IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

So you want to change careers? Are you frustrated with your current job? Do you want to find your passion in life? It’s never too late to start. You may not know where to even begin…but you just need to start, somewhere.

First, don’t quit your current job until you know what you are going to do for your next. Especially in today’s economy, you don’t want to be stuck without any money coming in. If your boss isn’t the greatest or if you are stagnant in your position, you’ve held out this long. You can survive a little longer. Don’t take any drastic measures without first thinking things through.

Next, take a class. If you don’t know what you want to do, eliminate what you don’t want to do. You may know that your passion isn’t accounting, public relations, or statistics. You may not know that you have a love of painting or acting until you take that type of class. Get out of your own way. Step out of your comfort zone!

Research, research, research! Think outside the box. You may have always wanted to play sports. Now you may know that you can’t play pro ball, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be a high school coach or a physical therapist for a professional team. Ask around and look online. There are so many jobs and professions, you might have never considered.

Get Involved! Whether you volunteer for your church or another non-profit, it allows you to meet people and help a worthy cause. Start playing a recreational sport. There are clubs or groups for just about any of them, soccer, dodgeball, volleyball, football, etc. Look around and there is one where you live during every season of the year.

Finally, they say it’s all about whom you know. It’s also about who knows you. Networking is just what you need. Join organizations and associations in the fields you are interested in. You learn about the industry and find out how you can help. You never know who knows whom and who is looking for a new employee. You might just meet some great friends out of it.

Don’t waste any more time at that desk job that you hate so much, you have to drag yourself out of bed each morning. Or even though it’s Monday, you look forward to Friday and count down each day waiting for the weekend. That’s no way to spend your life. It’s never easy changing careers, but if you have the drive to find your passion, you can do it. It also helps to have a great support system. It’s never too late to be living the life you want and the one you deserve.

Find the career you love. Get out of your own way. Step out of your comfort zone. Think outside the box. Discover. Dream. Never give up. And it will become your reality!

On Oprah: You Can Help Others

I don’ t know how many of you watched Oprah today, Thursday Oct 1. I haven’t watched Oprah in a while, but today I happened to watch it, and I’m so thrilled I did. We all know that Oprah has helped millions of people. This is your turn to contribute by helping many other women. Let me start by telling you a little bit about Oprah’s episode, in case you missed it. Then I will tell you how you can help numerous women in third world countries, because when you give to them, you are giving to the world.

A lady, Tererai Tren, from Zimbabwe had a dream 20 years ago. Her dream was to come to The United States, get a B.S., get an Masters, and then get a Ph D. That was her dream. She didn’t know how she was going to do it. After all, she wasn’t allowed to go to school, hid the fact that she did her brother’s homework, was married at the age of 11 and had three kids at 18. She wrote her dream on a piece of tin and buried it under a rock, what she used as a desk to do her brother’s homework. She made it to Oklahoma and graduated with her B.S. She took care of her five kids and a husband with HIV, worked two jobs, and studied for her MBA. Now, she will finish her Ph D by the end of the year.

Another lady, Saima Muhammand from the Congo was beaten by her husband whose debt had risen so high that it would keep generations in debt. When Saima had two daughters, her husband wanted to take on another wife to produce a son. Saima then decided to take things into her own hands. She took out a $65 loan, and with this loan, she negotiated and bought beads for embroidery in which to sell at the market. With the profit, she bought more supplies. Now she owns and operates a very profitable business, and people come to her for loans. She paid back her loan, paid off her husband’s debt, and had enough money to buy the more cherished possession…a television. The people who once made fun of her, now come to her house to watch TV.

Why should you care about women living so far away?  You are worried about your own lives, how you are going to get your kids to their events, or what you are going to cook for dinner.  We all want to feel a bond or connection with another person, and that connection can be felt through ourselves and others.  We all want to know we matter.  

Just by giving a little of ourselves, we can impact so many others. When I went to Africa last year, I realized this. The things that mean so much to us…our materialistic things…don’t matter to people in third world countries. They don’t have the same perspective as we do. They want to be able to provide for their families….giving them food, running water, and electricity. They don’t care about electronics, fancy cars, or extravagant restaurants. They want to know they have money for food. They want to be able to give their children an education, a high school education. It’s truly amazing when I saw this first hand in Africa. I saw what it’s like to not have money for food. When a mother couldn’t afford $1 a day for food for their family. The only way they could feed their kids is by going to a soup kitchen, where the poverty owners had to use their own money to fund the kitchens. Running water is a luxury many can’t afford. These people don’t have money for clothes, toothpaste or deodorant, yet the government makes it mandatory for their school kids to buy uniforms. If families don’t have money for necessities, why does their government make them buy uniforms in order to attend school? So you can imagine how many kids don’t go to school…not because they don’t want to. The little things make a huge difference to these kids. When I was in Africa, I ran into a group of kids that were not in school. They said it was raining in the morning. If they went to school, they would be completely wet all day and their clothes wouldn’t dry. I opened my backpack. I took out my only umbrella and handed it to one of them as I said, “Next time it rains, now you can go to school.” Smiles covered their faces, as the thought of an umbrella making someone’s day crossed my mind. I never really thought about how one small gesture, one small thing, could make THAT much of a difference in someone else’s life. Now, I believe the small things make more of an impact at times than the bigger ones. With your help, only a few dollars a month, kids can go to school and get an education. Women in the Congo and other third world countries want to be sponsored. They have the desire and hope to fulfill their dreams, knowing that if one person believes in them, they can start their own business, get an education, or provide for their family. When you help and sponsor one woman, you ignite a nation. When one woman is empowered, she empowers her kids, her community and the world. She passes her enlightenment on, while improving the lives of so many others. She can and does move mountains, when someone gives her wind under her wings. Imagine how many lives can be impact when you choose to help one other, and she passes it on to those around her, and they pass it on to those around them. Before you know it, the country is changed, the continent is changed…and the world is changed, making it a better place for everyone. So take the time and give a little of yourself. It’s not much money. Maybe you can skip going out to dinner once a month or buying that pair of jeans to go along with the other ten in your closet. It’s not only about the money. Yes, they do need the money, but it also gives them permission to have confidence and to feel whole. It gives them a sense of security, knowing they have the means to give their family food. It instills respect in themselves and reiterates their intelligence. When you sponsor a woman, it’s also allows them to connect with you through letters. They cherish the letters and the bond they establish, knowing you help them fulfill their destiny. So, help women everywhere, by sponsoring and giving a little of yourself. It extends much farther than a dinner out.