Core personal values drive what we believe, do, think, and feel. They affect how we experience life and relate to the world around us. I want to share several of my values and explain how they impact my work with participants.
Family
When I started my side hustle private practice and consulting firm, my children were in middle school. This was a major step for me on many different levels. My personal mission was to “be the best mommy I could be.” Every decision I made was influenced by my mission. This is the power of having a clearly defined mission.
My husband and I agreed that this was a good time to start the business. My vision was to have a successful, sustainable, and satisfying side hustle business that would eventually support our retirement. We knew that it would take time to grow. Growing a business, working full time and raising daughters was a major task.
My personal mission
My mission to my family did not change. I would continue to be the best mommy I could be. Additionally, as I considered how I wanted to experience my business, I expanded my mission. It became “I will be the best mommy I can be and will always put my family first.” Business growth has been slow and measured so I can fully attend to the needs of my family.
My family is important to me. I encourage clients and program participants to engage the support of their families if possible, practical, and safe. We integrate involvement of significant connections into our programs and services.
Autonomy
My parents taught me to be an independent thinker. They encouraged me to attain knowledge and grow in wisdom. For this reason, I value the freedom to make my own informed decisions. Autonomy does not just address decision making. It provides opportunity for me to creativity solve problems without constraints.
I am a creative thinker and use imagination, intuitiveness, and inspiration in my work. My side hustle business provides a space for me to create and deliver solutions. As a seasoned social worker with over 25 years of experience, I understand the difference between service delivery and solution delivery. People seek solutions to their problems. For this reason, my focus is to provide practical solutions to address overwhelming stress.
Autonomy also allows me to target a specific population.
I focus on stressed out women who
- are sandwiched between their children and aging parents
- desire to grow successful, sustainable and satisfying side hustle businesses
- social workers
These categories describe me. Therefore, I am familiar with the stress related concerns that many women in these categories face.
Integrity
My professional conduct as a social worker, must align with the Social Workers Code of Ethics. Personally, I strive to be honest and forthright in my personal and professional dealings. If I cannot do something, I will say so. The same goes for knowledge and experience. I will only function within my range of knowledge and experience.
Integrity builds trust. Likewise, it is a value that people recognize in others over time. As participants get to know me through our conversations, my writings, and solutions I hope they see me as someone they know, like and trust.
I also value integrity in others. I enjoy working with and promoting other side hustle professionals. Consequently, it is important for me to know that we are building a trusting relationship. Therefore, we cannot lie, steal, cheat or deceive each other or our participants.
Peace
I want to experience peace within, no matter what is swirling around me.
As a child, I used to hear older people refer to something called “peace in the midst of a storm.” Now that I am an older adult, I understand what that means. I describe it using a hurricane metaphor.
A hurricane is a huge, powerful storm. It has high winds that rotate around a core. The core is often referred to as the eye. Hurricanes are dangerous because each is unique regarding the type of weather they bring. Some are slow moving and deliver large amounts of rain. Category five hurricanes have extremely high winds that damage and destroy buildings. Hurricanes also create conditions that cause tornadoes.
The Eye of the Hurricane
The eye of a hurricane is difficult to imagine. Over the years, I heard descriptions of what the eye of a hurricane was like, but it was not until I experienced it myself that I fully understood. When a hurricane passes, there is potential for torrential rain, high wind, hail, and possible tornadoes. The sky is extremely dark. The storm bands rotate around the core or the eye.
The sound of the wind, the rain and the darkness are scary.
When you are in the eye of the hurricane, it feels as if the storm does not exist. The atmosphere is peaceful and calm. It is a surreal experience. There may be a sprinkle of rain. Clouds dissipate and the sky lightens a bit. Winds are light and the weather is fair. There are no nature sounds. Birds, crickets, and toads are quiet.
Then the wind changes direction and the second wave of storms begins.
“I want to be happy, whole, satisfied and successful. What about you?”
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