My professional identity? Yikes, I can look to external factors that outline my professional identity. An educational institution, DePaul, awarded some degree of recognition that I know how to count. The state of Illinois issued a license that recognizes my professional identity and names it : Certified Public Accountant. A business card communicates my position and confirms the status of my achievement.
But if I hold up a mirror to look at my professional identity from the inside, I am a person with a life long love of accounting and business. I see a person who has struggled with the constant pressure of balancing integrity with making a buck. My integrity is all that is real to me. The rest of the paper work and titles are mere illusions. When I wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning it's usually that integrity thing rolling around in my gut wondering if I did the right thing today.
What do I have in my inventory of skills or knowledge that makes me think I can educate other adults? I have tons of technical know how, memorized procedures and knowledge of risk assessment tools. What I dont have is the ability to simplify the whole mess into simple communications.
But this I know: I own my education, my knowledge and this inventory. I can decide who to sell it to and who not. I never lose what I sell and after I sell it I can sell it all over again.
Now I wonder how can I teach what I know?
Interesting. I like your inventory statement. In my mind you seem to share some of the same characteristics as your professor. If it's integrity that motivates your actions, do you feel that there is a price tag for it? Meaning, if you had a patent that gave you millions tomorrow, do you feel that you would have the same zeal presenting business and accounting as your professor did for physics?
ReplyDeleteA wonderful perspective, in my opinion. Not many people have such an honest evaluation of their achievements, not to mention the courage to speak about them. I applaud you and, for whatever it is worth, see great things for you in the future.
ReplyDeleteblessings!
Here here...Terry..I feel the same way. My knowledge and skills relate to checklists, contract negotiations, how rooms need to be set up; exhibit shows and rules and regulations about that..So I concur with you about how you take that knowledge a step further to help design these programs that I am involved in the planning of and also how do i teach these young adults that work/report to me about the importance of why we do things a certain way in the meeting planning industry..that is my challenge today.
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