No Regrets About My Becoming

Happy Tuesday, my people!

Let me tell y’all about the start of this week…

At a couple of workshops that I facilitated this year, I spoke on the importance of networking and how it can be beneficial professionally. When I begin speaking about this, I make it clear that this was not always an easy feat for me. I hated networking! Remember, I was/am a writer. This transition into becoming a communications professional and college instructor (becoming a more verbal communicator) came much later and just grabbed me! But back then as a young adult, I was not always a fan of making small talk or creating and practicing the introductory elevator speeches that I encourage and advise my clients, students, and workshop participants to prepare. But I did it – I practiced what I now preach.

During my early 20s, when I started putting myself out there to network, I did not understand how it applied to what I had planned for my life then, which was to work in advertising. More years passed with me taking on various roles and “job hopping” to figure out where I belonged, and even as it occurred, I did not imagine that these relationships I was developing could be instrumental in what was to come in my life later. I didn’t understand that my career path would change and that the practice I gained from attending networking events and getting acquainted with people in my community would result in some of my biggest supporters down the line when I decided to pursue going into business for myself and teaching.

This summer has allowed me more time to work on my business goals, and one of them I spoke up about as making happen was to incorporate more marketing and setting budget goals. I want to be in a place where my business and I are in demand, even when I’m not working; even when I’m sleeping, I want opportunities to be happening for me while I’m not thinking about it. Yesterday, I woke up to a message requesting my professional resume services – by the end of the day, I had received three more requests for possible services: assisting an author on their book, an inquiry about editing and writing policies for an organization, and finally a grant writing request. All these requests were because of referrals from individuals (past clients, friends, and then some) that I developed relationships with over the years.

If I had not forced myself to start networking and learning how to initiate and maintain conversations (and this began before my graduate school journey into communications), I wonder would I be able to write and share this same experience and lesson with you now. I have also continued to show kindness and empathy to others, something that comes from my upbringing and how I was raised. A smile and simply saying “hello” is so impactful. I remember many times during my journey of young adulthood to getting to where I am now, I would always say I was “too nice.” I felt like people often look at kindness as a weakness (and those who think they can try you will do so if you let them). But now that I am more “seasoned” and comfortable with who I am, I wouldn’t change this quality about myself. I can be kind, but I now also know how to be stern in my decisions and actions that others may not agree with. This is also helpful in your professionalism.

So, until the next time, I encourage you to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, learn from all of your experiences along your journey, be kind, respectful, and treat people how you want to be treated, speak into existence what you want (and believe it!), and do not have any regrets of the person you are becoming.