What Jobs Are There For Parents Returning To Work?

Every so often, news of rising interest rates, inflation and fuel and grocery prices sparks a mini-panic in the household and anxious scanning of MyCareer and job websites.

Is it time for me to go back to work?

If so, what sort of work should I look for? Or rather, what sort of work am I qualified to do after 3 years away from the workforce?

If I go back to work, should I work part-time or full-time?

If J goes to childcare, will she fall ill often and will I miss out on witnessing her developmental milestones?

If Beth goes to after-school care, will I be able to keep up with what goes on at school?

What about my duties as a volunteer reader with her class?

What about my duties as playgroup assistant on Mondays?

And on and on.

Re employability, it is a known fact that skilled migrants face certain barriers in getting employed in Australia.

Some of it has to do with lack of familiarity with the local work culture. There's also the language barrier for those from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Employers tend to prefer hiring those who have local work experience. A chicken-and-egg problem, obviously.

Fortunately, there are places to go for help.

One suggestion that comes up often is to do volunteer work to gain local experience.

I remember reading the story of Rosalind, a Malaysian with a PhD who kept getting bounced back at job interviews. The fact that she was highly qualified was no guarantee of her getting a job, much less one commensurate with her qualifications and experience. She was advised to do volunteer work with a non-profit organization that helps migrants settle into life in Australia. She did that. Eventually, she was offered a paid position.

Another strategy is simply to revise your expectations and start over at an entry-level position.

This might be a bit hard to swallow if you're a graduate from the world-class Little Red Dot. But if you see it as a temporary hiccup and a way to get your foot in the door, it might just be a bit more bearable.

We know of graduates from the Philippines who work at fast food restaurants and factories for an hourly wage. (The average hourly wage in the retail sector is $20.) One friend, who used to work in banking back home, is now taking a course in IT to retrain for a new career. At entry level, of course.

There's the Singaporean IT Project Manager who migrated here without a job, and spent the first 5 months of his new life stacking shelves and delivering the local paper in all kinds of weather, while waiting to hear from prospective employers.

Another Singaporean we know took 2 years to find a permanent job.

Definitely humbling, stressful...and character-building.

A career development practitioner that acknowledges this issue faced by migrants is Associated Career Management Australia. Their website has a category titled "Migrants".

"Often important cultural differences are missed by migrants which can mean ongoing barriers to finding that vital career position. Your counsellor will coach you to understand and avoid these negative and potentially career threatening issues.

We provide intensive support at all levels to ensure that migrants’ employment applications conform to Australian standards, and that their applications are directed to employers, agencies and/or organisations that will treat applications from people from non-english speaking backgrounds simply on merit only."

Definitely something to consider if you are planning to migrate to Australia without a job offer.

Not sure if you should migrate? Too many factors to consider?

Use this decision making software to help you prioritize what's most important.

You'll see and decide with greater clarity.

Internet Connections

Once in a while, I get a comment on my blog(s).

When it's from someone I know, it tells me that someone is actually taking the trouble to keep up with what's going on in our lives.

Considering how hectic everyone's life is, that's really nice.

But sometimes, the comments come from complete strangers, who just happen to be surfing the Net, come across my blog, and decide to leave a comment.

Recently, I received an email from a lady back home, someone I don't know. She was surfing for information on delivering a baby at the Werribee Mercy Hospital (where I had Jordanne), and found my blog.

Amazing, when you consider there are at least 165 million sites out there, according to Netcraft's April 2008 survey.

The Internet certainly has a way of bringing down barriers and bringing people closer. The world feels somehow smaller and friendlier when two strangers find they have something in common and take steps to become acquainted.

That's cool as, in Aussie-speak.

Gift Idea for Mothers' Day

Here's a great gift idea for the special woman in your life. She might be your mum/mum-in-law, grandma, daughter, sister, sis-in-law, friend.

Worth More Than Rubies is written by Kathie M. Thomas, author of the Proverbs 31 Woman blog.

While raising 5 daughters, Kathie started a work-from-home business using her office admin skills and the Internet to be a Virtual Assistant.

