Detour

The following detour posts are related to the THRIVE phase of your journey.

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Are You an Imposter?

Are you an imposter Starengu

Are you an imposter? So many people go through life feeling like they don’t deserve the attention or compliments they receive when they achieve their goals. Discover why this is the case.

Thanks so much for listening to today’s podcast.  I’m confident that my side hustle of helping others to invest in themselves via my youtube channel, podcast, Facebook Group, and most importantly my online courses can be of assistance to you.

My courses are geared towards teaching people how to create their own website, and promote their endeavor through digital marketing, and so much more. You never know who you may inspire.

If you enjoy Starengu’s podcast, please consider becoming a supporter of by donating to help offset the cost of producing this show. 🙂

In order to be notified when new content is available, please be sure to subscribe to my podcast on Anchor, iTunes, Spotify and Google Play.

Why you need to be selfish in business?


In today’s podcast, we’re going to discuss how to be selfish. Now I know that title sounds pretty crazy because let’s face it when you’re kids it’s ingrained in you that you don’t want to be selfish. However, as you grow older you need to have a balance in life. Discover three areas that you have to be selfish in otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Why it’s important to take time out to invest in yourself

Why it's important to invest in yourself

Ever since I was a kid, my mom has always preached to me that is important to invest in yourself. It’s been many moons since I graduated from college, but I remember my college graduation ceremony like it was yesterday. I was elated and relieved because I had finally obtained the “key” (or so I thought) to unlock my dream job. It was also a sense of relief to me that I no longer had to keep up with the insane schedule of working from 8am to 4:30pm and then attending class from 5:45 pm to 9pm four days a week. I somehow maintained this insane schedule for four looong years. I was finally done!

I paid my dues and now it was time to experience success. However, as I grew older I quickly began to realize that true success involves your ability to continually invest in yourself.

In case you don’t have time to listen to the video in its entirety, below are points that I discuss in the video:

Degrees aren’t magical

When you invest in yourself you realize that your degree will only take you so far in life. You still have to do the work. You will be left behind if you don’t keep up with the new technology and concepts that are happening within your industry.

Your knowledge may not always be appreciated when you invest in yourself

I’ve worked with and for people who had all sorts of fancy degrees. Yet, these folks still somehow manage to be a few fries short of a happy meal.

When people notice that you’re starting to invest in yourself, some will go out of their way to get you to “dumb it down” so you can be on their level. Don’t fall into this trap. Force these folks to elevate themselves so they can be on your level.

Increase your creativity

When you invest in yourself, you will enhance your ability to see a variety of ways to solve an issue. You’re going to feel more confident in your ability to demonstrate the new skills that you learned. Once you feel comfortable with the skills you learned, you should think about teaching a course. If you’re not sure how to create a course or would be interested in receiving course creation assistance, I would be more than happy to assist you.

Diversify your income

Investing in yourself forces you to be more aware of opportunities outside of your 9 to5. When you start gaining new skills, you will realize that you have way more potential than what you may be able to demonstrate on your job. You’re going to end up taking the initiative to look for ways to gain income from doing something that you love.

Start a blog or start a side hustle

Take time to showcase those skills to the rest of the world!  Be sure to create a side hustle focused on providing services or selling products that you’re confident you will be able to deliver. Start a blog to chronicle your journey so you can look back on your progress.

These are my main reasons why I feel that it is important to invest in yourself.

Why do you feel it is important to invest in yourself? How do you invest in yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Don’t forget to join us in the Goal Slayers Facebook Group

Why it's important to invest in yourself

What film is playing on your screen?

Your imagination is your preview to life’s coming attractions.

I immediately fell in love with this quote because it reaffirms what has been instilled in me since childhood—you are what you think. As a child, we have all had dreams of what we wanted to be when we grew up. However, somewhere along the way many lose that zeal and drive we once had to pursue those dreams and turn them into reality. Why?

As we grow older, we allow outside influences (i.e. family members, circumstances, etc.) to persuade us into believing that perhaps our dreams were not meant to be achieved. This could not be further from the truth! You have the power to change the channel if you are not enjoying the current attraction.

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Why is it important to have character?

