At age 60, I went through a role transition. For 30 years, I was locked into my role as a public health professional because that is what I went to school to become. I had a great career doing public health work. It was how I defined myself. My degree..Masters in Public Health! I paid good money for that title. I went to school six years post graduate level to get that title. It was my credential to get work, a career, a livelihood. And it worked for me in the 80's and 90's, at the height of my career. I gave a lot of my time and energy working in that field. I also spent many years in the nonprofit sector. Writing grants. Planning programs. Consulting with others who wanted to know how to do it. Now, I don't want public health to define me. I don't want nonprofit consultant to define me either. I want to be something else. What is that? What I've become. I had to give myself permission to try on new titles. A spiritual author. A self discovery coach. A wisdom woman.
Do I have a paid degree? Yes. I paid with hard life lessons. Experience. Personal encounters with thousands of people over the course of my journey. Young people. Old people. Travels to other countries. Interactions with so many situations where I had to come out victorious. Did it cost me money? Yes! I spent thousands of dollars investing, creating, buying, losing, gaining, giving, and caring for my needs and the needs of others.
Am I qualified to teach? To spread my wisdom? To ask others to pay to get the knowledge and the advice that I've acquired? Yes. I don't really need more certificates, degrees, or letters attached to my name. I know what I know. I do what I do. And I love what I have learned about myself, my life, and about my journey. I know my energy is valuable. MY ENERGY.
Can I use all the years of training, skills, and experience from my academic training and my career path to be effective as an author, an inspirational speaker, a life coach, a mentor, a teacher? I must! It is time to do it, because if I don't, who will know me?
I believe all of us who are blessed to make it to this age have an obligation to ourselves to change our roles. We are not the same people we were when we were younger. We have acquired wisdom and knowledge which surpasses Masters and Doctorate degrees. We must be willing to demand respect for our wisdom, and value it just as highly as a diploma!!
Do I have a paid degree? Yes. I paid with hard life lessons. Experience. Personal encounters with thousands of people over the course of my journey. Young people. Old people. Travels to other countries. Interactions with so many situations where I had to come out victorious. Did it cost me money? Yes! I spent thousands of dollars investing, creating, buying, losing, gaining, giving, and caring for my needs and the needs of others.
Am I qualified to teach? To spread my wisdom? To ask others to pay to get the knowledge and the advice that I've acquired? Yes. I don't really need more certificates, degrees, or letters attached to my name. I know what I know. I do what I do. And I love what I have learned about myself, my life, and about my journey. I know my energy is valuable. MY ENERGY.
Can I use all the years of training, skills, and experience from my academic training and my career path to be effective as an author, an inspirational speaker, a life coach, a mentor, a teacher? I must! It is time to do it, because if I don't, who will know me?
I believe all of us who are blessed to make it to this age have an obligation to ourselves to change our roles. We are not the same people we were when we were younger. We have acquired wisdom and knowledge which surpasses Masters and Doctorate degrees. We must be willing to demand respect for our wisdom, and value it just as highly as a diploma!!
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