I admit I am a little slow sometimes
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on September 30th, 2009
I have often been told to make sure to read only uplifting, enlightening things last thing in the evening and first thing in the morning. I understand the concept and agree with it, but have been slow to implement it. Generally I am just reading what is close at hand.
Last night this advice really touched base with me. With a 7 week old baby, I am awake a lot at night and tend to be a fairly light sleeper anyway. I’ve been reading Dan Brown’s excellent new book The Lost Symbol. My semi-conscious thoughts and my dreams were all about this book and the characters. Not a bad thing to dwell on, but it would be better if these thoughts were about my affirmations, my goals and material like As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, the Bible, or Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
Later in the night last night, I woke to change a diaper and nurse our new baby. Since I was awake, I read a few pages of Louis L’Amour’s book The Last of the Breed. It was handy and Symbol was downstairs. Once again, my dreams and semi-conscious thoughts were about the characters in this book.
When I did wake up in the morning, I realized that instead of focusing on and resolving issues around my goals, all that mental energy went into solving the problems of fictional characters.
So, my goal over the next month is to make sure I have by my bed a copy of my goals and affirmations and a good book that will help me reach for those goals. When I wake up, I am going to focus on them, not on the latest work of fiction.
Focus on the positive, eliminate negative thoughts!
Posted by admin in Freedom, Goal setting on September 28th, 2009
With the birth of my new daughter, life has been more chaotic and it has been more difficult to focus on positive thoughts and making strides to claim my future. Before I went on maternity leave, I had all these plans and goals of what I was going to accomplish during my time off. I have to admit that at times I have been overwhelmed and have allowed negative thoughts to creep in. A direct result of these negative thoughts has been a less productive, positive result on my goals.
I’ve been reading As A Man Thinketh (I’ll refer to it as AAMT going forward) to help me get out of my “stinkin’ thinkin’” as Zig Ziglar called it. This has helped enormously and I am back to reading and writing and more importantly thinking positive thoughts.
In AAMT, James Allen teaches that we build ourselves or tear ourselves down by our thoughts. This may sound like new age thinking, but this book was written over 100 years ago. A new field of science called Noetic Science is busy proving that our thoughts indeed do change the physical world. This field of study was recently highlighted by Dan Brown in his recent book The Lost Symbol. By practicing various techniques like mediation, we can strengthen our ability to change our environment and our condition.
AAMT goes on to tell us that we need to cultivate our mind like a garden. We need to take care that we use good books and positive thinking to keep the weeds of negative thought out and to plant the positive, uplifting ‘flowers. ‘
For my part I am reading and re-reading AAMT (it is a pretty short work), underlining phrases that speak to me in my current situation. When I finish this, I’ll go on to Napoleon Hill’s classic ‘Think and Grow Rich’. I’ve got my affirmation cards out and I am using them to focus on where I am going.
I’ll let you know how it goes! I am looking forward to getting out of this box I am in and growing as a person!
Internships - Update
Posted by admin in Career planning, Goal setting on May 22nd, 2009
Well, I have my intern. Hope he shows up, as he seems like a nice person and is qualified. He connected with us because he had worked with another new hire and his family was in the area. He had another internship lined up that fell through due to cutbacks with the economy. Their loss is our gain! He has experience with the software he will work with. He seems very eager and a good problem-solver.
I found out why we got so few applicants. The CEO made a comment about having too many interns from the university that is here in town. He wanted more variety in this summer’s group. So Human Resources decided to eliminate ALL students from that university in our list of applicants. I don’t believe they even attended the career fair there. So any interns we would get would be from other towns with no connections and no knowledge of our town or how to get housing for the summer.
Next summer, I’ll know that this is an issue and will be looking as well. I won’t assume that the Human Resources department is going to find those applicants for us. For you college students who would like to add an internship to your resume, be sure to check out companies near home. Check out other towns with universities where you could sublet apartments and be willing to try new parts of the country. Don’t be afraid to work your connections and the connections of your family.
The college years should be a time of adventure and your internship experience should be part of that!
Internships - Where are the applicants!
