My alarm rudely awakens two hours later.  I grudgingly make my way to the bathroom, to prepare for another day.  My dad takes my brother and me to school then hurriedly leaves to his job as a hotel repairman.   After school, he takes us home.  With barely five minutes to rest, he changes his clothes and rushes out the door to his second job.  We exchange short goodbyes as he hurries to his second job at the hospital.

            I hear the familiar slam of my mom’s car door.  She walks in and plasters a smile onto her face even though I can clearly see the exhaustion hidden in her eyes.  Even though she just finished her 14-hour workday as an assembler at Balboa Instruments, she immediately starts to cook dinner and clean the house.  Afterwards, she goes to take a shower, the only time she has to rest. 

            At 11, my dad comes home.  His keys jingle as he fumbles in the dark, attempting to open the door.  I often see him ravenously gobbling his dinner.  Later, he is usually slumped in a kitchen chair, his eyes half-closed.  At moments like these, I begin to see how difficult his life is and appreciate how hard he works for our family.

                        “No matter what, you must study hard so you can go to college and earn a good living.  We don’t want you to have to live the way we do.”  My parents have repeated this to me ever since I was young.  Over the years, I have begun to realize that they are pushing me to study for my own good.  What I had deemed a pointless chore was actually loving encouragement, an attempt to help me escape my parents’ fate.  As immigrants from Vietnam, my parents did not have the opportunity to obtain college degrees.  I have realized that education is an essential component of success and hope to be able to live the successful, comfortable life they always pictured for me.

 I can’t pinpoint just one moment in my life that my parents have made sacrifices for me.   Even as I’m writing this, they are still doing all they can to ensure that I will have a bright future. With both my parents coming home late in the evening, I never really get to spend much time with them.  This is an unfortunate, but unchangeable aspect of my life. 

I have grown up and realized that life is full of harsh realities.  However, I’ve also realized that, with the diligence and persistence that I learned from my parents, I have the power to succeed.

Image by nicksarebi via Flickr

Diligence involves investing your abilities, strength and all you have into the pursuit of your mission. Success will not come to meet you in the house; you have to go looking for it. Don’t look unto man, look unto God psalm 34:5, Luke 10:7, Eccl 10:18. Lazy and idle people never make any headway in life because they are not operating God’s formula for successful living diligence. Their closest companion becomes failure and defeat. Do you want to be successful? Then, be diligent. Proverbs 22:29. You need to be hard working and resourceful. God can only proper the works of your hand, not your begging or idleness, there is no way you can impress God with idleness. Idleness is a carrier of poverty and it has no remedy. Invest in labor and reap the harvest. Proverbs 12:11. Hard work will take you to the forefront, where you will not be able to see people’s back. Laziness is a destroyer, it put a man in a perpetual state of want, while the diligent never lack. Hard work is the pathway to progress. The more you apply yourself to hard work, the better you become. Hard work will take you to the top. A hard worker presses on in spite of all odds. 2 thess 3:10. Every divine vision is naturally eligible for divine provision. Put your trust in Jesus jer 17:5-6.

Lesson One. Love all your children equally. Have no favorites. Had Israel loved his children equally, the hatred that existed towards Joseph by his brothers, to the extent that they wanted to kill him, would not have been there. Joseph would not have been sold as a slave to Egypt. Israel would not have been as distressed as he had been. Joseph would not have been separated from his loving mum, as a teenager, NEVER to see her again.

Genesis 37:5: Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers, they hated him all the more.

The dream suggested that al his brothers would bow before him, suggesting that he would rule over them. He had another dream with similar suggestions in verse nine of the same chapter.

Had Joseph known how much his brothers hated him, he might not have told them about the dreams. Three events made Joseph’s brothers hate him to the extent of plotting to kill him. These were:

1. The multi-colored garment;
2. The first dream; and
3. The second dream.

Lesson Two. Owing to naivety, the younger folk may be prone to making wrong judgements. If Joseph hadn’t known that the multi-colored garment had made his brothers jealous, he should have known, from their reaction to his first dream, that the implication of the dream was disturbing to his brothers.

When Potiphar’s wife seduced him, Joseph stood firm in righteousness, according to Genesis 39:9.

Lesson Three. We should stand firm in righteousness, whatever the consequences that might await us.

As a result of standing firm in righteousness, Joseph enjoyed the following benefits:

1. In prison, the warden put Joseph in charge of all other prisoners. This implies that he must have exhibited the following qualities:

1. Diligence;
2. Dependability;
3. Reliability;
4. Responsibility;
5. Maturity; and
6. Honesty.

All the above are godly qualities. Most importantly, God’s favor was with him. My suggestion is that this must have been brought about by his decision to be faithful to the Lord. Hence the gift of the interpretation of dreams.

