Listen to Etrepreneurs Online
I came across a website called financehackers.com and read their article on 24 Ways to Create Multiple Streams of Income. The article mentioned another website, eofire.com, so I checked it out and I really like it.
The main feature is their podcasts of interviews with entrepreneurs. I listened to the podcasts and I feel inspired because the podcast host, John Lee Dumas asks interviewees to describe their lowest moments as an entrepreneur. Oh, te things that these men and women have overcome! It just lets me know that I can overcome setbacks too. Their stories of hard work and determination let me know what it takes to succeed.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
What makes us start?
There are things we want to do, things within our power that we would like to achieve. These things we call our hopes and dreams. Sometimes we start working towards them and find that it is easier to do whatever's easier.
Instead of working to be an author and online publisher, I've worked administrative and secretarial jobs since my twenties. In fact, I didn't believe I could be a successful writer so I started secretarial training in my late teens so that I'd have a real job. Even though I eventually managed to get a job at a newspaper, it was in advertising sales when I really wanted to be a writer there instead. I wrote some articles that the newspaper published and became one of their freelance writers after my advertising sales reached a plateau and my enthusiasm declined...and the sales manager let me go.
When I began to write for the newspaper, I was still not happy. I was on the news desk but I wanted to write for the features desk instead. Feature writers covered interesting people like musicians, visual artists, authors, successful business people...those were the stories I wanted to write. Stories about people who were living their dreams..
Then I got the opportunity to come to the U.S. and reluctantly left that newspaper job and my focus shifted back to secretarial and administrative work after my feeble attempts at getting a job, any job, at the Washington Post failed.
Now, more than 15 years later, I'm turning my eyes, again, towards publishing. My desire to make a living at writing has brought me back to writing, again.
So. What makes us start? Desire. You want something. You do it. It's taken too long for me to admit to myself that I'll never be fulfilled doing anything esle.
Go ahead and start..let your desires compel you, go for your dreams.
There are things we want to do, things within our power that we would like to achieve. These things we call our hopes and dreams. Sometimes we start working towards them and find that it is easier to do whatever's easier.
Instead of working to be an author and online publisher, I've worked administrative and secretarial jobs since my twenties. In fact, I didn't believe I could be a successful writer so I started secretarial training in my late teens so that I'd have a real job. Even though I eventually managed to get a job at a newspaper, it was in advertising sales when I really wanted to be a writer there instead. I wrote some articles that the newspaper published and became one of their freelance writers after my advertising sales reached a plateau and my enthusiasm declined...and the sales manager let me go.
When I began to write for the newspaper, I was still not happy. I was on the news desk but I wanted to write for the features desk instead. Feature writers covered interesting people like musicians, visual artists, authors, successful business people...those were the stories I wanted to write. Stories about people who were living their dreams..
Then I got the opportunity to come to the U.S. and reluctantly left that newspaper job and my focus shifted back to secretarial and administrative work after my feeble attempts at getting a job, any job, at the Washington Post failed.
Now, more than 15 years later, I'm turning my eyes, again, towards publishing. My desire to make a living at writing has brought me back to writing, again.
So. What makes us start? Desire. You want something. You do it. It's taken too long for me to admit to myself that I'll never be fulfilled doing anything esle.
Go ahead and start..let your desires compel you, go for your dreams.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Hang in there
If you are homeless, hang in there. If you are struggling, don't give up the fight. Try your best to stay healthy. Protect your health the best you can so that you can find work, income, housing, etc.
For me, housing is an efficiency. A kitchenette and bath and a living area. It's a peaceful place, a decent roof over my head.
I want more for myself my daughter, though. A two-bedroom place, a nice spot near a good school somewhere.
For me, housing is an efficiency. A kitchenette and bath and a living area. It's a peaceful place, a decent roof over my head.
I want more for myself my daughter, though. A two-bedroom place, a nice spot near a good school somewhere.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Resume mistakes to avoid
Part of my responsibilities at work include screening job applications to ensure that applicants have a bachelor's degree in an appropriate field of study and that their overall GPA was 3.0 or above.
Here are some mistakes I find:
1) The resume does not include information that the employer wants to know. For instance, if the ad says U.S. citizenship is required and you are a U.S. citizen, add a line to your resume indicating your citizenship. If a certain GPA is required, add your GPA to your cover letter or resume so that the employer does not have to contact you for that information. If you have a skill or qualification mentioned in the ad, modify your resume to show that you have it. How else will the employer know that you qualify?
