Month: October 2015

Had a Colonoscopy or other screening for Colorectal Cancer yet; if you are 50 or older, or younger with a family history, why not?

An Upcycled Self needs to maintain optimum health, to be ready for opportunity, as best they can by taking the necessary steps to correct preventable problems. The media stereotype of a sick 50+ worker pushing up healthcare costs does not help anyone. For example: about 6 years ago I was surprised to learn I am a Type II Diabetic; it was caught early through standard testing and I make adjustments in my life to avoid complications.

Do you know people with high end performance cars who have the owner’s manual and maintenance schedule memorized? Do they follow the same course of action for themselves? We do not come with an owner’s manual but science has designed effective testing and screening that catches a lot of problems early. Similar to upgrading your skills, you need to upgrade your personal care and maintenance to meet the realities of the second half of the second decade of the 21st century.

Colonoscopies, or similar colorectal Cancer screening tests, are the subject of jokes between friends, especially guys. Yes there is a huge “Ick Factor”, you will not be posting as an event on Facebook , but these easy tests can catch small problems before they become big, life changing or life ending ones.

According to the Colorectal Cancer association of Canada regular screening leads to better outcomes and prevents death from colorectal cancer, with patients having an estimated 90% chance of being cured if the cancer is detected early, compared with only 10% if it is detected at an advanced stage.

In 2015, the association predicts 1 in 14 men and 1 in 16 women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. My brother died on Thanksgiving Day of complications related to Colorectal Cancer at the youngest age of anyone in our family in two generations.

In the last decade Ontario has had one of the highest rates of colorectal cancer in the world. Colorectal Cancer remains one of the four most common cancers diagnosed in the province, and is the second highest cause of cancer deaths in Ontario. For more information please check out www.colorectal-cancer.ca

At funerals it is normal to hear “but they were never sick, never saw a doctor than suddenly…” disease does not happen suddenly but over time. Please talk to your Family doctor and get necessary tests on a regular basis with Colorectal Cancer screening a priority. Think of it as Upcycling; a new skill to help you thrive and survive!

Much like sex; every generation thinks they are the first to discover some work place personalities or situations that defy reason. An Upcycled Self has many characters and situations from work experiences to learn from or turn into anecdotal answers for employer and client questions or that first novel we keep meaning to write!

One standard, tired and unimaginative, interviewer question is “Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult colleague or situation”. Interview preparation lists suggest following a model of Situation, Task, Action and Response answering to show how wonderful you are and able to cope with any and all eventualities like Donald Trump as an immediate supervisor, Rob Ford as an employee or Kanye and Justin Bieber as colleagues. When hearing the question again and again I have been tempted to use the following for an answer!

Thank you; Oh…yes a difficult colleague…

YIKES, the Situation: A “Developing Economy” Capital City in the 1980’s pitching new transportation equipment to the Military; I was responsible for researching and answering financing questions about any lease or direct purchase options along with “The General”, our local representative who was certifiably NUTS! A retired Senior Military Officer, as many were, right out of Hollywood casting for a Quentin Tarantino film villain.  Larger than life, extremely aggressive personality; he drove a high-powered “engine enhanced” car at break neck speeds ignoring all other road users, stop lights, signs, or one way entry indicators. After our first day I carefully asked what precautions he took spending so much time in a busy city on the road, he showed me the Nickel-Plated Magnum 44 he kept under the driver’s seat as his insurance, negotiation and accident strategy! To make things more interesting he refreshed himself with a mix of Cognac and Coca Cola throughout most of the day between meetings.

Tasks in priority order:

• Stay alive and out of hospital.
• Visiting and presenting information to various government and military officials.

Action to Survive Alive: Being very well prepared for each meeting and running an ongoing briefing in the car to keep us on task, him focused and not thirsty. Prayer helped along with closing my eyes in the car, having the Canadian embassy number with me (pre-cell phone days) and being extremely polite so the Magnum 44 stayed out of sight!

Result(s):

• I lived!
• The sale negotiations continued.
• He told my boss I was great to work with.
• I always packed lots of extra underwear for future trips.

Now, should I also talk about the “Flying Pirate”?

Thanksgiving is celebrated here, on the North Shore of the inland Sea named Lake Ontario, this coming Monday. For my non Canadian friends; our Thanksgiving is a harvest based festival that follows the practical, and First Nations’ traditional, timing for harvest in this geography.

It is also a long autumn weekend where yard work and outdoor household upcycling projects are done prior to busy indoor winter living.

To push a metaphor it is useful, as the leaves fall and we rake them, to consider 6 hints to aid in harvesting our prior experience. These are suggestions on some issues that may need to be cleaned up, disposed of, or reconditioned as you go forward on new or repurposed paths.

1. Are you realistic about what you bring to the table because of your history and experience? Consider the stereotypes you may encounter and think how you will counter ageism, embrace your experience and adapt to the future at the same time.
2. Can you ask a reliable and honest person how your personal brand is viewed these days compared to the competition? You need to know how to make a great impression in person and online; it may be time for a little image makeover in how you present in person and digitally. Take a good look at all your Social Media profiles with a critical eye; what do they say about you, your history and future?
3. Know what you want next? Have you decided if you want to pursue another traditional work situation, or embrace the emerging, or emerged, gig work economy.
4. Have you managed and removed negative emotions related to your prior job/career; is there a need to eliminate any negative feelings or bitterness to your work life? Similar to when you remove the rust or flacking paint from an item you are going to upcycle in your home you need to rid yourself of any negative or bitter feelings about change. If you do not it will come through in targeted or casual work discussions with others.
5. Have you taken the steps to identify core, key skills that are in demand, and know what you need to upcycle with training? If not please take a look at my Blog “Take Your Skills Out Of Storage“ on this site as a starting point. Knowing this will make a focused future more effective.
6. Nobody gets anywhere alone. As you rake those leaves, harvest those tomatoes or clean up the balcony have you thought about who you need to speak with about what the market wants and needs now?  .

Have a great weekend wherever you are; have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day if you are celebrating the Canadian Holiday, and take a few moments to start thinking about these items as a way to kick start your next work experience and become an Upcycled Self!