment you realize it really sucks)! I woke up to a nice pool of my own drool, no wonder my wife keeps her distance, like I said I must have been sleeping pretty hard. I got out of bed (reluctantly) and did my usual morning routine, probably the worst part of my usual routine is looking over and seeing my wife enjoying her sleep (I'm so JEALOUS!).

Every morning I drive to this job and I cringe, but half way there I remembered a crucial detail: THIS WAS MY LAST DAY AT THIS JOB!! At our warehouse there's more politics then Washington D.C. so going there is never fun, but not today. As I walk in the door the main loader runs up and says "you can't load we're not done you're going to have to wait another hour". Normally this would send me through the roof, but not today, I just look at him and smile then say: "yeah, I won't be waiting, I'm loading right now". He gets all hot and bothered but I tell him this is my last day and there's nothing he can do to stop me, HA! Every day I load the truck and hate every minute, not today, it was the best time I ever had loading. I say good bye to all the other guys and gals in our warehouse and as I'm leaving I take one last look at a place I'll never come back to (not even to visit)!

The whole way to my first store I'm singing, laughing, at one point I open up the window and just randomly scream outside (what a whack job), it just feels so good to know I'm just hour's away from leaving something that has been a plague on my life for the last 9 years! I get to the first store, walk to the back of the truck, open the back door and there's a surprise waiting for me. Three stacks of bread completely tipped over, normally here is where I would scream and start kicking bread and trays around, not today! I figure if you can't beat them, join them, so I go and starting dancing on the bread that's all over the floor, this way I can finish the job of crushing the bread and get a nice little cardio work out (that was a wee bit sarcastic). Look it's my last day, if I got to pay for some bread then oh well, I'm GONE!

Right when I walk in the first store, I sense immediate attitude, you can smell it in the air (YUM). So I sit there with my bread waiting to get checked in, people look at me like I'm from outer space, yep I'll be waiting a while. The manager comes up to me and tells me it will be a 15 minute wait, I get a little angry then remember that crucial detail: this is my last day! So I do the mature thing and go up to the manager and tell her she has three minutes to check me in or I'm out of there, HA! You know what she says right? So we agree to disagree and I take the bread and peace out, maybe next lifetime, BOOM. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly and I got a chance to say good bye to some pretty cool, nice people. I'll definitely miss some of them and I feel bad for them because I know how unhappy they are, I was just like them.

As I drive back to the warehouse I got the windows open again and I'm singing at the top of my lungs, it's the best feeling in the world!! I get there park the truck, get out and give the truck one last really good kick (I want the truck to remember me), see ya dumb truck! I'm putting everything away when one of the mangers walks up to me to yell at me about the incident in the warehouse in the morning, before he can start in on me I tell him this is my last day and he can go jump in the mud pit behind our warehouse. I don't think he liked that response but oh well this was MY LAST DAY AT A JOB I HATE! I have to say it was my best day ever at this job, to bad every day I was there could've been like that wonderful day.

What I just shared with you was my dream, if I had a day like that when people asked me how I was doing, I would definitely use that stupid catch phrase: "living the dream". Unfortunately I'm still working at a job I hate but it's fun to think about what the last day would be like. I know some of you will read what I wrote and think it was a little extreme, but you got the "lite" version. When a group of my friends and I talked about this I told them that I would show up to work in a full body speedo, WHAT? You're thinking about it right now aren't you? (it's gross I know, sorry)

Ignore what I said, if you're at a job you hate then you need to be thinking about that last day. You need to use the thought of that unadulterated joy as motivation to get out of a job that's not right for you! Our work affects every area of your life whether you want to admit it or not, 40 hours of your week is too long to ignore. How does work affect the rest of your life? How do you find a job you can love? Can you start a business in this economy? I answer all these questions and a lot more in my book which you see on this page. So BUY IT, for the $4.99 you spend I guarantee you'll take away at least one good idea that will make up for the price of the book. Buy the book, enjoy it and please tell everyone you know about it. We have to start a movement of people who say no to society and say yes to bettering our lives. Will you be part of that movement?

So what would your last day at a job you hate look like? Please leave a comment below or go and tell your story on the "tell your story page"