Fight against discrimination in the work place

As an Asian American woman, I face discrimination of very subtle forms. Let's face it, these days it's harder to fight against discrimination because biased people have made their prejudice more discreet. It's no longer a blatant statement that will be revealed as prejudice, such as "I don't want Asians to work here." It's something like a question at a job interview such as, "how long have you lived in the US?" Racists today wouldn't dare to speak their feelings because they know they are wrong, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to act on those feelings. They'll make you work harder than anyone else and step all over you, but they won't let anyone know why.
Luckily, I've realized we can do something about this. The Legal Aid Society is a federal organization that helps defend you against discrimination and harassment. If you think there is nothing you can do, do not give up. Identifying discrimination is difficult, but it is possible. Contact the Legal Aid Society, and they will help you get on the right track.

Getting your online business on Google searches - Free Backlink Tool

If you have been aware of modern advertising, you will know that search engine optimization is the most sought out form of marketing today. A great way to get your online business known is to use FBT, Free Backlink Tool. It lets you create 500 free backlinks, which bring your site to a higher ranking on Google searches. There aren't many sites that allow you to do this, so you can't miss out on this opportunity. If you did this yourself it would take days, and even then it would be difficult to find the high authority websites that bring attention to your links.

I have just started using this tool, and I am excited to see the results. Once you submit your site url and desired key word, you can see what backlinks it creates. This site does not make any false promises, but it does guarantee real backlinks. This is why I trust this site. I would not go to a site that promises to get your site to the first search result in one day or something. It is just not a tangible goal. This site does not ask for money, it just asks you wait and see what the tool can do for you.

How to do business when you are depressed

We are all human and we all go through moments in our lives when we want to stay in bed all day long - a breakup, the loss of a loved one, chemical disturbances, uncertainties about life, illness. Sometimes these situations bring us down for weeks, so how can we even begin to face the responsibilities of business which require our full attention and energy?

One option is vacation. Some people just don't think of the importance of a break, but it is actually very necessary when you work yourself out everyday. Just ask yourself if you deserve a break. Have you been working seven days a week for months? Or are you just lazy?

If you find that you are just lazy, we have to face the other options. If you are feeling depressed for any reason, chances are you need to address certain aspects of your life which you may have been ignoring in all your preoccupation with your business. If your relationship with a partner is struggling, it's time to face it. If you are not exercising at least three times a week, it's time to hit the gym. There is no excuse when it comes to making time for your basic needs. You need good relationships that make you happy. You need good food, physical exertion, adventure, and rest. If you are religious, when was the last time you practiced or prayed?

If you can't focus on your job, you owe it to your clients and your close partners to get on a personal level with them and tell them what's going on. You don't have to get to the nitty gritty but at least fill them in so they know why you might be a little flustered. Just a brief comment like "I'm not feeling so well today" or "I just separated from my girlfriend," makes them understand without disrupting the professional atmosphere. It could actually make you more attractive as a businessman because you are showing that you pull through even through vulnerabilities. It works out for you as well because now you have someone who understands you. Doesn't that make you feel more comfortable and useful?

How to take action in your life and become a real entrepreneur

Who doesn't like the idea of entrepreneurship? There are so many of us who like to think about becoming entrepreneurs, but not everyone of us is going to try it out. Right now I'm trying to get to that point, and for the first time I'm realizing that I have so much fear. I don't really have an excuse like I did a month ago - I always said to myself that I was too busy with school to start on my own employment. But now I have a lot of time on my hands. And I've delved into various pursuits, only to realize that I'm not thinking big enough. At the rate I'm going, I'm going to make less than minimum wage working all day, everyday.

Right now I have a part time job to help me fund my little ideas. But I have little access to the things I need. I almost feel like I should be on Kiva asking for loans. I live on an island, and you can't get anywhere or anything without a car. That leaves me stuck at my boyfriend's house when I don't have work. Before it starts seeming like I'm complaining, I'll talk about what really brought me to blogging today.

Yesterday I read The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau. It was truly one of the most motivating books I've read on entrepreneurship. It wasn't just a chapter by chapter guide to success, it was a dialogue that came from the heart. If you're feeling unsure of your ability to lead an independent self-supporting lifestyle, read this book. Guillebeau tells you how it is - it's hard work to be an entrepreneur, much harder than having a boss tell you what to do every day. This guy also speaks about the main values that ring in the hearts of people who want to be self-employed. It's not just about making a lot of money, or being allowed to stay at home when you want to. It's also about having an adventurous spirit and being strong enough not to listen to people who ridicule you for trying something different. I can't say it better than this guy, so trust me - if you need some encouragement while you are treading that path of yours, read his book.

Too many people give up when things get difficult. Sometimes you don't see the possibilities that are really open to you. I hope that you find encouragement from as many people as you can because sometimes we just need someone to tell us we can do it. I hope that in a year or two, I'll be posting here with updates about my success rather than my complaints about the place I'm in. The biggest test of our capabilities is every day. Right now I'm working on being patient. If I am going to be on the road to success in a year or two, that means I have to work hard each day up to that. Every morning of this week, I've thought about leaving and going back home, but that is why I know I need to stay here. I need to show myself that I can accomplish something here.

What are you working on? What is the one thing that might make you give up? How are you going to conquer that? 

