Technology Is A Double Edged Sword

It is hard to remember a time without cell phones or social media that has us connected at every point in our lives. I mean, really try and think back to the time when it was possible not to be reached every second of the day. It may be easier for some, but for me it is a big fuzzy line. It just happened one day. Some say you can still achieve zero contact, but a weird thing happens when people are unreachable. People get angry. "why didn't he pick up? I know he isn't busy." This weird transition that we made happened almost over night. People no longer can just be out of contact. It is unacceptable if they are. That brings with it a lot of great things and a lot of awful things.

One of the consequences of our "Always Reachable" age is that divorce is at an all time high in America. I think that Facebook, and social media sites as well as cell phones play a huge role in destroying marriages. Back before social media people met each other but usually were highly restricted to the town or surrounding area where they lived. You met someone, got married and had a family and that was that. Now, there is an unlimited amount of people at your fingertips. Ex's can find you, you no longer have a small pool of people to pick from, and the ease of being able to find someone has increased exponentially. The biggest thing out of all of those reasons though is that you have so many different people to choose from. People can control who they talk to and don't have to answer a message from someone, but just the sheer number of relationships at our fingertips is overwhelming.

There are also benefits to these changes as well. Market and business expansion has increased at an astounding rate because of increased accessibility and new markets are growing daily. I can order a product from China and it can be on my door step tomorrow morning if I choose that way. 50 years ago that was unheard of. The expansion beyond America was unheard of. Now people are no longer just people, they are moving business machines that can connect with their clients at any point they want. Completely and 100% able to adapt and get the data they need for their changing business environment. It is an incredible opportunity that we have as mobile business stations. We can make deals from anywhere in the world and expand product to previously unreachable markets, all from the screen of a smartphone. Another large impact that cell phones and social media has had is an increase in safety for people, especially children. Parents can track their children and at all times have a way to be in contact with them. This can be more dangerous than you would think. It has the potential to lure parents into a false sense of security. Extending the leash a bit too far can have terrible consequences. It also is positive because it provides the parent with the knowledge of what their child is up to. There are pros and cons to the increase use of technology, we just have to be smart enough to not get trapped.

In the end technology is going to advance regardless of what is good or bad about it. We have the amazing opportunity to harness it and be more effective businessmen, increase safety for ourselves and our children, and connect with so many different unique people. But we can also destroy ourselves and those around us if we are not careful with the technology at our fingertips.

College: Is It The Biggest Scam In The United States?

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College education in America is a bad joke. Instead of preparing the next generation of leaders for the jobs of tomorrow, the college education "industry" has become a giant money making scam. We constantly preach to our high school students that they "need" to go to college and we tell them to not even worry about how much it is going to cost because a college education is "always" worth the money. Then we lend them outrageous amounts of money so that they can pay the gigantic bills for the "education" that they are receiving. But the truth is that the quality of education at America's colleges and universities is absolutely abysmal these days. Nearly half of the nation's undergraduates show almost no gains in learning in their first two years of college, in large part because colleges don't make academics a priority, a new report shows.  Students also spent 50% less time studying compared with students a few decades ago, the research shows. We already have hit the 1 trillion dollar mark for student loan debt earlier in the year. College tuition has increased at a rate 6% higher than the general rate of inflation for the past 25 years, making it four times as expensive relative to other goods and services as it was in 1985. How then can we say that the higher education system is working? Students pay way more for sub par education that is getting worse each year. With these institutions bringing in so much there is bound to be a drop off in effective teaching and corruption can flourish. Professors seem to no longer care about connecting with their students but are more focused on writing their books or doing their own research. I have come across this numerous times throughout my education. Asking a question is almost frowned upon. The only advancements that I see being made are embracing of new technology. With that move toward advancing technology, basic things are being looked over. E-books are incredible devices and I am a big proponent of them but not so far as to lose the ability to write reports or do basic research. Everything is at our finger tips now and that can be a problem. Students have to realize that a 4 year degree now is not worth what it was 25 years ago. Yes, it cost much more but the added benefit it provides does not in most cases seem to support the financial burden that is placed on those who borrow for school. I recently performed a job shadow along side another associate who had a Masters degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Leadership. I am still working on completing my associates degree and we were both looking at the same job. Now, granted maybe that degree would give him a step up in the hiring process, but maybe it would not. I know a handful of people who have worked hard at getting degrees but did not get into work environment to gain that experience and they are not even consider for positions because they have no experience. I am finding more and more that experience is valued much higher than a degree in that field. There are always exceptions to this rule and people who have gotten degrees and gone on to do amazing things that the degree launched them to. As a whole I feel those are few and far between. The list of people with degrees that cannot find a job in their fields continues to grow though. Over 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees (over 8,000 of them have doctoral or professional degrees), along with over 80,000 bartenders, and over 18,000 parking lot attendants. All told, some 17,000,000 Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that the BLS says require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree. That should alarm you. How can these people getting degrees only be able to land these kinds of jobs? The system is broken and is no longer preparing people for the "real world" it is preparing them by giving them a piece of paper and a empty promise. The more I dive into the field of insurance and talk to people who are working at a high level and make a very good living, the more I hear that they did not go to college. They worked hard, got the designations and certifications in their field and got the work experience needed to succeed. It just seems to me that more and more students are diving farther into debt to get that coveted degree, and then when they graduate they cannot find anything more than a high school graduate level job. The sad thing is, is that school tuition is just going to increase, books are going to increase, and the focus of actually producing high level professionals is going away. Schools are focused on profits. They are businesses and I firmly believe that they would take a student who can pay cash with horrible grades over a student who is an A+ student but needs financing. They want to see their bottom line grow. Is there a way to fix this? I think we can, but it is going to take a gigantic shift of focus to achieve it. This shift is something that I don't think will ever happen because there is way too much money tied into higher education in America. Is a degree worth it? Possibly. But do not bury yourself in student loan debt that can never be paid.

