I took a break and moved my blog...

I've taken a recent break from blogging and now I'm ready to get back to posting about my life.  I've also moved from this blog to a new one. 

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On the Road...

Well I have finished my first two weeks in the field on my own and I really like my new job. For those that may not know about my job I will give you a little run down on what I do. As you all know I changed jobs and I now market a finance company to all auto dealers in Central Florida. I have over a 100 dealers that I have to visit through-out the month and educate them on our programs and ask that they send us their business.

The Niche…
Like any company we have a certain niche that we gear most of our business to. The owner opened our company back in 1991 after leaving a large car dealership organization. He wanted to be able to help the customers that were credit challenged by giving them an auto loan when no one else would. This in return would build their credit back up to good standards and help them in the future. He has done relatively well and the company continues to grow. We buy loans for people that have been in bankruptcy, foreclosed on their home, no social security numbers, first time buyers and for those who have just had trouble managing their money and paying their bills. You would be amazed at how many people actually need a program like ours to help them.   

So you ask….
How is it being on the road? I like it a lot and I enjoy meeting new people and building relationship with them. Some people can be a little rude at times, but I don’t take it personally. They are the ones with issues, not me. I do not miss sitting behind the desk, but I do miss eating lunch with people. One of the things that bother me and maybe you guys might have a few ideas for me. When I meet the finance managers at the dealerships and I am going over our program guidelines they aren’t really listening to what I am saying. I say this because they send in applications that don’t fit our guidelines at all. They look like they are listening and understanding, but apparently not. And when I ask if they understand they always say yes and they never ask questions. Of course I have to believe them and go with the flow, but maybe I can approach it in a different way. What would you suggest I do?

Positive Thinking….

Positive thinking is a master tool that successful business persons need to live by, but its not something only business people should practice, its something that everyone man, woman and child should practice. You might ask, what do you mean by this? What I am trying to say is the more positive thinking one does the better off he or she will be.

Little thoughts can become consuming….

I was driving to work one day, listening to the radio, this is a normal morning task that I do. The radio news seems to be the only source of news I get through-out the week. As I listen to the radio broadcaster, he talks about how we should go home and practice not saying anything negative for one week. Whether it is about a bad workday or traffic was horrible or the kids did not clean up after themselves. He stated that after doing so you see changes in your normal day-to-day life. I could relate to this because this is a normal practice that I try to live by. I really feel this is what has gotten me this far in life.
   
Hints positive thinking…

When you sit back and really think about it, we always think negative thoughts. Just to name a few: my hair looks horrible today, I am going to be late for work, this traffic stinks, why can’t my spouse help out around the house, I am going to fail this test or better yet I am going to fail this class. Why don’t we say things such as I love to drive in traffic, the sky looks beautiful today, honey you are a big help or I am going to do great on my finals. I have always tried to live by positive thinking, but I must say that there are days when the negative thoughts get the better of me. As this seems to be small, if you think negative thoughts for a long period they will build up and really start to weigh on how you look at things.

Practice makes perfect…

I am firm believer of positive thinking. I believe it can actually do wonders for the mind and soul. Promise me this that you will for one-day try not to say anything negative. Not one word of negativity should leave your lips. First, you will be amazed at how hard you will have to work to accomplish this, but by the end of the day, you will see what I mean. Live by this and things will start to happen for you. I would also like to recommend two great books for you to read. The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. They are great books for you and anyone you might know. Do you recommend any other books? I’m always open to suggestions.

Marketing World…

I went on my first business trip this past week for my new position as a Marketing Manager for a local finance company. I was a little nervous at first, but after day one, I was fine. The corporate office is in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and they had a summit for all of the Marketers throughout the states. This type of group meetings are helpful because you can listen to the other marketers and get creative ideas of what works and what does not work.

I was in Ft. Lauderdale for a week and they put me up in the Marriot. I had never been on a business trip before so I was not sure if was going to be able to do my schoolwork, but little did I know the hotel provided Wi-Fi for the guests. It was a good thing because finals were last week. Oh and I passed all of my classes, how exciting is that? I spent the day in the office for training and the evenings were for whatever I wanted to do. It was a lot of fun, but after a week, I was ready to go home. I am not sure I would like traveling on a weekly basis for work. Luckily, my new position is all locally so I only have to travel when we have training meetings.

Are you a Marketer? Can you provide some advice?
This is my first Marketing job ever and I am excited, but nervous about it. It will help me determine if I am going for the right degree at Rasmussen or not. I am hoping to become a marketer for a medical supply company after I get my bachelors in Business Management with Marketing and Sales emphasis. I have the personality of a marketer, and the drive to succeed, so I hope I do well. Do you market or know anyone that does? I would love to get some ideas and tips on marketing to apply to my new job.

