I learned an important lesson very early in life: Working hard will not make you rich. Now, I'm not suggesting that sitting around on your sofa all day is going to make you a millionaire; but I am suggesting that just working hard is not the way to get rich, and in some ways, it is even counterproductive to attracting wealth. Here's a good example: the small Georgia town where I was born is full of some of the hardest working men and women I've ever known. But are they rich? Nope. In fact most of them are living from paycheck to paycheck, just struggling to get by. Many of these people get up before sunrise and work double shifts, six days a week. But no matter how hard they work, they never seem to get ahead. Most are just trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. So what gives? Could it be that becoming wealthy requires something other than hard work? And if so, what does it take? Here's the deal: most people are poor NOT because they don't work hard; they are poor because they lack imagination. Now I know that might sound harsh; but it's the plain truth. Generally, people don't live in poverty because they are lazy: they live in poverty because they have not adequately developed their imaginations. Creative and imaginative thinking are absolutely essential if you plan on living a rich, fulfilling life. But without these things, you can work as hard as you want, and you will probably still wind up just barely getting by. I am aware that many well-intentioned people will tell you that the way to get rich is to work harder, longer and faster than other people; but frankly, this is BS. Hard work is all well and good, but obviously something more is required in order to become rich. And that "something" is imagination, plain and simple. You have to exercise and develop your creativity, and learn to "see" opportunities and options, even when they are not obvious to others. But how do you develop this skill? Simple; you practice. Contrary to popular opinion, imagination can be learned. And in the same way that you can improve your memory by practicing, you can also improve your creativity by using it regularly. You can exercise and strengthen your imagination, just like you would exercise and strengthen your muscles. Like any other skill, you get better with practice. Art, music and other creative pursuits are perfect in this regard. They require creative thinking and imagination. Even crossword puzzles and sudoku are beneficial; they help us look for creative solutions and think "outside the box." It's interesting that many people work-out three or four times a week (or more) to keep their body in good shape, but very few of us actually "work out" our creativity and imagination. Maybe that's why there are a lot more poor people in the world than rich people? It's something to think about... If the way to get rich was just working hard, I can assure you there would be a lot more wealthy people in the world than there are now. It is only through developing our imagination that we can attract success and wealth, and live a life of abundance.

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A lot of people fear rejection during their job quest, and if you happen to be one of such people then you should remain comforted in the knowledge that you are not alone. Only a sadist would like dealing with unending rejection. Every job hunter out there fears rejection, and the only thing different is the way they handle it. Successful job hunters use rejection as a tool to push further and drive them towards success, while less successful ones allow rejection to drown them in a pool of depression. Handling rejection more positively is the way to success, and understanding how to do so is tied to taking rejection in stride when it comes. Think of it, how many actors win an audition the first time the try out? How many people get a job the first time they ever apply? Rejection in job hunting is a constant that you have to deal with, and this constant cannot be avoided even by you! Handle your job search efforts well, and free yourself from stress by understanding the fact that many situations will occur which may lead to you not getting a job. Getting rejected when you apply for a job is not an easy thing but it cannot be avoided. The way to avoid taking rejection personally is by looking at it from an entirely different point of view. The fact that you are getting rejected means that your chances of getting a job are actually improving. The reason for this is that by job hunting and getting rejected, you tend to understand more about yourself and the job marketplace and what this does is that it gives you more information to work with at subsequent interviews. A basic fact you should get into your head when job searching is that you will likely encounter more rejection than acceptance during the quest for a job. Your aim is to find that one opportunity that will turn out to be a success. You should also keep it in mind that being rejected for a job does not necessarily mean career failure or a lack of abilities as a person. It may be due to a failure in your method of approach or other reasons which were beyond your immediate control. At the end of each interview, you should reflect upon what you did well during the interview and work on those things. And, you should reflect on what you did wrong and how that could be improved on as well. Doing this will prepare you better for the next interview and give you a better chance at succeeding in your job quest. Finally you should remember that job hunting is a numbers game: some people make it while other people don't, and the more you get interviews and improve yourself the better your chances of winning become. When you are focused on the next interview at hand, then you throw the feelings of rejection and depression out the window much faster and prime yourself for success.

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