You are a traveler looking for the cave of wonders. On your journey, you have followed a map that has told you where and what to do. At the end of your journey, you come to two caves. Your map tells you that one holds treasures beyond your imagination and the other holds your worst nightmares. 

To help you decide which cave you should enter, there are two men beside each entry. The map also tells you that one of these men always tells the truth while the other always lies. You are not told which one is which though.

To make matters worse, you are allowed to ask only one question to each man, and the questions must be the same.

What will you do?

At this time, please stop and try to solve the problem on your own.

 

 

Now that you have an answer let see if you would have survived or been eaten by a thousand deadly snakes (my greatest nightmare).

First let’s try some, questions.

How about, which is the right cave?

Wrong! This will result in both men pointing to different entries, leaving you with no better guess on which cave is correct.

Let’s try, what color is the sky?

This will show you which man is the liar but unfortunately not which entry leads to the treasure.

How about, which is the wrong cave?

Wrong again! As with the first question, this will give you two answers and the same dilemma.

Now before you plunge yourself into one of the caves hoping you guess the right one, let’s try one more option.

Which cave would the other man say, is the right door?

Let’s see how this question plays out.

Say you ask this question to the truth-telling man first (even though you don’t know he’s the truth-telling one). This man knows which cave is the right one, but he also knows that the other man must lie, so he truthfully answers by pointing to the wrong door.

Now you turn to the lying man (still with no idea as to which is which) and ask the same question. This man knows that his companion will tell the truth, however, he must lie. Therefore, he also points to the wrong cave.

Regardless of whether you ask the truthful man first and then the lying one, or vice versa , you will end up with the same two answers pointing out the wrong door.

Now you know which cave not to enter and can, therefore, go into the right one instead.

Enjoy your treasure.

Now go out, grab a friend or family member and show off who smart you are.

All of life is about sales. Whether you find yourself in a job interview, on a date, or meeting a stranger, you are selling the product of yourself.

Recently I have been going through an in-depth study of the role of Sales as I intend to pursue a career in this area. During this study, I had the opportunity to interview sales expert Adam Thibeault, a successful Sales Representative at Combined Insurance. Here is a summary of our interview.

What made you choose to pursue this role?

“I’m driven by ‘I can do this’ as opposed to a monthly pay-check.” 

According to Adam “In Sales, if you have the confidence to go after your goals, then one thing that no one can take from you is commissions” 

Starting in college, Adam discovered that he could gain more from listening to podcasts and educating himself then he was gaining in the classroom. This led him to Praxis where he completed their 12-month course gaining real-world experience and training. From here Adam set his sights high, found a company he wanted to work for and through sweat, blood, and tears, landed himself a job as a Sales Rep.

What skills and training are required for this role?

“Perseverance is the number one difference between the people who are successful and the people who will be driven nuts.”

In a job that often results in more no’s than yes’s, the ability to keep going even after one has been kicked in the teeth is a must.

Adam goes about looking at his progress by basing it on personal outcome as apposed to capital outcome.

“Put the judgment of whether you are doing well or not on ‘did I make as many calls, sales presentations, or book as many appointments as I could?’ That is the metric you want to go for, rather than getting the sale.”

Gaining a customer’s trust, presenting and proving the reliability of your product, and dealing with the slammed doors in your face, requires one to stay focused and push forward toward the end goal regardless of what happens along the way.

What is the greatest challenge?

“Getting up in the morning.”

Adam says that once he gets to his car he can then get anywhere he needs to throughout the day. Getting to the car though is the struggle.

As in every area of life, the big key activities only come about as a result of the little steps that came before. Any morning routine involves an alarm and the will power to get out of bed. Getting ready for the day involves boring tasks such as getting dressed, brushing your teeth and eating your Cheerios. In the same way, preparing the presentation, making the calls, and scheduling the appointments has to come before the exciting pitch can be made.

“Getting up in the Morning.” could be replaced with“Getting the appointment.”

What does your day to day tasks look like?

“The day starts with the night before”

Each night Adam schedules out the following day. From appointments and meetings to travel time and smaller in-between tasks. This ensures that each morning when he wakes up to charge the day, he knows exactly what needs to be done first and every step after that.

As we said above, there is quite a bit of flexibility that goes into this job and maneuvering is a daily task. However, this adjusting is far easier to deal with when the rest of your day is planned out and accessible.

What is the significance of Sales as a whole?

Personally –

As an insurance salesman, Adam says that he has, “literally seen people’s lives be saved because of the money our coverage provided them.”

