Quote of the Day

Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls-family, health, friends, integrity-are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.

-author unknown

Name That Career

If I told you a person had these three skills:

- A dynamic presenter / trainer who is able to simplify complex concepts in a way that makes them accessible, interesting and applicable
- An engaged listener / counselor who helps bring actionable clarity to people who are anxious and confused
- A resourceful independent student with a thirst for new knowledge

And These three basis of knowledge:

 - Inspirational Public Speaking
 - Teaching
 - Spiritual Counseling and training

What three careers first come to mind?

(I'm asking for a "friend")

Life: Act 2 (Audience Participation Encouraged)

The challenge to picking a career when you are in high school / college is that you largely do so blind. Over time as you gain experience you learn that there is a difference in "work" and the "work environment". You may enjoy the work but cannot abide the environment. You also learn that just because you are good at something does not mean you actually enjoy doing it; it may just be a talent as opposed to a gift. Many people by their mid-thirties are not working at a job that matches their college degree. And that's when the chase begins.

Before you know it, you are chasing a paycheck from one career to the next. Instead of asking "what fulfills me" we start asking, "How can I get the most money for the things I can do?". Or to put another way, "How can I sell myself to the highest bidder?"

I am trying to take advantage of this economic downturn and period of unemployment to STOP. LOOK. And LISTEN. To really ask myself how I want to spend the second half of my career-life. And I may have had an epiphany this morning . . . . I listed every job I have ever had and wrote down what I liked and disliked about them. Every. Single. Job. Some of the likes and dislikes are obvious and others are more subtle.

This is where you come in. If you wouldn't mind taking a look and chiming in if you know of a career that might be a match I would be greatly appreciative (I figure there is some odd career out there that I have never considered).

So without further ado:

LIKES:

Variation in work
Caring for people in need
Learning new things
Responsibility
Not confined to one office all week
Challenging
Public speaking
Teaching / training others
Opportunity to intellectually grow
Study and research
Writing
Inspiring others
Helping people
Emotionally caring for others
Business casual
Salaried (additional small commission is okay)
Moderately Independent
Regular work hours (a little on call time is okay)

DISLIKES:


Mindlessly shuffling paper
Not stimulating
No Respect
No privacy in work space
Irregular hours
Regular long distance travel
Sales
Paying my own taxes
Work weeks consistently over 50 hours
Being on call 24/7
Servicing Salesmen
Corruption / Dishonesty / Cronyism

Thanks!

Inspiration

I think this is cool . . .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7nXsOfLB0c

However I am waiting for the male version: "MEN. YOU HAVE RULED THE WORLD FOR ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY . . . ALMOST ALL WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME HAS BEEN DONE BY YOU (NOT TO MENTION THE WARFARE). . . ALL YOU ASK IS THAT DINNER IS ON THE TABLE AND THE BEER IS COLD WHEN YOU GET HOME . . .

Hmmm . . . won't hold my breath on that one . . .

(that's a joke BTW - don't email me)

Work

Job Hunt: Update

Nothing. Nada. Zip. I am still firing off resumes every day but with little effect. Wost recession since the depression they say. More and more I am hearing close-to-home anecdotes about people who have been out of work for 12 months or more.

Jeepers.

I did get to facilitate our Sunday School class a couple of weeks ago. If you aren't familiar with the concept, Sunday School is like a book club where all the books point to the same basic subject. We have a great group of thoughtful folks that gather every Sunday morning so I put the question to them - Calling vs Responsibilities - Gifts vs Abilities.

Sean has a nice round up here and here.

When you are temporarily out of work, job one is to get work. You don't want to settle in - get comfortable - this is temporary - you will be a 9 to 5'er again before you know it. No point in making any great life changes until you find out what sort of demands the new job will entail.

Yeah . . .

It's been close to 3 months now and I am beginning to think I should do something more productive with my time than just job hunting - believe me, the job hunt will continue - but maybe I should try incorporating some bliss since I have an opportunity . . .

