Archive for July, 2008
Just a Little More Effort for True Happiness
We all get a little lazy every now and again and that’s okay. There are some days I push too hard to accomplish so little. That’s when it’s better to just take a lazy day.
One of the secrets to your productivity is to understand when these days occur and how to use them to your advantage. If you keep pushing too hard then you won’t get anything done. Just stop and take a long break, surf the net or take a nap and come back when your mind is ready to go.
Although, if you feel this way too often, you’ll never get anything done. The trick is to understand the routine of your emotions. If you are always a slow starter then work with these feelings. I usually start work at 9am, which means I actually get rolling around 9:30, but to trick myself I sometimes jump on the computer at 8:30 to do a quick little task. I tell myself it will only take five minutes. Before I know it, I’m sucked in and I’m off and running, accomplishing great work.
Tricking myself into starting a half hour early helps me get an early jump on a busy day.
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The blogs around the globe are improving on a daily basis. It’s amazing how ZenHabits has grown. I remember reading it when it had a few thousand subscribers. Leo wanted desperately to quit his job and give his time over to his true passion, giving his readers great content. He wrote an article that breaks down the simple habits of a truly happy person.^
Gretchen Rubin also writes about happiness over at The Happiness Project, so many great articles that I become happier just thinking about them.
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We all make mistakes that can affect the rest of our lives. It’s how we deal with these mistakes that separates the optimists from the pessimists. Over at Hunter Nuttall’s blog… I loved his explanation of how to deal with life altering choices. He wrote about Dr. Cox from the TV show Scrubs and his major mistake that cost lives. Doctors, Policemen, and Politicians face these major decisions throughout their career. How do they cope with a mistake? How do they move on and rediscover their happiness? How do you forget and move on?
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I read an article over at the Small Business Branding that made me look at my own life. We’ve all heard the phrase we need to go the extra mile to get ahead at work. The cool angle that Bill Hogg found was that it doesn’t matter if you fix the problem or not, what matters is that you try your hardest. When we try our hardest we command respect because we are putting forth tremendous energy. We may not always get it right, but people will see that we are trying to go that extra mile. When they keep witnessing this effort they will be more willing to give us that promotion or the project that we really want (well most of the time).
^ Correction – The original version of this post gave credit to Gretchen for Leo’s article on Zen habits The Only Guide to Happiness You’ll Ever Need.
Related Links that Continue Along the Same Themes:
- Should Your Company Hire an Ombudsman to Rein in the Complaining?
- Use Failure as Your Slingshot
- The Google Slide
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Getting Someone to Care
How does anyone (Supervisor, CEO, Manager, Co-worker) get an unmotivated person to care about their work?
The best way to do this is to take them through a story that will catch and keep their attention and make them think of it again and again. It’s why we care about the companies that we do. They tell a story that we can hitch our emotions to and we allow ourselves to keep coming back to it.
McDonald’s does this within their commercials. They put people in situations where the food alleviates their pain. We think of McDonald’s as if it’s Advil, helping us out by getting us through a rushed morning.
The problem that most leaders have when trying to get employees to understand the importance of what they are trying to achieve is their lack of angles. They keep telling their employees that the customers’ opinions are important because they keep the company in business and therefore put food on our table.
You need to do better
To get an employee to care he must be able to see himself in his customers. For instance, anyone who was ever a waiter tips well because he understands what type of hardships are involved. My wife always puts the grocery cart back in that cart carrier because she knows it’s easier for the employee to gather them when they are centrally located instead of scattered throughout the parking lot. She does this because she used to gather carts in 100 degree heat when she was in high school. She likes to reduce the pain of the employee because she puts herself in that employee’s shoes.
A leader of an organization must convince her employees to care about the feelings behind the story. That means letting co-workers tell their own stories, allowing customers to tell their stories, and you telling the story from so many angles until you get 75% of the employees become vested in the concept.
The other 25% will never give themselves over. No leader can win them all.
It takes a strong leader to realize this. Just let them go and bring in new people that can be won over.
In a very distant way here are some Related Articles:
- 7 Awesome Lessons from Bill Gates – Love Him or Hate Him, He is a Genius
- 10 Secrets to Motivating Teenagers
- 8 Great Leadership Tips from the Dallas Cowboys Assistant Head Coach
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What Working Happy is All About
This excerpt is from the Work Happy Now June newsletter. If you like what you see then sign-up for our newsletter and receive these great tips every month.
Working happy is not all about doing something we love. I think that it’s a misconception that we have to do something that excites us every moment. If we did that, we would be worn out by lunch every single day.
