As we mature, we then become more “independent”. We have the ability to take care of ourselves, and no need for other people to help us. But maturing beyond that, we eventually realize that we have a responsibility to everyone as we become “interdependent”.

It’s no longer about “my needs”, or whether not I can do it “by myself”, it becomes about moving in a unified direction together. It becomes about the greater of everything as a whole, and we will then “want” to encourage everyone including ourselves.

Yes, sometimes people become lost and lose all hope. Sometimes it’s due to some tragedy. And when that happens, a person may become dependent again, and can’t move on… But through the love and support and other people who are already “interdependent”, there is hope even for the most lost in this world. Yes, through interdependency, we as a human race can advance this world into new levels of greatness and achievement.

However, remember there’s a moment that can make or break a deal in the first few seconds, and that is the moment you walk in that door and sit down for an interview. Every thing you’ve done up to this point was preliminary, as a value adding process with sequential steps to get you in the door to simple “talk”. How much value you put into those sequential steps should have the hiring manager’s mouth watering before you arrive.

Finally, right when you step in that door, there’s you’re spotlight! Shine like you’re Jay Leno just coming onto out the set… It’s show time! Everything you do, from the moment you step in that door, how you look, how you shake a hand, how you greet, how you sit, and how the first few words will come out of your mouth will say everything that hiring manager needs to know about making a decision to hire you.

You have only a few seconds… Make it lasting, Make’em shiny!

I posted this quote last week under Mind Shifters, and it just rang out to me so clearly that I had to expand on it here. I guess I connect with this perfectly, because all of my life I have been that round head in the square hole, the one that wouldn’t fit into the normal way of doing things.

I felt it was natural to want to be accepted and appreciated and so I conformed to an order of achievement and “status” that went against my own personality. I finally graduated high school, went through the military, gave up on the things that was convinced by outside influences to not be a practical way of making a living (music production), settled for a bi-weekly paycheck in a higher paying JOB, and thus suffered 10 years of career identity. I always knew I wanted more, and what the world said would work for me was not!

After going through years of this sort of struggle, and having been through a couple layoffs, I finally opened my eyes and saw God’s proverbial hand slapping me in the face as though He was shouting, “When are going to wake up and see what I’m trying to tell you? What must I do to get your attention?”

That moment I started stepping back from the crowd. The crowd that had showered me with their approvals, and I began creating and becoming the master of my own destiny. I now help people discover their gifts and connect with meaningful careers that bring reality to their dreams coming true. It’s becoming the most fulfilling season of my life. I connect very personably with people, guide them away from the potholes that I once stepped in, give them new eyes to see many directions, and celebrate their successes with them. My struggles have allowed me to a become channel of real and authentic service.

Don’t think my music production has gone away.

But there are those who earn a living through hard work and service, and there are a number of cases where millionaires are born out of that. Did you know that most millionaires in America are first generation born? Meaning they didn’t make it big through inheritance of any kind, but through their own progress towards specific goals they had in mind. As a matter of fact, over 70% of the earned millionaires here run their own small business’s, and only 1% of them are Hollywood famous, lottery winners, et cetera.

The earned millionaires didn’t get to the top because the money was changing them. They got to the top because they had a vision, and they had the right attitude. And it doesn’t matter whether they have $5 in their bank account or $1,000,000 in their bank account, they still have the same attitude about life and are fixed on a goal at no matter level they are. Even at a $5 net worth, I can guarantee you that person who has the right attitude won’t be there for long, because this person already thinks like a millionaire.

So how does an earned millionaire think? Simple, they think with vision, service, integrity, and positive attitude. Instead of seeing life with the perspective that money can change their attitude, they see life from the perspective that their attitude can change their money.

Things to remember on your job hunt:

1. Remember that you have a product, and that product is “you”. It’s up to you distinguish that product from all the rest, and sell it strong just like any other business would by building relationships and creating value.. Also, try adding a little color, or another words… Be creative. Don’t be hesitant to express who you are.

2. Think of yourself as being your own corporation. In your mind, let your name be attached with an “Inc” or “LLC” on the end. Doing this keeps you reminded that you are ultimately in charge of your own ship, and only you can steer this vessel on its due course. You have to get food on board that ship somehow and even store up rations while you’re on your journey, so how are you going to that? By selling the driving power of your own ship to another, possibly even a larger ship to help in them in their course.

3. If you haven’t done so, be sure to ask yourself “why is it you do what you do”… If the only answer is to earn a lot of money, then you’re in the wrong business. Remember you’re in charge of a massive vessel called your mind, and it will only be worth earning money, when you’re doing something that is fulfilling to “you”. Money is only a by-product of how you serve others, it’s not the destination.

Here are a few Rat Racing tips to help you counter the attitude of lack, and onto abundance:

1. Remember you always have choices. Try to give yourself at least 3-5 options to any given situation. 7 if you can. This helps you see everything from all angles, and adds creativity to your decision.
2. Always remember that the majority portion (85%) of the job search process comes from looking inward first. The more prepared we are to seek out the best jobs that match our unique attributes first, the better chances we have of actually loving our work.
3. Try to shift that mindset to one of abundance, as if there is more than enough. Believe me, the more you can practice this mindset, the more you will soon find that there will be more than enough.
4. Sometimes when we find that we’re not getting the results that we believe we deserve, try to increase your service to others. Most people do not realize that our environment is a reflection of ourselves, and the general rule of thumb states that if you want more then you must give more. It’s the universal law, and it never fails.

