Career Change: Is it too late?

This is a question I ask myself almost daily: Is it too late?  When you move from job-minded to career-minded, there are certain things that become "must-haves".  And those "must-haves" vary across individuals.

A few years ago, I absolutely loved my job but now not so much.  So what exactly becomes the next move when you've spent so much time and energy in one field? Most would say you ride it out because you can't start over or you've put too much time in but that's just not in the cards for me.  I believe that you can have a career that you love, but it doesn't come without hard work and risks.

I don't have all the answers, here are some suggestions on how to begin this journey:

1.)  Assess:  So you've decided this is what you want to do, well what next?  You need to take time and figure out what you love.  I know you've heard the question what would you do for free?  While it sounds cliche, it really isn't.  It is purely a mechanism to help you find your passion, if you would do it for free you definitely would do it for compensation!

2.) Research:  Once you've figured out what you love, you need to research the qualifications need to enter that field.  Do you need a degree?  Do you need a certification?  Are there ways to "sincerely" network (I add sincerely because I'm totally against doing something solely for the benefit of personal gain but that's a whole different blog)?  If you are starting a business, what do you need?  If it is a position, can you find a job posting?  The more you know the better.  Google is our friend :-)

3.) Action: Get to it! This is where you work your research!  Rework your resume bringing to the forefront the skills you already have that meet the ideal position.  Apply for certifications/school.  Meet people doing what it is you want to do.  Know that anything worth having doesn't come easy.  This means continuing to move forward even when things look bleak.

Career changes will always pose some kind of risk.  You have to decide how big of a risk you are willing to take.  One thing for sure, the probability of receiving a return on nothing, is nothing.  In other words, don't expect a return if you haven't put in the work.

Give Me My Flowers Now!

I don't know if I blame it on getting older or maybe it is just a part of life, but all of a sudden I'm having more conversations about death.  Months ago my husband and I had an honest one about death and funerals.  I raised the question about why certain things were done at funerals (i.e., open caskets, people giving remorseful speeches to the deceased, the repast, etc.).  Where did it all come from?  For some reason, it all seemed gloomy, sad, depressing, and to some extent pointless. This lead me to actually look into some of my questions.

Believe it or not, I didn't find much concrete information, but I did find some useful information.  During slavery, it was against the law for Blacks to give their loved ones a proper funeral/burial.  Slaves were prohibited from any gatherings in fear that they would revolt against their masters.  So the deceased were buried without any kind of "service".  Eventually, there was a rebellion and masters were force to make concessions just to keep the peace.  Services were a happy occasion because slaves saw death as being able to go home to be with Jesus; a relief from the agony that they suffered (see
http://www.woodsvalentinemortuary.com/The_History_of_African-American_Funeral_Service_320351.html for additional information).

That piece of information was insightful.  I mean, it makes perfect sense that they would be happy to see their fellow slaves "free".  But what does it mean for us today?  After really pondering I knew exactly what bothered me more than anything.  It wasn't really the funeral but more so people using it as an opportunity to say things about the deceased that they never shared while they were alive.

Regret can be destroying.  I don't know when it became so hard to vocalize your appreciation for people but you see it more and more.  People seem to give more voice to their "haters" than they do to that individual who helped changed their lives.  I always tell my kids how important it is to do what is right the first time because you may never get a second opportunity.  

In essence, this turned out to be a great conversation to have, although a dreadful topic.  I learned that I view some things differently but it doesn't necessary make what others do wrong.  I recognize that the way a person is buried has more to do with the people left to do it than the actual deceased.  BUT there are some things you can do to make it more peaceful.  Think about what are you living for:  Will it be hard for people to actually celebrate your life?  Will you leave a legacy?  We are all here to fulfill a purpose no matter how off path we may be at this current time.

I was a teen when my aunt passed unexpectedly.  I can still remember pondering whether or not she knew I loved her.  It became a question I constantly asked God.  I wanted nothing more than one chance to tell her how much I loved her.  I was young and didn't know then, like I know now, that (1) actions can show a person that you love them and (2) the benefit of giving people their flowers now helps both them and you.

The reality is we don't know how many opportunities we will have to give share love.  That's just how this thing called life works.  It is also why God tells us to forgive.  I implore that you use the opportunity that you have and not wait until that person can no longer hear you or appreciate the gesture.  Because no matter how you grieve, living life without regret only helps the process.

Are you serious?

