Career Change– 5 Must-Take Steps
Dissatisfaction, boredom, changing life styles and limited advancement or compensation opportunities headline traditional career change lists. But today career change drivers are just as likely to be for non-elective reasons. No matter if your decision is driven by a pursuit for happiness or a pursuit for survival; follow these important rules to insure a smart and lasting career change.
Changing careers requires a job change — a scary proposition. However, with career change training, and good career change advice will help see you through this difficult challenge. Don’t let your fear stop you from finding a job you love.
For more information on these techniques and for more assistance creating and pursuing a successful new career or career change see - Get help with Career Training
Good luck.
Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams (Paperback)
From Publishers Weekly
Journalist Skillings aims to rescue Americans from corporate tedium in this entertaining and informative guide to walking away from an established—albeit stultifying—job and forging a more rewarding career. With insight and humor, Skillings enumerates the stages of Corporate Disillusionment and the features of the toxic workplace—the bullying bosses, moronic co-workers, terminal boredom and rampant racism and sexism. A multitude of questionnaires, exercises and worksheets helps readers determine their dream job, assess expenses and assets, and plot an escape plan to break free of corporate life without going bankrupt. Skillings also provides pointers to those readers who simply want to be happier in their current jobs—including negotiating for more flexible hours, telecommuting and taking sabbaticals. Vignettes of successful fugitives from the corporate world populate the book and an extremely useful Escape Tool Kit supplies information on (more...)
Job Search Fact Or Myth? Age Discrimination Is A Major Issue In A Job Search
A lot of material has been published both in print and posted online that has caused older job seekers, especially those Baby Boomers in their 50s and 60s, to be afraid that they are no longer marketable. As a career coach and resume writer, I am finding that even some candidates in their early-to-mid 40s are now concerned about their age when conducting a job search.
Do Companies Really Discriminate Based on Age?
The answer, for the most part, is a resounding NO! Most companies do not discriminate against older workers. In fact, in today's business climate, where organizations have serious concerns about the strength, work ethic, and dedication of the younger generations, it doesn't serve corporations to do so and workers with more experience are becoming more highly valued.
The Truth Is in the Numbers
First of all, it is a simple fact that Baby Boomers by far outnumber their children's generation. So basic math tells us that employers cannot afford to be that picky. The whole job market simply cannot be 25 to 40 years of age!
Second, I'm not sure I've met many senior managers, supervisors, and advanced-level professionals who are 25 years old. Furthermore, it isn't like all hiring managers are less than 30 years of age. Many of them are also Baby Boomers or just about. It is a hard sell to suggest they are discriminating against people their own age.
Third, I have yet to hear employers say that they don't value experience. You simply can't have much experience at 25, no matter how great you are.
The Real Issue
It seems to me that what many people tag as age discrimination against older candidates during the job search has more to do with the attitudes possessed by that worker. Remember, most older candidates simply have more work history than those job seekers right out of college. With that experience comes the baggage of having been laid off, downsized, rightsized, outsourced, or just simply having had a bad boss.
The Bitter Root
That baggage usually manifests itself as bitterness during an interview. Any trained interview professional will easily key in on underlying bitterness a candidate possesses, even if the job seeker is unaware of its existence. Think about it, whom would you rather hire, candidates that are bitter about their previous work history, knowing that they will likely drag that with them into their new role, or candidates fresh out of college that are enthused, excited, and energetic about the opportunity at hand?
That's not age discrimination, that's just simple common sense. Employers don't want someone who looks run down, tired out, and weary, and is still angry about that old boss in 1982! Employers want to hire people with good attitudes and a good outlook on work and life, people who are up-to-date on their skills and eager to take on a new challenge, who leverage the great experience they have earned (especially from the bad situations) to build a win-win environment.
So Age Discrimination Is a Myth?
