Having Little To Show

You are reading from the book  “Just Quit” & Live

Today’s Workplace Story/Situation:

I dread going into work every day. I am constantly stressed. I work full-time and have very little to show for it. It’s a dead end job, no chance for growth or advancement. I’m not appreciated by the bosses. I work too hard and I’m paid too little. I’m in tears almost every day at work. Overall, I’m unhappy. Over the last few months, I’ve found myself extremely unhappy, maybe even depressed. This job is the main source of this.

~Worker in Connecticut

Today’s Meditation/Reflection:

Many of us have been working full time for years.

Some of us have been miserable for a while.

Some of us don’t have much to show for our hard work and our brave front.

We have to ask ourselves if we continue on the road we are on, what will happen when we CAN’T work any longer?  What will we do then if we still “have little to show”?

If we are working hard, working full time, doing what we think we MUST and we have little to show now, what does the end look like for us?

We have to ask this while we still have time to make a transformational change.

We have to ask while we are still in good health and of working age.

What do you have to show RIGHT NOW from all of your hard work?

~Ridea

Checking In

You are reading from the book  “Just Quit” & Live

Today’s Workplace Story/Situation:

I am depressed every day when I go to work. None of the tasks are challenging or interesting anymore. I do not feel my talents are used. The bureaucracy at a company this size impedes a lot of productivity. I can only bring myself to work maybe 1-2 hours per day, while spending the rest of my time job-hunting. I’m almost completely checked out.

When I think of my commute (30 minutes – 1 hour, each way), I cringe. Nothing makes that time go by faster. If I see my boyfriend after work, I’m short and clearly unhappy. He and I have both noticed that when I have an interview or other promising job prospect, my mood heightens markedly.

~Worker from TENNESSEE 

Today’s Meditation/Reflection:

We know when we are checked out and are not plugged in. We feel totally lost. We’re wondering HOW did we get here.  We can continue to go ‘round and ‘round trying to find answers, but maybe there aren’t many answers. We are just checked out. We need to check in somewhere else and do something else.

If you’re looking for another job, just keep looking. Something will break… eventually. Everything happens at the right time… just wait. ~Ridea

"Just Quit" & Live The Book

“Just Quit” & Live the Book is finally here.

I wrote this book so that people would know that they are not alone and are not crazy.

The book includes stories from those who stumbled on this blog and completed the survey. We now  have over 2,100 entries from  76 countries from around the world.  Many situations and stories  are very heart-wrenching. Workers answered the question:

“Why do you want to quit your job EVEN if you don’t have another one lined-up?”

 Additionally, I will begin posting  daily with the entries from the book.

Below is today’s entry, location and meditation:

Happiness                                                                                  May 11

I have been at a career for 10 years that causes me a lot of anxiety and turmoil. I have tried different areas within the same career and have finally realized I am not well fitted for this career. I am unhappy and it affects my health and my personal relationships. No job is worth ruining your personal relationships or your health. I want to learn new skills and be in a different more fitting field for me, but I am obsessing with having to spend one more day at my current career I cannot even think about anything else.

I have small children that require care, and we have no other family support. My current job doesn’t give me enough hours to pay for day care, and my hours are so crazy that no day care is open at those times. I do have a husband and he is supportive of this decision and encourages me to find something that makes me happy so that my career unhappiness doesn’t bleed into our lives and make him unhappy too. 

~Worker Living in TEXAS

Today’s Meditation:

Today just say: “I want happiness. If happiness exists; then I want to be happy. Please, God/Higher Power help me to find happiness in my career.  Help guide me in the direction of what will make me happy.   Please.  I just want to be happy.” ~ Ridea

Lessons from a Billionaire

Everyday we should be growing and looking for the lessons in our life experiences.

Today’s lesson:  You never know when you’re going to meet a billionaire and what you will learn from that encounter.

The above is a picture of a piece that I sold at an art show yesterday.  It was a piece that I worked on over several months…on and off…adding here and there. It was one of those pieces that would get a reaction from most people…usually a nod in agreement to the statement or outright laughter –  but it was one of the more expensive pieces at my booth.

Yesterday I sold  it to a man worth $2.4 billion according to Google.

