“Shine”, he said…

Shine…

A great friend of mine, Dr. Michael Johll, once told a disgruntled grad school graduate, who vehemently declared she would not work for $15 an hour (but remained unemployed): “Next time, take that $15 an hour job, and shine, and it won’t be $15 an hour for long…”

I always appreciated that.

Even before I heard it, actually. I graduated with a PhD in Psychology in 1989, and got a job in Columbus, Ohio, for $40,000. I moved from there to Tampa/Clearwater, where I worked for a similar agency for $40,000.

Next up was the University of Texas at Austin, at their Counseling Center, and I made $38,000. But the Director, Dave Drum pointed out that because there was no income tax in Texas, I was actually getting a raise. Hmmm…

Next job (this is now 7 years after getting my PhD), I accepted a position at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, for $37,000. I was the Assistant Director of Counseling Services.

All three of those moves were for geographical and personal reasons. But as you can see, it seemed to be going in the wrong direction, financially.

All I knew how to do was shine, and I did. I was really good at every job, and everybody knew it.

After a few years, my boss left, and they created a new position: Director of Health & Counseling Services. VP Denise Reading offered it to me, and I got jumped to $55,000., and I thought I was absolutely rolling in it. Eleven years post PhD, about 45 years old, bringing down a whopping 55 K.

This is where I met Michael Johll. “Shine, and it won’t be $55,000. for long.” But actually, he would not say that until years later, when he was Chair of the Board of my school.

I continued to shine. Again, all I knew was “Do everything you can.” And I did.

Next stop Director of Field Training for the School of Psychology, Walden University. $75,000. This was 2004. I was 51 years old. Not bad. I was happy. Michael Johll’s advice, which I had not yet even heard, was working in my life.

Next, I went on to become the President of Southwestern College, a graduate school training Therapists (Counselors and Art Therapists.) I had no idea how to do that job when it was offered to me during a particularly rocky time in that school’s history. People told me not to take it. I took it. All I knew to do was work my ass off, ask a lot of questions, and shine. So that is what I did. (With a lot of help…)

I went on to do that for thirteen years, and now I am in Private Practice in Hawai’i and New Mexico, and a Life Coach all over the world. Pretty Bucket-List-y, truth be told.

Every day, it is my job to shine. To do the best I can. To serve those I am supposed to serve. I am almost 69 years old, and my goal tomorrow is to shine. At this stage of life, that means I do the best possible job I can for my clients.

By the way, Michael took his own advice all along the way, and is now CEO or COO of a number of companies, and I am pretty sure he is no longer making $15 an hour, though he too once did.

Oh, sure, there was luck, serendipity, synchronicity, privilege, and whatever else, but I guarantee you if we had leaned heavily on any of that and did not shine, we would absolutely not be sitting where we are today.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, Shine. That’s the best advice I ever heard.

Thanks, Dr. Johll.