Working happy is about:
- Relaxing with the work we are presently doing.
- Sharing our pain and joy with our co-workers.
- Fooling around and laughing up a storm every once in a while.
- Completing a tough project.
- Failing and dusting ourselves off and trying again.
- Commuting home and breathing a sigh of relief.
- Getting paid for our hard work.
- Looking back at the story we created.
Yes, we should enjoy what we do, but not all of us have the luxury at the moment. It’s really about looking at the big picture and enjoying the job for all that it is. Take a moment to enjoy those little things that are normally taken for granted.
Hope you had a great working month. If not, no big deal because you always have the next month to make it better.
A few articles from Work Happy Now that you probably will enjoy:
Mini Sabbaticals Should be Mandatory
Accenture refused to layoff their employees when they hit a rough period because they didn’t want to go through a whole new batch of hiring and training. So they decided to pay the staff that they would have laid off 20% of their pay with benefits while they waited for the economy to bounce back. The catch was, they couldn’t work for a competitor. When the economy came back around they rehired the employees they couldn’t afford to keep.
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Tell Your Boss You Need Some Leisure Time
Get right up in her face and tell her you demand leisure time. Okay, that’s a bit much, but you can probably take some leisure time without being a jerk about it. It’s as simple as taking fifteen minutes here and two minutes there. There is a reason why people are addicted to smoking and it’s not just the nicotine. They get to go outside and take a break from all the stress. I find it funny to see a group of smokers huddled on a cold day, but they’re out there because it gives them a chance to have their nicotine and leisure time.
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25 Lessons on Working Happy From My German Father
My father owns an electrical contracting business. He built a strong company that has lasted for over 40 years. He has never advertised in his life. He went out and proved he was good and his customers referred him to other friends and contractors all over eastern Pennsylvania. Seth Godin would have been proud.
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If you have enjoyed Work Happy Now please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS reader. You’ll get your daily Work Happy Now articles and tips instead of just once a month.
http://www.workhappynow.com
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Losing Heart In My Company – Reader’s Question
I wanted to share a common career problem that a Work Happy Now reader, Casey, presented to me last week.
Casey said:
The company I work for changed Presidents and now there is no known direction or leadership on the changes that are going on. We are being required to take training courses which will not be used for work. I am back-logged and I feel total frustration.
I followed up with:
What type of training are they putting you through if it’s not for work?
Casey replied:
Computer software programs. To be perfectly honest with you, the foundation has been dysfunctional for a few years. This is just manifesting into more frustration and unhappiness.
My answer:
A President change is equivalent to a manager change in baseball, more cosmetic than a real personality change. Over time the President will eventually put his/her stamp on the organization so try not to judge too soon. It sounds like your company probably lacked direction for a long time. So do you feel this way because you are looking to find a better job?
If not then you must take action. The only way you’ll reduce your frustration is to feel productive. You have to recreate your environment. Talk to your manager or supervisor and see if they can give some of your work to your co-workers, if s/he won’t do it then ask for more time and a raise to complete your projects. You may be surprised at how responsive your manager might be to your suggestions. Many times they choose to ignore what they don’t want to see, but once you bring it to their attention they are glad to help out.
As for the classes that don’t fit into your job description…it may not seem helpful now, but be glad that they are giving you an opportunity to learn in a new way. You might be able to take this new skill, put it on your resume and use it at your next job.
Very Cool Related Articles:
- Tell Your Boss You Need Leisure Time
- Leisure Expert Alison Link Answers a Work Happy Now Question
- 7 Tips to Process Your Stress Faster
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When You Get Rich Slowly You Can Work Happier
Our culture is slowly changing from “working for a paycheck” to “working happy.” As our society develops we’re realizing that we can have our cake and enjoy every sweet bit that it offers. Most of us understand this, but we still lack the skills to make it happen.
Over at Get Rich Slowly, J.D. is doing just that. I know it hasn’t come without a sacrifice. When he was seventeen I don’t think he would have told you that he wanted to make money by writing about investing and spending habits. But now that he has found a voice that people enjoy reading, I can see he enjoys his work. If he didn’t, I know his blog wouldn’t have the readership that it commands.
Your Financial Success Depends on Your Habits
Your success depends on your ability to regulate yourself, whether it be in the area of spending or emotions. When you can allow upsetting feelings to slide off your back, then you can bring your emotions back toward happiness. When you can spend less that you take in, you’ll save money.
When you can save more than you spend you will have the ability to put yourself on track to be successful with your finances, whether your goal may be to save enough money to retire by the time you’re 50 or move to India. The thing that you are doing is putting savings above material possessions.
