Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ― Søren Kierkegaard
A sprint. A jog. A run. A walk. I sat on a bench in the park stretching. I watched health and fitness enthusiasts do what they love. I stretched more, then reflected on life. Where are we now? The tethered years fly by …up close slowly; looking back, it’s a flash. I then began scrolling, and there popped the question from a social media forum:
Describe Your Life in ONE Word
Curious, I scrolled through the list of responses. Some were positive, some nonchalant, while others were filled with a bask of the negatives. Here I share a few of the comments:
Surprising
Destined
Stuck
Perfect
Open Book
Confused
Determined
Focused
Blessed
Challenging
Change
Sucks
Fortunate
Tears
Observant
Progressive
Persistence
Purposeful
Growth
Making
Incredible
Awesome
Evolutionary
Adventurous
Waiting
Meaningful
Beautiful
Does any of the above responses resonate with your life right now? Can you add any that’s missing? Do share. We would love to hear!
The hustle and bustle of the season. Families come together. The air is different. Nature speaks. Music and lights sounds in sweet accord. Travel soars. Food Galore. Delightful Gifts drolls stress for those in retail yet brings smiles as currencies are exchanged for sales. The beauty of the season can be seen through eyes of purpose.
I had the pleasure of sitting in on an intimate conversation with Reggae Music’s Matriarch Patricia Chin in an interview with G. Cole, as she celebrated 40 years of founding VP Records. She has promoted and released music for renowned artists the likes of Shaggy, Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Beres Hammond, Taurus Riley, Romain Virgo, Etana, Elephant Man, Morgan Heritage, Lady Saw, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown and many more. Taking Reggae music from unknown to where it is today, she shared tips on how entrepreneurs and goal-seekers can achieve Success in today’s fast changing world. Here I share 24 of my personal faves:
24 Inspiring Tips For New Entrepreneurs
As life evolves, keep up. There’s opportunity for everyone.
Think outside the box – do what others aren’t doing
Always think of new ideas
Get into the full circle of business
Listen to the customer
Collaborate.Create partnerships. Help others
Think of market needs and how can you help meet those needs
Teach as you go along
Sometimes it’s not the right time. Be patient. Wait.
Continuous learning. Unlearn. Relearn. Just learn. Grow
The journey is hard but if you stick with it and have a passion you can make it
Competition is good.
Keep striving and try to do the best you can and you will make it
Do what you must. Learn. If you can’t speak the language find another way to communicate
There’s enough for everyone if we do it right
Let no one stop you. Go after what you want.
Have passion and a goal
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Surround yourself with positive people
In her line of business Pat Chin summarized that her greatest achievement was watching her artists evolve to stardom and notoriety. In her words “Music never dies. The sweetness is there still”.
From the list above, what works for you? Do share. We would love to hear.
A lesson will keep repeating itself until it is learned. Life first will send the lesson to you in the size of a pebble; if you ignore the pebble, then life will send you a brick; if you ignore the brick, life will send you a brick wall; if you ignore the brick wall, life will send you a demolition truck.”- Oprah
You spend most of your day doing exactly what you wanna do when you wanna do it.
Alana has a craving that she wants to fill real time but she can’t leave the house. She gets on her Uber Eats App, orders ice-cream. 20 Minutes later a delivery person shows up with a bag that she’s able to indulge and satisfy her craving.
Going to the airport and can’t be bothered with the parking headache? Enter Uber. You call a cab on your App and within minutes a driver shows up. You get to the airport and what’s more you do the reverse on your return.
A full-time employee messes up, they’re fired at will and an immediate skilled replacement is contracted until the employer chooses to fill the position long term. Alas often it seems workers in the Gig economy are ‘hired‘ to work on demand for a revolving period, then exchanged for a replacement for yet another short term. The perceived benefit —no payment of fixed benefits costs.
Gig Economy Defined
In a Gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs are commonplace and companies tend toward hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees. ~Investopedia.
We could go on and on. Convenience is the order of the day. We want it done and right away. In our microwave society everything is almost immediate. If that need is not met, we scream in complaint, throw a fit, become enraged, cancel orders and more.
Autonomy
A young millennial smiled in response to a news-reporter’s question. She spends most of her day doing what she wants… when she wants. She commutes around town charging scooters. This is a common comment from this generation. Autonomy is the order of the day. Gone are the days when they leave school and get a life-time job. They want autonomy. They want to work when they want to work because they enjoy tremendous flexibility, independence and rid themselves of monotony.
