Was it a confidence in like I can do this or was it I want to make films? &gt;&gt; There's a kind of initial thing which is Socratic, who am I to know yourself? And the second thing is to realize that whatever it is that you choose, it requires extraordinary perseverance that nothing will be handed to you. And that's terrifying but also exciting. This is what life is about, then you don't wake up. I remember I was working on my first film about the Brooklyn Bridge. I was living in a five story walk up in New York. The landlord was just raising the rent. And I just realized I need a real job. And I just shot a good deal of this film on the Brooklyn Bridge. My first film, this is the thing that I was taking from beginning to end and I realized I was gonna put it up on the refrigerator and I get a real job. And then I realized I'd wake up and I'd be 50 years old, and I would still be there unedited. And it would be that dream that novel, the ad guy was always gonna do. And I said no, the loudest no, I could do and move to rural New Hampshire where I knew I could live for nothing and worked in this place in this room and learned how to edit. With a woodstove going, the film cracking and breaking and made a film about the history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and its century of life as a symbol of promise and ingenuity and inspiration. And it got nominated for an Academy Award, as best feature documentary, so people said, you're gonna move back to New York or go to LA, I said I'm staying here. The single best decision I ever made was staying here. The second best was moving here. But staying here to go against the grain was the thing that made all the difference. And so I've made all my films from here. It's funny I can tell you how to become a doctor or a lawyer or a businessman. But I cannot tell you how to become a documentary filmmaker because each person's career path is their own. That's both the blessing and the terror. But I'd rather have that tension of blessing and terror than I would have just the rope preordained as if you were just some automaton walk into work in that gray flannel suit. To that living in a box, traveling in a box to climb up in a box of an elevator to a box of an office. And then suddenly wake up at 50 years old and go, what happened? Where were my dreams? What did I do? I haven't seen what I wanted to see. I haven't done what I wanted to do. 

I can't tell you how to become a filmmaker because each person's path is their own. I do advise periodically evaluating yourself to determine if filmmaking is what inly rejoices. It takes a courage to realize and admit that you don't have something to say and filmmaking isn't for you. Make sure you put effort into self-evaluation so you don't waste your life on a dream that isn't really yours. Whatever you're doing, you'll know you're making a right step if you feel a spark of authenticity.

My mother died of cancer when I was 11 years old. It was like a grenade had blown up in our emotional lives. But it also triggered circumstances for me to find my true passion. Tragedy can provide the catalyst and courage to go forward and do things.

While creating my first film, I was living in New York and thought I'd have to leave my dreams and get a better paying job. Instead, I moved to rural New Hampshire to live on nothing and finish the film. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Documentarian & Filmmaker

We won't support your film. You're too young to be a filmmaker.

Passion

Perseverance

Self-Reflection

Each Person's Career Path Is Their Own

We think of privilege as just that, that it gives people more opportunities, and it does, but you have to be awake in privilege. You can't be a slave to the privilege. And quite often what we find in bad circumstances or what are apparently bad circumstances? The death of a mother, poverty, all these sorts of things can in the right circumstances, provide the catalyst and the courage to go forward and be able to do things. Where often we're aware of we have pejorative terms, the idle rich, the dissipation that comes from comfort, sort of the expectations of people that don't allow for a full expression of whatever it is that they are supposed to enly rejoice in, and that's interesting. One is by no means suggesting that you should be born in poverty or with great pain and trauma in one's life, but you do find that people who are given lemons often actually do in fact make lemonade, and that's an incredibly important thing to remember. And that quite often that people who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth that everything laid before them, many do make the most of it and serve humanity in the best possible way. But more often than not, there is a narcissistic outcome and we can always see the way in which things corrupt. 

Character

Be Awake In Your Own Privilege

With my job and with my role, you really have to think outside the box. And sometimes you need to come up with creative solutions because the threats and the attackers that are out there are not always gonna go by the book. They're finding holes in our applications and in our software that even the architects did not consider. They're thinking outside the box. So we as information security professionals also need to think outside the box. There was a part of me that felt like I was going to fail every step of my journey. And it's kinda what motivated me to continue with pursuing this career, because all the odds are stacked against me. I came from a broken home in a community that didn't really see people go to college and graduate. I'm a woman in a field that's dominated by men, been disabled from my time in the military. So I have a lot of factors that could prevent me from being successful in my job. That hasn't stopped me from pursuing it. I do still have the fear of failing, but it's more of me second-guessing myself, and second guessing if I am a leader in this field. Some people may not be happy for you because they saw that success in themselves. And so because it did not happen, you kind of have to let those people go because the negativity will feed the doubts that you have within yourself. And that will kind of make you stop pursuing [LAUGH] your dreams, pursuing the path that you want to be on. So that is something that I have learned now. It's not really a fear of failing, but it is a fear of not proving people wrong. 

