|
Prepare for YOUR Future now --
All Presidential candidates (before and after) make all kinds of promises about YOUR 'social security' when running for the top job. Regardless of the promises, YOU are the one who has to live or die by the future plans made on your behalf. Future plans that YOU make and control. It's your actions that count. No one else is going to make sure that you are cared for in your old age. At street intersections in every city there's the guys and gals with a sign (hungry, homeless, work for food, etc.). The 'Government' will not meet your needs when you are down and out or feeble and too old to work. BELIEVE the truth -- NO one is concerned about YOUR welfare more than you should be. Statistical data indicates that most of us (85%) will be broke at 65, the retirement age (for most). Does that sound very inviting to you and your family? Probably not! It certainly is not very exciting for any of us. Your FUTURE is the result of what YOU do today and tomorrow and the next day. Every single day has some impact on how comfortably you will retire. How much money you will have to live on. Travel. Fish. Go hunting. All those fun things you have always wanted to do. DON'T PUT IT OFF Good advice coming from one who did. I put it off. Not my retirement, but failing to have more FUN along the way. No real vacations. Business was always demanding my attention. Nose to the grindstone. Work - work - Work! No rest for the weary was the norm. I could not believe that my business could get along without me. Could it have? Absolutely. Most of the time. YES! The Janitor and cleaning crews are missed far more than the CEO or the boss. I had a great staff who ran the daily business without a problem. Few situations required my constant presence on the job. I can think of NONE right now since I sold my business several years ago. What did I believe? WHY? History! GUILT! My Dad never took a vacation that I can remember. He worked (it seemed) all the time. He worked 8 to 5 in his warehousing business and then he brought home a "set of books" from another company each night. His second "job" was "bookkeeping" at the dining room table from 7 to 12 midnight. At least he was at home in body but little else. On Sunday he was the church treasurer. Another "job" to do on Sunday afternoon or in the evening. At least we went to the farm most Sunday afternoons to visit family. It was great but not the same as a vacation. Just a quick trip and then back home to more work. My first trip to the coast of South Carolina, Windy Hill (near Myrtle Beach) was with a younger neighbor (I had worked with him in the summer) who took me along with his family. I was 14 at the time and had never before seen the ocean. Our kids can't believe that! NO vacation. No play time. All work and little play time. Was it really work or was it dealing with a guilt complex? How do YOU fit into this equasion? Are you taking your vacation time? Spending time with your spouse and children? Working 80 hour weeks? 100 hours? Something for you to think about. What is really important in your life? WHO IS IN CONTROL Your own mind should be. However, many of our decisions in life are often influenced by our childhood experiences. GUILT can be a tremendous factor. Not so much a top level conscious decision but a subtle feeling of wasting time. No one said, don't take a vacation. "Kinda" just felt "bad" doing it. Leaving work behind and unfinished. Work is always UN-finished. There is always something more to be done. Something to begin. Fires to put out. Employees to guide to the next level. You face a never- ending challenge to make your business bigger and better. You can't slow down or the competition will "eat your lunch" and you'll be left behind. What is the TRUTH? Vacation time is very valuable and a good business investment. You and your family need time to grow together; to appreciate each other; get to know your spouse and the children. Listen to them. Love them. Everyone needs to get away from the daily "grind" and renew his/her batteries. "Recharge" your "internal" energies and new insights will appear. Your value to the company will grow. You'll have more to give when you return from vacation. It is NOT a waste of your time. Taking time off with your family is good "modeling" that you can do for your employees. Set the pace. Show the value of "time off" by your example. Encourage EVERY one of your employees to take their vacation. It's extremely important for the health of the employee as well as the benefit to the company. Yes, I know! Not everyone has a "guilt" complex. Vacation is NOT lacking and more would be taken if offered. It just goes without saying that all of us are influenced by different role models in our lives. You have to make the judgment call at your company. Give your employees time to "forget" about work for short periods of vacation time. SIMPLY GOOD BUSINESS -- Insist on vacation time being taken by everyone. Make NO exceptions. In most cases, you will not have any problem. However, there are some rare "birds" (employees) that love their job and don't want to take a vacation. You must set the policy. EVERYONE has to take a minimum of one-week (7 days) at one time. When employees are on vacation is a GOOD time for you to handle incoming MAIL and phone calls. Be aware of EVERYTHING going on in your business. If you have the time and "know how" then take over the daily activity of your vacationing employee. You'll interact with others in the department and learn a bunch. NOW IS YOUR BEST TIME There is NO best time for anything. You simply have to move when the iron is HOT. A good time is always NOW. There is no better time than the present. Why wait? You'll only delay the desired result and putting off never works in your favor. Put it off another day and soon you have put it off "forever". Next time it does not seem as pressing or as important. No big deal. It will wait. There is No rush. I'll get "around" to it next week or month or the year 2010! TODAY Vs TOMORROW TODAY is YESTERDAYS tomorrow! That's FUTURE! Our point is that you cannot keep putting off until tomorrow the things that should be done today. If we do, there is a heavy price to pay. Before long we will have put everything beyond reach and never arrive at our GOAL. ACTION TIP: Plan for YOUR financial security. Do everything you can TODAY. Live your life in the NOW. Don't let guilt control your decisions. Take family vacations and spend quality time together. Set vacation policy and model it. Change comes quickly. Proper planning is the KEY to a pleasant "landing" into retirement or old age. Don Monteith spent 32 years in the Staffing Business. His firm placed thousands of job candidates in their dream job. Today, he continues to share his expertise. Learn more by visiting his website at: http://www.HowToGetYourDreamJob.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Jobs City of Rochester (.gov)
Careers Washington State University
Careers Gwinnett County Public Schools
JobFeed NSW Department of Education
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Could You Write Performance Reviews For Money?
