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.

The power of focus, time management, and a passion for what I’m doing along with a specific goal and vision.

Before I tell you how I did it, let’s get some ideas from other successful time managers to see how to best manage one’s time. A critical component to anyone’s success.

People often spend their time in one of three ways or some combination thereof: their schedule, other people’s schedule, no schedule. Unfortunately, most spend their lives working on no schedule or other people’s schedules. Big mistake.

But if you want to accomplish, and I’m not talking about mere I’d-love-to-play-the-piano-but-not-really-because-I’ll-never-make-the-necessary-sacrifices lip service, but true commitment to accomplishment, it takes discipline, focus and practical applications.

What does that specifically mean? I seldom will merely talk theory, but rather practical application. The collective mind-scape is littered with discarded books of academic theory written by those genius abstract theorists floating above the masses literally and figuratively on their Island of Laputa. Knowledge is great but we need practical, down-to-earth, I can really get things done with this stuff skills and attitude.

Let’s get to the specifics.

Dan Kennedy, tops in his field in coaching and prodding others to market successful, knows how to manage his time. If everyone did what he did, we’d all be uber-successful. He generally works by himself, having one employee who telecommutes several states away. But people are often amazed by how much he gets done. How does he do it?

First of all, he doesn’t have a computer–Internet, email–or a cell phone. Most reading that gulped like I just took away their remote for a week or canceled their Netflix membership; but yes, moderns, it can be done.

Why does he do it? Less distraction. He believes that the easier it is to communicate the more likely people will send a communication when they have something on their mind, ending up sending several messages a day. Kennedy’s belief is that the harder it is to communicate the more likelihood there is that people won’t communicate as frequently.

Kennedy actually has people communicate via fax or mail, forcing people to put more messages in fewer transmissions. Instead of getting a dozen calls or emails a day, he gets one fax or piece of mail with all the messages / questions / concerns listed rather than broken up randomly in several disjointed emails or calls.

Another thing he does is schedule his phone time for just a couple of hours each month with people, set with specific beginning and end times with the end time strictly adhered to.

Ultimately, when he’s working he’s doing just that, working. Go into any office you will see so much time wasted on idle chat, distraction, delay, and general downtime. One of the biggest wastes of any company is time loss. To achieve, you must be able to do what it takes to manage your time.

But what if you aren’t motivated? What if you just can’t get going, get to work? What do you do?

Well, if this happens often, quite your job or fire yourself and do what you’re passionate about, for the most successful often don’t view what they’re doing as work. It’s usually the burned out desk jockey who’s forced himself to believe that he’s’ stuck with his “lame job” and that’s that. Unfortunately, if you aren’t doing something that keeps you awake at night because you just can’t wait to get to it, then not only do I feel sorry for you, but you’re living someone’s lie. Either you or someone else has convinced you that it’s OK to do what’s not the greatest thing on earth, according to your description.

Why is this important in regards to time management? I think you know the answer to that.

But the point I brought up is pivotal to your focus, for if you don’t have a deep passion for what you do, then the chance of achievement, even with the greatest application of time management techniques, will be minimal. If you want to maximize these time saving devices, then first and foremost find what you love to do.

To continue with our examples, a man by the name of Isaac Asimov who was a scientist and writer wrote some 500 books in his lifetime. Yes, 500 books. 500 books over roughly a 50 year span. How did he get this done? Well, according to his suggestions to writers, in a book co-written with his wife, he tells writers to “get rid of distractions: junk mail, television, and “if it’s a nice day outside, well, just close the blinds and get to work.”

Here’s someone who truly knew the gift of industry.

But you’re probably saying to yourself, gee I don’t want to be sequestered away all day writing books that would drive me mad. Of course it would, but if you find that which you’re passionate about, that which you love to do, you will want to do that thing more than anything else, thus enabling your change for not only success but greater success, greater than you’ve probably even imagined.

