Tips for the Unemployed...#4

Stay Connected to Your Network.

You probably have a lot more friends, colleagues and supporters than you realize.

Survey your address books, PDA, business card files and social networks to see who's really in your inner circle and wider network and who might be able to help lead you to some new prospective opportunities.

Talk to friends and family and see who they know.

Then start reaching out to catch up with everyone you can.

Befriend old friends online, shoot out a bunch of emails, even invite a few for coffee or drinks.

Start talking to everyone you can! Ask your contacts who else you should be talking to, then reach out to them.

Update your online profiles with the latest news and let people know that you're actively exploring your options.

This is not the time to hide out and wallow.

Just make sure you force yourself to smile and at least appear to have a positive outlook for the future!

Repeat the mantra to yourself:

"onward and upward!"

...until you believe it.

Tips for the Unemployed...#3

Look at This As an Opportunity.
You know what they always say,

"It's not what happens to you, but what you do about it."

That might not be what you want to hear right now, but think about it: This sudden change could have a silver lining -- so commit yourself to finding it.

Take some time for yourself, even just a few quiet hours alone and reflect on all the things you truly liked and disliked about your job.What would you have done differently?
Were you there because you had to be, or because you wanted to be? Ask yourself how you can now take the next step learning from your past experience. Is there a chance to take a step up? Or to change industries or careers entirely if you weren't as happy as you wanted to be? So many times, abrupt changes like this are exactly what people need to get out of a rut and move on to something they'd really love to be doing

Tips for the Unemployed...#2

Audit Your Online Identity.
Start paying close attention to your reputation management, to the platform that you've built for yourself online (if any) and to what new people will perceive about you when they google you. If you don't like what you see online, or want to take control of that first impression you're giving off, build a professional identity you can be proud of with a PROJO - your professional mojo.

It's a next-generation resume/portfolio that you can share with contacts, add to/promote in your signature line, build out and keep up to date with your latest accomplishments to ensure that when someone searches for you, they find the "goods" on you, but the good!

Tips for the Suddenly Unemployed... #1

Breathe. Stay Calm.
The worst decisions are made under pressure, stress, or in a state of fear. Don't allow yourself to be rash or irrational; keep your wits about you and commit to making it through this in one piece. Get a sense for what this layoff really means to you and what the real repercussions will be.Assess your safety nets:

What are your back-up plans?

(All the way down to spending time with the folks in your worst case financial scenario.) Hopefully you've done enough to guard against that, and if so, take some solace in the fact that you're prepared to weather a little uncertainty.

Opportunities KNOCK!

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Be your OWN LIFE COACH #8

What Would Make Me Genuinely Happy?
"Eudemonic" is a little-used word that means "happy-making."


What are all the eudemonic activities you can think of?
Make a list.

How many of these happy-makers did you do yesterday, last week, this year?

Which ones can you indulge in today?

When you're facing a challenge, ask what would make you happy in this situation.

And cast a wide net.

You may have "taking a cruise" on your list, but if you also remember that "hanging out at the library" and "playing with my dog" are eudemonic for you, you get to be happy every day--and that's important.

What would make you happy now (that wouldn't make you unhappy later)?

Do that

Be your OWN LIFE COACH #7

Where Should I Act and Where Should I Step Back?
Ask this to get a sense of what is yours to do and what isn't.

This is the advanced class in enlightened living. Countless times we've all acted too soon or without sufficient information, or we've stepped in where our input wasn't needed and muddied circumstances that were already working themselves out.

When you ask yourself, quietly and confidently, what your part is in a given situation, and where to wait (or exit entirely), you'll get a clear idea of your role.

If you ask the question and still want to act against the advice of your internal coach, remind yourself that, although life is a series of little dramas, none of them needs a drama queen (or king).

Be your OWN LIFE COACH #6

What Really Matters Here?
In his classic of the spiritual life, "At the Feet of the Master," Krishnamurti writes that as we grow spiritually, it is essential to discern not just right from wrong, but more important from less important.

Whether it's prioritizing your to-do list or figuring out which demands you can tend to today and which ones will wait, you need to ask yourself what really matters.

Generally speaking, things with feelings--i.e., living beings, particularly those closest to you--will take precedence. No matter the answer, you'll learn what's of greatest consequence to you in this instance.

Be your OWN LIFE COACH #5

What Am I Not Seeing?
We all live with blinders on. They come with having a personal vantage point. And yet the answer to a dilemma may lie in seeing just another millimeter of the situation.

Ask, then,

"What am I not seeing here?"

Often, what we're not seeing is what we don't want to see. Let's say you're feeling uncomfortable in your job for no apparent reason. If you were to see just a bit more of the picture, you might learn (or remember) that the problem is not the role per se, it's that it isn't using a talent you're yearning to express. Once you see that, you can take appropriate action.

Be your OWN LIFE COACH #4

What Would Jesus (Buddha, Sai Baba, My Grandmother) Do?

Thinking of a role model, whether a great spiritual teacher or a sweet spiritual person, is like having a mentor on-call.

Ask yourself what this person would do in your situation.

A technique for tapping their wisdom is to write out the question and the answer.