2) The resume highlights work experience that is not suitable to the desired job. If have the right schooling but your level of relevant work experience is low or non-existent, start your resume with your education rather than your work experience. Provide a lot of information about the relevant coursework you did at school. Instead of merely writing Bachelor of Science in Biology with the year of graduation, include the courses taken that are relevant to the job you desire. Mention the relevant projects that you completed at school since is the only experience you have.
3) The resume contains spelling or grammatical errors. Use the spell check feature of your word processing software. If writing is not your strongsuit let an English major review and edit your resume and cover letter before you submit them.
4) The resume mentions the wrong job. I work for a science company that does academic rather than laboratory research. Sometimes I hear from applicants who say they are looking for a laboratory job when our vacancy ads clearly say that we do not have a laboratory and do not do that type of work. Some of these applicants are qualified for the job but, by mentioning the wrong job, they show that they have either not read our ad or have not bothered to modify their resume.
I hope these tips help. I wish you the best in your job hunting.
Here are some mistakes I find:
1) The resume does not include information that the employer wants to know. For instance, if the ad says U.S. citizenship is required and you are a U.S. citizen, add a line to your resume indicating your citizenship. If a certain GPA is required, add your GPA to your cover letter or resume so that the employer does not have to contact you for that information. If you have a skill or qualification mentioned in the ad, modify your resume to show that you have it. How else will the employer know that you qualify?
2) The resume highlights work experience that is not suitable to the desired job. If have the right schooling but your level of relevant work experience is low or non-existent, start your resume with your education rather than your work experience. Provide a lot of information about the relevant coursework you did at school. Instead of merely writing Bachelor of Science in Biology with the year of graduation, include the courses taken that are relevant to the job you desire. Mention the relevant projects that you completed at school since is the only experience you have.
3) The resume contains spelling or grammatical errors. Use the spell check feature of your word processing software. If writing is not your strongsuit let an English major review and edit your resume and cover letter before you submit them.
4) The resume mentions the wrong job. I work for a science company that does academic rather than laboratory research. Sometimes I hear from applicants who say they are looking for a laboratory job when our vacancy ads clearly say that we do not have a laboratory and do not do that type of work. Some of these applicants are qualified for the job but, by mentioning the wrong job, they show that they have either not read our ad or have not bothered to modify their resume.
I hope these tips help. I wish you the best in your job hunting.
What do you do for passive income?
Happy new year! Wow, I've been gone for so long. Haven't posted here since Jan 2011 and it's Jan 2013 now! Could it be that I get a zest for blogging at the beginning of the year and then it fades? Talk about things that make you go "hmmm".
Anyway, I would love to hear from people who earn passive and residual income. What are you doing? How did you get started? How much effort do you have to put into it? Let's get the conversation going, so that we make our dreams come true.
Anyway, I would love to hear from people who earn passive and residual income. What are you doing? How did you get started? How much effort do you have to put into it? Let's get the conversation going, so that we make our dreams come true.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Hard Work Makes Your Dreams Come True
Dreaming doesn't make your dreams come true, work does. You have to focus on what you want to achieve. If you are not qualified, get trained, get experience, and keep working towards your goal.
There is something to be said for starting young too. The health and strength of youth are precious there is time to train for or work towards a dream. When you're 17 you may start training to compete in your first Olympics but the results may be better than if you start at 37. Not that 37 is old but some dreams are better sought in one's youth.
As a child, a friend of mine longed to be an airplane pilot. In those days, that was a big dream for a boy in the Caribbean. When he was a teenager his parents supported his dream and financed light-aircraft flying lessons. When he completed technical school, he went on to commercial flight school. He is a airline pilot today with Southwest Airlines in the United States.
I hope this encourages you to start early if you can and even if you haven't started young to find new dreams, new hopes, and great success.
There is something to be said for starting young too. The health and strength of youth are precious there is time to train for or work towards a dream. When you're 17 you may start training to compete in your first Olympics but the results may be better than if you start at 37. Not that 37 is old but some dreams are better sought in one's youth.
As a child, a friend of mine longed to be an airplane pilot. In those days, that was a big dream for a boy in the Caribbean. When he was a teenager his parents supported his dream and financed light-aircraft flying lessons. When he completed technical school, he went on to commercial flight school. He is a airline pilot today with Southwest Airlines in the United States.
