Auditioning

You are always auditioning for your next job, position, role or whatever is next in your journey toward your goal. This often gets lost in the shuffle of our everyday jobs. Our jobs become monotonous and we think that we may not be getting noticed. I can promise you that just when you think you are not being noticed, you will drop your guard and start taking short cuts and you will be noticed for all the wrong reasons. Some times that audition will take just a few weeks, but sometimes it takes a few years. You cannot simply give up for fear that that time will never come. This also goes for quarterly or yearly reviews. You have to be consistent throughout the year, not just when it is evaluation time. This goes back to a previous post where I talked about you cannot un-hear, un-see, or un-know somethings. Everything that you do throughout your career will become a part of who you are, the Good, The Bad and the Ugly. You never know when that opportunity will come for you to move up the ladder and better yourself. Will you be ready, have you prepared, has your audition been flawless, how does your audition match up to the next person? We all must take a look at ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves have we done all that we can do to make sure we are in the right position should the time come? This also goes for when you think no one is looking. That is the mark of a true professional. Doing what is right, even when no one is looking. We all like a pat on the back from time to time, but don't think because you aren't getting a pat on the back, that the good you do goes unnoticed. Sometimes being unnoticed is a good thing, as it means you are not being tracked down for something that needs to be addressed. 

On that note, let your experiences speak for themselves. If you are one of those who has to constantly remind others that you did something great, then you are only doing yourself more harm than good. It is like a major corporation spending $10,000 doing something great for the community, and then spending millions promoting it. Everyone will see through it and it will come off as fake. Your good deeds will show themselves when they are ready to be shown. I see this all too often and to be honest it can be very off putting. The other thing I see is putting others down to make yourself look good. This only makes you look bad, even if there is validity in what you are saying. We all have eyes, ears and our own experiences to compare things to and we don't need you to point them out. More often then not, this puts a spotlight on you and then all of your shortcomings become more apparent. Trust me, this is not how you make yourself look good.

Your comments are welcome.... Till next time - Ed.

Job v/s Profession

I originally went to Nicholls State University to study Mass Communication specializing in Broadcast Journalism. However, I didn't think I would be able to find a job like that here in Louisiana (Now look, Louisiana is now known as the Hollywood of the South, go figure). But then NSU started offering the Paramedic Program. Yes! My first career choice is now a degree option at NSU. Long story short, I had to wait a semester to start the program and Louisiana Technical College had a class that started before then. This was in 1997 - Although not that long ago, it seem like it was forever ago. This was when I decided to follow my passion and become a medic. I didn't know then that there were different levels of being an EMT, but I knew I wanted to be one. I wanted to help others in their time of need. I have always been one of those people that would help others before I would help myself.

I was also a volunteer with Schriever Volunteer Fire Department,

So helping people was in my blood and I had a taste for it and I wanted more. When I first became an EMT. Being an EMT meant that you were a professional. Being an Emergency Medical Technician was a profession. Something that you decided to do and were planning to do for the rest of your career. Professionals were respected in their field and all levels respected each other. There was no such thing as a Paragod. Both the EMT-Basic and Paramedic were partners in that there was no one better than the others. The only difference was one could give meds and the other could not. Both treated the patient and both were responsible for everything, including station and unit duties.

Somewhere along the line, it seems being an EMT (Basic and Paramedic) has become a job to some and no longer a profession.Yes, what we do is a job in the sense that we trade time
for money, but when you are looking at something as a job versus a profession, then you have lost the reason you got into this profession. We should not forget our purpose and our passion. If you say it is about money, then you were never in this profession for the right reason to begin with. There is no secret that careers in the service profession are not money makers (Fire, Police, EMS, Teachers, etc.) We all knew this before we signed up. We signed up because we wanted to make a difference in someone's life.

When something becomes a job, then you no longer look forward to going to work. Then you depend on others to change this for you instead of you making a change in yourself. You are the only one that can change this. It is up to you to make that change and to better yourself for your own benefit. It reminds me of the quote "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country?" A Job v/s Profession is a mindset. It is how you view things. It is the way that you choose to complete your job. Do you just do what is needed to get by, or do you go the extra mile and make it better?

We all have a duty to be the best that we can be for our profession and our career. Even if you don't stay in the EMS field, while you are here you owe it to the others before you not to tarnish what has been a long journey to be known as a professional.

Thanks again for stopping by, please leave a comment. And share with others, especially if you think they need to hear this message. As always, BE SAFE out there!

Yes, What people think matters...

So, I recently rediscovered my voice through my blog. I would like to think that I am a wise person, but I have been reminded that it doesn't matter what others think. As true as this statement is, it will always matter to a certain degree (Brian hates when I say "to a certain degree" but I rarely believe in absolutes). It will matter how you make people feel, think and know about you as a person. Public opinion has always shaped not only who we are as a person, but who we are as a society, a culture, a country....you name it. You are correct, we SHOULD NOT worry about what others think, but we SHOULD be aware of how we present ourselves. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, but I think that if you know and understand this it will help you become a better person.

Why do we worry about what others think? For me, it is because of what we had to endure while we were in High School. You HAD to make sure that you fit in to some type of crowd. I was by far not one of the popular kids in high school, but I was definitely one of the infamous ones. Everyone seemed to at least know me and acknowledge me. However, no one really knew the real me. I would love to go back to High School knowing what I know now, but who doesn't? That is another blog in itself :)

The other reason is that I am a PROFESSIONAL, and being a professional, I have to uphold what that means. (Notice the CAPS). What I mean by this, is being a professional comes with it a certain level of respect and code of ethic that some have forgotten what that means. You can still be yourself and be professional at the same time. It is more about mutual respect then it is about being right.

I am always very conscious about how my actions, words, and even inaction will be perceived by others. I think that we must always be conscious of this but at the same time should not let it waiver who we are as a person. We don't have to let the world know exactly how we are. I am not saying that we should be fake, but be conscious of who our audience is. At the same time, we need to learn to be vulnerable and take down our defences and allow our softer side to show.

One of my facebook friends posted this video and I think it says alot about how I feel about this subject. Mr. Rogers was an integral part of my childhood as well as many of my friend's. What pains me is that not very many people will admit it. Yeah, Mr. Rogers was not a superhero that wore tights and fought bad guys. ( I smirk as I think of men in tights as masculine, lol). But he was a SUPERHERO that taught us about ourselves and that it was OK to be ourselves. Have we lost our imagination and our ability to think for ourselves? We fear that no one will understand what we see, feel, or think. We cannot be afraid to think outside the box, go against the grain....all of those cliche's. Everyone should be who they are, as long as that does not hurt anyone in the process. More of us need to stand up for what is RIGHT (for all), even if we stand alone.



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