“I wouldn’t do anything else in the world. If I could just help people, which I can and will, I’d want to do it.”

Regardless of what you are selling, a belief in that product and its impacts on humanity is what will push you to do whatever it takes to get that product into the hands of the customers who need it. You must believe in your product enough that you would invest in it yourself. You are investing in that product, each day that you give your time and effort to your company.

As a company and sales as a whole-

“Being apart of a team to reach a common goal is so improvident. Even if you’re the janitor (which is how I started), you are helping the team as a whole reach their goal of helping others.”  

Each member of a team is vitally importation no matter what their title may be. You are only as strong as your weakest link and no person can be replaced. That janitor who cleans the office allows the members on each team to accomplish their tasks by having everything they need to improve the company as a whole. If you believe in the mission of your company then you must also believe in each member of your team, because without them, that mission will never be reached.

What hard skills are necessary for this role?

“Organization and Follow-through” 

As we discussed above, organization is a key skill in every area of sales. However, organization is not only necessary for the before stages but also the after. Being able to look at a situation and figure out what went wrong, determine how to solve it, and then put these new actions into play, will be the difference between improvement and remaining in the same old rut.

Talking to people is a large part of sales, but gaining the trust of a customer is a whole different can of worms. It is your job as a salesman to convince your customers that the product is reliable and worth their investment. This requires follow-through. Saying something is one thing, performing it is another. Walking your talk and proving your claims is what sales are all about. After all, you are apart of that product. When that person thinks of the product you sold them they will also think of you because you are connected in their minds.

What does it take to succeed in this role?

“Gritting your teeth, smiling, going on with a positive mental attitude, and doing 10% more than you’re asked to. This is the only thing I’d quantify as my success.”  

Let’s be honest, life is often pretty hard and some days just get you down. On such occasions, one must determine who is in charge of their life. Their circumstances or themselves.

By moving past a pour experience with a genuine smile and positive attitude, one can use these negative events to improve themselves. Either you determine your circumstances or your circumstances will determine you.

With this mindset comes the ability to rise above and achieve more than others thought you possibly could. Giving all you’ve got in every situation is what will put you ahead in life. Going above a beyond, accomplishing in 10%, 20% more than was expected of you will not only prove to the world what you are capable of but will also prove it to yourself.

Each time you reach the goals you are training yourself to be an over-comer and reach higher the next time.

If you could give one piece of advice to a young person considering this role, what would it be?

“Put yourself out there”

The only thing to fear is fear itself. If you allow the fear of what others will think or what might just happen keep you from trying new things, then you’ll never achieve anything in life.

Adam went to New York with $800, a car full of clothes, and a few copies of his resume. His greatest fears were not being able to provide for himself, being alone, and finding himself stuck in a mental rut of never improving. By making this move to NY, Adam faced each of these obstacles, using them to push himself above and beyond.

 

Conclusion

All of life is about sales. Whether you find yourself in a job interview, on a date, or meeting a stranger, you are selling the product of yourself.

So be driven, persevere, get up in the morning, be organized so you can follow-through, and put yourself out there. Life requires us to grit our teeth, smiling, go on with a positive mental attitude, and do 10% more than we’re asked to. This is what quantify as success and will result in the kind of life that allows you to say,

“I wouldn’t do anything else in the world. If I could just help people, which I can and will, I’d want to do it.”

Three months short of my 21 birthday. That’s it. Only 90 days separate me from renting a vehicle and hitchhiking. I have called every rental company within an hour radius of my hometown and every one of them has given me the same answer. I have to be 21.

I have had my license for four years, never received a single ticket, and have driven in DC traffic, yet I am not qualified to rent a car. A 21-year-old who has only ever driven from their house to Wally World, has ten speeding tickets, and freaks out in traffic can rent a vehicle without a second question.

This is the difference between Qualifications and Experience. One will approve you for a rental car while the other will land you a job.

Rental car companies look to qualifications to prove experience while hiring companies look at experience to prove one’s qualifications.

As the worth of a degree becomes less and less valuable, experience is the credential that companies are looking for. Just as being 21 doesn’t guarantee that you are a safe driver, so a piece of paper with a University’s name on it no longer guarantees that you have the skills necessary to succeed in the work field.

A perfect example of this is a nifty little machine we have at the store I currently work at. The Box Baylor takes large boxes and smashes them into single bales that can be thrown away or recycled.