Make the Financial Switch
When I made the switch to saving more money than I spent, I looked at my job not as a necessity, but as an opportunity: the opportunity to create the life that I’ve always wanted.
My financial life isn’t perfect, My wife is a teacher and I work at a non-profit, so we watch every dollar that is spent, but every day gives me something greater than the day before – a little more freedom. My savings is growing and it’s putting me in position to create flexibility in my life. If my wife or I lose our jobs we won’t struggle to pay our mortgage. We have plenty of buffer to find new jobs or to create the dream job that I envision for myself.
Take a look at your budget and see what you are able to cut back on. The most famous example is the Starbucks affect, but try to go deeper and see if you can substitute generic cereal for name brand cereal or make your own birthday cards instead of buying the expensive brand. When you are aware of every item you purchase, from the Tic Tacs in the grocery store to a new pair of shoes, then you are learning to empower yourself to make better financial choices.
You’ll be surprised when you deny yourself that magazine in the check out lane and you notice that your savings account keeps climbing. You will no longer be working just to get by. You will be working to build for your future.
Unrelated Articles:
- Should Your Company Hire an Ombudsman to Rein in the Complaining?
- 5 Smurf-tastic Tips to Work Like a Great Team
- How to Relieve Back Pain after Sitting at a Desk All Day
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Try Laughing a Little More, It’s Good for You
“I am serious, so I laugh a lot. You need to laugh. You don’t laugh enough. I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”
- Maya Angelou
I have a friend who can have fun with anyone, anywhere and at any time and I am jealous of his abilities. I copied many of his techniques, but like anything the original is always better. His number one rule is don’t take yourself seriously. If you can’t laugh at yourself then you’ll have trouble enjoying life.
I was riding with some friends on a four hour trip home. The car’s radio and A/C was broken and the vents pushed out hot air. It was over 100 degrees. Four guys all stuck in one big sweaty stink box of torture. Most people would have sat in angry silence, but not my friend, he made the ride an adventure. He sang for four hours straight.
The titles of a few of his songs were:
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“The sweat dripping down my armpit”
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“Gasoline reminds me of my father”
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“Why are we lost?”
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“Who wants to buy my toe cheese”
It didn’t matter that he couldn’t sing that well. The only thing that mattered was that it was one of the most interesting four hours of my life. The other two guys hated every moment of it. They screamed, pleaded, and tried to ignore him to no avail. He was going to sing the whole trip home. While he sang I laughed and chimed in with my own verse every once in awhile, but mostly watched in admiration. I learned that every experience can be fun if viewed from the right perspective.
Check out this laughing baby on Youtube.com. Every time he hears paper ripping he laughs so hard he falls over.
Related Links About Working a Little Happier:
- 25 Lessons on Working Happy From My German Father
- How You Are Silently Signaling Your Co-workers to Treat You
- Create 12 Parties a Year Instead of 1 Boring Holiday Party
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Image courtesy of kkelly2007
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Productivity at its Most Effective – When It’s Easy to Apply to Your Life
Drop the things that bore you and only do what is necessary.
That’s it. Letting go of the things that don’t excite you and only doing what is absolutely needed. They are the two greatest productivity tools that you can learn. There are many times we think we have to do something, but in reality we don’t.
The only way you are actually going to accomplish a task is if you are more excited about doing it than any alternative action. If you love to do something, you are going to want to do a lot of it. If it bores you then you are going to avoid it.
Too Simple? Maybe it is, but it works. It works because you are tapping into your most primal instinct – do what feels good.
You will write a lot if you want to do it more than riding a bike, watching TV, or hanging out with friends. I love to do all those things, but I probably write more than I do anything else because I love to get ideas out. It means more to me than catching my favorite TV show.
You are going to work hard if you enjoy doing the job more than alternative options. If you choose to coast, you do this because the desire to be productive isn’t stimulating. The need to create is weak. It could be that the work is tedious or your boss never shows appreciation. Whatever the reason, it’s wrecking your ability to be productive.
I write to find new parts of myself, which gets me energized. I use those writings to reach others and hopefully excite them. I become passionate on two levels
Part 1 – Internal Excitement
I never write about what doesn’t interest me because I know that it won’t interest others. Even if I know it will make a great blog post I would rather put it aside and do something I really want to think and write about. I will run with any thought or idea that has any flicker of hope to start a fire. I’ll write about emotional development, ants walking on a flower, business development, a poem about dancing around my home naked, career advice, and my dog because when that spark is burning within me I use it; otherwise it fades fast.