Finally, how did I write 4 books in 2 years? Yes, certainly, the power of focus, but let’s get into specifics.

When I was writing, sometimes I was writing at home, sometimes I was writing at a college where I taught, but there were always distractions. But so seldom did I give into them that I was able to write, write quickly, and write a lot.

My wife tells me that at times she’ll be talking to me and she swears my brain has transported out of the room leaving my body behind. You need that level of focus and concentration to succeed in this world. That is if you want to reap the joys and benefits of doing so.

But back to practical techniques. When I sit down to write, I always know what I’m going to write, and I generally know how much copy I need to generate before I call it quits. So if the phone rings, a knock comes at the door, a colleague walks into the room and starts shooting the breeze with someone else, what do I do? That’s right, I keep writing. Very seldom if ever do I get out of work mode until I’ve accomplished what I’ve needed to.

Oh, another point of note. While I was writing those 4 books I was also generating dozens of pages of copy for my web page that consisted of time-consuming methods, techniques, survey questions, and a proprietary system of considerable complexity.

How did it get done?

1. Love of work: dedication, passion, commitment
2. Elimination of distractions
3. Objective that consists of specific quantities
4. Known start and stop times and sticking to them
5. Ignoring of distractions if they do arise
6. Having goals: monthly, weekly, daily, hourly
7. And a clear vision of where I am, where I’m going, and when I’ll get there

Here’s to getting things done. Good luck.

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.

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.

Let’s begin by dispelling the myth that teachers (for now let’s talk primary and secondary) are all that and a bag of chips. Teachers are not only given too much credit, they are given too much of the blame. Currently, the move is toward greater teacher accountability for student outcomes based on assessment criteria. What’s all that arcane jargon mean? Simply that teachers are to a greater and greater degree being held responsible for students’ grades. That, my friend, is a good one. Almost as funny as the one where a minister, priest and rabbi walk into a bar . . . OK, forget the joke, let me explain.

To a great degree, teachers (k through 12) have a workload that even the toughest laborer would bend and break under. They not only have to prepare lessons, attend meetings (teacher, administrative, parent), and have a life-if they can fit it in-they have a workload that has them averaging 57 hours worked per week ¹. On top of that, consider that working as a teacher is stressful because there is no time to relax. As a teacher, you are in charge of teaching, policing, cajoling, organizing, coaching, motivating, disciplining, and so on. From start to finish of the school day there is little time to relax, and you are working at full sensory capacity most of the time. That is why there is such great teacher burn out. You have very little time to kick back and recede into yourself (like a desk jockey or cubical cubby). So, on top of all this, teachers are now to be responsible for chasing 100 to 200 students to make sure they are doing their homework and are learning what they need to learn. Good luck.

But consider that there are other factors now that weaken the teacher physically, emotionally, and authoritatively. It is the last item I desire to focus on here. Students and parents, to a great degree, have sapped the teacher’s strength as the authoritative figure, one of the reasons why 3 out of 5 teachers now entering the field (K through 12) look at teaching as a stepping stone. I have a lawyer friend who did just that.

When he began teaching, he was told by a grizzled veteran that “you will either give into the student’s demands or you will quit.” To cite an example of this loss of control, at a general assembly a student was acting up. My friend told the student, who was not his, to settle down. The student challenged him and said, “I don’t care. You can even call the police. Nothing’s going to happen to me.” Another friend, a fellow classmate in graduate school, told me she was no longer a high school teacher because after 13 years her authority in the classroom had nearly vanished. Add to this parents who no longer, to a great degree, support teachers. Many a parent, if their child receives a bad grade, places the blame entirely on the teacher, the student getting off scot-free.

Teachers are not, should not, or ever be seen as the main educators, motivators, keepers of their students or children. Children? What does that word naturally imply? Of course, parents. It is the parents’ responsibility to make sure that their children are doing their homework and doing it well, getting off the couch and being the teachers they should be.

