Keep on Learning

For the past few years I have slowly been taking the skills and professional experiences I learned in the public sector and applying them in the private sector. In 2023 I challenged myself to step out and try new professional opportunities with a growth mindset. A simple growth mindset definition is believing that you can develop your basic abilities through dedication and hard work. For me it was defined as believing that I have skills that can be used outside of the public sector and can be increased and strengthened when applied to the private sector.
Here are five things I learned in 2023:

SELLING MINDSET
When I owned my retail shop, I knew my strengths weren't in sales and I took this mindset with me into my insurance business and was struggling. What I learned this year is what kind of selling practice I operate from and how I can leverage this knowledge for my success. I joined a group of sales professionals at Selling from the Heart and was able to define what sales looks like for me. It is the relationships and genuine commitment that the products and services I have will benefit business owners, their employees and the success of their business. My ability to create messaging that supports this belief is what creates influence and trust toward sales. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a sales professional and how can you improve in 2024?

MY WHY
Through learning more about who I am as a business owner, I took the Why Institute assessment and learned why I do what I do. What was amazing is that in my core this is what I do and it is applied to everything I do!
I make sense of complex and complicated problems with better ways to be compliant and efficient and contribute to the success of the organization.
My career in the public sector leveraged my why by making sense of audit findings and developing better ways and then implementing the new systems for compliance and efficiency. Discover your Why in 2024!

THERE IS NO SEPARATION OF LIFE AND WORK
In 2023, I became a care partner a few hours/week to be an on-the-ground EAP for employees. I walk a manufacturing floor with safety glasses, ear plugs and steel toed shoes to talk to people. Similar to how I am a supervisor, I listen to what is going on in people's lives. Companies who see the benefit of this service see improvements in the workplace culture and the quality of their employee's performance. I am a resource and more importantly a trusted relationship to help them navigate their life and work. I learned that employees show up to work with their life on them. Grow your company culture in 2024 and make sure your workplace culture can support your employee's "life" and support them to be the best employee possible.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED
One of my hobbies is volunteering. I absolutely love volunteering for chamber of commerce's, church and nonprofits. What I learned this year is that if our next generation doesn't understand how important volunteering is to the quality of our communities, we are in trouble. Most of the volunteers are in their 80's for nonprofits in my rural communities. In some cases I have been the youngest and I am in my 50s! Teach your children the importance of volunteering and get out and do it in 2024.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Just like 2023 had good and bad unexpected events, so will 2024. Someone told me to not go too high or go too low, just stay steady. This can be applied as we move out of 2023 into 2024, there will be highs and lows, but stay steady and consistent. In 2023, I had some great opportunities and I had some major set backs, but the book "Three Feet from Gold" by Napoleon Hill is what kept me going through the set backs to see them as opportunities. Develop resiliency in 2024 against things that look like set backs, but may end up being set ups.
Thank you for reading! I look forward to finding out what you learned in 2023. Happy New Year!