No, unfortunately, cases of it have and do occur. Blue collar, manufacturing, entry-level administration...those are areas where it can occur the most. And, thankfully, there are processes in place for when they do. But even in many of those cases, the tricky question is whether someone is being discriminated because of their age or they are being replaced because of having out-of-date skills.
In this day and age, there really is no longer any excuse for not knowing basic computer functions. There are just too many resources out there, many of them relatively inexpensive, that can help you.
The Last Word
No matter how you look at it, in no way, shape, or form is age discrimination occurring at such a level to cause an entire generation of workers to feel they need to hide their experience on resumes or to feel trapped in positions because they won't be able to find another company to take them.
I really feel like now is a great time for Baby Boomers to be out there. They just need to take that knowledge and combine it with an eagerness to still learn new things and to bring to the table the standard of professionalism that is often sorely lacking in today's corporations.
Straight Talk About Your Resume
Getting proper resume help is the one step in your job search over which you have total control. It is your personal career marketing document. Based upon the strength of that one or two pages of information, you will either be selected for an interview from among potentially hundreds of other candidates - or passed over.
The purpose of a Resume is not to get a job! Its purpose is to get an interview. And any candidate in today's job market is up against very stiff competition.
Put yourself in a Human Resource Director's shoes. The morning's mail has just arrived and a stack of 100 or 200 Resumes have been dropped on your desk. Your first goal is going to be narrowing down that stack to perhaps 10 or 20 candidates. So the first function a Resume serves is to eliminate most candidates from consideration.
Job recruiters spend approximately 15 seconds looking at each Resume. In that short time, they make a decision to place you in the "yes" pile or in the "no" pile. This decision can be based on the overall appearance of your Resume template, the format, and the three or four key selling points you have listed in your Qualifications Summary at the top of the Resume.
If you make it to the "yes" pile, your Resume will receive a detailed reading. But again, the recruiter is still looking for a reason to eliminate you as a candidate. From that initial pile of Resumes that come in the mail, the recruiter's goal might be to narrow the list to only five or ten candidates who will be called for an interview. So even if you survived the first screening and made it to the stack of 20, you still have a 50/50 chance of being cut from the final selection.
Remember, this entire process happens solely on the strength of your Resume. That’s why your resume format is so important. And if you survive this process, your Resume then becomes the basis for your interview. The recruiter will use your Resume as an outline to discuss your career history, accomplishments, and qualifications for the position she/he needs to fill at the company.
After the interview, your Resume continues to represent you, as your qualifications are weighed against those of other candidates who have also made it through this interview stage. Assume that only the five or ten best and most qualified candidates were interviewed. Now the company has to make a choice. How do they do that? The people involved in the decision sit down at a conference table and discuss those final five or ten Resumes...again. Looking for reasons to eliminate all but one applicant. Even here, your Resume plays an important role in reminding the company of your qualifications, the impression you made during the interview, etc.
Probably not – unless you are a skilled professional writer who can also honestly look at your own strengths and weaknesses objectively. While there are dozens of "do-it-yourself" Resume books on the market, the truth is that if you do your own Resume, it is being prepared by an amateur.
Does it make sense to spend four years and $40,000 to earn a college degree and then market that investment to employers with a do-it-yourself Resume? Or to have solid credentials and a salary level of $30,000, $60,000 or $100,000... and use a less than professional Resume to represent you?
Think of a company like Coca-Cola. The executives who work for Coca-Cola probably know that product better than anyone else. Yet Coca-Cola uses a professional advertising agency to create the messages that are designed to sell us on buying Coca-Cola.
Hiring a professional Resume writer serves the same purpose in selling you to a potential employer as Coca-Cola's advertising agency in selling their products to consumers. You're getting the benefit of an expert who writes Resumes every day and who knows how to present a client's background and credentials to best advantage.
For example, there are three standard Resume formats: The Chronological, Functional and Modified (which is a combination of Chronological and Functional). Deciding which format will best present your career history is a critical strategic decision before the first word is ever written on paper.
