My “Aha” Moment

I’m sitting in my hotel room at the beautiful Zermatt resort in Utah and reflecting on this past week, I realized I might have had my ‘aha’ moment: be open! Be open to opportunities, be open to meeting new people, be open to learn.

Be open to opportunities. This week has marked the end of my year with TEC (The Executive Committee) on Campus. I mentioned TEC a few times and promised I would write about it at some point. The reason I kept putting it off is not because it is not important for me, but because the experience is very difficult to quantify or describe in words. TEC has been the most rewarding experience here at Pepperdine and I know I’m going to miss it terribly. And I’m glad I was open to it!

I know that the name of the program makes you think of a professional mentorship that will help you hone your skills and realize your goals. Or get you a job. Nope! It’s nothing like that. Not even close. It is a journey of self-reflection and trust. You go through this journey with eleven other colleagues and they become your personal board of advisors. Why do you need that? Because as Gary Brinderson, the TEC Chair, says it is lonely at the top and you need to get rid of the noise in your head in order to be a successful leader. My reflection on my strengths and myself led me to the discovery that in pursuing brand management, I need to learn the process first. If I know the process then I can turn any marketing strategy into a success and apply it to any product.

Be open to learn (from opportunities and people). A few months ago I received an e-mail about a leadership opportunity with NAWMBA (The National Association of Women MBA’s), on their brand management team. I applied and two phone interviews later, I found out I was selected as their Regional VP of Website Development. I don’t care that much about the “important” title. I do care about the work that I’m going to do to build the NAWMBA brand and also about all the women that are going to benefit from that. And I also care about the wonderful women that I met this weekend at the leadership retreat in Utah. Each one of them has an interesting story, background, and various drivers pushing them to succeed. And I’m learning from them about their experiences and careers, what to do and what not to do.

Be open to meeting people. I left LA late last night to come to the retreat. My plane got delayed, I was already exhausted, and couldn’t wait to get on the plane and continue with my work. I chose to sit down next to a lady with a very active 4-year old daughter. The reason behind it was that the kid was going to be up playing and I could have the light on to work on my computer. I had the ambitious plan to get two full hours of work while en route. The lady and I exchanged pleasantries and then I started working. The flight attendant – though a funny Southwest Airliner – was not going to have me work on the computer while take off, so I had to obey and turned all electronics off. To kill time, the lady and I started chatting. Immediately, we bonded over my frustration about not being able to use my computer and hers about not being able to use her Kindle. One conversation led to another and heavy turbulence warned us that we were descending into Salt Lake City. I never got any work done, but spent two wonderful hours in the company of a woman with a very interesting life story and her daughter, who coincidentally shares my first name.

I could go on and on with the examples, but you get the idea. Keep your eyes, ears, and heart open and your journey will be so much better!