Now this is not an education reform article, but rather a focus on career and, more specifically, career change. But in choosing a career or choosing a new career, in most cases the person has not had the extensive prelim work done to ensure the best career to client match. Rarely has the person seeking a career or career change been asked the proper questions letting existing personal knowledge and understanding do the talking. Usually a counselor, adviser, or consultant will use his or her knowledge and experience to basically tell the person where he needs to be.

It’s kind of like those career placement tests that tell you, you should be a social worker while inside you’ve been dreaming for years of being a movie director. And what often happens is that in our youth we are swayed by those we perceive to be “more experienced,” only to find out five or ten years down the road after developing a greater sense of self that we should have gone with our original desire in the first place and spend years getting back to where we should have been from the start.

But there are other distractions. Unfortunately, the majority of people get waylaid by exclusive focus on money, prestige, satisfying parental desires, and so forth. It takes a brave and dedicated individual to follow her true desires, to take an honest, hard, cold look in the mirror to discover best how to use her abilities, talents, and gifts. There has even been many a successful person who in the midst of great success feels empty and desires change all because of being more true to the ideals of others or the general ideals perpetuated by society.

The cause? Not enough work on discovering the many tangibles and intangibles of self that will aid the individual in not only being successful monetarily but to discover fulfillment and joy emotionally and spiritually even.

So how is this done?

Well, few know because even though it is that which should be done early and often it’s usually not until years later-five to ten years, or in some cases even more-before the money, prestige and keeping parents happy can no longer hold one back from a dire need to fulfill dreams.

In actuality, it’s a rather straight forward process, and I am often surprised to discover the number of intelligent, well-educated individuals who’ve never discovered their sole purpose. And if you don’t think you have one, think again.

Of course for many there are those immature desires. I can remember desiring to be a basketball or sports star and then a famous actor, but they didn’t happen. And it’s not that I couldn’t have excelled at either, for I was always one of the best on the court and my ability to entertain was a strength too (as a matter of fact, I performed for over five years doing standup in Boston and Los Angeles). However, I knew that my real calling in life lie elsewhere. And when I found it, it was like coming home. It will be the same for you. You may not recognize it right away or feel like home right away, but with the proper prompting and work and encouragement it eventually will.

So what needs to be done to discover that career that life’s calling that’s been there from the beginning? Because the process is rather involved, I will only give a brief summary here.

First, you must look at all important areas of your life. Some examples are health, family, physical environment, money, career, friends and family, romance / significant other, fun and recreation. If you don’t look at your life as a whole in deciding career, you will more than likely career change and career transition until the cows come home.

But there’s more.

Now you must research your talents, abilities, gifts to determine where and how you will make your money. You will not know specifically up front, but that’s OK. As the successful say, shoot and then aim. You will have a general understanding of where you’ll be going but only by following the path on a daily, monthly, yearly bases, even, will a specific understanding of ultimate achievement come to fruition or reveal itself. There is no other way.

Next, you must look at character. We all have character flaws that need to be addressed. Remember that success can come because of your talents and gifts, but just look at the news headlines of the many mighty successful who have fallen and fallen hard and you’ll see why character is critical. As a matter of fact, no amount of talent, ability, knowledge, or gifts can compensate for the self-sabotaging of poor character.

Finally, you must study and know inside and out all the critical success principles: how to work well with others, tolerance of others and ideas, creativity, honor and self-accountability, self-control, succeeding through failure, and so on. Without a thorough understanding here, you are limited . . . in the extreme.

Well, I’m excited. I hope you are too. I always get excited or passionate about what I love. You will too. We all need a passion career. Let me help you build yours.

Here’s to your success.

But what’s interesting here is that so many leave it up to chance or a whim as to what they’ll do with the rest of their life to not only bring in the money to survive but to select a career that will bring fulfillment. And it’s not entirely the fault of the individual. There are few and far between systems that are objective, thorough and well thought out enough to help people in the long run.

So how can you make a decision that you will know is the right one beyond a shadow of a doubt?

Well, the answer has to come from the source, doesn’t it? It needs to come from within. However, the problem is that the majority of people don’t know how to do this or feel it’s not possible so they go to supposed “experts” to find the answer. But what’s this like? Well, in most cases, you sit there and listen as a counselor or therapist dispenses the “correct knowledge.” Then, you take it in, go home and apply their “decision” with little or insufficient self-reflection. Or, worse yet, you take a test that tells you what you should be doing for the rest of your life. If you’re comfortable with a piece of paper telling you what to do in this regards, so be it. However, most are not if they ponder thruthfully over a long enough period of time.

So, what’s a poor person trying to discover how to choose a career or one who’s working hard at finding the right career supposed to do?

You go to someone who knows how to work the answers out of you.

What’s that you say? Yes, there’s no job personality test or employment personality test that can get to the answers like a real human being can. But this person, or coach, is not there to “tell” but rather to “listen.” The career coach, success coach, or life coach is one who works as an equal in a co-active environment using open-ended questions (those that do not lead or judge in any way) to pull from the client deep ceded answers that may have been lying dormant for years if not decades.

It is the coach’s responsibility to listen intuitively to the answers given not to judge or even necessarily to guide but to determine where to go next as the client discovers for himself / herself answers that appear quite familiar but have lied dormant for many a year.Or they have been buried by doubt or need to appease those who tell them that their dreams and desires are not “sufficient.”

For example, a former student of mine (I also teach composition / writing) approached me one day and said, “You know, when I try to write this assignment, I can’t do it with an objective voice. For some reason, my writing always comes out subjective or personal. Why’s that?” I said, “Well, either you’ve got a problem you want to solve or you’re a writer.” She looked up in amazement saying, “You know, that’s always been my first love, writing. But I’ve put it on the back burner and I think I’ve suffered because of it.” We talked a little bit more and she soon came to the conclusion for herself that she better get back to writing or the consequences may get worse.

This is the key. The answers lie within. No one’s going to tell you better than you what you need to do with your life. However, it’s more complex than that. It takes some focused effort and assistance to pull out the answers. You need to go into detail the various areas of your life (career, family, health, finances, etc.) and discover what’s important to you and then match this with your specific talents, abilities, desires, and gifts.

