In light of it being Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a moment to share what I am thankful for. This is something that comes very easy to me, as I have been practicing an attitude of gratitude for some time now due to my belief in the Law of Attraction. I wake up every morning being grateful for all the things I have and people that are in my life, and as I lay my head on my pillow every night, I say in my mind, "Thank you for all that my life is."
For starters, I am thankful for my parents, who provided a wonderful foundation for me to build on. Their example of love and marriage gave me standards that I did not waver from as I approached my teen years and began really paying attention to potential husbands. I am thankful for what each of them taught me and the love they showed me personally. I never doubted how proud they were of me growing up, even when I made mistakes.
I am thankful for my one and only sister, who was my best friend growing up. She made me laugh like no one else did, and although we had our fights and moments of jealousy, I never doubted her love for me either. She stuck up for me when I needed someone to back me up, and she instilled a healthy level of competition in me that drove me to always try to do better and work harder at everything. And even though we are not as close now because our lives have become very different, I still look up to her and am thankful for the part she still plays in my life today.
I am thankful for all the people that have come through my life that I have called friends. Most of them have come and gone. Many of them took advantage of me, took me for granted, back stabbed me, slandered me, or just outright dumped me with no warning whatsoever, but I am still thankful for them because without them, I would not know what people to be cautious of. Without them, I would not have worked on my own character as well to make sure I was never like them. Without them I would not have recognized the contrast and kept my eyes peeled for people with better character, thus finding the amazing friends I have in my life today, which I am even more thankful for... they are friends that I now know truly love me and will be a part of my life for many many years to come.
I am thankful for my husband, Sean, who has shown me a love that I didn't know before him. I am thankful for the unique relationship that we have. Others may not understand it, but it has allowed us to prove to each other in every way how much we really love, trust, and cherish each other. He has stuck by me and loved me even when I was so unlovable. He tried to see the best in me when I was at my absolute worst. I am thankful for his heart and that he has always had the ability to let criticism and ugliness roll right off his back. He has balanced me out over the years and has helped me to become the positive dreamer I am today. I am thankful for our deep talks and how he makes me laugh so much. He is so much fun and there is no one else I would rather spend time with. I am so proud of him for working so hard to show me he wants me, and I am proud of him for doing what was necessary to provide, care for and love our children. He is always striving to be better, and that is an amazing quality.
I am thankful for my children, who teach me something new every day. They test my patience, and that is a good thing. I need more patience. They make me laugh and make me proud to be their mom. I learn from them in ways they will never understand until they have kids of their own. The mysteries of the universe are summed up in the minds and hearts of children, I believe, so although raising children is no walk in the park, being a mom is an opportunity to gain knowledge of how we are to truly live and what we are really capable of in this life. My kids show me how to love unconditionally and how to dream and find joy in the smallest things in life. I greatly appreciate that about them.
I am thankful for my mind. I realize it is a little different and unique, but it has allowed me to achieve things that other people thought weren't possible. I am thankful for my intuitiveness and my ability to understand people even when they won't open up. I am thankful for the love I have instilled in me that allows me to reach out to people with a caring heart even when I know they don't really care about me back. The grace that I feel for people makes it very easy to forgive and not let others negativity bring me down. My hunches have kept me from making a lot of mistakes and have given me insight into situations, and I am thankful for that. My mind still boggles and mystifies me at times, but I am thankful for what I am learning every day about how to harness my own power to make my life exactly what I want it to be and to help others. It has already taken me so so far in life.
I am thankful for what we call God and how the Universe works, for it has given me the power and ability to create my life how I want it. It has given me every good thing I have ever hoped for and allows me to achieve impossible feats. It has given me the ability to attain those things money can't buy and even the things that money can buy. My reality is what I say it is, and I am forming it every day. I am thankful that the creative power and balance of the universe lives within me and all I had to do was find it. I am thankful that everyone has this power within them so that we are not at the mercy of the world, but the world is at our mercy and we merely have to learn our capabilities. That knowledge is so relieving to know and understand because it gives me hope in humanity. I feel like people want to be better, and so I also believe that the world that we live in IS gradually getting better until one day we will all understand that we are in control of our destinies and will make this world a heaven for all by the positive thoughts we hold in our minds and the love in our hearts for each other. The gratitude I have for the source of our existence is so overwhelming, even if I don't fully understand what it is.