I have numerous friends who have taken back the teaching of their children by home teaching. An issue of much discussion, but I mention it here to show how the problems of the K-12 school system has gotten so out of control that parents are taking the issue into their own hands. Many parents have discovered that the education system is failing and is not preparing their children for the work-a-day world. This is an issue in and of itself, not to be gone into detail here, however.

But what is the role of the parent even if he or she decides not to home school?

It is essential that parents not only teach academics (meaning, bare minimum checking homework) but other vitally important issues of concern, concerns that last a lifetime beyond all the math, science, history, and English that is all too soon forgotten. A few things that should exist on that list are a work ethic, accountability, patience, perseverance, manors / respect for authority, cooperation, tolerance for difference, sacrifice, charity, humility, and more. If these things were taught by parents, as they should be, perhaps the number of problems we now face in school and society would be reduced.

Continuing with the issue of educational necessity and change, I’d like to propose an academic overhaul. This issue is quit complex and something I go into greater depth in my upcoming book Education is a Waste of Time, but I’d like to touch on a few points here.

Consider that in 24 hours we forget 80% of what we read if we don’t review, and even more so if we don’t pay attention, have acquired the skill of better retention, and, most importantly, don’t care, how much does our no-student-left-behind retain? Well, according to my eight-plus years of teaching, mostly at the college level, and concurring statistical evidence, less than 1/3 of all students entering college have sufficient math, reading, and writing skills. The key word here is “sufficient.” Considering that there is a push for more math and science majors to keep up with the 6 countries that produce students that exceed our student’s preparedness, it appears we don’t have much hope. Even though the push for students is ill-founded because of the small number of existing careers that require high level math skills, the numbers do not bode well.

Taking all this into consideration, how important is it that we teach our students specific, locked in studies: math, science, history, English, and so on. I often will address this point by asking my students to regurgitate on queue, from the first minute to last, all that they learned in a class that day before coming to my class. Most if not all come up completely empty handed. One thing we don’t teach or inspire our students to do is to pay attention and acquire skills that will aid in focusing on key material and being able to recall it. Where is that class in high school? We merely throw it at ‘em and hope it sticks.

Something else we’ve forgotten to do, like any good marketer in the business world know, is to simply ask. What has happened to our empowered, “no-student-left-behind” student? The overly liberal shift of power from teacher to student is being wasted if we don’t ask the empowered what they want? And if they don’t know, well, now that they’ve been given the power, they by all means should work on it. Many a parent, teacher, administrator will say, “Well, they’re children. They aren’t mature enough to know.” Well, if we don’t ask them we’ll never know. And we shouldn’t just ask them once, for they are developing and changing rapidly at this time. How ‘bout this. We ask ‘em often and we ask ‘em early. Consider the following. Please bare with me.

On average, 1 in 10,000 has perfect musical pitch. In many Asian countries, where pitch determines meaning (i.e.: going up at the end of a word means one thing, down another) 1 in 100 has perfect pitch. My point? Practice. If we get students thinking early and often what they want to do with their life, and more know than not, then that’s where they need to focus and not struggling, spending a majority of their time in classes they don’t care about, aren’t motivated to participate in, and bottom line, will end up wasting a lot of time in. Consider this, within ten years, 70% of college grads will be working in fields they were not educated in (regarding personal acquaintances, that number is low). And considering that many employers now only use a college degree as a dividing line (a way of weeding out candidates with less potential), why not get a degree in something you love? Don’t waste those four years.

There is a lot more to this topic, such as incorporating financial classes, inter-personal skills classes, success classes, and so on, but our K through 16 system is in serious need of repair and upgrading. And this must be done now before too much time passes and more time, money, and effort is wasted. I know that this magnitude of change is challenging but its essential and critical to the long-term welfare of our children; nevertheless, it is a goal or target that we have to shoot for. We have no alternative, remembering that it is not perfection that we seek but betterment.

