Hola, Aloha, Bonjour, and Bom Dia Travelers! The past couple of months have been such a journey, I lost my father a week before my birthday, I started my Mary Kay business, applying to USC and LMU for my MBA, and joined the MS Society's YPG group for professionals in their 20's and 30's that are affected by or just plain old advocating for multiple sclerosis. And that was just the first 6 months of the year. Whew!

Through that time I have had so much to say but just not taking the time to say it. I thought that adding an app to my blackberry (yes I still have one, TMobile is a terrorist), would keep me blogging on the regular, that didn't work. So I thought that if I voice noted my thoughts then transcribed them that would be better, nope. Lastly I started carrying a notebook with me to jot down my thoughts then type them out....you see the pattern here. There was nothing really working to keep me blogging consistently besides me well...blogging consistently.

My goal is to blog once a month, it's a simple goal that I think I can maintain. I really like the writing and appreciated the fan base that I had grown as well as some of the networking I was able to do with some of the bloggers that I admire. So let's get into this title....

As I mentioned in the intro the first 6 months have been a worldwind of emotions, change,and redirecting. Talk about pot holes and detours! I really couldn't get back on my freeway, I just kinda chilled at the rest stop of my journey trying to remap toward a new Point B. This is where I froze. I know that I have said in previous posts (idk where lol maybe I will link later) that fear can be paralyzing and will stop a traveler right in their tracks, I can't afford that anymore. The closer I get to 30 the more I am aware of how what I do, or don't do, today affects my tomorrow. So I have to keep going...but it doesn't come without caution. Fearfully fearless.

I think that many of us get to a point where more of us is required than before in order to make it to our destination. We want to remain in cruise control even though we know good and well that we aren't where we want to be or even have the potential to be. That's where I am right now. I am in a place that requires me to be more intentional of my time as well as more organized with my time and paperwork. I need to be accountable to those that I have committed to work with, which includes myself. So let's look at each of my responsibilities and what this means shall we?

Church: There is a spiritual accountability that I have to my God in the areas of character and finance, but hear I want to touch on the youth as I am a youth leader at my church. Showing up on time and engaging the youth that attend on Sundays, showing great ownership and being approachable are key and require my attitude to be intact as I know I'm being watched by a gang of middle schoolers!

Sorority: I am the co-chair of our mentoring initiative which runs like a separate organization in and of itself. For anyone in an NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council) organization knows that as an active member there are meetings, activities and dues that need to be tended to. As a committee leader I am required to keep my committee  up to date as well as execute the objectives of this particular initiative...read - paperwork. I don't know why I am having such an issue with paperwork but I am. Sitting down and do it and then remembering to turn it in!

YPG: I have just joined this group so for right now I am enjoying sitting back and learning, however if I say that I am going to volunteer at an event it is up to me to make sure I am there on time and in the proper attire..if needed.

MBA: 4 letters --> G M A T ! I am accountable to my score and my studies to make sure that score is competitive justifiable to get that acceptance letter. This means more time management. How long I study and how often I take a practice test is up to me.

Mary Kay - newly added as an additional source of income is literally my part time job. This is probably where I feel the most overwhelmed. There is so much to know, and for some reason I think that I have to learn it all before I move forward with it. But the fact is momma got bills and her first job just aint cutting it like she needs it to. However, in Mary Kay I earn my effort, which means that my income is a DIRECT reflection of what I am or am not doing. Which goes back to moving out of cruise control and putting myself in drive. (this will come in a second post soon)

So with all of that said welcome to the transitional portion of the second phase/season of 2012. I hope you enjoy the ride as I learn how to.

Happy Travels!

"One Step Forward, Just Glance Back. No Fear, Just DIVA!"

I can see that in 2009 there was a level of optimism that I feel like I have lost, but I also see the difference of the situations that make this post and the principle still applicable and much needed.

2009:
-I was part of a larger vision
-I was trusted with the execution of said vision
-There was partnership and open communication, even with differing opinions

2012:
-I have made best efforts to be a part of a vision that has been ripped from me at every mistake
-I did not see my own vision within the whole picture, I became lost in the need to just survive and not thrive

I don't talk about (spiritual) faith here on this blog and it is not my goal to start, but today it is relevant to this post. I am a Christian woman and in listening to a sermon about stepping out on faith and believing first and God showing us second it made me think of this scene from the movie Hook:



This was so powerful to me! In my "Imagine That" post the tone was Think-->Imagine-->Go, but here it's more like the title of this post Act as if it Were and Watch it Manifest. Dig your fork in the plate of your career and watch the meat of your success appear in your mouth. Create it while moving like it already exists. Take the risks, write the emails, make the calls, do it anyway, and don't wait to do it.

