Is it time for a change?

<b> Is it time for a change? We often do the same things day in and day out, year in and year out, and become comfortably numb to the way we live. A lot of the things we do we may not enjoy such as our job and the way we handle our money. We keep on going to our place of work and instead of enjoying it we just learn to endure the day. This also affects the way we handle our finances. When we are not happy in our daily work routine we will try to find something to buy or go on as many vacations we can to find joy. Money can buy fun but it cannot buy happiness. So how do you know when you need to make some changes? Here are a few things that may indicate to you to change your life. 1. If you get this sinking feeling Sunday evening around 6pm when you realize that you have to work in the morning. Don’t let going to work ruin your time off create a plan to find new work or start a business. 2. If you have a short fuse with your friends and family when the week starts. When we dislike our work we tend to be snappy with others, although you don’t want to be this way the wrath falls on the family and friends. Don’t get frustrated because of the pressure you feel from not enjoying what you are doing. Set up a time line to explore other opportunities. One thing that helps is be thankful you are able to work and have a place to work, but if you know your job is not your calling use the experience as a stepping stone to move on. 3. If your resume is a list of things you do not like to do, it’s time for a change. Just because someone is hiring and paying good does not mean it is a good fit for you. If you hate math but become a CPA because they pay well you are setting yourself up for a tough ride. 4. If you go out and buy stuff to give you a happy feeling and you are going farther into debt. We cannot buy joy and happiness, but we can buy fun. Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not an appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintances, but not friends; servants but not faithfulness; days of fun, but not peace happiness and joy. Henrik Ibsen I am not saying quit where you are at, but begin to plan where you want to be whether it is in your career life or your financial life. We get so busy doing the things in life we declare as “urgent” that we always live in crisis mode. When you are constantly in crisis mode without a plan it is hard to take time to make a plan for what is really important in life. Remember you don’t have to, you get to. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

The problem with Freedom

The problem with freedom I know it sounds strange, that a problem would exist if you are free. I believe that we, as Americans, have a problem with freedom. The problem is that we do now know how to live free! We say we want freedom of speech, freedom from an oppressive government, freedom in our finances, freedom to do work we love, freedom of religion and so on. When we think we have these freedoms we subconsciously begin to go back into bondage in these areas. I believe with true freedom there is a responsibility to make the best choices we can, not the easiest choice. The best choice is the one that leaves us free to prosper. I have come to learn that freedom is not free or an easy choice to make. It cost you something, but the cost is well worth the payment. We think freedom is easy because we define it as doing what we want, not what is best. When things get hard, because we made a difficult choice, we begin to go back to the easy bondage that we were used to before. Take your finances for example; suppose you want to become debt free and you decide to stop using credit, save money to pay for purchases and pay off your debt. We start off like our hair is on fire to reach that goal, but when it doesn’t happen quickly (six months, one year or even two years) we start feeling trapped, we feel like we will never have anything or do anything fun again. Before you know it all you are looking at is what you cannot do without realizing that by paying off your debt. You are becoming less of a slave to the bank you borrowed your money from. You free your money up when it no longer belongs to the credit card company. Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender.” That does not sound free at all. We also do this in our careers, I want a job where I can do work I love and be free to do work that matters. Maybe we decide to open a new business in an area that we love to work and serve others. We jump off into it on pure emotion knowing this is what God called us to do! Well maybe He has called us to do it but we believe just because God called us to do it we cannot fail. We make our calling our god and plan poorly without counsel. Before you know it bills are coming in the way you thought money would be coming in and you panic and decide to quit. You run back to the job that you were in bondage to before. You think it just wasn’t meant to be. Everyone else can do it but me. Remember freedom is neither free nor easy, it is hard and costly, but the return can be out of this world. Don’t give up on what you have been called to do, create a plan, make mistakes, change the plan, and make a bunch more mistakes, keep changing and tweaking the plan till you reach your goal. It will probably take longer that a couple of years, this life of freedom is a process, and it is exciting, crazy, tragic and beautiful. Look at all of the ups and downs the Israelites had going from slaves in Egypt to the “Promised Land”. It was tough but they were learning how to be free. Finally, how about being a Christian. Jesus came to the earth to set us free from the wrath of God. He came and paid the price so we could live free indeed in the Kingdom of God, and enjoy Him forever. Now look He done it for us and we still mess it up. Christ came and lived the perfect sinless life, paid the debt we could never pay, gave us credit just as if we had done it , even though we could not have. What is the first thing we do when Jesus saves us and frees us from the penalty of sin? We start doing good works to try and earn what is already counted as ours. Instead of doing good works because we get to do them, we think we have to do them, earn it, and we enslave ourselves in a works mentality that He died to free us from. We live like if we do enough good things God will like us more. If we work up our faith muscle enough God will smile more at us. If I pray more and read my bible more God will like me better. If you are a Christian He looks at you and sees Christ weather you are doing the disciplines or not. Don’t get me wrong the disciplines are good for you, but we need do them because we are free to do them and not because we are earning righteousness that only Christ can earn for us. There is a joy when you do something because you want to instead of because you have to do it. Go do the hard things that others who don’t want freedom choose not to do!! Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. Ronald Reagan For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. Nelson Mandela Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom. Alexis de Tocqueville Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. John Quincy Adams “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ― Benjamin Franklin, “Freedom lies in being bold.” ― Robert Frost Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Is your mind a coffin?

