I used to say that I never wanted to have any regrets. This was many years ago.
Lately I've been reflecting on things and I've discovered that I do live with regrets.
There was a time when I wanted to be a graphic designer. I wanted to go to school in Colorado. I wanted to live an exciting life and experience new things.
I wanted to be successful. I had big hopes for myself.
Funny, life didn't play out that way.
My biggest regret was not taking that chance to go and do those things. I held back because I just didn't believe that I could.
My second biggest regret was no finishing what I started. I ended up going to college locally and majored in economics. I left my senior year with about 16 credits to go.
Once I had kids, I always told them that having an education is important. Once you have it, no one can take that away from you.
My son is now an engineer and my daughter is planing on becoming a veterinarian.
But what kind of example am I setting?
An opportunity presented itself so I am seizing it.
Currently I am going after my degree in economics.
I may not be able to right everything that I regret but I can tick one off the list.
Life it just too short to live with regret.
I am still using my son's laptop with the touchy keyboard. I hope I can finish this post without giving up. I also hope that the typos are minimal.
I think I have posted before about loving what I do.
To recap:
When I lost my last job I made a list of all the jobs I have had since I was 12ish. I circled my top three favorite jobs, two were food service work and the third was Walmart.
I applied at the local store and was interviewed and hired so fast....my head spinned. I accepted the position of Sporting Goods sales associate. I loved every second of it. I loved the Black Friday insanity. I loved the Christmas chaos. I loved watching sales ebb and flow with the changing months. I also learned. I earned full time status. I earned sick time, vacation time, stock options, retirement plan and paid holidays. I earned employee of the month and I also earned a promotion.
I worked very hard for everything I earned. I haven't even been there a whole year yet.
I love every tiring second of it.
I manage produce.
Produce is not for pansies.
It is super hard work, physically and mentally.
I know, you are rolling your eyes.
pfft....
Walk a day in my worn out shoes.
Anyway....
Time came again for a "promotion" of sorts. I put my name in, was interviewed for the position and was offered the position.
Of course I accepted (yay me!)
But....
I must note here that the one thing that is consistent with Walmart is change. This is nothing new to me.
A week or so after I accepted the new position, the job duties changed.
It weighed heavy on my mind.
The new position would not be as challenging as my current one. The rate of pay would not change.
I had a heart to heart discussion with the store manager and an assistant manager. I decided to keep my current position.
I am NOT afraid of hard work.
But....this is not the whole point of this blog entry.
In all of my years of working, I have never ever been so appreciated for what I do. I don't get a mass email form my supervisor "thanking me for all that I do". When an email goes out to the whole team, you kind of realize that he is doing that because it is required of him. It doesn't motivate, it makes you feel less of a valued employee (at least I felt that way).
I didn't just get a 2% yearly raise, I have increased hourly wage by 50% in less than a year. I make more money now than I have in the last 7 years.
I received a quarterly bonus for the first time ever. I worked for a billion dollar corporation and didn't even receive a Christmas bonus.
Speaking of Christmas bonuses, we get 20% off our purchases just before Christmas.
I don't sit and wait for someone to hand me something to do. I don't spend countless hours bored out of my mind behind a desk, waiting for the phone to ring or a quote to be done. I take ownership of what I am responsible for and I make it happen.
Appreciation can go a long way for an employee.
Take the time, thank them personally. Give them responsibility.
As an employee, earn what you deserve. Don't expect it to just fall into your lap.
If you think your job sucks, then it will.
Funny, I sit here worried about what I say because it might trigger another hate letter in the mail from my anonymous friend (I use the word "friend" loosely here.).
I shouldn't be worried. I shouldn't let people intimidate me because of what they think.
You know, we all fail sometimes. It is allowed. It is a human type thing to do. This is how we learn. We make mistakes. We fail at things.
I have failed quite a bit in the last twelve months. I am not afraid to admit it.
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” - Robert F. Kennedy
This doesn't mean that I failed on purpose.
I made an attempt at living a life I thought I wanted. I mean, I do like living in the country and having a nice car and a good job. But these things all came with a price. The price was both monetary and mentally.
I am not going to rehash what I failed at.
What needs to happen is a new plan, a new vision board, a new direction.
I am sure it is going to take some time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Hell, I am pretty sure that it wasn't even built in a month.
I've already made a big step in going back to a job a enjoy. I find great satisfaction in working hard, seeing results and hearing feedback on what I have done. I enjoy talking to different people. I find the greatest joy in this.
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” - Denis Waitley
The hardest part is going through the bad to get to the good.
This weekend included a vendor fair in which I was selling my hand crafted bows and charms and other fun little items.
One of the other vendors was with Origami Owl. As a maker of little fun items, naturally I was intrigued. I went back to her table several times and learned the scoop on the company and its founder and how it worked and a whole bunch of other interesting tidbits.
The one thing that had me was that the founder was a teenage girl. This girl is now a muli-millionaire at the age of 17.
What. The. Hell....
She is 17.
I am 44.
I have always dreamed about starting my own business. Not necessarily for the money aspect (although that would be awesome) but for the whole reason of not having to work by anyone else's rules.
I am thinking about joining the Origami Owl team but at the same time I wonder about coming up with my own thing instead of selling someone else's thing.
It gives me so much to think about.
I have been reading so many books and blogs about starting up a business. I have also been reading up on how to target your dreams and make them into a reality.
My head is literally swimming with so many thoughts. It is making me nuts.
I feel it in my heart that if I just find what makes me the happiest, I can truly make it into something successful.
Currently I am just crafting and selling on Etsy....
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Inspiralicious?ref=si_shop
But....there may be something else that would be an even better idea coming.
I can just feel it.
Hell, if she can do it, I can do it. ;-)
