5 Things To Be Thankful For At Work

“Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining - it bores everyone else, does you no good, and doesn't solve any problems.” 

– Zig Ziglar

About a month ago I met with a friend and we had a long conversation about our jobs. My friend, disappointed, complained about the job he’s been doing for almost 10 years and described the work he does as “terrible.”

“My boss is a jerk,” my friend exclaimed,”and they work us like crazy.” He summarized the rest of his conversation with the words “it sucks.”

I looked at my friend and asked him if there was anything he liked about the job. He pondered a bit and came up with a few things he liked about his job. I followed up with a second question: is it really that bad?

I feel as though many people like to play the ‘victim’ at times and would rather prove why their job is worse than someone else’s. My perspective is quite different because I’ve been homeless, jobless and broke all at once so I cherish certain things that others might not (Read How I Survived With $11 In My Pocket). Here are at least five things to be thankful for at work:

Be thankful you have a job – Is not having a job really much better than having the job you currently have? Be thankful you are currently employed and receive a pay check every month. Some people might not have that privilege.

Be thankful you have work – It is one thing to have a job and another thing to have plenty of work to do. Having a lot of work, or a lot of business, is good. It provides you with stability.

Be thankful for the people you work with – Sometimes the job requires long hours and you might see your co-workers more than you might see your wife. Be thankful for the comraderies, joy and experience you share with your team.  

Be thankful you’re learning – I can almost guarantee that the person you were when you first started working wherever you are is no longer the person you are now. You’ve grown professionally and will continue to learn. Be thankful for that opportunity.

Be thankful for the challenges – When your day becomes more challenging, you become stronger. Without challenges there is no effort, no growth and no strength. Be thankful that you have been challenged physically and/or mentally and you are a smarter, stronger person.

There are other things to be thankful for. Make sure to show your gratitude at work this week and reflect on the positive things your job has to offer. 

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way. 

The 3 Lessons I Learned From Having An Affair

"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

- Unknown

For quite a few days I sneaked into my apartment trying not to make any noise. I would tell myself that this would be the last time but I've been telling myself the same thing for a few months already. I was left with guilt, remorse and I didn't know how to change my situation.

I had a bad habit of texting or calling my significant other to tell her that I would be home by 8pm but I never made it by that time. I would get home close to midnight. Things needed to change quickly or I knew I would lose the ones close to me. 

If you clicked on the header of this blog because you thought I was going to make some gossipy confessions, I'm sorry to disappoint you. The affair I felt I was having was not with someone else but with my job. Time to time I hear other people I meet that they too have spent countless hours working and haven't been able to figure out how to balance their work and their life. In a way, I'm glad I experienced this early in my career so that I can learn from it. These are the three lessons I learned from having an affair with my job:

The definition of work-life balance

Before my 'affair' I thought work-life balance meant that I should work 40 hours a week and the rest is for my own leisure. Shortly after, I began to ponder about what work-life balance really meant to me. It turns out, it means something different to everyone. To some who love what they do, working 60 hours a week and spending weekends with family works well. For others, the hours they work is insignificant - it's more about how they feel, striving for a happy, emotional balance between their work and their life. I really had to sit down and write out my thoughts about what work-life balance meant to me and what I was trying to achieve in the first place. 

It's not your company's fault - it's your fault

When work gets busy and the 'affair' occurs, we convince ourselves that the 'busy season' will soon be over. Next thing we know, just like in my story, the busy season continues and seems to be endless. It's very common for frustration to kick in and the first thing we do when we're stressed and cranky is blame others. Many times, we blame our habit of overworking (or as we like to call it 'being overworked') on our boss or our company. I did the same thing as well, as did others that worked with me. However, complaining and blaming the company did not help our situation. What did help? Looking in the mirror. I found out that my time management was poor, my organization could be stronger and my priorities in life were never established. I worked on improving myself and setting my priorities right and better prepared myself for the next heavy season.

Help is always near

The worst thing I did, which lead to the biggest lesson I learned, was not asking for help. I'm the type of person that feels can take on a lot of responsibilities and I feel there is nothing I can't do. However, when things got rough and the load got heavier, I didn't say a thing. After speaking with my supervisor, I was able to get assistance, learned how to delegate better and was able to make it home sooner. At first, I didn't want any help because I didn't want them to go through what I was going through and I also didn't want my team or boss to think that I was incompetent to do the work. My supervisor also recommended some readings so I researched a few books that helped me with my time management. There is always help.