Upon being hired I was required to take an online safety course for this machine. I watched an hour’s worth of content and aced the written test, yet I still do not know how to run our Box Baylor. I can tell you how it should be run but I have never actually performed these actions. If an emergency happened and boxes needed to be crushed, I would have to figure it out as I went and would most likely lose a finger or two.

Yet according to my profile, I am certified and therefore qualified to do this job.

I can’t help but laugh every time I walk by this machine and think of how silly the whole thing is.

The same logic goes for college degrees.

You may have a diploma in Accounting but are you able to look at a situation and come up with a creative solution that best fits your customer’s needs? Will your degree in Business Management help with your communication skills? Commuter Science is cool but did any of your classes teach you how to have empathy for the person on the other side of your screen?

Each of these three soft skills that I just mentioned is actual requirements for a TED Sales role that I am currently pursuing. Yet no university provides courses on these topics.

It is for this reason I am taking and alternative path.

Instead of throwing myself into the College Education lottery, hoping that my “21-year-old, fake ID” will land me a job, I have chosen to prove my qualification through experience.

At the moment I am going through a program called Praxis. This involves a six-month boot camp followed by a six-month internship at an exciting start-up company. The main agenda of the boot camp is to create a portfolio to showcase my skills and abilities to potential employers. The internship is focused on taking these skills and applying them to real-world experience.

A few of the experiences I’ve already gathered under my belt from this program include a professional website, case studies on Building a Second Brain and The 4 Roles That Every Startup Needs, a Crash portfolio, and I am in the process of completing a 30-day blog challenge.

Each of these projects showcases my ability to create value. These are experiences that prove my qualifications as opposed to qualifications that promise to produce experience.

I may not be old enough to rent a car but I am on the fast track to landing a sweet job. With the transition from degrees to experience, perhaps soon rental companies will take into consideration driving experience over age.

Throughout this post you will gain a deeper understanding of the skills and mindset needed to succeed in a startup, whether you are starting your own or looking to join an existing team

In any successful startup, there are four main roles. Sales, Customer Success, Operations, and Marketing. Listed below is a role summary, key skills for success, and advice from experts for all four of these areas.

You can easily scroll down to the specific section that pertains to you. However, a skill may be listed under one role type and still be beneficial for others as well. For this reason I strongly suggest taking the time to learn form all four of these areas. Regardless of what field you go into, you will need to be able to empathize with your customer’s needs, think creatively, and communicate clearly.

Sales

 Role Summary

Sales is the process of two people exchanging assets to fulfill the personal needs of each party involved. Yet it’s a bit more complex than that. The customer must be the right kind of prospect. One who truly needs this product to fulfill a want, need, or personal desire. To prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this product will indeed fulfill their area of lack requires a well planned out presentation to ensure the customer that they are making the right choice.

In short, sales is the process of building relationships.

For a deeper understanding of this role, its responsibility, and importance, check out my blog True Grit. 

Key Skills For Success

Sales is 80% psychology and 20% strategy.

The psychology aspect incorporates the soft skills required to succeed. Soft skills are the personal skills you bring to the table by who you are as a person. These include your personality, drive, communication, and listening skills. Knowing how you as an individual functions, how humans as a whole function, and how to use both of these aspects to your aid, is 80% of sales.

The second part of sales is the strategy. Planning techniques, closing tactics, and follow up procedures which can all be gained through time and experience.

For a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed in this role, check out my blog The Six Infinity Stones of Sales.

Words of Wisdom From the Experts

Nick Rundlett, a Sales professional, authentic communicator, and self-directed learner advises anyone considering this role to ask themselves,

“Do you want to be doing this?”

Anyone can benefit from the experience of being in a sales role, but the greatest key to success in sales is being self-aware. Going into this role blind will only result in you being knocked down and disappointed. Before you enter into this role you must determine that this is something you want to do and do well at.

American author, motivational speaker, and world-renowned salesman Zig Ziglar‘s advice is to recognize that you are someone who can excel in this field. Then just be yourself.

Planning techniques, closing tactics, and follow up procedures can all be gained through time and experience. However, self-image and how you go about facing a challenge as an individual is something that only you can determine and produce.

Adam Thibeault is an experienced and successful sales representative who believes in

“Put yourself out there.”

The only thing to fear is fear itself. If you allow the fear of what others will think or what might just happen keep you from trying new things, then you’ll never achieve anything in life.

For more advice from these sales experts, check out my blogs The 80% and 20% of Sales, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, and Sales As A Way Of Life.

 

Customer Success

 Role Summary

Customer success is the process of improving the experience of a customer by constantly seeking new ways to solve present and future problems.