I encourage you all to make every day thanksgiving within your minds. Every day upon waking, look at the day like you need to acknowledge what you are thankful for, just like many of you did this very morning. Make a habit of it, and I promise, if your life isn't what you want it to be currently, it will soon correspond to the feeling of gratitude and happiness that you maintain and "the Universe will open doors for you where there were only walls."
Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!
Sometimes you have to make your own road to get where you want to go.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Play by Play
I firmly believe in Applied Imagination, which is otherwise known as the Law of Attraction. I know for sure it is true because one day I decided to accept it on faith and apply it to my life in detail and with purpose... not to see if it would work, but BELIEVING that it would, and it has proven to work as the law states every single time.
In my home, we do not worry about being taken care of. We just believe that we always are, no matter what. Not only do we believe that all our needs are met, but we also believe all our wants are met. We realize all the things we want that money must buy have not been revealed to us just yet, but we know the Universe is holding them for us, waiting for the series of events to play out in order for us to receive them. This is something we just KNOW without a doubt. Call it unwavering faith. Around every turn something happens to open another door or set things in motion to get us to where we desire to be. Some of those things may be interpreted by some as UNfortunate and negative, such as getting laid off from a job, a car accident, "friends" deciding they want nothing to do with us anymore... or a tree falling on my car (Miracle Tree). Sean and I have learned over the years to interpret such things as stepping stones.
Because we believe the Universe is in perfect balance, we realize that situations seen as bad (catastrophic, even) must happen for the Universe to function harmoniously as it should. Without evil, we would not understand good. Without darkness, we would not understand light. With anything, we must have a contrast to it to fully grasp the concept and appreciate it. Therefor it is easy for us to accept that there will be some trials in our life. We accept that those difficult circumstances must come to pass in order for us to achieve the things we have our mind set on. After all, fire refines, and we have come to appreciate those circumstances that inspire growth.
I wanted to share something that recently happened as an example of the normal occurrences in our life that we have come to expect, but never take for granted...
Almost two years ago, Sean and I made a goal list together. We divided it into short term, medium term, and long term goals. There are a couple of goals that we put on all three lists, one of them being "increase of income." At the time we wrote the list, Sean was working in the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Union. He had topped out at the highest pay level as a union journeyman electrician, so the only way his pay would increase in the union was to become a foreman, and that would likely take at least a few more years to achieve because the majority of union foremen have 10+ years experience. Despite this knowledge, we were hopeful that Sean would advance somehow with the company he was at, and we continued to meditate on that belief.
At that time, Sean had only been working for the company he was with for a little under a year, but had made pretty good friends with his foreman. In fact, Sean and his boss became such good buddies that his boss invited Sean to join his rock band because they were in need of a lead guitarist (Sean is on lead guitar, keys, and partial vocals). He was thrilled because he had been itching to start or get back into a band. He just missed it, and I was supportive of him.
Sean worked his butt off on the job. He tried really hard to make a good impression because he wanted to show his boss that he wasn't just his friend, but a dedicated, competent electrician that he could count on to get the job done. Over time, his boss started letting him have more responsibility and work at sites alone. He gave him a laptop, company phone, and let him drive the company truck frequently, which saved us a lot of money on gas. Then one day he told Sean that he was going to start training Sean in instrumentation, which is a field that on average has a higher pay grade than electricians. Sean was stoked, of course.
At the time, I didn't really understand what the big deal was, but he explained that basically he was going to get paid to be trained in a skill within his normal work hours that could eventually earn him more money. We both realized that our positivity and faith in what we wanted was paying off.
We continued to visualize and meditate on what we wanted, which was a career advancement and increase of income, and Sean continued to learn instrumentation and work hard at his job. He more than proved himself to be someone who was capable, responsible, and knowledgeable enough to be a foreman even though he was only 25 years old. As much as Sean's boss wanted to pay him what he was worth, his boss also had a boss and couldn't get Sean the raise. The company ended up being sold, and after two and a half years with that company, Sean got laid off with several others.
Now, most people would look at that as a set back. Most people would feel that all that hard work that Sean put into his job and going above and beyond what he was actually paid to do was totally in vain because the company let him go instead of giving him a raise. But not me. Not for a minute. As soon as Sean told me he got laid off I said, "This is it, Sean. THIS is the stepping stone we have been waiting for."
I knew that this was exactly what Sean needed to get him out there looking for a better job. The job that would lead to a major career advancement for him. He wouldn't have been looking elsewhere had he not gotten laid off because he felt like he had worked so hard that surely they would give him the raise eventually. He had put too much into that company to just walk away on his own. But I kept thinking, "What THEN? If he gets the raise, what THEN? Where can he go from there?" And I knew he didn't have much more room for growth at that company. Getting laid off was just what was necessary for the major career advancement that was just around the corner.
