Hello Operaphntom2003,

I read your entry as well as I read the responses to your entry before weighing in. All very good suggestions by the way and all worth looking into but more education isn't necessarily the answer to a higher paying position.  There are other factors to consider in why one is not getting where they wanna be.

Attitude is the key. And I'm not just speaking of a good work attitude: friendly and helpful to the customers, pleasant to co-workers, accommodating to employers needs. I'm talking about a directive attitude. Do you know what you want? Is it even in Retail? If we don't clearly define want we want for ourselves, giving detailed details we often end up in a ringtailed muck getting no where fast.

I am going to ask you to exam your attitude and beliefs about what you do for a living and why you have those beliefs.  How do you feel about the customers and serving people in general?  Do you like people? Why did you get into Retail?  Does that same reason serve you today?  I'm not talking about the feed and clothe your child reason. We all live by that reason. I'm talking about why you choose Retail as opposed to medical or office, housekeeping or tarring roofs, which is what I'd rather do then job search...

That is till I changed my attitude about it... And that didn't happen over night or even in a moderate amount of time in my mind. But I finally got to a place where I see it as an adventure and opportunity to learn about myself.  I was in a profession for 15 years. It is by all rights the only thing I knew to do and it at times drew me a very lucrative income. But it was mostly a feast or famine for me. I wondered why and went into self-examination... I loved what I did but I didn't really feel right about getting paid to help people so I was mentally holding myself back from prospering.  I still enjoy practicing my skills and talents in my field but I only cater to close friends and family at this time and have sought work in a brand new field until I can convincingly change my preception on this matter. Ironically, I have chosen to go into retail and at a quarter of what I made at my previous profession offers. However, I'm enjoying the experience and I haven't an attitude about it that will hinder me as my beliefs about my previous profession have.

Self- examination is rarely a comfortable task so I will keep you and your child in prayer that your answers come through you swiftly and bears the light you are looking for.  All the answers you are looking for are inside of you. Decide what you want, focus on it and move accordingly in that direction.

Most often the thing that holds us back are our subconscious ideas. They may not even be our thoughts, they may be the comments and believed attitudes of others that just sunk in when we had brief encounters with their experiences around a situation and before we knew it, their thoughts became our reality... but we can most definitely change that by going within and cleaning out our mental files. Even if it was our own thinking that lead us to our "Stuck position".  You  have the power and the right to change your mind/thinking and progress.

If you keep on doing what you've always done you're going to keep on getting what you've always gotten. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over accepting different results. Keep your eyes of the prize, once you change your mind what you once wanted will come your way and what you know want will take a while to arrive.  And to save you from the logical sense of changing your mind to something else to bring you that thing you'ld been after for so long that much sooner doesn't work, I tried it, several times and the Law of Nature just does not cooperate that way, nor does our mind. We cannot definitively want more than one thing at a time...and when we don't know what we want anything and everything might come our way (opportunities) yet we won't recognize it till it passed our way

(Note: this is & is not new age. And it is & isn't necessarily Biblical either. It just is!  I'm 40 and I learned this all the hard way. If they gave out degrees for it, I'd have a double Ph.D. in the subject of Hard Knocks. Sounds like you've earned your Master's Degree in it. My advice to you is merely to save you of further heartache over hardships and pre-mature aging. From my heart, get clear as to what you want, why you want it and what you are willing to do to get there.  Focus on what you want, not on what you don't. That takes practice and exercise but its the most important exercise of your life.

Have a Happy Face Day!  And remember to appreciate yourself, take care of yourself and nurture yourself. The most important lesson we can give children is to teach them to Value themselves by Valuing Ourselves. That means do not put yourself down, make time for yourself to do things you enjoy with and without them. Avoid telling them you want better for them then you have. It sends a signal that  you are unhappy with your life and that that is because of them that you are not living your dream life) that they feel you deserve) and that they are not meeting your expectations.  Regardless of what amazing things you accomplish in life, when you complain or they hear you say that you are not appreciated or valued by others, oh the trouble you will have when they become tween and teens, followed by their life cycle of feeling unaccomplished and unappreciated with no little self value. This also serves everyone else around you, if you set the standard high for how you treat yourself people will meet this or drop away from your world. Be accepting of this fact,..  Your life will absolutely change in the most amazing ways.  { I know this because I lived this for a very long time}.

I apologize for being so wordy and long in answer but your letter touched me and I wanted to be of as much service to you as possible. P.S. In answer to all your employers being unattainable, do not let that matter...No one can take away what you know and what you have accomplished. You may very well have to start at the bottom but your knowledge and attitude will take you as high and far as you decide you want to go.   Have a Happy and Prosperous Life! I know you will.