That is what I am doing, for too long I waited on someone else to create the door of opportunity for me to walk through, but I am about to take some risks that create my own doors, mostly in the area of education, I might succeed I might fail, but there is a vision and I am a part of it's execution, I am trusted with my ability to execute, and that is all that matters. (check that run on sentence)

Happy Travels (and Risks Taken)

"One Step Forward, Just Glance Back. No Fear, Just DIVA!"

Happy Thursday Travelers!

This new place in my journey has me in a very thoughtful and reflective place. So for your musical pleasure:



My current career position has propelled me into a whole new meaning of "No Fear, Just DIVA." I'm not just graduating from school with a load of prospects from recruiters and I'm not super excited about the world that is around me. I'm right in the middle of a lease, I am in that weird place in my career where I know it's time to move forward, but totally unprepared to start in some place new. I'm frustrated with the position I have been put in and I have to be accountable now more than ever concerning the movement of my career.

"We're all self-conscious I'm just the first to admit it." Explaining to my mother that I would rather be unemployed than in the position I am currently in, but the level of confidence that I need to build the career that I want. This is an unexpected pot hole on my freeway, I am totally trained that we get hired by a company we work at that company and stay at that company until retirement or the Olsen Twins hire you to be their new CEO, but that is not the case.

So what do we do when it all falls down? I have 3 ideas:

1. Occupy your time with purpose. - The only thing that is keeping me sane and from watching the computer/my emails every 5 minutes is the fact that I have other things going on in my life that allow me to feel fulfilled and knowing that even without this job I have a greater calling and who I was at work does not determine that. I now also get a chance to build my career around my purpose.
   
2. Apply for 3 jobs you would never think you are qualified for but would LOVE to do anyway if hired. - Hell, I say why not, if you get it have the confidence to rock it out!!
   
3. Don't hit the panic "Apply" button!! - We all have done it, if you haven't I hope you never do. Applying for the job that you don't want, wont lead to a career, but you know that you can get. I strongly believe that this will only lead to repeating the same cycle. Now if you are building a business and need something to fund it then I say go for it, you know it's temporary anyway.
   

So there you have it! Do not let this time get to you! I'm trying my best to not let it get to me, but I am now learning that it can all fall down, so what I am I doing to pick it back up?

Night Travelers!

"One Step Forward, Just Glance Back. No Fear, Just DIVA!"

Recently I have seen a shift in my career and though I am not a fan of the financial reform this change is about to place me in, I am excited to see what is ahead of me. I won't sit here and bash my work situation or any of the players involved in my recent shift, but I will say that I think it to be wise to not believe that leaving one unpleasant situation to a new unknown one, that the grass is greener at your new destination. Point C may not be sweeter than Point B.

In transitioning on your freeway I recommend looking at both the fixed and the variable components to your situation:

Fixed - That's you. No matter what situation your are in, work, friendship, or finance, YOU are the only thing that stays the same. So when evaluating what went or is going wrong in the above it is time to take a self examination. Moving from one job to the next new co-worker situation doesn't matter if you come in with a sense of entitlement and not humility. Having a girlfriend problem? Are all their reasons for leaving the friendship/relationship similar? Maybe it's not them maybe it's you. Finances, doesn't matter if you make $800 a month or a day, keep seeing overdrafts in your account that means YOU have a need to learn money management.

Make sense? In the time of a change, especially from an unpleasant situation to a new one, look at several past situations and the similarities in the unpleasantness.

Variable - The situation. sometimes it really isn't us, it's them. But it takes that self examination of the fixed in multiple of variable situations to know if that's truth and not self righteousness.

A sincere willingness to examine both the fixed and the variable will truly fuel your freeway. Once it has been identified then clear communication is what is necessary to properly navigate from Point B to new Point C.

Does any of this makes sense? lol

If you find yourself in the position of leadership, or are striving to be a leader then I think that this article I came across in Inc.com is an essential read. I really think that this article deserves a separate post of its own, but while composing I found myself finger pointing more than learning/self-assessing, and that is where this post came from.

So in conclusion, sometimes that change is a blessing and moving from a challenging situation to a new one can be great, but examine all the factors. In order for the grass to be greener on the other side, you are going to have to water it.

Happy Travels!

"One Step Forward, Just Glance Back. No Fear, Just DIVA!"