¹ Teacher’s Workloads Diary Survey, BMRB Social Research, Sept. 2006

This is one of the main reasons people like myself and others, of course, have gone private to help our floundering youth with their educational goals, if they are aware of any in the first place.

Enclosed is a letter to Mayor Villaraigosa that I wrote in an effort to bring some solutions to the problems to a city and county that is floundering. Because of the extreme hole the Los Angeles education system is in Mr. Villaraigosa has made education a priority, of course. That’s good but bad because so many who are not steeped in the finer understanding of the real issues may just kowtow to popular opinion, meaning a band aid will be applied and not a solid solution.

Mayor Villaraigosa,

Regarding the School Educational Model for Alliance College-Ready Public Schools . . .

First, I would like to say that I am in agreement with the Alliance College-Ready Public School model, specifically and in summary: (statements in parenthesis are mine)

• small class sizes
• student-centered learning
• learning to outcomes (understanding of whys essential)
• teaching of interpersonal and communication skills (greater development needed here)
• critical thinking (critical)
• learning how to learn (too overlooked by most curriculums)
• parents as partners (greatest emphasis needed here)
• work experience (also critical in today’s competitive global job market)

These are essential to any child’s education and essential preparation for not only college but the work environment. However, in my years of working (three careers: computer field, entertainment, academia) and teaching ten years at the college level, I have been disturbed enough by the essentials students lack in preparation for college, career, and life, so much so that that I have formed my coaching company, Inner Projection, LLC.

As stated above, the above program is exemplary, but I’d like to take it a step or two further.

One of the core issues with any education is learning not only the three R’s but going beyond to critical skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed in today’s turbulent global economy job market:

• awareness & understanding of the new global economy
• how to learn from failure and prosper
• financial IQ appropriate for today’s ever increasing cost of living and shrinking savings rate
• interpersonal skills going beyond those of the workplace (emphasis on marriage / family responsibility and its effect on the health of any society)
• Building on individual strengths and eliminating major weaknesses
• success skills (self-control; specific goals; self-confidence; habit of saving; initiative & leadership; freedom from fear, sustained hope, and faith in achievement; do more than you’re asked; concentration & focus; seeking help when needed; tolerance and fair treatment of not only others but new ideas)
• critical / creative thinking, problem solving, intuitive insight, critical skills for today’s employee who requires the entrepreneurial mindset (today’s grad will have 3 to 5 careers & potentially as many as 10 which requires thinking as a company of one)

In addition to these issues are the great difference not only between school and college but college and the work environment. The American workforce is adrift in unprepared college grads who are little prepared for-or even aware of-not only what the general work environment holds but specific environments related to grad’s career. More generally, employers complain that young workers are not disciplined enough or understand how to accomplish given tasks / assignments promptly and effectively, amongst other issues.

In addition, now more than ever, students must learn how to think critically, intuitively, and creatively. Less and less can students rely on companies for job security or pensions; therefore, students must learn how to problem solve and to synthesize existing knowledge with intuitive insight. More than ever before, students must be ahead of those with simple job skills and must put themselves at the forefront of consideration for employment amongst those competing for jobs through being a superior problem solver. This is critical.

But the issue is not just those coming up through the school ranks to college, but current grads and all those in the workforce who lack these fundamental skills. Far too many come to college unprepared and except for the knowledge gained still leave skill and attitude poor leading to 70% of grads within 5 to 10 years no longer working in fields related to their majors.

What is needed is a student-centered focus that begins early, at least freshman year in high school. The advisor or counselor must work with the student to pull from him or her strengths that will if not guarantee success at least ensure greater student / career match. And then character must be addressed, for no amount of talent, ability, or gifts can overcome the self-sabotage of poor character.

These issues and more are at the forefront of what is ailing in our schools and colleges. Unfortunately, the majority of what is essential is not addressed. My company, Inner Projection, and specifically the proprietary Success, Design, and Preparation system will fill in the 80 to 90% missing from our pre- and post-college students.

