Search Results - anxiousness

Topic: Good Fellas: ar rush. A little independently-owned pizza place. Maybe it's called some other hunger-inducing Italian name like Luigi's or That's Amoré or Gondola's or Romano's in your community. Not a franchise and you just know the food is always going to be good. The other day, I had a hankerin' for a nice deep dish pizza, so I rolled up to Good Fellas, mouth watering and anxious to feed the need. But what I found was a padlocked door and a make-shift sign, sharpie-scrawled with "We're Out Of Business." Sadness overtook hunger and I questioned, "How did I not know? How did it come to this? My family eats here a couple times a month, everyone loves it. How did I not know that Good Fellas was struggling?" A friend of mine wondered if it would have made a difference had they had posted a sign several months ago that said, "Hey, we are struggling and we need your business. Times are tough and we may have to close our doors." Wow, what a thought. What if, as a community, we more fully supported each other's businesses and made known our vulnerabilities? Would it make a difference or would it seem self-serving or too blatant? Thirty years ago, it was unethical - today, we tell different stories. How many of us have recently been asked by friends, family, customers, clients, other business owners --"How's business these days?" Are we being honest or are we playing the big cover-up... "Oh, we're doing fine, of course, it is difficult right now, the economy and all." What would the askers think if we answered honestly, "If I don't close a deal within the next month, I will be closing my doors" or "If I don't pick up two more paying customers, I will have to change the direction of my company or pick up a second job in order to support myself/my family." When is it ok to be vulnerable? Is it ever? Is illusion more important than saving your business or developing stronger bonds with colleagues or clients? The jobless rate is holding steady, yet the future is still unclear. When what we have tried is no longer working, what then? I am uneasy with waiting it out. I am uneasy with someone else holding my future in their hands. What if I wore a sign to the next Chamber of Commerce meeting in my community? "Will Work for You for Money." The very root of marketing -> sautéed, the essence of business development -> broiled, and the need for sales -> filleted. Are you hungry now? by rayannethorn .…; Added by Rayanne at 2:06am on August 27, 2009

Topic: A Pound of Prevention: n you have ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife. Then there will be those days that soar, where all is well and you happen to do and say the right thing at the right time. I love those days. I did not have one of those days recently. The kind I love, that is. A few weeks ago, my water heater decided to begin to heat the floor of garage with some of its contents. For several days, I swept the water out of the garage, hoping for a miraculous self-repair, but that was not to be. I solicited some help and soon had a new water heater installed and my garage floor began to dry up. It was beautiful, I wanted to take pictures and post on facebook, hehe. I had awakened the next morning, ready to take my first worry-free hot shower in weeks, to discover, much to my dismay, no hot water. My "new appliance" joy was short-lived for the pilot light on the new unit refused to stay lit. "This little light of mine, please shine..., please." I discovered that it would only stay lit for a few hours. What to do? What a pain in the rear-> arranging for a repairman to come out to fix a brand new appliance. The knots in my stomach became big, humongous bows and I craved the peace of a hot bath. Ha! That was not a good day..., it has since been fixed but the tentative, sick feeling in my stomach remains as I wonder, what is next? Murphy's Law, ya know? We work to avoid broken appliances and broken vehicles. We maintain our homes as best we can. We are required by law to carry motor vehicle insurance, yet how many of us also have uninsured motorists coverage to protect us against the guy who laughs at the law? A pound of prevention is far more valuable than a beautiful ounce of stupid, there's no cure for that. What will you prevent today? A fall off? A bad interview? A missed appointment time? A misspelled word in a résumé? An anxious client? There is only so much you can step in and prevent but when you miss something, who takes the blame? The same person who doesn't get the credit when something goes right. And isn't it ironic, don't you think? © by rayannethorn …; Added by Rayanne at 4:11am on January 13, 2010

Topic: A Dog's Life: jump around my legs, they yip and yelp, they beg for my consideration. And they love me unconditionally. Those of you with pets understand the greeting I get to face daily. These delightful little doggies could not survive without me, without my attention or my care. And once their bowls are filled and tummies scratched, they relax and drop at my feet ready to just sleep and let go of their day. If only our own days could flow in such a manner, quickly achieving our goals, grateful for that achievement and then letting go of the work and strain of the day and succumbing to the rest we so greatly need and deserve. A dog's life - to be interpreted slightly different than the expected interpretation. A dog gets what he needs and then is able to let go. Some of us face grueling commutes at the top of our days, some of us merely walk from one room in our home to another, others have to only drive a couple miles or take a train or bus. A busy desk awaits holding unfinished business from the day or week before. Voicemails blink away and emails boldly announce their need to be answered, call backs, follow ups, start-ups, send outs, debriefs, sign offs, offers and endless negotiations... The day only gets easier, right? Wrong. Someone needs this quote, someone else needs a written professional reference, still others wait for detailed job descriptions while you wait for ancillary materials from your client or hiring manager. I am consistently reminded that if it were easy, anyone would be doing it. And consistency is key. I rarely leave my office when I say I will. There is always one more email to send (or read), one more resume to review, one more attachment to be downloaded, one more blog to post and one more status to update. A dog's life, right? Funny, how that is what I need to continually aspire to. Wag my tail, have some supper, then crash until the sun also rises..., again. It's the "letting go" that is difficult, almost painful. There is so much to do and so little time to do it in. I think I can, I think I can... Usually attributed to making it to the top of the hill? Not this time, there is a bottom of a hill where a quiet station waits. I hope I can, I hope I can... © by rayannethorn…; Added by Rayanne at 2:23am on April 13, 2010