But the work is not done. Once you discover what it is that you want to do with your life, that which is going to set your life on fire, then you need to develop a plan and stick to it. And in the process you will have to overcome character flaws that we all have that can sabotage a career quicker than you can say “success” while at the same time learning critical success principles that will help you pull it all together.

If you’re ready and are serious about making the most of your life and finding that path that is truly you, one that you can get excited to wake up to every morning, then you owe it to yourself to set sail on that path today.

Here’s to your success.

And even though that may mean a lot of work and struggle, we owe it to those who sacrificed their lives to the maintaining of this freest of countries to not only seek the greatest for ourselves but that which translates into doing the greatest for the greatest number we may touch in our lifetimes. But back to the topic at hand.

Time and time and time and time again, I see students picking a major with about as much thought as they put into choosing a flavor for their ice cream cone. Often they go from one flavor to the next before during and, unfortunately, even after college (choosing a major), or that which they’ll be doing HALF their lifetime waking hours, like it’s about as important as what they’ll put into a cone for a simple treat.

So what exactly is this SuccessType Learning Style Type stuff all about? Before we get into the specifics, let’s take a look at a beak down of the various types:

Extravert (E): “How do you recharge your battery?” People in this category pay attention to people and things around them. As learners they:

Learn best when actively involved.

Like to learn with others

Like background noise while working / studying

Desire to discuss things with others to problem solve

Introvert (I): These people pay attention to the world inside their heads. They pay close attention to their thoughts, feelings and ideas. They draw energy from these inner experiences. As learners they:

Learn best by pausing to think

Like to work or study alone

Believe they aren’t good public speakers

Need to think in quiet

Need to be given clear instruction to work on assignment / task

Sensing (S): What kind of information do you rely on? People who are sensors become aware of things that are real through their senses: sound, touch, taste, feel, and smell. They are focused on the here and now. As learners they:

Look for specific information

Memorize facts

Follow instructions

Like hand-on experience

Desire to be given clear instructions on assignments / tasks

Intuition (N): People who trust their intuition or sixth sense, look for patterns, possibilities, and the big picture. As learners they:

Look for quick insights

Like theories and abstract thinking

Read between the lines

Create their own directions

Desire to be encouraged to think independently

Thinking (T): People who like to make decisions objectively using logic, principles, and analysis. They weigh evidence in a detached manner. As learners they: :

Use logic to guide their learning

Like to critique ideas

Learn through challenge and debate

Can find flaws in an argument

Want material / info. presented logically

Feeling (F): People who value harmony and focus on what is important to them or others when they make decisions. As learners they:

Want information to apply to them personally

Like to please their teachers

Find value or good in things

Learn when they are supported or appreciated

Want to establish report with others

Judging (J): People who are judgers like to make quick decisions, settle things, and organize their worlds. As learners they:

Like more formal class structure

Plan their work in advance

Work steadily toward their goals

Like to be in school

Desire people they work with to be organized

Perceiving (P): People woo are perceiving want to adapt to the world around them. They don’t like to close off options; instead they’d rather experience whatever comes up. As learners, they:

Like informal learning situations

Enjoy spontaneity

Stay open to new information

Work in energy bursts

Want learning situations to be entertaining and inspiring

If you’d like to know your LearningStyle Type, go here SuccessTypes Learning Style Type Test Go ahead, I’ll wait ;o)

So you’re back, did you discover your four letter profile? Are you an ESFP? An ESTP? An INTJ?

Keep in mind that this test is not scientifically reliable. The test illustrates a type; it doesn’t prove it. The type is a place to begin, and as you progress, your type can be altered. But it all begins with awareness of what you had as strengths when you came into this world or at least have developed as strengths to this point in your life. More about the test.

The test makes you choose between opposites. This is because theoretically you can’t simultaneously prefer two opposite things at once. This does not mean that you’ll never choose the other under varying circumstances; it means this is your preference most of the time.

Any Myers-Briggs type instrument (Yes, like the SuccessTypes Learning Style Type) answers four basic questions about you:

1. What energizes you and where do you direct energy? E or I

2. How do you gather information and what kind of information do you trust? S or N

3. How do you make decisions, arrive at conclusions, and make judgments? T or F

4. How do you relate to the outer world? J or P

It all begins with awareness. Most students have little clue as to who they are in regards to where they should spend one-third of their lives. And as you become aware of preference, you can then choose to add to your tool box those attributes you desire or need to improve your chance of success in many areas of life.

All success in life begins with awareness. Who are you? Why do you do what you do? Why do you think what you think when you think it? And so on. But a point to remember is that you may have a preference for something but that doesn’t mean you can’t add or subtract to your preferences. Or just plain old change who you are, really. Back to the issue at hand.

You may by nature have a propensity toward EITJ or Extravert, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging learner. However, you may find that in order to accomplish a particular job or task you need certain skills that a Sensor has: memorize facts, follow instructions. Or maybe what a Feeler has: find value or good in things. Or possibly a Perceiver: spontaneity, openness to new information.

You certainly want to work the majority of time in a field or job that utilizes your natural learning style, but in order to achieve you may just have to learn certain skills, attitudes, or knowledge that don’t come naturally to you. After all, we are human and prone to adaptability. But at the same time you don’t want to begin with adapting but rather what’s natural and go to adapting.

Bottom line, the more you know about you and how you operate, the more you’ll have a chance of achieving something great in your life. And here great doesn’t necessarily mean power, fame, and fortune, but find that which optimizes your strengths, abilities, gifts, talents, and desires. And to the end of being greater, greatest use to those you love and come in touch with every day.

But really, you’re choice. You don’t have to find the greatest joy and satisfaction you could imagine in your life. Yes, it’s all up to you.

Here’s to your success.

The real problem lies in the economy. What with a marked rise in the cost of living, an alarming increase in divorce creating the need for dual-household income, outsourcing, multinationals that are richer than most countries creating CEOs that earn 1500% more than their generational predecessors, and so on. It’s just gotten downright ugly.

