Timber's Morning Coffee

WHAT?!?! I must be nuts, right? How could anyone walk away from that much money? I must have had it quite good. My life, surely , was amazing. Except, it wasn’t. Often, blogs go into depth about how toxic the work environment was. They complain about how bad the boss/manager was, or how unethical the company is. And while those things are true, this post is not about them. It’s about me. This post is about the person I became, and how I was changing, to continue working at that job. Let's dive into our responsibilities as humans. Let's talk about our ethical choices. This is a harsh light on the things that I would, otherwise, rather keep hidden. I entered the career path I was on quite by accident. I was wrapping up with some seasonal work and had no idea what I would be doing for the winter. I had my résumé up on a job site, hanging out there, not searching. And I received a phone call. The person reaching out said they had a job available and asked if I would interview for t...

 Yup. You read that right. I've been rejected for over 80 jobs. Ouch, right? I've sent my resume to over 100 different employers, like Nike, Clubhouse, Zendesk, Starbucks, Springboard, etc. I've received a stack of rejection e-mails from about 80 of them. The others didn't even bother to send a response. Before you ask, each one was individually tailored, with a different cover letter. They included all of the keywords, highlights, blah blah blah... all the things. I've had exactly one interview. Yes. Only one. I thought I did really well. Had a great conversation with the interviewer. We were both excited, and she said that she was going to recommend me for the next step. As I waited for the instructions, and waited, and waited... I finally received the rejection e-mail. The next step never came. So, what does this feel like? Unequivocally, this sucks. It bites the big one. It's a kick in the unmentionables. It feels personal. It makes me feel worthless. It lea...

Let’s be honest, business formal and business casual are dead! Gone are the days of the three-piece suits, the button up shirts, the ties, the blazers, and thank goodness, the khakis.  In this blog, I will be talking about the five reasons why it’s important to destroy your company’s archaic and antiquated dress policy. If you stick around to the end, I will give you some tips on how to implement your new policy quickly. If you’re new to this blog, my name is Timber, and I am a disruptive, forward thinker, who is challenging the established ways of doing business. The traditional model is dead and it’s time to forget every metric you know.  Let’s get started! Here are the five reasons why business formal and business casual dress codes are dead. Number one - No one can agree on what business casual is, or is not. We all pretty much know business formal - three piece suit or tailored dresses, button up shirt and tie, fancy belt and shoes. However, when it comes to business casu...

It was gradual. So gradual that I didn’t notice. It happened the same way that my eyesight changed. One day, everything was crystal clear. Time progressed. My arms became too short. There wasn’t enough light. The print was too small. In a world of followers, subscribers, kings, queens, creators, artists, influencers, personalities, and pseudo-celebrities, there’s no room for the undistinguished. Elitism and pretension abounds. There’s nowhere left for the commonplace, the prosaic, the lowly.  In order to be seen as successful, a person needs to be “somebody.” In order to have value, they must be efficacious, meaningful, moving, significant. The “nobodies” are abrogated, invalidated, neutralized, annihilated… rendered worthless and meaningless. But nobility and influence cannot be declared, or taken. Celebrity cannot be purchased. These things must be given, and they only exist through the generous grant of attention. Without consideration and acknowledgment from the commoner, royal...

For me, life has been a whirlwind of changes lately. As you know from my previous couple of posts, I've started a yoga practice. And, surprisingly, I've kept it. Unlike the other forms of physical exercise, this one has been integrated into my life and it's now become a part of my daily routine. The reasons for this are probably less complex than you might think. You see, yoga isn't just about the physical. The asana (postures) are just one part of the whole path. I'm not going to go into a diatribe about the Eight Limbs, or give a dissertation on the Yamas and the Niyamas. If you want that kind of information, you can find it from other sources. However, where I've found my groove is in the asana practice, meditation, and self-inquiry/journaling. After a few months of practicing on my own, I decided that I would take my first actual class... in a studio... with (gulp) people. I was terrified. I wasn't sure what to expect. Since it was also Hot Yoga (26 ...

All my life, I’ve had crooked teeth. Well, since my adult teeth came in, anyway. Several years ago, my mother told me that during my Senior year in high school, I was given the choice of braces, or an oboe. Guess what I chose? Yup. And I thought I was going to go on and study music. Fast forward 25 years down the road... I’ve had a few issues with my mouth. One of which was a couple of tooth abscesses due to another chronic health condition. I’ve had to undergo regular root planing/descaling a few times. Now, it’s just kind of old hat to me. This latest time, though, because of bone loss and aforementioned abscesses, I am looking at extraction of two of my upper molars. Fortunately, it’s bilateral, so I’m losing a tooth on each side. Have to look at the positive - balance, you know. I never really realized how vain I was about this. One of the things that came out of the latest appointment is that I am never going to have straight teeth. That is, if I want to keep all of my ...

It’s true. I have started a Yoga Journey (TM). Over the course of the years, I have participated in many modalities of fitness/mind/body training. I’ve done tumbling. I’ve participated in track & field. I was a cheerleader. I achieved a black belt in Tae Kwon Do/Tang Soo Do. I tried weightlifting - not a joke. (Seriously, I did, but it was absolutely hilarious.) I danced. I bought exercise bands in different levels of resistance. I did bodyweight exercises. (Not bad, but BORING!!!) I briefly thought about CrossFit, but then decided that I didn’t want to be called Bret, or wear Axe Body Spray (R). Throughout the years, I kept coming back to one thing - Yoga. I don’t know why, but it kept calling me. Perhaps, as an adolescent, it was the thought of being able to bend over far enough to self-gratify. (Don’t laugh, it’s a thing with some guys.) Maybe it was the thought of having enough flexibility to prevent injury. It might have been because I thought that I had incredible balance...

