Month: January 2021

Unemployed Or Unemployable?

Your entire school experience is centered on getting a job instead of creating a job. If you did really well in school then you are probably the type that requires structure, you may even Love structure. And that’s great as long as it works for you. Or until your employer downsizes or someone above you in the corporate hierarchy decides that they really don’t want all of a sudden that structured environment takes on the shape of a life trap: Why have I spent my life here? What’s wrong with me? I’m better and smarter than most of my bosses, how come I’m NOT the boss? Why am I just getting by, I wanted to be rich!?

Well here goes, You spent your life there because it was safe. What’s wrong with you is that you have just figured out that your life was in someone else’s hands, not your own. You are not the boss because you have been taught to follow instead and not to lead. And finally, you are not rich because you were happy just getting a pay cheque for your time. Instead of finding what you will be happy to spend time doing and find a way to make that into a pay cheque.

How do I fix this?! If you have read this far then you have already started. The decision to find information and educate you is the first step. The next step is to convince yourself that you are in fact everything that you used to think you were.

How many teenagers are smart enough to run the country? If I recall being a teenager correctly, the answer of them. Can you remember having all of the answers to life’s mysteries, but now as an adult they seem a little fuzzy. While teenagers may not always have the correct answer, the attitude of “I can do anything” is RIGHT ON THE MONEY.

The future is wide open when you are a teenager, so why does that change?Did you stop having a future?

Is there no tomorrow for you once you are out in the world?Everyday has a tomorrow on the way.

How can you do anything you want?Simple! You can because you believe that you can. When you believe, you find a way! Self Confidence is the first thing that you need. If you don’t believe in yourself and your own abilities then nobody will. The “can’t” belief has been hammered into you for so long that now you believe it.

People will tell you that you can’t do something simply because they do not have the ability. Therefore, you can’t either!! Their rationalization for this may make sense, after all, you’re not as good, or as smart, or as experienced, you don’t have the money to just jump in.

Hey, maybe if you are over 35 you have lost the ability to learn new , that’s what happens!!! How many people will tell you that responsibility that weighs you down? The routine. The day to day living!!! Hey folks all that stuff that is bringing you down is your life, your actual existence is preventing you from attaining your dreams? What a load of garbage!

What happened to your dreams????? Whose life is this anyway? Are you going to do better in your next life?

Just when are you going to start making your daily life what you want it to be? Based on the fact that you are here right now, I guess it’s today.

GOOD FOR YOU! You happen to be in a very small and special are a doer, not just a talker!

I have been hearing a saying for most of my life, and I’m sure that you know this one as well. “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” Ya, that’s nice, but so what!

What if you can teach yourself to look at every new day as a new opportunity?

An opportunity to make one part of your life better; An opportunity to learn something that you have an interest in; An opportunity to reach out to someone who needs help; An opportunity to make more out of your life, in whatever way that makes sense to you.

What if you got up every day and looked at your life as a wonder and approached every person and every thing with that same sense of awe. WOW!! WHAT A DAY!

All of a sudden the simple things are incredible, the sky is a more vivid blue, and clouds take on all sorts of shapes. Kind of like when you were a kid and the world was this great big playground. Remember being a kid? That kid is still inside you, even if you don’t let them out to play anymore.

What a shame it is to grow old and stuffy and set in your ways. Would you rather grow old while still being “cool”, “full of life”, “open to new things”?

“Stand in wonder and awe of the simple things and life will not pass you by” MF McDougall

I am certain that if you can do this, you will approach every day with the same enthusiasm.

I am writing this on a Sunday morning while my wife and kids sleep. The uninterrupted quiet time is nice, but what is really cool is having something that gets you feeling that good about what you are doing and keeps you juiced up even early on a Sunday you want that kind of excitement about work? How about just daily living? Do you want to be excited just to be alive?

Ask yourself this question. Why can’t I? Now give yourself the answer.

Too hard, too far, not smart enough, too tall, too lazy, too dumb, no money, too old, too young, etc.

Now ask yourself this question. How can I? Now give yourself the answer.

It gives you a different feeling right? Why? Because it is not a negative question, which by the way, will always give you a negative answer. Look for words that help you take a positive action. Say things like, “I’m going to”, “How can I”, “Is there a way”. Once you get your mind to focus on positive ideas that feeling that comes with taking action will follow. But even better than that feeling of “I’m not smart enough, or good enough” starts to get replaced by thoughts of “I can do this”.

