You Matter!

"How you treat yourself is how you treat God, because you are the representation of God in your life.  Be as good to you, as you want to be to God, in order to be of service to others.  Your cup has to be full in order to run over and spill blessings on to others." Iyanla Vanzant

Take the time to take care of yourself so that you are able to be there for others!

A Good Day

"If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one." Cavett Robert

So, I missed blogging yesterday - I have had a long week and decided to give myself a break instead of squeezing in one more thing on my to-do list.  Then today I had several reminders come up that I should take advantage of every day that I have on this Earth and live each moment to its fullest.  One such reminder was the quote above.  Another was the following picture:

Don't miss a chance to Smile, Laugh, Love, and Wonder at the Beauty around you!

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that's why we call it the present." Eleanor Roosevelt

Thank you God for all your blessings!!

Spring Cleaning - Time to Get Rid of the "Junk"

"For every minute you remain angry, you give up 60 seconds of peace of mind" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Too many times we allow things to get to us, make us frustrated, get us down, make us angry.  When we do these feelings spill over and have an affect on other parts of our lives.  These feelings (though normally aimed at someone or something else) really just end up hurting us.  Like our thoughts, our feelings affect our reality.  So it is imperative, for our own good, that we don't wallow in these feelings - do whatever it takes to work through and come out victorious on the other side.  Time is too precious to waste on anger.

While today's tip might not seem career related, it most certainly is.  Many of the people I work with have feelings of hurt, anger, disappointment, outrage, confusion, bitterness, etc. related to the reason they are not currently employed.  When we go out and start our job search before we have worked through these feelings, employers can spot our "emotional baggage" and negativity from a mile away.  And one of the most important characteristics that employers are looking for in potential employees is a positive attitude.  In fact, most employers say that they would prefer to hire someone with a positive attitude that they have to train as opposed to hiring someone that has all of the skills needed for the position but a negative attitude.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I Can!

"Thoughts become Words, word become Actions, actions become Habits, habits become your Character, your character becomes your Destiny!" Frank Outlaw


I was feeling pretty cruddy today and as I was driving to work this morning I realized that all I was thinking about was how cruddy I felt.  So I said to myself, "Bobi Joy Cook (that's a mom trick, using someone's whole name when they really mess up) what on Earth are you doing - you know that your thoughts are powerful and they affect your reality!  STOP IT!"  So I re-focused my thoughts on all the things I am thankful for.  While I still had moments throughout the day where I felt pretty cruddy, it wasn't the main thing on my mind.


I noticed today that many of the people I interacted with seemed to be bogged down in thinking - "I can't, I don't know how, It won't work for me, That's too hard . . ."  So I wanted to focus today's blog on shaping your future by focusing your thoughts.  


We all have those times when we get down, our thought are negative, things don't feel like they will ever look up and get better.  At these times it is important that you have "happiness tricks" to get you re-focused and back on the "I think I can" track ;)


Some of my personal "happiness tricks":
Singing (off key of course)
Smiling at myself in the mirror until it become real or makes me laugh
Listing things I am thankful for
Creating a Vision Board with pictures of how I want my life to be / what I want it to include
Deep breathing
And I have a mantra that I say to myself:
I am strong, I am powerful, I am whole, I am perfect, I am healthy, I am happy, I am loving and giving, and I have abundance.  I am so thankful for all that I have and all that I am!


Hope these tips can help you focus on the possibilities!  
As Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you are right!"

Drowning in Unemployment

"You drown not by falling into the river, but by staying submerged in it" - Paulo Coelho

Career Tip:

Many people feel like they are "drowning" in unemployment or underemployment, so here is a tip to help you "stay afloat" and hopefully even make it to the "shore" of your next job!

Your job search should NOT consist solely of responding to postings in job databases and newspapers.  Your job search SHOULD be run like a campaign (think politics, marketing, and advertising).  The first step should be figuring out what direction you want to head, what type of jobs are you interested in and which employers are you interested in working for (this is your TARGET MARKET).  The next step is figuring out what skills you have that would benefit these employers or occupations.  Then develop a targeted marketing campaign (30 second commercial, resume, cover letter, internet presence, etc.) to attract the attention of your target audience.  Most important of all, 80% of jobs don't get advertised, so to find your next opportunity you should be searching the "hidden" job market and NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!!

A Daily Dose of Bobi Joy

My current career is to conduct training and assist people with figuring out what they want to be when they grow up, and the steps they need to take to get there.  I specialize in helping people evaluate their skills and interests, create attention grabbing resumes, learn to network effectively, and wow employers at the interview.

In the process of assisting others, I have come to some realizations about myself . . . one of those realizations is that I need to work on my own self esteem - I need to not just give advice to others, but also follow the advice that I give.  I also realized that in the process of not believing in me, I stopped dreaming . . . I didn't believe that I could achieve those dreams, so I buried them really deep inside.

But I want to be whole, I want to be successful, I want to dream, I want to achieve AND I WILL!  I am reading books, joining groups, working with mentors and working on building a better me.  This blog is one step in that process - instead of just looking at myself and not seeing what I wish I could see, I am going to take daily steps to become who I want to be - who God made me to be!

I am not sure what I will post or share daily - bits of my story, motivational quotes, career tips, bits of humor.  My hope is that by sharing a little piece of me and the journey that I am taking I can help others to get started down the path to their own dreams.  Welcome, to a Daily Dose of Bobi Joy!