Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

In another thread, I talked about a night-school teacher who ended up hiring me as his assistant and teaching me graphic design. I got paid to learn and it was a big turning point in my life. Those skills have been very important in my current business. Another person who I will never forget is one of my old nail clients. I used to be a manicurist/nail tech when I was in my early 20`s down in FL, living on my own. This person co-signed a car for me when my parents wouldn`t. It`s was just an $800 car and I couldn`t pay for it all up front. She got me a loan, and of course I paid it off. We are still friends. The two people believed in me and gave me a chance, and I will never forget them because although they may not realized it, they really changed my life and made it better.

I also have to give props to my husband. He was the first person to truly love me unconditionally and respect me. When you have a person like that behind you, you can conquer the world.

So, who has touched your life and changed it for the better?

Great question.

Mr Rose. My high school music teacher. He ran his band like a drill sargent and he knew how to have fun.  I came back to school 1 year after graduation and he said "look at you..... you`re gettin` fat! See what happens after high school!"

  I was shocked at first and then I said to myself, Good ol` Mr Rose, he just did me a favor. I lost 30 lbs in the following three months because of that moment. Mr Rose gave me another kick in the butt just as he used to do and just what I needed........it`s the kick that we all need sometimes. My mother and father gave me plenty of kicks and my wife has a permant shoe.....well ahem...you get the picture. Every now and then I remember those times-those people- and I mangage to kick myself in the butt so others don`t have to.

Here`s to all the butt kickers out there! Thanks!

 I hope to do a little butt kickin` of my own and maybe somebody will thank me for it someday.

 

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~Eric
JE Design Group, LLC
If all you do is what you`ve done, then all you`ll get is what you`ve got.
www.jedesigngroup.com

I have been very fortunate because there have been a few people who made a difference in my life.  As a single parent it was hard to work full time and to finish my education.  At some points I thought I never would finish especially given the sleepless nights, the added pressures, and balancing competing work/life/family priorities.   Typically at my weakest moments when it would have been easier to walk away then to keep plugging away, Nancy Lemkie would give me words of encouragment.  She would tell me I could do it and she would keep the words of encouragement flowing until I too believed her. 

The second person who believed in me was Dean Wong.  He thought I had potential and he supported my pursuit of a Bachelor degree.  He even granted me permission to reduce my work hours for a couple of semesters so I could take classes I needed to graduate but to which were only offered during the day.  He was also supportive when he found out my immediate supervisor had been threatening to fire me if I didn`t meet her 40 hour workload deadlines within my temporary reduced, 20 hour work schedule. All I can say is alittle bit of tenaciousness goes along way when one keeps their nose to the grindstone...because knowing I had the Dean`s respect and support I didn`t focus on the unreasonable demands of my immediate supervisor. Instead I balanced 12-15 credit hours, a 20 hour work week, family obligations, and bent over backwards to ensure I met all of the 40 hour workload deadlines my immediate supervisor required.  I worked harder then I ever have in my life and I put in more then my fair share of uncompensated hours; but I never gave up.  Instead the more my immediate supervisor would try to verbally discourage me and put obsticals in my path the more I treasured the Dean`s support and encouragement.  I figured if someone of his caliber believed in me then I could do it...and I did. 

 

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Nicole Champagne
Email: influencialexpectations@gmail.com
Cell: (734) 262-3730
Soar With Influencial Expectations!

The person who changed my life and inspired me to be who I am today is my 8th grade clarinet teacher, Dave Sasaki.  He did not just teach me all the techniques in clarinet but built up my self-esteem.  He`s the teacher who inspired me to become a teacher later on in my life - a teacher who teaches the heart. 

 

 

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Life isn`t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

I had an "au paire" girl---sort of like a combination maid, nanny, governess, who was the only one to encourage my music-playing in a family focused more on the "real world." If it hadn`t been for her, I likely would never have gone professional as a musician, which fundamentally changed the way I view the world. I would`ve been about 10, I think, when she was around.

My Grandfather was the one person in the family who said "yes" instead of "don`t you dare". He was very nervous and scared, that was passed down to my Mother and then to me, however the thing that was different about him--He went beyond thinking about himself and took the time to praise me and encourage me. Wish he didn`t have to go so early.

 

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"If you`ve got a frog to swallow, don`t look at it too long. And if you`ve got more than one to swallow, swallow the biggest one first"--Danny Cox

Y`know, there IS a physical component (genetic) to "shyness." It presents as fearful and nervous about anything irregular and in facing choices. You may want to try a saliva panel test for cortisol and see what your levels indicate. It`s not worth going through life filled with trepidation for no reason other than physical chemistry. There are plenty enough reasonable fears and anxieties. :-)