Author: Kendra

Why You Should Quit Your Job Right Now!!

The Aqua Cottage

Do you hate your job? I hope not, but if you do then you should find another immediately. Life is too short to not be doing what you love!

I recently quit my last 2 jobs within 3 months. That’s right! I went to lunch and never looked back! I know it’s totally unprofessional, but so were the places that I worked, so I call it even. I should add that I don’t have a degree, but I did attend college. I could not finish college because of my health. About 12 years ago, I had a great job as a human resources assistant. We worked well together as a team in our tiny office, and respected each other as human beings.

I loved that job, the benefits were awesome including tuition reimbursement. I took advantage of those benefits because I worked for a medical center and I wanted to be a nurse. Sadly after being diagnosed with a chronic illness I was unable to work for about 10 years. The past couple of years I have been healthy enough to return to work. With no degree thanks to my health, I worked in customer service which is what I had done for over 15 years. So you could say I have plenty of experience.

Now here is where things get tricky. Back in the day (like 15 years ago) there was such a thing called (OJT) or On The Job Training. Companies actually cared about the service their employees were providing to their customers. Employees felt confident in their work (because they actually knew what they were doing) and it was a more productive work environment.

 I have only been out of the workforce for about 10 years, but I realized how everything has changed (and not for the better). These new corporations don’t seem to care who they hire, or about training them. The attitude I have experienced in my last 3-4 jobs has been “Lets throw them to the wolves, and if they get it, then they can keep the job.” Kind of like when someone throws you into deep water unprepared and you either “sink or swim”.  Sink and “You’re fired!” I don’t agree with “fake it until you make it”.

Not only does this ridiculous idea of treating your employees like crap and not training them properly for the job create a highly stressed work environment, but it creates a high job turnover. Sadly some companies purposely create a hostile work environment wanting high turnover so that they don’t have to pay benefits. You are doomed if you stay!  If you are companies please understand that while profits and the all Mighty Dollar are very important, people are important too! Stressed out employees create stressed out customers. Is that the ultimate goal? What customer would ever want to return to your miserable establishment to do business? Eventually it will fail.

Another big problem is hiring one employee to do the job of three. Dumping the entire workload on one person creates burnout, which is exactly why I went to lunch and never came back. I was completely burnt out after only 2 weeks on the second job, and doing the work of 3 people. Many employees would leave early and were always calling out “sick.” That’s certainly not somewhere I would want to be to all day to earn my money.

The supervisors were useless, there was no team effort, and some even yelled at untrained employees for making simple mistakes. Um …hello? You should have taken the time to train them instead of belittling them! All they ever did was complain about how they had no help! Gee I wonder why? 

This needs to change and if you are working for one of these companies I advise you to start looking elsewhere immediately! Here are the reasons to quit your job soon!

  • They lie about training: Have you ever been told you would train for 2 weeks or a month? All of sudden you are working all alone after 2 days with no help or no clue as what you are doing? Quit!
  • Lack of respect: You walk into the office and the boss can’t even lift up his head to speak. Apparently a simple hello or good morning is too hard. The employees are yelling and swearing at each other and there is no team effort. Quit!
  • You are doing the work of 3 people:  Did you ever find yourself working a double shift covering for someone all the time? There is a reason everybody keeps calling out of work. They are tired of being overworked. Quit!
  • They don’t listen to your ideas: Let’s say you have a brilliant idea and you bring it to your bosses attention and it just gets brushed aside. Quit!
  • No room for advancement: This is huge because there are many people who have no college training and start at the bottom to work their way up. If your company doesn’t have any room to grow chances are you won’t either, and you don’t want to be stuck in a dead end job. Quit!
  • High employee turnover: You ever notice how a certain company is always hiring? Constantly advertising how they are “growing” yet people are leaving as fast as they are hiring? Well of course, it’s such a horrible place to work nobody stays. Quit!

Now, i’m not unreasonable at all. I completely understand if you have responsibilities and it may not be that easy to just quit, but my advice is don’t find yourself trapped in one of these situations. You may never be able to get out and start doing what you love. Have you ever heard stories about people who were laid off from a job, or all of a sudden find themselves unemployed and they are devastated? Only to find out later that it was the best thing that happened to them? Through lack of employment they were forced to find their passion or start their own business. They realized that some of the best failures is what created their success.

After I quit my most recent job, I took some time off and spent the weekend on the beach. I needed to get away and clear my head from that horrible work experience. It was there I met a wise, wealthy woman who owned one of the beach houses and she gave me some great advice! She was really friendly and sat down near me with her dog. As we talked about enjoying the ocean breeze, eventually she asked me what I did for a living. I told her how I had just quit my last 2 jobs and how poorly I was treated. She said “I absolutely don’t blame you for quitting.” I was completely surprised by her response. Then she said “Don’t you notice a pattern here?” You quit because you are not doing what you love!” The money doesn’t matter because you need to work for yourself, you need to follow your passion.”  

It was then that I remembered what I loved, which was writing and helping people! I have been so happy since I took her advice. I started blogging again and I have never been happier. I can’t wait until I see her again so that I can thank her. That day I made a decision, I refuse to work for anyone else again but myself. With my new found freedom, I have had time to meet some really nice people. I know I was meant to meet her.