Almost every time a customer contacts a company they will be working with a customer success agent. This interaction will determine how that customer views the company as a whole. This role holds the responsibility of preserving the image of a company. A customer that feels successful in their experience is what makes a successful company.

For a deeper understanding of this role, its responsibility, and importance, check out my blog Becoming an Italian Stallion of Customer Success.

Key Skills For Success

In customer success, half the battle is seeing a problem before it arises. The goal of any company is to ensure that their customers are completely satisfied with their product. By discovering possible obstacles before they become a reality, a customer can enjoy their product without the need of deal with bugs and hiccups.

For a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed in this role, check out my blog The Road to Success.

Words of Wisdom From the Experts

Zach Martin, a digital marketing specialist advises anyone considering this role to,

“Go in there and kick A**”

This role can open doors for many different roles and opportunities. Often this will be one of the only available positions at a company, making it ideal for getting one’s foot in the door.

For more advice from Zach Martin, check out my blog The Secret Agents of Success.

Operations

 Role Summary

Operations is the internal management that allows a company to function as smoothly and effectively as possible.

There are countless tasks that must be performed for a business to function as a whole.

To name just a few

• Planning – effective organization to reach highest productivity.
• Scheduling – people at the right places and time.
• Management – making sure everyone has a job and knows what to do.
• Quality Assurance – check the product, double-check, and check it again.

For a deeper understanding of this role, its responsibility, and importance, check out my blog Wizards of the Business World.

Key Skills For Success

Organizing people and work atmospheres requires one to juggle multiple projects at once while finding new ways of improving the system as a whole. In a world that is constantly changing, a love for learning is the key skill that will ensure your ability to succeed. Every task can be learned and every obstacle can be overcome, but only if you are the kind of person who believes that it can.

For a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed in this role, check out my blog The Four Walls of Operations.

Words of Wisdom From the Experts

Vanessa Hutton is a digital campaign manager. Her advice when considering this role is to

“Get your feet wet.”

The only way you’ll know if you like this kind of work is to try it out. Find an internship opportunity, interview some people who work in this role, and do your research. Experience is the best teacher, so just go for it.

Also, keep in mind that a lot of what goes into a job is the people you work with. Having a great team and work atmosphere can make all the difference in the world. So look around, learn what works for you, then take the dive.

For more advice from Vanessa Hutton, check out my blog The Role of Operations from a Pro.

Marketing

 Role Summary

Marketing is the process of getting a product in front of potential customers. By use of advertising a marketer can put your product in front of the chosen market. If the advertisements are convincing and persuading, then there is an opportunity for a sale to be made. Regardless of the form in which marketing takes, visually or verbally, the end goal is to convince the customer that their life will be significantly improved if they purchase or invest in this product.

For a deeper understanding of this role, its responsibility, and importance, check out my blog Proving the Existence of Your Product.

Key Skills For Success

Reaching out to the right customer is of utmost importance. The process of finding these customers requires a large amount of research. Who are they, where are they, and what is the best plan of action for reaching them? Without knowing the answers to these questions your advertisements will be a game of hit and miss, sending your companies money down the drain.

For a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed in this role, check out my blog Becoming Prince Charming.

Words of Wisdom From the Experts

Yitzchak Young, an experienced and successful marketer and copywriter in growth marketing, recommends

“Understand that what you are getting into is not just promoting ideas and products. You are studying reality, people, and humanity as a whole. Understand that first”

If you go into marketing with the wrong mindset then you will become lost and confused. If you know that this is a role based on human actions and how humanity functions, then you’ll be able to go in knowing exactly what you need to look for to succeed.

Startup marketer, writer, and perpetual apprentice James Walpole‘s advice is that

“If you can do marketing in a start-up, especially one that doesn’t have a marketing department yet or not much of one, you should do so over going to a big company where your job will be specialized.”

There is a value that comes with being able to wear all the different hats in a role, especially if you want to be an entrepreneur. This will allow you to see and get to know each aspect of marketing so that you will better understand what your company will need if you start your own. It will also help you know what kind of role you would rather specialize in for the future.

In the end though, “Take on the hardest challenges you can.” The only way you can learn and improve yourself is to embrace the challenges that allow you to grow.

For more advice from these marketing experts, check out my blog Timber! and Dating Advice From The Marketing World.

Conclusion

With a deeper understanding of these four roles, you are now better equipped to succeed in your own startup experience. Remember, regardless of what field you go into, you will need to be able to empathize with your customer’s needs, think creatively, and communicate clearly.

