Keep Pushing

I'm in the process of picking up where I left off, education wise. Every since high school in Mrs. Lamkin class, I have always wanted to be an accountant. I loved the bookkeeping aspect of things and solving money issues. Maybe MONEY was the key word! LOL Anywho, my first semester of college, I declared my major. I wanted to get the ball rolling! I didn't want to take any unnecessary classes like psychology or any other non-business related courses. 

Fast forward five years, I graduated with an Accounting Degree! That was one of the best feelings in the world! I was not the traditional student who wanted to stay in the library studying; studying bored me beyond belief!! I wanted to watch TV or look through Blackplanet.com!! HAHA ya'll remember Blackplanet.com? I am extremely grateful for God putting a smart young lady in my life that kept me on track enough to obtain that degree!

Ready to put what I had learned to use, I immediately started working! Well, scratch that first statement! LOL Tired of school and ready for some real money should go there! I began working and slowly my dreams of getting the requirements for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam pushed further away. I needed 150 credit hours but in order to get those credit hours, I probably should have just stayed in school another semester and completed it in one take! But NOOOOO I was ready to live the life!!!

Six years later, I still have that same goal, to get my CPA!! Time can fly by if we don't grasp it and handle business when we suppose to. A good friend of mine motivated me to not give up on my dreams no matter how old or how many years ago our dreams first manifested. If its something you really want to do, it will stay heavy on your heart until you complete it. I experienced that heavy feeling not only with education but with joining an organization as well.

With some good pushing and constant motivation, I swallowed my shyness (yup, I said it) and did what I needed to do to try and become a member of the organization I longed to be apart of so long! Once I was accepted, I realized that the only person keeping me from doing what I need to do is ME!! SELF!!! 

• Self told me to give it up, that was in the past. 
• Self told me that I wasn't smart enough.
• Self told me that I had nothing to offer.

Now that I have Self in check, I am onward to better things! I'm in the process of getting my masters!! Whoohoo!! I'm so excited about it too! Initially I was against getting my masters because of the cost!! Man, it is not cheap at all!! But I have a slew of friends who have accomplished getting their masters and it's just good encouragement for me to step it up and challenge myself! I feel I'm in great position to take advantage of this opportunity!

I know if I can swallow my fears and face the unknowns, you can too! You just have to get out there and do it. Take the initial step and see how things aren't as hard or complicated as you may have imagined!

Knowing Your Worth

Some people look for others to sustain them. What I mean by sustain is looking for praise from others. It is good at times for your good deeds and hard work to be noticed but if your happiness and fulfillment depends solely on the opinion of another, you should probably reevaluate yourself. 

We give so many people power over us on so many different levels. We sometimes allow people to speak things into our lives that we should not. Please know the difference between positive criticism and hateful insults. For example if someone says you' re a procrastinator, look at how you handle time management. On the other hand, if someone says you're useless and you pretty much aren't good at anything, you should reevaluate your friendship. Don't allow someone to speak ill against your character. Unfortunately the people we hold in the highest regard are normally the ones who speak against us the most. It's cliché to see bad parenting where the mother or father tells the child that they're nothing and they'll never be nothing. This isn't the only place negative exhortation takes place. It happens amongst friends, spouses, and coworkers. 

“Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” – Plato

Friends can sometimes have great intentions but horrible execution!! People are motivated on different levels and in different ways so whatever pushes you to that next goal may not be the same thing that urges someone else for betterment. The point of being a friend is learning one another. Learn what encourages him or her and also learn what hinders him or her. Know your friends’ strengths and weaknesses.

People also should understand that their dream is not yours. Many wish to own their own business; others wish to make a certain amount of money each year; while others are just content where they are.  Just because someone is happy making $9.00 an hour, coming home to enjoy a beer, and watching football doesn’t make him or her a bad person. Sure, they may not have the same drive as you to do something above and beyond yet that person is still a good friend, a loyal partner, and someone who is accepting.

A lot of what I’m saying falls in line with knowing yourself. Below is a mini list tips to assess yourself pertaining to friendships.

Here are tips for assessing yourself:

1.     Grab a piece of paper and jot down all of your accomplishments. It doesn’t matter how big or small.

2.     Remember the feeling during those accomplishments. Remember how hard you pushed yourself! Don’t let anyone take that feeling away. Use those same emotions towards a new goal you want to accomplish.