It used to be that with one job you could buy a house, a couple cars, and provide the essentials for your family. Now with both parents working in 70% of U.S. homes, it still doesn’t provide financial security. Like the get-a-college-degree-job-security myth that many still feed in to, even with both parents working the safety-in-numbers myth provides little security as well.

Why?

Consider this, the top three reasons why there are over two million foreclosures in the U.S. are divorce, job loss, and illness. Regardless that it was a 40-year low in interest rates that got most there, outside of this there lies another, more deep-seeded problem. One income cannot do it anymore. Even two are struggling to get by. Here’s a sobering report from Elizabeth Warren, author of “The Middle Class on the Precipice” (Harvard Magazine, Jan. / Feb 2006).

“By 2004, the family budget looks very different. As noted earlier, although a man is making nearly $800 less than his counterpart a generation ago, his wife’s paycheck brings the family to a combined income that is $73,770-a 75 percent increase. But higher expenses have more than eroded that apparent financial advantage. Their annual mortgage payments are more than $10,500. If they have a child in elementary school who goes to daycare after school and in the summers, the family will spend $5,660. If their second child is a preschooler, the cost is even higher-$6,920 a year. With both people in the workforce, the family spends more than $8,000 a year on its two vehicles. Health insurance costs the family $1,970, and taxes now take 30 percent [ it's actually 42 to 50%] of its money. The bottom line: today’s median-earning, median-spending middle-class family sends two people into the workforce, but at the end of the day they have about $1,500 less for discretionary spending than their one-income counterparts of a generation ago.”

More and more middle-class citizens are falling into the lower class, many by way of foreclosure. I was watching the news last night with my wife at a friend’s house. A man and woman had just lost their home and were sitting outside their new trailer home with transplanted lawn jockey, pots, and planters. Through teared-up sobs, the man explained how disheartening it was to work so hard for a dream only to see it lost with little chance of recovery.

What is the solution? Well, instead of going to a job factory (university / college) to learn a craft or skill only to end up working for the government (40 to 50% taken in taxes), banks, and credit card companies (average American owes $10,000) our students should be learning about finances, more specifically, how to own a business and invest.

Time and time and time again, I have gone to wealth seminars and heard former mortgage brokers, insurance agents, Kentucky Fried Chicken managers, teachers, the homeless (sometime the same–I know!), talk about dire times, skimming for nickels and dimes in the change jar to pay for groceries. It is a sad state of affairs, and some, like Hillary, feel that the government needs to do something about it. Well, if you know how the government moves, I’m not waiting. So what do we do?

Instead of working for a company, one which tells you when to come, when to go, how much your worth, and whether or not you’ll be working; instead of never even seeing 45% of your income; instead of being caught in the education matrix; instead of relying on the pain of scrimp and save to no safe solution; the only alternative is to let your money and the government work for you. Here’s how.

Consider the following trend. Most micro-business owners represent:

99% of all employers

50% of all employees

44% of all payroll dollars

70% of all net new jobs

Today, one out of six people that you meet are taking matters into their own hands and have joined the ranks of the “better-off,” if not secure.

If you want to get your taxes down to single digits, start a business. It can even be a part-time online business selling knitting techniques. Really! The tax write offs alone are worth it. Here’s a few examples:

Home Office Deduction: You no longer have any non-deductible commute. All of your mileage is now business related.

Pay your child up to $5000 to help you run your business and pay no taxes (fica, fed., state) and get $2500 back from Uncle Sam.

Convert other medical expenses from itemized deductions to business expenses. Convert limited health insurance deductions into fully deductible business expenses. You save not only on federal income taxes but reduce self employment taxes as well. Save up to 45% by deducting payments that you are already making.

For retirement, up to $45,000 / year can be deferred. Invest in your future and the IRS will reward you with lower taxes.

Why let your Bad Uncle take your money when your Good Uncle is only a business idea away?

How else can you win the money game? Real estate . The government wants you to do two things: start a business to create jobs and feed the economy and to provide affordable housing. And you don’t have to be “The Don” when it comes to real estate. But keep in mind that 7 out of 10 millionaires own real estate. It’s the safest and most profitable way to make passive or leveraged income. And by the way, the government is dying to give away money, provide the down payment, even forgive loans (yes, there are forgivable loans that don’t have to be paid back; hell, they’re forgiven!).

Need a home? Here’s a possibility. Try the 203 (b). It’s the purchase of a four-plex, where you move in to manage for a year before selling or keeping as an investment. And the good part? You live for free as you build equity.

Bottom line, the government wants you to help out, and if you do, they’ll help you, in a big way . There’s many ways of getting ahead. The limit is only in your ability to imagine.

So even though there’s a lot of bad news out there (foreclosures, job loss, cost of living increase), if you keep your eyes open there’s always a way out. With a little shift in thinking, a willingness to change, you can not only get back on top but rise higher than before. Good luck and God bless.

As I referred to above, there’s a lot here, 512 pages of a lot. And if you’re like most people who buy a book and don’t get past page 20 (an actual statistic based on how far the average book buyer gets on their purchase) then you’re better off getting Covey’s book and only missing out on 364 pages not 492 (for you non-math majors, that means Covey’s book has 384 pgs, Jack’s, of course, 512). In business that’s a better ROI (return on investment), and that’s who this book is geared toward–the business elite. Did you think Canfield, he of the massively marketed Chicken Soup for the Soul series (be sure to get Chicken Soup for the NASCAR– and Golf Lover’s Soul; and don’t forget your t-shirt, mug, and coffee cozy–they’re rad!) would merely market to the common man? Of course he does, but he’s really looking for that big ticket item. Why do you ask? Read on.

There are certain things you can and can not do if you don’t have money–you low ticket item customers. First, you can work, and do a lot of it, for you need to pay the bills, feed the kids, and catch up on your 4 hours of television (average American watches 4 hours a day–hmmmm does great success come with that side order of American Idol? Oh, don’t forget to get your Chicken Soup for the American Idol Lover’s Soul). Second, you can’t do some of the things Canfield suggests because of time and money restraints. He says (and keep in mind that those he’s talking to a great degree of the time are business owners) that if you aren’t being productive hire someone else to do the stuff that’s getting in the way of you being productive. Well, if you’re a mom or dad who is working, just getting by (like 75% of Americans), where do you get the money to do this? And even if your time is freed up, who takes care of the kids? Well, there’s some more money to spend.

