Cacica Yve's World: Life Is A Gift... Enjoy It

Cacica Yve's World: Life Is A Gift... Enjoy It: "There was a young lady who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except this loving and passionate young man who had resp..."

Life Is A Gift... Enjoy It

There was a young lady who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except this loving and passionate young man who had respectfully asked permission from this young lady's parents to marry her. He was always there for her. Upon an occasion, she told this young man, 'If I could only see the world, I would marry you.'



One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her the young man who has proposed marriage to her. He asked her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at the young man and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.

Her once desired husband -to-be left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes.

Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who

was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Life Is a Gift

Today

before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't

speak.


Before

you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone

who has nothing to eat..


Before

you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone

who's crying out to GOD for a companion.


Today

before you complain about life - Think of someone who went

too early to heaven..


Before

whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who

walks the same distance with their feet.


And when

you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the

unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your

job..


And when

depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on

your face and think: you're alive and still

around..


I PRAY THIS MOVES AROUND THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.....

Famous Failures

Cacica Yve's World: So You've RSVP'd To A Networking Event.... Now Wha...

Cacica Yve's World: So You've RSVP'd To A Networking Event.... Now Wha...: "I often get invited to networking events with various groups, such as my college alumni association, professional organizations, and a varie..."

So You've RSVP'd To A Networking Event.... Now What?

I often get invited to networking events with various groups, such as my college alumni association, professional organizations, and a variety of community organizations.  Invaritable I get emails from friends asking me if I'm attending this event or that.  Or I'll show up at an event and run into someone I know - who proceeds to cling to me the entire night.  Why does the thought of networking paralyzes some people?

Here are some tips that will help you get over your fear and go from novice to pro in no time.

• Prepare and practice a 30 second evevator spiel about who you are, and what you do.  This is your opportunity to sell yourself in a brief and friendly way.
• Ask people about what they do.  People often feel comfortable talking about themselves, this gives you an opportunity to get to know the individual and develop follow-up questions
• Ask do they come to these sorts of events often.  Sometimes finding out that others are not experienced at this puts you at ease.  If you find that they are experienced ask them for tips on how to get the most out of this experience.
• Always keep your business cards on hand, preferably in a nice card holder.  Sometimes the card holder itself can be fodder for conversation as an icebreaker.
• Don't drink too much... you are trying to make business contacts, the last thing you want to do is give a bad first impression.
• Practice a firm handshake and more importantly a smooth release.  Don't hold on to people's hand too long, its awkward for the person and it conveys a sense of desperation.
• Keep it light and business like when talking about yourself.  People don't want to hear your life's story or that you are getting a divorce.  Always keep things positive and light.
• Try to gather at least 3 to 5 business cards per event.  If you have a chance to jot down something that stood out about the conversation on the back of the card even better.
• It's okay to follow up with a brief email the next day.  Briefly state how much you enjoyed meeting them and maybe mention a mutual interest that surfaced during the encounter.

I hope these tips have helped you to at least think about how to prepare for your next networking event.  Happy Networking!

Got a Degree? Tell Melinda Gates How You Did It!

Got a degree while having to work a job or two, care for your kids, your parents, had difficulty yet still persevered?  Tell Melinda Gates at http://www.gatesfoundation.org/foundationnotes/Pages/melinda-gates-101005-celebrating-community-colleges.aspx We need more graduates, inspire someone else, be a hero!

Costa Rica/Panama Trip Video 5

I often lecture on LeaderShape - the act of shaping tomorrow's leaders.  One of the critical character traits that every emerging leader should work on developing is "Enabling Others to Act." 

We do not lead in a vacuum, nothing truly great occurs without the support, cooperation and collaboration of many.  Fulfilling a higher purpose in life requires that we work together to elimate those barriers that keep others from leading.  While I was president of my Alumni organization the Latino Leadership Alumni Association, I raised funds in order send my daughter Veronica to Costa Rica and Panama on an experiential learning experience to provide free oral healthcare to indigent orphans, and families in these two Latin American countries.  Although, I realized that my daughter would benefit from this life changing experience, my main motivation was to help my fellow Latinos who lack the access to medical resources and where therefore suffering from oral disease.  My proudest moment as an emerging leader was to not only raise the funds for my daughter to participate in this experience, but to also raise enough funds to send much need supplies to both Costa Rica and Panama. 