Posted by admin in Career planning on April 29th, 2009
For the past couple of years, we have had an intern to work with us in software testing. Generally I have a pile of resumes every year to weed through. I find a few that I think might be a good fit, we interview them and hire someone.
I love the opportunity to work with the interns, to teach them new things in the IT industry and in Insurance. The business world is dramatically different from academia and any experience gained now will help ease that transition into ‘real life’.
We now have a rule in our company discouraging repeat hires, which means that I can’t just get my intern from last year back again. The company feels it is important to give more students the opportunity of interning and to have more people know about the company.
We never seem to get as many resumes as I would expect. The human resources department reviews the resumes before we see them. We have a GPA (grade point average) requirement here, and if a person does not have at least a B average (3.0 out of 4.0) we will not even consider them. They also weed out students that obviously do not have the background we need. I would likely never see a resume for someone who has an education in Art History for example, unless they also were taking Computer Science courses.
We also have an anti-nepotism rule, which means that no-one related to an employee may be hired. No sons, daughters, nieces, nephews or cousins get hired here. In a smaller city like ours, that can reduce the pool from which we can draw from for applicants.
This year I really expected to get a lot of resumes. I’ve been hearing on the news about all these students at the job fairs lining up to turn in their applications. Instead we got one resume for two positions. My boss snapped that applicant up before I even got to interview him. To be fair, he really was a better fit for the other position.
I do realize that software testing is not nearly as exciting as finance or accounting, but it does give you a chance to see software development from the underbelly. In our department we get to see the first cut of the software, warts and all. We help the developer perform root cause analysis and they fix it and we try to break their code again. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it, especially as the software improves.
At any rate, with the current economy I really expected more than one resume. I think I had around ten last year to review. So, tomorrow I am going to talk to HR and see if I can find out if there were some they round filed that I really should have seen. Then I am going to beat the bushes and see if I can find anyone else interested.
There are opportunities out there for those willing to look for them! I will let you know how it goes!
Feeling the tug of motherhood
Posted by admin in Freedom, Working mom on April 3rd, 2009
When my daughter was a baby, we were in the middle of an implementation of some new software. We had mandatory overtime, requiring 7 day work weeks for months on end. While I enjoy what I do and really like my teammates, I just don’t want to spend THAT MUCH time with them. Not to the detriment of my family.
She spent so much time here at the office, that at the celebration party, they named her as one of the team. She was at the office every weekend, playing with toys on my office floor, orsitting in her high chair as I worked. She has always been a ‘good’ child, very little crying, no real tantrums almost always cheerful. I enjoy every moment I spend in her presence. I actually got a lot done with her sitting right there, keeping me company.
When I got off maternity leave and prepared to go back to work (in the US it is generally only 6 weeks), I had a horrible time. Tears every day heading into the office. Other moms told me, “Don’t worry, it will get better; you will get used to it.” I didn’t want to get used to it. I still don’t. I want to feel that pain of separation. I want to need to be with her. That pain helps me treasure every moment I spend with her. That pain helps me look at my life and look for ways that I can make changes to spend more time with my family.
Change is painful and difficult. We all need something that pushes us out of our comfort zone into the life we were meant to lead. My daughter is my aid, spurring me to not be complacent and to look for the right path for our family.
So proud of my big sister!
Posted by admin in Career planning, Freedom, Goal setting on April 3rd, 2009
My sister took a huge step this week in taking control of her life. She decided to leave the big business management position and step out on her own. She recognized that she needed more freedom in her life, more life balance and more flexibility. Fewer 12 hour days, less of the 2 hour commute. More freedom to work and live where she wants to rather than needing to live within commuting distance of the office. Time to spend with her family and friends. Time for exercise and enjoying her house at the lake. Less time in the car and in the airport.
So she worked out a deal that everyone was comfortable with and this week packed up her office. She doesn’t know exactly where she is going from here, but she is excited about her options now.
I am amazed at the courage and confidence this step requires. She is owning her destiny and making her own trail.
Thank you Sis for the inspirational example you are setting to your baby sister!
Feeling Gratitude
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on March 31st, 2009
Today I am feeling especially grateful. We have a wonderful, healthy daughter. I have a loving, supportive husband who is the best daddy ever to our little girl. We live on a beautiful farm with healthy animals to share it with.