Thank you for your time.

Jeffrey P. Brown

CEO Inner Projection, LLC

In college, generally one thing is acquired: knowledge. Very rarely will you learn the critical skills and attitudes needed for success in your career or, for that matter, life (family, social, political, etc.) However, for now let’s just stick to career concerns. To let you know it’s not just me spouting inaccurate wisdom, I’ll let Amanda Colwell, Unigo Campus Rep at Boston College give you a couple of critical after-the-fact “should haves.”

• “Didn’t get an internship junior year or yet. Lesson learned: Most employers look for and expect work experience. Not having that experience makes for a rather unpleasant applying for jobs’ experience.”

• “Waited too long to visit the career center. Lesson learned: People enter through the doors of the career center before senior year and those people seem to be the ones who get jobs first.”

• “Listened to my parents more than I should have. Lesson learned: So maybe their paying the bills, but it is your life and your future. You don’t need to tell them everything if they are going to make you feel guilty about skipping class to go to the Boston Red Sox Parade then don’t tell them. Some things are better left unsaid anyways.”

• Cared too much about my GPA. Lesson learned: Grades shmades. Your GPA will fall senior year, anyways. Spend your four years in college learning about yourself.

Number one, if you don’t get experience along with your degree you are one big dummy. Sorry, I’m not holding back the punches here.

What? You thought your grades and that prestigious university would just let you walk in the door of a company falling all over themselves to get you? Think again. (Actually saw a couple of posts on the Internet between students: “Yeah, with (name of prestigious university here) my ticket is punched. All I have to do is show up.” Hey, even if that were true, that attitude (remember, one of those things you don’t learn in college) needs to be put down quickly like a lame filly with an infected hoof.

Also, consider that after you get a couple years experience under your belt where you went to college is as important to those hiring as the size of your hat, which actually might be more interesting to most if it’s also real colorful and in season.

Number two; you’re at college to get into a career, so get to the career center by at least your junior year. Maybe even sooner if you know for sure what you want to do. Don’t waste too much time with theory. Get into the real world as soon as possible. That’s where it’s happening.

Another consideration is grades, as mentioned above. Yes, way too many focus there. A big, big mistake; however, not entirely the student’s fault. Students too often and too early work to the grade and not the knowledge (often purged after paper / test / exam), a result of too much parental and school pressure early on.

If you’re not learning or don’t care about what you’re learning, its a waste of time. If you don’t care about what you’re learning, why are you taking the courses? This isn’t please the parents or society or whoever time. You are the one who’s going to be going to your job day after day, month after month, year after year. If you don’t like it, you’ll bail, as in get out. Consider the following statistic of those who’ve wasted four years in college and too many years after.

Within 5 to 10 years, 70% of college grads no longer work in a field related to their major.

Why? Too much listening to others and not themselves, or in your case yourself. Who knows best? Mother? No, not in this case. It’s you.

Back to the grades issue. If you’re not learning how to think critically, intuitively, and creatively, or how to synthesize existing knowledge with insight of experience, you will not last long in today’s economy which requires adaptability and self-educating. With a potential of up to 10 careers staring you in the face over the span of your work life (high end estimate; more likely 3 to 5, but best to be prepared) in these economically turbulent, global job market times, you best learn how to think and learn well on the run. You’re welfare and the welfare of your future and future family relies on it.

Number three, what do you know about the details of what you’ll be doing on the job?

Time and again I know of and have heard of grads leaving their jobs months after beginning. Why? No one told them that, for instance, biology was fun to study but lab work day-in and day-out is stone cold, stifling-boring. Or that working as an attorney requires endless hours of paperwork and not that much time in the glory and limelight of the court scene. But if you’ve been to court, you know it’s generally not that exciting. Nothing like TV.Well, unless it’s on TV and Johnny Cochran has a camera pointed at him. But that’s the exception.