Most job candidates also fall into one of three categories that are detrimental to the success of a do-it-yourself Resume:
1. Those who are reluctant to "brag" about their past accomplishments and successes and tend to underplay the specific information an employer wants to see in the Resume. Sometimes a candidate simply doesn't realize how important some detail of his/her past performance would be to a future employer.
2. Sometimes the candidate says too much. Even though the candidate would be perfectly qualified for the available position, she/he can appear to be over-qualified, or a threat to the hiring manager, or too narrowly focused in one aspect of the job instead of being a generalist.
3. Finally, there may be some aspect of a candidate's past that can be difficult to present on the Resume: frequent job changes, a long period of unemployment, lack of a college degree normally required for a particular position or the lack of any actual work experience in this particular field (career change, graduating students, military personnel returning to civilian job market), etc.
A professional Resume writer is an objective third party with the expertise to draw out relevant information from your work history, tone down the extent of your achievements, if necessary, and provide strategies for overcoming any difficult or negative aspects in your job search.
ResumeHelp.com offers a number of professional resume writers. Every company has been screened by the owners and their qualifications checked. Our policy is not to recommend anyone that we wouldn’t use ourselves. If we are uncertain of a companies ability to perform we simply won’t recommend them.
Work Stress: Techniques to Reduce Work-Related Stress
Many surveys and studies confirm that work pressures and fears are, by far, the leading source of stress for adults in the western world. Here are just a few statistics. More than 50% of workers often spend 12-hour-days on work related duties and frequently skip lunch due to the stress of job demands.
According to an International Labour Organisation study, workers put in an equivalent of an extra 40-hour week in the year 2000, compared with 10 years earlier.
It's estimated that one million workers are absent every day due to stress. 40% of job turnover is due to stress. And 60-80% of accidents on the job is stress related.
Job related stress is more likely to become chronic because it's such a large part of your daily life.
What are the causes of stress at work?
The most common complaints include,
· Having no participation in decisions that affect your responsibilities.
· Unrelenting or unreasonable demands for performance.
· Lack of communication.
· Conflicts between workers or employers.
· Lack of job security.
· Long hours.
· Excessive time spent away from home and family.
· Office politics.
· Wages not equal to your levels of responsibility.
Many companies often put intense pressure on employees to perform, which can lead to high levels of tension.
For employers, treating stress has many benefits. In one study a company set up a two year stress management and education program which saved money both in compensation costs and less days lost due to sickness.
In Japan, where culturally, expectation levels are very high, approaches to reducing workplace stress include educational consultation programs for each individual worker.
Techniques to reduce work-related stress
Here are a few ways to reduce your stress at work,
· Find a sympathetic manager or personnel manager to talk to about your job stress concerns. This can be effective if it's non-confrontational.
· Establish a network of friends at work and home.
· Re-structure your working day and priorities to eliminate unnecessary tasks.
· Focus on the positive aspects of your work, but if the job is unendurable, plan and execute a career change or transfer roles within the company.
· Schedule pleasant activities frequently and perhaps some physical exercise during lunch.
There is one last cause of stress at work. And it slowly but effectively erodes your health, dreams and happiness. None of the stress relief techniques will help if you are in the wrong job or industry. There is only one answer to this.
You have to work out what you want to do with your life. What activities you love. And you have to plan a career change. Stress caused by job dissatisfaction will never go away until you get a job you love, or at least like.
Career Change to Lasers!
Entering the medical field is one of the surest ways of finding a secure career. Society will always need medical help. The medical field is constantly changing, with new spurts of job growth every day. What is one of the hottest career trends? Lasers, Nurse Skywalker.
Maybe attending laser school won’t be as exciting as watching Star Wars, but with the career income you’ll be able to afford endless sci-fi movies…
Laser Schools are popping up everywhere. The training is relatively short compared to other medical training, and the resultant career choices offer some nice pay. Laser Certifications are awarded to students who successfully complete the laser program. Then comes the bevy of career choices: Use lasers to sculpt bodies, remove acne, veins, and more.