This sounds scary to a lot of people, even this thought used to scare me… “Live like this is our last day??? So you’re saying act like I’m going to DIE tomorrow!”? This is how the average person would interpret that. But I’m not average obviously, so think about this… We’re all going to leave a mark one way or another, and we decide based on the kind of lives we live what kind of mark we leave behind.

How will you be remembered? What will people say about you? You know you get to choose this. Your life choices affect every facet of your destination, and the way we get to understand what kind of life choices we need to make is by first understanding and visioning how the end of our days will look like.

Don’t let someone else’s vision choose your life for you. You hold the key of many riches in your own life, and it’s those riches that God has placed within you to uncover. And there is only one key that can open that door… It’s the key that God gave you; your very own MIND.

So what if you were standing before your Maker tomorrow and you were asked, “Did you die with the music that I gave you still in you? Did you unlock the door with the key that I gave you, and uncover the riches that I had in store for you”, what would you respond with?

It’s up to you. Choose this day to use your mind to think for yourself, and take action in creating a life that’s worthy to be called purposeful and truly serves all of God’s creation.

Are you restless or you content? I believe that true happiness comes from the hope in everything we do. When we are seeking and we have something to strive for we are happy… in a sense, as Dr. Wayne Dyer would put it, “we are complete in our incompleteness”. Always arriving somewhere is okay, but don’t stay there and become complacent. When people settle, they tend to start dying. We’re not done until our life on earth is done. We have to keep moving, if we want to continue experiencing life and fulfillment.

I think it was Earl Nightingale that gave the analogy of a child opening a gift at Christmas… So do that; think of a child opening a gift for Christmas. At what point in the day do you think that child is the happiest?… Before the child opens it, or after he or she opens it?

The child is happiest “before” they open the present. They are gitty with excitement… Once they open, sure there is still excitement especially if its something that child has always wanted, but just like everything else, it goes into the bag of the child’s accomplishments.

But if you tell the child there is still another present yet to open, he or she will forget all about that previous present and their excitement again jumped to another level of joy and gittyness as they anxiously await to receive and open it.

So… Are you complacent where you’re at, or are you restless, discontent, and still seeking that greater glory?

Well that’s one way to look at it I suppose. The mainstream job hunter, who is out there looking is using more traditional means and is doing everything its counter part, or colleague is doing, and guess what? As you can imagine it’s not working for some people. But they continue to hit the grind, day after day, submitting large amounts resumes’ over the saturated internet job sites. Don’t you think it’s time to be a little un-traditional?

Here are some thoughts to consider when out there on the hunt.

1. Realize that over 80% of the jobs currently open are not even advertised, reports Jessica Dickler from CNNMoney.com who is referencing Howard Poplinger, owner of human-resource company Epic Development and Evaluation.
2. By the time you see an ad in the newspaper about the job, the job is probably filled… You the reader are the last to know about the position. Think about it… Who ever is hiring has probably already told everyone he or she knows about that position and in the process applies for an ad which may take a few days to load anyway.
3. Knowing that over 80% of the jobs currently open are not advertised is going to require a more direct approach, and using a system that allows you to build strategic relationships with the hiring managers.
4. Using a relationship building campaign will separate you from the competition and may eliminate hundreds of competitors down to just 2 or 3.

So which is? Are you going to continue to follow the crowd and keep dropping thousands of resumes hoping someone picks one up, or are you going to spend all that energy into something positive by applying some basic marketing principles and build value for the company you seek to work for? I think it was Dan Miller that once said that if you do what everybody else is doing, you might as well pickup a stack of about thousand resumes, fly up 30,000 feet in a helicopter, and drop them all over the city hoping someone picks one up and calls you.

What is it that gives people the illusion that dreams are only dreams, and have no impact in how we live our lives? Can you honestly say to yourself that we have visions in our mind that mean nothing? To say this, could possibly say that our lives mean nothing, because if you think about it we are the thoughts of God’s vision. Wow! Ever looked at it from that angle?

God thinks, imagines, and creates the images that we see today, and all around us. We are God’s dream. You are witnessing the vision of God who is the totality of all of our visions. If we were truly made in the image of God and are to be like God, then how much potential do you think our thoughts or dreams really have? Our mind is very powerful and can create anything beyond what most people believe. But there’s the key ingredient… Belief…

As you know most people place there attention on the things they don’t want. Even I am guilty of this… And as a result these things they don’t want become their dream and their reality. They “believe” in the fact that they don’t want something. That belief gives your vision all the energy it needs to become that reality you wish would go away.

Instead try shifting your thinking away from what it is you don’t want, and start focusing on the things you do want. To do this would make you different and separate you from 97% of the people you’ll run into. Are you ready to be “different”…? You would be separating yourself from the majority group of conformers, who do things because that’s the way everyone else is doing it. They have no goals; they live to and fro by circumstances, and a life of mediocrity. You can change that for yourself today, and live amongst the elite in the top 3%. Just believing in and knowing where you are going makes you successful.

So what do you want? Mediocrity or Dreams that come alive? The ball is in your court; be like, or be free…