Author Archives: bennyk1972

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Let’s Get to Work

If anyone were to tell me that I would be looking to change careers in my late 40’s, I suppose they’d have been crazy. Then again, if I thought about this for a second; if the old me met the new me, I suppose the old me would say something like, “What the hell is this?”

Somewhere in life is the difference between ideas and reality. And somewhere was the dream and somewhere else was the reality that no one reaches their dreams for free. This takes work. This takes dedication and understanding of how to decipher between beneficial and wasteful lessons we learn along the way.

Much like the rest of us, I was young once. I had a 10-speed bicycle, which is how I got around my town. As a matter of fact, I have a question. Do you remember your first job?
I do.

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The Art of Being Agnostic (For a Change)

There are things we are famous for saying in times when we have to explain something unfortunate. For example, the common response after someone is asked “Why’d you do that” is usually “I don’t know.” Or, another one of my favorites is, “You have to promise not to get mad.” As if this promise works because by saying this, in fairness, most people are already prepared to be mad — and, whether we promised or not, usually, we get mad.

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Being True to Self

I was remembering the lesson by a famous TED speaker Sean Stephenson who said, “Lesson number one: never believe a prediction that does not empower you.” I was thinking about the yellow line that divides the highway between us and oncoming traffic. I was thinking about how easy it is to lose focus for a second—and just like that, BAM! a head on collision.

I am thinking now about the pathways I have chosen. I am thinking about the dead ends in which I found myself in more times than once. I am remembering a morning when the sun was just about to take the sky. It was summertime in my young life. I was in the middle of too many changes and still handling the tail-end of a three year probation sentence. And there I was, about to handle an additional charge that was now pending after a fight in a law firm parking lot.

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Letters From a Son: Dear Mom (10/4/21)

It is Monday now, but only for now. As a matter of fact, give it a moment and the time will quickly turn into something else. And this is true. Time is always moving. The days and nights are always changing. And so are we.

Soon enough, our side of the world will begin to cool and frost will cover the grass. Soon enough, the streets of New York City will decorate itself with holiday spirit—and to us who’ve survived the pandemic; we hope this year will be better than the last.

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Teamwork: The Result of Unit Cohesion

There was an old boss of mine. He was mean as a snake and twice as angry. He wasn’t always this way. Some say this was because the man decided to stop drinking. In fact, there were writings on the bathroom walls and in different places around the establishment which said, “Have a drink already!” This was a jab at the old boss and a sign that described the sentiment of his crew.

There were some who said that the boss was really a good person but something happened when his title changed. Something happened when he went from being a worker to a boss and then suddenly, he was on the lookout for anyone who was trying to cut corners. His famous saying was, “Whatever you’re thinking about doing or wherever you’re thinking about hiding, don’t do it because I’ve already been there and done that.”

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My First High School Presentation

I was thinking about my first trip through a hallway in a high school. This is years after my time as a student. I was an adult. I was being led to a class to talk about my life’s experience with a roomful of students.
I remember walking through the hallways. I was looking at the school colors and the colors of the lockers in the hallways. I could see some of the students. I could see the banners that draped from the ceilings in the hallway. A teacher walked me from the entryway of the school and down through the hallways towards the classroom.

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Roles in the Workplace

People amaze me.
I have been watching the world go around for a long time. I’ve seen the ups and downs of life. I have had my share of failures and of course, I am human too. I have my share of faults. I have character defects, imperfections, shortcomings and all that go along with being a person.
I have been on either side of the mental health table for most of my life. As a child, I have been someone in front of a man with a white coat and a clipboard. However, as an adult, I have become somewhat of an advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.

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Find Your Strategy

There is more to us than simple plans or ideas. We are more than goals and hopes or dreams. However, same as the physical affects the mental; our personal life affects the professional life (and vice versa).
And what do we want? How do we want to live?
These are important questions. What are the goals and more importantly, what can we do to achieve them? All of these questions consist of a unique formula. However, the truth is there is a simple answer to all of the above. The key to achieving our goals is to create actionable steps. This has to be realistic, achievable and sustainable. As simple as this may be, life is not easy. Work is not easy. And balance is not always so simple.

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Changing Exclusionary Thinking

Looking back to check the diversity of my life to emphasize that I am who am I am; and here I am now, alive and well, and 21 years into a new millennium. I realize this is only a matter of time and nothing else. I am me, of course, and you are you and the world around us is vivid and colorful yet somehow, we are finding ourselves split and confused. I suppose they call this life; in which case, each day is a new day and here I am—wondering if I’ve said more than I needed to or did something that I shouldn’t have. Is it me? Is it the way I look? Or, maybe it’s the sound of my voice or the flow of my accent. Do I look a certain way. Or better yet, do I have to?

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Just Some Nostalgia

There was a time when families gathered together. We sat in living rooms around televisions. We used to watch shows. We watched the classic sitcoms and laughed as if nothing in the world could ever be this funny. We watched shows with actors and actresses. There was no such thing as reality stars. We called reality television “The news.” There was no such thing as reality television. At the most we had a show called Battle of the Network Stars. This aired for the last time in 1979, which I slightly remember.

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