1. He successfully interpreted the dreams of both the cupbearer and the baker. (Genesis 40:8-23);
2. After forgetting to speak on behalf of Joseph upon his release, the cupbearer, two years down the line, remembered Joseph’s gift of dream interpretation when Pharaoh had a dream requiring interpretation;
3. On the same day that Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, he was taken from prison to the palace as a ruler, only second to Pharaoh. The Lord can turn our lives around in one day.

I have been following the news and recently came across a story about a young man named Chad Holley, who was 15 at the time, brutalized and beaten by police offices, the very men who are suppose to protect minors and assist them. Now I will admit that even though his lawyer claims his innocents for stealing property, he was convicted of a crime, and that is not good on his part. Though the question remains, were the officers in their right to brutalize a fifteen year old boy for theft? I myself feel that no matter what the crime, physical violence should only be a resort if there is a weapon involved. As a parent I would be outraged, and be demanding that something be done.

When digging further I found that this was not a one time deal. In 2010 a young man named Jordan Miles, age 18, was brutalized by the police as well. Now in the previous story, the young man was suspected of being involved in a criminal act and was charged as so, but this young man was never in trouble, was an honor student, and was on his way to grandma’s house when the incident occurred. So now we have someone who is innocent, yet still got extremely brutalized by people that were suppose to protect him.

I feel that we need a solution to prevent this type of thing from happening. We have all kinds of advanced technology available to us, so my question is why are we not using it? We should be starting programs that require law enforcement to wear cameras on their person when on duty at all times. They should be enforced to the point that we are able to monitor what exactly our law enforcement is doing, and this should be done by our government to insure not only the safety of our citizens from this kind of abuse of the Judaical system, but also to be able to have complete and total evidence as to what happens involving every case that our government tries, so that there is no margin for error. By doing this we are protecting ourselves as citizens, but also the officers who do a good job everyday, and deserve the right to be called upon as a law enforcement officer.

Please feel free to add feedback on how you feel about this or any solutions that you have that could help prevent things like this from happening.

 But how many people really think of their daily jobs as vital and very significant?

Very few, Why is this so? The reason is not far to seek. Most of people consider their jobs as common and trivialize it, as just a job to put food on the table period. This attitude robs the average man on the street the ability to expand to his full capacity. If the desire to stretch the self is absent, the person remains stunted in growth and is unable to reach his full potential.

Can what dominate your thoughts influence who you become?

It is a known fact that it is the dominant thoughts that you allow to occupy your mind per time that determines who you become. Imagine you truly believe in the job you are doing, and it is given the value it deserves in your heart, the level of your input and productivity will increase geometrically.

How does attitude change help you to achieve more?

The effect of your change of attitude will have a far reaching effect on your employers bottom line and on the overall national productivity of your country. This singular decision of just one person to give his job the seriousness it deserves will increase capacity to create wealth by that employee. And if all employed members of the working class in your country choose to make a change, it will transform that country.

Imagine that you perform this inner reflection and choose to be a creative worker rather than being a passive employee; you can literally measure the ripple effect of your action to quit fooling around and get serious through the exponential growth of your employers business.

Now that you are aware of the power and the impact your attitudinal change will have on your employer and your country, My friend you have no other reason to be lackadaisical with your job please come alive and create wealth for yourself first, your employer and your nation in general.

How does your decision to change your attitude help you create wealth?

If you are wondering how your decision will create wealth for you, here it is. Very simple, effectiveness on your job leads to promotion which in effect means more money and influence for you. This also translates to a better living standard and an improved lifestyle for you, and your general wellbeing and satisfaction. You see the spiral effect is earth shattering.

 How does my thinking affect my tomorrow?

You can be all you desire to be no one can do it for you but yourself. Everything you desire to do or become is up to you. There is an adage that “it is how you make your bed you lie on it”.  You must realize that you will really be doing yourself much good if you can heed my suggestion to change your attitude to your job. You can hinder yourself by not heeding my advice.

Your job is really a fundamental source of creating lasting impact on the human race. I urge you to make that change to join the new breed workers and change our world by becoming more productive.

Conclusion

Everything you choose to do for the good of someone else has a way of turning around for your own good. Believe it because that is how nature is. We reap what we sow good or bad.

I urge you to join the breed of creative workers for your wellbeing and the good of all.