I am sitting on the beach (my new stress free office) as I write this article, and I want you to know that I won’t ever go back to a miserable job again to earn a paycheck. I refuse to be just another replaceable body, because I am unique, and so are you! I hope I have inspired you to figure out what it is that you love to do. Go after your dreams and find a way to make money while doing so, and quit that miserable job! If you liked this article, or know someone in this situation please share it.

Why I Love The Beatles! (And You Should Too)

The Beatles

Are you a Beatles Fan? If not you will be after reading this! I won’t even go into detail about why they are the best band on earth, period, but they are all awesome musicians as solo artists. For over 50 years their music has inspired millions to this day!

You see, I wasn’t born during the sixties or Beatlemania. In fact I knew nothing about The Beatles. I was Born in 1972 just after The Beatles broke up, and Paul McCartney’s band Wings was formed. Ever since I was about two years old, I can clearly remember Macca’s voice in my ear and I have completely loved him ever since. (hint, hint, My real last name is not McCartney!) But is a tribute to the awesomeness that is him.

Young Paul McCartney (total hottie)

I also remember John Lennon’s voice in my ears around the age of 5. Woman was at the top of the charts then and is still one of my favorite songs to this day. I will share a true story about how the Beatles first affected me in a deep and profound way.

When I was a kid we lived in New York and one day I walked to the store with my mom. She told me to wait outside while she went in, (it was safer back then in the 70’s). Now in those days color TV sets were still displayed in store windows because they were kind of new, so people could go up to the store windows and watch. So there I was, this innocent little kid standing there waiting for my mom to come out of the store. All of a sudden, I could see people running through the streets screaming and crying. Frightened by everyone’s reaction, I started crying as well which prompted my mom to run out the store frantically thinking something had happened to me.

“What’s wrong she asked?” Before I could answer she looked around and saw everyone still crying running through the streets. A strange woman came up to her and said, “John’s dead! Someone shot him!” Think about that for a moment. No last name needed, just John, and mom instantly knew who this stranger was talking about!

My mom then began to cry, grabbed me and we gathered around a small crowd outside the store window watching the news about his death in horror. I still remember that feeling in my chest to this day. It was like the world stopped, and it did that day for John Lennon. I felt a heaviness in my heart as his songs began to play on the radio.

That was the first time I even learned about guns or the fact that someone could be murdered. In fact’ that was the first time someone that I loved was killed. It was a different time back then. The world was still a little kinder, and people of all colors and races gathered that day for John, hugging and consoling each other, mourning together. What amazes me about Lennon, is the fact that he managed to accomplish so much in his short life span of only 40 years.

That alone is why The Beatles are so awesome! They have a way of bringing people together, and listening to their music equals pure happiness! Back then I was too young to realize that they were all in one original band. I discovered them all one by one as solo artists, not realizing that they once performed all together as the greatest band ever!

John, Paul, George and Ringo will live forever in my heart. It still breaks my heart that George Harrison is gone and that there are only two precious legends left. George Harrison’s “Something” and Ringo Starr’s “Photograph” are just two of my favorite songs from their solo albums. (there are many more!) Their music reminds me of when the world was not so complicated.

Whenever I’m having a bad day, I watch their movies “A Hard Day’s Night” or “Help.” They always crack me up no matter how many times I have seen them. Naturally funny, it’s nice to see some of their true personalities on screen. I love how they were brothers first, and then friends.

Paul In the movie Help

Many people were sad when the band broke up hoped for a reunion, but I look at it this way: Maybe they would not have gone on to be brilliant solo artists which gave them the opportunity to grow into their own careers. Maybe we wouldn’t have The Traveling Wilburys or Wings, Ringo’s All Starr Band, or The Very Best of John Lennon! His son Julian’s music is pretty awesome too!

Whether you love them or not, their music is timeless. A gift that keeps on giving throughout the generations. Oh how I would have loved to be alive then back in the 60’s! Thank goodness Beatlemania will never end! If you are not a fan, I hope one day soon you will become one. Don’t miss out on all they joy their music has to offer, for some it is truly life changing. For me, I am forever inspired by the band, and the greatest song writing duo in history!


5 Reasons Why You Need A Day At The Beach Day!

The Aqua Cottage

Life at times can be hectic. It’s easy to fall into the habit of self neglect. I don’t mean self care, but neglecting your mental well being. Spending just one day at the beach for some not only just put’s things into perspective, but it rejuvenates the spirit! If you are anything like me, you are probably always looking for an escape from reality.

I am a natural dreamer, and I could spend hours staring at the healing water. Nothing inspires my creativity more then spending time at the beach watching the sailboats drift upon the ocean waves! The sound alone makes me very happy! So back to the 5 Reasons why YOU also need a beach day!

It’s been scientifically proven that a day at the beach offers some great health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and boosting the immune system. Breathing in the salty ocean air also helps calm the brain. So there you have it, start making your plans for an escape today! I promise you won’t regret it.

I recently spent this past weekend at the beach, and it’s what inspired me to write this article. It had been a while since I had taken a couple of days off to just enjoy life and do absolutely nothing but gaze into the blue ocean, and just listen to the sound of the waves. I hope I have inspired you to do the same!

Welcome to The Aqua Cottage!!

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. The purpose of this blog is to help you create a beach cottage style home of your dreams.