Hi everyone, this was a blog from last year that I think is important for teens looking for summer jobs. Pass this along to your teen, parents.

Hey Teens, summer is just around the corner and for those of you that are going to enter the wonderful world of working for a living (or maybe just working for next years school clothes and having fun). Here are some job ideas.  I did a blog last year regarding summer jobs for teens.  I am big advocate of entrepreneurialship, working for yourself.  There are so many ways to create jobs for yourself, and make more money, I’m not quite sure why you would work for someone else.

It is also going to be tougher this year to get a job, because of the current economic situation we are in. Those jobs that teens usually go for during the summer might well be taken by someone else that has lost his job.  So that’s what makes creating your own job even more appealing.

When I look at the typical job for teens today like fast food restaurant, I think there must be a better way.

Besides working with Teen’s and being an author, I have owned a few businesses. I love being my own boss, because I get to do things my way, it’s a great learning experience and best of all my hard work pay off, goes to me.  Of course you may have some small start up costs, and costs of doing business, but then the rest is yours.

So here are some great business ideas for teens:

•    Web Consultant- most teens I know have a way with computers and most adults I know struggle with it. Help them set up and manage Social Networking Sites (My Space, etc.
•    Nanny- if you like kids and your good with them, kids are out of school during the    summer, but parents still have to work.
•    Dog Walker or Pet sitting- I’m always looking for someone to help me with my animals. I pay $35.00 to $50.00 a night.

•    Dog Washer- if someone had a service on a Saturday or anytime where I could just drop in and have my dos washed I would love it.  All you need is water towels, dog shampoo and a location. I think if you charged $12.00 for a small dog, $16.00 for a medium, and $20.00 for a large dog, people would do it all day long.

• Car Detailing- with a few supplies and a knowledge of what is clean and what is not, you could wash, wax, clean vents, and vacuuming right at their homes
• Errand running- there are a lot of elderly people and people that are very business that need help, just running errands or helping around the house with odd jobs.
• Cleaning Service- if you have a sense of what is clean and what is not, this is a great business.
Most of the time the people buy the cleaning products and you just go clean.
• Tutoring- tutor a younger teen or child while going through summer school or with subjects they are having difficulty with. Parents love this one.
• Small business assistant- I used to always get teens to help me with different jobs for my business. They would come for 2 hours a day and I would have things like shredding, bookwork, cleaning, organizing inventory, so many things.

So, get a  plan together, and start preparing now because summer is almost here. Get the  supplies you need, how many hours it will take, how much you are going to charge, who are you going to call, make a flyer, post it, tell all of your parents friends, and ask if they know anyone that needs your help.  I think working is a lot more fun, when you are your own boss, so go have some fun and make some money and let me know how it goes.

I am preparing for a Girls Intentions Workshop  October 17th and it really has me thinking about everything involved in Our Intentions. Our intentions are not just what we intend to do now or in the future.  I think that most people think of intentions as a part of manifesting what we want. This is an important part but not the only part.

I think our intentions first must start with our actions, and holding ourselves accountable.  If we set an intention to be able to manifest something we want in our lives; a connection with our teen, money, or a different career, it is ultimately our actions that create our reality.  Just setting an intention and not taking any action at all, may not create what we want.  If we look at our life, it is mostly a culmination of our thoughts and actions.

Our thoughts are important because it is tough to create what we want if we are stuck in a negative place.  If we aren’t enjoying the creation of what we are trying to bring into our lives it will prevent us from exploring all the amazing areas of this creations. When we are in a good place in ourselves we tend to be more creative and things just flow better for us .

So first to set an intention, and then really look at what needs to be done to bring that intention into our life.  If I want to change my career and become a Doctor,  I’m pretty sure that just by me writing it down on a piece of paper and hoping, isn’t going to have me at the hospital healing people anytime soon.  The action to go back to school is needed.

It is the same with our relationships with our teenagers.  We can hope and wish all day long that we have a better relationship with our teen, but until we start looking at our actions and how they affect the relationship, it won’t change.  If our intentions are one thing and our actions don’t step up to the plate, our intention may not come to fruition.

So, the first thing I will help the teen girls understand is that our actions are a direct results of our reality.  If our life looks a certain way, we need to look at what actions we have been taking in our life. Then we will talk about our attitudes and how our negative behaviors may be hindering the outcome of what we want to bring in.  Then and only then setting the intention to bring it in, knowing that we are going to bring the power into it physically and mentally through our action.

Then we will cement our intentions through creating a Vision Board.  It is a powerful workshop that is very impactful with not only teens but with anyone working on shifting their life.

Let me know what your feelings are around this and if you have experienced this is the past.

Lately so many people have been asking me about writing. Do I love it, is it fulfilling, would I write another book.  So I decided to blog to you today on writing. I love and dislike writing. It depends on when I’m doing it, for what purpose I am doing it and what mood I am in when I am doing it.

I love writing when I am writing about something that I am passionate about, which is most of the time, since I write mostly about teenage issues. I love writing when I am giving back to the world with any words that will make life easier for the reader, no matter who it is.  I love writing when I have a long time frame to write in, so I can relax and let my words come from my heart and not from a place of what I need to do next. I love writing when my space around me is still and quiet.

So, when I dislike writing it is the opposite of when I love it.  I don’t like writing when I dislike what I’m writing about, I’m writing about something that has no impact on the world,  when I’m on deadline and I don’t leave myself enough time, and my space is full of confusion and chaos.  One would think that knowing this information would make it easy to always love writing.  Not the case!  I don’t always have control of my environment, I have a partner and I have 2 dogs, one being a  yellow Lab.  If anyone knows anything about yellow Lab’s, they know it’s like having a two-year-old, with attention deficit disorder for 11-15 years.

Your mood directly affects what is written, so it’s not like you have to be in a perfect mood to write, just realize that being angry will look different on paper than being happy.  Either way is okay, it really depends on the content of what you are writing.  For me, I usually have to be in a content place to write about issues directly related to teens and to help the parents of teens. 

If you are writing, or you are planning to start a book or any other writing, my suggestions to you would be:

• Take a few writing classes
• Figure out what you want to write about
• When you are writing, check in with how you feel
• Dedicate a specific space that you feel good in to write, that is quiet and calm
• Try to give yourself enough time to write to give those create juices time to flow
  
• Try to write everyday, even if it’s for an hour everyday

  To answer the other questions; yes I love writing most of the time, yes it is very fulfilling, and yes I will write other books.  I would love to know what you think about writing or if have any questions about writing, please comment.  Happy writing

   

It’s that time again, when we are running out of time, going from store to store trying to figure out what the special gift is going to be for our friends, family and partner.  Is it a singing fish, an ugly tie, or something else we find amusing, but no one else does. I have been pretty good this year at picking up special gifts for people at random, although I still have a lot of gifts unbought. What to do? I vote “Just say No to buying,  just to buy”.Why not make something…even if it’s silly.     Here’s an idea.. get a peg board and cover it with a cool material, and put photos, magazine cutouts and special items on it. Get your friend started and then get together for the holidays and finish them.  Tell me what you think, it’s fun to do and it lifts my spirit every time I look at mine.