Sean was out of work for almost exactly a month. You might be thinking that was a brutal month for us, but it was actually quite the opposite. There had been some issues between Sean and our son that desperately needed to be fixed, pronto. Sean loves his boy more than words can describe, but by the time he was home from work each day, he was so beat from work that he had very little energy to put into time with the kids, and it was clear that it was taking a toll on our son. He felt like daddy didn't care about him (my daughter is older and more understanding), and as a result would act out. Being the tough disciplinarian that Sean is, he consistently disciplined our son for the bad behavior, and that seemed to make him afraid to approach Sean. Sean knew he couldn't just let bad behavior slide, but considering he wasn't spending much quality time with him during the week, it seemed that about half the time Sean was around him was spent just disciplining him. Sean grew frustrated and our son grew even more distant.
We were desperate to resolve the problem. We didn't want what our son was feeling at 2 years old to form who he would be at 20 years old because that would forever be a wedge between him and his dad... something neither of us were willing to settle for. So during that month that Sean was out of work, he was obviously around a lot more. He ate lunch with them every day and because he wasn't being drained every day at work, he had energy to take the kids to do some free fun things several times a week. Some awesome memories were made with our little family. He paid close attention to working on his relationship with our son, and I am happy to report that by the time Sean got a new job, our son was attached to his daddy at the hip. When he was hurt or upset, he wanted dad, and his overall behavior improved drastically. I'm sorry, but money just can't buy that.
We called bill collectors and had our bills deferred for a month. Because of our awesome credit, they all worked with us as much as they could. In the meantime, Sean drove to the union hall at the crack of dawn every morning to see if they would call his name for one of the several job calls. Some days if there were lots of job calls and lots of people showed up for roll call, he didn't make it back home until lunchtime. But with the economy as rough as it was, there were so many men signed on the book that they never got anywhere close to Sean's name for the first couple of weeks.
Sean and I had already discussed it before his lay off, so we knew that he had more room for growth and pay increase outside of the union, so he applied, applied, applied all over the place at non union companies. He faxed and dropped off several resumes and drove to several companies to apply just so they would remember his face. He even called several times to follow up with companies he had already applied to so they would know he was serious about wanting a job. Not one day went buy that he didn't send out at least two resumes. About three hours a day was dedicated to just doing job searches, and any job that didn't pay at least what he was making at his former job, he didn't apply for. There were even a few that he wasn't sure what the pay was when he applied, but turned them down at the interview when he found out.
One man in particular (we will call him 'Bob') was very intrigued by Sean's 2 year experience with instrumentation, and called him in for an interview. At the interview, the man was super impressed by Sean and wanted to hire him on the spot. When Sean found out that the company was going to pay him a little less than the job he was laid off from, Sean told him thank you but no thank you. He said he felt his knowledge, skills and work ethic were worth more than that, and he just knew the perfect job for him was just on the brink of being revealed to him. Well the man was so taken by Sean's resume and confidence that he told Sean he was going to keep an eye out for a job for him that would pay him what he wanted. Sean showed the man his gratitude and came home.
The beginning of the last week of January, Sean got a call from one of the companies he had applied to asking him to come in for an interview, but the only time they could have him come in was the morning. Sean debated with himself whether he should go because he knew his name was nearing the top of the call list for the IBEW, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to miss roll call the morning of that interview and chance missing a job if they call his name. Sean decided to go ahead and schedule the interview and decided that the morning of, he would just call the union hall and find out how many job calls they had for that morning so he could determine what his chances are for getting a job. He had heard through the grapevine that a couple of really good union companies were looking for service truck drivers (something that pays well, is a gravy job, and Sean has experience with), and he was willing to go back to a union job if he could land one of those positions. So we made up our minds that if there were several calls at the hall that morning, that Sean would just call and cancel the interview and take the risk.
So the morning of the interview arrived and Sean called the hall. He found out there is only ONE job call, and it was for an awesome position at a great company, working under a foreman that Sean knows and likes. He debated with himself right up until the time he had to leave for the interview and ultimately made the choice to ditch roll call because we both knew the chance of him getting that one call when there were still around 20 men ahead of his name was slim to none.
Sean went to the interview and after discussing it with me, we determined that although it paid enough, it wasn't the job that was going to benefit our whole family (too many hours). No harm done, right?... until my dad called (who is also a member of the IBEW).