2016 NSF
Worked at SunTrust when interviewed

Check out schools that offer information security programs. Explore the classes they offer and try to decide if they seem like classes you'd be interested in. Not all programs are the same—some could be heavy in coding while others are heavy in business. It's important to try to evaluate if you want to pursue more on the technical side or the business side and then look into the schools with programs that align with your interests and values.

I came from a broken home in a struggling community that didn't really see its members go to college and succeed. It instilled a fear of failure in me, but I always used that as motivation to succeed.

I work in a field that is dominated by men. Society also portrays women in this field as awkward and undesirable, but I have first-hand knowledge that that is a myth. I strive to prove people wrong.

I didn't have the financial ability to afford college after high school. I ended up joining the military, which not only gave me a paycheck, but it also gave me the time to figure out what I wanted to do in life.

After becoming disabled in the military, I was honorably discharged and had to transition back into regular life. The transition took some time and could get difficult as I essentially learned how to be me again.

I suffer from a few disabilities and was honorably discharged from the military. One that still affects my current work life is migraines. I sometimes have to struggle through meetings with one. Fortunately, my work teams have all been accommodating.

Senior Cybersecurity Assurance Analyst

Information security is for men and all of the women who work in the field are nerdy and awkward.

Doubt

Failure

Using The Fear Of Failure As Motivation

I was 30 years old, and I had worked for the public sector. Municipal authorities, local councils, local authorities, and public service all my life. And I wanted to go work in the private sector. And there was this job with this major company based in London, a major energy company that I was very well-qualified for. And I thought I was gonna get the job. And then I got told that the boss, the most senior person just didn't even want to interview me. And I was really pretty fed up. So I wrote him a letter, telling him why he was making a terrible decision. I was really angry, wrote this letter. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; Didn't hear anything for a month but I felt a lot better once I'd written the letter. &gt;&gt; You sent it? &gt;&gt; I sent it. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; And a month later, I got a call. And he said, you better come and see me. They offered me the job. And actually, I probably wouldn't be in the job I'm doing today if that hadn't happened. Just don't accept things as they are, never give up and give it a go. 

A friend of mine gave me really great advice that I want to share: planning out your whole life in one interest isn't necessarily the best way to live. Instead, live your life in 5 or 10 year stretches. When you feel as if you've accomplished all that you're going to within one of those stretches, have the confidence and courage to reinvent yourself.

I was diagnosed with throat cancer and went through an extended period of treatment. After getting through that, I chose to go back to work but I make sure I devote time and effort into my health, family, and hobbies.

I worked in the public sector for years and decided to transition into the private sector. The change delayed a direct path but I think living your life in periods and reinventing yourself once you've achieved what you wanted is a better way to live.

Determination

Transitions

Don’t Give Up On A Job You Want

Do you feel like you're fulfilling your life's purpose, if you know what that is yet? &gt;&gt; There always seems to be another challenge. There always seems to be the next thing that I want to get good at, the next thing that I feel like I can do better. We've launched something called Workforce Central, which is podcast. It gives me the opportunity to talk to people in our industry, to economists, to researchers. And that's been a lot of fun, so it's been something that I think okay, I can kinda do this, I'd like to do this better. How do I learn, how do I get a voice coach? How do I do those kinds of things? So I think there's always the next challenge. I think that's part of the adventure that is in what we do, which is workforce development and education. There's a lot of nay-sayers out there that you can't or you won't. I don't think that's true. So I think that trying to keep that perspective, that there's a lot of people out there who really do need our help in understanding what's happening in the market. And I think yeah, it keeps driving me, keeps making me get up in the morning. Find that passion and hold on to it, pursue it. It's really a life fulfilled. 

Think about your interests and what you're inclined to be good at. Find people who can help you identify those passions and strengths. Then pursue that to the utmost degree.

Balancing work with other life interests is very important but it's very hard to do sometimes. When I can, I go to my family's hobby farm to take my mind off of things. I also try to use traveling time at work to reflect on the work that I'm doing.

NAWB's mission is to support its members through advocacy, job training, and strategic partnerships for the advancement of America's workforce. As president & CEO, I'm responsible for the overall strategy and subsequent implementation. I also go to meetings in Washington D.C. and sit in congressional offices to talk about why the nation needs to invest in educational and workforce development. I then communicate what's happening in Washington D.C. to the labor field.