There is no doubt that you would make the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend. The problem is your crush doesn’t know this. You have a great personality, you’re always faithful, and you’re a fantastic cuddler. None of these matters though unless you are able to attract the right person by marketing yourself as the solution to their lack of laughter, accountability, and snuggles.

Relationships and marketing have a great deal in common. Both have a product that they know can help others, and both have the challenge of convincing the right people that this product is the solution that they have been looking for. You may have a great personality, and Bit Pay may be a great transaction system. Each is useless though unless they are marketed in such a way that creates discovery, understanding, and trust.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview James Walpole, startup marketer at Bit Pay, writer, and perpetual apprentice. During this interview James shared with me his insights to succeed in the marketing world, many of which we both agreed would make great dating advice.

Here are the following notes on our discussion.

What made you choose to pursue this role?

“It was an opportunity to work with a company that I was really interested in.”

At that age of 18, James participated in a program called Praxis which landed him an internship in marketing with Bit Pay. This was a start-up company that he was interested in and was therefore willing to fill any role they needed.

With his experience in writing and communication, marketing was the perfect fit.

What skills and training are required to fill this role?

“Clear communication skills, empathy, and basic creativity. These are the mega skills in Marketing.”

There are many different roles within marketing but in each position, there are three main skills needed.

Clear communication. With the vast amount of distraction we encounter on a daily basis it is imperative that miscommunication does not occur within a companies message. Marketers are tasked with the job of clear communication between a company their potential customers.

Empathy. In order to understand what people want and how they want it, one must be able to put themselves in there customer’s shoes. Once you can relate to your customer you will be able to talk to them in an appealing manner, assuring them that they can trust you.

Creativity. To come up with multiple different ways to communicate with your customers, a marketer must have persistent creativity. If at first, you don’t succeed (which is often the case), try, try again. There will always be room for improvement and a chance to try new marketing techniques.

What is your greatest challenge?

“Building a relatable brand that also meets people’s needs and wants in a world that moves so fast and people are constantly changing.”

Communicating with your audience in a way that interests them and demonstrates your ability to solve their dilemma is a difficult task. You must be able to tell them what they want to hear and show them what they want to see, which requires you to know what they want in the first place.

This is accomplished by creating a brand that your customers can relate to and trust. Once you know what problem needs to be solved and you’ve created that solution, then it becomes a task of convincing your audience to take a chance on your product.

What is your greatest gain?

“A level of confidence.”

Nothing builds confidence like having to create something from scratch. This is the very job description of marketing. Whether you are creating a new ad, updating data for targeting or writing a blog to educate customers on your product, you will be required to create new content that results in customer attraction.

This form of creativity is used to motivate people’s actions, be persuasive, and invoke emotions, all of which are aspects of leadership. Marketing is, in fact, the guiding of the masses toward a comment goal. If you have a mission and know how to market it then you have the ability to recruit people to join your cause.

What do your day to day tasks look like?

“If you box yourself into a mindset of this is how things have to be done then you’ll lose your ability to look at the situation and see how best to serve your customer. The only right way to run a marketing team is the way that creates products that people actually want.”

There are many different roles within marketing and countless ways of going about advertising and running a brand.

• Responding to emails and customers – Making sure that the brand is bring advertised appropriately.
• Cleaning data for targeting- Making sure the data is targeting the right people and not wasting money.
• Creating adds – The visual side of marketing from hats, pen, shirts, and logos.
• Graphic design – Website, gifs, video content, audio content, pictures, etc.
• Information education- Writing or creating videos and audio content to educate company employees and customers.
• Measuring the performance of ads – Determining whether an ad is successful or not by measuring its numbers.
• Events organization – Finding creative ways to involve customers.

In a marketing role, one could be assigned to any number of these tasks on a daily basis. The key is to not focus on the role but on the end goal of attracting customers to your product.

What is the significants of Marketing as a whole?

“Marketing helps people understand how a product will solve their problems and help them get closer to the kind of life they want to live. If you don’t have this within your company then you go from having a solution to having a tool.”

Tools can be helpful but they only become solutions once someone knows that they can solve their problem. Some people will pick up a tool and try it to discover that it solves their dilemma. To reach the most people though, you will need to show them how your tool is helpful before they will pick it up.

“Discovery, Understanding and Trust.” These are what marketers strive to accomplish and what would be lost if the marketing was taken out of a company.

What hard skills are necessary for this role?

“Marketing is anything that will persuade your customers to have discovery, understanding, and trust. This involves any range of skills, many of which no marketer has yet conceived.”