She is credited with starting the Virtual Assistant industry in Australia.

Watch this YouTube video of Kathie's interview with HBB TV.

Guaranteed to inspire.

SIDENOTE:
So who is the Proverbs 31 woman?

Proverbs 31:10-31 says:

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Project Completed

Now I can say I've taught piano and I know what it's like.

I've discovered that it takes an enormous amount of mental concentration, physical energy and emotional effort to focus on one person for 45 minutes.

Hats off to all teachers and tutors everywhere! Teaching is definitely not for everyone.

At my last lesson with Gwen, we went through all the pieces we've learnt during our 10 sessions together.

I was so proud and amazed and glad at the progress she's made. I mean, we're talking about someone who's never had formal training and just wants to learn piano so she can play her favourite pieces for her own enjoyment and to entertain her family.

I thought it would be nice for Gwen to have something to remember her huge personal achievement by, so I gave her this.



But Gwen surprised me. She had something for me too!




Thanks Gwen! :-)

Giving and receiving...two sides of the same coin. The cycle's complete. What a beautiful way to mark my first experience as a music teacher.

Try Something New Today

I have been reading Dr Wayne Dyer's book, The Power of Intention.

I am still digesting his teaching, but as part of my personal quest to challenge myself and to break through old boundaries, I decided to do something different while out shopping.

At the fish shop, I recalled a recent conversation with my Filipino friend Raquel. She was sharing about how she buys whole fish and gets the fishmonger to clean and cut them up for her, and how she uses the head and bones to make soup. She tells me it's cheaper buying the whole fish than buying it already cut. I'm taking her word for it, because I really wouldn't know better. I'm domestically lazy, you see. If you present me with fish fillet already skinned and boned vs whole fish with gaping eyes and mouth, I'll go for the fillet every time.

Today, I decided to try it Raquel's way. I told the Vietnamese lady at the counter that I wanted a fish that was good for steaming and suitable for kids. I said I wanted the fish filleted, and that I planned to take the head and bones as well. She pointed out a particular fish ("This one very good, a lot of meat") and sent it to the back room to have her colleague clean and cut it up.

While we waited, I struck up a conversation with the lady. I asked her why it was that Australian salmon (a whole one) goes at $4.95/kg while Atlantic salmon is nearly $30/kg?

Simple, she replied. Atlantic salmon can be eaten raw and used as sushi. It's also got a nicer flavour. Aussie salmon is more meaty and the flavour's not as nice. It's more suited to being grilled in the oven.

There. All that information, and I didn't have to pay a cent to learn something new.

Well, I did part with $16, which is more than I usually pay for fish at a go, but I'm hopeful I'll get at least 2 dinners out of it.

Back home, I transferred the fillets (nice big ones) into a Tupperware container, put the pot on to boil and tossed in the fish head and bones, along with some garlic, an onion and the white part of a handful of spring onions. Nice.

Pity about the ginger though. Must remind CA to get some when he's next in Footscray. It's hideously expensive at Safeway.

Can't wait for dinnertime.

At the supermarket checkout, I noticed a few people queuing at a sign I had never seen before: "Self-Service Checkout".

Hmm. Should I bother and risk looking like a fool? Maybe I should just go to the usual cashier?

I decided I would try something new.

I brought my bags to an available counter and started studying the instructions on the screen. Once I'd calmed down enough to read them properly, they were fairly intuitive.

Press Start.
Scan each item.
Put item in the bagging area.
Swipe Eftpos card.
Key in PIN.

There you go. All done.

That's two new things learnt today.

Thank you Lord, for stretching me mentally.

Why Not Be Great?

What did you do in the noughties?

How will you answer this question fifteen years from now?

Will you be like the many who answer: "I spent my time waiting, whining, worrying and wishing"?

Or will you seize the opportunity to do something remarkable?

Seth Godin says that in hindsight, the 1990s were the good old days. Yet so many people missed out.

Why?

"Because it's always possible to find a reason to stay put, to skip an opportunity, or to decline an offer. And yet, in retrospect, it's hard to remember why we said no and easy to wish that we had said yes."

