| The Power Lives Within My Journey to Clarity By Tony DeLiso |
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| Spirit in the Smokies Magazine Of New Paradigm Living |
When I graduated from college I expected to be hired immediately. I knew I could become an excellent elementary school teacher and my evaluations supported my thinking. Many of the teachers that I worked with during my studies made kind comments about how good I was with the kids. So, why did it take me so long to get my career off the ground? I learned early on to do things that would enhance my resume. After graduation, I immediately began to send them out - over 100 resumes, and I got one very poor interview for a teaching position. Yet I could not get the teaching jobs that I thought I wanted. Everyone that I spoke with said my resume was impressive. Everyone seemed to like me. So what was going on? I felt dejected and hopeless at first. I had given up a really good foundation that I had built in real estate sales. I had little fleeting thoughts of regret about having left that career. Had I started to develop resentment towards my new chosen field? Yes, but had not recognized it as yet. Fleeting thoughts as they were, I still had them and they were still my thoughts. I received support for my feelings of self-pity. Since I had left my career as a realtor to become a teacher, I started working as a substitute to earn my keep, in hopes I would someday get hired on as a full-time teacher. I knew there was a way to enjoy using the knowledge I had attained from all of that effort and study. I loved teaching. I planned and worked; I sent out more resumes, and tried to be very accommodating. Still, I received not one interview with an elementary school. Nothing satisfying came to me in the way of emotional or monetary gain. I found myself with more time on my hands. I resolved to bide my time and try to enjoy what I had. “Now there's a positive note.” I began reading a little for enjoyment. None of what I read was textbook material. Without realizing it at first, I found myself starting back on the path to a philosophy I had forgotten. I found myself studying material that gave me peace. I read, pondered and reflected, and grew in awareness of my thinking and in the world around me. One day I saw an ad in the paper for a part-time teaching position at a private college. I sent my resume, with interest, yet not thinking much of it, and within a few days I was called for an interview! Understand that this resume went out with no concerns or excitement, no doubts or any other negating thoughts, only an interest in the opportunity. After they had called to set-up an appointment, I noticed all sorts of things were going through my mind, thoughts that were less than positive. To shorten the story, I got the job and lost it, even before I began to work. I blamed luck and circumstance. But, this time I had no resentment toward them, nor with Susan, the woman with whom I had interviewed. She was warm, kind and supportive. She even suggested that maybe the next term would be a more convenient time to start me, and that she would keep my resume. Basically, I took her comment as a polite gesture, not thinking anything more than that. I continued to study the books that I was being "attracted to." I took a closer look at my attitude and why things were happening to me the way they did. From what I had been studying, I thought to myself, “Could I really have been the cause of lack and inability to get my career started?” With those questions in mind, my thinking started to become a little clearer. I practiced becoming more aware of my thoughts and feelings. I noticed the many negative thoughts I still carried. I started letting go of self-pity, and began to let go thoughts of fear, lack, and doubt. A few months later the same wonderful Susan called me back with a job offer that led me to a very satisfying part-time teaching position at that college! Coincidence? I do not, in my heart, believe so. The job still gave me time to read and study success and what it really means. As I changed my old and useless thinking habits, my life changed more rapidly in my favor. Was my resume really all that important? Trust me! Writing a resume, like goal setting, is of great value. It helps in many ways, particularly in creating clarity of thinking. However, without belief, faith, and positive action, you can write wonderful resumes until you are 100 years old. By the way, a second and third very satisfying teaching opportunity came to me, and my resumes were looked at as an after thought. Since that time, through much study and practice, my life is falling into place very nicely. I say IS, because life is, and success is, an on going process, and IS always changing. Consciously take control of your life by asking your Higher Self, Infinite Intelligence, or what ever you prefer to call it, for the things you want to attain in your life. Begin to change your life on purpose, with purpose. Remember this: You are the driving force in and of your life! "What you think about, you bring about." Tony DeLiso is the author of the new book, Legacy: The Power Within, from which this story has been excerpted and edited. It tells the full story of his journey and can be ordered through your local bookstore. Tony was raised in Chicago and now lives in South Florida. For more information about his inspiring new book and to contact Tony, visit: www.powerlegacy.com April 2005 |
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