I personally donated 288 toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. I was also able to convince Crest and Oral-B to match my donation doubling the total to 576.  With the help and generosity of my Alumni group we were able to send over much needed supplies and the only Latina dental student on this trip to serve as interpreter.  We "enable" her to act, to provide these services.  That is what servant leadership is all about.  Enjoy the clip on their amazing trip.  Ask yourself, what legacy will you leave?

To What Degree...

When does it make sense to go back to school?  There is no disputing that higher education can be an invaluable stepping-stone in the quest to establish a successful career and land a great job.  But a degree is not the right choice for everyone.  Here are some considerations to explore, before taking the leap into a degree program...

• You've researched your major and there's a growing demand in your new field.  It is always important to choose a field that interests you, but what good does that do you if it's a dying art?  Check out the Labor Statistics to see what fields are in high demand, currently nursing, computer software engineering, techology network systems, accounting, data communications and auditing are topping the list and demand will increase over time. 
• You don't bury yourself in debt.  Student loans are no joke, especially if you borrow more than you can afford.  A good rule of thumb is to never borrow more than you can expect to earn in your first year of employment.  Explore your companies tuition reimbursement/remission policies.  Are you eligible for state grants or scholarships? School administrators will try to convince you to take on more debt - than you can afford -don't do it.  An easy way to figure out the going rate for your field is to visit Salary.com there you can get an idea of what employers are paying in your field in your city.  It's the best way to make an educated decision about how much you can afford to borrow.  
• You don't need to dip into your emergency savings.  School is a choice, it is not a necessity.  There are plenty of successful people without degrees in good paying jobs in a variety of industries.  I'm sure you know a few, I know I do.  A degree is no guarantee that you will land a good job or even get paid a decent salary.  A job search can take several months and even then entry-level jobs pay at the bottom of the salary scale for your industry.  So remember, save your emergency stash for when you really need it.
• An accelerated degree is not all it's cracked up to be.  Not all degrees are equal.  Accelerated degrees often times comes with a hefty price tag, sometimes as much a four times what you would spend on a regular degree at your local state college.  Research the college's reputation, it's accreditation and job placement services.  What rating does it hold in the Peterson's Guide or USA World News Report?  How well do employers value an accelerated degree from the school of your choice.  Bottom line, do your homework before you enroll.

Don't Like Your Life? Work On Your Priorities!

A lot of people go through life complaining about lack, they hate their jobs, they're broke, they're out of shape, they don't have the life they want... Have you heard this from your friends and co-workers?  Are you saying some of these very things?  Guess what? I hate to break it to you, but, your life is the way it is, because that's how you like it and want it to be!  How many of you go to work, come home, eat unhealthy food, watch three to six hours of television, go to bed, sleep poorly then get up the next day, day after day and do the same thing.  Week after week, month after month, year after year.  You make way less than you spend, you can't remember the last time you exercised, and yet go on and on about how there just isn't enough time to get it all done.  SMH, now do you seriously have to wonder why you have the life you have?

Your life is the way it is because that's the way you choose to live it!

Now most of you will argue that this is not true, that you want to be healthy, wealthy, and happy.  No you don't! No, seriously you don't!  Stop lying to yourself and others!  Because if you really wanted to be healthy, wealthy, and happy you would have those things.

The sad truth is that you really don't want those things, at least not enough to do what you need to do in order to get them.  Now here's a secret... these things are not going to manifest themselves in your life!  If you want money - do the things you need to do to earn it, hmmm now does that sound a little like WORK? Shocking isn't it!  Now, here is a novel idea, why don't you sit down and write out a plan for every area of your life?  Do you know that most people spend more time planning their weekends than they do planning the rest of their lives? 

Seriously, what kind of house do you want? How much savings would you like to have in your account?  What kind of car would you like to drive?  How much do you want to weigh?  Where do you want to go on vacation?  Do you have a college savings account for your kids?  No? Why not?  Most likely you haven't even seriously thought about these things - these are not your priorities. 

You can always tell what important to a person by two things, where they spend their time and money.  Those things they spend their money and time are their priorities! 

Want to change your life? Do this: Pull out a sheet of paper and write down exactly what you want your life to look like.  Go into detail, paint a picture with your words.  Then focus on these things every day. Add to your list as needed.  This is not about setting goals or the "secret" this is about priority setting. 

Now that you have your list, take action on your priorities, do what needs to be done to get the things on that list, spend you time, your money, your effort on YOUR PRIORITIES! Talk about them with your friends and family... then and only then can you be healthy, wealthy and happy.  Create your life by focusing on your priorities.