This past week was a shocker for me when I found out a co-worker I had been friends with for over 20 years passed away. She retired two months ago. We had many conversations over the years about how many years it would take to retire to reap the small monthly rewards of a monthly check for the remainder of our life. (Read my Facebook Post)
Most people in the working world live on their income check to check and don’t invest in a 401K or other retirement opportunities because they are trying to survive each month. In the end, they are no better off than when they worked and now trying to live on less with the same type bills. It is craziness that never adds up.
How long are you willing to wait to retire
At her funeral, I had the opportunity to visit with many co-workers that came to show their respect for a friend, a supervisor, a coworker. I listened to the chatter among my friends and with great sadness, it was the same chatter I heard 4 years ago before I retired after 25 years.
They were each talking about how many YEARS it would be before they could retire and they were counting down. They disliked their job, the hours they worked, the supervisors, their schedules, and the way things were being run. But yet – they were willing to stay in the position they are in because it is comfortable and they would get a retirement pension at the end of the long road.
I listened to the many stories of how 28 nurses lost their job after only a 2 days notice leaving them in shock of leaving friends, coworkers and their income.
I left that day so sad I thought about it non stop on the way home. There is nothing I hate worse than to see people I care about struggling. They felt they only deserved the small check at the end and they had no vision of there being more out in the world for them.
Increase your networking effectiveness
I have never been fired or lost a job to truly feel the shock of being told you no longer have a job. Becoming suddenly unemployed is often a sudden shock, unexpected and most people don’t have the networking skills to immediately switch gears to begin generating job leads.
Networking can be uncomfortable and by being shy by nature, or never needing to network in the past makes it even feels more difficult.
What is Networking?
The purpose of networking is to cultivate relationships, gather information, generate referrals and expand your sphere of personal connections. Who you know matters and even more important who knows you.
It is not about being Mr or Mrs. Personality but connecting with people and sharing stories open opportunities to a hidden market you knew nothing about.
When you are networking be genuine, personable, approachable, smile and be careful what your body language is sending out. No one wants to talk to a clingy, negative poor pitiful me person.
Don’t wait until you retire to live
I knew I didn’t want to continue with my job any longer but I also knew I had to bring food to the table and keep the lights on. I begin working part-time in a side business that speeds up the options I had for my family. I had no intentions of working it full time. I needed a plan to lean on so I was not hanging out on a limb if something happened to my job. (Psst… you can work part-time for side income too – here)
I learned to network. I learned how to bring in an income that was more than what I made as a nurse and connected me with people that could help me and my business grow. It was a process, not a free ride. I had to make the effort and get uncomfortable with something different.
- I would rather weed my flower beds than sit at my desk
- I would rather sleep in than get my son to school on time.
- I would rather drink unsweet tea instead of a protein shake
- I want to go to bed with more money in the bank than what I woke up with.
- I would rather be in better shape at 53 than 52
- I would really like to see more success stories this year than last year
Therefore, I will do what scares me and get uncomfortable and do the work. I found a secret formula that has been found to work over and over again.
- Do the work
- Refer to step one
If your network skilling needs to be upgraded and you don’t have a clear step-by-step blueprint For Generating Leads Online And Successfully Recruiting People On Social Media, This Will Help You
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WARNING: This is Only for Those Who Truly Believe in Their Products & Services, and are Ready to Become Top Earners in Their Businesses.
If you are willing to really kick up some dust and build a solid foundation in your business you will want to add this to your skills as well. You won’t get better until you know better – Start here
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