Three Questions That Matter

“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe

There are various articles which attempt to describe, understand or reason why people change jobs or careers. You may have read some of those "quoted" statistics indicating people will change jobs five or up to seven times in their lifetime.

For most, the reasons vary widely on why.

You may find you are not a good fit for the job, not enjoying it. Maybe you are feel you are not advancing quickly enough or earning enough to meet your needs. The company itself may have decided to go in a different direction or any other number of terms that are used. It could be for a variety of reason under or out of your control.

Bottom line is you need to find a new job.

This means creating a decent resume that is short, two pages at most. To the point highlighting your skills and easy for the person hiring to read and absorb quickly. It also means making the resume look like you actually know how to use Microsoft Word or other text editors. If you are not good at actually putting a resume together, ask a friend, find an organization, online, or pay to have it done.

You get noticed, next comes the interview.

The interview process can be twist your nerves into a knot. While there are those "tough guy" interviewers that appear to get joy out of making an interview miserable, most are not. In fact, you were selected out of quite a few resumes and applications.

It is about having a conversation and getting to know you better.

The process is simply meant to find out why should we hire you? ...what can you do for us that other candidates cannot? ...what are your key strengths and weaknesses? Again, it is a conversation and you can not predict what questions you are going to get asked.

Preparing can be difficult, but knowing who you are, what this company does and how you can benefit that company are basic to any interview. In fact, you could say there are really only 3 questions.

1. Have you got the skills, expertise and experience to perform the job?
2. Are you enthusiastic and interested in the job and the company?
3. Will you fit into the team, culture and company?

These three questions are at the root of nearly every question you will get asked in an interview. Have the confidence to know you are prepared by answering any question with these three things in mind. Doing so will improve your possibility of getting hired. The rest is out of your control, so feel proud that you did your best.

Although chances are you did get the job.

Stay inspired my friends!

Do You Notice

Photo by Gary Brady

You may have noticed the Moon larger and just a bit brighter lately. What you are seeing is called a Super Moon, or also known as a "perigee Moon" in more technical terms. These terms are used to describe an event when a full moon travels closest to Earth on its elliptical orbit.

The closer orbit makes the Moon appear brighter and bigger.

The interesting thing according to Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory, "... full moons occur near perigee every 13 months and 18 days, so it's not all that unusual. In fact, just last year, there were three perigee moons in a row, but only one was widely reported."

How does a perigee Moon (closest orbit to Earth) compare to an apogee (farthest orbit from Earth)?

As you can see, not a huge difference.

Your view, your perception are all relative to your own point of view. Very similar to our relationships with family, friends and even strangers. Just like the Moon, they are always there; your spouse, your children, friends and strangers on the street.

Do we always notice them in the same brilliant excitement of a Super Moon?

Or do we notice them only when they move slightly closer to us?

If we can fully notice and acknowledge others even when they are not sitting closest to us, relationships will improve, lives will improve, humanity will improve.

When you notice your loved ones more often strengthens the love between both of you.

When you notice a friend by letting them know you are thinking of them, you strengthen the friendship.

When you notice a stranger on the street, you strengthen the bond of humanity.

Whether a full moon at its closest point or furthest, it is always there. Just like those around us, they are always there. We just need to notice them more often and not once every 13 months and 18 days.

None of us are invisible.

Stay inspired my friends.

Changing Winds

"You cannot tailor-make the situations in life, but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations." - Zig Ziglar

In the throes of all your plans being washed away, what would you do?

The circumstance we find ourselves in can ruin a pretty good day for sure. But in the big scheme of your life, you should not let it have an overbearing impact on your attitude.

Take for instance a wedding planned to be held beach side. It was to be a great sunset ceremony along the beautiful Pacific Ocean. What was to be was over run by a coming rain storm.

All hope and happiness could have been lost.

Yet we keep our senses about us knowing that life throws circumstance around. We maintain a good attitude and in the last minutes opportunity provides an option. One person knows another who might know someone capable of getting you a banquet room overlooking the ocean.

It happens and the Pacific Ocean becomes a part of the wedding ceremony.

One could have wallowed in despair over the ruined plans. You could have cried over lost plans to stand on the beach and exchange wedding vows. You could have given up, that is always an option.

Quitting would only have left you with no ability to take advantage of other opportunities. Your energy would have been consumed by thinking of what could have been instead of what can be.

Did you miss out on something wished for?

Sure, but keeping a great attitude about the situation allowed you to see a new kind of opportunity open up. By keeping your eyes and mind open even those things not going the way you would want, other options became available right there in front of you.

Opportunity will be there for you to see if you keep looking forward. Eventually you will get to walk along the beach with the sand between your toes. What you wanted ended up being exactly what you wanted.

Stay inspired my friends!

North Platte Canteen

North Platte Canteen

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” - Leo F. Buscaglia

What can love of a fellow person do for their life?

Watch and listen how people in an unknown place touched the lives of so many young men. It began with one person deciding to move forward in care of others.

It turned into a human event nearly unparalleled since.

Stay inspired my friends!