I stood in the kitchen with Sean, staring at him while he held the phone to his ear and listened to my dad. I could hear the muffled murmur of my dad explaining something to him, and as he talked, Sean's expression slowly turned from happy, so disappointed. His head dropped, and his other hand lifted to his forehead to cover his face. After a minute I saw a tear fall from behind his hand and land on his shoe. And before he told me what was going on, I knew exactly what my dad had told him.
None of the men whose names were ahead of Sean's showed up that morning at the union hall. If Sean would have gone, HE would have gotten the call for that awesome job. It was the ONE morning since Sean got laid off that he did not go to the union hall for roll call. After all the hard work he had put into finding a job that was perfect for his family and after us doing without so much for almost a whole month, he was devastated. He felt like he had failed his entire family. He hated himself for going to the interview instead of the hall, but what was done was done, and he could not take his decision back.
He got off the phone and just stood there weeping. I began to cry for my best friend and the love of my life. To see him in emotional pain just kills me. I knew I had to be strong for him.
I walked over to him, grabbed him in a bear hug and we held each other there in the kitchen. I told him, "There was no way you could have known. You did the very best you could, and I am PROUD of you."
I let him cry some more, then I made him look at me. I still remember so clearly what I told him. I looked him in the eyes, and I said sternly, "No. You stop this. It is too perfect. It is too perfect the way this has all happened. You have worked your ass off. You have been dedicated and you have been up at that hall every single damn day waiting for a job, as well as applying all over the place and going to interviews, and the one morning, the ONE morning, you don't go, that job would have gone to YOU. No! You aren't supposed to have that union job! It isn't yours! It belongs to someone else. YOUR job, the one you really want, is still out there, right around the next turn and you need to be available for it! ...So stop this crying! Stop your doubt! We are going to be just fine because the Universe knows what we need and God saved us from a job that wasn't worthy of you! It isn't what we really desire and God knows it! Don't you believe that...???"
He calmed down after that and looked at me with a gently expression of respect and love. He knew I was right. He just needed to be reminded. He hugged and kissed me softly and replied, "I know everything is going to be ok. Thank you."
That evening we made a point to watch a comedy. We spent time together alone, just laughing and soaking up the love between us. I reminded him that money or no money, he would always have me and I would always be proud of him.
The very next day, he got a call from a man that said he got Sean's number and resume from a guy that had interviewed Sean the week prior for a different company (remember 'Bob'). He said he was friends with 'Bob' and was told that Sean has a hell of a drive and thinks he would be good for his company. He asked Sean when he could come in for an interview, to which Sean answered, "Right now?" The man agreed, and Sean was on his way.
Sean learned that the company was a contractor for Dow, and STARTING pay for journeyman electricians was the the same amount he topped out as a union journeyman. Looking great so far. Then the boss man told Sean that he was impressed that he had two years instrumentation experience. He said he doesn't find many young guys that are journeyman that can do instrumentation work. So he asked Sean if he would want to take an instrumentation test, that if passed, will give Sean his certification to be an Instrumentation Technician and allow him to continue training even further. He also added that if Sean passed the test, they will immediately give him a $2 per hour raise and the new job title.
Sean accepted and came home to immediately start studying for the test. He didn't pass it the first time, but since he only missed it by a couple of points, they allowed him to retake the test the following week. The second time around he beyond passed it.
Then we had to play catch up, and we were very optimistic. We had double the bills in February... those for the current month and those that were deferred from January. By no coincidence, they started Sean working a 4 10's schedule, but offered plenty of overtime, so his overtime was worked on Fridays and he still had the weekend completely open to spend doing fun family stuff with us. With the raise and all the overtime, Sean made almost twice the amount of money at his new job than he did at his union job just a month prior. Not only were we able to catch up rather easily, but we had more than enough money. We did more fun things and started paying more down on our debt. It was perfect.
He worked at that company up until last Monday, when he started working for another contractor company at a different Dow plant. It was almost 10 months. That isn't that long to be with a company, but Sean went ahead and sent out a few resumes and applied for instrumentation positions at some other companies that paid higher salaries. He thought if he got a bite, awesome, if not, that's ok because he loves his job. Well, a company did call him and offered him an Instrumentation Technician job starting at $4 per hour more than his current Dow job. They didn't have many of the perks that his current job had... perks that really made going to work every day a real treat. We discussed it and Sean couldn't make up his mind initially. He liked his job so much but it was hard to pass up a $4 per hour raise working the same hours and having to drive the same distance. I expressed to Sean that I stood behind him whatever he decided, and that if he really loved his job then money isn't worth giving that up. Do you know how many people hate their job? I just want him to be happy with what he has to do every day.
