Jessica’s Jam: How to Accomplish Anything Pt. 2
Here’s the full transcript:
Hey guys! It’s Jessica and it’s time for Part 2 of “How to Accomplish Anything”.
I’m just going to be sharing a second story in my life that I feel kind of developed these certain qualities or character traits inside of me that ultimately led me down the path to success. Now all of these stories have one common thread and that is they’re all uncomfortable. Every one of these stories is kind of embarrassing to share and it was MORE embarrassing to live out. The last story, of me carrying around the dictionary on index cards, ISN’T NORMAL.
And this story, you’ll find to also be of a similar kind.
I ended up becoming a mortgage broker for a short time, a couple of years ago.
I applied…I was a COLLEGE GRADUATE.
I was looking for that ambitious, make-your-parents-proud type of job, that you could put on a resume and look professional (to be totally honest). And I would go onto monster.com..if some of you know what that is. I don’t even know if that’s still around now but it was a website that you could go on and apply for job.
And I found this job in Atlanta..you know, BIG CITY, “corporate” job as a mortgage broker. They IMMEDIATELY email me back and say they want to hire me.
I’m thinking:
“Oh my GOSH, this is IT! I’m going into CORPORATE AMERICA! I can’t believe they’re going to hire ME! I’m going to work in a HIGH RISE and wear suits to work and carry a BRIEFCASE and hopefully get my corner office WITH A VIEW!”
I show up…
ONLY to realize, maybe I’m not as special as I think.
It’s a 100% commission job..meaning, they pay me nothing unless I bring them home loans/mortgages..IF I’m closing a loan which means THEY get paid, THEN they pay me. Until then, they’re giving me nothing. So it wasn’t QUITE as prestigious as I had built up in my brain. Ha!
So, no big deal, I thought. Well, that’s fine. I’ll just go get me a loan.
I worked. I went thru the training. I worked endlessly, every single day. I started to notice, all of the cubicles around me…it was kind of like a revolving door. There would be somebody there one day and they’d be gone the next. People were coming just as fast as they were going, and I stayed.
The first month goes by. I’m working my tail off. I’m staying late. I’m coming in early. I’m starting to even work on the weekends.
I have made a whopping…ARE YOU READY FOR THIS??
$0!!!!
I worked the WHOLE month. FULL time. OVER time. $0.
I’m starting to feel defeated. I’m starting to feel NOT so proud of my corporate AWESOME job. I’m getting discouraged.
Then month 2 comes around. The highlight of the day was when you got to go to lunch. But guess who had to stop going to lunch? ME. Because I hadn’t made any money, so I’m not allowed to go buy lunch. I CAN’T GO BUY lunch. I have to pack lunch.
I just started feeling more beat down and beat down. BUT, I didn’t give up.
And I don’t know necessarily WHY I didn’t give up or why I didn’t quit like so many others had and I’m not even saying I shouldn’t have. Maybe I SHOULD have. But, by staying and by persevering thru all of that discouragement and that heartache and thru feeling like SUCH a failure…I think by sticking THAT out, it helped me see what I was made of and I wasn’t just going to throw in the towel or hit the road when the going gets tough.
Month 3 comes and you guys aren’t going to believe what happens in month 3.
I made $0 AGAIN! I worked there for 3 solid months and I made nothing.
I started asking around, seeking help…What tips could I get? What was I doing wrong and what could I do better? I thought I was following everything I should. But, I’ll tell you..in month 4, everything changed. I ended up being the TOP EARNER, setting a record for dollars earned in a single month.
I’m going to be honest. In month 1, 2 or 3, I NEVER would have believed that would’ve happened. And it ONLY happened because I DID stick it out. I stayed on course and followed the plan and didn’t quit when I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to. Ironically, I actually DID quit after month 4. Ha! I attribute that to a couple things. The company did kind of change and I felt pressured to do certain things that I wasn’t comfortable with. It wasn’t something I enjoyed, I learned.
I will say that I felt a freedom to go after I DID push thru and I DID achieve my goals beause it showed me what I was capable of. It showed me what I could endure, what I could overcome, what I could fight thru and how I could even beat my own mental mind game.
I was knocked down.
I was staying in one of my coworkers extra rooms at their house. I was trying not to spend money on food. I was at a pretty low. After coming off of a pretty big high, thinking I’m working in corporate America in downtown Atlanta in this big, nice office.
But thru that, I was humbled.
I was educated.
And I learned more about myself which in turn set me up to succeed long term in any area of my life.
If you’ve ever overcome something and you’re on the other side, you’re a different YOU. You become different because you realize now how strong you CAN BE and what you CAN endure.
Whatever you’re going thru, JUST HOLD ON.
HOLD ON.
It’s like in Survivor when they’re balancing on that little tiny piece of wood…hold ON. Tighten your core and keep going because success IS JUST on the other side.
P.S. I hope you found that crazy story helpful in some way. Stay tuned, next up I’ll be sharing the last episode of “How to Accomplish Anything”. If you are looking for something to help you get to where you want to go, shoot me a message at jessica@jessicabowsernelson.com. I help people get fit from the inside out. I help people start businesses on social media that can literally allow you to achieve your dreams in life. It has me and I love to see if it’s a fit for you too.
See you guys later!
