The Element of Insight & Its Hope for Getting Us Unstuck

Alexander Fleming was the first to suggest that the Penicillium mould must secrete an antibacterial substance. It came to him in a flash of insight.

Sometimes, all we really need to become unstuck from a situation, is to look at ourselves – or the problem – in a new light. A flash of insight; a moment of clarity; a new perspective….…..and we break through to the other side.

Something we should keep in mind every time we are in a situation, face a quandary or problem, and it feels like we are stuck.

The solution is out there.  

It could be round the next corner.  Or the corner after that. Or the one after that. 

It may take a while. But it's out there. 

It can come out of the very next conversation we have. Or the very next book we read. Or the very next experience - which could well turn out to be serendipitous.

I discovered this in 2010, when I was out of a job...

My Out Of A Job Story

In 2010, I left my job. I was unsure what to do next. Then I had a conversation with my sister Rosie and the answer came to me.

Rosie had attended a job search talk, and during my conversation with her, she shared with me all the advice given to her by the job search coach. 

One of the pieces of advice stood out to me and it was this:

Research skills employers are looking for.

Start the process for enrolling in classes for those skills.

Include this in your resume, even if you haven't started the classes as of yet. “Planning to do and complete in the next few months..........(example Project Management, Lean Six Sigma, World at Work Elements in Sales Compensation) ” or something to that effect, is what you would say on the resume.

This was an 'Aha' moment for me!

Suddenly I knew what I should do.

Companies were moving from Excel to SaaS incentive compensation solutions such as Xactly, Callidus, Nice and Cognos Incent.  Why not sign up for training in one of these applications so I could put it on my resume? On the Xactly and Callidus websites, I read that training was available only to employees of clients.  But I decided to pick up the phone and call the Xactly trainer to see if I could get around that. I said to the trainer: “I know your training is only for clients. But I am unemployed and  I am hoping you will consider letting me do Xactly training as an independent. I will pay out of my own pocket. If you let me do that, I will be very grateful to you because it will improve my chances of getting a job in this economy. ” My situation struck a chord, and the trainer said she would get back to me after checking it out. I was happy to hear back from her in the affirmative. 2 weeks later, I was sitting in on the 3 day Xactly Administrator’s course as an independent.

And within less than 2 months, Don Gootee had taken me on as an apprentice implementation architect on his team

Don said he took a chance on me because of my domain expertise. I will translate that for you: my experience in commissions administration. He was also impressed that I had the courage to pay out of pocket for the Xactly training. 

The point of this story is a solution can come from anywhere. 

 

The very next conversation we have, the very next book we read, the very next experience we have, the very next sleepless night.

So we should keep our eyes and ears peeled, and be on the alert. 

Here's another story:

My Out Of A Car Story

If shopping for new Commissions Administration skills wasn’t enough excitement for 2010, I had to also shop for a car.

This was because, on a rainy day in Feb 2010 (make that a very rainy day), I got into an accident. 

It was a single car accident – that was the good part. I did not need to go to a doctor because all I had was whiplash. 

My car, however, was totaled. So, for the next 2 months, I used public transport to get around, while I researched cars in my available free time.

New or used? Dealer or private party? What brand, what model, what year…..I was faced with a bewildering number of choices.

But things came together – as they have a way of doing.

Several roads were leading me down the same path - to one particular brand and one particular model: Hyundai Elantra.

I read Consumer Reports – on the advice of friends.

I checked out different car buying options – Hertz Rent To Buy appeared to be the best option for me, because I could rent the car for 3 days and then make a decision.

But the idea of buying a Hyundai Elantra came out of a conversation I had with a private party seller of a used Toyota RAV.

This seller had listed a Toyota RAV for sale on Craigslist and I called him to ask about it. He was at a car wash, washing the car and he said another buyer had beaten me to the purchase, but he was a chatty fellow, so we got talking.  He said the only reason he was selling the RAV was because he and his wife always bought a new car at the 100,000 miles mark.  I asked him what car he had bought to replace the RAV.  He told me he had bought a Hyundai Elantra.  I had not heard about Elantras, so I asked him about it. He said you could get a new Hyundai Elantra loaded with great features and a 100,000 mile warranty for the price of a used car.

I was intrigued.  I went back and checked the ratings for Hyundai Elantras in Consumer Reports.  I then checked the Hertz Rent to Buy website to see if they had any Hyundai Elantras.  And indeed they did.

Within less than a month, I had tested and bought a used Hyundai Elantra from Hertz Rent To  Buy.

A conversation I had with a stranger over the phone was where it all started.

For more personal insights that came out of conversations, read my post You Are a Mosquito in Somebody's Room. 

For personal insights that came out of books I've read, read Connected Minds - a post which tells you how I learned to meditate, and the benefits I have derived from it, Resume Tips from Fortune 500 Hiring Managers and Can a Book About Job Hunting Show You the Path Back to Yourself? , posts which can help you in your job search, and I Am A Good & Faithful Wife - I Deserve To Be Loved, a post which can help you think correctly about the most important relationship in your life - your relationship with your spouse or partner. 

For the lessons learned from my accident, read my post 4 Lessons Learned From Spinning In the Rain.

For tips on buying a used car, read my post……5 Secrets to Buying a Used Car With Confidence.

For the flash of insight that helped me deal with my grief over my mother's death, read my post The Path To Change.

Thanks for reading and hope you have an insight-filled week, in which you find the answers to whatever is puzzling you, troubling you, or challenging you right now…..M…..a Pearl Seeker like you.