Here's My Story In a Nutshell...
After completing college and successfully earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, I landed a job at a retail store. Wait! What?! Let’s backtrack. My family valued education and I was taught to go to school, earn good grades, and graduate from college so that I would land a great job in Corporate America. So why the hell was I working at a retail store? This was NOT what I was told would happen. Yes, I had gained part-time experience working in corporate settings while attending school, but I guess in their eyes I had not developed enough skills for the over 100 jobs I applied for after college. It was hard; I worked in that retail store for five and a half years before landing a job as an Office Manager/Executive Assistant. Don’t get me wrong - I learned a lot and developed great skills with those jobs. I was always good at what I did, and in every job I had I was respected and admired by management because I did what came natural to me - providing great customer service - as a people-person. I toiled and had a great work ethic because I was used to working all the time. I provided leadership and interpersonal skills but being the person that I am I always envisioned myself in higher positions.
“you have to make sacrifices and bury excuses” - Lee Whetstone
While building up Leading with Lee Magazine I still worked a 9 to 5 to pay bills. A quote from Tony Gaskins stood out to me at the time: “You have to balance your dream and your job, until your dream becomes your job.” Boy was that hard! I’ve experienced feelings of being lost, stuck and unworthy. I’ve had sleepless nights, negative bank accounts, personal and professional drama, failed ideas and nights of just crying myself to sleep. I’ve also received more than enough rejection letters from jobs I had applied to. For someone who suffered with low self-esteem and shyness for years, stepping outside of my comfort zone and becoming courageous was scary to me. However, I had to suck it up and fearlessly chase my dream in order for me to become successful. It was time to develop a new me. I started to find myself by recognizing my gifts and my faults, meditating, praying and removing myself from negative people and situations, and that included family members and close friends….ouch! When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired and would like to move from the same spot you’re currently in, you have to make sacrifices and bury excuses.
I'm over allowing people and situations to shut me up and shut me out. I've had enough of trying to fit in where I didn't belong. I started giving the world notice instead of asking for permission. I'm still a work in progress, but boy, it feels so good damn good to grow into the person I am supposed to be. I chose purpose over popularity.
My story is the reason why I am so passionate about helping millennials and working professionals succeed by helping them identify and monetize their purpose!
Written by: Lee Whetstone