Do You Have a Gift?

Do You Have a Gift?

by | Dec 3, 2013 | December 2013 Magazine, This Issue's FEATURE

Do you ever sit and wonder, “What am I good at?” “What do I have to offer?” or “How can I help others?”

All of us, at some point, question ourselves about what makes us important … what makes us special … and the answers lie within ourselves.  What is a gift, you may wonder, and do I have one?

Believe it or not, we all have a gift. A gift can be something you do very well and something that comes naturally to you. Most people call your talent a gift. “Such as what?” you say. Well, you could have a talent in singing, acting, riding horses, riding motorcycles, dancing, party planning, cooking, building, playing an instrument, it can be in the way you talk with people or how you listen …. The possibilities are endless.

We all have a hidden talent waiting to be explored. You are never too old or too young to discover your special gift or gifts. Once you start exploring yourself, you will realize how truly gifted you really are.

One young lady, Murphy Hunter, tells us herself that she grew up too fast. She made decisions that impacted her life tremendously. She dropped out of school and became a wife and mother of three at a young age. Murphy found herself shouldered with huge responsibilities, but used her children as her motivation.

Murphy knew by looking at her children that she had to be the one to change the cycle. She stated, “I knew I had to practice what I preached.” She states, “My children became my drive … my inspiration … my weapon to get me through every difficult obstacle.”  Murphy had to make some tough decisions and had to set goals for herself and her children.

She had to let go of personal aspirations which were her gifts and focus on what was going to allow her to take care of her family. Murphy states, “I didn’t grow up with goals of college or achieving a dream job … I didn’t even know what the American dream was all about.” What Murphy did know, was that she had three small children and was a single parent. Time was of the essence and she had to set realistic goals … she had no time to waste.

Murphy enrolled in a community college and completed her GED. She, then, enrolled in college for four years to become a surgical technician and earned several certificates in the process. Murphy was determined to become a success for herself and her children.

She established a solid foundation of support from friends and family who encouraged her and assisted her during her journey.  It’s very important to all of us when we are pursuing something greater, to have a solid foundation of people who will keep us motivated and who will keep us on track when times get hard.

LifeMurphy has worked in the medical field for over 14 years and states, “It’s given me and my children a good life.” Her achievements have also served as an inspiration for her children to pursue success, regardless of the obstacles that may exist.

All of us have to keep pushing forward in achieving the goals that we set for ourselves. Don’t let obstacles stop you … find a way to push through … use your foundation of support and reach your goals. Sometimes, your hidden talents, your gifts are the means to success. You have to LOVE what you do. Otherwise, you settle for a long unsatisfactory work life. You bring in the money, but you don’t have the joy.

Murphy knew her gifts were in medicine but she also loved taking photographs.  She states, “I’ve loved photography since age 12 and considered it a hobby.”  In pursuing her means to provide for her family, she had focused on medicine but when she remarried, her husband encouraged her to pursue photography.

Of her husband, Murphy says, “My husband is a wonderful man who supports me and convinced me to pursue my hobby and become a professional photographer.”

D6PixShe continued to work in medicine, but started to work on her profession as a photographer and her gift of taking photographs has been recognized by others.

Murphy has a gift behind the camera lens and captures the soul of those she photographs. Murphy says, “I want to represent an idea of a possibility … a possibility that I can create whatever I want to create. I can look at a person or an object and pull out what makes that person or object special. I don’t know how I do it, but when I look through my camera lens, I see nothing but possibilities. I’m an artist that uses the world as my canvas and I photograph what my eyes see.”

Murphy has shown us that while faced with obstacles in our lives, whether it’s limited education, responsibilities of being a single parent, having to face losing our job and having to start over … we can overcome those obstacles. In the process, we can explore what we are good at which often are what our special gifts are and pursue a new career that incorporates our “love” which are our gifts.

When we are pursuing and doing what we love, we find ourselves motivated to succeed. We need to live  our own life…  the way that we want to live it.  Who knows?  What you thought might just be fun or a hobby of sorts, could very well turn out to be your next career. Choose to be happy in our lives and in your work. Murphy Hunter certainly did.

Murphy stated, “If you’re not doing something that makes a difference in someone’s life … whether it be your own or someone else’s … you can feel you are wasting your time. Find out what drives you … find your inspiration … and make goals. Just do it … it’s that simple.”

d6Pix LogoMurphy Hunter’s D6Pix Productions offers all types of photography services to include weddings, bridal showers, graduations, birthdays, christenings, corporate events, proms and quinceaneras as well as personal and model sessions, both male and female. She offers contemporary, portraiture and traditional photos and can create packages in the form of albums, custom graphic design, digital files and more….

We, at CampusJobXpress, have used Murphy Hunter/D6Pix Productions on several occasions. As a matter of fact, our Novemer issue of our magazine is one of her designs. Take a look and be expecting more covers from Murphy Hunter/D6Pix Productions in the future.

Check out some of her photographs at www.facebook.com/pages/D6pix-Photography-by-Murphy-Hunter/620632147979996?ref=br_tf. She also has a Facebook magazine page at www.facebook.com/D6pixMagazine.  She can be contacted at MurphyHunterD6pix@yahoo.com or call her at 512-966-8995.