Tools are the means by which one creates a project while skills are the means by which they use these tools. The skills required to accomplish the task of discovery, understanding, and trust are exhaustive. A few of these tools that can be useful though are as follows.

• Writing – One of the core hard skills in marketing.
• Graphic design – Creating visual content.
• Video and audio skills
• Data management
• Add platform understanding
• SCO – Creating content that attracts customers.

What does it take to succeed in this role?

“Empathy is the most important thing. Being able to put yourself in the shoes of other people.”

A great way to gain this skill is by reading and putting yourself into the main character’s potion. The more you are able to see a situation from the eyes of another person the more able you will be to understand the problems they face.

Creative curiosity is another key to success in this role. Finding the perfect means of attracting your audience requires experimenting in endless different ways before you find something that works. It takes persistence to try and try again.

The last key to success is communication. Marketing to your customers alone is not enough. You must be able to market to your boss, coworkers and different companies that you work with. Every idea you present or project you need help on requires you to market it.

Coming into a situation thinking that you are hot stuff just because you are in marketing will get you nowhere. You must first show that you and your ideas can bring value before anyone will join you.

If you could give one piece of advice to a young person considering this role, what would it be?

“If you can do marketing in a start-up, especially one that doesn’t have a marketing department yet or not much of one, you should do so over going to a big company where your job will be specialized.”

There is a value that comes with being able to wear all the different hats in a role, especially if you want to be an entrepreneur. This will allow you to see and get to know each aspect of marketing so that you will better understand what your company will need if you start your own. It will also help you know what kind of role you would rather specialize in for the future.

In the end though, “Take on the hardest challenges you can.” The only way you can learn and improve yourself is to embrace the challenges that allow you to grow.

 

Conclusion

Whether you are convincing someone to buy your product, join your mission, or go out on a date, the same key skills are required.

Empathy, Creativity, and Communication. With these three skills, you will be able to achieve the desired outcome of Discovery, Understanding, and Trust.

So get out there and show your great personality, faithfulness, and fantastic cuddling skills. You have something to offer this world, all you have to do is market them.

I have a question for you. If a post was published on an all-male flight crew taking a class of all boys to NASA, would it be seen as politically incorrect?

Absolutely.

If the media posted on an educational event that excluded girls, they would be feathered and tared. Yet an all-female crew taking an all-girl class is seen as heroism.

Think I’m wrong? Look at the Boy Scouts. Not allowing girls to join this club, even though they had their own girl scouts, was sexist and therefore not tolerated.

To me, it looks like there’s a double standard here.

Women’s Accomplishments

I am a woman and I am proud of this fact. I believe that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to and should not be refused the right to do so.

With that said, I do not believe that because I am a woman that I am therefore better than a man or that a man’s rights should be taken from him simply because he is a man. I believe in the rights of both women and men equally.

The world is not perfect, I’ll give you that. This does not justify the right to take advantage of others simply because someone else took advantage of us or a member of our gender. Women should have rights and men should have rights and neither should come at the cost of the other group.

I honestly have no problem with an all-female flight crew taking a class of all girls. I am all for it.

What I am against is the fact that a group of men could not do the same thing with a class of boys.

The Best Solution For Women

If we as women wish to have equal rights as men then perhaps we should work on earning positions with men instead of taking rights away from them.

A combination crew of both men and women with a class of boys and girls would be greater evidence of equal rights between the sexes.

The feminist movement is doing more harm than good in my opinion. Instead of striving to have equal opportunities, we expect the male race to pay for the wrongs that have been committed in the past.

Women have the right to education, ownership, competitive work wages, and we can vote. We have come a long way and I am grateful to the women who have sacrificed for the rights we have today. My fear though is that we are on the verge of losing all that they fought for.

We have taken the rights granted to us and used them to push down the opposite gender instead of rising up alongside them. This was not the intention of the early day women’s rights movement and it is harming us more than helping us.

Women Need Men

If my post hasn’t offended you yet the title above might have just done it.

I’m not saying that a woman cannot be content and complete without a man in her life. I am a strong believer and living proof that a woman can be successful and happy without a man to provide this accomplishment for her.

What I am saying though is that society as a whole needs men. Not creeps, but men.

A true man is one that protects and provides at the cost of his own comfort, safety and even life. A true man serves others instead of pushing them down. A true man cares for others while a creep uses them.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we as women admire this kind of true man, as we should.

Unfortunate though, the feminist movement is killing off this kind of men. We condemn men for not being women.

