Motivation Monday

Today's Motivation Monday falls on a day dedicated to a man who inspired change through his passion for people, Cesar Chavez.  In support of all of his positive accomplishments and service to people, it's important to share his his history.   Cesar Chavez, (Born March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist, who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers union, UFW).[1]

A Mexican American, Chavez became the best known Latino American civil rights activist, and was strongly promoted by the American labor movement, which was eager to enroll Hispanic members. His public-relations approach to unionism and aggressive but nonviolent tactics made the farm workers' struggle a moral cause with nationwide support. By the late 1970s, his tactics had forced growers to recognize the UFW as the bargaining agent for 50,000 field workers in California and Florida. However, by the mid-1980s membership in the UFW had dwindled to around 15,000.[2]

During his lifetime, Colegio Cesar Chavez was one of the few institutions named in his honor, but after his death he became a major historical icon for the Latino community, with many schools, streets, and parks being named after him. He has since become an icon for organized labor and leftist politics, symbolizing support for workers and for Hispanic power based on grass roots organizing. He is also famous for popularizing the slogan "Sí, se puede" (Spanish for "Yes, one can" or, roughly, "Yes, it can be done"), which was adopted as the 2008 campaign slogan of Barack Obama. His supporters say his work led to numerous improvements for union laborers. His birthday, March 31, has become Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday in California, Colorado, and Texas.

Happy Cesar Chavez day Fam!

Kindred The Family Soul

Date night/meet and greet with Kindred The Family Soul after concert.  Great people, great couple, great music, great message! Qz Lounge is happy to support this movement!

Album Release Coming Soon!

Be on the lookout for "Kindred The Family Soul's" new album release in June! 

Topic Tuesday

Is a College Education Worth It?

Based on conversations I have had in the past, the answers were different across the board.  Being a college graduate, I can say that there are definitely pros as well as cons to the institution which is our College experience.  I will summarize:

Pros:

Personal development away from home or my comfort zone was one of the most notable.  This was the true beginning of my life as an adult.  Having to be responsible for bills, my schedule, and accountability for my scholastic obligations.

Cons:

Prerequisite classes.  It seemed like the College spent more of my scholarship and loan money than I did.  Let’s be honest, if you are one of those students that know what they actually want to major in, those prerequisite classes sure make it a long journey.  They are generally those classes that are repeats of what you have already done in high school hence, unnecessary.  I could see if I actually needed biology to get my business degree, but it was not the case.  How many thousands of dollars would I have saved myself if prerequisite classes? 

Just my opinion, all scholastic institution should be held to a specific operating standard where there should be some type of transition into a career applicable to each major.  Students and parents spend thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars to be “prepped to function” in society within their areas of study.  It should be the responsibility of the college to facilitate that transition.  Fair trade? Right?

Now, quite a few years removed from college, I still am paying on those good ole student loans…….No fun……However, I am positioning my son to go to college as well.  I am just changing the approach by challenging him to know what he wants to do before he makes that decision because if he wants to work on cars, a certification will suffice, saving him a financial burden, and the higher likelihood of employment when he completes his education. 

Now, to the debate over whether a college education is worth it may have begun when the colonists arrived from Europe and founded "New College" (later renamed Harvard University) in 1636. With 19.9 million US college students in 2013 and average student debt at over $26,500, the debate continues today.

People who argue that college is worth it contend that college graduates have higher employment rates, bigger salaries, and more work benefits than high school graduates. They say college graduates also have better interpersonal skills, live longer, have healthier children, and have proven their ability to achieve a major milestone.

People who argue that college is not worth it contend that the debt from college loans is too high and delays graduates from saving for retirement, buying a house, or getting married. They say many successful people never graduated from college and that many jobs, especially trades jobs, do not require college degrees

By the numbers:

In 2011, 50% of US college graduates under 25 years old had no job or only a part-time job.
One in three college graduates had a job that only required a high school diploma or less in 2012, including more than 16,000 parking lot attendants, 83,000 bartenders, and 115,000 janitors with bachelor's degrees.
In Aug. 2013, approximately 6,900 accredited colleges and universities were operating in the United States, compared to 3,535 in 1990 and 1,851 in 1950.
In Apr. 2013 the unemployment rate for college graduates over 25 years old was 3.6% compared to 7.5% for high school graduates.
So there you have it!!!  What say you?  Is college worth it?

Motivation Monday

We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers - but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's always your fault, because if you wanted to change, you're the one who has got to change.

Katharine Hepburn

It would seem that our lives are so fragmented that we become a slave to all of the things we have going on in our lives (bills, job etc).  As a result, we naturally prioritize them and let the others slip, maybe even totally slip away.  A lot of the time, those things that slip away are our dreams. 

The great news is that we are designed to handle everything we think is overwhelming.  How do I know? Because for every situation you could ever think of there is someone who survived it and worse!!  Life is about creating balance, it's your dreams, family, friends, and work.   This means having the ability to advance one small thing about every part of your life, "daily".  Doing so commands change in that aspect of your life, because it's being nurtured.

Today I challenge you to take the steps necessary to change one thing that you usually do on a Monday.  Something you have put off again and again.  Commit to taking 30min every day this week towards that task until you complete it.  Change only happens when we change something about our normal practices. 

Kindred The Family Soul Concert

Be sure to come out and enjoy a night of great music with Kindred Family Soul, tomorrow March 15th at the Huntington Beach Library Theater 7111 Talbert Avenue, Huntington Beach, Cali. Two shows 7pm and 9pm with dinner purchase option. Got to www.bbjazz.com to purchase tickets!!