18 days and counting to college dorm move-in day a 18 days and counting to college dorm move-in day and the start of The Chicklet’s college experience. Got @stjohnsu gear to support our #futurejohnny. 🤣
If I’m going to do anything, I’m going to pose If I’m going to do anything, I’m going to pose with my leg out. #thighsdontlie  #pose #wedding #ootd
You know I like to keep it F-R-E-S-H.🌽 🍅 🥒

I can do that as well as support local Missouri and Illinois family farms with @Dierbergs Homegrown.

Think of Dierbergs Homegrown as a Farmer’s Market inside of a grocery store. It has the freshest produce available locally. In order for the item to be considered Dierbergs Homegrown, it has to be picked, packed and delivered to their stores in less than 24 hours.

You’ll find everything you want from tomatoes to eggplant to corn to peaches and more grown by family-owned farms located in and around the St. Louis area.

Get the recipe for my Meatless Lemon Parmesan and Corn Pasta and learn more about Dierbergs Homegrown on my blog, link in bio.

#DierbergsHG #HomegrownProud #WeLoveLocal #Partner
Planning my grocery shopping trips has become so m Planning my grocery shopping trips has become so much easier with @dierbergs Rewards. Not only do I earn points for every dollar I spend, but with their Marketplace, my points go even further with free grocery items.

Dierbergs Rewards app is super easy to use and makes for worry-free shopping. I’m a fan! 

Find your store- http://bit.ly/DierbergsStore

#dierbergspartner #dierbergsrewards #dierbergssummer
This #essencefest was one for the record books, in This #essencefest was one for the record books, in more ways than one.  Nola will always be one of my favorite places to visit, and I’m looking forward to being in the place again next year. Until then…
My first full day at #essencefest is in the books. My first full day at #essencefest is in the books. It’s very—different from years past, but I’m proud to be covering it this year. 🙌🏾
Awesome human. Magna Cum Laude. Editor-in-Chief. Awesome human. 
Magna Cum Laude.
Editor-in-Chief.
School podcaster.
Quill and Scroll recipient.
Citizenship award winner.
Spirit of Excellence  Award 8 yrs. running. 
Class of 2022. 
Job well done, daughter!
P R O M. That’s the caption. P R O M. That’s the caption.
You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar. 🎓#classof2022
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Career, Cubicle Life, Guest Blogger, Kids & Parenting · June 21, 2016

7 Tough Lessons From Parenting to Apply In Your Career


7 Tough Lessons From Parenting to Apply In Your Career

Guest blogger Solange Lopes of TheCorporateSister.com shares insight on lessons from parenting that can be used in your professional life.

Parenting will change your life, that’s a fact. The reality is, for many professionals out there, it’ll also drastically change your career. The good news, however, is that through those late-night feedings, homework review sessions and PTA meetings, the tough lessons we learn from being a parent also turn out to be the ones that propel our careers forward.

As a mom of two little angels myself, I’ve had to learn the hard way! From being a single professional in the city to returning to work after baby#1 and then baby#2, like so many of us, I’ve had to bootstrap my way through being a “working parent”. And of course, my career was never the same after!

It was actually better…

Here are some of the toughest yet most powerful lessons from being a mama, that I learned and still take with me to work day in and day out:

Realize Your Why

There’s something about having kids that just adds perspective to life (in addition to an unbelievable amount of laundry). Being responsible for raising another human being forces you to grow up, at times faster than you’re prepared to. It wasn’t until after I had kids that I fully realized and started actively working towards building my own business.

Most importantly, it pushes you to realize your ‘why’, or that purpose to strive towards at work and in life. While it can be a painful process of introspection, it can also give you the motivation and drive to trail your own path.

Work Tirelessly

You don’t know the value of sleep until you’ve been up all night with a crying baby or sick toddler. Or until you’d even be willing to let go of your entire shoe collection for five more minutes of rest. I remember being so tired I would set my timer for ten minutes in the parking lot at work just to close my eyes and doze off for a few.

After this, going through five exhausting meetings and preparing three lengthy memos—piece of cake!

Practice Patience

Now this one’s still tough for me. Everything about being a parent requires patience, from being in labor 18 hours to going through five loads of laundry a week.

Yet, it’s the same patience that helps us weather the flat, or even worse, the tough moments in our careers. The same patience that makes us go back to work after a disastrous review, or continue to build a business after all seems lost.

Develop Endurance

A few hours after my son was born, he was diagnosed with a rare skin disease with possible congenital consequences. We couldn’t give up, and for an entire year after, went to see every doctor we could. Over a year later, his diagnosis was reversed. Yet the most important lesson it taught me is never to quit.