This doesn't mean that you're channeling a spirit or writing a new gospel: you're simply tapping into the wisdom that knowing this person (or knowing of this person) has given you.

Your questioning on paper can become a fascinating conversation that yields surprising insights. And it gives the phrase "friends in high places" a whole new meaning.

Be your OWN LIFE COACH #3

What Are My Values?
This is an important question to ask yourself periodically--on your birthday perhaps, or at the New Year.

It's both liberating and motivating to be so well acquainted with your values that you could recite them on demand.

My husband was working with this question and announced, "My values spell ditch: discretion, integrity, tolerance, civility, humility."

He was so pleased with his discovery that he had a bracelet made with his values engraved on it. You may want to do something similar, but as long as your values are engraved on your psyche and acted on in your life, that's enough

Be your OWN LIFE COACH #2

What Does My Body Have to Say About This?
Our culture has long mistrusted the body.

It's been seen as a confusing blend of God's handiwork and the devil's playground.

It is, rather, a vortex of intelligence.

Every cell comes equipped with awareness.

Your body has something in the neighborhood of 40 trillion cells

--quite a consulting committee.

Call on it when you're confused or undecided.

Relax quietly and ask your body what it has to say.

Then note any sensations.

Around your heart, are you picking up excitement that says

"Yes!" even if there's also a little anxiety about doing something new?

Or in your belly, are you feeling dread, a "gut reaction" telling you to take another path?

Be Your Own Life Coach #1

Though we often seek advice from others, many spiritual traditions teach that the answer lies within.

In this gallery, Victoria Moran, inspirational speaker, spiritual life coach, and author, offers us the top 10 questions she asks her coaching clients.

By asking them of yourself,

they can help you gain clarity in almost any situation.

Just pick a challenge you're dealing with, and apply one or more of the following questions. Then, be willing to act on what your inner wisdom reveals.

Is This Good For Me?

This question needs to underlie every personal decision--from how to respond to a job offer or what to chose from a menu.

So many of our choices are either snap decisions or belabored:

We ask a friend (and another and another), make a pros and cons list, throw the "I Ching."

While such processes have a place, you can simplify things by

asking

yourself if this is genuinely good for you--

physically, mentally, and spiritually, today and next week and in 10 years.

Because your inner being looks after your true interests--not just your ego cravings--

you'll get the guidance you're looking for.

Being a Great MOM...

When Rose Kennedy died at age 104, the world lost one of the most dedicated and famous mothers of the twentieth century.

She was mother to nine children, among them a former United States president, an attorney general, and a current U.S. senator.

In spite of her own marital challenges, the birth of a mentally challenged child, and the early deaths of four of her children,

Rose Kennedy lived a life of FAITH and STRENGTH before her children and grandchildren.

At her funeral,

her son Ted put into perspective the considerable impact she had on the lives of her family members- with actions both great and small-conveying to her children her love and care and God's LOVE & CARE:

"She sustained us in the saddest times... Her faith in God was the greatest gift she gave us....

She was ambitious not only for our success but for our souls.

From our youth we remember how, with effortless ease, she could bandage a cut, dry a tear, recite from memory 'The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,' and spot a hole in a sock from a hundred yards away."

Great mothers don't always bear children who achieve greatness in the eyes of the world, but great mothers always convey GREAT love.

**********************

Each loving act says loud and clear,

"I LOVE YOU. GOD LOVES YOU. I CARE. GOD CARES."

~T.D. Jakes 2008

WHOM CAN I CONVEY GREAT LOVE TO TODAY?

Xavier

Xavior Chevelle Watson......YOU ARE a very SMART boy....Very SMART...You ARE BEAUTIFUL....

Don't ever let anyone tell you any different...
YOU ARE LOVED

YOU ARE VALUED...
You can

DO

BE

HAVE

ANYTHING you want....(when you grow up)

Say: Please, Thank You, Your welcome & Excuse me..
brush your teeth EVERYDAY..
.... be Careful...Be Easy...
Be Gentle....especially to girls..

(no hitting/fighting)...
SCHOOL is FUN...

Listen to your teacher...

make friends...

if your nice to people they will be nice to you...hopefully!

oh and use your WORDS to express

what you want or how you feel!......i love you....

Sometimes Letting Go is EASIER
said than

done...
I love you
Xavier Chevelle Watson......
~your angel~

don't Judge...

ig·no·rant –adjective
1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned.

NOT having all the information
2. uninformed; unaware.
don't Judge...
Pray don't find fault with the man who limps or stumbles along the road...

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt, though hidden away from view, Or the burden he bears...placed on your back, might cause you to stumble too.

Don't sneer at the man who's down today!

You may be strong, but still the blows that were his...if dealt to you, In the selfsame way at the selfsame time might cause you to stagger too.
Don't be too harsh with the man who sins or pelt him with word or stone Unless you are sure...yea doubly surethat you have no sins of your own...For you know...perhaps if the tempters voice should whisper...as softly to you As it did to him...when he went astray could cause you to falter too.
~Author Unknown

We are not put on earth to judge others...

Instead, when we come upon someone who is going through a difficult time, for one reason or other, lend them a helping hand.

Your efforts of kindness will be returned to you two-fold...Remember always...

"It is no secret what God can do"