Writing performance reviews can be an excellent way to earn a living. Who wouldn't want to go from place to place watching actors, singers, and chefs perform at their best (and maybe their worst)? Getting paid to do something like this just seems like fun, doesn't it? But, in reality, these jobs are not easy to come by nor are they easy to do.
Four Important Questions to Ask Your Interviewer; Do You Really Want to Work for This Person?
Many job seekers miss a golden opportunity when they are asked towards the end of an interview if they have any questions. If they feel the interviewer adequately explained the position, they make the mistake of answering "No" to this question.
Should You Make A Career Decision Based Upon A Career Quiz?
Q. I'm about to graduate High School and I don't know what I want to be "when I grow up".
Thankk-You Notes: An Integral Part of Your Career
There is one little practice that is vital to generating the interest of potential employers. It is critical, but very few job seekers actually do it.
Which Half Are You?
When more than half of Americans were identified as overweight, people took notice. Major news outlets began educating on how to stay out, or get out, of that statistic.
Why It Is Impossible To Raise Your Standard Of Living Working A Job
Everything in nature has been endowed with what it needs to survive. There is no living thing that isn't inherently equipped with the skills and abilities it needs to secure its continued existence.
How to Answer The Most Difficult Interview Questions
The following 'difficult' questions are common to most tricky or adversarial interviews. In order to convince the interviewer that you are the best person for the job, you must prepare and rehearse your answers meticulously.
Get a Job! Tips for Organizing Your Resume
Whether you're a Vice President of Marketing or a recent college grad, your resume is the 'key' to opening the doors of employment. It is an employer's first impression of you and believe it or not, many hiring officials spend less than thirty seconds reviewing it.
Career Success Through Self-Marketing
Marketing shouldn't be limited to advertising companies. Finding a job or enhancing your current position requires good self-marketing skills.
Energizing Synergy
Would you like to have more energy and synergy in your job and career? If you are not enjoying work the way you used to and if you would like to contribute in a manner that produces more results with less effort, then Energizing Synergy is what you need to cultivate.Be honest with yourself for a moment and answer the following questions:Are you energized or drained at the end of a workday?Are you out of sync with the business direction the company is taking, and do you understand the business rationales for any new changes?Do you do your part to promote an upbeat and positive work environment?Are you constantly learning at work?ENERGYEnergy is the effort you vigorously exert to accomplish a task or to do your work.
How to Write Cover Letters That Increase Your Chances of Winning an Interview
Submit a poorly written cover letter and the chances are your resume will end up in the trash bin without even being looked at.On the other hand, a well written cover letter can almost guarantee you get an interview.
Start Working Before You Get Hired
What if there were a way to *prove* to any sane employer that you alone were the one to hire?Would learning how to do that interest you? I thought so.I call this the "start-working-before-you-get-hired" job-hunting method.
Are You Winning the Talent Wars?
How many times have you heard or read, "Our employees are our greatest asset"?What are the chances of any company surviving if it cannot find the right employees - or find enough of them? In 2003 Roger Herman, Tom Olivio, and Joyce Gioia wrote in Impending Crisis that by the year 2010 the U.S.
Surprise! Accounting is the Hot New Major
There was a time when accounting was the boring college major that many people regretted signing up for. A constant barrage of numbers, statistics and spreadsheets was none too interesting.
How to Get Paid More Without Being Pretty or Good Looking
Guess what. The results are out they are ugly.
Make em READ Your Cover Letter Using This Killer Secret!
Got your attention? Great. That was my intention.
How To Establish Trust, Credibility and Enthusiasm To Your Interviewer
If you use your voice to get attention, you use your eyes to hold attention. People tend to believe you, trust you, and listen to what you say if you are looking at them.
What is Absolutely the Best Day to go on a Job Interview?
First of all, to fully understand and appreciate the answer, a couple of givens must be taken into account. What I believe to be the most important item for dealing with an interview successfully is, your attitude.
Ten Tips to a Powerful Resume
A new resume can jump-start your career. Your network contacts may ask for a resume and some industries absolutely, positively demand a resume as the price of admission.
Do You Have a Hotsy-Totsy Resume?
I begin this article with a bit of slang description. Whatdo I mean by a "hotsy totsy" resume? I mean one thatdoes the following for you, the job seeker and apossible employer.
|