Category: Words of Inspiration & Motivation
Change is good
| June 29, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Random, Words of Inspiration & Motivation |
For those of you that know my history, I started my career off at Rackspace back in 2003. I left Rackspace to work for PEER 1 in 2005 and spent the last 4 years at PEER 1. I have had the opportunity to work with some outstanding individuals (clients and employees) and have been a part of some great things. But business changes and sometimes you have to make change for yourself. Your gut will tell you when that time is.
I’d like to share a story that serves somewhat as analogy to my situation today.
If you look back on your childhood, I am sure you can name persons that had an impact on your life (positive or negative) that have helped you develop into what you are today. Persons that brought out the best or worst in you, helping you find the path you are suppose to be on. You didn’t know it then but you know it more than ever when you are out there in the real world trying to make some tough decisions. You have to sit down and take a look back on your life. Who are you? What makes you happy? What drives you?
How volleyball fits in
I grew up playing volleyball, playing since I was in 2nd grade. I am very passionate about the sport. From 5th to 8th grade, my school team didn’t lose one game in all 4 seasons. Her name was “Coach Debbie” and man, we thought she was so mean! She made girls cry all the time.
I also played club volleyball and my team made the Junior Olympics twice – once in San Jose, California and once in Orlando, Florida. I wasn’t the star player but I was always the dependable player. Volleyball taught me about discipline, gave me that competitive spirit and showed me what being a team player meant.
As a freshman in high school, I made the varsity volleyball team. I was excited and proud to have made the varsity volleyball team. Granted, I went to a private school but still, I was the only freshman on the varsity team. As the season progressed, I noticed that we weren’t very good and I hardly received any playing time. My coach would put me in 2 points away from the other team winning game. I didn’t have the chance to make a huge difference on the team.
The confrontation
I decided to approach my coach about it. I was nervous of course, I was just a freshman. She taught a geography class so I went to her classroom one day after her class let out. I asked for a few minutes of her time. I let her know my concerns about not receiving playing time and asked her what I could do to improve so I can play more often. All I wanted to do was help our team get some wins. She said this “Well, we have a lot of seniors on the team and it’s their last year to play.” I was so turned off by this and actually replied right back with “ Well, I didn’t realize the varsity team was built based on tenure, I thought it was built based on attitude and skill. If that is the case, then I want to be put on the Junior Varsity team where I know I will get some playing time so I can improve for the years ahead.” She was really caught off guard with my comment (and so was I) but she respected my comment and said that she wanted to keep me on the team.
She did end up playing me a tad bit more and I was able to get some solid playing time in. But it wasn’t enough. I didn’t feel that the team shared the same passion I did for the sport. Nothing against the team but my heart wasn’t it and it wasn’t a good feeling. I spent the next year there and decided that I wanted to leave the high school for a better opportunity.
The transfer
My parents accepted my decision and I transferred to another school my Junior year. I made the varsity volleyball team there. This was a solid group of girls that were passionate about volleyball, about their teammates and about having a good attitude. I will never forget our coach, “Coach Joyce.” She was tough. We practiced everyday except Sundays. We did pool workouts, weight work outs and speed workouts. She had us on a diet and that’s when I learned about protein shakes. I remember being in so much pain. But at the end of the day, we all wanted to feel that pain because we knew it would bring us to that win. We went on to win the state championship. It was the best decision I ever made.
The purpose of me telling this story is that first, I remembered it so I had to write it down so I never forget it. But when I think about it, I realized that my volleyball journey gave me the opportunity to know what it felt like to be passionate about something. When that passion was gone, I felt it and was more inclined to do something about it. Today, I am passionate about many other things and it all revolves around helping others and improving my well being. I want be part of a team that shares that same passion.
Rackspace had a great opportunity that I was fortunate enough to have offered to me. Sometimes change is good and I don’t see this transition being any different.
I hope I can inspire others see the opportunity for a change and embrace it.
Qualities of a Great Leader
| June 24, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Random, Words of Inspiration & Motivation |
When I read Nan Palmero’s MySA blog posting on his thoughts what makes a great leader, I was inspired to write my own thoughts on leadership. Many of us have different views on what we believe to be necessary qualities of true leaders (although attitude will almost always be one of them). I think every leader should have the following 5 qualities :
Willing to engage
I believe that leaders have to be willing to go out and meet people, get to know them on a personal level and be able to find a unique quality in that person that can be used to have a positive impact on others. I think often times, persons in high level positions don’t see the importance in engaging with others at various levels. You cannot be a leader without followers. You create followers by listening, understanding and helping.