March 2008, July 2009 were months that my coworkers passed unexpectedly. Today I came to work only to find out that another one of my coworkers is in ICU in a coma secondary to a heart attack. Words are truly escaping me right now and all sort of emotions are running through me.

You would think that after two unexpected losses that management would have learned (or even taken classes on) how to deal with these situations. Yes it is true, most of us know that these companies could care less about us. But we generally just feel this way. To have it outright displayed conjures up a lot of other emotions. So what do I mean by outright displayed...the way they (management) decided to tell us (keeping in mind that the office just lost someone a little over a month ago) about our co-worker was in an e-mail that read:

I'm sorry to let you all know that yesterday at 3:15, [he/she] suffered a major cardiac event. [He/She] is currently at [name of hospital]. It is reported that as of yesterday [he/she] was in a coma. We don't know what [his/her] condition is this morning.

While we hope [he/she] has a complete recovery, it is pretty clear [he'll/she'll] be out of the office for an extended period of time. We are therefore reassigning [his/her] backlog this afternoon. This reassignment will count as intake, but examiners won't see the relief on intake until tomorrow.

As additional information becomes available, we will try to keep you all informed.

Are you serious??? I could point out many things that are wrong with this presentation but I will only say this...cases sit longer when people are on vacation!! In every effort to keep my mind in business mode I really have to move on...

But what should YOU know (because I am trying to find the positive in EVERY thing):

1. Know your worth. If you depend on others to show it to you, you may never know it.
2. Know that your actions/comments affect other people.
3. Know that people are human even if they don't act like it (do you see the consequences of forgetting this?)
4. Know how important it is to stay healthy and listen to your body (while we don't know what caused the health problems, we do know that stress, mandatory overtime, enormous backlogs and careless people didn't help the situation).
5. Know that your job will go on without you (so you better do what you gotta do!)
6. Most importantly, know that God is still on the throne. We are overwhelmed with negativity and with that it is sometimes hard to remember this. The word is true and is being fulfilled whether we know it or not. There is a reason that we needed a savior.

It is a lot to not let fear set it (especially considering that these people are all African-American, work in the same office and under 60 years of age) but fear is not of God (He has NOT given us the spirit of fear!). But I cannot stress it enough. Take care of yourselves people! Learn your bodies and listen to them. Yes we have to work to earn a living but don't let the job work you (you see that they don't care and will go on without you)! Pause for a moment...think about it! Stop chasing it and learn to enjoy what you have!

and seriously...have you shown love today? I sure hope so because tomorrow really isn't promised.

Prioritize

I'm sure it is all the death going on around me that has my mind preoccupied with the things of life. It is amazing how others successes, grief, etc can influence your behavior and thoughts (negatively or positively). All of that has brought me to ponder on several questions: What is true success? How does on truly enjoy life (instead of giving the mere appearance of such)? If you left the world today, would you have fulfilled your purpose? I know, I know...pretty deep questions, but none of which I think the average adult (which is NOT defined by a number) has not posed at one time or another. So here is what I can offer in short time I've been placed on this earth:

Everyone will define success differently and most likely, that definition will change overtime. For example, I can remember not so long ago when success for me would have been the completion of a goal. Now I think that is probably just a starting place of helping you find true success which I believe is really tied to your fulfilling your purpose in life. For me, success is tied to what I give to others (i.e., my time, my talent, and yes the MONEY). The more of myself I give to others, the better I feel. It is nothing like helping pull out of others what they didn't know they had.

So what happens that gets us so off track in our thinking? Easy...nothing but the good 'ole values of a capitalist society!! It is all about the mighty dollar y'all. Money and the people with it are running things (primarily because we allow it but that's a whole 'nother blog). We see images of others "living it up", the diamonds, the gold, houses, cars; not to mention shows like MTV cribs, the Life of the Rich and Famous. While there is nothing wrong with things, if we aren't careful we will get caught up in the hoopla of chasing them at any cost (family, friends, even life itself). That's when we start redefining life and success to the world's standard. That's when we get into trouble.

I have to constantly refocus myself on TRUTH because it is a daily struggle not to get caught up in the images that are put before you. But it isn't impossible to do. Watch who you let into your ear and your eyes. Remember, while you are stressing yourself out about a bill, a vacation that you can't take, or money that you don't have, LIFE is literally passing you by (not to mention you aren't particularly contributing to your health in a positive manner either). YES, be responsible but live in the meantime. Redefine your definition of success. Chase after those things that REALLY matter. Re-prioritize your life. FOCUS ON TRUTH and grow up!!

Have you shown love today???