Do you like to make people beautiful? If you are already in the beauty field, but would like to earn more money, laser training could be a wise choice. It could be a second career for hairdressers or spa specialists. Laser training is another way of helping people.
Does the thought of using a laser on someone scare you? A friend of mine went through a brief bout of fear with laser use. After several years working as a masseuse and hairdresser, she decided to increase her income through laser certification. But after learning how powerful the lasers are, she started to get nervous. The thought of accidentally harming anyone terrified her.
Thank goodness her laser school trained her so thoroughly, that her fear disappeared. She became a confident and skilled laser specialist, able to help people with many procedures.
Today she holds a well-paid position in a spa. She actually has one of the best-paying jobs in a town with a depressed economy. Smart she is. She understood that to make herself competitive among other beauticians, she would need something special. Laser certification did that for her.
What about using lasers on yourself? One payoff to laser training is the ability to give yourself laser treatment. Cellulite? You’ll know how to zap it. Don’t like your body shape? Just laser it away. The expensive price of laser treatment is a non-issue if you are able to do it yourself. Think of all the money you’ll save. Just don’t go crazy and laser your face away.
Of course you can’t laser your own face. Acne treatment would best be left to another professional, unless you are really good at handling mirrors… But with the connections you’ll make at your laser school, you are sure to find a friend who will laser you at a discounted price, or for trade. You laser my face, I’ll laser yours. Sounds like a nice exchange, doesn’t it?
If you are still laser-shy, think of the miracle that laser eye surgery is. People who have had it are amazed. Just amazed. It’s like their life starts over. Some of them could barely see before surgery. Lasers can do wonderful things for people.
But what about the moral quandary of lasering someone’s face to look drastically different? Are you just aiding their low self-esteem? Only you can decide if you want to be a part of that. However, many jobs within the medical field involve moral compromises. Consider the good you can do.
Evaluating A Job Offer
Once you receive a job offer, you are faced with a difficult decision and must evaluate the offer carefully. Fortunately, most organizations will not expect you to accept or reject an offer immediately.
There are many issues to consider when assessing a job offer. Will the organization be a good place to work? Will the job be interesting? Are there opportunities for advancement? Is the salary fair? Does the employer offer good benefits? If you have not already figured out exactly what you want, the following discussion may help you to develop a set of criteria for judging job offers, whether you are starting a career, reentering the labor force after a long absence, or planning a career change.
The organization. Background information on an organization can help you to decide whether it is a good place for you to work. Factors to consider include the organization's business or activity, financial condition, age, size, and location.
You generally can get background information on an organization, particularly a large organization, on its Internet site or by telephoning its public relations office. A public company's annual report to the stockholders tells about its corporate philosophy, history, products or services, goals, and financial status. Most government agencies can furnish reports that describe their programs and missions. Press releases, company newsletters or magazines, and recruitment brochures also can be useful. Ask the organization for any other items that might interest a prospective employee. If possible, speak to current or former employees of the organization.
Background information on the organization may be available at your public or school library. If you cannot get an annual report, check the library for reference directories that may provide basic facts about the company, such as earnings, products and services, and number of employees. Some directories widely available in libraries either in print or as online databases include:
* Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Directory
* Standard and Poor's Register of Corporations
* Mergent's Industrial Review (formerly Moody's Industrial Manual)
* Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
* Ward's Business Directory
Stories about an organization in magazines and newspapers can tell a great deal about its successes, failures, and plans for the future. You can identify articles on a company by looking under its name in periodical or computerized indexes in libraries. However, it probably will not be useful to look back more than 2 or 3 years
The library also may have government publications that present projections of growth for the industry in which the organization is classified. Long-term projections of employment and output for detailed industries, covering the entire U.S. economy, are developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and revised every 2 years. See the November 2005 Monthly Labor Review for the most recent projections, covering the 2004-14 period, on the Internet at: http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/mlrhome.htm. Trade magazines also may include articles on the trends for specific industries.