So the first thing that you have to change is the attitude of reaction as opposed to taking action.

What exactly does this mean? Let’s say you knew a tree limb could fall on your car in the driveway. You can park on the street until the branch falls on its own. That would be reacting. Or you can get your lazy butt up there and cut the offending branch off. This allows you to park in your driveway under your terms. No more waiting around for Mother Nature and gravity to do its thing. You took action!!

Yes, that is an overly simplistic example. How many people do you think have branches waiting to fall?…Probably millions. How can you take this example and use it in your own life? Metaphors are merely a way of beating around individual issues. So take a minute and think about things in your life that need tending too.

Just start today with one thing. Tomorrow, what the heck, try two things! By day four you will feel the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders…Because youtook action!!

Start Now! Get back to your GET YOUR LIFE BACK!!

Sky’s the Limit: Tutoring Adults From Home

When we think about being tutored, we most likely think in terms of school-aged kids getting help from teachers 1:1, from a tutoring center, or from peers. We conjure up the image of what many contract centers have created: one to one adult-child tutoring, in a professional environment, with a built-in reward system for obtaining higher grades. Yes, this is a positive experience, so we should never trivialize the power of a system such as this. However, kids are not the only ones who benefit from one to one assistance. Adults can benefit greatly, too.

The sky is really the limit when it comes to adult home tutoring. Adults can be assisted with adult education courses they take part-time. Many adults return to the classroom after years of just working and no schooling. Study skills could certainly be in need of a brush up, and many home tutors can provide help with those skills. Sometimes adults need assistance with time management (kids even need that nowadays). Tutors can also show other adults a system of organizational skills to help them better organize their home and business lives. Some adults need help with a myriad of other things as well. Tutors can go into the home and show adults how to set up a home budget and how to complete their income taxes. I bet many of my readers are saying “Wow, I never thought of that…hiring a tutor to show me how to do my taxes”. In fact, can you imagine the money you can save if you get a tutor with an accounting background show you how to claim as many write-off as you can without paying a professional tax facility to do them for you? You can save thousands over a period of 10-15 years.

So adults can really benefit from being tutored from home in a variety of life’s little problems. Also, although adult tutoring can also be done at a learning center, many adults have limited transportation and really cannot afford expensive long-term contracts. Home tutoring provides that niche for adults to better their daily lives, at an affordable cost. In addition, when another adult comes into the home, the added benefit of building a community advocate or developing a friendship arises. All of us can use a friend in need sometimes. In short, a friend in need is an extra great tutor indeed!

Lifelong Learning Keeps Your Brain Working

I can think of no better way to keep your brain active that to commit to lifelong learning. So many of us finish school, college or university and don’t give further learning another thought. It’s unfortunate that we forget all about the joy of learning.

It’s also true that many of us never saw learning as a joy in the first place and this can color our memories of our early educational experience. However there is a vast difference between learning as an adult and learning when you are younger. To start with you are not being forced to learn. This gives you so much more freedom than you would have felt when you were younger.

When you embark on a path of lifelong learning as an adult you have much more choice in what you learn. This gives you the freedom to choose exactly what subjects or skills you want to develop and at what level you are prepared to learn. You may choose to take on the seemingly daunting task of studying at university level or you may prefer to enroll in a community class so that you can learn about something enjoyable in an environment where you have the support of other learners.

You’ll probably find that once you start more formal learning it can be hard to stop and you’ll want to learn more and more. Learning makes life so much more interesting. It can expand your interest in a whole lot of other things that are going on around you. They don’t even need to be related to what you are learning. This probably occurs because you’ve started to develop a thirst for knowledge and suddenly you can’t get enough. You’ll come across a random topic and find that you are searching for more information on it simply because it interests you, whereas previously you may have just let it pass.

Another great side effect of lifelong learning is that it often promotes tolerance of others. If someone puts forth an idea you’ll be more likely to weigh up the pros and cons of the idea to decide how you feel about it rather than jumping to an automatic conclusion. You may still reject the idea but this type of analysis brings respect for the person putting it forward regardless of your opinion of the topic.

I hold great belief in distance or online education because it enables you to learn even if you don’t live close to the learning institution and it means you can often learn at a time that suits you. Distance education spreads learning opportunities far and wide. It opens a new world to those who may not have had access previously. Through it I hope that many others will see the benefit of lifelong learning.