When does our age fulfill us?

"And we learn as we age, we've learned nothing" - Brand New

Is there ever a point in your life when you can look back at an earlier age and feel like you actually knew something then? I feel as though I can look back at when I was 18 and realize I knew absolutely nothing and had no idea about the way things worked. And my 18 year old self could look back at 16 and realize that person knew nothing. I am almost an entirely different person now then when I was 18. So that is what I am getting at. Can we ever get to an age where we can look back at an earlier age and say "you know I had it all figured out then and still do now. I haven't changed much at all." It is kind of a sobering thought because at the time we think we are on the right path or that we have a good grasp on our lives. Years later you can look back on those times and realize that you were so childish and foolish and really did not know much about what life was about. When I think back to 18 I wanted entirely different things than I do now. I had entirely different friends, and different ideals. In fact, if I were to pass my 18 year old self on the street walking I may not even recognize that person. This is another one of those things that blows my mind. How can I in the span of 4 years become such a different person? Is it the influences we have around us, or is it maturity? I think it might be a combination of both. It is also weird because we can't see this change or progression or maturity as it is happening. We can only see it after some time when we reflect on our lives. I also enjoy this weird phenomenon because it shows me how much can happen in such a short time. These things really get me thinking about my life and how grateful I am for the things I have. If I had gotten what I wanted 4 years ago I shudder to think about where I might be at now. I mean, it could be wonderful, but it is so weird to think about where one choice might have taken me. I am glad to be where I am, even if I know nothing right now. Just some thoughts for your afternoon.

Decisions, Decisions

There is a fork in the road up ahead with two roads, one to the left and one to the right. When you run into that fork, which way is the correct way to go? This is kind of like that choice Neo had in The Matrix, you know the red pill, blue pill scene. Not a fun time. There is no real way to answer that question and no one wants to end up in the rabbit hole. At one point in our lives we are faced with the question of which way do I go with the decisions at hand. Whether it is a choice to move to another state to pursue a new life or to marry someone you love. It can be scary. In fact I think it has to be scary or there wouldn't be a tough decision to make. One of the things I like to do when facing a big decision is consult every angle in my head. I know to the people who are not analytical that this can seem like a ridiculous way to go about things but there is some real value in it. It really helps me to see every scenario and be able to focus on those that are the best possible outcomes. Tough decisions can be broken down to help you get a better understanding of the working parts. I also like to consider the advice of people who are close to me in my life. I cannot overstate this. Often we put on blinders when it comes to our own life and we just force ourselves to not see what could go wrong. I know that I can offer good advice when people come to me with questions but in my own life I have a lot more trouble. Usually a good friend can point out exactly what is going on and guide you back on the right track. Remember that most of these decisions are going to affect more than one person. It can have a huge impact on a lot more people than you may realize at the time. Consider the impact that is unseen as well as what you can see clearly. Making big decisions in life can be a really rewarding experience if you take into consideration all the aspects of the decision. They can also backfire on you and you have to take the tough road. Choose carefully.

