Have you ever wondered why it seems easier to hold on to pain and misery than to let go or move on? Think about the seasons in your life when a love interest has chosen to walk away. You know the relationship has hit a dead-end or that, sometimes; it has become toxic, but a part of you still wants to hold on. The sting of their rejection seems unbearable.
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Maybe a business partner or a close friend betrayed you and stole an idea or cost you an excellent business opportunity. Years later, you are running your own business or have a superb job, and yet the pain of their betrayal seems to overshadow that. Instead of leaving your comfort zone and letting go of the pain of our past, you cling to it. Instead of freeing ourselves from what no longer benefits us, we hold on to it.

When you embrace change, you embrace growth. Knowing how to leave your comfort zone behind will help you uncover hidden talents and skills within yourself. When you embark on a journey in unchartered terrain, it forces you to learn to survive. You learn to adapt. Growth and evolution become close companions. You discover things about yourself that you would never have known if you did not have the courage to step out of your comfort zone.

You grow when you let go. In an unfamiliar environment, you unlearn certain habits and adopt new ones. You let go of things you believe to be true and become more open to new ideals. 
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Leaving your comfort zone frees you from a place of limitation. It offers options and opportunities that open up our narrow view of life and how it works. Do not hold on for comfort. Let go for growth.

We hold on to situations that harm us and affect our overall wellbeing because somehow; we find comfort in our pain. It is easy for us to cling to the terrible experiences we had in our past because we find our identity in them. For some, their life story is not complete without the chapter of how someone walked away or how someone they loved died. Some people do not know who they are outside of painful events from their past or hurtful situations in their present.  

The concept of making new friends and meeting new people becomes more daunting as we grow older. Even though we have outgrown certain friendships from our childhood, we still hold on to them because they are familiar. We hang on to people who do not contribute to our growth because we are afraid that we will be alone. We justify their unacceptable behavior towards us because we need a reason to keep them in our circle, even if they no longer fit in it.

When opportunities present themselves for our growth, we turn them down in favor of what is comfortable. You shelve that application or that interview for a job that has the potential to stretch and challenge you so you become a formidable force in the corporate world. The opportunity to start something we are passionate about slides through our hands because we are afraid to make the move to pursue it. We dislike our job or the working conditions or our earnings, but we comfort ourselves because at least we have a job. So we drag ourselves out of bed every morning and make our way to work, all the while knowing that we have the potential to do better. Our comfort in the familiar does not release us to go out there and be great.

Leaving your comfort zone behind  is not failing. Many people hold on to people who no longer align to their vision. We cling to situations parallel to our goals and dreams.

When you have given something your best shot and it still cannot yield good things, then you are better off without it. Do not let the fear of what society thinks or what people may say keep you in situations that bring more harm than good. You are not a failure for walking out on unhealthy relationships. Knowing how to quit your job is not an indicator of some inadequacy on your part.

You cannot receive anything new unless you loosen your grip on the old that no longer serves you. There are many exciting opportunities on the other side of leaving your comfort zone.

Think about how wonderful it is to meet new people and make new connections. You can do that by leaving your comfort zone. Join a gym. Try out that new café. Travel more and learn new cultures. Unlock yourself from the prison of past connections that are hindering your growth. Apply for that new job. Start your own business. Attend a life-transforming seminar. Give yourself a chance to do the unfamiliar. Change is an agent of growth. It may seem scary to let go, but it allows you to explore who you are and what you are capable of. You will learn new things about yourself if you come out of your cocoon and spread your wings.
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Do not tie yourself to people or environments that drain you. Set yourself free by letting them go. 

When you embrace change, you embrace growth. ​Leaving your comfort zone will help you uncover hidden talents and skills within yourself. When you embark on a journey in unchartered terrain, it forces you to learn to survive. You learn to adapt. Growth and evolution become close companions. You discover things about yourself that you would never have known if you did not have the courage to step out of your comfort zone.
​
You grow when you let go. In an unfamiliar environment, you unlearn certain habits and adopt new ones. You let go of things you believe to be true and become more open to new ideals. 
Stepping out of your comfort removes you from a place of limitation. It offers options and opens up our narrow view of life and how it works. Do not hold on for comfort. Let go for growth.