I may be harsh on Jack here, but maybe amongst all those millions he’s made selling soup books, he’s forgotten how the common man and woman lives. And there’s also the fact that not much research has been done on self-help techniques and their effectiveness. Forbes Magazine tells us that little if any at all has been done. But don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of principles in here that are useful and empowering but the impractical may just outweigh the practical.

Canfield talks about visualizing and positive-thinking exercises but these are only aids not cure alls. The majority of those who are successful are so because of downright hard work outside of the dream world. And Canfield’s “take 100% responsibility for your life” principle is a bit much. Am I to believe that it was my fault the guy on the 405 hit me? even though I didn’t see him? That I got laid off from my engineering job because I wasn’t in greater control of keeping the Cold War alive so I could build some more defense stuff? Who exactly is he talking to? What of those people who are at a disadvantage due to race or socioeconomic conditions, or inherent abuse (the thousands who grow up in abusive homes.) Certainly these disadvantages can eventually be overcome, and maybe through using Canfield’s principles, but he leaves more out of the picture than he includes by not qualifying or specifying who would immediately be able to take advantage of all these great principles.

Jeff Brown
SearchWarp.com
Top 100 Author

Check out Jeff’s work at AuthorsDen.com

Where authors and readers come together!

But maybe that type of realistic thinking just doesn’t sell books. I guess the best way to sort all this out is to take a survey some years down the road as to how many have achieved success after reading Canfields’ book, or maybe a better question is how many even remember reading the book? There’s one for ya! Chicken Soup for the I Forgot Every Principle Lover’s Soul.

Do you lack energy, enthusiasm, desire? Do you have difficulty sleeping? Getting up for work? Lack desire to be with family, spouse, friends? Now some of these symptoms may be related to disease. And there is a belief that depression can result in physical disease, but this is not my area of expertise. But if you are relatively healthy, you’ve gone to regular doctor visits and you check out OK, but you still have symptoms of depression, lack of energy and enthusiasm, it is more than likely that your problems are motivational. Tony Robbins says that there are no lazy people, they simply have impotent goals. Put more simply, they are not doing what excites them. If boredom reigns in you life, get busy. But maybe you’ve been suppressing your desires for so long it is going to take some work to pull out the answer.

What is the best technique to use? Simple and short. Writing. You need a journal. If you are not used to self-examination, then you need to get a journal and practice opening up to the intuitive / creative voice within you. It is the subconscious voice or the subconscious you that has your answers. Major point here is that you are going to find out for yourself what it is that you want to do.

Here’s a case in point. I had a student come to me one day complaining that no matter how hard she tried to be objective in her writing she always found herself putting in her ten cents, so to speak. She just couldn’t keep herself from putting her subjective stories in to support what she was saying. The assignment called for a more objective approach but no matter what she just couldn’t maintain her objectivity.

I asked her if she kept a journal. She said no. I said, well, for your mental health, I suggest that you do. There is obviously something that you have to work out. If you have a continual desire to express yourself, you either have a problem to work out or you’re a writer incognito.

She confessed that she used to write all the time and loves to write but found it impractical. I told her that she better get writing. It is your core genius. If you are that motivated to write, that obsessed with writing, you are a writer. Exactly what you are going to do with it, I don’t know. But I do know that you have to write and as you do so on a consistent basis, you will discover what it is that you need to do with your writing.

I had a similar experience. After working in the computer field for several years, and then the entertainment field, I knew that I was at an impasse. But after a fashion, I knew through brainstorming or free-writing what my plan was: I would get my BA and MA in English, teach for six years or so, learn, gain extensive experience speaking, and then move into a private entity as an info-preneur. And as I sit and write this article, something that I had gotten away from for some time (writing that is), I find my energy increasing, my focus and sharpness of mind excelling. Mental sharpness is a key feature of those who are following their path. Interesting that I read today on the AP wire that elderly people who see themselves as self-disciplined, organized achievers have a lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease than people who are less conscientious. Why? Universal law. You were put here to do certain things. You were also put here to get off the sofa and do things, period-and, may I add, mostly for other people. There are rewards just for doing something, even those things that don’t promote your core genius, so imagine the physical, emotional, intellectual, psychological, spiritual benefits of doing that which you came here to do. And everybody, everybody, has their talent.

You know mine. My wife’s is interior decorating. She’ll see something in the store and instantly knows where it will fit into the house. She spotted a painting one time and when we got it home I put it on the wall and it amazed me how the colors in the painting matched with the surroundings. My older son is a mechanical genius. My daughter is a bookworm like her father. Our youngest Michael, who barely speaks, is going to be a politician or a lawyer. During activities at our church everyone young and old is asking, where’s Michael? Where’s Michael? One day we went to Universal Studios and my wife and I were waiting for the kids to get soaked on the Jurassic Park ride as Michael introduced himself to the people around him, just going up to tables sitting down next to whoever and socializing. He can’t talk yet, but that didn’t stop him from holding a young ladies hand for ten minutes. Quite the flirt.

But getting back to the issue at hand, you do have a talent. And some people complain that they’ve looked and they’ve looked and they’ve looked but to no avail. Well, I say, you are probably looking past, over, below or around it. It is there, you just need to think more simply. What do you like to do? How do you find this out? Let’s look into it.

Journaling

One of the best ways to discover or uncover is to journal. Unfortunately, most people have gotten away form writing. Years ago, before the glut on the market of entertainment related devices (Xbox, Game Cube, Internet, iPod, PCs, MP3 players, cell phones, email), people actually sat down and wrote each other. In junior high, I remember writing to a friend who had moved to the next state. I also wrote funny stories to entertain my friends. I wrote ideas and notes down of things I needed to do, wanted to remember, and was looking forward to. But writing is a lost art. I have seen major evidence of this over the seven-plus years I taught at the college / university level. But let’s get to what journaling can do for you.

