Five Monday Motivation Quotes to Jump Start Your Week

If you are anything like me, you probably spend way more time on social media than you should. For those of you who pay attention to the hashtags themed to a specific day of the week, Monday Motivation is always a popular one to get your week started—as it is always among the top trends (nearly 90,000 tweets as of the writing of this article) each and every Monday.

Though some posts may be cliché to some, there are people out there who really get into the Monday Motivation scene. Since I am one of those people, I felt a good way to help you get your week started would be to share my favorite five from Twitter.

If you feel like I missed one you really like, feel free to tweet them @NexGoal and we will make sure to include your most motivational posts in next week’s article!

Branson, one of the most successful in business in the world, shows a mindset of everything just being part of living. Work and play are not separate entities, they are part of his life.

Kobe Bryant recently retired from the NBA and has a few words to say on how he will move to his next passion.

In the first of two Bennett posts from the day, adversity is something we all will deal with. You just have to be able to dig out.

Growing up, we are often taught to weigh risks in order to determine if they are worth it. For some, this causes us to not take risks at all…which is the root of this quote. You fail everything you do not try.

Going back to Bennett for the final quote, you cannot achieve your dreams if you do not try to achieve them. This is pretty simple and applies to everyone.

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How Job Seekers Can Stay Motivated During a Job Search

Since starting our Motivation Monday series, the staff here at NexGoal has provided motivational quotes, success stories and more to get your week started. If you have missed any of our previous articles, head on over to the Motivation Monday page and take a look at some of the great posts.

As the calendar gets ready to turn to May, job seekers may find themselves with less of a desire to sit in front of a computer screen and apply for jobs with the nice weather outside—and who can blame them? Many of you are currently spending eight-plus hours at the office, the last thing you want to do is come home and sit in front of a computer screen for another few hours while it is beautiful outside.

At this point, many job seekers will be caught between a rock and a hard place. That new amazing career opportunity you have been seeking is not going to just show up at your door, but at the same time the great weather is not going to wait for you either. If only there was a way to balance both.

Luckily for the job seekers reading this article, we have come up with three ways you can stay motivated when it comes to your job search and still have time to enjoy the beautiful weather in the coming months.

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Develop a Job Seeking Plan

This was mentioned in our “Three for Thursday” article as an important trait of job seekers, so it is important to start here. Developing a plan of action when it comes to your job search is the most important way to stay motivated. If you set goals to meet each week when it comes to jobs applied for, people to network with and follow-ups to send after applying and interviewing, it will help you stay on task and reach your goal of a new career.

The best thing about developing your plan is the ability to schedule when you want to perform these tasks. Instead of heading over to the local fast food restaurant for lunch, pack a lunch and do some job searching on a personal device during your lunch break at work. Want to spend time after work enjoying the beautiful weather? Schedule 30 minutes before bed to apply for a few of the jobs you identified in your research during lunch.

Do you need to be applying and searching every single day? Absolutely not. But if you have a solid plan of action and goals you want to reach, it will help keep you motivated for your job search.

Ignore Employment Hiring Statistics and Reports

One of the biggest deterrents for a job seeker is rejection. The second biggest deterrent is turning on the local news and seeing some random report stating companies are not hiring at this time—because it is simply not the case.

If you have been doing your research and following your plan from above, you know there are plenty of jobs and opportunities out there for you to achieve the next career challenge. Cutting out the background noise was likely an important part of your routine as a former athlete, do the same when it comes to your job search.

Watch This Motivational Video

Raise your hand if you do not enjoy a good motivational video. Yeah, that’s what I thought—nobody raised their hand, because in the era of YouTube and Vine, we all love a good motivational video.

Your motivational video this week is courtesy of the University of Connecticut’s Center for Career Development, and UConn poet Zachary Johnson. Though you are not a student at UConn, this video has a lot of good suggestions to get you ready to attack your job search like a pro.

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Kamerion Wimbley Prepared for Life After NFL Before He Retired

Too often when it comes to professional athletes, we hear stories of downward spirals when their playing days are over. One of the most powerful stories delivered to drive home this message was in an ESPN 30 for 30 titled “Broke” that debuted a few years ago.