Part 2 – How this action affects the “Future Me”
I have to think about what I do and how it affects the “future me.” Living in the moment is great, but it doesn’t always help build my reputation as a person who can help people improve their working life. When I’m working, I’m there in that moment, but I also seek to understand how this action fits into the way I want the “future me” to be perceived.
Drinking a few beers during lunch may feel good at the time, but the side effects hinder those feel good receptors in your brain that are waiting to be filled with natural dopamine. In the moment of the alcohol buzz, you feel good, but when you get back to work the sluggishness takes over and all you feel like doing is taking a nap. Every choice has its consequences. When I write, I’m building a portfolio of content that is shaping my future. I may physically feel better going for a walk or practicing a little Yoga, but it doesn’t help refine my future as much as writing, so I make a choice to write more because it still feels good and improves the “future me.”
The Small Catch that Anchors Your Productivity
The particular task that you are doing may bore you, but sometimes you do have to make small sacrifices in light of the “bigger picture.” If you are a writer you may hate editing, but you understand that in order to get that deep buzz of excitement that hits your soul, you have to sacrifice a few hours or days of pain to achieve the results you want. This sweet spot is where most great business people, artists, and creators keep returning to find success. The possibility for more future excitement gets that energy going and it’s tough for them to stop.
The CEOs that get themselves into positions of power do it by digging in and working on something that excites them and has potential. They may start off running around like chickens with their heads cut off for the first few years, but they know they are building a foundation for something more exciting – the ability to make good decisions and affect other people’s lives. If your passion is lacking then the work suffers and failure is the likely result.
I’m not talking about the failure to keep a job. Most of us can coast, do the minimum and keep receiving our paychecks, but that’s not where the fun is. Work becomes a chore and that constitutes a failure on your part. So it’s up to you to match your internal (gut) excitement with the future potential to get the most out of your projects.
For example, when you envision a clean work space, you probably see yourself sitting in your chair with a smile on your face, just grabbing that report or pen because everything is organized. This thought may get you excited and willing to take action, but you won’t sustain that energy if you can’t clearly see how much it will help you.
Productivity will create happiness if you strive to achieve both parts:
- Internal Excitement
- Potential Future Excitement
Both feel good, but when they are combined, you will produce great results.
* If you can’t stop yawning it’s not this post, it’s that baby. It made me yawn like 10 times while I formated it and posted this article.
Related Link:
- 1 Simple Tip on How to be More Productive
- How to Tell if You are an Energy Sucker
- How to Get Your Boss Naked
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Ask the Readers – Redesign of Work Happy Now
I’m gathering information for a redesign of Work Happy Now. The current theme has been outgrown by my readership as well as myself. I have no need to trash this theme because it’s been the best theme that I’ve ever used. I’m just picky and I just want the best for all my readers.
Some of the changes I will make:
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Three columns instead of two
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Color change – white background with splashes of red and orange.
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I want to convey passion.
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Banners in the right column to highlight popular post and ebooks.
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Summaries of each post on the home page, so visitors have to click on the “read full article” link to read the full story.
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I believe people will be more willing to comment if they see other people’s comments at the end of the post.
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What do you think? Am I missing any changes to my website that you would like to see? Just let me know in the comments. If you’re feeling shy then just send me a message from the contact page. This blog is yours too, so give as much feedback as you want. I would like to make WHN as reader friendly as possible.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Unrelated Articles:
- Emotional Intelligence Improves the Workplace
- Create 12 Parties a Year Instead of 1 Boring Holiday Party
- How You Are Silently Signaling Your Co-workers to Treat You
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Cajole Yourself into a Good Mood Before Work
Before your work day starts rolling, take a look around you and see if you notice a pattern. Do people have expressions that might convey that they just survived a bug bomb wake-up call? I know many of my past and present co-workers often have this look.
Do you feel like you might fall into the bug-bomb-facial category? Then try a little experiment for the next thirty days and see how it makes you feel.
Cajole Yourself Into a Good Mood
Don’t fall into your normal routine! That’s an order. You need to shake up your day right from the get go. If you like to take a shower in the morning and it brings you happiness, then by all means do it. However, if you turn on the news to wake up and there are nothing but depressing stories then it’s time to change the habits that have become routine but don’t bring you any joy.
I like to stand on one foot while I brush my teeth because it helps me focus my thoughts then I get in the shower. About ten years ago I thought that I would save time by taking a shower at night. It wrecked my whole next day. I felt dirty and could never get my energy going. So there’s no need to change the things that bring you joy because you may regret it. Instead, you should focus on those activities that bring you happiness and find a substitute for the ones that don’t.