I am reminded of all the courses and training I've yet to do because I kept putting them off for one reason or another.

There was always a reason not to.
Not enough money.
No time.
Too hard.
Too much trouble.
What if I don't like it and end up wasting my time/money?

"The thing is, we still live in a world that's filled with opportunity. In fact, we have more than an opportunity - we have an obligation. An obligation to spend our time doing great things. To find ideas that matter and to share them. To push ourselves and the people around us to demonstrate gratitude, insight, and inspiration. To take risks and to make the world better by being amazing."

I can truthfully say that in the past 3 years, I've gradually but surely changed my mindset from "can't do/won't consider" to "why not?"

I have found ideas that matter - and I am passionate about sharing them, because I believe that shared great ideas can change lives and change the world.

I have found my own small way to encourage the people around me to live with greater awareness, gratitude and inspiration.

I have taken - and continue to take - personal risks (intellectual, financial, emotional) because I believe they will help me be better, stronger and wiser, and a more credible helper to those who have not yet found the courage to follow their dreams.

"You get to make a choice. You can remake that choice everyday...It's never too late to choose optimism, to choose action, to choose excellence. It only takes a moment - just one second - to decide.

Before you finish this paragraph, you have the power to change everything that's to come. And you can do that by asking yourself (and your colleagues) the one question every organization and every individual needs to ask today: Why not be great?"

I am reminded of what Stephen Covey says about how his life completely changed when he realized that there is a gap between a stimulus and a response.
Between the moment something happens to you (stimulus), and the moment you react to it (response), there is a gap.
In that gap lies a choice.
A choice about how you want to respond to what has just happened. Your response is not a given.
You don't have to react with fear, or anger, or negativity.
You don't have to follow the script passed on by your parents, peers or teachers, or walk in the path of past destructive habits.

To those of you who struggle with unfulfilled dreams and suppressed desires for greatness and achievement, who feel trapped by fear of risk and fear of the unknown:

You have a choice.
You can remake your life this very moment.
You can choose to be great.
Why not be great?

How Not To Sweat The Small Stuff

In her latest Inner Life column in Good Weekend, Stephanie Dowrick shares about the time she sent out an email and forgot to blind copy the addressees. She said what made her most uncomfortable was the possibility of other people being irritated or thinking her an email idiot. Even though she recognized hers was a trivial mistake, she still went through those awful "if only" moments.

"What other people will think of us is often right at the heart of the problem. We don't only want to do things right, we want to be seen to do them right."

How true.

How many decisions and choices have I made because of what someone thought, or might think, or what I thought they would think, which, when you stop to think about it, is hardly the basis of good decision making.

And then, how many times have I afterwards given myself a hard time for making a poor decision or poor choice, when I could have shrugged it off as stuff that happens, and moved on?

So, how does one avoid sweating the small stuff?

Stephanie suggests asking yourself these questions:

1. Will this matter a day or week from now?
2. Is this hurting someone, or just my pride?

"Being seen to do something less than perfectly may be humbling but it is hardly ever fatal. Buying the wrong kind of orange juice, arriving minutes late, not anticipating every need of your partner or boss: these are inconveniences, nothing more.

The mistakes that do matter are those that hurt other people...Saying something cruel or threatening, overlooking someone's feelings even when you "didn't mean to", trivialising and undermining, being dishonest: that's stuff that warrants a good deal of sweating.

It is...as tempting for some people to sweat too little as it is for others to sweat too much - and generally that is far more harmful."

Think about that the next time you are called on to make a decision.

PS. Want an objective, emotionally detached way to make decisions?

Consider Choose It.

This software uses math to remove the hard work and distracting emotions out of decision making.

It's really easy to use. You go through a simple five-step process.

1. Key in your question (e.g. What career should I take up?).
2. List the possible answers.
3. List the factors that will help you decide (e.g. career satisfaction, career path, flexible enough to enable you to fulfil your family commitments).
4. Using a score of 1 to 100, score each possible answer on how well it meets the requirments of each of the factors.
5. Voila! The best possible answer is presented to you in table form, with a score and bar chart.

