Advice to give...

So a friend asked me about a place I enthusiastically left, because she has taken a new job with them.  I think I did a bad job.  I left and I am glad I did, don't get me wrong.  UOP can be a horrific place to work, but any place where you have endured a hostile work environment combined with Broiler Room like politics is bound to leave you with a bad taste.

UOP was also a good job.   I loved what I did.  I helped others find a way to make those New Years Resolutions and wishes become a reality.  I still am friends with many of my students today.  While I  was generally bad about sending out cards on Christmas, it wasn't their fault, I still loved them, I was just broken down by lots that happened in my life and at work.  And that happens to lots of good people, its what that good person does after, how well they find the old them, and how much they incorporate new growth.  I hope my friends, old co-workers, family and former students can all say I have grown into a better Pam, a more giving person, the kind of person I have always desired to be.

So what Advice to I have to give to people facing a new job, not just one at University of Phoenix?

1. Don't listen to all the negative things that happened in the past.  They did after all happen in the Past.  Perhaps that change that makes something so much more than what it was has happened.  One negative experience is not the whole story, so ask the satisfied people what they think.  
2. Do what is best.  Don't ever just do what you need to get your paycheck.  Don't meet the minimum standard of acceptable achievement with your employer, your friends, your family, your customers or yourself.  You are better than a minimum effort!  Do what you know is the best thing to do, in customer service that is not just selling your product, but being man enough to not sell it when appropriate, to even suggest a customer go somewhere else because your product or service is not the best for their situation and goals.
3. Do it.  What ever it is, do it.  If it is reading a book to help you understand your market, volunteering for a charity, or just helping your customer accomplish what they set out to do, even when it is not in your job responsibilities.  Yes, government regulations require certain things like licenses, but their is nothing that states you can't dial that number for your customer and transfer their call to the right qualified person. 
4. Be Thankful.  Gratitude is among the hardest things for me to give, and even harder for me to accept.  This comes from that old illogical society quid pro quo nonsense.   God doesn't work that way and neither do true friends.  It may take a few more weeks to beat that out of me, but it is quickly being replaced by that more logical thought process of I do it for me because it makes me feel good, so what if you got some great gift of time, money, or other tangible thing, I don't need you to owe me because of it.  I did whatever I did for you because it made me feel great!  And I will probably do it again.
5. You've got what you want.  I learned this from Larry Winget.  "People talk about what they want. We talk a lot about the things we want.
   
   I want more money.
   I want a better relationship with my spouse.
   I want good responsible kids.
   I want a promotion.
   I want to be healthy.
   I want to be smarter.
   I want to retire.
   I want, I want, I want…
   
   But do you know what people really want? They want what they’ve got. It’s a simple formula: You have what you want because your actions produced your results. Not your words and certainly not your wants."-People are Idiots and I can Prove It!    So I believe this.  If you don't want what you have, you will do something differently to get what you do want.  After all the definition of insanity is doing the something but expecting different results.  So if you don't got what you want, do something different.  
6. Failure is one way not to be successful it is not the end all be all.  Going back to Larry Winget You may need to try a lot of something difference before you get that change accomplished.  Successful people know that failure is just one way not to be successful and that is what you need to learn.  Weird, but true, you just try again, and again, and again.  Eventually you will be successful, it is a statistical fact, like in baseball, if you keep swinging eventually you will hit the ball, but you do need to keep trying.  I mean you are a failure if you just decided not to decided anything else, if you decide not to get up and try ever again, you have failed. 
7. Exercise and connect with people.  Okay you don't have to do both at the same time.  But exercise does things to your brain, and it makes your ass look great.  Connect with people, either go out with friends, go to church or try a new activity that frightens you like joining your local Toastmasters club.  Just know that connecting with people is a great way to make you feel good and it affects your brain in a good way.