Susan Milligan in a Society for Human Resource(SHRM) article asserts that there are two types of gig workers. Those who have no desire to work full-time and those who are in the midst of a job search for full-time opportunities but will work to get an influx of cash while they search. I dare say there are still those who work full-time but need to increase their income to save for a specific goal, as an Uber cab driver shared with me in New Orleans. Her daughter needed to travel for a school event so she was driving at nights to give her the opportunity to attend.
As this phenomenon becomes more widespread, the downsides of a lack of sustained income, benefits, responsibility for their own taxes sometimes attracts stress. But it seems the supplemental income drives the benefits for temporary or long term gain. The ideal getaway can be had by doing some gigs on the side or on a sustained basis. No need to be turned down due to scheduling issues. They go when they want and where they want.
The Change. The Times.
Signs of the times. Caution to employers or older generations who want to hold on to tradition. A career that lasts a lifetime – work for years with the same company then move on when retired or sadly these days, are replaced by the rapid changes in technology and innovation.
As I have always cautioned, to stand still is to be left behind. Embrace the changes, do what you must and survive the long haul. Thoughts? Do share. We would love to hear.
Time. Overthinking. Distractions. Those were some of the thoughts from writers as they reflected on the issues encountered when they want to write. Here I share 21 as writers chimed in response to the forum question:
What do you struggle with the most when writing?
1.Time
2.Starting
3.Grammar
4.Self-doubt
5.Ideas
6.Focus on one topic / idea at a time
7.Setting
8,Remaining focused
9,Getting paid
10. Revising
11. Knowing when to stop
12. Taking what you’ve learned and start another book
13, Marketing
14, Losing traction
15. Sitting down to actually write
16. Starting but not completing a story
17. Editing
18. Writing
19. Distractions
20. Being left alone
21. Overthinking
As a writer, can you identify with any of the above Struggles? Any missing? Do share. We would love to hear.
I sat staring into the distance. Pondering. What to write? What to post? Haven’t we all been there at one time or other? Times when we don’t know what to write-be it social, blog, or book. Jen dePaula shared 40 Things to inspire your writing. I liked 19 and share these below.
Share a motivational or inspiring quote
Share a link to your new blog post.
Highlight a fan with an @mention and thank them for their support.
Share what you’re currently reading and tag the author.
Do a #TBT (Throw Back Thursday) by sharing an old picture.
Share one of your favorite writing tools (whether it be digital or a physical tool).
Share an interesting article or blog post that someone else has written – be sure to tag them in the post.
Share a picture that your child (niece, nephew, friend) drew.
Share some of your favorite songs/albums you like…
Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult.– Warren Bennis
At a family social 9-year-old RJ was asked to be the leader for his little brother and cousins at the park. He looked shocked. He’s never been asked to play that role formally before. Yet unknown to him he has always done it. He was a natural born leader.
Discover Yourself
When we reach for a goal that is beyond our usual capacity we discover great things about ourselves. Things that surprise, encourage, and please us. Things that make us go aghast. Leadership opportunities are all around at work, school or play. You don’t have to have that official title of leader.
Stretch Yourself
But these leadership discoveries can only happen when we step outside our comfort zone. When we are scared but do it anyway.
Step outside your comfort zone today. Stretch yourself. You’ll discover great things. Read more in my book Success Strategies of Leaders.
My sister’s Journey. We all know someone who has been affected. For me, it has personally been my grandma, my mom but most of all my little sister. Here I share her journey as a fighter. A leader extraordinaire. She never gave up and I hope her journey inspires someone who needs it.
She’ll have my head if she knows I’m writing this but some stories must be told.
That was how I started this story four years ago but don’t think it was ever published. It was the spring of 2003, after experiencing discomfort and a series of medical tests, the news was relayed to my sister. Not only did they find a lump in her breast but it was also malignant. Visits to Specialists left her with two options; remove the breast, or embark on a series of chemo treatment. The option of removal was an uncommon feat at the time, so after engaging family, friends and mountains of prayers, she made the decision to save the breast and embrace the chemo treatment.
Past The Worst
Over 10 years later and different rounds of chemo treatment combined with the usual side effects of hair loss, nervous system changes such as numbness…
