Tag Archives: Motivation

MLK Career Inspiration

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day in America, where we celebrate and remember this great activist. Most people are familiar with Martin Luther King Jr.’s (MLK) “I Have a Dream” speech but may not be aware of his other speeches or the origin of some of his inspirational quotes. He was a great preacher and gave many more rallying and inspirational speeches promoting justice, non-violence, and people’s dignity. One of his speeches that inspired me in my career and career change was “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” I wasn’t aware of this speech or its contents until I attended a performance at my work years ago where someone had assembled parts of MLK’s speeches and presented/recited it for us during an MLK day celebration. I was lucky to have an active African American employee resource group host the presentation over lunch at our company.

Martin Luther King, Jr. presented “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” to a group of students at Barrat Junior High School on October 26, 1967. It is a timeless message that is relevant today and applies to all ages about being the best you can be. Footage from that day and video of his entire speech can be found on YouTube at https://youtu.be/kmsAxX84cjQ, thanks to The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. In honor of the holiday, I encourage you to watch the footage, which is only about 20 minutes. Below, I have gathered some motivational quotes and excerpts from his speech that were not previously familiar to me. I hope you reference them whenever you need inspiration!

Keep striving for excellence as you pursue your future endeavors, whether it be nursing or otherwise! Have a blessed day!

Failure and Rejection as Feedback

I’ve received rejections from several of my job applications this week. Before Nursing, I’ve seriously job searched maybe once in my life. It resulted in me working for the same company for nearly two decades, so getting rejected from multiple job applications feels new to me. The rejections feel like getting a fail on a pass/fail school project. Unlike failing in school or doing poorly at work, I receive little feedback on my rejected job applications. I can’t evaluate areas I got “wrong” and study or practice to improve my job application. The process is honestly discouraging.

I have to remind myself that searching for a new grad nursing job can be a long process. New grad programs are very competitive, and it can take some time to receive a response. I applied to one of the programs in September but did not get a rejection notice until this week (mid-November)! In some ways, merely knowing I did not get the job satisfied my desire for any form of feedback.

I think about people who have jobs where rejection is expected, like entrepreneurs, actors, or politicians. If such people don’t land a client or don’t get a role, they move onward. Like them, I need to push past rejections and keep trying. This week, I heard a quote from Vice President-elect Kamala Harris: “I eat no for breakfast!” She has worked hard in her career to get where she is today, but her efforts have not been without many rejections and criticism. Rejection doesn’t stop her; it makes her more determined. I find the quote inspiring.

It seems like the universe is telling me something because this week, my preschooler’s favorite television show, “Dino Dana,” had a storyline about failure. One of the characters kept failing her practice exams in preparation for a big science exam and became discouraged. To encourage her, the character’s sister shares: “In science, you never fail, you just discover new ways of doing things wrong until you get them right.” Maybe this is true also in life. I am learning how to do things wrong until I get it right. Also, I realize I may not be doing anything “wrong” at all – I may not be a good fit for what jobs are available, given my specific interests in a specialty unit.

I’ve reached out to one of the potential employers to get feedback on improving my job application. I may not get any response, but I figure it cannot hurt. One of my classmates got into Nursing school by making such an effort. When she applied to our program the first time, she was rejected. She courageously asked for feedback on what would make her a stronger candidate. She took that feedback, applied it, and got accepted on her second attempt the following year! Without seeking feedback, she may not have known what to do to make her a more desirable candidate.

If you’re experiencing rejections or fails and feel discouraged, you are not alone. Being successful is not about avoiding failure; it is about how you choose to respond to failure. Rejection or failure doesn’t need to be negatively internalized but can be neutrally viewed as feedback. Consider rejection or failure as an opportunity to collect data for additional learning! You may not be the proper fit for a particular role or organization or you are simply discovering how to do things wrong as you learn how to get things right. Either way, eat “no” for breakfast, and keep going!

Motivational Meditation – “Your Heart’s Desire”

I want to share a prayer/meditation a dear friend shared with me, right before she told me she would change career directions from Law to Medicine.  This prayer/meditation, “Your Heart’s Desire” helped motivate her as she discerned moving and leaving Southern California to attend medical school in Poland.  I love this prayer/poem, but neither my friend or I know who wrote it.

adult air beautiful beauty
Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi on Pexels.com

“Your Heart’s Desire” is inspiring and speaks to the idea that we all have a calling in life.  Your “vocation” might be your occupation or profession, but per its Latin roots, your vocation is also your “calling” or your “summons” in life.  I feel like this calling to become a nurse was clear for me only recently – it could have been God’s timing or perhaps my stubbornness and inability to listen – but I truly feel called and drawn to nursing after many years of working as an engineer.  Maybe I needed to fulfill my calling to become a wife and mother before becoming a nurse, who knows?  Either way, I hope you enjoy this prayer/meditation and that maybe it speaks to you, too:

“Already in your past life from time to time, God has whispered into your heart just that very wonderful thing, whatever it is, that He is wishing you to be, and to do, and to have. And that wonderful thing is nothing less than what is called Your Heart’s Desire. Nothing less than that. The most secret, sacred wish that lies deep down at the bottom of your heart, the wonderful thing that you hardly dare to look at, or to think about–the thing that you would rather die than have anyone else know of, because it seems to be so far beyond anything that you are, or have at the present time, that you fear that you would be cruelly ridiculed if the mere thought of it were known–that is just the very thing that God is wishing you to do or to be for Him. And the birth of that marvelous wish in your soul–the dawning of that secret dream–was the Voice of God Himself telling you to arise and come up higher because He had need of you.” 

-Author Unknown