I had a bad case of writer’s block this weekend. I wanted to write something great and profound but was unable to do so because at the moment I had the attention span of a child-LOL

So I decided to do some spring cleaning and came across this gem of a speech I had written in high school for our speech team. “There’s nothing new under the sun,” is something my mother often says to me. Reading this speech made me realize how true this saying is because even though I wrote this speech many moons ago,  but it still rings true today. See for yourself and I am sure you will agree  (there is an audio version as well)…

The Importance of Character

Everyone has it. Some more than others. You have it. I have it. We cannot escape from it because it is who we are and we must strive to improve it in order to gain acceptance from others and ourselves. It is the only valid thing we have by which to judge someone. What is it? It is character. Character can simply be defined as moral or ethical strength. But when you see a handsome young guy walking down the street you don’t say,” That guy has a great…character!”

Character is not a physical thing. It is not something you wear. To some character is a quaint little idea based on what we learned in kindergarten, but it is much more than that. It is the culmination of who we are. Character comes as a result of life and it doesn’t come easily. In order to know where we are going, we have to know where we have been in the struggle to achieve character.

During the forties and fifties, teachers and parents were the moral leaders that students admired. Hard work and patriotism were strongly affirmed in schools.In the sixties and seventies, America’s youth rejected the previous generation’s conformist attitude and opted to adopt idealism. The nation took John F. Kennedy’s statement to heart, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” America’s adolescence along with their teachers accepted this challenge by participating in the Peace Corps and later the Teachers Corps.

In the middle of America’s rebirth, Kennedy was assassinated, Martin Luther King was gunned down in Alabama, and Kennedy’s brother, Robert saw the end to his life in a hotel kitchen in Los Angeles and with that came a transformation in schools attitudes. The Scholastic Aptitude Test scores started to drop after 1963 while school vandalism, violent crimes among young people, and teacher absenteeism ran rampant.

[ctt template=”5″ link=”9lkXI” via=”yes” ]Character comes as a result of life and it doesn’t come easily. [/ctt]

Distrusting the government and increased focus on individual rights gave way to students using slogans such as, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” People over 30 said, “Don’t trust anyone under 30.” Almost everyone just thought, “Don’t trust anyone.” Society at this time was so anti-authority, teachers dominating influence declined. Teachers were just as puzzled as the rest of America’s youth over issues like the limits of protest, sexual mores, and patriotism.

The eighties brought a rekindling disposition to a society fatigued by transition and inward strife. This brought a resurgence of national reports associated with the failing of moral nature in schools by displaying the poor discipline, vandalism, and physical abuse of both teachers and students. Students used drugs and television as an escape. America was in strong need of moral behavior. Schools questioned themselves in whether they could be the only ones who could teach kids to act morally correct. Administration and public officials turned to the thoughts of Aristotle and Thomas Jefferson in trying to reinstate America’s right and responsibility to teach the traditional values of patriotism, and respect for adults.

For years, this debate raged. It went on during the “me generation” and the “X-generation” and the effects on society could be witnessed by the loss of trustworthiness, tolerance, and lack of accountability. In a recent article done by U.S. News and World Report on cheating, it seemed as if “immoral behavior” was everywhere. Eighty-four percent of college students believe cheating is the way to get ahead in today’s world. Ninety-percent of college students believe that cheaters never pay the price. The poll also found that one in four adults believe they must lie to get ahead. When people are dishonest, immoral, or that they are displaying poor character, the last thing they want to be told is that they are unethical.

People have very little tolerance when it comes to criticism. In an age where zero tolerance is a buzz word parents favor the concept but when it is applied to so-called “good kids” they are outraged. Supporters of zero tolerance argue it makes schools safer and unifies disciplinary measures. Critics argue it is a knee jerk reaction to tolerance. However, is it really a knee jerk reaction to the challenge of character and the necessities to develop it?
One of the greatest philosophers in history, Aristotle, noted, “If we want to take credit for our virtues…then we must equally take blame for our vices.” As a society, do we really want to accept the consequences of our actions? I was amazed when I read the story of Regales. My world history teacher introduced me to this character driven man. He was a counsel in the Roman army who had been captured by the Spartans after Rome lost a battle to them. He was taken prisoner and was going to be used as a prisoner swap with Carthage.

