by Jason R Owens | Oct 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
Chances are that running your own business is more than just some thing that you do on the side.
It is how you put bread on your table.
It is how you pay your bills.
You have come this far, and it doesn’t make sense to quit now. The problem is that you may have hit a snag. A road block. Something that you don’t know how to get around. Maybe you just lost a big customer. Maybe you were counting on some money coming in and it didn’t happen. Now this is causing you to doubt your current path. You’ve become uncertain. Thoughts of “Should I keep doing this, or should I just quit and go get a job?” run through your mind.
Uncertainty stinks. I know I have lived through my share.
What I have found for me is that I am most uncertain when I feel isolated. Like there is no one out there who can identify with me. Worse, like there is no where I can go for help. I see others being incredibly successful. Why not me? Where’s the boundary between “persevering through the tough times” and outright stupidity?
Then there are times when the clouds part — they invariably do in time — and I can see things more clearly. I can see how my business can provide for my family, pay the mortgage, pay the bills. This space. This mental space where I can see possibilities is where I want to live. This is where I want to stay.
Here’s the tricky part. I know that cloudy days are unavoidable and that obstacles will find me no matter what. AND I know that I will go through the same cycle of doubt that I’ve experienced before. Here’s the two part trick that I know I need to master.
- I have to allow myself to go through the cycle without beating up myself for being here. If the cycle is part of who I am (I believe it is part of us all), then it is only a natural part of self-management.
- Make my time here as short as possible. I’ve been here before. I have learned from it. I know the short cuts out. I have to give myself some time to accept that I’ve had a loss. Mourn it. And then get on with business. I know that dwelling on my loss and dwelling on my “situation” it is what keeps me here in the loss-mourn-loathe cycle.
How about you? What helps you overcome an obstacle or setback
by Jason R Owens | Jul 24, 2012 | Uncategorized
Currently in week 6 of my writing class. My mentor is fantastic and giving me lots of latitude on my first draft. I have tons of work to, yet it feels really good to be making solid progress.
The literature review phase is probably the most wonderful part of the research journey thus far. There is such a wide universe of research available. What surprises me is that there are many people researching the ins and outs of personal selling, and there is a great amount of rigor out there.
Right now I am exploring the literature around salespeople. In particular I’m fascinated to see the literature surrounding the failure and success of insurance producers. Until I started my research I had no idea that there is an entire journal devoted to sales — The Journal of Personal Selling.
by Jason R Owens | Apr 2, 2012 | Uncategorized
Happy to report that I aced my final paper in my last class. I ended the session with an A. Now it is on to the next class on Contemporary Systems Management. I just looked at the syllabus, and it appears that the instructor has included a heavy dose of my favorite topic – strategy!
Aside from dissertation, I have only this class and one more traditional class to go.
by Jason R Owens | Mar 29, 2012 | Uncategorized
I revised my schedule again earlier this week. Pending everything going well with my grade in Ethics and Political Acumen I will move on to my last two traditional classes.
- Contemporary Systems Management
- Architecture of Leadership
I will fit a dissertation class in here between the two. Right now, it appears that my traditional classwork will end on the first week of November.
I’m feeling a lot more confident about my research topic and the progress that I will make towards my dissertation. I’m looking forward to it.
by Jason R Owens | Mar 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
The most vexing question in my entire doctoral program was not posed to me by a professor. Instead, it was forced upon me by situation.
“What is the topic for my dissertation?”
I can’t tell you how much sleep I have lost over this question.
by Jason R Owens | Mar 3, 2012 | Uncategorized
On my teaser slide that I placed on the home page I said “What I learned while teaching 4500 people to use Salesforce”. Let me add this disclaimer: I was not alone on this project. The thought of one person taking on that much work is laughable. There were three of us at first, so it was a team effort. You can see that the student-teacher ratio is now much lower at a more manageable level of 1500:1. 🙂
by Jason R Owens | Feb 29, 2012 | Uncategorized
In my last post I mentioned how I had a considerable portion of my grade hanging in the balance during the last week of class. It ended well. I took a risk on my final assignment, and the professor liked it. I received the grade I was looking for, and moved on to my next class. Only three more traditional classes left. After that the only thing that stands between me and a DM is my dissertation.
by Jason R Owens | Feb 26, 2012 | Uncategorized
I was reading the book “The Genius in All of Us” by David Shenk today. It is a fantastic book that breaks several myths about talent and how much of it we can expect to inherit from our parents. The good news is that talent is something that everyone can develop. It isn’t just for the gifted few.
A good friend of mine, Enrico Contolini, noticed that his oldest daughter had a knack for geography. He helped his daughter develop this knack to the point where she was good enough to compete. Fast forward. She has won the state geography bee twice.
Shenk makes the case that genetics will only take a person so far. Having talent is one thing, but developing that talent is another. The environment also plays a very formative role. Shenk uses examples of both cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma and Mozart to illustrate that very involved and capable parents play a critical role in helping children realize their full potential. Enrico’s daughter inherited a mother who is a skilled educator and a father who is an engineer. The cards appear to be stacked in her favor.
Enrico has developed a teaching and coaching method that clearly works with his daughter. Music’s Shinichi Suzuki developed and honed his Suzuki method of teaching, and it revolutionized how music is taught to children. Perhaps the study of geography is about to receive the Contolini Method for getting kids energized about the places of the world. See more on this father-daughter team’s quest to share their love of geograhpy at www.geokid.org.
by Jason R Owens | Feb 26, 2012 | Uncategorized
I love highlighting great work by amazing people. A good friend of mine lives with his family in Colorado. He recognized that his eldest daughter had a talent for geography, so they explored it together. This father-daughter hobby turned into a competitive sport. Enrico now coaches his daughter in her geography bee pursuits at the state and national level. This father-daughter team also take their love of geography to local schools. See more on their story at www.geokid.org.
by Jason R Owens | Feb 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
My wife has done a fantastic job over the past 12 months at the Animal Care and Control division of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department. Check out her site at www.clever-canine.com for more details. If you are short on time, just check out the first post or the first video.
