By Amanda Morrall (email)
1) Crap job wake-up call
It's been a while since I had a crap job but my very lengthy resume includes more than a few including the following: 1) selling flowers outside liquor stores at age 14 (what were my parents thinking?) 2) cleaning up at Burger King (awful!) 3) working at a retail jewellery store (conclusion: polishing glass is very boring.)
As all of these jobs were character building in some capacity, I wouldn't consider them to be a total waste of time. I had my own money to spend and I learnt rather early in life that I didn't want to do these jobs for a living.
Here's a great case study, via mrmoneymustache.com on the futility of working a crappy job with the added insult of insufficient pay. I enjoy his blogs; entertaining as well as informative.
2) A life less ordinary
There's a great quote from Sir Edmund Hillary: "People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.'' It raises the issue of doing as opposed to just dreaming. On that note, here's Wellington financial advisor Liz Koh's latest blog on what it takes to lead a extraordinary life.
People who consider themselves ordinary often wonder if it is possible to ever achieve the life of their dreams. Such people fail to understand two really important points. The first point, which almost goes without saying, is that ordinary people live ordinary lives, while extraordinary lives are lived by extraordinary people.
The second point is that anybody, even ordinary people, can choose to be extraordinary. Being extraordinary is about having the right attitude to life and being prepared to do things differently than you have done before. Your ability to create wealth has very little to do with your level of education, your income from employment or your family circumstances and everything to do with your attitudes and behaviours.
People who live extraordinary lives have certain things in common. They are confident, with a positive, optimistic attitude towards life. Rather than sitting on the couch they actively engage with the wider community, using their networks for ideas and support. The more widely they engage with others, the more contacts they have and the more ideas and support they receive. Extraordinary people are creative, and constantly looking for opportunities. They do their homework on new ventures but they are not afraid to take risks.
Neither are they afraid of either failure or success. They set themselves clear, far-reaching goals that might seem impossible to others. To live an extraordinary life means letting go of living an ordinary life.
Sometimes, that means letting go of property, people, or employment if these are things that hinder progress. Being extraordinary means having the courage to let go of what is familiar in order to make way for new things that open up new possibilities.
If you have the desire to live an extraordinary life, do you have the courage to change and let go?
3) Making plans
Along those lines, wisebread.com blogs on how planning (big and small) can help manifest change.
4) Lawyers, doctors, realtors the next bubble
Is the professional sector that next bubble waiting to burst? Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Went believes so. Reading into the labour stats in Canada, Wente predicts that the gravy days for doctors and lawyers, even realtors will be finito when the professional sector bubble bursts. I was especially interested to read about how the internet is changing the real estate landscape in Canada. Will the same happen here? If so, what are the implications for BMW dealers?
5) KiwiSaver at 65
With KiwiSaver coming up five years old soon, retirees will be eligible to start taking out their savings. In anticipation, providers are reviewing their policies on how to manage the draw down. Business Day reports here on some pricing plans providers are considering for those investors who decide to keep their money under management. A Workplace Savings study found support for a free-fee management scheme based on minimum amount withdrawals.
To read other Take Fives by Amanda Morrall click here. You can also follow Amanda on Twitter@amandamorrall
4 Comments
Where are the decent jobs PM for the wider NZpopulation ?
New Zealand does not have an economic culture. Most people are employed in servicing others and mostly in the fields of consumerism with products from overseas countries, manufactured by foreign, often skilful workers. Welcome to more casino/ servicing crap jobs PM !
i have worked in govt and s.o.e. jobs for my entire 30 year working life.
in doing so i think any ambition i had up and died as i loved the security of my positions but not the job itself.
having this security stopped me from having a crack at other things that i now regret deeply,but the knowledge that i had job security always won out.
oh to be young and carefee
When you enjoy your work & always learning - then you don't view your work as 'work' but rather interesting life. Spent 14 years studying part-time while working fulltime - cheaper, but busier.
Life is a gift - and good work is also a gift - given to you, not just your 'giftings'. Make sense?
Getting paid is handy too.
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