Quote for the day…
“The game of life is real and is played between the ears. The way you think determines the decisions you make. The decisions you make determines what you do. And what you do determines how successful you will become.” Noel Peebles

It is a great feeling….

I am getting ready to end my second semester as an online student at Rasmussen and it feels really good. When I decided to start college online I was nervous about the whole thing. I was nervous about being able to do the assignments, nervous thinking if I was going to be capable of being an online student and I was nervous about venturing into a new life style change.

It took me a while to get comfortable with the Rasmussen portal and Angel platform (it’s how our classes are taught), but once I started using Angel it was fine. Everything else just seems to fall into place as time goes by. Don’t get me wrong, by thinking that it is really easy because it is not. However, if you can take the time to dedicate yourself to a couple of hours each week per class, you’ll be fine. My biggest challenges have been between work and school. I had to make changes for the better to accommodate my school work, but that is all a part of life.

Different perspective as I get older

As for the school work part it has been interesting, but I find myself being more dedicated than the average young college student. Let me know if you agree or not, but I think older college students can be more dedicated to their school work. At this stage in our lives we’re less likely to be distracted by parties, dorm rooms and the opposite sex.  I’m grateful for being over my boy crazy faze of my late teens.  I’m truly concerned about the grades I receive and work hard to get a B or better. If I have questions or problems figuring out school work I would email my teachers or ask a friend for guidance. Do any of you have challenges that you can share with me? I am curious to see if other students have ran into different challenges that I may not have come across yet. Also, let me know if you have a different perspective as an older student? If you’re a younger student please let me know how you’ve been able to overcome the distractions…

The End is Near…. For this Semester

I am getting ready to finish my second semester of online school here at Rasmussen and I absolutely love it! It is truly amazing what you can do online now a days. When I tell people that I am going back to school they always say “how on earth do you find time”. I find time because it is 100% online. There is no trying to make it to class; it is all on my time. 

Resources…

There are tons of websites for students to use when searching for information needed for assignments. Even though I still recommend the good ole’ library, lets admit it’s not always convenient. The great thing about being an online student is Rasmussen supplies their students with online resources in their Library. You can view books, articles, videos and images. They also have helpful tools to assist you with researching, there is still a Librarian to ask questions when you need assistance, and to check out that book it is just a click away and then it is mailed to your door. It does not get any better than that! When you really like something then you want to tell everyone you know about it… kind of like when you enjoy a good movie… then you tell all your friends to go see it. Rasmussen is like that good movie for me…by the way, while we’re on the topic of good movies, anyone seen Super Bad? It was super awesome… I think everyone should go see it!! Just as a disclaimer, it’s made by the same people as 40 year old Virgin and Knocked up…so the humor isn’t for everyone, but I thought it was hilarious!!

Besides the Library…

If you want to use other resources, I recommend checking out Wikipedia. Some teachers do not recommend you using this site because anyone can post information on it, but other teachers encourage you to use it. You can find anything you want to know on this website. It’s amazing!! The one thing I would recommend if you find info on Wikipedia to use in your assignments, do a little double checking and find information to back up what you are going to use. You can also search the internet for helpful information. My favorite is Google, but you may have a different favorite. However, I always seem to have more luck with Google when searching for information needed for school projects. All you have to do is go to the search engine bar and type related words of what you are trying to find information on.

Still Learning…

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime. I am still learning as well so if any of you have ideas or tips, please let me know.   
    

Two weeks left…..

We have just two weeks left for school before break between semesters and I can’t wait. This semester has been a bit over whelming for me due to work. We do not realize how much things affect us on a daily basis until we have to deal with it. I have always thought of myself as a person who controls stress pretty well, but recently I have learned that I am not as strong as I thought I was. I do a great job with covering it up, but internally my body gets the affects of it all. This cause weight loss and little sleep which are not good while trying to get through each day. It has only been

Two Days…

As I am sure you read in a previous blog, I put my two weeks in at my job. The last two weeks went by pretty slowly, but they are over now. I have been off from work for two days now and it is amazing how great I feel. The stress has been lifted from me and I feel like a brand new person. Although I have another job, I took off until after Labor Day. This is the first time in twelve years that I have been unemployed. I have twelve days to do whatever I want and enjoy life as I sail through it.

Stress kills…

What I am learning as I grow older is that stress can be deadly. If you have something that is truly bothering you please make it a point to deal with it. If you choose to cover it up and go on about living life, it will only catch up to you. Stress affects our bodies more than we think, therefore we are hurting ourselves on the inside if we do not learn how to cope with things and deal with them when needed. Please reach out to friends and families to ask for support and remember you have me here too!