Sometimes, it’s less about how good you are than how long you stay in the race. It’s the determination not to quit that separates the best from the average. You can’t exactly quit being a parent. Not when your kid misbehaves, not when the doctor’s diagnosis is heartbreaking, and definitely not when you run out of strength.

That same endurance will make you stick it out when the going gets tough, after the job loss, missed promotion, or when it’s time to start over with that business again.

Leverage Failure

The mind of a parent is filled with “should’s”, those mini-failures we tend to beat ourselves up for constantly. Like that time I should have disciplined Junior (but instead bribed him with candy so I could lay down for a minute longer), or when I didn’t make baby girl’s 20th piano recital.

All these teach us to forgive ourselves, and use the lesson to do better the next time around, whether it’s to speak up at the meeting, ask for that raise or start that new entrepreneurial venture…

Give More Than You Receive

Giving tirelessly to your kids teaches you to also give more than you receive in other areas of your life and career. Before having kids, honestly, I would’ve barely considered making time to volunteer at church or at work. There’s something about parenting that helps you expand your time and energy on ways you wouldn’t have thought possible before.

It helps you understand the value of service in a direct and special way, so you can go back to work and volunteer for special projects. Or offer to mentor that new employee.

Lead with Heart

After having kids, I thought the emotional connectivity I was now experiencing would hamper my career (read: make me wimpy and too soft). Yet, it’s more and more apparent that the best leaders are also those who can connect more deeply. While all this emotional connection can make you feel more vulnerable, it can also push your career to the next level.

What are the toughest yet most powerful parenting lessons you’ve applied to your career?

Bio: Solange Lopes is an author, blogger and CPA. She writes about career and lifestyle topics for women at work in her blog The Corporate Sister (www.thecorporatesister.com). She’s the author of The Corporate Sister’s Guide to Taking Back Control of Your Career: 7 Steps to Reclaiming Your Work.


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In: Career, Cubicle Life, Guest Blogger, Kids & Parenting · Tagged: career, Guest Blogger, parenting, Solange Lopes

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18 days and counting to college dorm move-in day a 18 days and counting to college dorm move-in day and the start of The Chicklet’s college experience. Got @stjohnsu gear to support our #futurejohnny. 🤣
If I’m going to do anything, I’m going to pose If I’m going to do anything, I’m going to pose with my leg out. #thighsdontlie  #pose #wedding #ootd
You know I like to keep it F-R-E-S-H.🌽 🍅 🥒

I can do that as well as support local Missouri and Illinois family farms with @Dierbergs Homegrown.

Think of Dierbergs Homegrown as a Farmer’s Market inside of a grocery store. It has the freshest produce available locally. In order for the item to be considered Dierbergs Homegrown, it has to be picked, packed and delivered to their stores in less than 24 hours.

You’ll find everything you want from tomatoes to eggplant to corn to peaches and more grown by family-owned farms located in and around the St. Louis area.

Get the recipe for my Meatless Lemon Parmesan and Corn Pasta and learn more about Dierbergs Homegrown on my blog, link in bio.

#DierbergsHG #HomegrownProud #WeLoveLocal #Partner
Planning my grocery shopping trips has become so m Planning my grocery shopping trips has become so much easier with @dierbergs Rewards. Not only do I earn points for every dollar I spend, but with their Marketplace, my points go even further with free grocery items.

Dierbergs Rewards app is super easy to use and makes for worry-free shopping. I’m a fan! 

Find your store- http://bit.ly/DierbergsStore

#dierbergspartner #dierbergsrewards #dierbergssummer
This #essencefest was one for the record books, in This #essencefest was one for the record books, in more ways than one.  Nola will always be one of my favorite places to visit, and I’m looking forward to being in the place again next year. Until then…
My first full day at #essencefest is in the books. My first full day at #essencefest is in the books. It’s very—different from years past, but I’m proud to be covering it this year. 🙌🏾
Awesome human. Magna Cum Laude. Editor-in-Chief. Awesome human. 
Magna Cum Laude.
Editor-in-Chief.
School podcaster.
Quill and Scroll recipient.
Citizenship award winner.
Spirit of Excellence  Award 8 yrs. running. 
Class of 2022. 
Job well done, daughter!
P R O M. That’s the caption. P R O M. That’s the caption.
You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar. 🎓#classof2022
Happy #NationalCollegeDecisionDay! Laylah is off Happy #NationalCollegeDecisionDay! 

Laylah is officially registered at St. John’s University and will begin her freshman year in August as a Public Relations Major. I’m so proud of her hard work and dedication—proud of the young woman that she has become.

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