My drive to and from work is beautiful and peaceful. Many days I see wildlife; turkeys, deer, owls, hawks, and coyotes. Part of my drive is along a state park, and I always drive that part slowly, looking to see what is out there. Before I learned to slow down, I had a deer collision about once a year. Many evenings, especially in winter, I can see up to 50 deer on my drive home.
I am employed by a company that is doing well, we have plenty of food and a good house to live in. We have good friends, a close family and a strong community to live in.
In the past, I have allowed myself to get overwhelmed by the farm. The very nature of having a horse farm with 50 head of cattle means that we can rarely get away as a family. When Mark goes to a show, I stay home at the farm. When I go visit family, Mark generally stays home to take care of the farm. When I was 8 months pregnant and trying to handle an ill-mannered horse, you better bet I felt sorry for myself. (Being dragged on a big belly is no fun!)
Letting go of that worry and frustration and focusing on what I have to be grateful for is important to my sense of well-being and happiness. What are you grateful for today?
Why are you staying in your box? Is it comfortable in there? Do you feel appreciated? Valued?
Posted by admin in Career planning, Goal setting on March 21st, 2009
Once upon a time there was a girl who grew up thinking her job was pleasing those around her. Initially she worked hard to please her parents and her teachers. She worked so hard at making people happy around her that she lost touch with her own dreams. While in college, she selected an appropriate career. She graduated and got a job that fit the image she thought everyone expected of her. She then worked hard to make her bosses happy. She struggled and climbed the corporate ladder to discover, years later that the box she had put herself in didn’t fit very well. She was miserable and so out of touch with her own dreams that she didn’t even know what she did want. She was working so many hours and had put much of life on hold. Finally she realized that she didn’t want to live in that box anymore. She needed to escape and find her own dreams.
Most of us end up existing in a box too small, too confining and unpleasant to live in but are afraid to get out of the box and see what is out there in the wider world waiting for us. Our box gets defined by what our family needs dictate or perhaps what our guidance counselor says would make a good career choice. Or it could be, when we are as young as middle school we are told that our dream job is not practical, to choose something that is more ‘appropriate’, something that can support a family.
Sometimes, it happens that once we get out into the working world we get promoted out of what we like to do and then stuck into a position they are having difficulty finding the right person for. Sure we can do the work that is requested or expected of us, but is it something we are passionate about? Is it something that puts a bounce in our step each morning?
The world is full of so many possibilities and each of us is completely unique. The universe will never again build another ‘You’ again. You have unique gifts, talents and joys that are different from everyone else in the world.
Have you ever sat down and allowed yourself to wonder, if there were no obstacles and you could do absolutely anything, what would you do? If the world really was to end in two years like the “end times” people predict, and you knew you couldn’t live to enjoy that nest egg you have been building with your IRA and your 401K, what would you do tomorrow?
Okay, so here is a more difficult and uncomfortable question, why aren’t you doing those things now? What is stopping you? Is that box you are in that much fun or, can you allow yourself the possibility of envisioning something different, something more rewarding? So, your first task is to sit down with a pen and piece of paper and not allowing yourself any room for negative thinking, start to list down the steps and possibilities of for how do I go from my confining uncomfortable box to living the life I was meant to lead? How can I use the the unique skills that were gifted to me at birth? How do I build those skills into real talents that can become my dream life?
Well, I see those doubts are creeping in. What about the kids, the mortgage, my job, you might ask? You may be thinking “I really want to sail around the world, but how do I put all this other stuff behind?” In Timothy Ferriss’ book, ‘The Four-Hour Workweek’, he talks about a family that did just that. They set sail from France and spent 15 months together in a small sailboat. The boys learned to cooperate, to love books, to be part of a team and came back with many life lessons that they would not have had otherwise. And the total cost of their dream, the trip ended up being around $19,000. You could spend a lot more than that just staying put.
The sail trip around the world is just an example of the possibilities out there that all of us have available. We just need to stop being complacent about the box we have put ourselves in and think about where our talents, skills and joys intersect. Then we need to find how we can do that thing while giving to the world at large.
So, what are you going to do to get out of that box?