Perhaps I exaggerated a bit by calling what I went through an 'affair' but if you asked my girlfriend at the time, she'd probably say that I left her for my job. The reality is, many of us struggle with finding the right balance between work and life and I hope to cover this topic in the next few blogs. I hope you learn from my mistakes. 

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.

Avoid These Mistakes When Trying To Pay Off Your Debt

"Debt is the worst poverty."
- Thomas Fuller

Today, I will complete our discussion about debt by suggesting to avoid certain mistakes when trying to pay it off. Before I give the actual list of suggestions, I ask you, once again, to look back at why you wouldn't even need to borrow money in the first place.

Most people borrow money for the wrong reasons. Did you borrow money to have enough cash to invest so that your money can grow and you can start generating passive income? Did you borrow money because you wanted to open up your business and you just needed start-up capital? Or did you borrow money because you wanted a nicer car? Did you borrow money to buy a new TV, get a fancy phone and live above your means?

My goal is to make you reflect on your decisions. Some people might be struggling to pay off the money they borrowed and are caught in a hamster wheel, just trying to make ends meet. Depending on your situation, I would advise you to avoid these four traps when trying to pay off debt. 

Don't use any payday loans
If you like to be caught in a trap, get a payday loan. Before I met with a few of my clients, I honestly never knew what a payday loan was. It's a very clever lender, however, if you're the lender's customer you will be trapped for some time. The payday loans give you quick cash but they charge you a fee to take out that cash and they have access to your bank account so they will take your money regardless. Most people who get payday loans think it will only be a 'one time' thing. They believe they will only take out a loan just once, pay it off and forget that it ever happened. However, most people will get caught trying to get more cash and it becomes an endless cycle. Most people don't have the discipline to only borrow once. If you don't have the discipline to borrow money, don't borrow money. 

Don't get caught up with 0% interest
People love free stuff. When people see '0% interest,' it's like they're getting something for free. People get excited knowing that they have a whole year to pay off a loan before it begins to accumulate interest. However, going back to my first suggestion, most people aren't that disciplined. If you take out a $5,000 loan and you're trying to pay that off in six months, before the interest kick in, you'll have to pay on average $833.33 a month to make that happen. Before you take out a loan of any kind, work out the numbers. Don't be afraid of doing some math on your own. Educate yourself before you get yourself in a whole.

Avoid getting loans to pay off other loans
Let's say you owe some money to a few credit card companies. You think the best solution is to take out another loan to pay off those credit cards. Your idea gets even better when you find out that you don't have to pay interest for the first 6 months on the loan you're planning on taking. This is a huge trap! Again, most people don't have much discipline and will continue to take out loan after loan to pay off other loans which they took to pay off other loans and this cycle won't stop for a very long time. At the same time, do the math. If you owed a total of $5,000 on those two credit cards, and now you're thinking of getting a $5,000 loan with no interest for six months to pay it off, guess what you're getting yourself into. A trap. 

Don't use all your tax return to pay off your debt
A few years ago I had a great idea: I'll use the money I receive from my state and federal tax returns to pay off my debt. So one year, I used that money immediately to pay off some debt. By the end of the year, I was living paycheck to paycheck trying to figure out where all my money is going. It was still going to paying off debt! So then, I got another genius idea: I'll use the money I receive from my state and federal tax returns to pay off my debt. This happened so frequently for a few years, that I no longer was living paycheck to paycheck. Instead, I was living refund check to refund check! (Read Before You Spend Your State Or Federal Refund Check, Read This!). Although it might seem like a good idea to use this money to pay off debt, it is not. Pay yourself first and read all my blogs so that you know which route is best for you. 

Most of what I recommend is really from experience and research that I had to do. In other ways, I had to learn the hard way. Some of you  might be learning the hard way right now. For those that aren't in any trap, follow my advice and don't try to learn anything the hard way. Good luck to all and enjoy your weekend. 

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.