Or maybe you’ll be like the one student who interviewed three of her neighbors about their careers only to discover that their greatest concern had little to do with work but more with what type of work they did and where they worked would affect spouse and family.

There are so many intangibles that go beyond what’s happening in the classroom or on the college campus. You need to do your homework, do your research, and really dig deep to see not only that what you’re getting into is something you love, but what the day to day environment will be like of the career you desire. College is generally only 4 years. The working years span half your life. Know what you’re getting in to.

Here’s to your success.

“There’s always room for improvement, you know–it’s the biggest room in the house.”– Louise Heath Leber

Everyone has to overcome shortcomings or weaknesses to achieve greater happiness. Maybe you’re too easily angered; an excessive procrastinator; you don’t follow through on commitments; are socially inept or can’t relate to people well enough to maintain relationships, a job, or family; can’t commit; can’t finish what you started; you have addictions to alcohol, drugs, video games, collecting, sports, pornography, or any avoidance behavior, on and on and on.

But to overcome weaknesses is difficult. It’s much easier to ignore them or say “Well, that’s just me. That’s who I am.” You can overcome the majority of your major weaknesses or character flaws, but it takes a lot of work and honesty.

“How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people.”– Edward White Benson

“I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self.”- Aristotle

“Everyone needs to twelve-step their lives. Don’t simply wait until you’ve got an addiction.” Anonymous

“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the “someday I’ll” philosophy.”– Denis Waitley

It is too easy to stay with the status quo. Too easy to put off for tomorrow what will never happen today or ever. But weaknesses must be addressed, for many if not all of these weaknesses are life killers. Life killers in the sense that you deny yourself a greater happiness and joy by not fixing or working on them enough to make significant inroads. Life killers in the sense that you are not only denying yourself but others the benefit of what you have to offer. Bottom line, the more you fix you weaknesses the greater happiness, confidence, and peace of mind you achieve. The greater you achieve in these areas the greater you will achieve in the areas of financial gain, personal satisfaction, and desire to reach out to others. But there is a lot of sacrifice and effort involved. No fast-food, get-rich, learn-it-in-one-day schemes here.

“In order to live free and happily you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.”– Richard Bach

“Self-esteem must be earned! When you dare to dream, dare to follow that dream, dare to suffer through the pain, sacrifice, self-doubts, and friction from the world, you will genuinely impress yourself.”– Dr. Laura Schlessinger

But growth requires getting out of one’s comfort zone and to not only do the difficult but to do the unimaginable. If you are poor of spirit, poor of mind, poor of soul, poor of influence, poor in pocket and poor of experience, you are the only one to blame. Time and time and time and time again I have heard directly and indirectly of the uber-successful their failures: Tony Robbins eating once a day and washing his dishes in the bathtub; Og Mandino, the greatest salesman on earth, losing his family, turning to drink and living on the streets; Dr. Joe Vital living in poverty for over a decade in Dallas, Texas. The many billionaires, millionaires, and lesser-aires all coming from less-than-nothing to rise through the refining fire of dire straits and circumstance having their mortal coil of clay shaped, strengthened and sanctified to not only the betterment of self but to the betterment of the hundreds, thousands, millions they’ve touched.

How many do you want to touch?

If you think you can’t touch many, think again, for in desiring a lesser life, you snuff out the God-given potential to rise and affect the masses, the many, the always and many who need you to overcome yourself for their betterment, a hand lent, a hand reaching down to lift up, only up.

“Great minds have purposes; little minds have wishes. Little minds are subdued by misfortunes; great minds rise above them.”– Washington Irving

“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.”– The Buddha

“As you grow older, you’ll discover that you have two hands: One for helping yourself, the second for helping others.”- Unknown

But you need to address fear, overcome the self, the self-limiting desire to be comfortable and remain. Only in the remaining do we find despair and lack of hope. It is in the quick not the dead that we find purpose, hope, joy, and desire to touch the masses. The dynamic is in action, growth, it is where life is sanctified and made of great purpose, indeed.