[ctt template=”5″ link=”6MAxB” via=”yes” ]“If we want to take credit for our virtues…then we must equally take blame for our vices.” ~Aristotle[/ctt]

Surely, these governments lacked the convenience of modern communication so they could only rely on the message personally delivered. So Regales was sent by the Spartans back to Rome to tell the Roman Senate what was to be done. Before he left Sparta, he promised them he would return and if the Roman Senate did not approve of the terms of the agreement he would allow Sparta to kill him. Regales did return to Sparta. Unfortunately, Rome did not agree to the terms and the story ends with Regales in a barrel into which the Spartans stuck swords and rolled him down a mountainside. Did this man have character or what?

Obtaining character is a daily struggle. We can stress the importance for character by educating people. Aristotle saw in the year 350 B.C. the need for character when he wrote Nicomachean Ethics. In it he tries to define happiness; the virtues of character and determine its place in the happy life. This supremacy of thought is relevant to acquire character. After all, “We are what we think.” This later became the foundation for others trying to win the warfare on character. Michael Josephson, a highly acclaimed ethicist, advocates The Character Counts! program which is based on teaching The Pillars of Character. Together these components encourage the individual to be better and in turn help others improve their character.

Once an individual has been educated in the importance of character, they then have a clear vision, are inspired to achieve success, and when it comes time to experience challenges rely on character to pull them through the situations that they might face. Living without the perception of what you want to do or where you want to go and how to do it, is a life wasted. With a clear vision despite defeat, rejection, and lack of recognition, you can persevere through challenges that may be hurled your way.

When you are able to acknowledge your imperfections, you can triumph over them in order to accomplish your goal. Walter Payton was one such individual. “I want to set the record so high that the next person who tries for it, it’s going to bust his heart,” Payton once said. Despite his 5’10 frame, he was the leading running back in the NFL for 13 years. With focus and determination, we can make our vision a reality. Having a clear vision gives you the ambition to be inspired to achieve success.

When you look back on all the hardships that you have been through you feel a sense of awe and satisfaction in achieving your goal. Character is not just about having the ambition or inspiration to achieve success, but it is about accomplishment and planning. We all possess the skills needed to accomplish our goals, but it is how we utilize our skills that make us talented and successful. You must expect to experience challenges in the long journey toward acquiring character. Having setbacks and restrictions makes us mentally stronger

Enduring these setbacks is what makes our vision seem valuable when obtained. Senator John McCain was a naval aviator in Vietnam.While on a mission he was captured by the enemy, beaten, and offered early release by his captors. McCain declined because he was unwilling to leave his fellow POW’s behind. He instead endured five more years of brutal captivity with them. We all experience setbacks at some point in time, but it is how we respond to and handle them that makes our goal even more precious when reached.

How the turn of the century is viewed by future generations is up to us. If we continue in the direction that we are headed in, we can expect to see an increase in declining ethics. On a survey done by the Josephson Institute on character development, 97% of teenagers felt it was important to be viewed as a person with good character.

Character is what helps people overcome the fear of challenges that we must endure. Perseverance through these obstacles enables us to clearly visualize our ultimate goal. When we know what we are truly capable of, only then, can we expect success. In the end, character is the only lasting trait humans have that enables them to be something more than just merely existing.

How to Master Spanish When You Don’t Have Time

How I learned Spanish

Q: What do you call someone who only speaks one language?                   

A: An American!

I remember hearing this joke when I was a teenager and thinking, “I’ll show them.” At the time, English was the only language that I knew (it is my native language). Hearing this joke combined with my desire to effectively communicate with my Latino friends, put me on the path to wanting to learn Spanish.

However, having the desire to learn Spanish and actually learning Spanish are two different things. Learning a language can be difficult. Spanish has been on my bucket list for years. I took it in high school. I even made it all the way up to the Honors class level, which is the highest level you can attain in an American high school, but I don’t consider this achievement to be a success.  Why? I could barely speak the language.

Spanish idiom

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How to stop being your own worst enemy

How to stop being your own worst enemy

Be honest. Have you abandoned your New Year’s resolutions to launch your business? No need to feel ashamed. In fact, according to numerous studies, most people abandon their New Year’s resolution within a month. Now there are a variety of reasons why this happens, but I believe the main forces driving this statistic can be attributed to fear, patience, and consistency.

The good news is that even though you got off to a rocky start, it’s how you finish that truly matters. I don’t want your dreams of launching your business to end up on the sidelines.  It’s time to get to work on how we can go about resurrecting your goals so you to make it to the finish line in style.

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