Career centers at colleges and universities often have information on employers that is not available in libraries. Ask a career center representative how to find out about a particular organization.
Does the organization's business or activity match your own interests and beliefs?
It is easier to apply yourself to the work if you are enthusiastic about what the organization does.
How will the size of the organization affect you?
Large firms generally offer a greater variety of training programs and career paths, more managerial levels for advancement, and better employee benefits than do small firms. Large employers also may have more advanced technologies. However, many jobs in large firms tend to be highly specialized.
Jobs in small firms may offer broader authority and responsibility, a closer working relationship with top management, and a chance to clearly see your contribution to the success of the organization.
Should you work for a relatively new organization or one that is well established?
New businesses have a high failure rate, but for many people, the excitement of helping to create a company and the potential for sharing in its success more than offset the risk of job loss. However, it may be just as exciting and rewarding to work for a young firm that already has a foothold on success.
Does it make a difference if the company is private or public?
An individual or a family may control a privately owned company and key jobs may be reserved for relatives and friends. A board of directors responsible to the stockholders controls a publicly owned company and key jobs usually are open to anyone.
Is the organization in an industry with favorable long-term prospects?
The most successful firms tend to be in industries that are growing rapidly.
Nature of the job. Even if everything else about the job is attractive, you will be unhappy if you dislike the day-to-day work. Determining in advance whether you will like the work may be difficult. However, the more you find out about the job before accepting or rejecting the offer, the more likely you are to make the right choice. Actually working in the industry and, if possible, for the company would provide considerable insight. You can gain work experience through part-time, temporary, or summer jobs, or through internship or work-study programs while in school, all of which can lead to permanent job offers.
Where is the job located?
If the job is in another section of the country, you need to consider the cost of living, the availability of housing and transportation, and the quality of educational and recreational facilities in that section of the country. Even if the job location is in your area, you should consider the time and expense of commuting.
Does the work match your interests and make good use of your skills?
The duties and responsibilities of the job should be explained in enough detail to answer this question.
How important is the job in this company?
An explanation of where you fit in the organization and how you are supposed to contribute to its overall objectives should give you an idea of the job's importance.
Are you comfortable with the hours?
Most jobs involve regular hours—for example, 40 hours a week, during the day, Monday through Friday. Other jobs require night, weekend, or holiday work. In addition, some jobs routinely require overtime to meet deadlines or sales or production goals, or to better serve customers. Consider the effect that the work hours will have on your personal life.
How long do most people who enter this job stay with the company?
High turnover can mean dissatisfaction with the nature of the work or something else about the job.
Opportunities offered by employers. A good job offers you opportunities to learn new skills, increase your earnings, and rise to positions of greater authority, responsibility, and prestige. A lack of opportunities can dampen interest in the work and result in frustration and boredom.
The company should have a training plan for you. What valuable new skills does the company plan to teach you?
The employer should give you some idea of promotion possibilities within the organization. What is the next step on the career ladder? If you have to wait for a job to become vacant before you can be promoted, how long does this usually take? When opportunities for advancement do arise, will you compete with applicants from outside the company? Can you apply for jobs for which you qualify elsewhere within the organization, or is mobility within the firm limited?
Salaries and benefits. ait for the employer to introduce these subjects. Some companies will not talk about pay until they have decided to hire you. In order to know if their offer is reasonable, you need a rough estimate of what the job should pay. You may have to go to several sources for this information. Try to find family, friends, or acquaintances who recently were hired in similar jobs. Ask your teachers and the staff in placement offices about starting pay for graduates with your qualifications. Help-wanted ads in newspapers sometimes give salary ranges for similar positions. Check the library or your school's career center for salary surveys such as those conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers or various professional associations.
If you are considering the salary and benefits for a job in another geographic area, make allowances for differences in the cost of living, which may be significantly higher in a large metropolitan area than in a smaller city, town, or rural area.