Topic: What I Learned: ether you are sitting in a comfy chair listening to the conversation taking place around you or rationally driving that conversation forward. The beauty is that if you can be open enough to view it all as a chance to learn, you will. Last week my life changed. I boarded a plane that took me to a different part of the country in which I reside, and I flew to a different plane of understanding. The discussions in which I participated increased my knowledge. The people I met altered my network; I met some folks face-to-face that had previously only been a part of my online communities or with whom I had shared phone calls or tweets. And, it was good. And I have to say that profile pictures do not capture the true essence of their beholder. Kind of like your driver's license photo or your passport, how can one expect to share who they really are in a 2D likeness? Not gonna happen. Over a week ago, I was standing in a remote parking lot at Long Beach Airport. My luggage was neatly stacked and I fiddled with my phone, checking emails and sending out tweets while waiting for the shuttle to pick me up and drop me at my terminal of departure. My curbside check-in was complete in about three minutes, my walk through security? less than two minutes - literally, I walked up, slipped off my shoes, deposited my netbook in a bin and strolled through to a waiting coffee kiosk that sealed my great morning until we, the passengers, were herded on board. Lesson: Good service will always be good and it is sad that it is so unexpected these days that it shocks us when it happens. I stayed shocked until my flight landed at O'Hare and I was hit in the face by a cold, Midwestern breeze and the icy stares of anxious travelers; they obviously had not received as good of service as I. I saw several people crumble under the pressure of airport security or misinformation at the rental car counter. Others were well-practiced in complete avoidance and lack of eye contact with other human proto-types. Sad, really. How I will use my gained wisdom: Be thankful for good service, not shocked by it. Allow it to enhance my day and how I treat others. Sometimes just acting like you know what you are doing is enough and can trick others. Distractions and discouragement, as well as apprehension can easily throw one off course. When in doubt, don't. And the best way to get a smile is to give one. Say cheese. © by rayannethorn .…; Added by Rayanne at 1:33am on April 26, 2010

Topic: Retaining Reliability: me as my phone had previously seemed indestructible for I have dropped it many, many times. But alas, my latest failure proved fatal for my phone and I found myself in an Apple store over the weekend sourcing a replacement.I have had an iPhone for almost three years now and I love it. It has been a great phone for me and I have been happy to upgrade with each new release. The latest is the iP4 and it's super cool. No, I stayed with AT &T. They have been reliable. And you know what they say about "If it ain't broke...," And in this case, only my screen was broke.Over the years, I have been harassed by Palm loners, Blackberry snobs, and Android geeks. I stuck with the iPhone because I loved it - pretty simple really. Dependability breeds loyalty. Thus, I am loyal. Finding the right phone for me was a chore. I have only been a cell phone user for ten years and a smart phone junkie for three. But the bottom line is that I appreciate the unfailing consistency I have encountered. Granted, not everyone has had the same experience as I - and if they have not, I am sure they moved on.Reliability is not something to be taken for granted. Nor is it a quality that is easy to exude. Humans are naturally lazy. We look for the easy way out - always. It is why we innovate incessantly. We want it better, faster, and cheaper. Unfortunately, not everything should be done faster and cheaper. Our microwaved Sesame Street mentality has bred a world full of discontent and anxious working class. Individuals who crave the next best thing - now! "Fail fast" works in tech development, but not so much in client or business relations. Learning to change pace and shift gears is one of the hardest skills to master. Slowing down and enjoying a conversation is a lost art in business nowadays. We want everything yesterday and we expect quality to be supreme but we continually "fail fast" at creating lasting relationships because we have forgotten how to be friends, how to earn the return call. These are the days of retention. Retaining a client list. Retaining a pod of happy hiring managers. Retaining a CRM of candidates that will take your call, return your call, refer you or to you. Retaining trust. Retaining reliability. Are you up for it?by rayannethorn…; Added by Rayanne at 2:27am on February 22, 2011

Blog Post: How to Deal With Job Search Depression: Job searching can be depressing sometimes. What can be irritating sometimes is the anxiety that is built through the suspense of waiting. Just waiting for feedback either today, tomorrow, next…; Added by Gerald Mumpuku at 7:26am on July 22, 2021

Blog Post: Time Management: Are you working on a good job order, or a great one?: With cutbacks from the economy, more recruiters than ever are running a full desk. You may have been thrust suddenly into the role of Account Manager or Business Development in addition to your…; Added by Robin Eads at 10:44am on November 17, 2009

Blog Post: TMI

Let’s talk about dating. Some of you are single, and some of…

Added by Will Thomson at 9:48am on August 15, 2012

Blog Post: Can Positive Body Language Help My Job Interview: How much of a difference can my body language make during the job interview…; Added by Gavin Redelman at 7:42pm on May 12, 2013