It has been a while since I’ve taken you for a stroll through the rough streets of the land of pimps and hoes aka corporate America. As always, I will try to guide you the best I can so that you don’t get swallowed up in the belly of ruthless corporate jobs. Make no mistake…that is the intention of most corporate strategies for their employees…to suck our souls dry and then drop us. ??‍♀️ Sigh…. Every year I am learning something new that disgusts me a little further about the career choices I (and so many others) have made. Here are 5 forgotten truths about corporate America: 5. CORPORATE AMERICA DOES NOT LIKE IT WHEN YOU PUT YOURSELF FIRST! “Nothing is more important than your job,” They say. Thus, almost daily, most of us equate our jobs to the core of who we are. We put in long hours….generally forsaken ourselves and our loved ones. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard coworkers say that they cannot afford to take time off to go to the doctors. We have deadlines that we have to meet and some how our health (physical and mental) take a back seat. The corporate strategy here is to guilt us into thinking that if we miss work for ONE day…the world would end! This is simply not true. Our physical and mental health should always come first. Yes we need our jobs to pay bills and survive but what would be left of us if we continuously sacrificed our mental and physical health? NOTHING. 4. THERE IS A PRICE TO PAY FOR STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF! When the time arrives that it is imperative for you to demand that your mental and physical health comes first….corporate America won’t like it. God forbid we are sick or have sick loved ones that we need to tend to! “There is simply not rest for the weary!” Most high stress corporate jobs frown upon time off for ANY reason. The corporate strategy here is to guilt us into thinking that if we don’t work….don’t produce….they will find someone else that will. This is a great time to remind you of the underlining theme in all of my land of pimps and hoes’ blogs….WE ARE ALL REPLACEABLE IN CORPORATE AMERICA! I don’t care if you are the janitor or CEO of a corporation….you are on a time limit. Don’t believe me? Think of how many CEOs get booted out of companies they started! Steve Jobs (Apple) and Andrew Mason (Groupon) are perfect examples. Never mind that Jobs was invited back when Apple began to sink. Focus on the fact that he started that bitch and they still forced him out! ??‍♀️ So what does this all mean?! We are all in fact replaceable. This reasoning supports the theory that there may be times when there is a price to pay for when we stand up for ourselves on the work front. You could really lose your job or not receive a promotion! Yes…it is true that there is no rest for the weary. The question is…however….how long will we allow ourselves to be weary?! 3. ALWAYS NEGOTIATE FOR YOURSELF! Whether you are in the process of accepting a job offer or have been working for a company for many years…never stop negotiating for yourself. I know that this is easily said than done but it is so important. How we become weary is when we fail to negotiate for ourselves. We simply let corporate America pile on the hours and gruesome tasks while saying nothing. We just keep opening our mouths as they pile on manure….convincing ourselves that we like the taste of shit! No one likes shit! It’s waste that leaves our bodies! That’s what we become when we fail to negotiate for ourselves in toxic corporate environments….waste that has left our bodies! ??‍♀️ 2. CORPORATE AMERICA LOVES IT WHEN WE DON’T SLEEP! Up until this point, I have focused in on the need to take time off and the need to negotiate in our work environments. The greatest way, however, that corporate America robs us of our dignity and health is the loss of sleep! In my 30s, I probably average around 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night! I am turning 38 soon! ??‍♀️ Talk about dumb ass! I’m slowly working myself into an early grave with nothing to show for it. The worst part is I’ve been sacrificing myself out of complete desperation. I have bills! I have student loans! I need to eat! Shit…it never occurred to me that one could drop dead because of lack of sleep and rest…before seeing the fruits of their labor! ??‍♀️??‍♀️? Speaking of fruits of labor…does working for someone else to the point of exhaustion ever bare any fruit?! ??‍♀️ 1. THE BIGGEST MISTAKE MOST OF US MAKE IN CORPORATE AMERICA IS NOT INVESTING IN OURSELVES! Corporate America counts on us being so desperate to stay afloat that the only solution is to be enslaved to them. This corporate strategy is created so that employees can forget about investing in themselves. I am almost 38 years old, and I know nothing about stocks and bonds. ??‍♀️ And while I am multitalented, working 50-90 hours a week for someone else has made me put my dreams on hold. I am beyond exhausted! And thus, I have taken my eyes off the prize…ME!!! Because many of us did not come from wealthy business minded families, we have no blueprint of how to build financial stability and success through investing in ourselves. If you do not remember anything else I say…remember this…do not rely on one source of income!!!?? Whether you invest your money, come up with a savings plan, or start a side hustle…start today! Everyone is not meant to be an entrepreneur but we all have the capability of setting up a nest egg for the day we tell corporate America the big F you! ?? ~KJM on Flashback Friday. Can’t wait until I can say fuck it all and ride off into a sunset of my own making! ??