​Having an account is as easy as downloading the app and since it’s been around a while, there are plenty of tutorials on how to maximize your account. The learning curve for making videos is fairly easy and the potential to generate revenue is easier and cheaper than other platforms that use ads like Facebook or Instagram.

TikTok is a video sharing social networking service that has been available in the United States since 2016. It uses short-form videos anywhere from fifteen seconds to one minute long in a wide variety of categories including, but not limited to, dance, comedy, and education. The videos tend to be a hybrid between entertainment and infotainment depending on what you’re looking for.
 
TikTok is available world-wide and currently there are 40 languages you can tap into for the service. While TikTok is not the only platform designed to share short videos, there is something about the app that is setting itself apart from others. Here are some fun facts about TikTok and the people who use it-

• Fun Fact: 50% of users are under the age of 34
• Fun Fact: Content ranges on the scale from raw, real, funny, to shocking
• Fun Fact: The average TikTok user is on 52 minutes per day
• Fun Fact: 60% of users are female
• Fun Fact: 26% of users are 18-24
• Fun Fact: Millennials and Boomers are adding the TikTok app at an alarming rate

Tiktok is much more than fifteen seconds of dance moves. In many ways, TikTok is taking the lead in producing influencers. TikTok “influencers” seem to go viral with alarming speed and often times see a surge in their followers over night from a single video.
 
The app is ever evolving, and new categories are beginning and growing all the time including alternative lifestyle categories, DIY and upcycling, business, and behind-the-scenes looks at industries typically off-limits to insider information.

The stats suggest most of the users are between 18-35 but those numbers are changing every day as every age group enjoys the benefits of TikTok. Though it is certainly entertaining, it is also a smart business tool. In the past year TikTok has generated millions of dollars in revenue for its users in a wide variety of ways. From being an influencer to linking to goods and services, the potential to earn via TikTok is pretty amazing since there is no cost associated with the platform.   

In the end, there’s no drawback to TikTok. TikTok is a relatively new social networking platform that may be a smart business move to get noticed and make money

​You may not have been lucky enough to choose the right career from the beginning. You might wonder if there’s still time. Yes, there’s still time, but it’s important to make an effective plan for a 2021 Career Change. It’s necessary to be thoughtful, but you must also be a person of action.

MAKE A LIST OF YOUR STRENGTHS AND SKILLS.

• Unless you have a lot of money in the bank or a spouse with a great job, it’s important that your career change be successful. Now isn’t the time in your life to experiment on something with little chance of success. Your golden years are rapidly approaching.
• Make a complete list of what you’re good at and what you’re an expert at.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY?

• The path to success consists of combining what you enjoy with your skills and expertise.

 
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LEARN?

• Any career change will require new knowledge. Have you considered the costs associated with a career change? Where can you get the training you need? Do you need to go back to school? Take an online course? Take a part-time job in the field? Put in time as an intern?

 
WHOM DO YOU KNOW THAT CAN HELP?

• You may have a friend, family member, or former employer willing to give you a chance in the career you desire. Assuming you’re at least 40, you’ve gotten to know a lot of people over the years. This is one of the advantages you have over the 20-something crowd. Leverage your resources.

 
CONSIDER BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR.

• This may be the only field that actually doesn’t care at all about your age. In the past, entrepreneurship required a brick and mortar store or office. That’s no longer the case. It’s easy to set up a business online at a minimal cost. Entrepreneurship is blind to your age.

 
ENSURE THAT YOUR FINANCIAL HOUSE IS IN ORDER.

• It can take a while to get back to your original income. Do you need to downsize your lifestyle? Do you have sufficient savings to make the leap to a new career?

​You can change careers after 40. However, the level of risk increases with your age. Ensure that you are able to handle the risks. There’s still time to enjoy a career that you love!

This is a poem by Bryce Angell; he is a cowboy poet. Angell was raised on a farm/ranch in the St. Anthony, Idaho area with approximately 75 head of horses. Horses remain an important part of Angell's life. Angell shares his poetry with Cache Valley Daily every Friday.