Life Lessons

"To be great is to be misunderstood" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I think the biggest inspiring and teaching moments in my life have come when I least expected them. What really set me on the course I am on right now as a trip that I almost did not take to Chicago a little over a year ago. It is a pretty unique story and one that I am actually pretty proud of. I was in Chicago visiting my aunt and uncle because my cousin was getting married. My life had been on crazy crash course *alliteration aside*, and this trip came because a trip I was planning to Pennsylvania fell through. See those little decisions again popping up everywhere. I had been feeling for some time that I was on a stupid course and not really going anywhere. I was chasing things that were going to get me no where and I couldn't right the ship. The problem was that I wasn't doing anything to make it any better. I had a dead end job that I made a pretty good living on but by no means was I going to make Albertsons a career. Or at least I hoped not. I wasn't in school at the time and just was kind of drifting along through things. A great deal of painful things happened to me in my personal life and a random text message to a girl I use to be close with made me realize she was the one I was going to marry. That alone was realized on that trip and could be the ending of this story right there but so much more happened that it really is amazing. I saw the way my uncle had achieved success and how he had worked so hard to achieve it that I really took stock of my situation and realized I had to make some huge changes or I was going to be unhappy almost constantly. I decided that I would give myself a year and get back into school and really push hard at attaining some of the things that I wanted out of life. So I moved back home, got rid of a lot of negative influences in my life, got back into school and started really applying myself. In that years time I managed to get into the company that I had been working so hard to get into: Scottsdale Insurance Company. I also did well in school and like I said found the girl I wanted to marry.




I tell you all this because I think we get lost in the shuffle of being "stuck" so often. I know that for me I felt like this was all I was ever going to be and I had a really bad attitude towards life. I had such negative factors pushing me in the wrong direction that instead of fighting those things I just became as cynical as they were. The first step in really pushing yourself to be better is to just go out and do something about it. When you make a plan or want a new job you have to go get started or nothing is ever going to change. It is super easy to say something and then never do anything to make that situation better. I also think that you can't be afraid to fail or make the wrong choice. That was always what I would tell people who asked me what the most important thing to being a manager was. Having the ability to make the choice that might backfire on you, but in the end pulling the trigger is what sets people apart. When I look back on these moments I realize that I was not expecting the things that inspired me to happen. I think those moments make a lasting impact because when you look back you can see how things might have been so different. The times I seek out inspiration are the times that I usually end up messing things up because I push too hard at what I think is right, when it really is wrong. So for those of you that feel stuck, remember that there is always a different path to take. It might require more work and a bit more pain to get there but it is worth all that because it takes you away from the rut you fell into. So make a goal that you can attain and stay focused on it and with a little bit of hard work you might just achieve it.

A Short Thank You

It has been a pretty incredible weekend for things in my life. I haven't really had a chance to write because of some of the things that have been going on. From the feedback I have gotten people want this blog to be more a positive thing and I don't think that it is negative I just have strong opinions that logically make sense to me. I enjoy trying to bring my opinions to people and I appreciate all my readers, even if you think I am just ranting all the time. So I will try and bring some more insight to you guys and make this a bit more positive. I want to connect and help and maybe even inspire people and I think I have the ability to do that. Thank you all for the feedback and I look forward to continuing to write. It means a lot everytime I get comments or texts about my blog and I enjoy debating with people. So if this means something to you or you want to tell someone about it, if you share it with someone it really means a lot to me. I know that my goal of reaching a large audience can be far fetched, but people seem to be responding to some of my ideas more than I thought and every time I hear about someone reading my blog it really makes this all worth it. So thanks to everyone who reads this and if you do like it, share it with someone, or link to it. Have a good day guys and I look forward to continuing to write.