No one should ever do something they dislike, especially if it does more harm than good. And especially if it changes you as a person for the worse.

Just a few months ago, I attended my company’s quarterly forum, where company details were shared, such as the goals, set backs, and direction of where it’s headed. They also included a speaker that talked about enabling and engaging your employees, as the forum also extensively covered a portion of the employee survey results.

My ears perked up when I heard this because for 16 months, I was the Walgreens Diversity Strategy Specialist. I spent a large majority of my time (around 80% of all my work efforts) to the (... read more)

You were meant to do great things in this world. Go out there and start doing it. If you never take the risk and jump, you’ll never know what it means to fully live. To fully experience a life worth living for.

Last month, I, along with everyone else, came into the office to find a company voicemail from the President and CEO announcing that just the previous day, the decision to lay off 28 folks was made. And not only was it made, it was executed immediately. In that, those 28 employees were given the pink slip and the following boot the exact same day.

No warning. No announcement. No nothing.

Just a few boxes to pack their (... read more)

As I’m launching my own minimalist business, I’ve been reading an exorbitant amount of books, absorbing as much useful information as possible, and then putting said information into practice.

My goal for my own minimalist business is to create lasting art through my writing and artwork that will allow me to live sustainably and minimally. Castles in the Air is my platform that will allow me to do that.

As a minimalist, my expenses are kept at a very low level. Right now, my overhead is in the ballpark figure of $850/month, which includes rent in Chicago, transportation, food, and classes (karate and art classes). Therefore, I don’t need to be making $60K a year to keep up with an (... read more)

You’ve only got one life to live. Make it a life worth living, not just merely an existence.

Alright folks. Many of us know all too well that we probably don’t love our jobs. In fact, nearly 80% of all working people despise their jobs. We may apathetically just bear it long enough to pay the bills, keep our parents and relatives satisfied that we’re doing something “normal” and have a regular job, and frankly, because we may not have a clue what else to do.

If this sounds like you, welcome to the masses. It is a sad, but true fact that most people dislike or even hate their jobs. But they continually put themselves through this tyranny because (... read more)

These days, companies at their offices are exploring and launching various employee health and wellness programs, from corporate-sponsored races, softball and volleyball leagues, to weight-loss contests and participation in national programs such as Shape Up the Nation. It is obvious that for most people, they do want to be healthy, do want to change their bodies for the better, do want to lose weight and tone up.

But when a coworker’s birthday rolls around, someone has a work anniversary celebration, someone’s getting engaged, married, or starting a family, there inevitably are the cursory cupcakes, cake, cookies, ice cream, muffins, donuts, candy, and other oh-so-bad-for-you treats. Curse them all!!

How does one stay fit and healthy when you’re stuck in an (... read more)