I am posting Bryce Angell's poem in this blog.

Source: https://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/archive/2019/05/24/cowboy-poetry-appreciate-your-job/#.Xy8aYShKjIW

​My father always told me

“Being lazy is a crime. 
So, when you’re out there on the job show up and be on time.”
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His lecture was so familiar that I’d memorized each word. 
And listened so intently for advice I hadn’t heard.

He said: “The Great Depression left its mark as you can tell. 
Back then a job was ‘bout as scarce as snowball fights in hell.

And if you found a job, you’d be the lucky one for sure. 
Others weren’t as blessed, and they were hungry, tired and poor.

But some would rather go without, than being on the dole. 
Welfare was a nasty word.  Yet, hunger took its toll.

So, when they saw their little ones with nothing left to eat,
they’d humbly ask assistance, head down looking at their feet.

The desperate men would ask if there was work that they could do
to pay for any food or clothes, or bill that might be due.”

And then my father said,:

“You young ones don’t know how to work. 
Your parents hand you everything which drives me plumb berserk.

Next time you’re on the job and feeling like you’ve got it tough. 
Just take this little test and, yes, for you it might be rough.

Skip a meal and visualize there ain’t no food for free. 
Your job’s what keeps you eating.  Then try skipping two or three.

An empty belly makes a man appreciate a meal. 
Remember while you’re working how your stomach made you feel.

Your job is what you make of it.  So, try to make it last. 
You’re better off than all those men who grew up in the past.

And when you’re out there on the job.  Show up and be on time.  
Demonstrate some interest if you plan to make a dime."

BRYCE ANGELL

Do you go online and search for Jobs for retirees near me? If you’re a retiree looking for another job to help shore up your bank accounts or buy something extra, or just to be around people, these options might work for you. Remember that you can change your entire direction if you want to, or you can leverage what you learned working and become a Consultant. These twelve great jobs for retirees will make you want to get started now and you can easily start near you.

1. Photographer – You can become a Photographer in a few ways. Many companies that need someone to take school pictures offer equipment and training for people. But you can learn to become an adequate photographer on your own today by taking a class through LinkedIn Learning, Udemy.com, or even locally. 

2. Temp Event Staff – In your local area, there are probably events that need people to handle a lot of set-up, teardown, and organization such as parking. You can sign up for these types of jobs through various temp agencies in your town or go directly to the venue that puts on the events to ask.

3. Substitute Teaching – Even if you have never taught or have a degree, in some locations you can become a substitute teacher. You must seek proper training and you will find that your new skills are always in high demand. A good sub can work full-time hours in a large district. 

4. Child Care Provider – Another way to be around kids and make some money in a job for retirees is to work at a daycare center or start your own daycare in your home. If you work at a center, you’re likely to make minimum wage, but you can often arrange to work only a couple days a week in the room you want to work in, such as the infant room.

5. Freelancer – Another way to work is to become a freelancer. You can work online as a virtual assistant, content writer, graphic designer, and other positions as a freelance contractor for a variety of business types.

6. Drivers and Delivery Drivers – Rideshares and personalized delivery are very popular right now. They give you an excellent opportunity to make money in your retirement, working only on the days you want to work. Sign up with Instacart.com, Uber.com, Lyft.com, and others to find out more.

7. Life Coach / Consultant – There is a massive opportunity for you to use the experience you already have to help others. You can become a business consultant if you have that experience or you can become a life coach assisting others in succeeding at something you did. 

8. Pet Sitter and House Sitter – Do you love pets and you want to choose your own hours? You can start this as a side business if you want flexibility. You can also find plenty of jobs run by others who need help and make about $18 to $20 an hour.

9. Author / Writer / Blogger – If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a writer, there is more opportunity than ever today. You can write your book and publish it on Amazon. Their Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is free. You can publish straight to Kindle, and with just a little bit more work Amazon will also publish your books in print. You can also write for the internet as a blogger or for clients who need website content.