President & CEO

Fulfillment

Pursuing Your Passion Is A Life Fulfilled

Did you have a lot of obstacles? Were there a lot of people telling you that you couldn't do it? &gt;&gt; There's always people out there saying you can't do things. And if you listen to that, you're never gonna be able to move forward. Failure is part of learning. And it's not the end of the world to fail. If things don't work out, you pivot and try other opportunities, and you keep adjusting. I think the biggest thing is to know when you are potentially failing and to not put your head in the sand. But you reach out, you talk to people. You figure out what's going on. You try new things, and usually it works out. But yeah, I mean, I've definitely had some failures along the way. But I've learned a lot more from the failures than I have from the successes. But the other side of it, I'll say, is there's all sorts of other things that I would, I still have on my list I'd love to do. There's all sorts of ideas. I mean, I still plan on putting a school in Africa. And who knows, I might do something totally different. But I mean, careers don't have to be for life. 

Careers don't have to be for life. If a new door opens for you, it's okay to take that opportunity and make a change. Don't be afraid to fail. It's a part of life. I've had my fair share of failures but I've learned more from those failures than my successes.

My father always urged me to be an engineer, but after a year as an engineering major, I was miserable. I decided to get a business degree instead. It's not worth it to make other people happy with your choices if you yourself are miserable.

As CEO, I lead nine allied health colleges across Texas and one online college. The College of Health Care Professions currently holds 3800 students and 540 employees. We've increased enrollment by over 80% and are now the largest provider of allied health graduates to Texas.

Failure Is Part Of Learning

You just gotta be true to yourself, and stick with it. Understand what your impediments will be, it's easy to quit as easy as the start. People say well stressful and you know what's stressful? When you sitting down on a corner with pot in your hand asking for a couple dollars, that's stress. Being the only African American in class, that ain't no stress, that's stress. So the other way to look at it is this there's always an opportunity. The dynamics of our country has changed. Decision makers at the corporate level are becoming more diverse. And so they wanna see more diverse people to provide professional services. So that's an opportunity. 

Find good mentors to guide you in the right direction. If you see someone you relate to who has been successful in the field you're wanting to get into, get to know them, seek their guidance, and cultivate that relationship. My mentors have played a huge role in my road to success.

I grew up in Philadelphia where there is a lot of gang activity and violence, but I worked hard to grow away from that and accomplish my goals. I now speak to students, many of whom come from similar situations, to inspire success.

When I was younger, African Americans weren’t given commercial-related engagements because they were mostly small, closely held entities run by white businessmen. I finally got a job at Johnson & Johnson to gain that commercial corporate experience.

I'm the CEO of our accounting firm, so I lead the team in providing a variety of accounting services for business, non-profits, government agencies, high net-worth individuals, and professional athletes. Our typical services include financial, performance, and compliance audits, tax planning, forensic accounting, and business advisory to help others with their productivity and profitability.

Chairman & CEO

African Americans can't have the same success.

Opportunity

Persevere To Find Opportunities As A Minority

How did you know that you were personally ready to handle this kind of stuff? Throughout your career did you learn from mentors or did you just throw yourself in the fire and learn as you go? &gt;&gt; Right in the fire and that's how I did it, I think I do owe a lot of my drive and my commitment and I just don't give up to sports. I had amazing coaches, my father, of course my parents are great role models for me but when I was in college I played two sports and we won the national championship just saying, in softball. I learned what hard work and commitment and dedication can do for you and what the end result can be. What you see is what you get is what I tell people, I'm like this no matter what I'm doing, because that's just who I am. I have the drive, I wanna be successful, I wanna do the right thing by people and I think that's helped me. I've not been perfect, I've failed a whole bunch of times and fallen on my face, but I do get up and I won't quit and so that's just who I am is in my character. I always tell my team it's like I do 100% or nothing there's no 50% there's no point, why bother? You're not going all in don't go in, right, so that's just that's just how I operate 

If you want to get into accounting, there’s no doubt that you can do it. Your first steps should be considering what kind of company you want to work for and what kind of work-life balance you want. Once you figure that out, then you’ll know which companies to strive for.

I had kids early on, which set my accounting career plans back a bit. Unexpectedly, I got an offer to do someone's bookkeeping and my business just grew from there through word-of-mouth. Fortunately, my husband was able to help a lot with parenting.

I worked full time, which came with many sacrifices as a parent. Putting my career first was a hard decision to make, but it was the best decision for my family.

My firm helps small businesses keep their business up and running by performing fraud checks and tax returns. I also offer tax resolutions to help small business that are in debt or have tax issues with the IRS. I also act as a consultant to help businesses use technology to perform better and become more efficient.

Perseverance

Each Person's Career Path Is Their Own

Ken Burns

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