You also should learn the organization's policy regarding overtime. Depending on the job, you may or may not be exempt from laws requiring the employer to compensate you for overtime. Find out how many hours you will be expected to work each week and whether you receive overtime pay or compensatory time off for working more than the specified number of hours in a week.
Also take into account that the starting salary is just that—the start. Your salary should be reviewed on a regular basis; many organizations do it every year. How much can you expect to earn after 1, 2, or 3 or more years? An employer cannot be specific about the amount of pay if it includes commissions and bonuses.
Benefits also can add a lot to your base pay, but they vary widely. Find out exactly what the benefit package includes and how much of the cost you must bear.
Posture: A Career Changing Lesson
When I first started my networking career, I was a pretty shy person. The thought of picking up a phone and calling a stranger horrified me.
I used to literally sit at my desk staring at the phone for hours trying to sum up the courage to call my leads. It was ridiculous, but my mind found a way to justify my inaction with one excuse or another.
The problem stemmed from my lack of posture, leadership, and authority, due to a lack of confidence. When I would call my leads, I came from a place of weakness, need, and desperation.
I was spending every spare cent I had on leads and tools, and I had to sponsor a new rep soon or I would be out of money and a failure.
That desperation, need, and lack of confidence came though on the phone and people took advantage of it in order to give themselves power. I came from a position of servitude, doing anything I could to please the prospect and keep them in the pipeline.
This is a MAJOR problem with people new to this industry. You will never build an organization or sponsor the right people until you move out from a Beta mindset to an Alpha mindset.
It is impossible because people only join Alpha leaders. The good news is that your Beta status can be conquered with a little education.
So what does it mean to prospect with posture? Simple. To be blunt: The person on the other end of the phone is a nobody, that must qualify for and justify your attention and time. Until they prove themselves worthy, they are just a voice and a phone number.
I do not care if it is a doctor, lawyer, business owner, etc. They can waste my time just as
easily as anyone else. They have to earn it.
Here is a pretty basic concept that I am adding to this article based on several phone calls I have gotten this week. It is about 800 numbers and whether or not you should use one as a distributor.
I was setting up their websites for them, and they insisted that their 800 number be included because it is easier for the prospect to contact them, and because some people do not want to call long distance.
I have to admit that years ago when I got into this industry, getting my first 800 number was like some cool "right of passage" that meant "now I'm a business owner!"
Ya it was fun to experience that, but I soon learned that an 800 number has no real benefit and can actually be counter-productive.
The only time you should ever use an 800 number is in a direct response advertisement. That is it. I hope by now that YOU can recognize how flawed that above kind of thinking is. ("It makes it easier for my prospects to call me." or "Some of my prospects don't want to call long distance").
First and foremost, why would you even send information to either of those types of people, let alone cater to them? Think of an expert in any field.
Not only do they not have an 800 number, but they usually have a few hoops people have to jump through just to reach them! Receptionist, call screening, etc... forget 800 numbers. They have no benefit to you or your business, and they weaken your positioning.
The best way to build posture if you are lacking it, is to first and foremost, sit up straight or stand while on the phone. Have energy in your voice, and know in your head they you have the keys to the vault. You have already found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
If that is not your normal personality, then change it. This is what it means to become the person you need to be to succeed.
I honestly like to think of Donald Trump, sitting there in the boardroom on The Apprentice. It is an honor for his contestants to have the opportunity to work with him, and they all know it.
It should be no different with you and your prospects. You are the Donald. Act like it. The best way to assert your posture on a call is to keep control of it. Once a prospect asks a question and you answer it, you have lost control.
They are now in charge of the entire call and its outcome. You must take back control immediately! You do not have a choice if you want the call to be successful, not only for your sake, but for your prospects as well. (They just do not know it yet).
The best way to do this is to defer their question and ask them one. Asking your prospect questions keeps you in control of the conversation.