What I like about it is that as long as you have considered all possible factors and answered truthfully, you can't make a mistake.

How powerful is that?

Think of one problem or decision you've been losing sleep over, and see for yourself how simple it can be to make a sound decision.

PPS. I used Choose It and confirmed what I'd known intuitively - I'm in the right career for me right now. ;-)

Finding Contentment in Delayed Gratification

I am learning that delayed gratification and incremental improvement are both sides of the same coin.

And that both are good.

In my dictionary, DG/II is a $20 doormat that lends a cheery and welcoming aspect to the entrance of our home.

There's a wonderful synchronicity to everyday things if you will look at them.

The image of the bench on the mat is just like the one in our backyard.

And the plants on either side suggest a retreat, a tropical paradise.

So what if the reality doesn't quite match the suggestion?

At least it's something to work towards.

I imagine my guests walking up to my front door, pausing to wipe their shoes off on the mat, and smiling at what they see.

Instead of dwelling on the leaf vacuum blower, the storage solutions and the fitness machine that don't fit in this month's budget, I choose to delight in the magical transformation effected by a $20 household item.

What Is The Ruling Force Of Your Life?

The devotional for 2 Timothy in my Couples' Devotional Bible starts with this statement:

"God's truth - not our emotions - should be the ruling force in our lives."

What rules our lives?
What makes our unmakes our mood for the day?
Do we live our lives determined to get our way, happy only if things fall in place exactly as we intended?

Or do we leave room for God to move, to surprise us, to change us?

I am reminded of an analogy a friend shared many years ago.

She said that when we clench our fists tightly because we want to hold on to what we have, we are really preventing Him from pouring more wonderful gifts and treasures into our hands.

There just isn't enough room.

"Happiness... is usually rooted in circumstances that bring positive feelings. However, rejoicing is in the Lord, the One who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow...

Negative feelings will not be absent from our lives, but in spite of them, Christ will become the integrating force, enabling us to walk among negative feelings in a way that honors him."

May we be models of a deeper, stronger and higher truth even when life is against us.

Purple Cow and Your Career Success

More on Seth Godin's books.

SG is the author of Purple Cow and other marketing books.

Interestingly, I first came across the Purple Cow back in 2006, when I hadn't even heard of SG. I was researching how to give effective presentations, and found an online article with a strange title: "Embrace The Purple Cow". I had never heard of SG or Purple Cow, and the significance of that title completely slipped me.

Funny how seemingly random events come together when you're ripe for a new idea in your life.

A few months back, I received an email invite from the professional networking association I used to attend. The invite was for a talk about business success and... the Purple Cow.

So, what or who is a Purple Cow, and what's the hype about?

According to the marketing blurb on the book -

"You're either a Purple Cow or you're not. You're either remarkable or invisible...

Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable.

Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot of brown cows-but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow.

And it's not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not there. Period.

In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable.

It's a manifesto for marketers who want to help create products that are worth marketing in the first place."

Here's SG's advice on how you can use the Purple Cow to find your dream job:

#1 You can't be Purple at the last minute. You need to be Purple before you start looking for a job. That means doing a remarkable job at work (hence the amazing referrals you'll get for internal jobs) and with clients (hence the unsolicited job offers). People who are remarkable in the way they deal with customers and clients rarely find themselves unemployed for long.

#2 Fight the temptation to print 1,000 resumes and to submit yourself to the cattle call that is the typical job search. This won't work. You'll get an average job if you do that. Instead, focus on the people who are searching for a truly special hire. If you're that person, it'll happen. What usually occurs though, is that average people are pretty desperate and try to persuade the hiring person that they are in fact remarkable. They end up not getting the job because their references belie their assertion.

So...

• Be remarkable
• Build a network of people who truly want to hear from you

...and you'll find the job you seek.

Serena Recommends: MindTools.com

I've subscribed to MindTools' newsletter for more than a year now.

The articles are excellent and I always learn something new.