10. ESL Teacher – Companies like VIPKid.com allow those with teaching experience of any kind to sign up and teach English to children all over the world.  You do need a college degree.

11. Real Estate Sales / Property Management – There are many opportunities in real estate, from sales to property management. You can even manage other people’s rentals; it’s up to you what you want to do.

12. Insurance Sales – It’s relatively easy to get a license to sell life insurance and liability insurance. Plus, it pays residuals. Many retirees like getting involved in this second career, which is very helpful for building a better portfolio.

These great jobs for retirees are opportunities that you may not have considered. Before you run out and get a job, consider the lifestyle you want to live first. It’ll help you make a good decision about the job.

Zoom is an easy-to-use cloud-based chatting tool and it is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android. Its great features including desktop and mobile support, multi-sharing, free video replays, auto-recording meetings, and so much more are the reasons for its popularity. 

Let’s dive into how you can take advantage of the flexibility and convenience it brings.

Sign up for Zoom by visiting their website or downloading their app. Enter your preferred email address, allow important resources such as how-to-guides to be sent to your email account, enter your credentials, activate your Zoom account by clicking on the confirmation email sent to your inbox. Remember to use strong passwords to secure your meetings and keep scammers out.
 
Download and install the app on your desktop. Launch the app, enter the required information such as your email address and password. When logged in, head over to the top-right corner and manage your profile. Go to ‘Settings’ to change defaults and activate your preferences. Such as automatically copying the URL once the meeting starts, stopping your video or audio when the display is off, etc.

​You can create a test meeting before inviting participants if you like to get comfortable with how the platform works. Go to ‘Start Meeting’ and use speakers to join audio. Go full screen and test the speaker or microphone.

Schedule meetings and choose how you want to manage them by heading over to the ‘Meetings’ tab. Select ‘Schedule a new meeting’, enter the name, description, as well as time and date. Invite people by selecting the ‘invite’ button, copying the URL, and sharing it. Send the link via email or text. The invitees only need the link as well as the time and date or password where applicable to join. They simply launch the app, enter their Zoom ID, and click on ‘Join’.
 
Set up daily or weekly meetings by using the ‘Recurring’ option under the ‘Meetings tab’. This helps you to lock in settings and ensure you don’t constantly send out invites to participants.

After the sign-up process, install important recommended add-ons before proceeding. Schedule or start a meeting by signing in to the web portal. Click ‘Host a meeting’ to set one up and then ‘Join from your browser.’ Add participants by going to ‘Participants’ and ‘Invites’. Invite people by copying and sending your URL via email.
 
Your attendees will join meetings by following the link or pasting it onto their browser.
 
Keep them engaged by enabling the Q&As section, chat-texting, and screen sharing.

It is important to note that you won’t have access to all Zoom features with this option.

​Download the app from the Play Store or the App Store. Install and launch it. Sign up for an account or log in to your existing account following the prompts.
 
Start new meetings by clicking on ‘New Meeting’ and then ‘Start new meeting’. Go to ‘Participants’ then ‘Invite’. The mobile version also allows you to adjust your settings, similar to the desktop one. Add participants by copying, pasting, and sending them the URL via email, messaging, or other available options.
 
They will attend meetings or webinars by following the same method outlined under the desktop version.

Go to ‘Meet & Chat’, click on ‘Schedule’, fill in the name as well as the time and date. After hitting ‘Done’, enter participant names and set notifications. That’s it, you’re done setting up a meeting.
 
To respond to an invite, follow the URL link or answer the incoming call. Tap ‘Join’, enter your meeting ID, and participate.

Knowing the common mistakes that make conferences boring, unproductive, and tiring will help you to avoid them.
 
So, here’s what you need to avoid:
 

• Failing to get attendees to connect with you.
• Multi-tasking or trying to respond to text or emails while presenting.
• Failing to keep participants engaged.
• Hosting meetings without proper planning.
• Not recording your meetings especially when there are important things to remember.

​Get the most out of your Zoom experience by knowing the best tricks to use the platform and implement them at your next meeting.

Look professional or decent by positioning your webcam right. Don’t look down at the camera. Keep it at the eye or face level and look directly at the webcam.