Example Prospect says, "so what kind of business is this? What is the name of your company? You say, "_____, that is a great question, but we are not to that point yet. This is an interview, and I am trying to qualify you for my time. If you would like to continue that is fine, or we can end the call right now. What would you like to do?" (Did you see the reverse question?) Now you have control again.
What does having a strong posture do for your business? First, it positions you as an Alpha leader. If you are not a leader, how can you expect people to follow you? Second, it positions you as an expert instead of a peddler.
Prospects and customers seek out experts because they have the answers they are looking for and because they gain power by associating themselves with that person. Third, it allows you to guide them though your information system on your terms for
maximum effectiveness.
IMPORTANT: People do not partner with you in business because of your product. They do not partner with you because of your compensation plan. They partner with you because of YOU and/or your system.
They partner with you because they see you as an Alpha Networker and someone who can help them achieve success they want. Everything else is secondary.
A great way to help you develop your posture is to just say no to your next five prospects. Do it. Tell them you are sorry, but they are not who you are looking for right now.
This exercise will change your mindset and your posture instantly because it gives you all of the power and it will help you adopt a mindset of abundance which is a critical trait that all Alphas share. Your mind will finally understand that you are the leader, and that the success of your business is not dependent upon any one person or handful of leads.
In all honesty, you should be telling this to at least 50% of everyone you talk to each day if you are building your business correctly! The vast majority of people you meet will not have the characteristics you want in a business partner!
Understand Money – How To Manage Money
It always amazed me growing up how much my dad knew about money and finances. Even to this day when he is nearing his long awaited retirement, he knows a great deal more than almost every individual I've met. He is still planning and evaluating his portfolio, continually changing and always altering. He continues to make regular deposits to his retirement fund and has never missed or is late with paying his bills. My Father understands how to manage money.
Most of me realizes that my interest in proper money management derives from his passion for it. When I was a teenager I would constantly ask questions about his past. One main question I had for him was how he would know when to change certain investments from medium risk to high risk and vise versa. Prior to the stock crash in 1987 he totally avoided losing his money by adjusting his portfolio a six months before everything hit the fan. He did so in early 2000 and again before the current crash. When thousands of people lost half of their savings and forced to sell their homes he was able to protect all of his portfolio and eliminate his mortgage in 15 years.
Is it a fluke that my father has managed to avoid losing money during these difficult times? My Father isn't an investment guru or a banker nor does he make a living as a stock broker. The amazing thing is his career for close to 4 decades was as a manager for a retail store. Why has he always known when to change everything and at the right time? He has either been going to the only fortune teller that doesn't lie or he understands finances more than the average Joe. I'm certain it's the later.
His financial interests began when he worked as a teller at a bank when he was a teenager. The job required him to read all about how to manage money so he could easily answer all of the questions that customers might have. He only worked there for about 5 years before changing careers. The things he learned in that short period of time he ended up taking with him until present day. He has made a few mistakes along the way but due to his knowledge, he understood ways to correct those misadventures and minimize the damages.
After the point that he switched careers over 40 years ago, I don't think he has read a book on finances. Having said that I'm certain he read so much more in those five years than most people read in 20 years. The beauty about personal finance basics is that they remain fairly constant. All of the simple formula's involved with finances or inflation or the dividends have remained the same for ages. The more you read the more you will understand how to manage money.
Knowledge is everything. By reading as much as possible or even just a tiny bit you will better understand how to manage money. If you spend a couple hours a week informing yourself with sources like this blog and by reading some recommended books you will understand the investment trends and will avoid the devastating losses. There are very few things more important than making sure your portfolio is always in order. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The more you have the more you will save.
Check out these books. I would highly recommend them to apply to your financial life.
"The Wealthy Barber" - Written By: David Chilton
"Automatic Wealth" - Written By: Michael Masterson
"Think and Grow Rich" - Written By: Napoleon Hill
"The Automatic Millionaire" - Written By: David Bach
Happy Reading!
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