Self Improvement

 

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          So you’re a high school junior or senior looking to join the college ranks in a year or so.  If you are like most 17/18 year olds then you probably have little idea of what you want to do with your lives but you do know college is necessary.  You want that “college experience”, you know the parties, random sex partners, freedom to do what you want when you want while juggling a full 12-15 credits course load.  The aforementioned is all good and dandy but who’s going to pay for your “college experience”?  A lot of parents and college students brush the costs associated with college under the rug or have a “I’ll worry about it post graduation,” attitude.  This is probably the wrong attitude to have regarding college costs. 

          Today’s economy is full of employed and unemployed college educated  graduates with mounds of student loan debt because we all assume we’ll go to college, get a good paying job and pay off our student loan debt with no hiccups.  This is the “American Scheme (I mean Dream)” uninformed college students have been sold but this is not how things in the real world function as many have come to realize.  Now it’s time to be smart about college and replace assumptions with sound game plans.

1. Seek out scholarships: There are a plethora of scholarships for undergraduate students if you do your research you will find organizations, companies, programs willing to assist you with your educational expenses.

2. Go to a credible community college:  Take courses that transfer to a four year state school.  This will cut your college costs an half because community college [click to continue…]

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           That awkward moment when you realize you are the lowest paid (or underpaid) at your company when you thought your salary was comparable to some of your colleagues.  Initially, you’re probably infuriated then you more than likely fall into a mini-state of depression and your production declines.  After the realization that you are underpaid/undervalued you need to take the appropriate actions to ensure you are fairly compensated.  YPs you have choices, I believe in being grateful for employment but whether you’re stocking shelves or a mid level manager its not cool to feel like you’re not being fairly compensated for your work. What do you do to ensure you are fairly compensated?

Step One: First you perform a self evaluation.  Make sure you are performing your job and job duties adequately.  Then take a good look at your current position in the big scheme of things in regards to your company.  How vital is your current position?  Be honest with yourself because no position is created equally.  Some positions are held in a higher regard than others so look at your position in comparison to other positions within your company.  If your position is not vital then you may want to seek a promotion if your work ethic warrants a promotion.  If your position is pretty important then proceed to the next step.

Step Two: Take a look at your job description to assess how accurately it reflects what you actually do.  Most people do more or less or different tasks from what their job descriptions say they do in their positions.  Ask your [click to continue…]

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“You can never go somewhere you’ve never been without doing something you’ve never done”

YP’s, if we want to change our lives for the better, we can not expect to do the same things and expect different results. We have to be able to get out of our comfort zone and challenge ourselves. Even though it can be uncomfortable, chances must be taken in order for us to accomplish our goals, whatever it may be. We have to be the painters in our lives if we want to create a masterpiece! 

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Wise Words to Live By

March 7, 2012

  Watch your THOUGHTS for they become WORDS. Watch your WORDS for they become ACTIONS. Watch your ACTIONS for they become HABITS. Watch your HABITS for they become CHARACTER. We all have weak moments when we say to ourselves, “I’m only going to have one or I’m only going to do this one time or one time won’t hurt [...]

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“Six tips from your future self”

December 27, 2011

I came across a very interesting article that I wanted to share. It talks about what advice the elder generation would give to the younger generation if they could do it all over again. The elderly share some very good insight on what is really important, which can help any young professional today. Enjoy.   [...]

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Success: How bad do you really want it???

August 30, 2011

  Great video sent to me via twitter by way of my little cousin @AmbitiousDom.  Even if you’re not an athlete please listen to the voice in the background and I’m sure you’ll be inspired if you truly want to be successful.  The video and speaker speaks for itself…Enjoy…see you ladies and gents in Successville…

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Tired Of…

August 1, 2011

Life can be as hard as you make it at times. YP CGT shares a poem about some of the trials and tribulations that he goes through in life. Even though the stacks are against him, he is ready for a change, and his own personal ‘revolution’. Tired Of… Doing nothing… Overlooking things.. Not speaking up… Being half [...]

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YP Workout Plan:PPD

June 21, 2011

  PPD: Pull Ups, Push Ups & Dips           YPs this is a blog/workout for all you young professionals that consider yourselves workout buffs.  I do a total of 100 pull-ups, 300 push-ups, and 200 dips in 10 supersets.  I have a love hate relationship with this workout because it is so grueling but once [...]

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Motivation: “Keep Going” by T-Pain (Replay)

June 16, 2011

  Keep Going: T-Pain             Like T-Pain or not this short, simple song speaks volumes.  I bet when T-Pain started pursuing his dream of being an artist in the fashion in which he went about it (auto-tune), he probably had a handful of supporters and triple the doubters and naysayers.  But he kept going [...]

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Being Humble… (Replay)

May 20, 2011

One of the greatest qualities a person can have in this world is to be humble. I was having an interesting conversation with a friend of mine one day last week. We were talking sports and coaching youth. He then asked me if I could teach the youth today one thing about sports what it [...]

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Contentment… (Replay)

May 19, 2011

          I was reading an article recently about contentment in one’s life. It brought about many interesting points, that made me contemplate my own situation, and think about what really brings me contentment. Contentment defined by the dictionary is “a source of satisfaction.” We all have different ways of finding satisfaction in our lives. What [...]

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Denzel Washington, Commencment Speech at UPenn, Urges Failure…

May 17, 2011

Denzel Washington has always been one of my favorite actors. Recently, he gave a commencement speech at his son’s school, the University of Pennsylvania. While speaking to the graduates he talked about taking risks in life, and not fearing failure, but embracing and becoming better because of them, which I believe is an inspiring message [...]

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Our Youth, Our Responsibility!

May 4, 2011

Through my years of working with youth, I have noticed certain factors that give youth a better chance to succeed. This year in particular while working with youth in the inner city, I have learned more than ever that the youth of today, are very much a byproduct of the environment that surrounds them. When [...]

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What If: Great Leaders became Extinct?

April 1, 2011

  Leadership requires the ability to make decisions, to guide, or to direct a person , group and or society to take action in order to accomplish a common goal. Many people have allowed  themselves to become complacent. Ironically, and as a result we now have more followers and the prospective pool of leaders is very shallow. [...]

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