One of the major features of journaling is its ability to pull from you information, wisdom, thoughts you never knew you had or had forgotten that are recalled just at the right time to help solve an issue.

I have yet to pin down why writing is so important to self-understanding or why it is the best way to problem solve or discover insight. It may have to do with our limitations more than anything else. Since we are such forgetful beings and have a difficult time retaining, processing, and recalling information, the best thing for us is to simply write it down. Write it down so we don’t forget what we’ve just discovered, and write it down so that we can go back and look at where our problems lie, enabling us to compare and contrast to fix ongoing issues.

But one of the greatest attributes of writing is that it enables us to create a direct path to that intuitive voice, the subconscious mind, the sixth sense, the divine, if you will. Here is where we find oftentimes priceless gems of knowledge and understanding that would probably stay hidden if we didn’t write.

It stays hidden because people are looking at life with myopic eyeglasses. They aren’t seeing the forest for the trees. The major reason being that they don’t study enough of what is going on around them. In order to truly see what’s going on, you have to read, study, think, contemplate, write or journal, just generally keep the mind active and nimble. Like your belly, it gets soft with inactivity. One of the best things you can do is write on a daily basis. Writing enables one to call forth hidden wisdom, forgotten facts that create insights that are powerful and priceless. Let me give you a few examples of what this journaling can do for you.

I know of a man who was having a normal life working as a computer programmer, going to work, raising a family, enjoying his work and leisure time. However, one day his life was turned upside down, as often happens to us humans (It happens so often that it should not be a surprise to us-maybe add this to our early education as well). He contracted MS. He did the usual in attempting to work with the mental / emotional aspect of the disease. He spoke to doctors. He spoke to family and friends. This helped to a degree but he needed more help than they could provide. So where did he go? To paper and pen. He realized that only by examining his thoughts on his own could he reach needed understanding. As he wrote, he began to have insights and understandings that were specific to his plight. Understandings others and even he could not have come up with.

“What?” You ask. “Not even him? But isn’t he writing here?”

Yes, but as I’ve stated before, it is the subconscious, intuitive / creative voice that taps into submerged solutions, understandings, forgotten facts and connections that only come forth when we allow ourselves to think freely and intuitively. Subsequent chapters will help you free yourself up, let go of counterproductive thoughts and habits locking up great personal discovery. Not sure if you’ve ever heard the old sixties saying, “Free you mind and your ass will follow.” Well, hopefully we’ll get a lot more than rear end feed up. Let’s get back to the example.

This man began to discover ways of dealing with his disease that no one else was coming up with, solutions that worked specifically for him-his unique situation. He began recording how he was feeling at his worst times. For instance, at one point, he began writing down how often he was waking up at night, and what he was feeling, and passed that information on to his doctor who was able to tailor preventative solutions based on this information. The man even went back to writing poetry, something that he hadn’t done in years, to discover insight and calm that he said would have never happened if he hadn’t gotten sick-the sickness forcing him to write again.

I know from personal experience that it has been the times I’ve spent alone, feeling down and desperate, sad and destitute, that have not only motivated me to seek out a better life but has helped me to see the significance of this better life and to appreciate it for all the joy and reward it brings. The result? Greater insight, understanding, compassion for others who suffer the same plight, and strength, coming from overcoming such difficulties and tragedies.

People often complain about their difficulties, curse God for their bad luck, but they never look to the light at the underbelly of tragedy and failure. Without these downtimes, how do we ever know success? There is no one who has ever succeeded who hasn’t known failure. And that is good, for how can you succeed without it? If failure did not exist, and you only knew success, how would you know your were successful? If you were always healthy and never got sick, how could you know health?

This is old news, philosophy that has been around for ages. The Taoist speaks of it in the ying / yang: hot / cold, light / darkness, health / sickness, pleasure / pain. If we didn’t have these pairs then we would not know the good or the bad. It is the way this world is set up. For our benefit.

By keeping our minds open, we are able to see things we would not normally be able to see. Important things.

Here’s another example. A woman was concerned about a defect in her child’s head. She had gone to a couple of experts who said that everything was fine, that the child would grow out of it. Nevertheless, she continued to worry and seek out experts. She just knew something was wrong.

Point of note: good example here of not listening to others or blindly following the crowd. How many less informed mothers or mothers with weaker intuition would have accepted these expert’s opinions?

She decided that in order to work out this problem she would journal. She, like the man with MS, had gone to experts, family and friends for advice but she knew that she hadn’t found what she was looking for. So she began to write.

In writing, she discovered an un-opinionated, neutral partner in her pen and paper. But she was not alone. She knew that there was another presence working with her. She could feel it as she came to greater understanding of what she should do. Seek out additional experts. She did.

Some time later she came upon a doctor who was working on a new disease of the bone, specifically related to children. She brought her child in. After the doctor examined the child, he suggested that they not delay and operate as soon as possible.

After the operation both the doctor and mother were satisfied with the result, the doctor telling the mother that if she had delayed the child might not have survived. The mother was also satisfied with the information and insight that she received from her journal, not only because she had saved her child but she had come to a great understanding through writing how to best deal with a highly charged emotional situation-a situation no one else was able to remedy to the mother’s satisfaction.

Journaling, writing, keeping a diary, any form of jotting down one’s ideas in a quiet place on a regular basis is fundamental to tapping into and maximizing one’s ability to be successful in most if not all areas of life.

Jeff Brown has been writing for over thirty years. He is an astute observer of the human condition and has overcome many personal development challengs by applying the principles he speaks of to his own life. His current novel Black Body Radiation and the Ultraviolet Catastrophe can be found at Amazon.com His newest book, Give and Grow Yourself Rich will be out in early 2008.

First, to set the stage, let’s start by saying that most believe education to be critical. Education here meaning high school since it is compulsory and everyone is required to attend. But specifically the content of the “education” spoken to by the majority is quite different from what is essential to survive in today’s competitive world. (More on this later.) Nevertheless, the popular content of the general high school curriculum those in the media, political and public arenas speak of entails arithmetic, science, language, phys ed, history, and English.

