Exactly, same for business. Companies need to change their procress of excuses and how they feel they need to lay people off or fire them by their lack of management and stability. As minimum wage increases and we the people demand more employment and job opportunities, companies will soon have no choice but to make a better employment field for The People. Our strikers and protesters have not gone unheard, we are up to 12 dollars an hour of minimum wage which I believe is a big step in making better lives for hardworking Americans. Never give up, 10 years ago, it was 8 dollars an hour, I am proud of minimum wage these days and can't wait to find stable employers. They have no more excuses for lay offs.

Well I learned early on why you should never ever make an excuse for your actions. First your superiors will ask "What happened?" or "Why did you do that?" They seem like simple straightforward questions. But, here is what I learned about superiors asking these questions. They really don't want to hear the excuses. They don't even want to hear what really happened. They want to give you the chance to take accountability and ownership over your short-comings. They know what happened, they are not idiots. So again take responsibility for it, and grow up. The second reason to never make excuses is this; Can you honestly say you gave it your best? If yes then don't apologize for it. Pick up the pieces and learn what you can and move on. If you answered no, be honest and accept the reality of the situation and start asking the hard questions, "Do I want to do this?" "Do I want to be here?" So, then don't fool your superiors and yourself leave if you have to. No one will do this for you, and you have to be harder on yourself than they ever will. At my job my team lead literally yelled at the top of her lungs at me, when I first got there. Why this why that...you know, she was right! She is in charge but she was right. We are co workers, and she makes slightly more than I do, and has been there longer than me. But, I knew I had to be harder on myself than she would be. I then started asking the hard questions, Can I do this? Do I want to be here? What happens if I leave? Oh man, I wanted to quit so many times but I compromised and gave myself a week to start to improve or then leave. So I made it my life's work to learn how to do this. If not, then I had to start looking for another job and begin again. And this was not an environment conducive to learning. I girded up my loins and prayed before work every day. My co-workers would laugh because this was the funniest thing they ever saw, I was the funniest thing they ever saw and they laughed at me constantly! Each failure made more and more determined. The second Thursday I was there, I fully expected to be fired, but something wonderful happened, I got through the day without a major mistake! But no I didn't get fired. I was so sore and tired and miserable after work I just went home and ate something watched about a half hour of tv and passed out on the couch. So I got ready for work the next night and I actually got faster. I am still there and I help with the new people to train them. Also I am not so sore now, but I am 57 now and lost some weight in the almost three years there. My ankles and heels hurt most now. I could have gotten an attitude and huffed and puffed and said things I would later regret I knew that would only give short term relief and still I would need to find a job. So I kept my mouth shut and tried my best to learn what they were teaching. I don't think I have made many excuses since my Navy days and had a total melt-down in Cuba. That is another story for another day. Suffice it to say that was my turning point. I look back on those days somewhat regretful that I could have done much better than I did. I could have gotten my Good Conduct Medal then, but I was too busy giving excuses. But I can live with that. We all grow up. So now my co-workers still laugh at me, but for different reasons. Our job is hard and physically demanding, and we have seniors there humping it every day, five days a week eight hours or more a day. So I lighten the load be telling jokes or make light of myself and dance around and yell and laugh and try to have fun. Especially when we have to work on Saturday, believe me no one wants to be there. But after a couple of hours pass, then we get down to work, time passes quickly when you are working with your friends, and everyone is laughing, that is the best! I'll say this about excuses too. When we make excuses we cheat ourselves of the opportunity to learn what we need to, and to thus shine forth and what we can bring to the table. In short we cheat others of ourselves. Sorry to make this so long and probably illegible. Troy Lawson

Spell check

This is a fantastic post Michael Carvalho and certainly one that we can ALL relate to! I think making excuses happens to all of us at some point or another when we lose the drive to push ourselves. As they say, sometimes it seems better to take the easy way out, but we know better! We are glad to have you here in the community and I hope you have a fantastic week Michael : )