Is your mind a coffin? What are some of your dreams and ideas that you do not act on? Everything that we do starts in our brain as a thought. We can choose to act on it our not. Some things are just crazy and wild that we come up with. We can either act on ideas or keep suppressing them. If we act on it we either fail or succeed. If you fail keep trying and perfecting/shaping the idea or dream until you succeed. or determine to move on to something else. If we keep suppressing the idea or dream, it can turn into loss of hope or depression. Why do we work so hard to fight living our dream and acting on ideas? Are we afraid of the unknown, or of failure? Do we not want to risk the “safe comfort” that we think we have? We all will die someday, live until you die, don’t just sit around waiting to die and miss life. Your idea may be a business idea or a change of life style. So it leads to the question; “:Is your mind a coffin or an incubator for your dreams and ideas?” A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation. A incubator, for our purpose is-. A place or situation that permits or encourages the formation and development, as of new ideas. So are you burying your ideas and dreams by thinking that it will never work, or I cant do that only other people can. Why don’t we start using our minds as incubator's by putting them in a mental environment that is conducive to growth and development. God has given us these dreams and ideas to develop and not bury. Don’t bury your dreams or passions, feed them by reading, getting a coach, or getting around people who are having success in the areas you are interested in developing. 48 days.net is a great place to incubate! Don’t expect God to “miracle” you to your dream without any effort on your part. Don't let that dream or idea die, incubate it and let it hatch and grow. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching 3-17-12

Unemployed Checklist

If you find yourself unemployed or wanting to change jobs I want to help you with some tips this week. I have this posted this on my resources page but I wanted to make it a little more available. Feel free to email me any questions you may have and keep looking up. We usually go where we are looking in life. It’s hard sometimes to stay encouraged but I have found one thing that is a big help; turn off the television! Have a great week and keep on keeping on. Laid off checklist
1. Cut your budget as low as you can. Cut areas such as entertainment, out to eat and blow money categories. If you have any memberships you don’t use cut them also.
2. Make your new job, finding a job. Spend 35-40 a week searching, it is tough but it keeps you moving. Hey water will freeze in the right temperature if it is not moving.
3. Find a part-time job such as pizza delivery or some other part time work, every little bit counts.
4. Exercise, this keeps you mind active and helps you to think better and motivates you.
5. Get that resume ready, make it no more than two pages, it’s a sales brochure not an autobiography. You are the product. Target it for the positions you want.
6. Use the three contact rule, Introduction letter, cover letter and resume and a follow up phone call. Target some one in the company to contact that can hire.
7. Prepare for interviewers to answer the hard questions, be prepared know the answer. Studies show that a person hiring knows weather they want you 10-20 seconds after they meet you. Even if you don’t have all of the qualifications, if they like you and think they can use a good person they will be more likely to hire you.
8. After the interview, ask them, when do you think you will make your decision? Set up a phone appointment to check and see if the decision has been made. It seems pushy but it is different, never say I, will look forward to hearing from you. Get in the drivers seat it is your life.
9. After the interview drop a thank you card in the mail to the interviewer. It shows class.
10. Sometimes a job loss is a beginning to something better than before. Sometimes we have to have a train wreck to get us off the wrong track and put us on the right one.

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