Doesn’t get hooked on titles
One of my favorite books is “You don’t need a title to be a leader” by Mark Sanborn. When someone asks you where you want to be in 10 years, your answer shouldn’t be “I want to be a CEO of a company” or “I want my company to be #1 in the industry.” What matters most is how you get there. If you do all the right things, you will be put into a position to lead. One of my favorite quotes from a leader was from Lanham Napier, CEO of Rackspace. When Rackspace went public, they hosted a large employee event to announce the news. I joined my husband for the event. When Lanham went up to speak, one of his comments really stuck with me. He said something along the lines of “Rackers, I do not want to walk through the office and see the stock ticker on your desktops. If we continue to provide Fanatical Support to our customers, the numbers will speak for themselves.” Focusing on the fundamentals and doing what is right for the customer is what will drive them to be a leader.
Attitude
Regardless of your skill level, experience, the number of people you know, you can never be a good leader without having an optimistic outlook on life. You may end up in unfortunate situations, someone may have burned you, you may not like everyone you meet but if you cannot find an optimistic outlet, it is almost impossible for you to succeed. You may be able to get by in the short run but you will never be able to endure leadership in the long run.
Brings others with you
Being a leader is not about you, it’s about everyone around you. It’s finding ways to bring out the best in others so that they too can lead. One of my favorite quotes was from Obama when P. Diddy interviewed him 4 years ago before he was president. Obama was talking about celebrities and other high profile individuals like P. Diddy and said this: “There are a lot of brothers and sisters out there that are doing well but aren’t thinking about the folks being left behind. And if you can’t reach back and pull some folks up with you, then you shouldn’t be in the position you are in right now.”
Always willing to learn
Leaders should always be accepting that they don’t know everything and should look forward to learning from others. One of the most inspiring stories for me was that of Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s. He was a high school drop out and although extremely successful, he started “realizing that his success as a high school dropout might convince other teenagers to quit school (something he later admitted was a mistake).” So he became a student at Coconut Creek High School and earned a GED in 1993, at the age of 60 yrs!
We are never too old to learn.
Google recognizes a San Antonio 6th grader
| May 21, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Business & Technology, The Arts, Film, Music, Fashion, Why I like San Antonio, Words of Inspiration & Motivation |
I am sure everyone has already heard about this but I had to post about it because I just think it’s so cool. Google runs a contest called “Doodle 4 Google.” It’s a competition that invites K-12 grade students to reinvent Google’s homepage logo around a preselected theme.
Doodle 4 Google is a competition where we invite K-12 students to reinvent Google’s homepage logo. Both our country and our world are undergoing significant change and this year we invited students to doodle around the theme “What I Wish for the World”. At Google we believe in thinking big, and dreaming big, and we can’t think of anything more important than encouraging students to do the same.
And the winner? Christin Engelberth, a 6th grader from Bernard A. Harris Jr High School right here in San Antonio Texas. She titled her’s a “A New Beginning”:
The logo is being displayed today on Google’s homepage where millions of visitors come from all over the world. Christin will receive a $15,000 college scholarship, a laptop, and a $25,000 technology grant for her school.
She has been featured on many news websites including CNN:
Good job Christin! Way to represent San Antonio, your school and most importantly, yourself. This is awesome news and news we need to hear about more often. There are kids doing wonderful things out there and they need to be recognized.
I applaud Google for developing a program that recognizes our youth for their talent and creativity. We need more companies to be doing things like this. We also need to encourage our youth to search for competitions, programs and contests that challenge them to use their brains.
I am going to print this story and take it my class at Garner middle school, where I am a Junior Achievement volunteer. I want our kids to know that there are programs out there where they can get recognized for their talents. I hope this story will inspire them.
To be Successful (in times like these) requires Creativity
| March 4, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Why I like San Antonio, Words of Inspiration & Motivation |
Erik Darmstetter from Salesby5 was interviewed today on the Kens 5 Great Day SA show. He talks about how you can start your own business and you don’t need a lot of money upfront, just a lot of creativity. You have to find what will be a true benefit to the end user. If the uniqueness is absent, you will be forced to compete on price.
You also have to be able to pitch your solution in less than 10 seconds. Nowadays, people are so consumed by so many various distractions – Blogs, iPhones, Blackberrys – you need to gain that interest right away for it to be worth their time.
I have personally met with Erik and my company, PEER 1, will actually be working with him and his company, Salesby5. How did I find out about Salesby5? Twitter! I was doing a search for something and came across the Salesby5 blog. I found the topic at hand interesting and I began to look at what Salesby5 offered. I was instantly impressed. I then come to find out that they are located right here in San Antonio; even more impressive!
I had the pleasure of meeting with Erik and his colleague, Nan Palmero, Chief Inspiration Officer. Nan is a strengths coach, a writer for Blackberry cool, and and an avid Twitterer (is that a word) with l775 followers as of today. I am looking forward to working with both of them.
I’d also like to add that in order for you to be successful, you not only need to have a creative idea but a creative way of getting your idea out there. It is imperative for start ups to embrace social networking. Traditional forms of advertising are expensive and not cost effective for start ups. Further, you need to rely on word of mouth, the best form of marketing, and what greater way then to use the free social networking tools out there. You’d be surprised by the power.
Below is Erik’s interview:
Erik Darmstetter Interview on Great Day SA
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