Shining Moments

Happy end of February and Happy beginning of March. January sure took its time, but February just FLEW on by! It’s time for another edition of Shining Moments, the weekly gratitude list. This week was my first complete week of doing Sales (mostly) on my own.

– Last week I mentioned that I awesomely received a $100 Amazon gift card as a birthday/goodbye gift. Yay for Amazon shopping spree! It was hard to pick things that I wanted, but I was able to get Sarah Steckler‘s awesome Finding Your Way (allow me to rephrase, MANY awesome journals). I’ve been part of Sarah’s courses and followings and I always loved her journal prompting questions. Now I have a book full of them! Just like Pokemon, I will collect all of them (aka her books) and be the very best.

– I was able to get a hardback cover of one my favorite new comics on the internet by Nathan Pyle, author of Strange Planet (link is to Amazon because that’s where I bought it, I am not an Amazon Affiliate). I mean seriously, who doesn’t love those little aliens? I love the brief peace and enjoyment I get when I see his posts on my Facebook or Instagram feed. While incredibly adorable, I also find it mentally stimulating. It is interesting how they describe things and makes me think about how I would describe something to someone else.

– Our hair dryer (of 6 years) is on the fritz- if it gets too hot, it shuts off (safety precaution I know), but it shouldn’t be getting hot after 5 minutes of use. Luckily, I got a new Conair Turbo hairdryer within 2 days (thank you Amazon Prime). It weighs less and definitely blows out more hair (also has 3 types of heating that it supposed to help tame frizziness – one of my enemies). I also like the fact that it has a slide down to cool and not just holding down the cool button like most hairdryers.

– Coworkers were hungry, so we decided on the Lord’s Food, aka Chick-Fil-A, and it was delicious. I got the Original chicken sandwich and Waffle fries and I swear it put me in a better mood

– The Calla Lily that Chad got me for my birthday has new flowers and is sprouting even more stalks #YayNature

– Was in a bit of a financial bind earlier in the week, but by God’s grace, I was able to get by – with $0.67 til payday haha

– I saw my paycheck on Friday and it wasn’t what I thought it would be. Both the GM and the AGM took time out of their day to print out my punches and we went over each one of them for the 2 weeks compared to what I had written in my planner. While sadly it was correct, I really appreciated the time, effort and attitude they took about it to help me figure it out. Next check will be a full one (because I was still finishing out the other job). While I initially panicked, after re-doing some math, I wasn’t as bad off as I thought I was.

– Found some good sliced Peppercorn Turkey Pastrami leftovers for $1.27 and $1.67 – it was a nice way to spice up some $0.50 “Oops-we-made-too-much” Italian bread I found

– Treated myself to my fave single serve Cookies N Creme Mousse for completing my 1st real Sales week

Progress on 32 Things
For the full list, check out my birthday post 32 Birthdays and 32 Things

– Finished Blood Bound (book 2 of the Mercy Thompson series) by Patricia Briggs – so I have crossed off 2/12 books for the year and on schedule!

Reflection

This week I encountered my first snags of the new job. My boss took a greatly deserved/no kid vacation with her hubby. Since we are a team of 2, this was the first week since I’ve been there where I’ve been the “lead” sales person for the 2 hotels. I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I started! Any and all leads, questions, rate inquires, proposals and contracts were my main responsibility. Of course, I had MAJOR help. Before I sent anything official and/or if I didn’t understand something, I ran it by someone. While my skill set is pretty expansive, this is where my limitations began to show some.

The beginning of the week started out a little interesting. On Monday, I was half Sales, half front desk so my focus was divided. The management team by my office where my biggest supporters and helped me with any question. By Wednesday (my 2nd real “full” day), I began to find my groove. I developed my own system to keep me on track, organized and would be able to explain what I did for the week . I am proud to say, with lots of help, I was able to secure a long-term guest and also from start-to-finish secure my first contract.

I want to encourage you by when you get frustrated by your limitations, to not let them get you down. It’s very easy to be hard on yourself – I know I was the first 2 days this week. I had eventually came to a spot where I was not as strong, but that was ok. I had only been there a month, I didn’t get as much practice quoting for groups, some of the software is universally known as a pain in the butt and more. I was being hard on myself because I felt that I was doing so well and then BAM, not as much. I was allowing my anxiety to get the better of me and doubting my ability to be a good Sales Coordinator.

The people I went to for help didn’t just give me an answer and send me on my way, they guided me through it. They helped me see it via a Sales perspective, a Front Desk perspective and a guest/client perspective. I was given tools before the boss left and while she was gone. From that, along with guidance from multiple sources, I was able to do my duties as a Sales Coordinator. The place didn’t burn down, there’s still a sales office to go back to and I was able to get business secured. #GoodSalesCoordinator

You’ve probably felt the same way. However, like I learned this week, you most likely have the tools around you and the people who are willing to help you. I hated having to ask SO much, but in doing so I learned things that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t ask. I actually have made people smile because when they see me coming with a question, I usually have paperwork and my notebook to write things down. It shows that I am trying to make a serious effort to learn and not just be handed the answer.

When you feel you’ve reached the end of your rope, don’t feel discouraged. You are amazing and you have been placed where you are because you are so amazing. The menial tasks may not be so fun, but you are trusted because people know you are dependable and can get it done. You may not get the recognition for it now, but it doesn’t go unnoticed. You just keep being the badass that you are.

I’m wishing you an amazing, beautiful, fortuitous (and hopefully warmer!) week ahead. It’s a brand new month – March is here and it’s going to be great.

Let’s shine bright together…