Thank God It's Monday -
A Guide For Finding Your Ideal Career (preface)

This is not a “how to” book or one like the numerous career books you will find on the shelves of your local library or bookstore. Most of these publications, while well intentioned, miss the mark because they focus on the mechanics of the careering process, finding a job (resume, interviewing, etc.) with little or no attention given to the reader’s mindset, innermost wants needs and desires. Little has changed over the past fifty years in terms of linking ones unique contributions to a compelling vocation…until now! Today we now know that mindset matters and together, we will explore and harness the amazing power of your mind to ensure you find and obtain your unique career calling!

I have dedicated my life’s work to helping people just like you obtain their career calling because I understand how central work life is to the happiness of the individual, their family and the character of any society. If you think about it, work consumes the majority of our time, defines our values and creates our future. If time is indeed our most valuable asset, then our choice of work has a profound effect on our health, mindset, happiness, legacy and reason for being.

In the 21^st century, there is a growing movement toward changing the perception of work from the traditional, “another day, another dollar” mentality to that of working as a platform for service to others. Work is not a necessary evil and does not serve merely to obtain monetary reward or social status, it is an opportunity to celebrate and contribute your unique and compelling talents, skills and gifts. It is often dangerous to attempt to separate ones professional life from their personal life, there is simply too much overlap to create a distinction. A mantra results in an incomplete, often unfulfilled life leaving many with a “is this all there is” outlook.  

So, thank you in advance for the opportunity to help you obtain your true career calling and lead a healthy, balanced life! Although there may be numerous sub-categories, your success in life is really the continuous process of attempting to balance the following 5 critical areas of wellness:

Having spent the better part of my lifetime studying successful authors, speakers, coaches, business people, athletes and families, I have concluded that success in both ones career and life is entirely predictable and can ultimately be defined by mastering a single word…balance. This book was designed as a practical guide to help you find your career calling and to help you recognize the impact your work life has on your existence and how essential attaining balance is to true success and happiness. The text and corresponding exercises also serve as reinforcement and encouragement when you get off course, as we all inevitably will. Too much focus on a single area at the expense of another creates massive internal conflict!

To illustrate my point, consider the following:

Have I got your attention? If so, the first step to attaining balance is to make a commitment to yourself (and loved ones) that you will become a student of success. This commitment includes three aspects which we will explore together:

Desire---Faith ---Action

As a nation, we are facing major challenges regarding the future of our workforce. Certain articles even refer to our current economic downward spiral and loss of jobs overseas as a “race to the bottom”. In America today, we have 12% effective unemployment. I am aware that this figure is about three times the reported unemployment rate but the true numbers present a bleaker picture. Add to this figure the number of underemployed Americans or those that dislike their job, which is in the millions and we have an epidemic…and epidemic of unfulfilled workers losing faith in the employment system and their ability to sustain an acceptable level of career happiness. My conclusion: it is impossible to lead a healthy life when you are unhappy or unfulfilled at work.

As the CEO and Founder of my own company called Career T.E.A.M., which is a nationally recognized workforce solutions provider, everyday I am afforded the opportunity to help people compete in the 21^st century workplace. My incredible staff and I create solutions to solving the opportunity divide that exists between the “haves and have not’s”. I often observe generational unemployment and a hopelessness attached to what was once the American dream. A large part of my life’s work is to bridge this gap and help every American realize their special gifts, and teach them to apply these unique and compelling talents to find their calling in life.

The reality is we are a nation of dissatisfied workers with a growing number without health insurance. How did this happen to our once proud nation? While it is convenient and partially accurate to blame corporate leadership or the federal government for our woes, the real problem lies in misguided priorities and values by our people. Why should we care about this issue and not just worry about our selves? Whether you realize it or not, we all own this unemployment and cynicism, it is our country. As a country, we appear to be losing our edge. Need proof? According to the Kaiser Foundation, there are at least 45 million Americans today without health insurance and this number is growing. From a social policy view, these folks avoid medical attention until their problem is so severe that it is often too late or results in expensive treatments.

As a nation, we are getting lazier, fatter and more complacent as a result of modern conveniences and misguided perceptions created by television. Americas are driving huge gas guzzling SUV’s to discount superstores so we can save a few bucks on products made in another country, by workers willing to work for less than our people!

The 21^st century global economy certainly provides numerous efficiencies but for many, has resulted in a pace too fast to keep up with and a mentality focused on material possessions and a culture devoid of sacrifice to attainment. Many people have lost track of their values and have chosen to follow the “show me the money” movement. Disturbing studies point out that college students who used to have a vision to change or improve society now select majors or courses of study, which promise the highest initial salary, regardless of whether the actual job duties were fulfilling.

The concept of corporate social responsibility is all too often unaffordable or absent from our nations largest employers. Corporate scandals like Worldcom and Enron became everyday news as financial staff sought greed and faced tremendous pressure from shareholders to exceed quarterly projections or lose their jobs. And since the beginning of this century, CEO’s have sent over 3 million jobs overseas where quality of work was cheaper but not necessarily better.

We live in an increasingly cynical age where many people have forgotten the concept of loyalty and integrity and live in fear of the uncertain future. We have forgotten the concept of being decent to each other and taking pride in whatever job we have, no matter what it pays. With few exceptions, customer service is often a thing of the past!  I am often appalled at how many individuals who work for hotels, restaurants, banking establishments, telemarketing firms and other occupations, which traditional require strong people skills, simply have abandoned the basic concepts of “please and thank you.”

Depressed yet? Where do we go from here and what can you do? My mission is not to simply provide doom and gloom about the prospects of finding gainful employment but rather to identify the facts and provide you with useful solutions and strategies to assist you to adapt to the incredible pace of change we all face. I believe through all of this change, we are all in search of meaning and purpose in our lives and we seek quality mentors and role models to show us that which is possible. We also seek meaningful employment (with a quality firm or our own venture) and a desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves…we want to contribute to a winning team and to be recognized for those contributions.

We, those who seek to obtain their career calling are an elite force!  Like the marines, we are the few, the proud and the brave! By elite, I don’t mean to sound condescending but rather elite in that we are willing to pay the price to seek and find answers. We don’t expect handouts, we don’t blame the system, and we do possess a strong moral compass. We don’t need to be monitored or controlled; we know what is right and wrong.

While the workplace continues to change and evolve, sometimes for better and often times for worse, you will be faced with opportunities which never before existed…and your decisions will dictate your happiness and quality of life. Take comfort in knowing that within the pages of this book there is a plan! I promise you that each and every strategy, tip or suggestion in this program is one, which I personally use to bring me closer to the balanced life I strive to live, each and every day. They say the hardest step in any journey is the first one. By reading these words, you have begun a journey, which will activate feelings, emotions, pride, and peace of mind that you may have thought was beyond your scope or reserved for others. Your potential is astounding and through this process, you will begin to truly realize it.

Life is now in session, lets begin!