How to be a genuine businessman

On my first day of working at my first cafe job in Hawaii, I was really self-conscious about my serving abilities. I'm terrible with casual conversation and I'm a bit clumsy and absent minded when it comes to taking orders. I took everyone's orders one by one, slowly at first, so that I wouldn't make any stupid mistakes. After a week I was making orders just the way I was supposed to, but I still felt insecure. It was my first job making cappuccinos and lattes, and I was still afraid of burning myself.

Then the guy I was working with taught me an important lesson that I hope I never forget. Sometimes there is a lesson that you have always been told, but there are only certain occasions when the lesson actually sticks. This was one of those occasions. My coworker Greg was one of those tall, charming guys who are also a bit quirky and seem to be on at least a small dose of drugs - sort of like a toned down version of Brad Pitt in Fight Club. Just completely bored of life, yet strong enough to approach every person with a sincere smile. You feel like you have to impress people like him, or else they'll give up on talking to you and letting you in on their world experiences. They have big dreams that seem unattainable, and they know that if anyone can do it, it's them.

A customer had come in asking for a brevia, and neither of us knew what it was. I was shocked - I thought Greg knew everything. He asked what it was, the customer told him, and he made it for them. "Mmmm thank you so much," the customer said.

Once there were no customers, Greg asked me, "do you know how to make a brevia?" I shook my head. "Well, now is the time to learn."

Making it was easy, but he showed me what I had been missing out on in the whole week of working at the cafe.

After I asked all the technical questions like "how long the milk is supposed to steam?", Greg showed me what was really important. He swirled the espresso into the cup in a spiral motion.

"You know, the slower you pour the espresso into the cup, the more they can taste your love."

This truth was always standing right in front of me, but I could never face it because I didn't believe I could do it. How does he make a coffee look so pretty? I had thought to myself. Maybe people just like him to make their food because he's tall.

But then he said, "let's each make one for practice. I want to see the most loving brevia you've ever made." Just involving me in the process made me realize that I was capable of doing just what Greg was doing. I just had to believe in myself.

As I watched Greg drawing smiley faces on his snow cones, and filling them will twice as much ice as I would have done, I saw that I needed to think bigger and better. You always want to give your customers more than they are expecting, and you have to know that you are capable of achieving more than your own expectations of yourself.

Garbage trucks: a life lesson

This week has been rough. I just graduated college two weeks ago, and days later I moved in with my boyfriend's family in Hawaii. Everyone I talked to about this looked at me as if they were concerned, but for me it was the only option. I love my boyfriend more than anything, and nothing will keep me from being with him, even a career. You may have already guessed from this blog that I really care about my career. I spend so much of my time learning about how to improve myself as a businesswoman. But this move to my boyfriend's house has really thrown me for a loop because there are very few job openings I can take just to get something started. I have a suspended license until I pay a good sum of money that I don't have, and there is nothing within walking distance from the house besides a private beach and the neighbor's horses. I always thought it it would be much easier to get things done once I didn't have to deal with school, but it's really not.

Of course, there are plenty of things that can be done in Hawaii because it is so unique to the rest of the world. It's can actually be a desirable choice to start a business, but people here often don't take advantage of that opportunity. It's the rich foreigners who end up with much of the business here - the one job interview I got in my first week here was from a smug lady with a European accent at St. Regis, a five star hotel. Once it was my turn to ask the questions, I asked if the guests there were expecting a local environment, because it seemed the hotel doesn't stand for any of that. The European lady replied that obviously they were expecting it, and their job was to provide it while offering luxury service. It's more than a bit contradictory, but that's the way things work sometimes.

I'm not a local, but I can see how a struggling resident would become complacent with a couple part-time jobs at minimum wage. But that's not what I personally want to do with my life, and I'm working hard to change where I am right now. A liberal arts degree hasn't exactly prepared me for a life here. In the two weeks that I've been here, I've been so worried about my future that I argued and complained to just about everyone of my friends and most of all my boyfriend. "How could you put me through this?" I asked. But not only did I get angry about where I am, I got angry about the nature of everyone around  me. "Everyone here is so damn lazy!" I screamed.

But then my boyfriend and I went to the library (the only bookstore within an hour from here has shut down), and while he typed up a new resume, I picked up The Law of the Garbage Truck. This was a lesson he and I both needed to be acquainted with. Earlier that day, my boyfriend had been fired from a new job as a part-time line cook because he wanted to switch to a busser position. Apparently, he had wasted the head chef's time because he went through a day of training for the cooking position. The head chef had a predictably nasty attitude on the phone with him, predictable because all his friends had recollected similar interactions with him. My boyfriend was shocked that his desire to be a busser ended up in his termination from the restaurant.


These events gave us a hard time emotionally, and we were both at a point where we didn't want to stay on the island any longer. But we have no other option because my boyfriend's family needs him here, and I am not willing to be apart from my boyfriend. The Law of the Garbage Truck was a good teacher for this week because several people in my life have been acting like garbage trucks, especially me. I need to learn not to complain and start fights with my boyfriend. He also needs to learn not to take that garbage, a main lesson of this book. This book leaves pages for your own notes after every chapter, with specific questions for you to answer to make you think and put the lessons into practice.


This is a very inspirational book to keep with you in times of frustration and confrontation. But it also leaves me wanting something more. Sometimes I found that the advice was a bit ineffective - there are many books that go beyond simple rules by discussing the perspectives of the people bringing you down. Still, the garbage truck metaphor is a useful way to approach difficulties when we are one second away from saying something you'll regret. I haven't stated the complete metaphor in this post, so you'll have to read the book to find out the real substance of the lesson.

How to organize and plan your business