Career Related Background
1976 - 1978 Employed in restaurants first as a waitress, then as a bartender working my way up to become a manager of a major establishment at that time, The Green House on Singer Island Florida.
(I was proud of myself for earning a management position but I knew the long hours and prospects for advancement or increased income were not the best for me as a single mom. I believed that at least in sales one had the potential to write their own paycheck with hard work even without a formal education, so I set out to try something that might allow me to improve my station in life.)
1978 - 1979 Life and health insurance sales
(I liked the idea of sales but the employer hired me as a woman after admitting he had never hired a woman before and told me up front that he doubted a woman could handle the job. This was during a time when women were just emerging in earnest in the work force and when there were many tests of equality for women to be hired in positions long held primarily by men. I soon came to believe he hired me only to fulfill some kind of quota.
After I started working there, it became clear that the employer was setting me up for failure by giving me old leads and those that were located in the absolute worse and most dangerous neighborhoods around the state. He talked down to me in meetings and although I stuck it out to prove him wrong about women it soon became clear I would have to move on to either a different insurance sales job or to another type of sales.
After I left I learned it was not abnormal for unscrupulous insurance agencies to hire sales people just to push them out. The reason for that is the way insurance royalties are paid to the salesperson upon renewal. If a sales person wasn't around for the renewal then that royalty went to the employer. It was for the prospects of compounding royalties that I went through the time and trouble to get the license and pursue this field in the first place.)
1979 - 1991 Subcontractor in the construction business where I worked as a kitchen and bath designer and marketed numerous interior products to hundreds of contractors totaling thousands of units delivered and installed along the east coast of Florida.
(Once again I chose a field where nearly no women were employed in at that time. The man who hired me for my first job admitted it was because he thought I might get a foot in the hard to open doors for being a woman out of the oddity and curiosity of it. Although it is hard to imagine now, this is how sexist the workforce was then. At one point he even told me he hired me because a part of my body was attractive! Those weren't his exact words, he was much more blunt and descriptive than that.
Still, in spite of the fact I had to be perfect in every thing I did to be respected at all within the industry, and continually dealt with pressure from males not happy to see a female on the job sites, I stuck with it. Through the cat calls, through the snide comments, the intimidation and even through the recession that severely affected construction, I still found it rewarding enough to become an independent contractor after the first year.
I loved the creativity, having control of my time management, being able to travel and meet interesting people. I learned how to install and design products and by the end of my tenure in this profession I had accomplished more than I ever dreamed possible.)
1991 - I wrote "To Achieve Your Dreams Remember Your ABCs."
(What a game changer this was! I had no idea at the time just how much it would affect my life outside of the excellent results I was getting by following it. Amazingly within a few months Dear Abby published it and I then got the first of many contracts to sell the ABCs as a poster. I've covered this story elsewhere on my site, and probably best in this video, Hope For the Future. )
See copyright filings here and a later copyright filed here for a derivative work that resulted in a music video produced from parts of it by WizeGui.) If links don't work search US Copyright site.
1992 - 2000 Conducting and Marketing International Eco-Tours in Hawaii
(I took what I learned from the ABCs, and gave up everything I had and knew to travel a quarter ways around the world to pursue my dream of helping to establish Eco-tourism. At this time the word was barely heard of on the islands. I pioneered the concept and promoted it while marketing and conducting four wheel drive jeep tours through the gardens and mountainous rain-forests located on Senator Fongs Plantation and Gardens.
This was my dream job come true. My daughter teamed up with me to take people four wheeling, hiking and to visit a Heiau (sacred site) located on the property. We also became caretakers of the Heiau and maintained it so that it could be a substantial part of our tour. This was a sacred honor and privilege not many will ever have the good fortune to experience especially if not of Hawaiian heritage. We had to go through many tests of good will and ask the Heiau for permission to enter its sacred walls. There were many recorded incidents of bad luck that happened to those who entered the premises without respect. We were very fortunate to have been accepted and allowed to care for this location.
We dealt with thousands of visitors from around the world including the very first tour from China that was ever offered as a factory incentive to their workers. We met amazing people both in the field of tourism and the visitors we took on tours.
Later I expanded my activities to other locations on Oahu and outer islands with a focus on what I liked to call, "Secret Sacred Spots." Not only did I take people to the well known documented Heiaus but also to uncharted spots I found through my own exploring to have special properties of healing, empowerment or rejuvenation.)
1994 - 1996 Booking talent and assisting in the production of media
(I did this part time while also being engaged in the Eco-tourism business. Admittedly, any money I made from this more than fun job was probably spent on entertaining the people I booked for eventually. It was a job that was close to my heart to help local musicians, including my son's band, find venues to play at.
I was able to take what I learned from coordinating tours to help me accomplish this and looked at it as more of an opportunity to learn about the entertainment industry as well as meet creative people. It also helped me to be able to produce better quality productions of personal appearance events based around my work featuring To Achieve Your Dreams Remember Your ABCs. )
2000 Documentary Production
(With the help of Will Harper, an ex producer for Oprah Winfrey, I produced a documentary video about my life. I hired the crews, wrote the final script, set up the shots and events to be featured in the video and selected the shots for editing. I fell in love with the film industry!)
