The slogan of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) is “Driving Is a Privilege Not a Right.” While that may be true, there are several benefits to the privilege of obtaining your driver’s license that are worth the effort.
First, a New Jersey Driver’s license & Motor Vehicle ID serves as an official document for personal identification. For those who do not have an officially recognized ID documents, this can be helpful. You can get the basic Motor Vehicle Identification independently from the driver’s license. This is especially helpful when traveling.
Photo by: Hosni Talaat
Next, and most obvious, with the New Jersey Driver’s license, you are eligible to operate a registered and insured vehicle on New Jersey roadways and other governing states. Whereas that’s not the case with a basic Motor Vehicle Identification.
Additional benefits include being able to add a Motorcycle License endorsement to the existing driver’s license should you decide to get one. Your license also serves as an acceptable form of ID when entering state or federal facilities.
Not having a license or official motor vehicle ID can also play a role in employment opportunities. Sometimes, even if the job is not for a driving position, potential employers will sometimes ask for a copy of your driver’s license to verify legal citizenship or residency.
Finally, and often overlooked, it’s a “Right of Passages” for many people. There are people that look at this achievement as a “Milestone” in their life. It’s a proud feeling of success and provides a sense of freedom that one can now drive a vehicle to get where they need to go.
If you don’t currently have a driver’s license, we hope these points offer some helpful insights that will inspire you to set and achieve that goal. The Greater Paterson OIC has a Strive to Drive program that can offer some help. To find out more, email your questions to gjames@gpoic.org.
Earning more money can be as simple as assessing ALL of your skill sets. Most of don’t list all skills like typing, clerical, our ability to exhibit great customer service, we leave out things we think are irrelevant. However, it when you assess your skill set that you can begin to compare your skills to what is in demand. Then you can develop a plan to acquire the new skills you want. There are many way to acquire new skills without having to pay thousands of dollars. Let me know your thoughts about this topic I am interested in hearing your opinion?
“The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing”. Thomas Aquinas
One of the biggest misconceptions around learning the principles of entrepreneurship is that it is only for those considering starting and running a new or existing business. This line of thinking is shortsighted because, in truth, we are all in business for ourselves. We all engage in the principles
of entrepreneurship we just may not realize it. If we look a little closer, we will see the similarities.
We are all in the business of managing our personal lives. We are a business of one. Like any business, we have expenses: rent or mortgage, food, transportation, utilities, insurance, etc. Just like any business, we need to generate enough income to meet expenses. This is Business 101. Generate enough income to meet expenses and hopefully have something left over. Businesses call this “profit”, and personally we call it “disposable income.” They have different names, but they both mean the same thing.
Businesses provide products and/or services to generate income. Entrepreneurs provide a product or service that meets the wants and needs of their customers. They must market their services to attract customers because they there is plenty of competition seeking to gain the same customer.
As a business of one, we need to redefine our search for employment. A job is an exchange of a service provided for a fee; we just call it paycheck. The service could be physical labor, providing customer service or administrative help. The type of job is not the point. We do the job, whatever it is, to generate income to meet expenses. While you may not call it that, but that is a business of one.
An employer from this perspective is a customer that pays a fee for the services provided. As a business of one, an open position is simply a potential customer with a need. Sending your resume and applying for the position is marketing your services to say you can meet the need of the potential customer. Just as we do not spend our money on products and services to meet the needs of the seller, employers do not hire individuals because of the needs of the individuals. They do not hire us because we need a job. Employers hire individuals that can meet the needs of the employer.
Business marketing is about distinguishing themselves from the competition in order to gain new or keep existing customers is what. Applying for and interviewing for a position is essentially the same thing. The resume is the marketing tool of the business of one.
Understanding this analogy hopefully helps develop a fresh way of thinking. The number-one reason for learning the principles of entrepreneurship is to develop the entrepreneurial mindset. A new way of seeing yourself in the world of work.
Learning the principles of entrepreneurship is bigger than starting and running a business. It is also about developing a way of thinking that empowers our lives, whether we are starting a formal business or seeking gainful employment. Understanding and implementing these principles in our personal lives is one of the most empowering moves we can make. The same skills and way of thinking required to be a successful entrepreneur are the same ones required for living an empowered life.
I encourage you to take the steps for success in the business of life. Find whatever method works best for you but learn the fundamental principles of entrepreneurship and your way of thinking about the business of life will never be same. We integrate developing the entrepreneurial mindset into all our skills training courses, so there is a good place to start.
If you need help, we are there to help you. Contact the Greater Paterson OIC: hnelson@gpoic.org or visit: www.gpoic.org.
Want to develop the entrepreneurial mindset? Want to prepare yourself for the new world of work? We can help.
Most of the people I know had a great sense of relief and renewed hope when 2020 ended. I am confident that I am not alone in saying it was one of the most challenging years of my life.
Of course, the elephant in the room was the COVID-19 pandemic, but there were other issues that made the year so challenging. Racial and social injustice, excessive force by police against unarmed citizens, economic downturns, and warring political ideologies brought to the surface the division that is present in the country.
The divisiveness that exists in America was on clear display in 2020 and increasingly exploited to a large extent by people in positions of leadership.
I firmly believe one of the primary contributors to the divisiveness that remains a part of American culture is a lack of critical thinking skills. The lack of critical thinking skills leads to being moved by our emotions instead of the facts, and to being manipulated to take actions we might not otherwise take.