3.     Now, review your list of friends.

4.     Write down which friends motivate you to do better and which friends bring you down.

5.     For the friends who you feel lower your self-confidence, are their claims justifiable?

6.     If you answered yes, what do you feel you can do to make things better?

7.     If you answered no, what does that friend bring to the table that keeps you from parting ways?

8.     If you have no need to continue being friends, find ways to separate yourself from them. Sometimes simply talking to the friend and bearing your true feelings can correct the situation. If not, slowly stop interacting with them.

9.     Find new, healthier friends to be around.

10.  Having problems finding new friends who may share the same interest as you? Here are a few vehicles you can use:

§  www.meetup.com - It’s a great site with different groups that come together with specific interests in mind.

§  www.facebook.com - Facebook has a lot of pages where local businesses and groups advertise up coming events and outings.

§  Google your interests. You’ll be amazed at the different types of competitions and conferences that are out there.

§  The local newspaper normally has a section where it lists different events for the week.

§  Television

§  Radio

Get to know and love yourself; that’s the only way you’ll find true happiness.

Shining Light

As I spoke about in my last post, unemployment is a pill I've been swallowing for the last few months. In my quest to finding employment, many ideas arose on how to make money. One bright idea I came across was working from home. How hard could it be, right? Shoot, let some of the commercials tell it, it's super easy and almost impossible not to make money!! Well put me on a train and lets go!!!

My mother always brought me with her when someone had a new opportunity for her to make money!! 10 out of 10 times they were pyramid schemes. I get you plus two other people to jump into the business and then you get three people and then they get people and waaalaaa, "We're Rich -----"! Well, hold up, hold up, hold up...... LOL.... If only it was that easy! It's so much more to it. First they ask you to pay them anywhere from $100-$400 to get your business up and running. Then you have to pay about $30 a month to keep your website up. Alot of these businesses also request your persuasive skills to encourage customers to purchase their products over the products customers are comfortable with. Granted not all "start your own business" schemes are like this, just the ones I've come across. To me you're not a business owner but merely a sales representative! I don't know, just my opinion. Some of these businesses actually work quite well for people. I have a couple of friends who are involved in this line of work and stand by it wholeheartedly. It just isn't for me, Bruh!

Anyway, like I was saying, I come across alot of "income from home" type things. If they sound interesting, I always research it by googling the name and then including "scam" right afterwards and see what comes up. I think I was researching New Online Incomes by Diana Thompson and there were alot of negative reviews. People were believing that it was a legitimate business because it was being featured by well known television broadcasting agencies and also by major radio stations. Unsatisfied customers wanted to know who to complain to. Well of course the first place you think of is the Better Business Bureau (BBB), right? Well 20/20 did an investigation on the rating scheme of the BBB and their findings will shock you! Watch the video!

Crazy, huh? LOL I was like, "Wooooww". Everybody is starting to be in it for the money! Well, after the investigation, BBB did apologize and stated that they were reevaluating the rating scheme.

People put alot of trust into those three blue letters. I hope this shines a light on the fact that just because the business is a member of the BBB and even has grade A performance doesn't mean that much anymore.

Selling Dreams

I know I'm not the only one tired of seeing the Everest College commercials and all the other educational commercials that boast of darn near instant employment after you graduate. I think that is a a crock of crap! Don't get me wrong, I think it is awesome for anyone to advance their career through education. Education is very powerful and is a vehicle for a successful future. BUT painting a picture that you'll have jobs knocking on your door as soon as you get a diploma is a SCAM!!

Another thing they don't tell you in those commercials is that the majority of that financial aid that you get "awarded" is something you'll have to "award" back to them in time. I was blessed to have the military pay for my education but for other students, financial aid was their only option. You could always tell when those refund checks were cashed because you would see a fellow student with the newest thing like shoes, a laptop, or even a car. I'll never forget hearing a used car lot asking students to spend their refund checks at their car lot. WTW?? For some, once they got that refund check, you didn't see them for the rest of the semester!! I wonder if someone told them that they have to pay this money back!! I was relieved once they stopped major credit card businesses from setting up shop in college student centers and coercing students into debt! 

Careers that I think are over-saturated are medical assistants, rappers ( I had to throw that one in there), urban clothing stores, music producers and a bunch of others I'm sure you can chime in on. I'm not trying to kill dreams!!! That's not my intention but we have to start researching careers especially in locations you plan to reside. Don't become a Dental assistance if you know you never plan to move away from that little town that has one dentist office!! C'mon, Son!!

