If one of your goals this year is to make more money at work or advance your career further, then consider if you’ve got what it takes to become a manager. Management is a funny gig ... I should know. I was a manager for many years. And even though I've switched jobs and am not currently in charge of anyone, I'm sure that I will be again some day as I carve out my new career path. Depending on your industry and how far you take things, managers can often make several times more compensation than their lowest paid employees. In fact, to illustrate how extreme this situation can be, Forbes reported that CEO's (the highest position of management you can have) make 331 times as much as the average employee! Why is … [Read more...] about The Management Skills List – Do You Have What it Takes to Earn More This Year?
Lifestyle
Embrace Your Fear of Change and Overcome It
It has been about two weeks now since my family and I took the big plunge and moved into our new home. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, this move was all about priorities – the most important ones being close to my children’s schools and my wife’s work. In addition to relocating our home lives, my working life also took a dramatic turn. I was offered a great job opportunity by one of my former clients at a location that was within a reasonable commute to my new house. With little hesitation, I sprung at the opening and have now switched jobs. I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone that leaving your house of 11 years and your job of 12 years doesn’t come without some sort of apprehension or uncertainty. As human beings and … [Read more...] about Embrace Your Fear of Change and Overcome It
Cancer Update – The Battle is Won!
I have some very exciting news to share … As of my last PET scan, my cancerous tumor is gone! Finally! My cancer is in remission! Last Thursday was also my last treatment of chemotherapy. Even though I’m thankful the infusions got rid of my cancer, I am SO glad for that whole process to finally be over! From here on out it’s going to be CT scans every 6 months for the next 5 years. As you can bet, I’ll have my fingers and toes crossed every single time that I get nothing but good news. Cancer Really is a Silent Killer: Throughout this whole experience cancer has been a very mysterious thing. It sneaks in on you when you least expect it and then does nothing but completely consumes your life once you discover … [Read more...] about Cancer Update – The Battle is Won!
A Better Alternative to Working Too Much
Ambition can be a good thing. That is … until it drives you INSANE because all you do is work – all of the time! All too often we make the mistake in our careers by having the notion that taking on more and more projects will convert proportionally to more income. But then we’re disappointed when all that happens is we end up working way too much and the whole thing just blows up in our face. Believe it or not, there’s a theory in economics that can help explain why this is an effort in vain. But as you’ll find out, where one door closes, another one can open. Let’s take a dive into understanding how this all works together. The Law of Diminishing Returns: When I was studying for my MBA, there was a really interesting concept they … [Read more...] about A Better Alternative to Working Too Much
What Would You Do with $100,000 if You Waited One More Year to Retire?
One of the fun things to think about when it comes to investing is what happens when your assets reach critical mass – the point at which your money is self-sustaining. Generally that’s when your compounded returns are so large that they could support you if you were to suddenly stop working. Most of the time the goal for retirement is to reach this point and have our finances start to take care of us. BUT … for fun, let’s consider what would happen if we didn’t. Let’s suppose you had accumulated $1 million dollars by the time you had intended to retire. But being financially savvy, you decided to work just one extra year. Now let’s assume that during that “extra year”, your assets grossed another average 10% return, and now … [Read more...] about What Would You Do with $100,000 if You Waited One More Year to Retire?
14 Week Cancer Update and My Thoughts on Dying
I just wanted to give everyone another quick update on my fight with cancer. Things have been going fairly well so far, although I’m starting to feel more of the cumulative effects of chemo. This past week was somewhat of a milestone for me – I’m officially halfway through my treatments! Within the next few weeks I’m scheduled for a PET scan where they will be able to tell just how much my tumor has shrunk. Our fingers are crossed for some good news! Aside from the actual treatments themselves, I can tell you this – in the days of post-recovery after chemo, you get a lot of time to think and reflect on what’s going on. I’ve determined that having cancer is like being a part of a club or group you were never asked to join and … [Read more...] about 14 Week Cancer Update and My Thoughts on Dying
What Habits Are On Your Morning Routine Checklist?
Usually I don’t tend to buy into headlines like “how to be more productive” or “how to improve your efficiency”, but recently I was pleasantly surprised by something I heard. One of the latest Pat Flynn Smart Passive Income podcast episodes was a whole thing about his daily habits and morning routine. Normally I tend to gravitate more towards his bits about blogging and entrepreneurism. But with the big recent changes in my health, I’ve been more open to trying just about anything. And I’ve got to say – I was glad I did! I’m not sure I’ve ever really realized how much time I waste in the morning … or the rest of the day for that matter. What if I tried a little harder to “design” better habits? Habits that could help improve my … [Read more...] about What Habits Are On Your Morning Routine Checklist?
My Cancer Update – 8 Weeks Later
I wanted to give everyone a quick update on my health and how things are going. In case you didn’t know, I found out in January that I have cancer – specifically Type II Hodgkin's Lymphoma. As you can probably guess that came as a HUGE shock to me to because I’m an otherwise pretty young, healthy guy. However, as I’ve learned, cancer doesn’t discriminate its victims. And so now this is just simply something I have to deal with and put behind me without hesitation. Since when I first broke the news to you my dear readers, I’ve received my official regimen of treatments: No radiation and 12 rounds of chemo. Believe it or not I was actually delighted when I first heard this because everything I’ve read so far suggested that … [Read more...] about My Cancer Update – 8 Weeks Later