Let's see . . . where's that Bob Ross paint set . . . .

The Hunt is On (Update)

So another week is here.

Last week was full of discombulations as friends were in town, the wife's work schedule was different etc. I am living proof of the adage "Do the hardest things first". I have learned that if I do not take care of the business / paperwork part of life first thing in the morning - it won't get done. Even if it means I do yard work in the heat of the afternoon.

Since my precious schedule was upended last week, I didn't accomplish as much job hunting as I wanted to. I did apply for a few more sales positions and decided against applying for the opening for a tow truck driver that Monster.com thought I would be interested in.

My actual goal is to fire off my resume to two job prospects a day and I try to keep at it until I do.

I have a coffee date with a good friend in a week or so to bounce some ideas around and I am considering going back to school one class at a time to get a masters degree for various reasons.

Having graduated college 16 years ago, it is daunting to look at applying for a master's program. I am no smarter now than I was back then but I don't think I'm any dumber either. Of course I have a gabillion more life experiences now than I did back then. It's just that I have sort of lost that edu-speak language. You know, the type that you spout off in end-of-the-semester term papers. The mealy-mouthed gobbledygook that you spew in an effort to make a "C" paper sound like and "A" paper.

It seems like most masters programs want you to submit ten pages of gobbledygook with your application fee.

Hmmmm . . . tow truck driver . . . .



Maybe not . . .

Oh, and I am thinking of joining a gym (I said "join" I didn't say "go" . . .)

The Hunt is On (Update) - Brought to you by the letter "D"

When you grow up, you can be a
Dancer,
Dentist,
Detective,
Druggest,
Ditch Digger,
Doctor,
Dishwasher,
or a Daddy.

- Sesame Street



It cracks me up how completely random the list of "D" jobs is. The fact that they sandwiched "Doctor" between "Ditch Digger" and "Dishwasher" gives me a special little twinge every time. They finish up with a dad playing with his child - which is touching except that all the other "D's" are employments so the unintended message is; you can be employed or be a daddy - they forgot the "deadbeat" qualifier.

Sorry, but whenever it get to that part I can't help thinking, "It's the middle of the day! If "Daddy" had a job he wouldn't be duct-taping letters to his shirt and spinning in circles in the park. I know, I know, this is all sounding gloomy but I am not half as gloomy as I am probably coming across. And that video was probably shot on a Saturday anyway . . .

When I was a Real Estate agent, I was basically self-employed so I made my own schedule. Often times I would take care of personal errands or chores in the middle of the work day and I would wonder, "How do 9-5'ers get all this stuff done in the evenings and weekends?" The answer: most people don't get it all done - you gotta let some stuff slide.

All that to say that I am staying busy. Job hunting half a day - yard work, errands, chores and paperwork the other half. The wife is on me to start an exercise program - When will I find the time? It's getting to the point that I won't have time for a job!

Just kidding.

So, I have fired off my resume to at least a half-dozen places. Mostly sales positions. As I mentioned before, one place I applied sells cremation services. I also applied to be a "Culligan Man" (management), and a medical equipment educational director - which actually sounds pretty cool.

So begins another week - thanks to Sesame Street I have a whole new list of jobs to consider.

The Hunt is On (Update)

"Maybe you will win the lottery and we can be Hobbits" - The Wife

I will admit, there were a couple of weeks there where I was in a funk - funkified. But I have a basic routine down now (and I am once again changing my clothes and showering regularly). So what does an unemployed person do all day?

7-8am: Pick up the house, do the dishes

8am-9am: Check e-mails (review job prospects from Monster and Cal Jobs), get caught up on blogs etc

9-9:30: Shave, get dressed (willfully ignoring the fact that I could spend the day unshaven and in yesterday's clothes and no one would notice)

9:30-1:30ish: Job hunt: Send out resumes, make calls, rework the budget and put off the lesser bills.

1:30-?: Yard work.