It was an interesting exchange of art and money…both just energy…as my guru Joseph Campbell says:

“Money is congealed energy and releasing it releases life possibilities.”

The exchange encounter:

• At first all I saw was the man, not the others who were with him.
• Right away I noticed the monogrammed cuffs of his shirt sleeves.
• I also noticed he was very elderly but looked incredibly healthy.
• He spotted the “Look Like A” plaque right way.  He slowly read it out loud and nodded in agreement (like most everyone else has done since I’ve shown this piece).
• Then a group of women who were apparently with him came up to the booth and started reading some of the signs. One lady also read the “Look Like A” plaque sign and said to the monogrammed cuffed man…”this is you”; she flipped it over and saw the price $15. He said that he had seen it and liked it.  He said that he’d take it and asked how much it was.  The lady said it was $15 and then he said; “Why so much?”  She said: “Well it is all handmade.”
• As the man pulls out his wallet (pictured above) the other two women who were with him spotted these fans that I had and picked them up and wanted them.  The fans were only $2 each. So as the man was handing me the $20 I asked if the picture was all for him or was he also going to buy the fans.  There was some hesitation from the man, so one of the women said she could pay for the fans, then the billionaire man said no, he would pay for the fans as well.  So I took the $20 and gave him back a $1 bill.
• I asked the lady holding the piece if I could take a picture of it since I wouldn’t see it again.  She held it up for me and told me that this piece was going to end up in California.
• After that exchange they continued to read the signs on the other side of my booth and discussed some of them…the young lady pointed out the “Just Hold On…” sign and said to  the billionaire man: “This is what you always tell me.”
• I couldn’t figure out what the relationship was between the young lady and this man (who I didn’t know was a billionaire at the time).  They were so kind to each other as though there was a special bond between the two of them.  I asked the young lady if he were her father.  She hesitated for a moment and said quietly; “No”.  Then she moved away from him and leaned into me and told me his name and who he was.  She mentioned that he was like a father to her and she had known him since she was young.
• So when I noted the sale in my little sells book I jotted down his name to look him up later.

He was David Murdock – CEO and Chairman of Dole Foods and he has a fascinating self-made billionaire story, but I didn’t have to look him up on Google to learn the below lessons and take-aways from the encounter:

1. You can’t hide health – he was the picture of health. There was vitality in his walk and the energy that came from him.

2. You can’t hide wealth – it wasn’t overt, but it was there.  The monogram shirt, the neatness, the well-dressed women with manicured nails that were with him.

3. Use Money Wisely – As the proverb goes: the fool and his money will soon part ways.  Not so here.  It was clear to me why this man is still a billionaire.  He used the trick I learned to use while working in purchasing: NO MATTER whatever price they give you always act like it’s too much.  Do it whether it’s a fair price or not.  Do it just to see how they will react.  The moment he questioned the price I remained silent, which is the other trick I learned in purchasing.  Be the one to remain silent and the other will not want the pregnant pause and will start talking…he would talks too much loses in the deal.

Also what I found fascinatingly is that as soon as he pulled out his wallet to pay for the picture he wanted the other two women who were with him quickly picked up the two fans. He did not immediately agree to pay for their purchases.  It was a deliberate decision that he made. Another interesting point was that the three items together cost $19 and I gave him back $1 as change and he took it….leaving nothing on the table…even exchange of art for money.

I took the picture of the piece because it was one of those pieces that I’ll NEVER be able to make again.  I could try, but it won’t be the same and I guess that is how art is supposed to be.  In exchange for that piece I have a $20 bill from a man worth $2.4 billion dollars.

Next Step:  Meditating on what this means

I was almost not going to go to this art show. I had been up until 3 a.m. with family travelling through town so I only had about six hours of sleep.  I laid there in bed thinking how sleepy I was and started negotiating with myself that at best I would make $100 and was that worth it.  That didn’t last long because  the universal voice that I now recognize (call it what you want…intuition…the knower behind the thinking mind…God…The Source) it spoke and told me that I HAD to get up and go.

I didn’t know why but I knew I HAD to go because I  was being guided by that invisible hand and the thread that connects those destined to meet.