“Only when you’ve worked on yourself long enough can you be of great worth to others. Don’t be selfish by doing nothing, build yourself to the benefit of others.”– Jeffrey P. Brown

“Our lives improve only when we take chances — and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.”– Walter Anderson

“If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.”– Thomas J. Watson, Jr.

“It all comes down to one very simple choice… Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’.”– Andy Dufrain, “The Shawshank Redemption”

“Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory, nor defeat.”– Theodore Roosevelt

“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.”– Mary Tyler Moore

“Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?”– Frank Scully

“A ship in harbor is safe, But that is not what ships are built for.”- unknown

“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”– James B. Conant

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”– Mario Andretti

But in order to do well, in order to find your dream, lock your hands about its neck so it doesn’t slip away, focus and dedication is required. You need to be ruthless in taking massive action on a consistent, persistent basis, with your eyes on the prize which resides above the horizon within the great heights of the stars. Work, sacrifice, and boldness of action are not only those things that success are made of but happiness, greatest fulfillment, and joy. Do this and leave mediocrity and your half-empty life behind for those of a lesser heart. You, my friend, have great things to do.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”– Harold Whitman

“Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do.”– Kathleen Winsor

“You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you are doing is work or play.”– Warren Beatty

“Lack of will power has caused more failure than lack of intelligence or ability.”– Flower A. Newhouse

“I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.”– Charles Dickens

“We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.”– Martha Grimes

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”– Maureen Dowd

You need to build yourself, build your character by not only overcoming weaknesses but finding you strength. For in the monetized world, business coaches speak to building one’s strengths for greater success. Michael Jordan succeeded in basketball and failed at baseball. Einstein succeeded as a theoretical physicist not as a salesman, which he almost became. Certainly to monetize one needs to focus on strengths. But the underlying weaknesses-the many I mentioned above and more-will tear at the foundation of one’s being, and ultimately success, faster than anything else.

“Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it.”– Rene Descartes

“How do you know when you’ve built great character? When you can no longer be offended.” Jeffrey P. Brown

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”– African proverb

“With confidence you can reach truly amazing heights; without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp.”– Jim Loehr

“Talk to yourself every morning. By looking into those eyes, she or he will tell you everything you need to know. That is, if you’re brave enough to go there.” Jeffrey P. Brown

“The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.”– Joan Didion

“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person we become.”– Jim Rohn

This is the age of the entrepreneur, not only for the sake of independence but out of economic necessity. The standard job (just beyond broke) no longer provides for the American dream. Many are losing their homes and their lives along with it. With the death of pensions, social security, and job security (experts estimate employees entering the job market will have upwards of ten career changes before retirement), people as never before are reliant upon themselves to not only provide for the here and now but the retirement of later. And the majority are woefully ill-prepared for the after-job life, most not waking to the calamity of the lack of preparation well into retirement when it is way too late.

Therefore, since so much is reliant upon the individual, it has never been more important to make that individual strong-and that’s YOU. You must overcome your fear of failure, procrastination, being embarrassed, hurt, risk, of even happiness-yes, the fear of success itself-to obtain your ultimate goal. The you you will discover and become as you chip away at the old you to find the wonder, purpose, and potential that lives deep within us all.

God bless.

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”– Herman Cain

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”– Joseph Chilton Pearce

“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”– Woody Allen

“However well organized the foundations of life may be, life must always be full of risks.”– Havelock Ellis

“If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not taking risks, and that means you’re not going anywhere. The key is to make mistakes faster than the competition, so you have more changes to learn and win.”– John W. Holt, Jr.

“If you are never scared, embarrassed, or hurt, it means you never take chances.”– Julia Soul

“Progress always involves risk; you can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.”– Frederick Wilcox

“A failure is like fertilizer; it stinks to be sure, but it makes things grow faster in the future.”– Dennis Waitley