Author: melisajohnson

I read a great article this morning written by Bernard Marr:

Keep your head down and your nose to the grindstone. That’s what a lot of us were taught to believe about work. But is it really the best strategy?

I find that people often take this sort of advice to heart — and then learn too late in their careers that there’s more to life (and success) than just keeping busy.

I’ve gathered up my top 10 lessons you should take to heart now, before it’s too late!

1. Life is short. Here’s the thing: Life is too short to put up with a job you hate, a boss who demeans you, or a company with no soul. Many people convince themselves that they can put up with a job or career situation that makes them unhappy because they need the income, because they don’t know if they can find another job, or for some other reason. But the truth is none of us knows how long we have on this earth, and spending too much of it in a bad situation will only make you miserable and regretful. If you’re in this situation, take a step today — no matter how small — toward a better situation.
2. Social networks matter. You might think that networking events are dull, that it’s boring to chat with coworkers around the watercooler, or that you’re simply a born introvert, but study after study confirms that social networks are vital to our success. In fact, the most successful people tend to have the broadest and most diverse social networks. The more time and effort you put into nurturing your social networks, the more successful you are likely to be.
3. Sacrificing your health for success or wealth isn’t worth it. Many driven, successful people have a hard time creating work/life balance and can end up burning out or developing serious health problems from stress and overwork. The truth is, it’s much easier to stay healthy than to heal from a problem or disease — and no amount of success or money can replace your health. Don’t take your health for granted and take steps to mitigate stress that could cause problems later.
4. None of the best moments of your life will take place looking at a screen. In our connected world, it’s tempting to let all the little screens we have access to dictate our lives. But you’ll never reach the end of your life wishing you’d spent more time checking email on your phone. Disconnect regularly and experience real life.
5. Never stop learning. With the rate at which technologies are changing today, if you decide that you are “done” learning, you will be left behind within a matter of years, if not sooner. The idea that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks is blatantly false, and you will never wake up and regret having invested in your mind by learning something new.
6. Diversify. Hand in hand with learning, if you stick to only doing what you know, or what you are good at, you may quickly find that you’re only good at one thing. We need to be agile, nimble, and interested in many different things. Otherwise, you could get stuck in a job or career you don’t love, or that goes with the times. Think of the taxi driver threatened by Uber or the customer service person replaced by a chatbot. 
7. You can go fast alone, but you can go farther together. In other words, teamwork makes the dream work. Many people claim they don’t like to work in teams, but the ability to work well in teams is vital if you want to succeed. The idea of the solo auteur is a myth; every big idea needs a team to make it happen.
8. Worrying doesn’t achieve anything. The antidote to fear and anxiety is action and hustle. If you’re wasting time because you’re afraid to pursue an idea, speak up, or are worried what others will think of you, you won’t achieve your goals. If you push through the worry and the fear, however, and take action, you’ll almost always find that you were worried about nothing.
9. Failure is not an end. If you give up when you fail, you’ll never learn anything. Instead, look at failure as an opportunity, as the beginning of a new journey. If you do, you’re much more likely to try again and succeed at something else.
10. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So many people put off their happiness; they think, “I’ll be happy when I get that job, when I lose that weight, when I’m in a relationship, when I’m out of a relationship…” and so on. But we can choose to be happy. Happiness is a habit and a choice. No matter what your situation, if you can approach it with an attitude of happiness, you will be more successful.

I can’t believe that January is almost over.  I don’t know where the month has gone as it seems like just yesterday it was Christmas.  So much has happened this month sometimes it is hard to take it all in.

My last official day at AMS will be the 31st of January.  In February I will be officially starting up my own consulting company, which is rather scary.  I am both looking forward to it and scared to death, but I know it will be for the best in the long run.  Next week I will send out the new launch and put the website live, so much work has gone into the set up phase of this and I am ready for it to be out in the public now!

I am also going in for more surgery on the 6th of February as my new joint isn’t working as it should in my left foot.  They will be putting a titanium screw in my ankle to reduce the movement of the joint and relive the pressure on the toe.  It will be a few long months of recovery again…  but at lease I know what I am getting myself into this time.

This was also supposed to be the year that I resigned from the Cayman Island Crisis Centre fundraising, but my replacement backed out…  so I am right back in the middle of it again. We have our next fundraiser coming up on the 8th of March and we are utilizing my US charity to help with the fundraising.

Here is the link to the US charity we set up last year and were lucky enough to get IRS approval as a 501(c)3 charity-  www.charity.ky

Here is link to our new fundraiser. I have done the first video and will have to start with the promo video this week.  We are hoping to raise $100k for this great cause!

https://www.crowdrise.com/AWalkinHerShoes

I think at this point that is about all going on in my life!  I am trying to remember to take a deep breath and just remember that everything is going to work out as it should.