However, what you do not hear often enough is the story about the professional athlete who was able to find success off the field during and after their career. Well today, that is exactly what you are going to read in regard to former first-round NFL Draft pick, Kamerion Wimbley.

Since NexGoal is based out of the Cleveland area, many of us are very familiar with where Wimbley’s career started—as he was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft by our very own Cleveland Browns. Wimbley spent the first four years of his NFL career here with the Browns before he was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2010.

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The Florida State product would then spend two years in Oakland (2010 and 2011) before signing a five-year contract with the Tennessee Titans for $35 million in 2012. Wimbley would only play three years of that five-year contract with the Titans, deciding to retire from the game in May of 2015 at 31-years old.

While many people were judging whether or not 53.5 sacks in nine seasons in the NFL was enough to consider his NFL career a success, Wimbley was focusing on setting himself up for success off the field. In fact, he was preparing for life after football before he was even drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2006.

According to an article from the NFL Player Engagement website, Wimbley found his inspiration from watching other Florida State alumni and NFL players (Peter Boulware, Corey Simon and Andre Wadsworth) do the same in their careers. Wimbley stated, “All three of those gentlemen were successful at some point in their football careers and were able to transition to life after football and still be successful. I watched the way that they did it and followed the blueprint that they put out there before me.”

Kamerion Wimbley Career Transition

Kamerion Wimbley began making his career transition long before his NFL days ended. Image Credit: NFL Player Engagement

Why did Wimbley begin setting up life after the NFL before he even started playing?

“It was very important for me to leave the NFL on my own terms,” Wimbley said. “I think in a lot of cases you’ll see guys who were not ready to leave the game of football and they have a tough time dealing with it afterward. There are some challenges that exist in transitioning from the NFL into civilian life.”

Wimbley continued, “For us in the NFL, a lot of stuff was productivity based. So even when you’re not playing football you still need, well, at least for me, I’m highly competitive, I needed a place where I could compete and let some of that competitive energy out. For me it just happened to be being a business owner.”

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For an athlete with a competitive drive, Wimbley did not settle to win in just one business area either—he chose three. He owns a restaurant in Wichita called “Wings and Things,” a barbershop called “Twice as Nice” and a company that provides education and documentation for dogs known as Bully Breeds called the “Bull Breed Coalition Registry.” On top of  all of those ventures, he has the Kamerion Wimbley Foundation which is “focused on developing character, literacy and general well-being of the young and young adults in Wichita,” according to the article.

Why was it important for Wimbley to have this plan laid out for himself? Well, it was simply a numbers game for the former Seminole.

“I knew that the lifespan of an NFL player, in terms of their playing years, is very short. They used to tell us we’ve got pretty much an average of a three-year time span. Once you’re done with football, a lot of people don’t know what to do. I wanted to get started early so the foundation would already be there when I was done and I didn’t have to try to build everything from the ground up. It would already exist and so I could basically just walk right into it and get started.”

How Wimbley’s Story Can Motivate You

One of the keys in the entire article, which you can read the full version of here, is that Wimbley recognized his first career was not going to be his only one. He took steps to secure his future early on in his professional career, and set up a transition plan for the day he decided to take off the cleats and walk away from the game of football.

While you may or may not be a former professional athlete, the message is the same. We all need to prepare for our future one way or another. Whether that is outlining the career path you want to take, having a proper financial plan or some other aspect, you cannot simply live in the moment anymore when it comes to your career.

Like Wimbley, you may have passions aside from your daily job—and these passions could one day become that daily job if you do things correctly. It is never too early to start planning for that future, and having that plan laid out is the difference-maker when it comes to preparing for your life after sports.

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How Inky Johnson Found Motivation After Life Altering Incident

Usually in our Monday Motivation article, the team here at NexGoal writes an in-depth piece breaking down some aspect of the workplace and how you can utilize it to find motivation and take your career to the next level. These posts have been great, however, our inspiration comes from another source this week.

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While scrolling through Twitter over the weekend, the below video was retweeted into my timeline. It was the story of how former Tennessee Volunteer standout defensive back, Inky Johnson, was on a hopeful path to the NFL—but one hit would change all of that and alter his life in a way he never expected.