This post stems from my everyday quest I'm having! I have been unemployed for 3 months now and it is becoming more and more difficult to find employment. I have acquired new skills just searching for jobs. Shoot, searching for jobs have become a job in itself! I get up at 8am, take a lunch break at 11am, and start searching again at 1pm!! They say in everything, there is a lesson to be learned. Well I've definitely learned one thing, humility! Having a degree and job experience doesn't guarantee anything! I was reading a forum a military spouse website and a person stated that they had three degrees and still couldn't find a job! Crazy, huh?

And now that they are cutting the military capacity, the unemployment rate is going to skyrocket and it's going to make it that much harder to find a job. The competition for jobs are already high! I applied for a Tax accountant position and found out that I was among 189 other candidates!! Are you serious??

All I can say is be smart in choosing your future! It's real out here!

Roles Reversed

Through the years, people have done some shady things to get what they want: framing co-workers, starting rumors, and using someone's trust against them. Yes, all of these are horrible but things have taken a new turn!!

Maybe you've heard some girl say that her boyfriend or even boo thang just got drafted or just signed a record deal and 3 months later you find out she's pregnant by him. What are your first thoughts? "Man, she's set for life now or at least for 18 years." LOL be honest!!! " You don't have to lie, Craig!! " HAHA

Well, fast forward about 10 years and the tables have turned. Nowadays, women are becoming far more independent that ever before. In today's society it's not unusual for a woman to have a degree or a master's with a nice home and car. Women have raised the bar for a lot of men. I remember how guys would stand at the bar trying to flash their car keys to show a female what kind of car he drove. Now women are flashing those keys back, laughing! ( I wonder if guys really knew how lame they looked doing that?)

I don't know if some guys are starting to miss the advantage they use to have on the dating field or not but they are starting to make shady decisions. Men use to be able to have options on which female they would talk to if ole girl wasn't acting right. Not so much anymore! Women are taking over!!!! In hind sight of that, men are calling on desperate measures!!

I thought I would never see the day when a man would try with all his might to impregnate a woman in order to never lose her. Who does that??? This is becoming a solution for the indecisive male, the one who isn't ready to settle down but doesn't want to lose the good girl he has. That's a really expensive solution but today's male is willing to take that option.

I decided to do a little research and found that female condom sales have increased dramatically!! Sales have more than doubled from 2006 ($10.6 mil) to 2009 ($26 mil). This just further lets me know that the tides are turning and women have to start watching their backs!

Be careful ladies!! It's your reproductive organs, use it when you want to!!!!

Mother

Today is my mother's birthday. She would have been 51 years old. Growing up, I've always planned in my head different parties and events I would love to throw for people I care dear for. One event planned out was my mother's 50th birthday party. What a joy to live to be able to see such an age, right? Unfortunately, my mother passed away September 6, 2009 from cancer.

Cancer. Just the very word makes my mouth dry and my heart filled with anger. Cancer has turned into the new AIDS. I still remember growing up and just hearing the word, brought fear to our minds. AIDS were killing people left and right! It was like a war and the only answer was defeat! To me AIDS have been replaced with the word Cancer. EVERY family in America is being affected by this disaster, this epidemic.

I still remember the day my mother had a fever of 104 and we were about to rush her to the emergency room. The nurse decided to call the doctor first to see if there was anything we could do before taking her to the ER. The doctor, thinking only as a doctor, not as a human, said that my mother was dying and there was nothing we could do. "She's in the last stages now, it won't be long." Now, imagine someone telling you that about your 48 year old mother, with no remorse, no emotion, no nothing. I was so mad but guess what, there's nothing I could do but look at her fragile body and feel guilty for being helpless.

Ok! Whhooo-sigggghhhhh I'm going to ease up on this topic because I always end up mad and upset!! But, I will say Happy Birthday to the Late Sharon McIntyre. I will love you forever and always.

This picture was taken 2 months before she passed away. I was so mad at her because I had just came from Memphis in May at 6:00am and she called me at 8:00am telling me to come to Camden, 2 hours away to take family pictures. I was grouchy the whole time but I'm so happy I did!

Before she was diagnosed.

First One

Alright, Alright, Alrigghhhtt!!! So, this is my first blog and I'm very excited about it. I just want to use this as a tool to vent and speak my mind about everyday decisions. My life has changed in the past few months and this will be one way for me to "adjust". Oh how I love that word, adjust!!  You'll hear more about that later! HA!

Wow, excited as much as I was to start this blog, now I have nothing to say! Go figure!  Anywho, much more exciting things to come! See how I change in just 2 seconds, my over interesting life is the same! You'll see!