I hope this encourages you to start early if you can and even if you haven't started young to find new dreams, new hopes, and great success.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Spanish
An anglo-American coworker heard me speaking Spanish with another coworker who is originally from El Salvador. My American friend was not ok with us speaking in Spanish and summed up his views with the line "Welcome to America...now speak English!"
I understand where he was coming from. As an American, English is the language he grew up with and it's the main language used here in his homeland. It may have been a bit jarring for him to hear his coworkers speaking a language that he doesn't understand. Maybe he thought we were talking negative things about him or the company, but we weren't.
People who speak English in America are in the main stream. Jobs and opportunities may come easier for them. But how is not to one's advantage to learn a second language?
When I was in secondary school in Trinidad, we didn't have a choice. We had to study Spanish and French as part of the curriculum at the junior level (age 11 to 14). Foreign languages were optional in secondary school after that, but I continued French until I was 16 years old.
When I was hired by that particular company as the receptionist, the beginner-level Spanish I learned in Trinidad is what I polished up when I realized how many people spoke it. I began to ask, Miguel, my Salvadorean coworker "como se dice...?" which basically means "how do you say...?"
"Como se dice glasses, Miguel?", I asked as I admired his blue-tinted eye wear. "Lentes!", he told me.
"Como se dice straw, Miguel?" I needed a word for the drinking straw I'd gotten with my Burger King lunch meal. "Pajita!", he called back. "Gracias!", I thanked him.
I annoyed poor Miguel with questions like those for weeks. My vocabulary grew even more when I started going to a Spanish/English chatroom online. Then, I caught the eye of a guy named Mario, who was also from the job and also from El Salvador originally but limited in English skills. That's when my rusty old Spanish skills really started to improve. I had no choice but to find the Spanish words to communicate with my cutie, mi guapo. He loves to buy me flowers and take me out and calls me his "morena preciosa", his precious brown-skinned lady. I would say that that title roughly equals nubian princess...and I love it.
Mario is learning English from a pricey little self-study program that he bought, it's called "Ingles Sin Barreras" or English Without Barriers. Also, he learns new words that I teach him. It's not that hard to learn a new language.
Yes, this is America and it's to anyone's advantage to be fluent in English while living here but there is also an advantage is knowing another language and if it comes easy to you, why not learn?
I understand where he was coming from. As an American, English is the language he grew up with and it's the main language used here in his homeland. It may have been a bit jarring for him to hear his coworkers speaking a language that he doesn't understand. Maybe he thought we were talking negative things about him or the company, but we weren't.
People who speak English in America are in the main stream. Jobs and opportunities may come easier for them. But how is not to one's advantage to learn a second language?
When I was in secondary school in Trinidad, we didn't have a choice. We had to study Spanish and French as part of the curriculum at the junior level (age 11 to 14). Foreign languages were optional in secondary school after that, but I continued French until I was 16 years old.
When I was hired by that particular company as the receptionist, the beginner-level Spanish I learned in Trinidad is what I polished up when I realized how many people spoke it. I began to ask, Miguel, my Salvadorean coworker "como se dice...?" which basically means "how do you say...?"
"Como se dice glasses, Miguel?", I asked as I admired his blue-tinted eye wear. "Lentes!", he told me.
"Como se dice straw, Miguel?" I needed a word for the drinking straw I'd gotten with my Burger King lunch meal. "Pajita!", he called back. "Gracias!", I thanked him.
I annoyed poor Miguel with questions like those for weeks. My vocabulary grew even more when I started going to a Spanish/English chatroom online. Then, I caught the eye of a guy named Mario, who was also from the job and also from El Salvador originally but limited in English skills. That's when my rusty old Spanish skills really started to improve. I had no choice but to find the Spanish words to communicate with my cutie, mi guapo. He loves to buy me flowers and take me out and calls me his "morena preciosa", his precious brown-skinned lady. I would say that that title roughly equals nubian princess...and I love it.
Mario is learning English from a pricey little self-study program that he bought, it's called "Ingles Sin Barreras" or English Without Barriers. Also, he learns new words that I teach him. It's not that hard to learn a new language.
Yes, this is America and it's to anyone's advantage to be fluent in English while living here but there is also an advantage is knowing another language and if it comes easy to you, why not learn?
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