You get tips and advice on:

• time management
• stress management
• communication skills
• leadership skills
• how to improve your memory
• project planning
• decision making
• problem solving

What's great is that the site caters not just to employees, but to everyone who is involved with an organization. So you could be an owner, worker, manager or HR practitioner, and you'll find something you can apply right away to improve your personal effectiveness.

If you mouse over Decision Making, for instance, you see these subtopics:

Pareto Analysis

Paired Comparison

Grid Analysis

Decision Trees

Force Field Analysis

Six Thinking Hats

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Wow.

I like the site's simple, uncluttered layout. It hints of professionalism, just what you and I would aspire to demonstrate in the workplace.

No wonder it's "The Internet's most visited career training site".

Wish I'd had access to such info when I was an employee!

Finding Your Allies: Building Strong and Supportive Relationships at Work

From MindTools.com

"A problem shared is a problem halved", as the old saying goes, and it's true in business as well.

When it comes to working your way through the challenges that you face every day, it's a great help to be able to draw on a network of supportive individuals that you can work with to find a solution.

Allies are the people who give you backing, assistance, advice, information, protection, and even friendship. They are your support base. With strong, mutually beneficial relationships with your allies, you can survive and thrive in the corporate arena, and you can get things done quicker, and more smoothly.

Working together with allies simply helps you and them achieve more. (Here, we're using the word "ally" in it's positive sense - we're not implying that you're trying to circumvent proper channels, engage in politics or game-play, or create any kind of "us and them" culture. It is clearly wrong to behave in this way.)

Anyone and everyone who can help you achieve your objectives is a potential ally.

Some are natural: These are people who share a common interest with you. The colleague who's been around for years and can offer an invaluable voice of experience, the team member who is always happy to be a sounding board for your ideas, or the vendor who is ready to accept seemingly-impossible deadlines; these people are your natural allies.

But you can find allies in unexpected places too.

Alex in finance, who pulls together an extra report on your projects finances; Claire, the secretary, who tells you when the boss is in a good mood; or Simon, your ex-department head who is always available for advice. They too are important allies.

Allies can help you directly and indirectly. For instance, if you're running behind schedule on a project, your subordinate can help you directly by working longer hours, while your boss can help you indirectly by delegating another part of your workload to someone else.

Building Your Personal Support Base
This is one of the reasons that it's important to be open and supportive to others in the workplace, and why it's worth making at least some of your time available to help others out when they need help. After all, if you're a positive and supportive person, many other people will be equally supportive towards you.

So who could your allies be? Just your team mates? Actually, your list of potential allies goes much further than this!

Rest of the article...

How Hard Do You Work?

I am reading books by Seth Godin.

Started with All Marketers Are Liars and am currently midway through Small Is the New Big.

It's a collection of A-Z essays on SG's thoughts on everything from AAA Autos to Zebra Cake. :-)

The one I want to share is A Brief History of Hard Work, Adjusted For Risk.

SG's question to us: how hard do we actually work? What exactly does it mean to work hard?

Working hard doesn't mean sitting at a desk for long hours or being always connected with your BlackBerry.

That's working long.

SG says:

"Our future in the workplace is not about time at all. The future is about work that's really and truly hard, not just time-consuming. It's about the kind of work that requires us to push ourselves, not just punch the clock. Hard work is where our future job security, our financial profit, and our future joy lie.

It's hard work to make difficult emotional decisions, such as quitting a job and setting out on your own.

It's hard work to invent a new system, service, or process that's remarkable.

It's hard work to tell your boss he's being intellectually and emotionally lazy.

It's hard work to tell senior management to abandon something that it has been doing for a long time in favour of a new and apparently risky alternative.

It's hard work to make good decisions with less than all of the data.

It's much easier to stand by and watch the company fade into oblivion.

Today, working hard is about taking apparent risk...something that the competition (and your co-workers) believe is unsafe but that you realize is in fact far more conservative than sticking with the status quo.

...many of us are choosing to take the easy way out. We're going to work for the Man, letting him do all the hard work while we put in the long hours.

Some people...are realizing that this temporary recession is the best opportunity they've ever had. They're working harder than ever - mentally - and taking all sorts of emotional and personal risks that are bound to pay off.