I am dedicated to helping people get information on self improvement and how to stay motivated for all round success. For sharp insights and revelations of keys to unlocking issues that challenge us daily please visit:

http://www.netbizkey.com

http://www.victorsinsightsforliving.blogspot.com

http://www.staymotivated.wordpress.com

1. Personal skill sets and attributes
2. Professional skill sets and attributes
3. Social skill sets and attributes

Personal skill sets and attributes

This is how you take care of yourself, as a person, as a social being and as an employee. Do you take care of your physical fitness? How you achieve a work/life balance is crucial for keeping you in good mental shape. Do you take care of your professional skill sets and social contacts? Do you relax and engage in recreation regularly so that you can give your best?

Professional skill sets and attributes

This is about your role as the employee and how you take care of that aspect. If other people can see you as being professional, it is easier for them to visualize your blending in with other professionals and systems.

Social skill sets and attributes

This is about how you adjust to other people, their ways of interacting, communicating, working together and being accepted by others.

The following skill sets and attributes are vital for getting a new job or a promotion to a new job.

• Communication skills – You can be very brilliant and have tons of skills, but if you cannot communicate well, your chances of getting employed or promoted decrease significantly. Though this is a part of interpersonal skills, communicating about your job, about yourself and managing results and expectations are specialized areas of interpersonal skills. Countless surveys have shown this. Employers responding to the US National Association of Colleges and Employers or NACE’s Job Outlook 2007 survey specified communication skills as the job seeker’s most important skills and qualities, rated 4,7 on a 1 to 5 scale.
• Motivation – This quality is absolutely vital. Motivation can be recognized in small details or from your attitude. Your motivation shows if you visited the company’s website and did your homework before coming to the job interview or, if you have found out what is required of you and acquired some skills through training to get the promotion you want. Passion for the job/work is a very strong factor in your favour. However, it should be apparent in your deeds and attitude and not in repeating like a parrot “I am passionate about this job”!
• Updating your Skills and Experience – An employee, who constantly evaluates her/his skills set and updates or upgrades them through training or other methods is a gem of an employee. The employer sees immediately the benefit of acquiring an achiever, if there are no other negative factors like arrogance, rudeness, meanness that erode this confidence.
• Resourcefulness – How do you cope when things go wrong? This is an important quality for many jobs though problem solving on your own may not be part of the job picture.
• Work Ethics - Honesty and integrity are very valued qualities. Employers look for dependability. If the employer can picture your being consistently able to deliver as agreed, you have got the job. Sometimes personal values may conflict with company values. How you resolve this conflict is an important factor deciding your employability or promotion.
• Diligence and Professionalism – No employer wants a lazy employee. So you need to prove that you are diligent. Professionalism varies across professions, but underlying it all is a desire to give your best in a recognizably competent fashion. You can be very lazy at times, recharging your batteries but overall you should come out as a diligent person. Having balanced and reasonable expectations about your employer is also a part of professionalism.
• Compatibility with the Job – In addition to the matching of skill sets and experience, you also need to be able to work with other people and other systems. Discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, experience etc are illegal but your employability suffers greatly if the employer can detect a mismatch between your personal qualities and job skills and those required on the job. Some of these could be personality issues like communication style, management style, professional qualifications or simply lack of experience in the industry.
• Know-how about the industry and the job - This is what you are going to be hired for. Not only should you have evidence of your ability to do your job, but also that you see how your job fits the bigger picture in the organization or industry. Qualifications whether they are certificates, diplomas, degrees, or job experience all count as know-how and should be presented.
• Personality and Cultural Compatibility – Your potential employer or boss would definitely evaluate your personality on the job. How do you manage with other types of personalities? How would the company’s customers or clients react to you? Evidence of your coping skills with different personalities would affect the decision of your potential employer or superior.
• Management Style and Interpersonal Skills – How you manage other people, how you motivate others, convince others, and align people’s interests with those of the organization so that individuals can devote themselves and make even sacrifices for the greater good – this is the core of your management and interpersonal skills. It is beneficial for you to evaluate yourself if you fit in with the organization’s management systems.
• Blame Handling – Employers take special note of how you handle blame. Be careful not to speak ill of your previous boss or employer. The interviewer would then think “She will speak of me like this some day”!
• Interpersonal Skills – How you manage with other people from outside your immediate circle at work and make contacts, do you have hobbies, how you can convince others to help and to trust you – these are socialising skills that help you adapt to your social environment. If you cannot adapt successfully to your social environment, chances are that high that you will not succeed professionally.
• Faith - The last but not the least quality is faith, faith in yourself, and faith in your values. Optimism is very contagious and if you are optimistic (in a balanced manner though), you stand a much better chance of being employed or getting the promotion.