Without critical thinking skills, we accept and act on beliefs that have no basis in fact, no evidence or proof, and sometimes, we can become so stubborn that we reach a point where we vehemently reject facts or evidence when presented.
The ability to gather, compare, examine sources, and test information before deciding on courses of action is an essential skill to develop.
Critical thinking skills are also essential in the workforce. This topic is important for educators and my colleagues in workforce development. In terms of the workforce, a recent report “Keys to the Future: Align Workforce Readiness Skills to Ensure Student Success” from the International Data Corporation (IDC) notes:
“The most required skills across all occupations include oral and written communication skills, detail orientation, marketing skills, integrity, and customer-service orientation.”
Critical thinking is an important part of all the skills mentioned.
In further discussing the sets of skills needed in the workforce, the report says:
“This set is more important than any specific technology skill, deep science or math, or even great business skills. This set represents skills that are both important and widely required across positions. And the vast majority of them are ‘soft’ skills that are applicable across a wide variety of occupations. Many of these skills aren’t foreign to most contemporary curricula. In fact, critical and creative thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and detail orientation are relevant across all knowledge and domains.” (underlines mine)
Restating an important point in the report; critical and creative thinking are relevant across all knowledge and domains. This includes both our personal and professional lives.
As a workforce development professional, I have committed to making sure we are including critical thinking skills in all our training programs. Not to tell people what to think, but how to think and make informed decisions. Both personally and professionally.
There will always be different points of view and disagreements on the issues and how to go about changing things; but we owe it to ourselves to seek facts, to find credible evidence for the positions we take, and remain open to changing if additional information becomes available. That is the essence of critical thinking.
Not only is this relevant in the workforce, but it will improve communication and relationships in our personal lives, our communities, and the country.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Greater Paterson OIC, its Board of Directors, or any other group or individual affiliated.
The Post: Developing One of Our Most Important Skills appeared first on transformationtraining.net
Countless books and articles have been written on the subject of success. Many of them entice readers by teasing that they have the “Secrets of Success”. However, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us would confess that we know what it takes to succeed in virtually any endeavor. There is no “secret” to success. While success does mean different things to different people, what it takes to achieve success is not a secret.
In this article, the working definition of success will be achieving the economic, family, health, relationships, and community goals you set for yourself.
In my work I often encounter people who are capable of achieving far more than they have and are living at levels below what is truly possible for them.
So, using our working definition, the question becomes: if we know what it takes to achieve success in life, why do some fail to achieve it? Generally, there are two essential things I have observed regarding this question.
First, to succeed at anything, you have to know what it is you want. The “just hanging in there: “going with the flow”; “taking it one day at a time” mentality is not a formula for achieving success. Time must be taken for reflection and getting to know who you are. It means becoming clear on what you like or dislike, determining the person you want you be, and defining in your own terms what you want out of life in each of the aforementioned categories. If you are content with where you are in life, stop reading. I am happy for you. But if not, this is something that needs to be done.
Second, and this is key. You must believe with all your heart, mind, and soul that success is possible for you. Without the belief that success is possible, everything else falls apart and you will never get beyond the dream state. The actions that we take, or do not take, stem from what we believe about ourselves and our possibilities.
There are all sorts of influences that will impact the development of your belief system; some good, some not so good. Odds are, if we are not where we want to be in life, and are not taking steps to change our conditions, the not so good ones are probably having the greater impact. It means we have accepted the belief that there is little we can do to change our current condition. This is referred to as a fixed mindset; accepting that “it is what it is – so let’s make the best of it.”
Here is a tip on how to determine if something is possible for you or not: You cannot consistently, with any serious heartfelt emotion, entertain the thought of something that is not possible for you. Sure, a thought can pop into our minds on what life would be like if, but it passes just as quickly as it comes, and there is no intense emotion connected to it. We know we are only dreaming.
On the other hand, anything that you consistently think about is possible. If the thoughts persist, if they keep coming back, and you feel something in your soul, if that thing will not leave you alone, it means it is possible for you to achieve. Only the false belief that you cannot make it happen is what holds you back. The challenge becomes finding a way to break through those false beliefs and begin the process of setting out to achieve your goals and achieving success in your own terms.
Breaking through limiting beliefs takes mental effort, commitment, and perseverance, but it can be done. Start by looking back over the course of your life and making note of any, and everything you have ever accomplished, no matter how big, or how small. We have all accomplished something, and if we take the time to do an inventory of those things, we will find that despite our limiting beliefs we have achieved more than we give ourselves credit for.
Next, start setting small daily goals for yourself. Decide on one thing, each day you intend to accomplish, just one thing. What category that one thing falls under is not important. Just determine what that one thing is each day.
Accomplishing 1 thing a day becomes 7 things a week, 30 things a month, 360 things a year, and ultimately the development of a new belief system built on past successes.
There is no secret to success. There are only those who are determined to succeed in spite of any odds, and those who are not. The choice is ours. It is a decision we all must make. Whichever way you choose, I wish you much success.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Greater Paterson OIC, its Board of Directors, or any other group or individual affiliated.
The Post: The “Secret” of Success appeared first on transformationtraining.net
OIC of Greater Paterson is a non-profit community- based organization that has been meeting the needs of the economically disadvantaged individuals throughout the community.
