Sometimes I wish I would have went to college and learned more. I'd love be be able to better express the way I feel... to remember detailed, important stuff... to use the right words... to make the thoughts in my heart and the knowledge in my head come out in a way that would make sense and be impressive. Maybe college would have helped...
Always a slow learner, I struggled most of my life in everything new. People generally don't look at you as someone of importance unless you have some kind of degree. That's just the way life is.
Shhh... don't tell my dog that. She thinks I hung the moon....
Certain things have come to me naturally, like knowing and loving God, and being a wife and a mom - all of those things, a piece of cake.
But that doesn't mean I've not messed up in even those things...
thank God for forgiveness.
In a day when women are all about careers and finding their place in the world, I found that I didn't fit in. I had to work hard to get to where I am today. I started out as secretary in my office. But when the job for Specialist came open, I knew I had to move ahead!
The training, traveling, seminars, and tests were exhausting and something I would have never thought of even trying ten years earlier.
Now, to be a hearing aid specialist,
you have to have a bachelors degree for the position;
luckily I was grandfathered in.
I make a decent living now, and know a lot more than I did ten years ago. But it's not the knowledge that was crammed into my brain that has helped me the most in my journey...
It's through God's continual guidance that my walk
leads me to something better each day.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.
The knowledge that I learned from classes, seminars and studying made it possible for me to pass the The State Board exam and be licnesed... but it's the common sense stuff, the instruction from the Word of God, that has shown productive in growing our business the most.
The owner of the business knows that from our numbers... yet he aways falls back into looking at peers or those with a higher degree to help him with his marketing strategies.
And that hurts our business.
I don't believe that fitting and selling hearing aids should be a business that is run like a car dealership, nor that you need to 'beg' people to come into your office for a 'free' hearing test. I don't believe you need to manipulate or bully someone into taking care of their hearing.
If you treat people right, they will be back and they'll bring a friend.
That... is not head knowledge but good old fashioned common sense.
Many super-smart people don't have a clue as to what that is.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Pictures, compliments of
Gracie's Day of Fun
and
Look! My Flowers Are Still Hanging On!!
My boss is still giving away $20 Wal Mart gift cards for those who
come in for a FREE hearing test! Errrrrr
As aggrevated as I am with this, I may as well have some fun.
I'm sending Hubby to Wal Mart for my own gift card and I'll be giving a $20 Wal Mart gift card to one of my friends who comment on this post. All names will be put in the basket and my 3 yr. old granddaughter will draw a name on Friday.
Good luck y'all!!
I know quite a few people with college degrees, that haven't got enough sense to know when to change the oil in their vehicle. IMO, life experience is better than that piece of paper that says you went to college! Just my take on it. I know that now days, if you don't have a degree, it's looked on as being less than wise, but wisdom comes from learning things the hard way.
ReplyDeletePretty fall pictures! Gracie is adorable as always! :-)
While it's sweet that you're offering the gift card, that is not why I chose to post a comment today (I read your every post, but don't always take time to comment). No, I knew early on in the post that I'd comment, as I wanted to tell you what a beautiful, and eloquent post this is.
ReplyDeleteI dropped out my first year of college when I got pregnant with my son. With my kids grown, and my husband semi-retired, I now have the time to return to college, but don't feel I have the memory to retain all the facts these days. I do often feel intimidated, though, by those who have degrees. However, the more I learn of who I am in Christ Jesus, the less intimidated I feel. Isn't it wonderful having such a Savior in whom to place our confidence? God bless you for writing this today. I was blessed by reading it. :-)
Well there are people who are very book smart, but when it comes to life and people skills they are very weak, for me the later is far more important than being a know it all. And yes you are so right degrees impress, but I don't need to impress anybody, i just need to be happy with myself and I can only be that when i am true to myself and not try to be like others or try to impress, unless I have things to impress....there is also a thing call being humble, those are virtues I treasure more than anything. Am I smart, you bet I am....maybe not in every aspect, but in the aspects that matter to me. Common sense is somehow a lost art.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
A little more education won't hurt anyone Bobbi. If you feel a degree is in order for you, then maybe enroll in a course that you would like. It's never too late to learn things. My older sister took one course a year for twenty years while raising her kids. She got a degree when they were all grown. It doesn't mean that she was any smarter, but it gave her confidence and a sense of achievement. Plus I.m sure she learned a thing or two along the way.
ReplyDeleteI have two degrees. I am not bragging about it and don't feel that I am better than anyone else because of it. Most of the stuff I learned I don't remember but that's not the point. I met and was around people that have vast life experiences and I learned from them.
You are right. Common sense is something we learn in the 'real' world. Degree or not, we don't learn this until we get our first job. Then we learn how to do things.
Don't be afraid of a little bit of knowledge Bobbi. And you DO express yourself very well Missy. You don't beat around the bush when you want someone to know what you are talking about.
Jim
Does this mean I'm in the running for that wal-mart card?
ReplyDeletepreachur99 - No, you are not. Now go get that Wal-mart card!!! Jim, I took a writing course last year that took me an entire year to finish and I was stressed because it took up so much of my time. I'm at the point in my life where I'd like to be winding down, traveling, and doing things that I like to do. As I said before, learning does not come easy to me and I'm just too tired to learn another thing!
ReplyDeleteI hear you Bobbi! Got to that point a lot of times. Go for what you like to do.
ReplyDeleteJim
I think you accomplished quite a bit without a college education. You were able to get yourself into a field where you could provide for yourself. There are people who go to college and then end up in a totally different field than they went to school for. Like my in-law's plumber. He got a four-year degree (not sure in what) but he's now a plumber with his own plumbing business. Or my sister who got her PhD in something to do with religion but never used it in her work field.
ReplyDeleteLearning came easy for me and I got good grades but I didn't want to go to college. High school counselors weren't happy when I didn't want to pursue college or college preparation classes but chose business classes instead because that is what I wanted to do, be a secretary. I was a great secretary when I worked outside the house and now am a great medical transcriptionist working at home and I have a career that there is still a demand for workers (albeit we are moving away from transcription into editing but they still need people proficient in medical terminology)
My point is I think you could still learn at home whatever you might want to learn by reading, etc and I think its awesome that you care about what you do and that you have your own business/common sense that seems like workable for me (give good customer service and people will remember and come back)
loved all the pictures about Gracie and the scenery!
betty
It sounds like to me that you are successful in your career despite not having a college degree! I think you should be very proud of yourself!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are beautiful!