Hard work is about risk. It begins when you deal with the things you'd rather not deal with: fear of failure, fear of standing out, fear of rejection.

Hard work is about training yourself to leap over this barrier, tunnel under that barrier, drive through the other barrier and after you've done that, to do it again the next day.

The riskier your co-worker's hard work appears to be, the safer it really is.

It's the people having difficult conversations, inventing remarkable products, and pushing the envelope (and perhaps, still going home at 5 pm) who are building a recession-proof future for themselves.

So tomorrow, when you go to work, really sweat. Your time is worth the effort."

PS. My good friend and ex-colleague OTL is exactly the kind of hard worker SG had in mind. A visionary, always tinkering with new ideas and new ways of doing things, always challenging the status quo and asking "Why?" and "Why not?"
OTL, you'll have job security for life. :)

PPS. If you've enjoyed this post, get more SG pearls at www.SethGodin.com.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Sweat the ones that matter. :-)

The Secret to Being Happy

If you want to be happy...

For an hour, take a nap

For a day, go fishing

For a month, get married

For a year, get an inheritance

For a lifetime, help someone.

Martin Seligman

The Next Phase: Becoming A Church Elder

At last Sun's congregational meeting, CA and another member were elected elders of Hoppers Crossing Uniting Church.

When I think about how new we are in Aus and how much we have to learn about so many things here, I am like "Wow! Really?"

I remember looking up 1 Timothy in the Bible to see what the apostle Paul had to say about church leaders.

It's quite a sobering list.

A church deacon/overseer must be:

• Husband of only one wife
• Temperate
• Self-controlled
• Respectable/Worthy of respect
• Hospitable
• Able to teach
• Not given to drunkenness
• Not violent but gentle
• Not quarrelsome
• Not a lover of money/Not pursuing dishonest gain
• Must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect
• Must not be a recent convert
• Must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience
• Must first be tested, and appointed only if there is nothing against them
• Must have a good reputation with outsiders

I reckon the bit about managing the family well is our Challenge of the Moment.

Beth has been acting up since she started school.

She actually defies us when we tell her to Go To The Corner, and says NO and has to be physically escorted there.

I can't believe how out of hand things get at home sometimes, and how inept I feel as a parent when the girls test our authority.

It makes me wonder: are we as a family up to handling CA's new position of responsibility?

Surely we ought to be role models like the ones described in Steve Green's Household of Faith song first?

On the other hand, this is our chance to serve in Hoppers Crossing, this community where we live, worship and go to school.

To - as a friend back home puts it - bloom where we are planted.

I need to trust that God knows what He's doing (even when I don't), that He has a plan for us, and that His plan is to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future here, right here in the suburb of Hoppers Crossing in the City of Wyndham in Melbourne, Australia.

And not only to trust, but also to obey.

As the hymn goes: "Trust and obey/For there's no other way/To be happy in Jesus/But to trust and obey".

Goals Are Gained Through Small Steps

I love this article from Beth's school newsletter.

GOALS ARE GAINED THROUGH SMALL STEPS!

Do you feel like there's a huge gap between your present position and your ultimate destination?

You say, "Yes, I'd like to be a lawyer, but that means I'd have to go to Uni and do a degree. That would take years!"

"I have so many other things I'd like to do."

"I don't think I could take the risk. It will create financial hardship."

"I don't know how to get started."

The excuses pile up like dirty dishes in a sink; it feels like it would take too long, cost too much, require too much energy, require too many sacrifices to get from point A to point B.

Whether it's making an effort at school, or starting your own business or applying the discipline required to make it happen, the temptation is to always put it off until another time.

How do you overcome the fear of starting? The simple answer is that you reach big goals by taking small steps! While it's tempting to think that the amount of time required is too long, those days and years will pass quickly - whether you're pursuing your goal or not! You need to make an early start and for students it is right now - at the beginning of the year!

