Blaze Your Own Trail - Finding Your Strategic Direction with Dr. Sherman Green

Episode Date: October 15, 2021

About Dr. Green: Dr. Sherman Green is the CEO & Executive Life Coach for Strategic Directions with advanced training in several organizational initiatives.  He has worked almost 15-years as a higher education professional and an adjunct professor on the community college and university level, respectively.  A dynamic scholar, transformative leader and forward-thinking visionary, Dr. Green is committed to providing clients the resources needed in order to be strong contributors to society and advancing them to new levels of excellence in their own lives.  His focus points are strengthening self-awareness, helping clients to be held accountable for their future goals and equipping clients with the skills and resources that will allow them to complete any life endeavor they want to pursue.  In this episode we discuss: Dr. Green's upbringing His passion for music Where he went to College And much more! Thanks for listening! Connect with Dr. Green: https://drsgreen.com/about/ Connect with Jordan: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanjmendoza/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/therealjordanjmendoza/⁠ Clapper: ⁠https://clapper.vip/jordanjmendoza⁠ Join my Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/linkedintrailblazers⁠ Website: ⁠https://www.blazeyourowntrailconsulting.com Installing strategic sales systems & processes will stop the constant revenue rollercoaster you might be facing which is attainable through our 6 Week Blazing Business Revenue Coaching ProgramBook a discovery call with Jordan now to learn more! Are you an entrepreneur?Join my FREE Group Coaching Community where we have live calls, Q&A and more! Our Trailblazer Ecosystem also enables you to network with other entrepreneurs and creator hub eliminates multiple subscriptions and logins creating a one stop shop to take action!Use code: FOUNDING100 for 12 months access FREE and Founding pricing for life! (While Supplies Last)Join now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Are you ready to find out how to blaze your own trail? Welcome to the Blaze Her Own Trail podcast with your host, Jordan Mendoza. In this podcast, Jordan interviews people from around the world to find out about their journey to success. If you're looking for valuable content with actionable advice, you've come to the right place. And now your host, Jordan Mendoza. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. My name is Jordan Mendoza and I'm your host. And today I've got a very special guest.

His name is Dr. Sherman Green. And I'm going to let him tell us a little bit about who he is and what he does today. Jordan, thanks again for this opportunity, man. This is great. I'm just truly thankful and grateful to you for this. Again, my name is Sherman Green, Dr. Sherman Green. And I am currently the CEO and Executive Life. coach for my business strategic directions. And I focus on helping individuals grow,

helping them to expand where they are. I have a lot of clients who are just in this phase, especially right now in dealing with COVID-19 in the pandemic, where they are wanting to grow out of their old profession and going into something new, which is, you know, totally appropriate for the time that we have on our hands to kind of think about things that really want to do. So I help individuals as it relates to that. I help them just kind of just grow in different areas as well. I also do work with corporations, businesses, nonprofits, and I help them in the same capacity, helping them reach goals,

helping them to reach different heights of things that they've been doing. I've been doing a lot of work with businesses as it relates to diversity and inclusion, which is very, very, very important right now when we are as a society. And I've also helped in the area of conflict resolution, which is always something that comes up within businesses and different entities. And I also just kind of help them just to gain those experiences and those things that people don't really talk about, like being able to talk better to people, the communication barriers that we sometimes have on the job,

also being able to actually think forward as far as creating their strategic plan or their vision as a company. I do a lot of different things in that capacity. And honestly, I have just been enjoying this place where I am in my life right now because at one point in time, that wasn't necessarily the case. But I can definitely say since I ventured out and started my business, things have just been flowing in so many different capacities. I feel as though different opportunities just kind of come at me and I just kind of go with it. But that's what I do right now. I'm loving it and just looking forward to just other opportunities and just growing and blossoming where I am right now. Of course, being in the motivational speaking capacity, I've been doing events in that capacity as well.

And so that's something else that I would love to just grow more. And right now we're more in the Zoom phase where people are doing them via Zoom because of the pandemic. you know motivating people helping people just being a positive um just being a positive liaison for people i think it has always been my calling in life so i'm just kind of furthering it as much as i possibly can i love it i love it i appreciate the in-depth intro uh you know a lot of the things that that you spoke about are are highly important especially today right we're in a a time in a place that a lot of people have never experienced before. So, you know, helping people navigate these new waters and shift careers, that's important.

Helping educate people about diversity and inclusion, super important, right? Being able to impact people in a positive light also important. So I think everything that you're up to, I want to commend you because those are all things that are highly needed, especially in a society that's very torn at the moment. So congrats on that. But my favorite part of the show, Sherman, is I want to rewind, right? I like to take, you know, a dive into the past to really get context on my guess because I highly, highly feel this is, this is where the value is, right? Because, you know, you got all this success today.

You've pivoted. You jumped into entrepreneurship with both feet. But let's see where it all started. Okay. So give the audience some context. Where did you grow up? And when I mean grow up, you know, adolescent years elementary through high school. And what kind of kid were you?