So all day while I was there people-watching I was looking for the reason I HAD to be there. So…now…was it the chance encounter and exchange with the man who happened to be a billionaire; or was it the little girls who came to my booth wide-eyed and expressed their love for what they saw; or was it the father who was reading all the rocks to his autistic twin boys; or maybe it was the many exchanged glances I had with older people with canes and in wheelchairs who were getting out of the house trying to enjoy a beautiful day.   Honestly I think it was ALL of those encounters…because we are all connected.

I will however take this opportunity to ponder how the exchange of money for art relates to Joseph Campbell’s quote about money being congealed energy.

What does it mean that I have a $20 bill from a billionaire and what will happen with the “Look Like A” plaque that is now in his care?

p.s. 7/16/14

I decided to give the$20 bill to my son.  I put it inside of his copy of “Just Quit” & Live the book…he said he was going to keep it there as the bookmark.  Let’s see what happens….let’s see…

Also..I pulled out my juicer and started juicing…wow…I forgot what I was missing…

"Just Quit" Success Story - David Griffiths - Recruiter & World Traveler

The Millennial Generation is Re-Thinking Work & What It All Means.  Below is a story from a young professional who had the courage to “Just Quit”.   He has started his own blog at http://workforworkssake.com. With his background as a recruiter and a world traveler;  he is definitely one to watch.  Below is David’s story of how he “Just Quit”:

My name is David Griffiths, I am a 27-year-old professional recruiter… At least, I will be until July 2014.

I have “just quit” my job.

It was one of the most empowering experiences of my life and I wish to share what I went through with everyone who needs help.

I found my help from several sources but Just Quit & Live had some truly inspiring words that resounded with me; they gave that extra bit of courage to go ahead and do it.

With little experience of the working world, I jumped straight into my first job – as a recruiter. I have had very high and very low points throughout the job (4.5 years).  Whenever I thought about quitting, the status quo effect kicked in – “I can’t be unemployed, I have to work, it’s what people do”. So I just carried on, watching the clock some weeks and getting to the end of a quarter (when we got our bonuses) to find myself saying: “Hey! This isn’t so bad after all!”.

I have always questioned our approach to work – “why on earth do we spend 40-50 years of our life working 48+ weeks of the year?”

I have quite a passive character and have a strength/weakness that most people suffer from; I’m a pleaser. I need people to feel at ease with me, to be able to trust me that I will try to do my best for them and won’t let them down. I think it’s one of the traits of naivety that you get from being thankful for everything and not expecting thanks back – “they pay my salary and bonuses, how else should they be thanking me?” In plenty of ways that you can’t even imagine… Or you may get to if you read Just Quit & Live and Work For Work’s Sake!

I took an amazing round the world trip just after I left higher education.  

When I came back, I “needed to get my career started”. Since then (2008), I haven’t been abroad. I felt that spending one or two weeks somewhere was not enough to experience that place in full. So I started to save money. I rent a property; I never felt settled enough to commit to buy a house… Even though I was in a secure, permanent job. Alarm bells started to ring.

I was in the rut of scraping in just on time; getting up when it was physically the latest it could be to just about make it on time.

My alarm clock had become my enemy.

I had been saving money for a long time and I had no idea what to do with it until recently; I was going to quit my job. To cover my current monthly expenses, I had enough to last a couple of years.

When you hear the words in your head “I quit” and you start to say them out loud (to yourself), you start to imagine what it would be like to actually just do it. So many people get to this early stage but instead of taking action, suppress their feelings and let ‘reasoning’ kick in – “I can’t just quit”. Nonsense – even if you don’t go the whole way, there are things you can do to improve your working experience (work part-time, work from home, take on different responsibilities etc). Googling “I quit stories” every day at work is a sign that you are half way there already!

My partner is successful in her sales and marketing job and her company had spoken about a relocation program that came with a promotion. Nothing firm but absolutely good enough a reason for me to leave.

In my contract, I only have to give a week notice (in my industry, you can be asked to leave on the spot) so I was really scared that I would be given my marching orders there and then…

But why was I scared?  I had given a lot to my job and my boss knew that.

I was afraid of what his reaction would be—Anger? Sadness? Disappointment?