And most have been conditioned to believe that this type of education is necessary or critical or that a child without a high school education and, in most cases today, a college education limits the average child’s chance for success in the job market. And this is true to a degree but less so than most believe. But to continue our definition, it should be pointed out here that education gained usually translates to “job,” meaning that the belief is that high school and / or college are preparing the student for her life’s work. But this is not true and our youth are being shortchanged. For after twelve maybe sixteen years of education, then what? Education stops because institutional education is complete?

Today such thinking is disastrous, for with the opening of the global job market and greater competition–therefore the greater creative destruction of capitalism–one needs to be on the ball and constantly updating skills, even deleting and re-learning new skills, a situation that requires less of educational standards and a greater understanding of the critical need for developing one’s self-education skills that readies one for the great changes ahead–not only numerous jobs but careers that are sure to come. Never before has it been more critical for students and workers to understand the need to keep one’s skills, attitudes, and knowledge in tip-top shape, up to date and forever expanding.

And of course, as I’ve mentioned before numerous times-but bears repeating-high school grads and even college grads are lacking fundamental skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are more critical today than ever before: self-educating skills (as mentioned), critical and intuitive thinking, financial IQ, honesty, integrity, work ethic, success principles (upwards of 64 of them!), ability to work well with others, public speaking / leadership skills, and so much more.

Why are these intangibles, these often over looked skills, knowledge, and attitudes so important? Well, it is just the foundation of these very intangibles-which are rarely addressed in education-that will keep the average graduate on solid footing in regards to the many career changes guaranteed to come. After all this is, as Allen Greenspan states, the age of turbulence. The new grad must be adaptive, focused, work ready, and basically a company of one, ready and able to adapt as change occurs on the job, in the world national and international, and in ever changing career shifts. How market ready are you? How valuable and adaptive are your insights, skills, and attitudes? No longer can one rely on just one degree, skill, or job to see them through to retirement and its pension (by the way, pensions will have nearly evaporated by the time those who are just entering the work force have retired if current trends continue–they already are weakened and dissappearing).

This now brings us to the current state of education and belief that a standard high school education is necessary. Let’s bear down on the point at hand.

We often hear that schools are doing poorly or doing well in regards to testing and grades in the standard disciplines mentioned above–math, science, English, etc.. And it is generally taken for granted that we need these courses and that our children will benefit by taking them. However, how do we know this? What tangible evidence, research and verification tells us that what our children study is benefiting them five, ten, twenty years down the road?

As far as I know, there is none. To ensure that an education is critical it first must have value for the consumer, for if it holds none its hold on the consumer will be short lived. If we looked at the truth, we will find that not only are most not using that which they’ve learned in school and even college but they have little to no desire to retain it in the first place. Here are a few direct quotes from current and former students of mine.

“Got labs today. Can’t wait to purge this junk once the test is over.”

“Dude, that class is a joke. Do what we all do. Get the grade, dump the junk, and get on with your life.”

“Whoever thought we needed half this crap [knowledge gained from classes taken] should be shot, run over, then shot again.”

Some of these statements I’ve overheard or seen posted on various social media. (I’ve left out  the numerous comments that have an “R” rating or higher.) The point being that there’s a lot of precious “knowledge” out there that has little value for many in high school and college.

Why is this allowed to happen in the first place?

Well, most education is not for profit, meaning that if it were there would be a lot of asking of the customer what she likes and doesn’t like, as well as what is useful and not useful to not only retain  customers but to encourage them to come back. There’s little if any of that concern in education at any level. For emphasis, just consider where you get optimum service, at the DMV, US Post Office, or INS? Or maybe more so at Blockbusters, Wells Fargo, or Vons Supermarket? Yes, where the customer is king, in the private sector.

Most education is run by states and, therefore, talked about by those governing the country–those with short-term agendas to get elected or re-elected–not with the long-term picture in mind. And this bears out the point that most have little interest in or concern for what happens to grads after they’re gone and whether or not what they’ve studied is needed or necessary. Even schools and colleges are guilty of this offense. Have you ever been approached by your school or college with a survey to discern your consumer satisfaction? Then my question is, how do they have any idea that what they are doing is right? Good? Of merit or quality? Of need, even?
On top of it all, students attending school and college and their parents just take it for granted that authorities and governing bodies (regional accreditors that are academically oriented and not tied into the realities of the private sector) have selected curriculum that is appropriate for ever child’s needs, a ridiculous proposal at best. Does anyone ever question what they or their child is taking in school and / or college and how it specifically applies to them, their abilities, talents, character, skills, and desires? Trusting so much in governing bodies that do little to no checking to see if that which they are requiring students in schools and college is beneficial years later? If private companies were run like this they’d be out of business quicker than you could say “failed thinking.”

It is critical today more than ever before that consumers-students-understand thoroughly not only what education means, and its limitations, but what they need to ensure success not only in the workforce, but in their families, society, and spiritual life. There is so much that so many are missing out on with the current state of the education nation. It is in a sad state indeed and only its privatization or the seeking of a proper, thorough and adequate education by individuals in the know of what is needed will truly reform education. As consumers of education, we certainly need to be better trained in what we are receiving, what we need, and how to go about getting it.

According to Kathy Kristof, “Crushed by College,” the above attorneys were “victims of an unfolding education hoax on the middle class that’s just as insidious, and nearly as sweeping, as the housing debacle The ingredients are strikingly similar, too: Misguided easy-money policies that are encouraging the masses to go into debt; a self-serving establishment trading in half-truths that exaggerate the value of its product; plus a Wall Street money machine dabbling in outright fraud as it foists unaffordable debt on the most vulnerable marks” (Forbes, Feb 2, 2009).

There’s also the myth that if you go to college you make about $1 million more on average than a high school grad, once again, failed thinking. The belief is that it is college that is enabling the individual to make more money. Maybe it’s just that smart people go to college and are more likely to make more money than high school grads because of their smarts, and it has little to nothing to do with the degree. It’s failed cause effect thinking. There are many who have never gone to college or dropped out, like Bill Gates from Harvard, who don’t have a degree who are making cash hand over fist.