Were you into more academics, into sports, into music? You know, let's share with the audience a little more about Sherman. Sure, sure. So I am originally from Jackson, Mississippi, and it's actually where I still am right now. So I'm originally born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. I am the son of a wonderful mother, Marsha Green, who actually, celebrating her birthday on Saturday. So I'm super excited about that.

Happy birthday to mom. Happy early birthday. Absolutely. So I'm super excited just to, you know, still have her as a great mother and a great role model for me. I have a wonderful older sister

who is, you know, doing phenomenal things. But as it stands, you know, it was us three for the most part, you know. My mother was a single parent,

just, you know, doing what she had to do to raise, two kids who, in my opinion, turned out pretty great, you know, in the long run, because, I mean, there's so many different things, so many different stories that people can tell about growing up in a single parent home. But I can honestly say, you know, I never went without anything. I sometimes was able to have more than some of my other friends who had, you know, two-parent households. So just growing up, it was a matter of, okay, this is a situation that we're in

as far as being in this household, you know, we were able to grow and be around different kids, different diverse people. In elementary school, I mean, I was, I think I was a very well-liked kid. I was kind of like the overall kid who everybody liked and, you know, liked being around. I actually have the same close-knit friends that I've had from elementary school to now, but I'll get to that in a second. But yeah, so I have a very solidified group of friends that I knew and grew up with from elementary. And just a really on top of things type of kid. I mean, I always wanted to do well academically.

I was the kid that always made A's and B's, never really any Cs. So I kind of took that mentality all the way up, you know, junior high school, high school. In junior high school, I can honestly say that that is when you're in that teenage states, when things kind of change a little bit, I started to get more into music than I ever did before. And I've always been good at music as far as singing, but it was that junior high school stage that I started kind of really, really kind of honing that. And also, that was the time that I can honestly say I started to kind of, you know, when you're in junior high school, you're not in the same sheltered area that you were in elementary school. You're kind of, you know, seeing all types of people at this point in time.

So, of course, there are people that we didn't necessarily grow up with that we had to start getting acclimated with. And I can honestly say that was probably some of the most growing up times I've ever had in that I learned how to deal with. other people that are different than you that may not have grown up in the same situation as you. And it could be very scary because, you know, that's during the time when people typically get bullied and just get, you know, made fun of and made names of. But I can honestly say those people that were the bullies to everybody else never treated me that way. And it was something that I kind of keep in the back of my mind. It's almost as though if you are able to connect with anybody on any level, you can use that and you can adapt to that in any given situation.

So there will be times when I would take classes with people who, you know, were necessarily bullies, quote-un-coed bullies. And, you know, I never had a problem with them because I was able to connect them instant. So from that point on, you know, they never bothered me. They never, you know, would get on my case about anything. And so it was just knowing all that stuff where I was able to just adapt. and just to grow. I started taking honors classes. So of course the academia part was beginning to get more important for me. And I excelled in that as well, as continued to make

A's and Bs throughout junior high school, carried all of that mentality over into high school. So this is when I really started to hone the music, the singing. I remember wanting to join the choir and I didn't go for auditions. And so one day I was talking to one of my best friend is John Hardy and he was telling me he was in the choir he was telling me well you can just ask you know her the choir director that is miss is hell if i if i could still audition because they had already started school and you know just started the choir and everything and i went to her and i asked her if i can audition and she said what can you do it now and said sure and so i auditioned i was saying i don't know if you remember uh it was a very popular Coca-Cola commercial where um it was um can't i can't i can't

remember how it goes now. But that's what I was saying. I sang, yeah, I did the Coca-Cola commercial as an audition piece. And she liked it and she told me to go to the counselor and change my schedule. And so I did. And I think from that moment on, coupled with all of my experience from junior high school and finding this home, this ownership of the music and singing, that was like my life. That was the story of my life. So from high school, you know, I was, you know, very, you know, very, very well around. I used to sing at school functioning school assemblies. The teachers were giving me praise for the singing that I would do. And I just loved it, man. It was a time in particular where me and three other guys sang at a homecoming assembly. And I just remember feeling this feeling that I'd

never felt before, just singing in front of people. And it was so great. You know, it was so good to to get whatever feeling I got from that moment. And I said, I always want to continue to do that. And so coupled with, you know, being in honors AP classes, I excelled, I actually graduated number six of my class out of, I think, 281 students. And so I had the highest ranking as far as all of the other males in my class. And coupled with the singing and being involved in different organizations, you know, I was really just solidified and just what I wanted to do in life. I wanted to do something that involved just doing something on a new level,

doing something that would challenge me, do something that would be able to have me in the forefront of people to actually be out there. And I took all that to college. I think the trend that I'm noticing is you have the ability to almost, almost as a preemptive strike build relationships with people. So I want to really stop on this because you know, you had said that this was from being a kid, even in elementary school, right? Even if people were from different places or backgrounds and you, you figured out ways to relate to them, right? And I think this is a good thing for the audience to hear. And what's so

