Efforts in Discovery - One Less Dog In The Hunt

December 12, 2019April 11, 2020

LOYALTY

Loyalty. It’s a deep word, or at least it can stir deep feelings. It often inspires images of someone you can count upon, or perhaps someone who counts upon you.

How about Loyalty in the workplace?

Most of us think of loyalty as a good quality. We often want to be considered loyal. We want our co-workers to feel we are loyal. We want our supervisors and our company to feel we are loyal. Loyalty is important to good relationships both in life and in work, but it isn’t always a two-way street. And that can sometimes, though not always, lead to blind loyalty.

What’s blind loyalty?

It’s being loyal to someone or something that can’t or won’t return it. It is being loyal even when loyalty is not deserved. It is being loyal even when the target of loyalty fails to earn the honor. Perhaps your committed loyalty is to a person or entity who has become involved in something from which you should have divorced yourself. Possibly we are being loyal to a company which has forgotten how to care for its employees or has become involved in unethical issues. Blind loyalty can even apply to ideals, philosophies, and causes which fail to deliver on their intended purpose. Staying loyal under those conditions would be examples of blind loyalty.

September 17, 2019April 11, 2020

A niche! A niche! Scratch it.

http://clipart-library.com/clipart/820832.htm

I’ve read ~~all~~… ~~most~~… okay, some of the blogs out there that tell you how to blog. ~~They all~~ The ones I’ve read tell you to start out by finding your niche. I’ve seen several that list seven standard blog categories: How To Make Money, Personal Finance, Health and Fitness, Food, Beauty and Fashion, Lifestyle, Personal Development. Another list adds in Travel, Weddings, and Product Reviews. Of course the Google list of blog categories puts those little lists of seven to ten categories to shame.

There are so many “experts” out there that you’d be moving back and forth like a five year old waiting at the door of a single stall gas station bathroom if you were trying to follow all their directions. But the one thing they ~~all~~ say is, “You have to find your niche.” A niche must be important if that many people can come to a consensus on something in such a divided world. You’d probably have better odds of winning the Power Ball than getting that many people to agree on anything else.

August 31, 2019April 11, 2020

Early efforts…

So, a lot has happened since I began this journey. I’m still unemployed. I’ve applied to over 150 positions. Some admittedly with other corporations, but nothing as competitive as my previous employer. I’ve visited kids, went to dr. appointments, refinished furniture, worked on my workshop, mowed an incredible amount of grass (lots of moisture this year), and spent quite a bit of time researching and writing.

As I mentioned, my first response to the layoff was controlled patience. I read different internet blogs about the process and how to deal with it. I forced myself to stay calm and give it time before reacting. I tried to keep the right attitude and not become bitter. The one thing I couldn’t do was go back in the building. For some reason, the idea that I was unemployed, perhaps unsuccessful, or maybe identity-less, wouldn’t let me go back to the one place I’d called home, besides home. It’s been over a year and a half. I haven’t been back.

Childish? Possibly. Vengeful? No

April 22, 2019April 11, 2020

The conversation begins…

So how’d I get here? I began the corporate journey at the age of twenty-two. I hired on for what I thought would be a job to serve until I found something else. I was setting up a store for a growing retailer (no intention of giving free publicity to my former employer. “You gotta pay, Frank. You gotta pay” Cole Younger, The Long Riders). Promotions to hourly supervisor positions eventually transitioned to salaried management. A growing family, stock splits, and stories from managers who were retiring at the age of forty kept me connected. “If I can at least stick with it for seven years until I’m fully vested, then I can do something on my own,” I thought. Thirty-two years and nine months later, I was laid off from my career, with a retirement fund which was sorely lacking (largely due to years of tending to immediate needs rather than the future needs).

When the axe fell, I must admit I had hopes I would find some new vocation with which to support myself and my family. Thirty-three years of corporate grind, dealing with customer complaints, managing people issues, commuting, and following someone else’s direction left me wanting a different way of life. Yet, that need for stability which had kept me connected continued to pull at me. Though I’d always dreamed of going it on my own, I focused my efforts on finding another corporate position where I could use my management experience. Even while I was looking, there were these dreams of a little building where I could do my thing all day long, listen to music if I chose, dress casually, step back with a look of pride at my work, take a long lunch with my wife if I wanted, and basically be the master of my own destiny. But how would I pay the bills?

March 5, 2019February 7, 2021

In the beginning…

First of all, welcome to the first installment of One Less Dog In The Hunt.

Kind of a crazy name for a blog, huh? You’re probably thinking, “What the heck is that about ?”

Well, that’s the name of this place. To be honest (TBH as the kids say), it wasn’t my first choice. I ran through ideas like “off the wheel” or “one less rat in the race,” but those sites were either unavailable or way outta my price range. I’m a bit of a hick anyway, so I started to work on something which would fit my personality, and this is what I stumbled upon. Hopefully it will make a little more sense as we go along.