Sears/ effort quote/ charity work

Oct. 28 Sears: I have read in the business section of the newspapers that Sears isn’t doing well.  I remember in 2011, a line was: “Does Sears have a Target on it’s back?”  I was on Yahoo and there are these photos of a Sears stores.  The captions on it are about how disorganized it is.

Recently on Family Guy, they dissed Sears too.  Lois and Peter go to Sears and the store has turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/18-depressing-photos-show-why-122600100.html

Healthy business tips:  Ginny Grimsley sent me this article “Improving Leadership through the Brain-to-Belly Nerve.”  It’s not just for stress at work, but it’s applicable in life:

• When angry or afraid, take a high quality breath: People might tell an agitated person to “take a breath,” but it’s the quality of the breath that makes all the difference. For someone who has practiced breathing has wired in an automatic relaxation response, one breath immediately begins to calm them. To practice do this when you’re not under stress: As you inhale, relax your belly and the muscles of your torso, and soften your muscles on the inhale. On the exhale become still. Widen your peripheral vision – take in more of the room, and rest in a more wide open awareness. At this point, your vagus nerve will be sending you messages that the world is a safe place and your ability to respond intelligently will be greatly enhanced.

• Move forward with a relaxed vagus nerve. Now, in a calmer, more resourceful and masterful state, you can apply a saner perspective to a variety of tasks: connect with employees; complete the agenda; let good ideas emerge from employees, with less pressure from management, so they affirm their own competencies. Acknowledge what’s already working well by giving individuals and teams credit. Enjoy your work, knowing that whatever emerges, you can handle it.

• Get over thyself and lighten up: See how much you can accomplish with the least amount of force. And drop self-importance. Remember, unless you’re Donald Trump or Miss Piggy and self-aggrandizement is part of your brand identity, it’s bad for business. It introduces unnecessary noise into the system and distorts communication. Drop self-importance and you’ll hear critical bad news faster, and people will trust that you can handle it.

http://www.badcb.blogspot.ca/2013/10/article-healthy-business-tips.html

Effort quote: I put this in my inspirational quotes collection, but I want to write about it here.

“Humans need something to get them excited.  We seek the most pleasure for the least amount of effort.  As far as I’m concerned, it is a jumpstart to get people interested and engaged in doing something healthier for the long term, then I’m supportive of that.”-Loreen Wales, dietician of Revive Wellness, Edmonton Journal.  Oct. 25, 2013

The article was about those cleansing smoothie drinks.  There is no 100% scientific data that it’s helpful, but it’s helpful to some people for losing weight.  This does apply to my job search, because I put so much effort in my work, looking for a job on the internet, and job interviews.  

CACEE: I was going through my papers and found this magazine, that I did write about in my weekly emails:

“The Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) is a national non-profit partnership of employer recruiters and career services professionals. Our mission is to provide authoritative information, advice, professional development opportunities and other services to employers, career services professionals, and students.”

They release an bi-annual magazine called Career Options to universities.  They are looking for submissions:

• Ask yourself: Is your article fun to read? Is your first paragraph a good "hook"? Is your writing lively and clear?
• How relevant, new and compelling is the info? How is it presented?
• Use bullets, steps, tips, numbers, "how to", "dos and don'ts", subheads, lists, questions, and balanced examples whenever possible to break continuous blocks of text

Me: I don’t know what exactly to write about into a job article.  What tips could I give?

http://cacee.com/writing_guidelines.html

CCHRA: There was an ad in the Career Options magazine for this.  I went to the website and it’s for people in human resources.  The website is pretty good:

“Established in 1994, the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA) is a collaborative effort of human resources associations from across Canada, representing more than 36,000 professionals, 21,000 of whom hold the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation. The CCHRA is the national voice on the enhancement and promotion of the profession across Canada, through established and credible designations, collaborating on national issues related to the profession and proactively positioning the national human resources agenda at the international level.”

http://www.chrp.ca/?page=About_CCHRA

Self- analysis:

Interior designer: I do like reading and looking at the pictures in the homes section of the newspaper.  I like how the furniture and how it’s placed in the home.  I don’t think I really want to become an interior designer because there is no real need for that kind of job.  It’s not like nurses, where people need them.
No disrespect to interior designers, but I don’t think this job is for me.  It wouldn’t really bring me any satisfaction in the job.  I have seen those home decorating shows where people decorate or renovate and there is a whole before and after shots.

Question: What brings me satisfaction?  I’m sure you guys may have noticed that I seem to be writing more about charity news.  I would like to work for a charity or something that helps others.

Charity work: Maybe there is something here: I was reading “From sir, with love” by Paul Naim on Oct. 25, 2013 in the Globe and Mail.  He’s a teacher and he went to Tanzania to teach.

“Having the little ones give me a hug to thank me for repairing their blackboard, which had been full of holes, nearly brought me to tears.  It took so little effort on my part, but meant so much to them.”

“The people truly crave education.  They want to improve their lives, and they know that education is key.”

Nora Furber: I was reading in the Edmonton Journal on Oct. 25, 2013, about this entrepreneur in St. Albert.  She was on CBC’s Dragon’s Den to sell her Monjeloco jeans that means “lift the bum.”  The judges were impressed with it, and were prepared to invest it as a group, but thought the company’s valuation was too high.  

They did encourage here to follow up another time.  Her store is at #103 20 Perron St.  After the show, she got 455 emails wanting to buy her stuff.

“Her jeans are produced at a factory in Medellin, Columbia funded by the Canadian and Colombian governments that employs 275 single mothers, offering good wages, health care and subsidized schooling for their children.”

There is charity in production.

Feedback: I’ll be straight-up.  Right now I’m biding my time until my benefits start up so I can talk to my counselor and we can think up some new directions for my career and life.  I’m kind of stuck in a rut.  So right now, I’m reading a bunch of articles in the newspaper and the internet about business and writing.  I’m also trying to find some inspiration.  If you have any thoughts of where I should go, then email me.