I’m not normally one to endorse any kind of fad anything. Typically, from the minimalist mindset, most consumables are just so much junk that takes valuable time to care for. I drive a car that is now nearly 6 years old. Bought it brand new and I intend on driving it into the ground. Considering that there’s only 22,000 miles on it, I’ve got a really long way to go!  The hubby and I don’t really shop for anything, anymore. It’s actually been quite freeing. But, there’s one thing that we must shop for. Every minimalist needs to. Let’s talk about what that is: FOOD! Yes. Every person needs to shop for food. Now, this is where things get really tricky. Like I said, I’m not really one to endorse anything, especially any kind of a “diet,” however, this is a little bit different. People have been eating this way for millennia. We have chosen to go completely plant-based, or, as some would say, “vegan,” but I really don’t want to get into the semantics. Basically, we have eli...

As I’ve continued down the path to Minimalism and simple living, there have been two effects that have been entirely expected: more time and more space. However these two things have brought with them something completely unexpected. Yes, I knew that I would have the time to be able to look within, to define exactly who I am from a character standpoint, rather than a materialistic one. I made lists of the things that I was grateful for, in order to remember to practice gratitude. I meditated on the positive qualities that I would like to enhance or add. I thought about my altruistic goals for the betterment of society. I dug deeply into my creativity and sought to bring more of it to the surface. I searched for the “happy-go-lucky,” spritely Pollyanna inside of me, who was all rainbows, glitter, butterflies and unicorns. But I found out that I was stuck. There was something blocking my way. I couldn’t move forward. I had no idea that I would also be confronting my own darkness ...

Alcohol has been with the human race for thousands of years. As a matter of fact, it goes all the way back to Neolithic man. That's a long history, indeed. We had alcohol before the Iron Age. Over the course of those eons, man has had a very complicated relationship with alcohol. Some handle it responsibly, others, not so much. Some don't drink at all. For me, there are a multitude of reasons why I stopped. I'm going to slightly over-simplify, but hopefully you will get the gist. There is a history of alcoholism in my family. My grandmother's relationship with it was more important to her than her relationship with family. Truthfully, I believe it's what killed her. If that's not reason enough, there's more. I like to have control over my thoughts and my actions. I don't like anyone telling me what to do or how to think. For me, alcohol has that effect. When I drink it, it tells me that I want more. As I progress, the alcohol does more talking fo...

First of all, what is happiness? Let's take a look: Happiness  is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Happy mental states may also reflect judgements by a person about their overall well-being. So, that's a step in the right direction. We now have an idea of what happiness may contain. Let's specifically look at three key-words, which boil down to two ideas. The words are: mental state  and contentment . First, contentment. Let's look at a further definition of this. One source defines it as a mental or emotional state that is satisfied with things as they are. WHOA. That's huge! So, to be content, it mean that we are satisfied with things as they are. That means, the body, the environment, the job, the spouse and any other number of things. Contentment implies a certain level of acceptance. Truly, I believe that it is a daily occurrence. We accept that where we ...

For a long time, I have wanted to start paring down the things in my life. I've been an ultra-consumer before. I've wanted to have the latest and greatest everything. At one point in my life, I counted my shoes and I think I came up with 90 pair! What the hell am I going to do with that many shoes? How many of them did I really even wear? Well, to answer that question, not many. Over the course of the last few years, I've been able to pare down my shoe collection to maybe 12 pair. That, in itself, was a huge challenge for me. I have a tendency to be somewhat of a hoarder and it's been very difficult for me to let go of anything. Yes, my environment is clean and everything is "organized" and put away. No, there are no piles and pathways. My floor space is open and my home is neat. However, there have been certain things over the course of my life that I haven't been able to give up. Things of sentimental value are the hardest. But slowly, I have been gi...

I know I haven't posted anything in a while. Things around the household have slightly chaotic. Okay, more than slightly. It's been a downright whirlwind! You see, we have moved. "Where," you ask. Well, to the Oregon Coast. This is fulfilling a lifelong dream for me. Every since I was a small kid, I have always loved Oregon and the coast. I remember (mumble mumble) years ago (right after 3rd grade), my mother asked me if I would like to live in Oregon. I told her that I would, for maybe 6 weeks or so, but then I would miss Montana and my friends. Yup. And ever since then, I have missed the coast. Don't get me wrong - growing up in Montana was mostly amazing! I wouldn't trade most of those experiences for anything. But I've always felt that a part of me was missing. We went on several more trips over the years to see family and just enjoy the time out there. I went on one last trip by myself when I was 18 years old (Spring Break from my first year in...

What?!?!?! That might be the first question out of your mouth. HIV? A blessing? Really? Well. . .Yes. I know that there has been a ton of stigma associated with this diagnosis. You might be wondering why I would think that a disease that has the potential to kill me might be a gift. Well, for me, it has been and now I will explain why. HIV has forced me to re-evaluate everything in my life, from my relationships to my health to my personal possessions. Perhaps, earlier you might have read my post, " The Holidays are Not About Presents " Contained in that particular blog are some of my truths about the things that are important to me and the things that truly matter. For me, HIV has forced me to look at my health and really be mindful of what my body is telling me. I have to pay attention to the things that I eat, what I drink and what I allow to be in my body. It's super important for me to stay healthy. Before, I had the idea that most of us have: "It's no...