Sh*t Happens: Don’t Let The Unexpected
Bring You Down

Arriving At My Epiphany

Recent events that have occurred in my life have begun to dredge up old thoughts I used to have a lot of when I first got out of college. There have been more than a few times that I would wonder why is it that every time I am actively working towards accomplishing some goal something comes up; be it a family emergency, a car accident or a friend that may need help, or whatever. It always seems that right when I think I am on the right track something derails the plans. Today it hit me, I felt like I had one of those “AHH HA” moments this morning as I was drinking my protein shake and listening to the marvelous new Mos Def album while driving to serve out my daily 8 hour sentence.

What was the epiphany you ask? It was this…Sh*t Happens. There are only two things in life that are certain, death and uncertainty. No matter how much you plan and plan, there is always something that can derail the plan. When you look back at most successful people in the course of history there is some tale of strife or hardship that they overcame. I am not talking about people that have inherited success, I am talking about success achieved through blood, sweat and tears. I tend to think that at the root of EVERY success story some hard work and unplanned hiccups occurred. While some people may have had their success handed to them, somewhere along the line, maybe generations back, there was someone who had to put in the work to bring a vision to fruition.

Complaining About The Unexpected is A Waste Of Time

In a previous post I wrote I gave some examples of people that did not allow the wrenches that were thrown into their master plans to completely derail plans. I am starting to think more and more that one of the key things that separate the successful people from the unsuccessful people is the ability to cope and keep moving in the midst of unexpected events. Many people complain when something happens that was not planned for, but what good does that do? Kanye West once wrote, “Never complain without offering a solution”, and that rings so true. If you can not offer up a solution that will allow you to change what you are complaining about, you will just complain endlessly, because you are not addressing the root of the complaint.

I realize that I complain a lot about hating the 9 to 5 lifestyle. I also notice that I tend to complain about unplanned strife and allow it to stress me out and make me depressed. How is this wasted energy I exert on complaining benefiting me in the long run? It isn’t, these complaints are not helping me in the least bit. Perhaps I should spend more time working towards achieving the goals necessary to lead a life I am happy living; I should spend more time developing habits and means that will allow me to just deal with unplanned events, in a manner that will not bring me down and completely discourage my productivity.

What do you think? Have there been things that have occurred in your life that you have wasted tremendous time complaining about rather than working on ways to overcome these obstacles and putting yourself in a position to better deal with them in the future?

Fighting Recession Depression:
8 Tips On Keeping Your Spirits High
In A Rough Economic Climate

It’s been official, we are in a global recession. Seasoned workers are out of work, unhappy workers are looking for work, and recent college grads are coming out finding that this economic climate is not as welcoming as they would have hoped. One problem with this recession and people loosing their jobs or remaining at jobs they hate is that it aids in depression. Its an extremely slippery slope, it tends to be gradual, but all the rejection from potential employers or lack of calls for interviews takes its toll, the effects can be damaging.

Here are some tips that I have come up with to try to maintain and emerge triumphant in this recession:

1. Start cutting back on unnecessary expenses. This one is pretty simple, if you are out of work, you need to start conserving your money, you have to make that money stretch. Go to parks, museums and free shows for entertainment. Remember, you do not have to spend money to have fun.
2. Get Out. You know how everyone says you need to get out when your girl/boy friend dumps you, getting dumped by a job is no different. Do no stay in the house, you have to remain active. Yes, you should spend your day actively searching for a job or working on your personal venture, but go to the library and do it. If you have a laptop go to a park that has WiFi (many major city have some). Notice, I did not say go to Starbucks, or Panera Bread etc, when you are in that setting you will be tempted to buy something, this is a CLEAR violation of rule # 1.
3. Exercise.. Lack of a job is not an excuse to let yourself go; plus scientific studies have shown that daily excurses helps to relieve stress. Also, exercise can help you look better, good looking people tend to be a little better received than people that don’t look good. Physical fitness is often times synonymous with discipline and hard work, these tend to be things that employers like in potential new hires.
4. Volunteer. Just because you cannot find a job, does not mean there is not work to do. There is absolutely nothing wrong with finding an organization that needs services you are qualified to offer. Sometimes volunteering can eventually lead to a job within the organization. One thing volunteering can do, aside from helping out a good organization, is inflate you resume, and help you gain experience.
5. Learn more and sharpen skills. Realize that the competition for jobs is fierce. Brushen up on things you are weak on. Investigate any free training opportunities that may be available. A lot of cities have Offices of Employment Services that have listings of free and paid training services, take advantage of these services. If you can afford to spend the money you may want to take some specialized training, you might try to get a certification or two. If you cannot afford to take paid classes, this is perfectly understandable, but not an excuse; read books, if you cannot afford to buy books, go to the library. Do everything you can to strengthen your skill set, it can only help.
6. Re-brand yourself. Make no mistake, when it comes to finding a job you have a dual role; you are both a product and the salesman of that product. It may be time to investigate a new marketing strategy. You may want to investigate redoing your resume, either paying to have a professional redo it, if you can, or get a resume-writing book with lots of examples and give your resume a facelift. Work on your sales pitch, practice your public speaking. TAKE HEED to tip # 3, looking good can not do anything but help when it comes to finding a job.
7. Start a business or personal project. What do you have to loose? If you are already unemployed or unhappy with your current job, starting a business is a win win situation. If you are unemployed this will give you something to work on and possibly make money from. Furthermore, you will be able to improve your skills and learn new things, which may in turn help you in your job hunt, while possible providing you with a way to gain some income on the side even when you do find employment. This is such a great tip, I plan to expand on it more in the near future.
8. DO YOUR BEST TO STAY POSITIVE. It is hard in these times, but getting down does nothing to help.