self mastery

i am in a period of really working on and educating myself these days.

throughout my life, i have always been big on reading, but i used to be really into fiction, especially during my childhood.  thanks to one of my cousins, i became a huge fan of Mary Higgins Clark and Terry McMillan as a youngster.  i definitely wasn't into finance or business, let alone personal development or anything of that sort.  the closest thing to business development that i had an interest in at that time were these cassettes that my dad had about real estate investing.  otherwise, i was swimming in oceans of fictional works, making movies in my mind that surpassed anything i could have seen on screen.

about nine years ago, though, i began to focus on personal development because of what was going on in my life at that time.  and i'm so grateful that i did.  through the use of books, ebooks, audiobooks, and podcasts, i grew my knowledge a lot!  

now, i follow a few Youtube creators who i genuinely respect.  they have creative content surrounding personal development, mindset, financial literacy, and the like.  one such creator is Mark Tilbury.  he has a video that describes forty key books he has read that shifted his mindset and aided him in growing his income/net worth.  i have a few other content creators who i follow who did something similar and i am following their recommended books, pulling the needed details, and implementing strategies to improve my life overall.  as Kevin Trudeau mentioned in "Your Wish Is Your Command," you don't really learn something until you practice doing it.  it's not enough for me to say i have read the words, but i need to actually take actions based on what i have read.

unlike the times of my childhood, i struggle with reading as much as i would like.  i used to be able to complete 2-3 books a week if i wanted to, but now, i am excited when i complete 1-2 books per month.  i have responsibilities to maintain--jobs, children, home maintenance, etc.--but i make it an effort to read daily even if only a few pages at a time.  

with that being said, i am going to dedicate time to sharing what i learn along the way and how it is impacting my life experience.  hopefully, you can gather some tips or at least a booklist! 🤓

looking forward to sharing this growth journey with you!
#TheHummingbird 🌺

taking the leap

I have been meaning to develop a blog--and actually publish it--for quite some time. One of my mentors recommended keeping a log of my progress as I study and develop my skills in this new world. And by new world, I am referring to the world of tech.

In the fall of '23, I began studying sales engineering with a bootcamp program--which I will detail and share at a later time. I wanted to build on my sales skills but pivot out of the prior work I had been involved with (in my attempts to grow into becoming a remote closer, I had been contracting as an appointment setter for almost 2 years along with other sales work I had done for clients). It felt as if there was a glass ceiling and I wasn't going to be able to have the flexibility I desired if I wanted to have the income I knew I was well deserving of. So I decided to beef up my skills and choose a niche area that would be both useful and lucrative; thus tech.

As I began piecing together the advice I would hear from various recruiters and other successful sales people, I noticed that I was getting attention on platforms like LinkedIn. I noticed that recruiters were reaching out to me (even if their offers weren't completely in alignment with where I was looking to go). And I was grateful that some traction was a good feedback response. After all, it was better than having absolutely no traction at all.

After experiencing a slight pause from my plans (the prior month was almost entirely dedicated to recovering from the seasonal bout with pneumonia/bronchitis induced asthma symptoms), I am refocusing my efforts. Getting back to studying, back to developing my skill-building plan, and back to seriously looking for the right career fit. If any of you know me, you know that I am not one to entirely lean on a W-2 position--after all, I had been a contractor for the past 7 years or so--but given the ability to have a career path that can help me reach my personal and familial goals, working within the technology industry is something I can get behind.

Based on my transferable skill set and my prior sales experience, I deduced that my entry point for a tech position would likely be in the area of sales. However, I didn't want to be stressed by KPIs (key performance indicators) and other high-pressure essentials to commission-based earnings. Being an appointment setter whose income was constantly fluctuating taught me to at least have a base when working in the sales arena. It also taught me to sell something that is actually essential rather than solely desired. With these things in mind, I felt that sales engineering would be the best path to pursue.

But in my mind, I really want to grow. And while SE work may serve as a means for growth, I am also preparing myself with technical skills that will allow me more access and the ability to better help the organization I will work for. That is why I am now focusing on skill-building and a few key certification acquisitions. Certs for the sake of certs seems a bit senseless, but I am determining that there are certifications that can demonstrate my skills and possibly fill in the gaps for my lack of specific experience in the tech world. In my view, it can't hurt.

So, I am taking the leap (or already have begun to leap) into the tech space and am figuring out the best path for my skill-building process. I will be posting regularly in order to keep a journal of my process and to share with those who are interested.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I look forward to taking this ride and you coming along!

-c. 🌺