When it came down to it, he just couldn't pass up the money. He said the lack of perks really isn't that big of deal, and he would just have to learn to not be so spoiled. He was focused more on our goal of being financially free, and a larger salary allows us to achieve that goal faster. I fully supported his choice.
Now here is the kicker... Sean found out just today from an inside source that all but six men got laid off at the company he just left a little over a week ago, and the six that remain got their hours cut to only 32 hours a week. Sean, nor any of his coworker buddies ever knew it was coming, but Sean was the only one who was saved from it, just in the nick of time.
On top of the continual advancement in Sean's career for the last couple of years, I have actually been bringing in an income for the last year by selling my paintings, not to mention my grandma, bless her heart, insists on paying me a decent amount each month to come one day a week and clean her house for her, which is never that messy. Increase of income? I would say so!
I DO NOT BELIEVE IN CHANCE. My life proves that there is no 50/50 shot that something will happen. What has happened every step of the way has been exactly what we willed to happen by our own mindset and choices. We wrote down our goals and did not back down. When people told us, "Yeah right, what are the odds of that?" we said, "Pretty good." We visualized what we wanted . We meditated on it in happiness. We BELIEVED it was already ours. We were diligent in pursuing it. We felt deep gratitude for it. And it manifested.
The Law of Attraction is at work in each person's life whether they acknowledge it or not. And the Law puts all the responsibility on YOU. If you want your life to be a certain way, YOU have to think the right way, feel the right way, and act the right way. You can't just sit and hope that everything works to your advantage. You can't just be on autopilot, thinking that your thoughts and emotions can't be helped, and the solutions are going to come from some outside source that is separate from you, that you hope is looking out for you. The source of all the answers and blessings will only act in your life as far as you allow, therefore you have to take responsibility for your life. You have to think and feel with intention. You have to WILL the blessings to happen. You have to know that you know that you KNOW that the life you desire belongs to you already. You have to get rid of what the world deems "realistic" and think outside the box. Make big plans. Dream big dreams. And realize it is all doable. It is all attainable.Tough times don't have to get you down. Not if you realize you need them to reach your goal. NOTHING is too great for you to achieve. NOTHING is too great for you to overcome. NOTHING is too great for you to master. Nothing.
In my home, we do not worry about being taken care of. We just believe that we always are, no matter what. Not only do we believe that all our needs are met, but we also believe all our wants are met. We realize all the things we want that money must buy have not been revealed to us just yet, but we know the Universe is holding them for us, waiting for the series of events to play out in order for us to receive them. This is something we just KNOW without a doubt. Call it unwavering faith. Around every turn something happens to open another door or set things in motion to get us to where we desire to be. Some of those things may be interpreted by some as UNfortunate and negative, such as getting laid off from a job, a car accident, "friends" deciding they want nothing to do with us anymore... or a tree falling on my car (Miracle Tree). Sean and I have learned over the years to interpret such things as stepping stones.
Because we believe the Universe is in perfect balance, we realize that situations seen as bad (catastrophic, even) must happen for the Universe to function harmoniously as it should. Without evil, we would not understand good. Without darkness, we would not understand light. With anything, we must have a contrast to it to fully grasp the concept and appreciate it. Therefor it is easy for us to accept that there will be some trials in our life. We accept that those difficult circumstances must come to pass in order for us to achieve the things we have our mind set on. After all, fire refines, and we have come to appreciate those circumstances that inspire growth.
I wanted to share something that recently happened as an example of the normal occurrences in our life that we have come to expect, but never take for granted...
Almost two years ago, Sean and I made a goal list together. We divided it into short term, medium term, and long term goals. There are a couple of goals that we put on all three lists, one of them being "increase of income." At the time we wrote the list, Sean was working in the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Union. He had topped out at the highest pay level as a union journeyman electrician, so the only way his pay would increase in the union was to become a foreman, and that would likely take at least a few more years to achieve because the majority of union foremen have 10+ years experience. Despite this knowledge, we were hopeful that Sean would advance somehow with the company he was at, and we continued to meditate on that belief.
