What I Know and What I Don’t Know

by Michelle Lasley

Michelle Lasley is a mother, wife in Pacific Northwest learning to balance green dreams with budget realities.

September 8, 2013

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Categories: Blogging Before SEO

Let’s begin with a little slide show. (Skip the ad at the end.)

I am not working on the direct advocacy of educating people on the importance of a sustainable society. As such, I don’t feel like I’m reaching my own goals. So, I have met with various people to find ideas on how I can reach my goals.

She assessed that I talk fast. She thought I was from New York or Boston instead of Michigan. She swayed me away from consulting because I don’t specialize in anything – I’m a generalist. She assessed that I have a problem with authority (though she didn’t use those words or even state it that bluntly). And she surmised that the interviews are the problem for me, not the résumé writing.

I was hoping for the smoking gun answer on “this is what I should do.” But, I didn’t get that. The closest I got was with the hour and a half chat the night previous suggesting start ups.

Here’s what I know.

  • I know that I want to educate people on the importance of a sustainable society.
  • I know that I used mark myself as an INFJ, but now, consistently rank as an INTJ.
  • I know that I do not want to be an engineer.
  • I know that I like to think.
  • I know that I like to learn.
  • I know that I’m not afraid to try new things.
  • I know that I need autonomy to get a job done.
  • I know I work best when not micromanaged.
  • I know that I like colleagues with whom to solve problems.
  • I know that I don’t like other people telling me what to do all day long. (That presumes I’m too stupid to figure it out on my own, and I’m repeatedly told that I’m quite smart…)
  • I know I need regular access to creativity, otherwise I feel vacant or void.
  • I know that I need to be in some sort of environmental or social advocacy, furthering the promotion of my sustainable agenda.
  • I know that I don’t want to be a secretary for the rest of my life.
  • I know that I want to run my own organization some day, and be paid a fair wage for doing so.
  • I know that I want to learn how to build collaborative teams, and learn more about how to keep them together working positively for a common goal.
  • I know that I want to work with a diverse team – younger people for their creativity and energy and older people for their wisdom and experience. (Socio economic, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation all offer important perspectives that aid in diversity.)
  • I know that I want to stop collecting jobs and actively work towards a career, a meaningful career.

I was hoping that would get answers around these pieces of knowledge, but it didn’t happen. So, more status quo with some practice. And, on we trudge trying to improve ourselves and fulfill our goals.

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