Are Your Habits Making You Rich Or Poor?

"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into but hard to get out of"-Anonymous

What did I do last week? What did I accomplish? How did I spend my time? These are questions I ask myself at the end of every week. For the last few years, I made it a habit to always evaluate my days and weeks, never keeping my eyes off of my goals and dreams. However, not everyone asks these questions on a consistent basis.

A few months ago I wrote a blog called Do You Have What It Takes To Be Wealthy?, discussing a study done about successful people. The study carefully examined the habits of successful people and it compared them to the habits of the poor. Your daily habits will determine your success in life. Thomas Corley spent five years studying the lives of both rich people (defined as having an annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million or more) and those of poor people (defined as having an annual income of $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less). Below are some of the results of Corley's study.

"I maintain a daily to-do list"

• Rich people who agree: 81%
• Poor people who agree: 19%

"I love reading"

• Rich people who agree: 86%
• Poor people who agree: 26%

"I do more than my job requires"

• Rich people who agree: 81%
• Poor people who agree: 17%

"I focus on my goals every day"

• Rich people who agree: 62%
• Poor people who agree: 6%

"I watch reality shows on TV"

• Rich people who agree: 6%
• Poor people who agree: 78%

"I play the lottery regularly"

• Rich people who agree: 6%
• Poor people who agree: 77%

Next week we'll go over these results in a lot more detail. It's important to study the habits that might be keeping us from achieving some of our goals. The purpose of this study is not to come up with ways to get rich, but to compare how rich and poor spend their time and energy. Becoming rich might not be your goal, or my goal, but achieving certain financial goals, dreams, or aspirations might. 

Ask yourself these questions from the study. Which comments do you agree with? 
Share. 

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.

Nick - The Man With No Arms, No Legs and No Limits

A good friend gave me a book for Christmas. The book was called Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic, a man who has lived with no arms and no legs all of his life. The book was very inspiring and made me think constantly about myself. After finishing the book I looked for videos on Nick on YouTube and read a few more articles about him. After watching a few videos, I was impressed by how much Nick would smile.

Nick lived a rough life during his youth. He was teased frequently by other kids and called names such as "freak" or "alien." Nick grew up watching other kids play basketball, surf and go on dates with girls. At age 8 he contemplated committing suicide since he believed at that time that his life was already pre-determined: he couldn't do anything, he wouldn't get married and he would always need others to help him because of his disability.

However, Nick's attitude was impressive. He relied on God to remain positive and used his huge heart to get through some tough times. He learned how to swim, how to surf, how to use a computer and type, how to run a business and how to speak in public. Now, Nick goes throughout the world motivating other people and preaching how life can be lived without limits. He speaks to children about bullying and about loving themselves and each other.

Many times we are angry about the things that we don't have or the things that we do have that we don't like. We'll hate ourselves because we feel we're ugly or we're fat, we'll convince ourselves that we're not smart enough and we'll believe that we're not capable of achieving success. Yet, we forget the things in our lives that should matter. We forget that we have the blessings of our family, of our close friends, of the music we love, of the hands that allow us to hold our babies, of the lips we possess to kiss our mom on the cheek, of the dirty little car that has more than 200,000 miles but is still going, of the home that provides us a bed to rest, of the food we eat every single day and of the heart that allows us to forgive and love with no limits.

You are better than you think. You are beautiful. You are strong. You are smart. You can accomplish anything. The only limits you have are those you are setting for yourself.

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't - you are right."

- Henry Ford

"You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude towards what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you."

- Brian Tracy

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way. 

Don't Wait Any Longer! 5 Strategies That Will Help You Accomplish Your Goals

Earlier this week I ran into a friend I haven't seen in a while. We told jokes, reminisced and joked some more. We then discussed our plans for the future. During the middle of our conversation my friend gives me a sheet of paper with his writing on it and it lists the following:

Lose 15 lbs.

Save up $ to buy a house

Go back to school

Learn how to play the piano

Learn Spanish

Give guitar lessons

Travel to Europe

"This is great!" I respond after looking at the list. "The first step to accomplishing your resolutions is to write them down!"