As a result, we have wimpy, pathetic men who rely on the women in this world to care for them.

I can speak for all women when I say that there is nothing worse to deal with then a clingy, needy man. Yet we are the ones who made this mess.

The Solution

You want to know a secret? Men need women too. It’s true.

That’s the crazy thing about this life is that we both need each other.

We as women have the power to build up or tear down a man just as they have the ability to harm us or value us.

My suggestion is that we focus on how we can best work together instead of having a He, She competitions.

This world is made up of all-woman… and all-men. Both need each other to make this world a better place.

“… If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

My Job

I am the kind of person who gives 110% in every area of my life. When I clock in, I am entirely there serving to the very best of my abilities and finding ways of improving my work atmosphere and productivity.

My job at Tractor Supply was no different. In fact, within the first two weeks of staring, I was recognized with the Country Mile award for my outstanding customer service. I was so excited about the new skills and improvements I was bringing to my work that I wrote a blog about it. The Reason I Am Passionate About Nuts, Bolts, And Hay.

The day I won that award though, something clicked. I was still in the training stages and had plenty to learn, but suddenly I could do nothing right and each question I asked became an aggravation to my manager. On top of this, my schedule went from completely full plus some, to a five-hour shift only one day a week.

The first week this happened I thought it must have been a mistake in the system and therefore said nothing about it. After three weeks though I had to figure out how I would pay my bills. Fortunately, I was working a second job as a gymnastics coach and was able to pick up a few extra classes.

Every time I would ask my manager about the schedule he would tell me that this was just how it worked for that week and then walk away. Finally, I brought the matter to the assistant manager who informed me that the manager was purposely giving me these hours and he had no idea why.

Eventually, the pay I received was not worth the fuel it took to get into work and so I submitted my two weeks’ notice.

When I walked into the office to tell my manager he nearly jumped for joy. He didn’t ask why I was leaving or if something could be worked out. He simply marked the date on his calendar and wished me well.

Come to find out, my manager’s “scheduling system” has been the means of removing potential threats and hard-working employees since he came to this town.

The Leader’s Position

The position of a leader is not above his employees, but beside them. Power is not a pedestal to stand upon, but the means to inspire those who look up to you. A Leader should be the one who is serving everyone below him, taking the position of helper to all.

My manager was a Boss, not a Leader. A Boss tells while a leader shows. A Boss points out the problem while a Leader finds a solution. A Boss gives you a job while a leader gives you a mission.

“… If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

The power given to my manager revealed his character. The use of that power made him into a person who will never rise higher than the shoulders of those who allow him to stand upon their hard work.

Moving On

As I finish out my last two weeks at Tractor Supply I intend to do three things.

1. Give 110%. My character will not be affected by the character of another person regardless of how they have treated me. I will give this store my very best until the moment I clock out for the last time. I am still me, with or without that red vest on.

2. I will leave this store a better place then it was when I arrived. I may not be able to change the management and how people are treated, but I can change the chain reaction that comes from this management by treating people as they ought to be treated. By being the most encouraging and positive work that I possibly can, I not only prevent my self from being affected by the downward spiral of this toxic management, but I can also cause a ripple effect of my own that can work its way through my fellow coworkers, and who knows where it might end.

3. I am going to learn from this experience and improve myself. Sure, this whole thing has sucked big time, but it can still be used for good. I have learned what a poor leader looks like and I was able to learn this from watching the mistakes of another person as opposed to having to make them myself.

Conclusion

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s charter, give him power.”

The revealing of another man’s character has been an adversity that I have had to withstand. Yet through this experience, I have become better equipped to someday have my own character tested when I earn the power to lead, as opposed to becoming a boss.

 

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me, right?

Wrong.

I know that I am not the only one who can think back to a time when words were used to completely crush my soul. A beating would have been far more pleasant than the lashes of these comments on my heart.

Words are a power that we each poses. That means that you have the ability to tear someone down or build them up simply by the words you speak. Intimidating though right?

In his presentation How to speak so that people want to listen, Julian Treasure shares his secrets to speaking, be it publicly or one-on-one.

7 deadly sins

These are the seven sure ways convince anyone you speak to that you have nothing worth listening to.

1. Gossip – Talking poorly about others behind their backs.
2. Judging – Finding fault in those around you.
3. Negativity – Refusing to see the good in life.
4. Complaining – Never being satisfied with what you have.
5. Excuses – Avoiding personal responsiblitiy.
6. Exaggeration – Making yourself look better by lying.
7. Dogmatism – Mixing truth with personal opinion.