At that time, Sean had only been working for the company he was with for a little under a year, but had made pretty good friends with his foreman. In fact, Sean and his boss became such good buddies that his boss invited Sean to join his rock band because they were in need of a lead guitarist (Sean is on lead guitar, keys, and partial vocals). He was thrilled because he had been itching to start or get back into a band. He just missed it, and I was supportive of him.
Sean worked his butt off on the job. He tried really hard to make a good impression because he wanted to show his boss that he wasn't just his friend, but a dedicated, competent electrician that he could count on to get the job done. Over time, his boss started letting him have more responsibility and work at sites alone. He gave him a laptop, company phone, and let him drive the company truck frequently, which saved us a lot of money on gas. Then one day he told Sean that he was going to start training Sean in instrumentation, which is a field that on average has a higher pay grade than electricians. Sean was stoked, of course.
At the time, I didn't really understand what the big deal was, but he explained that basically he was going to get paid to be trained in a skill within his normal work hours that could eventually earn him more money. We both realized that our positivity and faith in what we wanted was paying off.
We continued to visualize and meditate on what we wanted, which was a career advancement and increase of income, and Sean continued to learn instrumentation and work hard at his job. He more than proved himself to be someone who was capable, responsible, and knowledgeable enough to be a foreman even though he was only 25 years old. As much as Sean's boss wanted to pay him what he was worth, his boss also had a boss and couldn't get Sean the raise. The company ended up being sold, and after two and a half years with that company, Sean got laid off with several others.
Now, most people would look at that as a set back. Most people would feel that all that hard work that Sean put into his job and going above and beyond what he was actually paid to do was totally in vain because the company let him go instead of giving him a raise. But not me. Not for a minute. As soon as Sean told me he got laid off I said, "This is it, Sean. THIS is the stepping stone we have been waiting for."
I knew that this was exactly what Sean needed to get him out there looking for a better job. The job that would lead to a major career advancement for him. He wouldn't have been looking elsewhere had he not gotten laid off because he felt like he had worked so hard that surely they would give him the raise eventually. He had put too much into that company to just walk away on his own. But I kept thinking, "What THEN? If he gets the raise, what THEN? Where can he go from there?" And I knew he didn't have much more room for growth at that company. Getting laid off was just what was necessary for the major career advancement that was just around the corner.
Sean was out of work for almost exactly a month. You might be thinking that was a brutal month for us, but it was actually quite the opposite. There had been some issues between Sean and our son that desperately needed to be fixed, pronto. Sean loves his boy more than words can describe, but by the time he was home from work each day, he was so beat from work that he had very little energy to put into time with the kids, and it was clear that it was taking a toll on our son. He felt like daddy didn't care about him (my daughter is older and more understanding), and as a result would act out. Being the tough disciplinarian that Sean is, he consistently disciplined our son for the bad behavior, and that seemed to make him afraid to approach Sean. Sean knew he couldn't just let bad behavior slide, but considering he wasn't spending much quality time with him during the week, it seemed that about half the time Sean was around him was spent just disciplining him. Sean grew frustrated and our son grew even more distant.
We were desperate to resolve the problem. We didn't want what our son was feeling at 2 years old to form who he would be at 20 years old because that would forever be a wedge between him and his dad... something neither of us were willing to settle for. So during that month that Sean was out of work, he was obviously around a lot more. He ate lunch with them every day and because he wasn't being drained every day at work, he had energy to take the kids to do some free fun things several times a week. Some awesome memories were made with our little family. He paid close attention to working on his relationship with our son, and I am happy to report that by the time Sean got a new job, our son was attached to his daddy at the hip. When he was hurt or upset, he wanted dad, and his overall behavior improved drastically. I'm sorry, but money just can't buy that.
We called bill collectors and had our bills deferred for a month. Because of our awesome credit, they all worked with us as much as they could. In the meantime, Sean drove to the union hall at the crack of dawn every morning to see if they would call his name for one of the several job calls. Some days if there were lots of job calls and lots of people showed up for roll call, he didn't make it back home until lunchtime. But with the economy as rough as it was, there were so many men signed on the book that they never got anywhere close to Sean's name for the first couple of weeks.
Sean and I had already discussed it before his lay off, so we knew that he had more room for growth and pay increase outside of the union, so he applied, applied, applied all over the place at non union companies. He faxed and dropped off several resumes and drove to several companies to apply just so they would remember his face. He even called several times to follow up with companies he had already applied to so they would know he was serious about wanting a job. Not one day went buy that he didn't send out at least two resumes. About three hours a day was dedicated to just doing job searches, and any job that didn't pay at least what he was making at his former job, he didn't apply for. There were even a few that he wasn't sure what the pay was when he applied, but turned them down at the interview when he found out.
