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If you can't find an opportunity, create one!

Posted by Erneshia Pinder on

Good morning beautiful people!!! Today's inspiration is brought to you by an early morning workout compliments of my favorite playlist (yes, every other song is Mary J. Blige ☺) and some caramel vanilla morning sunshine.

This morning I had a moment of reflection on some of the most pivotal moments in my career. There is one in particular that stood out to me.

It was May of 2006, and I had just started a brand new job supporting the General Counsel of a small third party administrator (TPA) in Baltimore. If I am being honest, I felt like I was in over my head. I was hired to support complex litigation and to oversee all of the company's TPA and fully insured broker licenses. I had the complex lit stuff down pat, the licensing piece....not so much.

So I spent any down time I had reading licensing regulations, learning about reciprocity, annual filing requirements, etc. Before long, I handled all of it with ease. And in true Erneshia fashion, I wanted to take on more.

But what would that be?

In a small company, the opportunity to shift or pivot responsibilities didn't come along often. Add being acquired to that and the ceiling started to feel very low. But I kept my eyes and mind open to any and every possibility.

When an opening came up to assume the responsibility for client contracts, I happily raised my hand.

Without an immediate salary increase or title change.

Yet, I still raised my hand.

Why? Because it was an opportunity to learn something new and take on added responsibilities.

It was a stepping stone.

I led my first team in this role. I drafted and negotiated my very first contract with a foreign government in this role.

This role led to me gaining M & A experience. This role started me down a path to exceling in program and project management.

All because I took a risk, raised my hand and was willing to learn something new.

Sometimes, strategies shift and priorities change which can make your ceiling seem much lower than you would like. When that happens you can either resign that things will be what they will be our you can take matters into your own hands and chart a new path for yourself.
 
This brings me to today's moment in a mug... "If you can't find an opportunity, create one."

And while it may not come with an immediate promotion, salary increase or recognition, the opportunity you create just may be the stepping stone you need to take your career to brand new heights.

Trust me I know.

Whereas once the ceiling felt low, now it's...

What ceiling?

Happy Tuesday!

#momentinamug #morningroutine #inspiration #opportunity #leadership #livelearnlead

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