Any of these seven speaking-sins will result in you losing your right to hold the attention and respect of an audience while possibly harming those you speak to.

THINK

In his presentation, Julian lits four keys to positive speech. HAIL. These four letters stand for Honestly, Authenticity, Integrity, and Lovingly.

These four keys are helpful and fine on their own, but I personly have a system that I believe better equips one to speak in an impactful manner. THINK.

Before I speak, whether it be one-on-one or to a large audience, I ask myself the following questions.

T – Is it True? Are the words I am about to say true or are they mixed with my personal opinions?

H – Is it Helpful? Will my words improve the life of this person/personas?

I – Is it Inspiring? Are my worlds building up or tearing down?

N – Is it Necessary? Are the things I say needed at this time and place?

K – Is it Kind? Even if the following four questions can be answered with a “Yes” if this last one in a “No” then I should keep my thoughts to myself. You can tell the truth, be helpful, inspiring, and speak what is necessary while still being kind.

Conclusion

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Prov 18:21

You have the capability to build up those around you by the blessings you speak into their life. You can save a life, influence a movement, and change the world through the words you speak. So before you share your opinions, beliefs, ideas, or dreams, take a moment and THINK.

Rosie the Riveter, Elvis Presley, and swing dance. What is there not to love about the ’40s through ’70s. Sure there was a world war, the day of pigs, and don’t even get me started on the pure crime of hairstyles coming out of the ’70s. Overall though, it was just like any other time in world history. There were great moments and poor ones. I just happen to be a big fan of those great moments.

I tie my hair in bandanas, wear bell-bottoms, and listen to the Monkeys and Beach Boys. My desktop is decorated with Norman Rockwell clippings, Bugs Bunny is my favorite cartoon character, and Coca-Cola is best drank out of a glass bottle with peanuts. I am a woman trapped in time who still swoons over Bobby Darin and Dean Martin while being inspired by the Women of World War 2.

Clearly, there are plenty of things to love about this era, for me though, it comes down to three main factors.

1. I can stand out and still look good

I’ve never been the kind of person who followed the trends of others. While other girls idealized Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande, I had Audrey Hepburn and Norma Jeane (Marilyn Monroe, before she went blond). I’m a strong believer that the bigger your hair and the more your skirt twirls the better it is. Sure I don’t fit into the crowd, but my personality and strong-will does that for me anyway. My unique style simply allows me to look good while I do so.

 

2. Humor was still clean, to a degree

This was the golden age of Loony Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and The Flintstones. Shows could be humorous without being vulgar. Sure, there were off-colored jokes, and creeps will always find ways to pervert and twist, but as a whole, family-friendly was the main agenda for the entertainment industry. As a result, society as a whole was cleaner or at least put on a good front. Rudeness was not tolerated, character was a lesson taught to all children, and private matters weren’t openly hung out to dry.

 

3. It was a turning point for many areas of life

You can disagree with me on the previous two reasons. In your opinion ripped jeans may be far better then sideburns and the 20th century could have been the farthest thing from morally just with its racism and sexism. I won’t deny these facts. As I said above, this was just like any other time in history with its share of great moments and poor ones. With that said, the fact that this was a changing point in society is undeniable.

As a country, we came out of a depression and won a world war. We removed the barrios between race and valued women in the work field. Sure we’re not perfect yet but we have come a long way and we owe a great deal of this change to the 20th century.

 

Conclusion

Why do I love the ’40s-’70s?

There’s the fashion, music, and we can’t forget swing dancing. At the core though, my obsession with this time era has more to do with the people and the actions they took to make their lives, this country and the world as a whole, a better experience.

 

I’ve always believed that the only thing in life that you have complete and total control over is your attitude. Your job, health, loved ones, and very life can change or even disappear in a blink of an eye; and you have no power to control any of it.
Your attitude though is completely your choice.
Some may object to my belief stating that one’s life circumstances, health, and environment have a great influence on their attitude. I would agree that these factors can have an impact, but in the end, the individual is the one who determines how they will react to these circumstances.
No one can force you to be angry, irritated, or happy. They can do their best but you are the one who decides to give in or not. In all actuality, when you give in to the pressures of outside forces, you are allowing them to win.
I’ve often said that when you lose control of your attitude you’ve lost control of your entire life. Think about it. If your emotions are the only thing in life that you have complete control over and no one can force you to react one way or another, then loosing that control is the equivalent of losing your entire life.
The next time you blow your top or break down, consider the fact that you are giving control of your enter life to a person or situation that doesn’t deserve it.