Hi, friends! Welcome back to the Small-Minded Podcast!
Today I’m excited to bring to you episode 3 of my “jobs” series.
A few weeks ago I shared with you all of the details from one of my first job experiences at the local manufacturing plant. While working at the local manufacturing plant taught me many skills and helped with my high school spending, my university years were upon me, and I needed to decide what I’d like to do with the rest of my life.
Having no clue what I really wanted to do, I went to the University of Northern Iowa with an open mind, and after a year of completing my general education credits and still having no clue, I took a personality assessment…sounds lame but it’s true.
My personality assessment told me I’d align well with being a teacher, so lo and behold I decided to become a middle school and high school language arts teacher.
I began my teaching career filling long-term substitute positions and then accepted a job at our local private school teaching reading, math, social studies, and religion. After a position opened up at our public school, I was hired and I taught reading/language arts for two years before I became pregnant with our third child in four years and decided to become a stay-at-home mom.
A few things I learned and loved about teaching:
- I lived for the lightbulb moment.
- I loved making the content relatable and modern for the students.
- I wanted the kids to understand learning doesn’t just happen in a classroom, we are at our best when we are lifelong learners.
- When you show up to the job, you might not have all the answers.
- The energy and confidence I brought into the room set the tone for the kids.
- The importance of organization and scheduling! I learned a few things, but I’m still working on this 🙂
- Most importantly, it’s okay to step away from things you love.
Truly, each part of work history comes together to shape who we are as a person, employee, or boss. It is up to us as small business owners to remember those early jobs we held and the people who showed us how to be a leader, both good and bad, as we build missions and teams of our own.
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