Day #15 - What the....?

I just found out my old boss gave his notice and, unlike my experience, was asked to leave immediately. I guess when in certain high level positions the company likes to make it a clean & quick break. Of course, when things like this happen we all start to speculate on what really happened. I HOPE he has found a new and exciting opportunity and will be moving forward on a spectacular career path. Still...WOW!! Things are really getting shaken up at the old place.

My new office is very meeting heavy, but it is heavy in the kind of meetings I enjoy. I am beginning to wonder if John and George will ever run out of lesson's to share with us all...? In this morning's meeting one of the owner's asked the question "What can you do to make your life better today?" My first thought was on gratitude again, but he ended up talking about finding a mentor to emulate and learn from. It makes a lot of sense to "work smarter, not harder" and part of that is not reinventing the wheel, but taking proven strategies and using them to move forward in life or work.

He then shared a story about a mentor he worked with that changed his life 12 years ago when he was overweight and living on a family members couch...the name of his mentor was Bill Phillips. I was immediately impressed that he got to train with Bill who wrote "Body for Life" and quickly realized the "mentor" WAS the book. Many things went through my head when I realized this...I was a bit deflated, not as impressed as I was initially...then I WAS impressed by John's ability to actually DO what his mentor told him to and I think that is where I began to feel concerned...

I have been collecting ideas from other markets to utilize in my goals for the department and now I need to start implementing them. I have to admit I am feeling a little skittish about starting to send emails to ALL AGENTS and taking steps on my own. I have a department meeting every Tuesday to discuss strategy and needs and I plan to talk about who should approve my emails or if they just want me to jump in and begin implementing some of the ideas...what if I think something is a great idea and it falls flat or makes an agent mad? I have this small niggling feeling that if I show doubt in my own abilities, there will be doubt forming in the owner's thoughts as well. Then I stand back and think about their mentoring style and think I am probably just OVERthinking it.

I have read many a 'self help' book and have been inspired by many teachers/mentors out there...so where is the disconnect in actually DOING what I learn. This is a question that begs to be answered, or perhaps I just need to begin to "make my life better today" by doing what the mentors say to do. It is possible I need to work daily on my confidence (gratitude, clarity of purpose & integrity).

As I look back over the last several years my old boss was a mentor for me in many ways. He and I have absolutely opposite styles of working, but he was a pretty humble guy who cared about us and who knows a lot about the industry. I enjoyed bouncing ideas off him and was flattered when he would ask for my input as well. It will be interesting to see how things shake out over there and I certainly wish him the very best.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Behold the turtle: He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out." - James Bryant Conant