One man in particular (we will call him 'Bob') was very intrigued by Sean's 2 year experience with instrumentation, and called him in for an interview. At the interview, the man was super impressed by Sean and wanted to hire him on the spot. When Sean found out that the company was going to pay him a little less than the job he was laid off from, Sean told him thank you but no thank you. He said he felt his knowledge, skills and work ethic were worth more than that, and he just knew the perfect job for him was just on the brink of being revealed to him. Well the man was so taken by Sean's resume and confidence that he told Sean he was going to keep an eye out for a job for him that would pay him what he wanted. Sean showed the man his gratitude and came home.
The beginning of the last week of January, Sean got a call from one of the companies he had applied to asking him to come in for an interview, but the only time they could have him come in was the morning. Sean debated with himself whether he should go because he knew his name was nearing the top of the call list for the IBEW, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to miss roll call the morning of that interview and chance missing a job if they call his name. Sean decided to go ahead and schedule the interview and decided that the morning of, he would just call the union hall and find out how many job calls they had for that morning so he could determine what his chances are for getting a job. He had heard through the grapevine that a couple of really good union companies were looking for service truck drivers (something that pays well, is a gravy job, and Sean has experience with), and he was willing to go back to a union job if he could land one of those positions. So we made up our minds that if there were several calls at the hall that morning, that Sean would just call and cancel the interview and take the risk.
So the morning of the interview arrived and Sean called the hall. He found out there is only ONE job call, and it was for an awesome position at a great company, working under a foreman that Sean knows and likes. He debated with himself right up until the time he had to leave for the interview and ultimately made the choice to ditch roll call because we both knew the chance of him getting that one call when there were still around 20 men ahead of his name was slim to none.
Sean went to the interview and after discussing it with me, we determined that although it paid enough, it wasn't the job that was going to benefit our whole family (too many hours). No harm done, right?... until my dad called (who is also a member of the IBEW).
I stood in the kitchen with Sean, staring at him while he held the phone to his ear and listened to my dad. I could hear the muffled murmur of my dad explaining something to him, and as he talked, Sean's expression slowly turned from happy, so disappointed. His head dropped, and his other hand lifted to his forehead to cover his face. After a minute I saw a tear fall from behind his hand and land on his shoe. And before he told me what was going on, I knew exactly what my dad had told him.
None of the men whose names were ahead of Sean's showed up that morning at the union hall. If Sean would have gone, HE would have gotten the call for that awesome job. It was the ONE morning since Sean got laid off that he did not go to the union hall for roll call. After all the hard work he had put into finding a job that was perfect for his family and after us doing without so much for almost a whole month, he was devastated. He felt like he had failed his entire family. He hated himself for going to the interview instead of the hall, but what was done was done, and he could not take his decision back.
He got off the phone and just stood there weeping. I began to cry for my best friend and the love of my life. To see him in emotional pain just kills me. I knew I had to be strong for him.
I walked over to him, grabbed him in a bear hug and we held each other there in the kitchen. I told him, "There was no way you could have known. You did the very best you could, and I am PROUD of you."
I let him cry some more, then I made him look at me. I still remember so clearly what I told him. I looked him in the eyes, and I said sternly, "No. You stop this. It is too perfect. It is too perfect the way this has all happened. You have worked your ass off. You have been dedicated and you have been up at that hall every single damn day waiting for a job, as well as applying all over the place and going to interviews, and the one morning, the ONE morning, you don't go, that job would have gone to YOU. No! You aren't supposed to have that union job! It isn't yours! It belongs to someone else. YOUR job, the one you really want, is still out there, right around the next turn and you need to be available for it! ...So stop this crying! Stop your doubt! We are going to be just fine because the Universe knows what we need and God saved us from a job that wasn't worthy of you! It isn't what we really desire and God knows it! Don't you believe that...???"
He calmed down after that and looked at me with a gently expression of respect and love. He knew I was right. He just needed to be reminded. He hugged and kissed me softly and replied, "I know everything is going to be ok. Thank you."
That evening we made a point to watch a comedy. We spent time together alone, just laughing and soaking up the love between us. I reminded him that money or no money, he would always have me and I would always be proud of him.
