Finish This #40

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 by Nicole 11 Comments

IT’S WEEK 40 OF FINISH THIS … I can’t believe this pea-size idea I had a year ago is thriving and transforming into a legitimate blog series. Thank YOU for making it that way! If this is your first time here, welcome. If you’re a repeat participant, thanks for playing along and joining the shenanigans. Your co-hosts are LISA (COASTLINED), JEN (The Arizona Russums), BECKY (The Java Mama) and NICOLE (Three 31) and the instructions are simple: answer the prompts on your blog and add the post to the link up. Next week, we’ll do it all over again with a new set of prompts (located at the bottom of this post). Let’s get started!

CHALLENGE FOR YOU … visit at least three (3) blogs and comment on their “Finish This” post. Even if you don’t know the person, introduce yourself and leave a genuine comment. If you know a blogger who would like to participate in this link up, invite them to join us. Blogging is about building communities!

1. I can change the world by
raising a son who is kind, compassionate, generous, respectful, trustworthy, educated, and a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. I can change the world by teaching my son to pray and believing that Jesus is more than a storybook character, He is alive and our closest friend. Every day I pray for Kamden, our family and friends, and one woman in particular: Kamden’s wife. Yes, I’m praying for my future daughter-in-law! I don’t know who she is (yet!), maybe she hasn’t been born, but I keep her in my daily prayers. Possibly even more world-changing, I hope her mother, Kamden’s future mother-in-law, is praying the same prayers for him too.

2.  The best career advice I ever received was
No matter how entry-level or low on the totem pole you are, arrive to work early and dress professionally. More importantly, be nice to people. When I had a professional career in corporate marketing and business development, I was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. Mostly because my workload was so demanding, but I honestly believe I have a damn good work ethic. It was the same when I worked in education as a middle school teacher too. When I have a job to do, I do it right. I also believe relationships and open, honest dialogue are important in the workplace. I’m not talking about inappropriate relationships, obviously, or gossip hour in front of the water cooler either. When the people I work with know I’m listening and value their input, all of our jobs are easier. I don’t put a lot of effort into keeping my friends close and my enemies closer. Honestly, I’d prefer not to have enemies at all. If there are negative people in my life, I purposefully try to stay away from them! There will always be folks you work with who are difficult, but stay calm and remember what your mama taught you, “Be nice and kill’em with kindness!” While some bridges are worth burning, specifically my ties with a former company and one ‘toxic’ person in particular, I stay connected with one of my former bosses and several co-workers. In fact, Lisa, a co-host of this link up, is one of those jewels! We used to work for the same company, though in different offices, and she is one reason I kept my sanity in the high-stress environment. Now, instead of our conversations being about client databases, market research, and RFP deadlines, we talk about our real passions in life: family, friends, food, blogging, puppies, and travel. You want to know what’s even more unique about us? Lisa and I have never met in person. How crazy is that?! One of these days, though, we will.

3. I first fell in love
I feel love, on a daily basis, from Husband and my family and close friends, but I didn’t know love until Kamden was born.

Invite your blogging friends and come back next Wednesday for another round of Finish This where we’ll answer another set of prompts!

Prompt for WEEK 41– October 15
I feel like a bad-ass when
One thing that always cheers me up
The quote I live by