Se
cond in a series of three articles by Charles Cunningham on being unemployed in the non-profit sector.
The day I landed my first Triple-Axel I was all by myself in the Roller Rink. No one else noticed it. In fact that week I asked my parents to come and watch while I tried again. When they came I failed to land it because I went past the point where I needed to be and wham, I hit the floor to lift myself up and try again and again. It was three more months before I landed it again. It took another year of practice before I could land it on a consistent basis. By that time I was driving and had 9 paper routes every morning and a part time job washing dishes at the Matterhorn Restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
I always knew that learning how to roller skate like that would never earn me any Olympic medals, or trophies that I could share with my family or friends. It really did not matter to me that most of my friends thought it was weird that I spent a small fortune on Riedell brand skating boots with the best dance plates and the most expensive dance wheels. I wanted to learn this for me, because it meant something to me. It was an accomplishment that I wanted to reach and nothing was going to prevent me from it. I was tenacious!
Every job I have held over the years I have tackled with the same tenacious spirit that I did with roller skating. Throughout my career with the military, then owning my own business and then selling that because I found working in the nonprofit sector was much more satisfying. I have always wanted to be the very best that I could be at whatever it was that I was being asked to do. This is why I have studied and researched management skills and theories in order that I would become the kind of leader anyone would want to hire, and that anyone would want to promote.
I left a very secure position with The Salvation Army in order to go back to college full time. I had had multiple promotions and spent years in executive positions. My decision may seem irrational to someone looking from the outside. I did this because I want to create an opportunity which I believe will be a paradigm shift for my family.
I am the very first male in my family in over six generations to graduate college and to get my Master of Arts. I am truly hoping that making this effort at this point in time in my life will open new doors for me at a much higher influential level. I am hoping for a globally influential opportunity.