Could you imagine living in a world of sameness?

In my Foundation English II we are reading a book called The Giver by Lois Lowry. I am sure some of you have already read the book, but if you have not, then you must check it out. It is a great book! The book is about living in a perfect world where there is no pain, fear or war. I would love to live in a world with no hatred, but I could not imagine not feeling love or pain. You ask…why pain? We would not know what happiness felt like if we did not know what pain or sadness was like.

I love to be happy…

The main character is a twelve year old boy named Jonas. Everyone in the community is assigned a role. When Jonas turned twelve he is officially consider an adult and assigned his permanent role in the community of The Receiver of Memory. This poor kid now has to receive all the memory of pain, love, hate and fear of the past so the community can live in peace. The whole community speaks by precision of language to prevent anyone from expressing feelings.

Imagine Sameness…..What would be the advantages??
The advantages sameness might have for a community would be the fact that people would not judge others. Everyone in the community would be equal and it would prevent hatred. When thinking of this I think of children in school. Whenever there is a child that comes from a family with financial problems the child seems to always get the brunt of the shame. The students around him/her are all wearing name brand clothes and have neat school supplies while the less fortunate child has hammy downs and the supplies are the basic necessities. Students of today don't think of hurting ones feelings so they continue to make jokes at the child which embarrasses him. This can cause lots of trouble and can continue in through-out his future. However the loss of diversity to me would not be worthwhile because diversity makes us individuals. Diversity gives us the right to become who we want to be in life, who we chose to marry and how man children we want to have if any.  What do you think? Would you like to live in a world of sameness?

Career Changes

I have reached max capacity at my current job. I have been working with a family owned business located in Orlando, Florida for the last four years.  I worked really hard the first two years and it was noticed. I was given a promotion from Finance Manager to Finance Director. Then the next year and a half I continued to work really hard, above and beyond my normal duties. After a year of all the extra effort, nobody noticed and it’s been frustrating. When I ask for a day off or put in for vacation time they never wanted to let me go. They constantly expected things from me, but never wanted to give back. They also changed everyone’s pay plan for the worse. Now I have reached a point where I am tired and really dislike my job. They took me from being a positive, hard working team player employee to quitting and not wanting to work for the company any longer.

Employee Satisfaction Matters…..

In class last week we discussed the importance of employee satisfaction and how corporations need to notice when employees are doing good and award them for their efforts. They say because the job market is so competitive with finding great employees they can be taken right out from underneath them. If a company is not taking care of its employees there is another firm up the road that is willing to award them when necessary. There is a company called Container Store and they have been in the top ten business awards for being the number one company to work for during the last few years. They thrive on hiring self- motivated and team oriented people who have a passion for excellent customer satisfaction; they cross train everyone for all positions and always give incentives to employees for working hard. Energy and excitement is the key to success in their stores.  Their employees truly enjoy working for them and that is the way it should be.  They say it is run more like a mom and pop store verses a large corporation.

Two weeks’ notice…….

I reached the end and decided to find another job. After searching for a few months I finally found a good company to work for. I put my two week notice in and explain to management why I was leaving. I hope that they will learn from this and possibly change for future employees and their satisfaction.  Always remember that you are just as important to the company as they are to you. I recommend checking out the website for the Container Store so you can read how a company should be www.containerstore.com

Business….

I am taking a Business class this semester and I love it! If you haven’t taken a business class yet, I highly recommend it. I just wrapped up my 5th week of business. We’ve covered everything from entrepreneurs to business trends and ethics. This class has provided me with a better understanding on how the economy works and the different levels of owning a successful business.

Money…money…money   
One of my assignments from the beginning of the semester is a stock portfolio. We were given $5000 to invest with (fake, of course). I chose to purchase stocks from 5 different   company’s through-out the US and Europe.  Then each week we have to log the activity and back it up with additional information. The teacher looks for things like: How did you stocks do during the week? Why did they increase or decrease in cost? I am able to find all of this information on several investment websites. This is great for me because I am learning so much about investing and will be able to do this on my own and raise money for retirement. 

Going Down….. 
The last couple of weeks the Dow NASDAQ have been dropping like crazy. I really feel for the people who have real money invested. The stock market is just like gambling and it is a risk that you take when you invest money. However, if you buy in at the right time you can make millions. Why is the stock market looking horrible? Not sure about where you live, but Florida Real estate has been slow for several months.

Here are a few website for you to check out if you are interested in the stock market.
www.fool.com
www.smartmoney.com