Awaken Your Dreams

Go back to projects you started and didn't finish. It may be that you now have what it takes to finish them. The experience or know-how that you did not have at the time you started may be at your disposal now.

Start to live your dream

Do a small part of your dream today. Make a phone call. Attend a free consultation with a coach or consultant or experienced person who can help you. Write another blog post about it. Pray about it. Think about your dream and keep thinking about it. Don't dismiss the idea. Don't dismiss new ideas. Keeping it fresh in your head is the least you can do. Writing it down is the next least thing you can do.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.