Where To From Here

"Success is not a matter of getting it right every time. Success comes from continuing to persist until you eventually get it right." - Unknown

The phrase "where to from here" is a question you hear often enough or even ask yourself plenty of times. You reach a point in your journey of life where you wonder what to do next. The same can be said about achieving a goal. Either way, you run out of steam or ideas and now you are just not sure what to do.

Richard Bach said, "There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go."

So the decision of "where to from here" should not be all that hard. It is in the continual movement you will reach your destination.

Your past will have taught and given you a certain instinct on which path to follow. Do not be afraid that it might be the wrong path. Consider each path, a path of learning. Each day, each experience, each road we take teaches us more.

There will be those people who have seemingly taken a straight and direct path to their success. But if you really chart their personal map in life, you find it filled with many of the turns and detours you have taken.

The notable thing is they never stood still for very long.

You may be right here on your map of life, but the only place to "go from here" is in any direction. Just keep moving.

And stay inspired my friends.

Raising the Bar

“One of the most important phases of maturing is that of growth from self-centering to an understanding relationship to others. A person is not mature until he has both an ability and a willingness to see himself as one among others and to do unto those others as he would have them do to him.” - Walter Scott

One key to living a positive and fruitful life is to move away from being self-centered. When you understand that your life is and has impact amongst everything and everyone around you, then you will begin to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life.

There is a tendency when living a self-centered life to blame every and anything else for our own woes. It is always someone else or company or object that is the cause. The blame game starts to become very trendy in your life. The current object of blame in society becomes your object of blame. It becomes something to accuse of all your troubles.

So it can be an odd feeling to fully grasp the idea when you step out of a "me only" life into acceptance of your part in a bigger world. It is a big step when you end up taking responsibility for your own actions and woes. Everything around you has an impact and influences your life. But the key is how you choose to react to all of the stuff which will and does happen to us.

Once you have taken the path of responsibility and accepted to be in charge of your own attitude, only then will life begin to turn for the better. Once you do, stay committed to that new life. Be the better person.

Be the one that raises the BAR for others.

B-elief A-ction R-ealization of expectation in your life.

Stay inspired my friends!

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.