Roots

As you move further into adulthood, you’ll start to reflect on why you ended up the way you are. Why you have done the things you’ve done? Where did your time go? Where are you headed now? What is that you have accomplished with the sole purpose of charging through the future with new perspectives? I think back to my childhood dreams and wonder how I ended up here. I wanted to be a choreographer. I wanted to dance on Broadway. Somewhere along the way I stopped dancing and started leading. I started looking to a future without jazz hands and dance shoes. 

I have held many leadership roles; camp counselor, cheerleading captain, yearbook editor-n-chief, student life editor of my college paper, president of my sorority pledge class, president of my college dorm, teaching assistant, treasurer of a retail organization and every management role you can think of. Years of experience. Years of process. Years of people dynamics.

I am not writing this for ego’s sake, but to ask the question: “where did all this come from?” Sure, I have had great mentors in my life that have given me direction and focus and led me down this path. But in reality, I really have to thank my parents. I literally wouldn’t exist without them. Although, I had an interesting upbringing with my sister, my observations of my parent’s life absorbed into my understanding of what it takes to make a positive impact on others. 

My mom was a typical housewife while I was growing up, rearing my sister and I through life. At some point, she reached a time where she needed more and began running her own business. I watched her struggle to build a reputation in a community heavily saturated with the same concepts and grow it into a million-dollar milestone. She had a drive for quality, expert knowledge and strong customer service. She built an enduring reputation in the community and with local celebrities. I respected her drive for perfection, her successes and her challenges in business.

My dad started out in radio, but went to school to educate others. He was superintendent of schools and became a professor of graduate education. Hell, even a current governor was a student of his. He has incredibly high standards and HUGE shoes to fill. His students were teachers of mine and principals. They loved him as an educator and mentor. I idolized his strength of character, his will to challenge the system (push people’s buttons) and his motivation to become more than the status quo.

I have had a roller coaster of an adult life. I am not perfect, nor do I claim to be. I failed out of college my sophomore year, I have been fired from a job, written up several times, passed over for several management roles, divorced and survived an abusive relationship. I have traveled a downward spiral, come out the other side and didn’t let any of those hardships affect my desire to succeed. I went back to school and got a 4.0, graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, ran multiple top volume stores, re-married and counseled fellow survivors. All to get me to where I am now. I have strong roots.

My father and I share a lot of traits from mannerisms to mood swings and my mother has given me a fight that I never would have imagined. Hell, she even beat cancer! Their tough as nails attitudes have shaped the woman and leader I have become. I have no regrets of the past. I have lived. 

I struggled, as will all of you, to adapt to several changes in my life and my career but realized in the long run each new experience has made me a more capable version of myself. This quest to better myself has, in turn, driven me to share my knowledge with others. Whether it is where you come from or what you have accomplished in life, it is important to take the time to reflect and observe those around you.  It’s time to make a difference in their lives. It’s time to stand out and grow roots. Time to become someone who empowers and teaches. Time to become someone who will leave a legacy of strong foundations of trust and encouragement. Too often we forget where we come from and what lessons we learned along the way. Why?