Check if everything is working as expected before starting. Ensure you conduct your webinars in a quiet environment. Get rid of background noises by investing in the right tools that will give your presentations and presence that professional touch. Mute and unmute participants to get rid of unwanted noise by going to ‘Manage participants’ and ‘Mute’ or ‘Mute all’. Don’t forget to mute your microphone and unmute only when speaking.

​Your background says a lot about you. So, use one that presents you or your business well. Zoom allows you to change or customize your background. Go to ‘Settings’ and then ‘Virtual Background’. From there, upload your preferred image or video or use default ones. If you want to maintain it as it is, make sure everything behind you is clean and tidy. Or simply set your desk in front of a plain wall and have it as your background.

​This helps you to effectively manage and host productive meetings. Sharing information, commenting, bouncing ideas off each other, and solving problems becomes easier because you will be running manageable groups. You can also provide one-on-one support to participants if you are an instructor. Create breakout rooms by going to ‘Account Management’ and then to ‘Account Settings’. Go to the ‘Meeting’, choose ‘Breakout room’ and enable it.

​Protect against Zoombomb and scammers. They can disrupt your meetings and post malicious content if you are not careful. So, use the best security standards to keep that from happening. For example, don’t publicly share your meeting links, use waiting rooms or the ‘lock’ feature to gain complete control over who participates, remove disruptive attendees by using the ‘Remove’ option, and so forth.

​Be sure to review Zoom's Best Practices. Go to their website. Navigate to ‘Resources’ and ‘Privacy and Security’. Here you will get in-depth information on how to protect and conduct as well as manage secure meetings.

Effortlessly navigate through the platform by mastering the essential keyboard shortcuts. Whether you are on a Mac or using Windows.

• Use Alt+I on a PC to access the invite window and share the link.
• Use Cmd+I on a macOS to access the invite window and share the link..
• Take a screenshot on Windows by using Alt+Shift+T.
• ​Take a screenshot on a macOS by using Cmd+T.

The list is endless. Access the hotkeys by going to ‘Settings’ and then ‘Keyboard Shortcuts.’

Zoom's platform lets you set up and conduct job interviews and productive virtual meetings. Its user-friendly interface lets you set up and manage everything easily without any tech skills. Once you open an account, you can invite people to your meetings and have them join by simply clicking on the shared link. No IT required. 

Whether it’s a job interview, business meeting, or a family meeting, connection issues may occur. Some of the most common issues you may run into are: 
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Failing to see or hear other participants, seeing blurry images, lagging videos, crashing meetings, background noises, and getting your meetings hijacked, just to name a few. 

Learning Zoom meeting etiquette is also important. All this can be frustrating when you are trying to join a meeting. Nonetheless, running into technical issues is quite common when using video conferencing software. So, you are bound to run into problems on Zoom as well. But luckily, you can fix most of the issues on your own. There are easy practical solutions you can apply to solve Zoom meet​ problems.

​Ensure security by using the best standards such as having participants enter a password before joining meetings or locking your meetings to ensure no one joins in without your approval and so on.

If your webcam isn’t working, go to ‘Settings’ then ‘Video’, and choose the device you want to use. If this doesn’t solve your issue, close all programs that are using the camera so Zoom can access it. Ensure the application has permission to access the camera. Close the app and relaunch it. Make sure the ‘Turn off my video’ box is unchecked and log in. That should fix your problem.
 
If you get blurry images after fixing the camera issue, clean the lens, refocus your camera, or use an auto-refocusing webcam.

If you can’t hear other participants, check your speakers and ensure they are turned on. Leave the ‘Do not connect to audio’ box unchecked when signing in. If other participants can’t hear you, check to see if your microphone is muted and unmute it. Go to ‘Settings’ then ‘Audio’ and select your device. That will solve your issue.

Fix background noises by having all participants except the current speaker mute their mics during meetings. Another option is to go to ‘Participants’ then ‘Mute all’ or ‘Mute Participants on Entry’. However, only the host can do this. Use the same methods to fix echoing audio issues. ​