You need to show up for duty and leave the provisions - to Him. The Psalmist writes: "No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly."
(Psalm 84:11)

Trust God and take the first small step, but do something! Don't just sit around hoping it will all just fall into place. If you do nothing, we will be here same time next year, asking the same questions.

Principal
Reynald Tibbens
Heathdale Christian College

Reflection:
When you consider that this article was written for the students of Heathdale, it's just amazing.
Can you imagine the ripple effect it can have on its readers - parents, siblings, friends - and its power to change the lives of those who are ready and open?
I felt so awed and inspired when I read it, and almost wished I'd written it myself.
Its simple and succinct content is at once a reminder, a clarion call to action, a nudge in the direction of self-discipline, and something I can paste on the fridge and refer to every day.
With a Christ-focused principal like RT, I know my daughter is in good hands.

Recommended Reading: 7 Strategies to Recession-Proof Your Career

Just want to share this article by Dr. Randall S. Hansen, QuintCareer.com's Career Doctor.

I always enjoy reading the articles on QuintCareers because they are informative, full of value and written for easy reading without being overly simplistic.

If you're an employee, protecting your career and boosting your chances of being retained and promoted require a delicate balance between knowing what's going on outside the company, and being your boss' trusted resource.

Dr Hansen recommends these 7 strategies to protect your career:

1. Stay alert to the grapevine.
2. Keep your resume current.
3. Build your brand internally.
4. Become a company man/woman.
5. Build your brand externally.
6. Find career development opportunities.
7. Network.

Read the article here.

The Next Phase: Becoming A Piano Teacher

Years ago, I remember asking my best friend to connect me with her friend who was a piano teacher.

We exchanged emails but I never got round to taking action on my then vague desire to teach piano.

I felt that my Dip. in Piano Performance just wouldn't hack it if I had to submit myself to a rigorous Yamaha audition, so why bother?

When Beth got to the age of being able to sit through a Kindermusik class, I thought: maybe I could teach kiddies music?

Again, I failed to take action.

Today, I'm glad to say I've just taught my 2nd lesson to an adult learner, and it's been all good.

I reckon I'm learning as much as she is.

It's not easy finding the right words to say and I'm having to be really careful so that I am generous with praise and encouragement, and that I gently correct without being critical or judgmental.

Having been raised in a high-control, perfectionistic environment, I have to consciously censor those thoughts and remarks that would otherwise slip out.

It helps that Beth has her Yamaha Junior Music Course in the morning, and that I get to sit with her through the class and absorb some of the positive vibes from her very enthusiastic teacher and classmates. The class gives me a high and I carry some of that zeal and joy with me into my teaching in the afternoon, so it's worked out really well.

I'm so thankful that after years of dithering and non-action, I've finally found my way into teaching piano.

I plan to get better and better in my teaching and my playing so that I grow alongside my student.

The Time To Act On Your Dreams Is NOW

We are not fearless enough to take charge of our lives.

We live in the shadows of those who are our heroes and whom we are content to applaud.

Sadly, most of us don't recognise that we too have the capacity to take home the gold and consequently we live a mediocre standard of life.

Every day there is sufficient time and reason for us to do something that will propel us into becoming something bigger and better...

It's NOW that we need to do those things that should be part of our spiritual progress but sadly we haven't time just yet. The lawn has to be mowed; the dog has to be washed. By the end of the week we think we will have more time and only then will we write the poetry that is simmering inside us...


We convince ourselves that later on, next week, afterwards, soon, presently, before long, it will happen.

Yes, maybe in days to come we will have time, but is it possible that we won't be well enough, have enough money to pay for the art classes or have the vision to read the book when we finally find that elusive time?


Talk comes cheaply.

Action costs a little bit more. It takes courage and tenacity.

And guess what? Each and every one of us has enough to rule the world if we wish.

It's time to challenge ourselves because the clock ticks quietly on as we fritter away those days, weeks and months of idle talk.

Action by Lorraine Hunter
Living Now, Jan/Feb 2008 - To inspire, nurture, inform and empower
Australia's largest and finest holistic publication

I Am Only One

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.

Edward Everett Hale
Reformer, writer and chaplain of the U.S. Senate