When I envisioned having a yard of my own, I pictured myself shuffling around in my robe and slippers every morning, *snip**snip* here, pull a weed there . . . cuppa joe in one hand . . . . what I didn't anticipate was that weeks at a time would go by where I couldn't get to the yard work and so, consequently, there is an endless cycle of yard going to seed, a back-breaking weekend of slash-and-burn then the return descent to "I think this home might be abandoned" and back to slash-and-burn . . .

So I am taking this opportunity to give myself a small taste of what retirement might be like - I almost have the front-yard "slipper-worthy" - the back needs some help . . .

And lest you think I am wasting valuable time puttering around the yard when I should be out beating the bushes 24-7, I am rebuilding my soul. When I do land that next opportunity, I intend to "better,stronger, faster" as the saying goes.

I did actually apply for a sales position with a cremation company. As I understand it, you work from home and when people in your area are interested in cremation services, they call you and you put the deal together (so-to-speak).

That's morbid!, said the wife. Could you do that?

And work from home? Absolutely! was my response.

Oh - and, if you hear of an opportunity that might be a good fit, let me know!: matthew.m.linden@gmail.com

The Hunt is On

NEW FINANCIAL RESOURCES WILL SOON BECOME AVAILABLE TO YOU

- Fortune Cookie

That was actually in my fortune cookie the other night when the wife brought home Chinese take-out. Which is funny since I am currently on the job hunt.

I have always said that looking for a job is twice as hard as having one so if I can get in a solid 4 hours of beating the bushes everyday, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Thankfully, there are some web sites that aim to make the whole process easier.

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is one of the more popular networking sites. I set up an account long ago when I started getting LinkedIn requests from friends but never did anything with it. Well now I have the full-meal deal set up at http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmlinden .

Check it out, if you are on LinkedIn, shoot me a connection request. If you know me well enough, submitting a recommendation on my behalf would be much appreciated!

CalJobs:

CalJobs is mandatory for anyone seeking unemployment insurance payments in the state of California. I haven't used it much yet but all my info is there as well.

Monster.com:

Of course, Monster is aptly named - it's enormous. Ditto on my stuff being there too.

I have sent my resume out personally to friends and family and would be happy to forward it to any dear readers who might know of an opportunity.

So what am I looking for? Primarily a sales rep/manager position. Durable medical equipment sounds attractive since I have personal experience with little Annie. But a salesman can sell anything. I would prefer to sell products (stuff you can see and touch) as opposed to services.

I am open to travel up to 50% of the time (my previous territory was everything West of the Mississippi in both the US and Canada).

I would prefer to remain based in San Diego - what with the house and all - but would consider anywhere within 1 hour of the Pacific ocean and within 1 hour of a major children's hospital if the opportunity was right.

So that's the news. If any of you dear readers know of an opportunity, please let me know: Matthew.M.Linden@gmail.com .

Thanks!

Upper(management?) Twit of the Year . . . .

Job Hunt

Zappos

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Examining Motivations

Fascinating - worth your time.

YEEELLLLOOOOOW!

Talk about working smarter . . . .

Job Opening

It's not for me, but it might be for YOU!

Credit Crises

Another interesting look . . . .

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day

Went to work with a song in my heart - unfortunately, it was one of those Fleetwood Mac tunes where Lindsay Buckingham just grinds his teeth and his guitar, because it’s a dull song he’s obliged to play.

- Lileks

The Office (Conversations overheard from my cubicle)

(After returning to the office after a false fire alarm)

Co-Worker #1: I have never been in a burning building. Has anyone else?

Co-Worker #2: Our house almost burnt down once when I was a kid.

CW #1: Really? What caused it?

CW #2: My dad wouldn't get out of bed so my mom set fire to the sheets

CW #1: Are they still married?

CW #2: Yep, still married

CW #1: See, those are the best relationships - where people express themselves instead of holding it all in and becoming resentful . . . .

Too Funny