But why was I afraid? We are on the same level as human beings.

If my company folded, the roles would be reversed and they would hold all the cards. I was doing him a favor by being honest and open – I did not have another job lined up (especially not one with a client or competitor).

So I planned my script, I read it out loud, I ran through it in my head a million times and with confidence (not) I pulled my boss aside to explain my medium term goals and that I would have to give notice. It didn’t quite come out that way – I burst into tears halfway through my first sentence! I gathered myself and the meeting went really well. It was unwelcome news but delivered in a welcome fashion.

He asked me to work a three-month notice period and I agreed. I even get to hire my replacement.

One of the reasons that I converted my desire to quit into actual action was the discovery of many like-minded bloggers and article writers on the internet. They gave me inspiration to do their stories justice and to follow in their footsteps.

I have started my own blogging site which will feature articles on employment issues, employment advice and inspiring stories. This can be found at http://workforworkssake.com

David did it, and now it’s your turn to EXPLORE. DREAM & DISCOVER  the life that is waiting for you.  It doesn’t matter where you live in the world, RE-THINK how you work, why you work and who you work for. Your Purpose is waiting on you to have the courgage to discover it; but sometimes you have to sail away from the safe harbor of the known port for the unknown port in order to find your purpose…don’t be afraid…

Rise of The Creative Class

Call it what you want; the gig economy, the freelance nation, the creative class; IT is here.

 You don’t have to call yourself an artist…that might seem extreme to some…just call yourself a “maker”.  A “maker” of something. It doesn’t have to be perfect…maybe it’s just to enlarge your soul…or maybe it’s the start of YOUR gig in the gig economy.    

Action: This week “Make” Something.

Sailing...You Gotta Leave The Port

Is This How Your Sailboat Looks?

Below is a career planning model  that looks at our life’s work as a journey traveled in a sailboat. Even though there are many factors to consider when making decisions about our life’s work, the main point is to KEEP MOVING…get in the water…sail…

 Career Sailboat Model and what it means:

Career Sailboat Model (Korkut-Owen et al. 2010)

1. Personal Factors are your individual interest, skills and values –  it is the body of the sailboat

2. Social Factors such as the family you grew up in, your gender,or  your race – it is one of the Sails

3. Systematic Factors are economic, legal and educational systems – this is the other Sail

4. Chance –  Unexpected incidents in your life, such as health issues – this is the waves and the wind  (these are the uncontrollable and unpredictable things that can take you OFF of your intended course – “CHANCE” is another word for FEAR or DOUBT or UNCERTAINTY…i.e. the reason we stay stuck (safe) at a port we should have LONG since left.)

Yes, life planning is COMPLEX but we CAN NOT stay stuck at a port. That port could be a particular  job, a profession you fell into, a business venture that is not working out, living in a city you want to leave, continuing to work when you could retire, chilling in retirement, or sticking with a business partner…WE MIGHT NEED TO PULL OUT OF THAT PORT and start sailing away…to ANOTHER port.

What exactly is “Just Quit” all about? NOT staying stuck at a port that you need to pull out of.  It’s just that most of us have always set our sailboats for another “job port”;  but the jobs aren’t there like they used to be. Then we get all confused about where the next port is located, because we can’t see it….and that confusion keeps us stuck and our sailboats docked.  

There is a port that is WAITING for you, but maybe you CAN’T see it while docked at the port you are at.

Sometimes in life you have to: 1. Prepare your boat (this might take a while)  and 2. Set Sail…BEFORE that port will appear.

You’ll KNOW when this calling happens to you. It’s when you TRUST the wind and waves (spirit) to take you where you’re suppose to go (despite the social and systematic factors that have been holding you back). Don’t be afraid. Have COURAGE. Courage is the price that life extracts.

 

If you’ve never gone sailing…you should go…it’s freeing.  I’ve come to realize that sailing has significance to me. From loving this song in High School… to going sailing as a parting gift from a CEO of a company that I worked at…to coming across this little known  Turkish career planning model…connecting the dots…

Let the wind and the waves carry you too…Don’t give up on yourself or your potential…there is something special that you and only you have been born to do….doesn’t matter how old you are…keep sailing towards that thing…