Even if you get a degree, there’s no promise that you’ll use it, need it, or that it will prepare you for the work you desire to take up. For example, I hear time and again that those who are now in business have little use for their business degree. Personally, I obtained a certificate in programming and had to get in at the entry level shuffling reports. I eventually got into programming, but I didn’t use any of the languages I learned and acquired all of my know-how on the job. Even my BA and MA in English did little to nothing to prepare me to teach grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and composition, all of which I learned on the job, once again. Interesting to note that an English major was not required to take even one grammar or composition class.

But there’s more to the story.

If you add the expense of going to college (tuition, fees, books, room & board: $46, 700 / yr. public schools; $99,000 yr. / private schools) what isn’t taken into consideration is that the “$1 million college over high school grad” advantage doesn’t kick in until the grad has been out of school twelve years or more (don’t forget to include the four years of college where no money is earned) before the loan is paid off.That is if you graduate (half entering college never do), don’t default on your loan (17% write offs), aren’t delinquent (upwards of 24%) and pay without interruption (many defer payments or file for hardships while interest continues to accrue).

On top of all this is the fact that private lenders add 10% “origination fees” onto 18% variable interest rates (there’s no legal limit). These private loans are now twice as profitable as government loans and has attracted financial institutions like Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.

The arm of abuse extends far, for according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office, investigations have discovered “troubling, deceptive and often illegal practices . . . involving lenders, educational institutions and financial aid officials.” So those “sacrosanct” college and university staff are not as many perceive them to be.

Another thing that colleges, universities, and other institutions of learning (for profit) don’t tell American Dream hopefuls is the reality of what their degree can actually get them. Often times, as stated above, the curriculum to job or reality match is not even close. Some students are preached to about the great paying jobs they’ll get only to discover that it is those with years of experience or a greater degree and years of struggle that has “ensured” said success.

Here’s another sobering factoid:

“One in four college grads takes home considerably less than the top quartile of high school grads, according to a College Board study” (Kathy Kristof, “Crushed by College”).

Also, if you’re thinking of taking the traditional path to “job security” and the American Dream through being a doctor and opening up your private practice, think again.

In a recent survey only 18% of physicians deemed their practices financially stable. What with liability, exorbitant student loan debt ($155,000 average which has jumped from 20% of their average pay to 60%) and the fact that the self-employed don’t get considerable tax breaks like business owners or investors, the American dream here has moved into nightmare territory.

One day at a McDonalds, my wife and I were sitting next to a nanny with two children. Speaking in Spanish, she told us that she worked for a couple with private practices. They worked from seven in the morning until seven in the evening seeing their children for an hour before putting them to bed and going to bed themselves.Why? To survive.

Another consideration is a single income stream and its overall disadvantage. Even if the employee happens to be a college grad who has optimized her income (some $30,000 / yr. over what high school grads make), what happens when that steam dries up in these economically challenging times? where cost of living to income ration is the worst it’s ever been for single income employees. Never before has it been so challenging just to pay the bills never mind put away a little money for a “rainy day.” If the employee can’t work any longer for whatever reason (health, business or industry collapse, competition), what is a single-stream income employee to do?

It’s old thinking, out-dated thinking, failed thinking, and most of all, dangerous thinking. Never before has it been so critical, so essential that the individual understand that he is responsible for his financial future and that financial IQ is one of the most important elements of his ongoing education.

The American Dream has changed along with the economy and few are aware. There needs to be an awakening to the facts that achievement of the American Dream through college and “job security” are things of the past and that people need to quickly get up to speed as to what needs to be done to survive financially through the working years into retirement. Little of what is needed relies on a college degree. Just ask the experienced. They’ll tell you the truth. No lie.

But if a child is to learn, spending at least the required twelve years in school in America, why this “education”?

For one, there are certain, as Allan Bloom believed, education standards required to enhance not only communication amongst a people but understanding. In addition, there is a certain level of significance to the fact that children must learn reading, writing, arithmetic, science, literature, history and such, for intellectual and vocational satisfaction. However, specifically what the depth and breadth of that knowledge should be is widely debated.

But there is more.

As we all know, there is quite a bit missing from education: for one, the heart and soul little touched.

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ~~ Aristotle

And imagination is given lip service in the arts (it should be used in all disciplines) but our students are little encouraged to fly, rather working to the test ingesting fact, theory, and formula.

“He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet.” ~~ Joseph Joubert

In addition to an under-stimulated imagination, we do little to encourage independent intuitive and critical thinking, the student marching on for the academic machine; or as one of my students claimed “To serve.”

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” ~~ Dorothy Parker

“To control and sort young people for the sake of institutional efficiency is to crush the human spirit.” ~~ Ron Miller

And little is done to encourage individual thinking that which comes through quite reflection and solitude, especially in a day-n-age of constant motion: texting, television, games, and chatting.

“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.” ~~ Albert Einstein

But I am here to tell you that even though all of these greater things are missing, the argument as to what of the lesser (fact, theory, formula) should be taught in school matters little.

But “Why?” you say. Because most of what is taught to the student is not only of little interest but most of it is never thought of or used again.

But there’s more.

As long as a child is exposed to a good variety of knowledge and, probably more importantly, an enthusiasm for gaining discipline and consistency in obtaining that knowledge, when the child obtains young adulthood she will, through proper training or happenstance (which unfortunately is most often the case), learn what she desires to end up doing the majority of her waking hours here on this earth. And from here she will take the necessary steps to seek satisfaction, if she is fortunate. Unfortunately, within 5 to 10 years after graduation, 70% of college grads are no longer working in a field related to their major. After all that which has been learned in high school has been forgotten and that which has been learned in college no longer of use to the majority, one can see the waste this so called “education” is.

The key issue here, as alluded to above, is that the student needs to know how to self-teach, for it is here and only here where most of her development will occur. (An inward understanding of desires, talents, abilities, and gifts is also necessary to waste less time working where one should not be, a critical point I have spoken to often). It is interesting to note that the majority of those seeking improvement from the mislabeled field of self-help (interesting that ideally this is where the help should come from–the self) begin to do so around the age of twenty-seven. It is at this point in life when the majority get an inkling that “education” has failed them and that they must personally make amends.