2000 - 2016 Development and Management of InspirationMotivation.com
(I was late to the computer party and didn't have my first computer until 1996, but that didn't stop me from teaching myself how to build web sites. This was the first site I built and owned. From a crude beginning of not much more than a collection of my work and blogging, before it was even called blogging. It has grown to be an E-commerce site of substantial development although I still have more plans and design features in the works.)
2008 - 2016 Development and Management of WandaHopeCarter.com. Artistic endeavors including Graphic Designs of new inspirational product ideas. Development of methods and components to launch tutorial inspirational products. Still working on those books!
(It finally occurred to me that I needed a namesake website and I like expressing myself in a more relaxed and whimsical way here. It is always a work in progress.
I have created many new products based on to Achieve Your Dreams Remember Your ABCs and other inspirational and artistic works and continue to create new items on an ongoing basis.)
2011 - 2016 Development and Management of TeamNetworks.Net
(TeamNetworks.Net grew out of a need I saw for a safe full featured networking environment for those who are genuinely concerned about the deterioration of the American Dream. This project has required me to invest myself in a way that I didn't know I had it in me to do. It has also caused me to take my website construction and management skills to a new all time high level. It is nearing the final vision I had of where it was heading when I started it in 2011.
No, I won't reveal what that vision is just yet but I am getting there slowly but surely!)
After being on line as a part of numerous communities since I first started computing in 1996, I can honestly say our membership includes some of the finest people I have ever had the privilege to know. We don't care about having millions of members. Our membership is limited to citizens of the USA and those who are concerned about declining conditions in America leading to the ideal we have come to know and love as the American Dream becoming a thing of the past.
All of our permanent members are validated to be real people and at the very least one can know they are not dealing with likely trolls, fake profiles, robots, spammers or hackers. )
Education
I dropped out of school after the ninth grade, eventually got a GED and am completely self taught in the skills needed to carry on my work. Every thing I've learned and accomplished comes from self-motivation and a sincere desire to make a positive difference in the world.
Life has been my teacher.
1976 - 1978 Employed in restaurants first as a waitress, then as a bartender working my way up to become a manager of a major establishment at that time, The Green House on Singer Island Florida.
(I was proud of myself for earning a management position but I knew the long hours and prospects for advancement or increased income were not the best for me as a single mom. I believed that at least in sales one had the potential to write their own paycheck with hard work even without a formal education, so I set out to try something that might allow me to improve my station in life.)
1978 - 1979 Life and health insurance sales
(I liked the idea of sales but the employer hired me as a woman after admitting he had never hired a woman before and told me up front that he doubted a woman could handle the job. This was during a time when women were just emerging in earnest in the work force and when there were many tests of equality for women to be hired in positions long held primarily by men. I soon came to believe he hired me only to fulfill some kind of quota.
After I started working there, it became clear that the employer was setting me up for failure by giving me old leads and those that were located in the absolute worse and most dangerous neighborhoods around the state. He talked down to me in meetings and although I stuck it out to prove him wrong about women it soon became clear I would have to move on to either a different insurance sales job or to another type of sales.
After I left I learned it was not abnormal for unscrupulous insurance agencies to hire sales people just to push them out. The reason for that is the way insurance royalties are paid to the salesperson upon renewal. If a sales person wasn't around for the renewal then that royalty went to the employer. It was for the prospects of compounding royalties that I went through the time and trouble to get the license and pursue this field in the first place.)
1979 - 1991 Subcontractor in the construction business where I worked as a kitchen and bath designer and marketed numerous interior products to hundreds of contractors totaling thousands of units delivered and installed along the east coast of Florida.
(Once again I chose a field where nearly no women were employed in at that time. The man who hired me for my first job admitted it was because he thought I might get a foot in the hard to open doors for being a woman out of the oddity and curiosity of it. Although it is hard to imagine now, this is how sexist the workforce was then. At one point he even told me he hired me because a part of my body was attractive! Those weren't his exact words, he was much more blunt and descriptive than that.
Still, in spite of the fact I had to be perfect in every thing I did to be respected at all within the industry, and continually dealt with pressure from males not happy to see a female on the job sites, I stuck with it. Through the cat calls, through the snide comments, the intimidation and even through the recession that severely affected construction, I still found it rewarding enough to become an independent contractor after the first year.
I loved the creativity, having control of my time management, being able to travel and meet interesting people. I learned how to install and design products and by the end of my tenure in this profession I had accomplished more than I ever dreamed possible.)
1991 - I wrote "To Achieve Your Dreams Remember Your ABCs."
(What a game changer this was! I had no idea at the time just how much it would affect my life outside of the excellent results I was getting by following it. Amazingly within a few months Dear Abby published it and I then got the first of many contracts to sell the ABCs as a poster. I've covered this story elsewhere on my site, and probably best in this video, Hope For the Future. )
See copyright filings here and a later copyright filed here for a derivative work that resulted in a music video produced from parts of it by WizeGui.) If links don't work search US Copyright site.
