Last Sunday I read an article in our local career section written by a colleague in the coaching/training field. She shared how she experienced a WOW factor early in her life that guided her towards counseling and teaching. I realized that sometimes we can miss the Big “AHA” if we aren’t paying attention to the right signals and that’s when I realized how important it is to keep your feet on the ground. You know the old saying, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” Now, my sister has accused me over the years as being an optimist and I’ve accused her as being a pessimist. I enjoy seeing the glass as ‘half full’ – it’s a choice I’ve made consciously to focus on the positive. A few weeks ago, a website contact form appeared in my inbox from a prominent figure asking me to speak at a conference out of the country – naturally I was excited and thought WOW! This would be my first international gig! The emails went back and forth, I checked the name out on google, visited their website, and even contacted the Dale Carnegie office in their territory, I was trying to do my due diligence.
I shared the news with a few people and that’s when the red flags started to appear. I like the saying that when people try to rain on your parade, make sure you carry an umbrella! I decided to email a colleague that has been in the speaking business for many years and sure enough, she said, “Oh no, Merikay, please be careful and don’t give them any of your personal information. This has happened to me twice. Make sure you Google speaker scams.” Sure enough, it was a scam. I was caught (almost) by the excitement and didn’t see the signs.
Another “AHA” during our last Human Resource Management Group meeting in High Point, I noticed a man leaving with a logo on his shirt, Legal Shield, I ran up to him and said, “Sir, do you all have identity theft protection?” He said “yes” and a few days later, I enrolled. I share this with you because now I’ve enrolled in an identity theft protection program for our family – also thanks to a breach in data through our insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield (guess their Shield wasn’t so strong) these two events inspired me to quit putting it off any longer.
For a mere $20 per month, I can have some piece of mind. I contacted the organization whose name was being used by some fraudulent folks and shared the background of the situation on their website contact form. Another recent event took place that sent up a signal. I received a phone call from an 800 number claiming to call on behalf of a society I belong to about an upcoming conference. When I told the caller, that we’ve been advised not to talk to anyone outside of the management group that works for the society, she hung up on me. I emailed the president of the society and let him know they were at it again. Apparently, they claim to be someone, get your credit card information and off they go! I stopped donating on the phone years ago, but this was a new one to me.
So what’s an “AHA” moment that you’ve had lately that makes you want to do something different to help your career, protect your family or improve your life? Don’t wait, do it now. Be that catalyst for change, you never know what tomorrow may bring.
Here’s an article on how to avoid getting hacked. Speakers – look for email addresses that don’t match the company website, like gmail or yahoo. Watch for the AHA signals.
https://medium.com/un-hackable/pwnd-fcfce7884be5
Interested in Identity Theft Protection?
Matt Winnicki, a police force veteran of more than 20 years, helped me find out more….winnickigroup@shieldrep.com
For information about our IDShield program go to www.idshield.com . To enroll in our program please go to my website at www.yourbenefitstoday.com and click on the IDShield and enroll.
