Career Corner: Personal Training

In every career you should exhibit a bit of personal training (AKA always be learning).  Not every company mandates that you participate in consistent career training and not every company even has resources available for you to take advantage of.  However, this doesn't mean you just stop learning, growing, and staying current.  The moment you stop your personal training is the moment you start becoming irrelevant.

Research

Most of our industries are constantly evolving.  There are new procedures, data, new players - a wealth of "new" to keep up with.  It's on you to stay up to date on what's happening in your world and be able to incorporate it into your everyday skill set and knowledge.  How?

• Subscribe to a journal relevant to what you do
• Google: seriously, google your industry and read what pops up in the news
• Check out which companies are winning awards and look at what they're doing

Network

Continue to grow and expand your network within and outside of your industry.  Talk to your clients and colleagues and get their input.  Engage with your circle by asking for feedback as well as to ask what they're doing to stay current.  

Attend a Conference/Training

Many companies will pay for part or all of your attendance at a conference relevant to your career.  Create a presentation and show your supervisor why you want to attendance a conference/training and provide clear cost implications.  Offer to provide a recap to share with the team when you return.  Make your experience something that benefits the company as a whole.  If your company doesn't support this kind of training, invest in it on your own and then get a new job with a company that does value continued education.

Take Advantage of What your Company Does Offer

Even if it's just online training, take advantage of what is free and available at your company.  Even if it's not industry relevant and just career focused (i.e. management skills, writing, etc.) make sure you're taking as much training as you can.  Attend in person workshops and brainstorm sessions wherever possible as well.  

Constant growth and training requires a lot of effort on your part.  It's above and beyond the normal everyday grind but it's absolutely critical to maintaining relevance and skills to make you the best employee and candidate in the game!

Get out there and grow sequins! 

Political Expert: Me.

Now I would not consider me a political expert.  I would consider myself politically educated, aware, and informed.  But I also have moments whereI have to google things because I have no idea what you're talking about.

But politically speaking - I think the party system is the dumbest invention we've got in politics.  Politics are not a sport.  When one side wins, a lot of people can lose.  I find it a bit Hunger Games in general when a political party wins and millions of people lose healthcare, or families are divided, or really poor people suffer more. 

Politically I don't identify with either party as a whole.  Blind party loyalty is how we ended up in the mess we are in today and voting purely to align with Democrat or Republican is uneducated.  We would be a lot better off as a nation if everyone acted independently and researched policies, laws, and candidates and then made a choice based on what works best for human beings.  Read that back - because all the suits on Capitol Hill - they're not living in the same world we are.  These things we are voting on - they affect people like you and I more than suit #32 who is not affected by new healthcare laws or tax policies.

What I'm seeing lately is a country divided based on us vs them.  Democrat vs Republican.  There's a lot of who lost and who won.  And that disgusts me.  Politics affect lives.  They affect the livelihood of our people.  And THAT is what we need to focus on.  Winning is when we have low unemployment, a healthcare system that works by taking care of our families, and taxes that make it possible for everyone to have a shot at making it financially.  How is celebrating poverty, sickness, and hatred a part of our political system?  How is that winning for anyone?

I'm not really in a place to suggest what the solution is.  And we probably should not rely on me to fix the entire political system in America (Mandatory happy hour?) but I dare say I'm not alone in my feeling that what we;re currently working with is broken.  And feeling that way should not be confused for lack of pride in my country.  The people out there fighting against the bad are so in love with our great nation that we are fiercely committed to its survival.  I love America.  I am so proud to be American.  If I wasn't passionate about this country - I wouldn't be so active in defending what it was created to be. 

Open to More.

I grew up in California.  I spent 26 years living in California.  Californians are generally brought up a bit more liberal.  We are existing in a pretty diverse community surrounded by so many religious, political, and lifestyle beliefs that it becomes second nature.  I'm more comfortable around diverse groups of people than I am in a room of people that share my lifestyle.

I've always considered myself an extremely open minded person.  I generally believe in treating everyone as you wish to be treated.  But living in the South has taught me a whole new way to open my mind and really think about the different beliefs of people around me. 

Texas is generally a conservative state.  There is still a lot of racism, restrictions on women's reproductive rights, and a lot of Trump supporters.  And a lot of these people are really vocal about those beliefs.  They preach Christianity but also shout from the rooftops really ignorant beliefs.  And something I've learned - is that you can't talk reason to someone who truly believes in what they've been bred to believe.

I'm not into dividing people politically.  I actually think people who commit their lives to one party are misguided.  It's more important to me to look at the bigger picture and how policy fits into the lives of Americans rather than blindly following red vs. blue.  But the more I speak to the die hard reds out here, the more open minded I've become.

I used to clump any Trump supporter in a group of idiots.  Because how could anyone possibly vote for such a truly horrible human being.  But then I've met people whom I truly respect and enjoy that have also made the mistake of voting for Trump.  And it's given me pause.  It's forced me to understand why they felt the need to support such a person.  And while I still don't agree with that support - I cannot possibly just lump those in the Trump voter category as idiots.  Now if they're still actively touting this man as a great human being, my respect does dwindle but I digress.

It's interesting to be forced to look at someone who's beliefs you actively disagree with in a new light.  No, I don't suddenly feel that a bunch of old white men have any business directing what I can do with my body - but I do feel more compassion for the people that truly believe these things.  They've grown up in a really different world than I have.  They feel their religion dictates what they believe.  Or they're sheltered by their circumstances.  The point is - people are a whole compilation of their background, religion, lifestyle, the people they spend the most time with - and they're not simply X, Y, and Z opinions.

Taking the time to find my patience, ask the questions, and be more accepting - that's what the South is teaching me.  Slowly, but surely, I'm getting there.  I'm starting to realize how lucky I was to grow up in a state that gave me the world of diversity it did.  I truly never thought in 2017 there were people out there in major cities promoting hate and antiquated views - but there are.  And they're not a rarity.  That's why continuing to talk - respectfully - is critical to the cycle of life today.  And its equally as critical that even when you vehemently disagree with someone else, that you treat them with respect. 

...Unless they're actively hurting other people, then the gloves are off and I'm coming for you - because you have every right to believe what you believe, but the second it hurts another, you're out of bounds and deserve to be shown a better way.

#ShineOn