Tag: professional

hustle

Take the Class

2chicksandapen

When is it too late to take that extra continuing education class? Is there ever a too late time clock?

I don’t think so. I glance around and see many 40-55 year old guys wasting a lot of time playing what I call mindless video games. You know the ones with clans and farms and other stuff. (Sorry If this offends you). Maybe it helps with their tracking abilities or hand eye coordination?

But maybe it will hinder their vision in the long run. Or maybe it will separate them from loved ones since it’s a party of one activity.

If these same guys decided to invest in themselves via online courses, could they be better providers for their families? Could they be engaging or stimulating their brain to help ward off the aging process?

There are many ways to grow personally and professionally but how many actually take the time once they hit a cushy spot in their career or a certain age where one feels it no longer matters?

Teachers, hair stylists, real estate professionals, attorneys, among others need credit hours showing development after their career has launched. How many fields don’t have this requirement? Who holds you accountable to grow?

You my friend hold yourself accountable. All day everyday. If you want to excel or be noted as a top achiever in your field you need to evolve. Don’t just collect a paycheck. Push yourself. Learn something new within your organization.

Test your limits. You will never know how far you can go if you never try. This post is dedicated to all those middle aged guys and gals who think they are too old or set in their ways to step out of their comfort zone.

Take the class! It could be a photography class for a new hobby. It could be the real estate class to start a side hustle. It could be a scuba diving class to learn something you always wanted to.

Just take the class and do it again next year. You might surprise yourself and those around you. You might even inspire another and start a chain reaction.

As I wrote this blog I received an article about financial literacy in adults. It mentioned nearly two thirds of American adults would struggle to pass a financial literacy test. This is further confirmation of take the class!

Take a financial class. A budgeting class. Many are available online for free. You can’t beat free. Making self education a best practice sounds like a smart choice to make.

Take the class and let us know how it goes. We know it will be beneficial. Sorry in advance for picking on guys in this post. It may seem sexist and maybe it is but generally speaking guys play mindless video games more than women.

Think sharper. Work faster. Feel better.

Another health and wealth tidbit from 2 chicks.

hustle, working women

A CEO, a Donkey and an Employee

2chicksandapen

What do the three above have in common?

Each can be considered a jackass at one point or another! Yep folks, you got it. A jackass!

Not to get off topic, but I start a post sometimes and circle back to finish it up. It could be hours later, days later or even weeks later. But I could not ignore this photo and blurb that I randomly got today….

Look closely folks. My quote said “look, somebody lost their ass on the side of the road.” Now this became a sign for me to finish this post.

Who would have guessed it? I am a jackass a lot of days as the CEO of one of my companies. I know perception isn’t often reality but for some employees their perception can be that I am an ass. I am pretty sure at least one employee has made that claim and I am sure others may in the future. I get it. It’s okay. As the CEO I sometimes have to make unpopular decisions. I sometimes have to offer counseling to employees and they may not like it. It comes with the territory of being the CEO. Taking charge of any and all situations. Most think the view from the top is the best but many don’t see the turbulence a CEO faces on the daily.

In any company, the CEO takes risks. There could be big rewards but there could also be big failures. I’ve experienced both. That’s why so many on the bottom don’t fancy the CEO at the top. Why? Because it’s a seat they will never have! Plain and simple.

Oddly enough, I wear multiple hats in a day, week or month. This gives me the unique vantage point of being an employee some days. Under a different set of circumstances, but an employee nonetheless. An employee, by definition, does a job, collects a fair wage, and completes work assigned or agreed upon for said pay. And guess what? I could actually be a jackass there, too. How could this be true? Hypothetically, I could be the manager nobody likes or respects. I could be the poor performing employee who complains about everything and everyone. I could even be the office gossip.

Whatever my role in those four walls, I am bound to be a jackass to somebody. Is it perception or reality? Maybe I’m a pay tier ahead of the one who thinks I am a jackass. Maybe I make them do more work when I am on vacation. Maybe the boss favors me more. The list could go on and on. I’m sure you get my point. Jackassery can appear amongst the rank and file as well as leadership in any company. Clearly I am using myself as an example to prove a point, but I tell you, I lived all these scenarios at one point in time or another during my professional career.

At the end of the day, a CEO has a job. Their job is to drive the vision of the company and take the company to the next level. The employees are the ones who push the paper, press the keys and provide service to clients. They are the hamsters who run the hamster wheels in whatever industry you work.

Everyone has a role in an organization. Everyone has a lane. At any given time, one of those people in the mix can be a jackass. Do you take it personally and dwell on it? No, because you can’t control it. You move on. You rise another day. You grind another day. You make new decisions as the CEO or you work hard as an employee.

If you zoom in on the jackass picture, who is the jackass? The real ass, as in the donkey? The person who created the donkey in the road mess at rush hour? Or the person driving the car that thought it was a good idea to get out of the truck and…

Well, a picture is worth a thousand words they say. I don’t have a thousand here in this post but I hope I gave you some perspective today. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the street, even if it looks that way at a quick glance. Not everyone is meant to be the CEO even if one makes it look easy.

Not sure how I got on the jackass theme but it was a random rant or thought that I jotted down and figured I’d publish it at some point in time. Find your path. Follow it. Don’t worry about others perception of you or your jackassery.

Again, I know plenty of folks who judge me for my choices but at the end of the day they are my choices and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Now seems like the perfect time to post this because I am a jackass. I will be one today, tomorrow and in the future. No doubt about it. I bet you have been a jackass at some point too.

Do you know a jackass?

Bonus tidbit: if you don’t want to be known as a jackass, adjust your attitude and train your mind to respect others in their roles because you never know what another person is going through or what they have on their plate. Jackassery is not just a debate, it’s a movement.

Now I am ready for a game of pin the tail on the donkey. How I love childhood memories that reflect into adulthood. Have a donkeylicious day folks!