"Actually..." my friend says with a bit of disappointment, "this is a list I wrote back in 2009. I've kept it because every year I tell myself I'm going to finally accomplish those seven things. I've only accomplished a some of it. I lost 2lbs."

It's been a week since 2014 began. If you made goals for yourself, you probably really want to fulfill them. However, have you already pushed back your goals because you don't have the 'time'? Have you convinced yourself that it's better to start tomorrow? Or have you already convinced yourself that it's 'not that bad' if you don't meet those goals?

There are goals that I haven't met yet but there are many that I've accomplished. Here are some strategies that have helped me accomplish some of those goals and how they might help you as well:

1. Surround yourself around people that will motivate you. Most people feel as though the first thing they need to do when trying to meet certain goals is to schedule a day to start. However, I suggest taking a different approach. First, start with talking to someone who you know will pump you up so much that after talking to them you suddenly realized you signed up for a gym membership. Make it a priority to talk to that person who will lift you and will encourage you to reach your goals.You want your motivation to be higher than 100%. Don't surround yourself around negative people or someone who will just drag you down.

2. Take advantage of your momentum. Once you get into the groove of things, take advantage of it. Make the momentum worthwhile and last as long as you can. If you're learning how to play an instrument, don't stop now! Listen to more music, watch YouTube videos about your instrument, but keep going. 

3. Celebrate the small victories. Sometimes we think it's silly to celebrate when we lose one pound. Are you kidding? That calls for a party! Be proud of that pound because that is one pound closer to your goal! Things don't happen overnight so enjoy the ride and celebrate. However, if one of your goals is to lose wait, you might not want to celebrate with a Twinkie like I have done in the past. Celebrate in a way that won't disrupt your progress.

4. Find ways to stay motivated. After a few days, or weeks, temptation kicks in. You feel like you want to take a break or just stop for one day. The adrenaline has worn off and you start to convince yourself that 'at least you got that far.' Getting that far is not your goal. Meeting your goal is your goal. If your motivation is at 10% then find a way to get motivated! Go back to step one or find the one or two things that will get you self-motivated. Do those things immediately. If you wait too long, you lose momentum, you lose motivation and you lose sight of the goal you wanted to accomplish. 

5. Share your progress. As you continue to push yourself to reach your goal share it with someone. My recommendation is to share it with someone who either (a) cares or (b) will encourage you to keep going. Be careful of sharing it with someone who might respond with a "that's it?" or a "well, I already surpassed your goal." Even sharing it on Facebook or through your social networks might get you a few likes or words of encouragement that will help you keep going.

It's been a week since 2014 started. Let's start with step one. What's your motivation level? 10%? 20%? Who is motivating you?

2014 is the year of the NEW

I have no clue what I'm doing. I told myself I would begin writing blogs and I've spent the last three hours researching what a blog is. After signing up with three different blog sites, I landed here trying to write my first blog ever. I also stole a picture I liked from the internet that says "The Future - Next Exit". Am I even supposed to do that? I got in trouble when I was in 8th grade for plagiarism.

I'm the type of person that doesn't wait until the New Year's to do a list of resolutions. My list was created almost 5-10 years ago. However, as I discuss the many things I have done in the past (and what I plan to do in the future) people have been intrigued by my actions. I'm no superhero and I'm definitely not talented at many things but I always give things a try. This will probably be my worst blog ever because it's the first. Nothing comes naturally to me the first time. Or the second or third, for that matter. With experience and practice everyone gets better.

Think about the first time you tried to swim. You probably almost drowned, didn't you? Well, I did. What about the first time you drove a car? You probably hit a parked car, right? Wait, that was me. At least now I'm a decent swimmer that can doggy paddle for hours and I have some great parking skills.

To everyone reading this, first of all, thank you. I won't waste your time with my silliness. This 2014, make sure you plan to do something you've never done in your life. Maybe it's something you said you would do later. Maybe it's something your significant other has wanted you to try for some time. Maybe it's something you've secretly wanted to do but never had the courage to take action. This is the year to reinvent yourself - no excuses. This year will be Chapter 1 of your life. This is the year to take risks. This is the year to make plans. This is the year to take action. This is the year you will conquer your fears. Don't live your life thinking - "what if". Life is beautiful. Try to see how beautiful. Try life for the first time.