But why is this self-educating critical to one’s greater education?

For those who go the extra mile, students will complete their formal education at the age of twenty-two. Of course some later, some sooner, and some will return, regardless, for those who maximize their education they will do so after completing 16 years of a formal education.

Then what?

Since school systems force what is to be learned upon students in a rigorous manor with little desire for input or feedback from them as to feelings, concerns, or thoughts, this has turned off the majority to learning; because of this there is little hope that learning will continue beyond those 12 years, 16 if going on to college. And since learning by wrote to the test is often the plight of most students (after all this “training” they get it and do little other than look to nurture their grade average), learning how to think creatively, intuitively, and rigorously to see the more stimulating and enlivening bigger picture is a moot point. Unfortunately, we are creating drones with little imagination and ability to adapt and think creatively, intuitively, critically in an age when job security and even career security (some experts say up to 10 career changes over a workers life span) is a thing of the past.

Bottom line, if education does not instill a passion for learning in the student, the student has been shortchanged emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually.

Another related point to consider is that education fades. Consider that within 24 hours of reading one forgets 80% without review, what does that say of an education months, never mind years, after completion if, first, that knowledge gained is repulsive (many taking the test and then purging what has been learned like a bulimic), second, that knowledge is never revisited for lack of use.

We fool ourselves as a nation if we think education has any great redeeming or lasting importance under these circumstances. People treat education as if it were a saving grace, the knowledge and understanding gained to be used for greater human good or “job security” (to be a good human one learns wisdom–difference between right and wrong–not facts, stats, and formulas). Yet the majority of knowledge is taken in and lost faster than you can say “Senior skip day.”

“Education in our times must try to find whatever there is in students that might yearn for completion, and to reconstruct the learning that would enable them autonomously to seek that completion.” – Allan Bloom, Closing of the American Mind

Some of that “completion” may entail a standard education, but not much. There is so much beyond what schools teach our children that is not only never taught but never mentioned and is, in most cases, stumbled upon as graduates real from trying to discern why their lives are out of control and missing so much satisfaction not only in career pursuits but greater pursuits of the emotional and critical strengthening of the character.

“As it now stands, students have powerful images of what a perfect body is and pursue it incessantly. But deprived of literary guidance, they no longer have any image of a perfect soul, and hence do not long to have one. They do not even imagine that there is such a thing.” – Allan Bloom, Closing of the American Mind.

May our minds remain open to the possibility of the need for the greatest of change to bring about a better education so that formal education does not simply expire and fade away. May we seek the best answers for our youth now and in the future.

Here we’re not talking about faculty or staff but those who make the decisions. They are trustees (board members) and presidents. And this is a problem. Why? Because they do not live lives similar to that of students, faculty, or staff. Most live in comparative luxury looking to better their lot by keeping themselves–decision makers–around. If cuts need to be made, they will be done at the low end, getting rid of adjunct and fulltime faculty, staff, and by increasing fees, tuition, and so on.

Here’s an example to elaborate.

Years ago, I was working at a community college and joined a group to get a union on campus, for without one teachers will get near nothing. Even with one they often don’t get enough, but a union helps. But sometimes they even help in major ways, life saving even. In my case, I was between insurances when I was told I had cancer. And only with the help of the union was I able to get health insurance. The union had ensured people in my situation that even with one foot in the grave they would get access to good insurance. Most employers do not have such strong insurance obtainment policies for employees. To this day, I am literally alive because of the AFT (American Federation of Teachers). After that the AFT continued to help me on several occasions to obtain fair treatment. To continue the example.

At the time I was attending board meetings, the economy took a dive and cuts had to be made. Who was affected most? Faculty, staff, students. Classes were cut, adjuncts (non-guaranteed, semester to semester contracts) were left unemployed, fulltime were asked to retire early, and tuition fees were hiked. That may not be so bad in itself, but on the other end, I sat in meetings during this time while the president gave herself consecutive, back to back annual $25,000 increases while board members were giving themselves $7000, $10,000, $14,000 annual increases and so on.

More recently, during the fiscal pay-calendar shift (where pay is usually the last of the month but shifts in July to the 10th so teachers are going more than five weeks without pay), teacher after teacher was discovering that their pay was not coming on the 10th of July but the 31st, basically going two months without pay.

Upon calling the AFT, I was told that Payroll intentionally did not specifically warn instructors with a memo about the change (it was buried in the new contract with some vague language, that which the chair of my department had to read several times before she could make sense of it) because the district wanted to cause hardships so that the teachers would complain thus enabling a greater opportunity for additional monies to be place in the state budget for community colleges. Of course here we’re talking about monies that would not necessarily be distributed to faculty or staff. It may be earmarked for them, but monies allocated by the state do not always get to their intended targets.

In effect, since the change was stated in the contract, no matter how vague, the AFT couldn’t do anything, at least according to the president of the AFT local I spoke to.

Another thing to consider in your child’s mistreatment and lack of regard expressed by the actions or inactions of the trustees is the fact that part-time faculty or adjuncts outnumber full time faculty by 60 to 40. The majority of teachers are adjuncts or temporary, semester by semester employees of a district so that money can be saved (i.e.: less money spent on pensions and benefits). This is solely done to save the district money.

Sounds good?

Guess again.

Because of this, along with the rule that an adjunct cannot teach more than 9 units in any given district, adjuncts (the majority of teachers) become freeway flyers, often going not only from college to college to college but district to district to make enough money to pay for the necessities. Along with this, most are not compensated for office time to meet with students. Some districts do compensate for an hour a week, but that’s rare. Most give nothing or one district pays for one hour a month. Not many student issues can be addressed in such a short period of time.

So the problem is that students don’t get the attention they deserve and teachers don’t get the motivation they need to keep teaching. It’s basically a lose / lose situation.

There are other injustices being incurred by your children too numerous to mention here, but the next time you hear colleges spouting a great mission statement be careful of the hype that most likely lies beneath it.

Nothing is as it seems? Yes, we can say that here, for certain.