1992 - 2000 Conducting and Marketing International Eco-Tours in Hawaii
(I took what I learned from the ABCs, and gave up everything I had and knew to travel a quarter ways around the world to pursue my dream of helping to establish Eco-tourism. At this time the word was barely heard of on the islands. I pioneered the concept and promoted it while marketing and conducting four wheel drive jeep tours through the gardens and mountainous rain-forests located on Senator Fongs Plantation and Gardens.
This was my dream job come true. My daughter teamed up with me to take people four wheeling, hiking and to visit a Heiau (sacred site) located on the property. We also became caretakers of the Heiau and maintained it so that it could be a substantial part of our tour. This was a sacred honor and privilege not many will ever have the good fortune to experience especially if not of Hawaiian heritage. We had to go through many tests of good will and ask the Heiau for permission to enter its sacred walls. There were many recorded incidents of bad luck that happened to those who entered the premises without respect. We were very fortunate to have been accepted and allowed to care for this location.
We dealt with thousands of visitors from around the world including the very first tour from China that was ever offered as a factory incentive to their workers. We met amazing people both in the field of tourism and the visitors we took on tours.
Later I expanded my activities to other locations on Oahu and outer islands with a focus on what I liked to call, "Secret Sacred Spots." Not only did I take people to the well known documented Heiaus but also to uncharted spots I found through my own exploring to have special properties of healing, empowerment or rejuvenation.)
1994 - 1996 Booking talent and assisting in the production of media
(I did this part time while also being engaged in the Eco-tourism business. Admittedly, any money I made from this more than fun job was probably spent on entertaining the people I booked for eventually. It was a job that was close to my heart to help local musicians, including my son's band, find venues to play at.
I was able to take what I learned from coordinating tours to help me accomplish this and looked at it as more of an opportunity to learn about the entertainment industry as well as meet creative people. It also helped me to be able to produce better quality productions of personal appearance events based around my work featuring To Achieve Your Dreams Remember Your ABCs. )
2000 Documentary Production
(With the help of Will Harper, an ex producer for Oprah Winfrey, I produced a documentary video about my life. I hired the crews, wrote the final script, set up the shots and events to be featured in the video and selected the shots for editing. I fell in love with the film industry!)
2000 - 2016 Development and Management of InspirationMotivation.com
(I was late to the computer party and didn't have my first computer until 1996, but that didn't stop me from teaching myself how to build web sites. This was the first site I built and owned. From a crude beginning of not much more than a collection of my work and blogging, before it was even called blogging. It has grown to be an E-commerce site of substantial development although I still have more plans and design features in the works.)
2008 - 2016 Development and Management of WandaHopeCarter.com. Artistic endeavors including Graphic Designs of new inspirational product ideas. Development of methods and components to launch tutorial inspirational products. Still working on those books!
(It finally occurred to me that I needed a namesake website and I like expressing myself in a more relaxed and whimsical way here. It is always a work in progress.
I have created many new products based on to Achieve Your Dreams Remember Your ABCs and other inspirational and artistic works and continue to create new items on an ongoing basis.)
2011 - 2016 Development and Management of TeamNetworks.Net
(TeamNetworks.Net grew out of a need I saw for a safe full featured networking environment for those who are genuinely concerned about the deterioration of the American Dream. This project has required me to invest myself in a way that I didn't know I had it in me to do. It has also caused me to take my website construction and management skills to a new all time high level. It is nearing the final vision I had of where it was heading when I started it in 2011.
No, I won't reveal what that vision is just yet but I am getting there slowly but surely!)
After being on line as a part of numerous communities since I first started computing in 1996, I can honestly say our membership includes some of the finest people I have ever had the privilege to know. We don't care about having millions of members. Our membership is limited to citizens of the USA and those who are concerned about declining conditions in America leading to the ideal we have come to know and love as the American Dream becoming a thing of the past.
All of our permanent members are validated to be real people and at the very least one can know they are not dealing with likely trolls, fake profiles, robots, spammers or hackers. )
Education
I dropped out of school after the ninth grade, eventually got a GED and am completely self taught in the skills needed to carry on my work. Every thing I've learned and accomplished comes from self-motivation and a sincere desire to make a positive difference in the world.
Life has been my teacher.
Read Study and Learn about everything important in your life.
From To Achieve Your Dreams, Remember Your ABCS by Wanda Hope Carter
2011-2023 Copyright Wanda Hope Carter all rights reserved. Other copyrights may apply.
No duplication, downloading, framing, screen shots or publication without exrpress written permission.
No duplication, downloading, framing, screen shots or publication without exrpress written permission.
2011-2016 Copyright Wanda Hope Carter all rights reserved. Other copyrights may apply.
No duplication, downloading, framing, screen shots, archival capture or publication without exrpress written permission.
No duplication, downloading, framing, screen shots, archival capture or publication without exrpress written permission.