Here’s an example of some of my favorite “good mood” activities. After my shower I prepare cereal for my wife and myself. It usually has fresh strawberries and bananas on top. It makes me happy just thinking about its glorious tastes. Then we exercise and get the blood pumping to wake ourselves up. I then take 20 minutes to do some Yoga. It relaxes me and allows me to continue the good mood cajoling. After 20 minutes of Yoga I have a hop in my step and then it’s off to work.
I get in my car and put on my cell phone headset and call the people that I love. It’s usually my mother, father, brother, cousin or a good friend. We catch up and make each other laugh. I sometimes fall into the trap of getting caught up in my worries. When this happens I take a deep breath and focus on all the splendor that I’m passing by – the trees, an old lady waiting to cross the street and the driver with a long red beard next to me at the red light.
Find Your Sweet Spot
We all have that sweet spot that can help our day start off on a happy foot. Sometimes it takes a little cajoling, but believe me, when you practice cajoling yourself into a good mood you’ll make your day so much more enjoyable.
What do you do to put yourself in a good mood before you start your day?
Other “Emotional Tools” Related Articles:
- Use Failure as Your Slingshot
- Create the Work Atmosphere You Want
- Renew Your Thoughts to Improve Your Work Outlook
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Give It Your All, Not for Your Boss, But for Your Own Work Happiness
I’m a fan of many blogs around the globe, but one of my favorites is Get Rich Slowly. J.D., the MC and writer extraordinaire of GRS, always impresses me with little bits of wisdom. He wrote a post, The Difference Between a Career and a Job, that articulated what Work Happy Now is all about.
“During the summer after my freshman year of college, I worked as a busboy at the Holiday Inn. I was the best busboy I could be. While the other guys stood around during slack times, I looked for ways to help in the kitchen or to prepare for the lunch rush.”
J.D. went on to say…
“As a result, I got better tips from the waitresses. The manager trained me to run the cash register. Sometimes I even got to help the pantry chef. I wasn’t looking for a career in food service, and I wasn’t trying to brown-nose. But I enjoyed the work and gave it all I had. This made the job fun, and earned respect from people who mattered: from my boss, and from his boss, the hotel manager.”
Many of us just do what we need to get by and we think that we are beating the system. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been guilty of this. All we are doing when we refuse to try our best is failing to find happiness in the work we accomplish. How did I learn enjoy my job and stop being a slacker? I searched for the positive in every task, even the small crappy ones. I developed the habit of looking for the tiniest glimmer of joy in everything that I did. Even when I’m stuffing 1,000 marketing bags at work I still find the joy in the effort.
When stuffing marketing bags I realized that I could:
- Listen to my iPod
- Dance as I did my work
- Think of grand plans that will help me in my future writing, speaking and website career. (It became a meditation on the future me.)
When my joy waned at a job that didn’t fit my personality, that’s when it was time to quit. It was as simple as understanding that I got all I could out of the job and I had to develop my skills some where else.
J.D.’s post was inspired by Trent over at The Simple Dollar and his post about the difference between a job and a career – a job being a way to just make money (putting in the time for the paycheck) and a career being a way to learn, grow and develop skills. When we look at work as time to just put in the hours then we’re feeding into our fear. We’re afraid to put in effort for the amount of return. The problem with this attitude is that work is much more than money. It’s also a way to improve ourselves. When we become disengaged, boredom sets in and makes the job torturous. Many of us also become attached to the routine and we’re afraid to leave. Fear makes the cycle go around and around.
J.D. wrapped up his post with:
“So what’s the difference between a career and a job? I don’t believe there is one. A career is simply a lifetime of jobs, whether those jobs are related or not. And while it’s important to focus on your future goals, it’s even more important to focus on doing the best you can right now at your current job.”
We all reach a certain point in every job that kills our spirit, but releasing these feelings and getting back to seeing the joy in accomplishing good work should matter more to a person. If your job doesn’t do this for you then find something that will keep you reaching for new goals. There is a career/job out there that will fulfill your needs.
It’s time to let go of the fear and start taking baby steps toward finding this new line of work, but for now try to notice one thing during the worst part of your working day that has something positive in it.
It could be:
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Stepping out of your normal routine and appreciating the ability to put clear thoughts together
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Taking a break to talk to a co-worker
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Being in the moment and not worrying about where you should be in life, just enjoying each movement as you accomplish your task.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had and how did you make it through your days there?
Don’t forget to check out J.D.’s whole article at Get Rich Slowly.
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Related Articles on Career Advice:
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