Writing the story out does not do his story justice, so you should take the time to watch Johnson tell it in the video below. But as you are watching, I would like to drive home a few key points from Johnson’s story that can apply to your own life.

• No matter how big of a life-blow you are dealt, you have the power to come back from it.
• If a work task seems too challenging at first, take a step back and a deep breath and look at where you can start to accomplish it. Johnson did not get to where he is now overnight.
• At any point if you do not like your current situation, you have the power to change it with hard work and dedication.

We hope you enjoy this video and Johnson’s story. If you would like to share your own motivational story or form of inspiration in your life, email us here.

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5 Ways to Win Opening Day at Your New Job

It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball. Being from Cleveland, this is probably the most optimistic day of the year. Winter is (usually) coming to a close, and we’ve heard nothing but positive things from Spring Training about the Cleveland Indians. Unfortunately, this optimism and excitement is usually temporary, as reality sets in and many realize they may have set expectations a little too high.

Regardless, this optimism and excitement is important for fans to have. Opening Day is a chance for a new beginning. The slate is clean for the year, and there is nowhere to go but up. As fans, we only get to experience this feeling of a new beginning once. It’s important that you cherish it and enjoy the moment for what it is.

Like Opening Day, your first day on the job is a moment and feeling you can only experience once. You begin with a clean slate and it’s up to you to decide how you will experience it. Like any MLB team, you want to set the tone early in your new position.

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On you opening day on the job, you will experience a lot of emotions and have a lot of new information thrown your way. It is important to be able to navigate this roller coaster of a day as effectively as possible. Follow these five tips on your opening day and you will be able to get of to a strong start on your new job.

Show Up Early

Being late for the first day on the job is a surefire way to set a negative tone for your new position. Not only will it leave a bad impression on your superiors and peers, but it will also provide unnecessary stress on your mind throughout the day. You should to be focused on acclimating to your new environment, and not focused on what you could have done to get to work earlier.

The best way to make sure you show up to work early on the first day is to practice your routine. Before you start your new job, find a day where you can go through your full morning routine and commute. Time yourself on how long it takes and then set your alarm 15-30 minutes before that time. Yes 30 minutes might sound like a lot, but knowing you will be at work on time is one less stress that you do not have to deal with on what will be a hectic day.

Get Organized

Showing up early for your first day is the perfect time to begin organizing your working situation. Humans naturally like to procrastinate menial tasks like organizing a desk or setting up an email account. However, getting this done on your first day will give you one less task to get done when you actually start to get busy.

Getting organized first thing when you show up will also demonstrate initiative on your part. It shows that time is valuable to you and that you want to set a positive tone. Your superiors and peers will love to see you are ready to go from day one.

Listen

Of all the things to do on the first day, this is probably the most important thing. More than likely you will be hit with more new information than you can handle on your opening day. Make it your goal to take in as much of it as you can. Superiors usually do not like to repeat themselves, and they will be thrilled to see you remembered what they told you.

To help your memory, take a lot of notes. It is always a plus to able to consult your notes for answers to questions rather than waste someone else’s valuable time. Also stay off your cell phone, you will be too busy on your first day to have any time to check text messages or Facebook. All your focus needs to be on acclimating to your new position.

Prepare and Ask Questions

Ask Questions

Asking questions is a big part of day one at a job.

When you are listening, you should be practicing what is called active listening. Active listening involves providing feedback to the speaker when they are speaking to you. One of the best ways to be a good active listener is to ask questions.

Asking questions tells a person you are engaged and interested in the subject matter. It is important you ask the most questions you can on your first day. Chances are you will receive a lot of attention on your first day that you will not get down the line. While you have all this attention, it is the perfect time to get any questions you might have answered before people’s attention shift.

Talk to Peers

If you are going to be working with your team for the foreseeable future, you might as well start to get to know them on the first day. By talking to your peers you will be able to gain valuable insight on company culture and how people operate on a day to day basis. You will also be able to begin to establish positive working relationships that could prove to be valuable in the future.

Always be friendly when approaching new peers. Having a good first impression is a very powerful tool when establishing trust among co-workers. Perhaps the best way to leave a good first impression is to find a commonality with your new peer. People are naturally drawn to others with similar interests and backgrounds and it is a good way to establish an immediate bond.

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