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By Yolanda L. Salazar & Silvia Seelig

Discussion 70: Getting Paid what you are Worth

by | Nov 18, 2013 | Job Club Heart of Texas

It is easy to allow yourself to fall into the trap of I need money now. So many times you get stuck at a job where you feel comfortable, and you’re afraid to leave or to ask for more because you have one bird in the hand. In the end that’s fine you have to chose what is right for you and your family, but there will come a time when you know that you should be making more for the work that you do. There are however things that you need to consider when you are thinking of making that move to management or to another company.  Are you truly worth the money? That is going to be the main thing, and if you stop and take a hard look at your skill set and the things you bring to the table you will have your answer. Without out knowing how much you do and can do, you will have no idea how much you should be making. If you don’t know as much as you think you may need for the job there is nothing wrong with picking some new skills. It can only make you more marketable. The next thing is being in a place that is going to pay you what you are worth. If you live in a smaller town you may not make as much money as someone in a larger doing the same job. There are a lot of things to consider when trying to figure out if you are being paid what you are worth. At the end of the day it is something that only you can decide.

Discussion 69: Creating your Big Picture

by | Nov 11, 2013 | Job Club, Job Club Heart of Texas

Sometimes it’s easy to feel as if you are floating around in the world. Like you are moving about aimlessly with nothing to guide you. You’re working hard, but sometimes the results are just not there. That’s when you give up. We at CampusJobXpress are here to tell you that it’s moments like those when you need to push harder. It’s times like those that let you know that you need to break up your goals in to accomplishable chunks. Goal setting is the act of picturing  the future that you want and reaching that goal in small bits and pieces. Picture your goals, and break it down into smaller parts. As you accomplish your smaller parts you fit each part of your picture together like a puzzle. What isyour big picture? What are you doing to create that picture for yourself?

Discussion 68 Alamo: 10 good things about you

by | Nov 4, 2013 | Job Club Alamo Area

There are times when you can get so down on yourself, that you forget how great you are. There are things going on around you that constantly tell you that you can give in to negative thoughts about yourself.  When that happens it’s hard to do 30 seconds to a minute of talking about your self in a positive light. So the exercise for this week is to list 10 good things about your self. The more often you do this the easier it will be to get used to saying good things about yourself and employers. They are going to ask you why you are qualified for a job, and you need to be ready with an answer. What are ten good things about you?

Taking Responsibility

Taking Responsibility

by | Nov 1, 2013 | This Issue's FEATURE

By Sheena Williams

At this time in our history, it is so easy to point the finger at someone else, or say it’s someone else’s fault that something happened. It’s almost second nature to say that it was the other person’s fault. But it is your responsibility to get yourself to work on time. It is your job to make sure that your reports are submitted in a timely fashion. It is your job to ensure that the directions you give your employees are good ones. In a word, everyone tries to pass the buck. It is up to you to make sure that you are taking responsibility for your actions.

The best way to ensure that you are doing what you are supposed to is self-introspection. Ask yourself questions and see if you can answer them honestly.  Don’t look at Jim, Janice, Jon or Janet. It was not their job to have your work done.  So, to make sure that you doing what you are supposed to be doing, we’ve put together some things you should ask yourself.

  1. in-chargeWas the job assigned to you? There are times when we will switch out responsibilities, or float our schedule due to need, or maybe to help someone out. However, if you agreed to do something and traded with someone without telling your employer about it, there’s a problem. As far as anyone else knows, you are still in charge of the job. So when something hits the fan and the job is not completed, it means that you are going to be the one called on the carpet.
  2. Did you get it in writing? There have been so many times when you ave spoken to someone on the phone and gotten a verbal agreement. It means nothing until it is documented. Make sure that whatever favor you do or whatever promise is made to you that you get it in writing. Even if it’s in an e-mail, it is at least a documented statement that there was intent. If you failed to get it writing, it would still end up being your fault.
  3. its-your-faultAre you doing only what you are able? A lot of the time, our responsibilities fall by the wayside because you made too many promises to too many people. Your time is now torn between doing what you are supposed to be doing, and doing favors for Tom, Dick and Harry. It’s fine to help people out, but not at the detriment of your own well-being or work. Try to keep your workload and your promises real and reasonable.
  4. Do you have the adequate resources to fulfill that job? Yes, you say, you can do this, and this, and that. But if you don’t have the time, money, know how, or resources, it’s going to be an uphill climb making that happen. Make sure you can do what you say you can do before it becomes a problem
  5. Have you communicated with everyone involved? So, it turns out that you’re running late on whatever you’re supposed to be doing. Have you told the appropriate party? Have you contacted a supervisor, or told the field rep that there is a complication? Most problems can be avoided if you tell someone soon enough that there is an issue. They can be fixed if you give people the time to fix them.
  6. communicationsHave you taken control of your situation? No one is going to take care of you better than you. Have you done everything you can to make your situation work? Have you made the right calls? Have you completed the right assignments? It’s going to be pretty awkward if you don’t have all your ducks in a row and you are trying to point out someone else’s wrongs.
  7. Are you pointing out other people’s wrongs? You messed up. You know you messed up, and it’s pretty obvious you messed up. Own it and move on. Don’t turn around and say, “Cindy from Tech Support should have done it.” By you taking responsibility, it is far better than becoming a “tattletale” when something goes wrong.

Taking responsibility is not only good for business, it’s a survival technique. By taking responsibility for your actions, people know that you can be trusted. They know that at the end of the day, you are someone who will not only get the job done, but will fix it when it goes wrong. △