The very next day, he got a call from a man that said he got Sean's number and resume from a guy that had interviewed Sean the week prior for a different company (remember 'Bob'). He said he was friends with 'Bob' and was told that Sean has a hell of a drive and thinks he would be good for his company. He asked Sean when he could come in for an interview, to which Sean answered, "Right now?" The man agreed, and Sean was on his way.
Sean learned that the company was a contractor for Dow, and STARTING pay for journeyman electricians was the the same amount he topped out as a union journeyman. Looking great so far. Then the boss man told Sean that he was impressed that he had two years instrumentation experience. He said he doesn't find many young guys that are journeyman that can do instrumentation work. So he asked Sean if he would want to take an instrumentation test, that if passed, will give Sean his certification to be an Instrumentation Technician and allow him to continue training even further. He also added that if Sean passed the test, they will immediately give him a $2 per hour raise and the new job title.
Sean accepted and came home to immediately start studying for the test. He didn't pass it the first time, but since he only missed it by a couple of points, they allowed him to retake the test the following week. The second time around he beyond passed it.
Then we had to play catch up, and we were very optimistic. We had double the bills in February... those for the current month and those that were deferred from January. By no coincidence, they started Sean working a 4 10's schedule, but offered plenty of overtime, so his overtime was worked on Fridays and he still had the weekend completely open to spend doing fun family stuff with us. With the raise and all the overtime, Sean made almost twice the amount of money at his new job than he did at his union job just a month prior. Not only were we able to catch up rather easily, but we had more than enough money. We did more fun things and started paying more down on our debt. It was perfect.
He worked at that company up until last Monday, when he started working for another contractor company at a different Dow plant. It was almost 10 months. That isn't that long to be with a company, but Sean went ahead and sent out a few resumes and applied for instrumentation positions at some other companies that paid higher salaries. He thought if he got a bite, awesome, if not, that's ok because he loves his job. Well, a company did call him and offered him an Instrumentation Technician job starting at $4 per hour more than his current Dow job. They didn't have many of the perks that his current job had... perks that really made going to work every day a real treat. We discussed it and Sean couldn't make up his mind initially. He liked his job so much but it was hard to pass up a $4 per hour raise working the same hours and having to drive the same distance. I expressed to Sean that I stood behind him whatever he decided, and that if he really loved his job then money isn't worth giving that up. Do you know how many people hate their job? I just want him to be happy with what he has to do every day.
When it came down to it, he just couldn't pass up the money. He said the lack of perks really isn't that big of deal, and he would just have to learn to not be so spoiled. He was focused more on our goal of being financially free, and a larger salary allows us to achieve that goal faster. I fully supported his choice.
Now here is the kicker... Sean found out just today from an inside source that all but six men got laid off at the company he just left a little over a week ago, and the six that remain got their hours cut to only 32 hours a week. Sean, nor any of his coworker buddies ever knew it was coming, but Sean was the only one who was saved from it, just in the nick of time.
On top of the continual advancement in Sean's career for the last couple of years, I have actually been bringing in an income for the last year by selling my paintings, not to mention my grandma, bless her heart, insists on paying me a decent amount each month to come one day a week and clean her house for her, which is never that messy. Increase of income? I would say so!
I DO NOT BELIEVE IN CHANCE. My life proves that there is no 50/50 shot that something will happen. What has happened every step of the way has been exactly what we willed to happen by our own mindset and choices. We wrote down our goals and did not back down. When people told us, "Yeah right, what are the odds of that?" we said, "Pretty good." We visualized what we wanted . We meditated on it in happiness. We BELIEVED it was already ours. We were diligent in pursuing it. We felt deep gratitude for it. And it manifested.
The Law of Attraction is at work in each person's life whether they acknowledge it or not. And the Law puts all the responsibility on YOU. If you want your life to be a certain way, YOU have to think the right way, feel the right way, and act the right way. You can't just sit and hope that everything works to your advantage. You can't just be on autopilot, thinking that your thoughts and emotions can't be helped, and the solutions are going to come from some outside source that is separate from you, that you hope is looking out for you. The source of all the answers and blessings will only act in your life as far as you allow, therefore you have to take responsibility for your life. You have to think and feel with intention. You have to WILL the blessings to happen. You have to know that you know that you KNOW that the life you desire belongs to you already. You have to get rid of what the world deems "realistic" and think outside the box. Make big plans. Dream big dreams. And realize it is all doable. It is all attainable.Tough times don't have to get you down. Not if you realize you need them to reach your goal. NOTHING is too great for you to achieve. NOTHING is too great for you to overcome. NOTHING is too great for you to master. Nothing.
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