interesting is as I thought back to my childhood and the way that I was in school and the fact that you know I was in high school I was a break dancer so I was you know with the break dancing guys and but I also got along with the the athletes and I got along with the skateboarders you know and you made me really think that it all comes down to being able to verbally communicate little things like a smile, eye contact, you know, being excited to meet people, right? Would you say that those are ingredients that attributed to the way that you were able to do that? Absolutely. 100%. 100%. I mean, to be able to just exude who you were and have that personality of just being a pleasant person, smiling, you know, having rapport, even if it's something as small as,

oh, those are the new shoes that you were telling me you're going to get. Something simple like that, you know, made such huge impacts on people that I came in contact with. And I used that to my full advantage, man. I mean, anything to connect with people is so essential to just gaining that good rapport and to have that good connection with people. And yeah, I learned all of that stuff. And I think it was something also to that, Jordan, that, you know, you have to be able to have the inner confidence and knowing who you are. are and just being who you are. And I think people resonate with that too because I think, I don't think I was telling myself at that time that this is what was going on. But I think people

were feeding off the fact that I was confident in who I was, regardless of who I was. So it's like people just seem to gravitate to people who are really confident in who they are and, you know, can really take something from that instance, whether it's big or small. And I think that's kind of also what would resonate with people as well. I mean, I was okay with smiling at people or saying, hey, how are you doing when that wasn't a popular thing. But that's how I felt and I did it. I didn't feel like I needed to hide who I was or to hide, you know, how I really felt about stuff. If somebody told me something that sucked or something, I would be the person and be like, oh, man, that sucks.

I'm sorry to hear that. But, you know, that was something that people didn't do even as a kid. And I think that that's just always been a part of my personality and people have really. let me just be who I am. That's good. That's good. So, all right. So you go to college.

Where did you end up going to school? And were you going? I'm going to make the assumption that the focus was music, right? That's what you wanted to do when you went. So share with the audience. Where did you end up going to school? So I did. I actually, I left high school with the wanting to, you know, explore the music and to go to

somewhere that will cultivate me. my choir director recommended that I go to this school, this school called Stillman College. It's in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. And I actually had an audition for the choir because they have a fantastic choir. And I went to the campus. My mom and I drove to Tuscaloosa audition for the choir. It was a great experience. And something strange kind of happened from the time that I graduated high school until that

summer, I didn't hear back from them. I'm not trying to put them on a blast at this point, but I never heard back from them until like maybe the weekend before school was supposed to start. And during that time of waiting for them, I actually went to a summer program at Mississippi State University. And it was a program called Image, and it focused on engineering and science majors who were coming into the university as freshman. And I went to the university, to join the program just to, you know, do something and you get course credit for going. It was a really nice program built for individuals who were interested in, you know, going in that direction.

And interestingly enough, when the program was over, that was when Stillman's college was supposed to start on that next weekend. And that's when they sent me information about my scholarship. And I was like, wait, I can't start school and go and leave now when school is going to start on that Monday. And so I said, you know what, I'll forego that I'm familiar with Mississippi State at this point. I'll just go to Mississippi State instead. Because at that point, I had friends from the program and I knew about the university.

My sister actually had gone there also. So I said, you know what, I'll just go to Mississippi State. And I did enjoy it. I started majoring in engineering, which looking back on it was not my fit, but I actually majored in engineering for about two years. So at this point, I had taken like, you know, the difficult math classes. I think I took calculus one and two and all these other science-related classes, which was cool. I probably could have done it, but it just was not my thing. So coupled with the fact that Mississippi State really wasn't known for that music, those first two years for me were really tragic because I was doing okay academically.

I wasn't really happy with the major that I had chosen, and I wasn't being able to do the music like I wanted to. They did have a choir that I did join. It was a gospel choir, and I enjoyed that, but it was just something about not being able to do the music the way I wanted to that really just bothered me. And so I'm sure you can remember this is like early 2000s, so this is like 2001, 2002.

This is when all of the American idols and all the other shows, started kind of getting more popular. And so to try to just appease that, you know, that bug to do the music, I did, you know, audition for those shows, and I'll get to that, you know, I'm sure very soon. But it just never did satisfy me, so to speak. So I'd say probably around my junior year, at this point I was an RA, very involved on campus. I was in an organization called Black Student Alliance,

and I had different roles on campus. So I was kind of feeling my way. My junior year, I decided to switch my major from engineering to communication, and I wanted to focus on broadcasting, because I did start to kind of develop a taste of wanting to get in front of the camera and do things such as being like a reporter or an anchor. So things started to turn around at that point. I eventually became president of Black Student Alliance.

I was still an RA. I had become a role runner, which is a student recruiter for Mississippi State University. Very, very awesome organization. I think they select 40 students out of like over 300 candidates. And I also became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fertirity Incorporated, which, you know, I'm still very, very, very, very much a part of at this point in life now. But it was all those things that kind of took the place of the music for a time being. But the bug never goes away.

I mean, once you're in love with something like that, it never really truly goes away. So I would say all throughout my undergraduate experience, I would try to still try to satisfy that love of music. So I did sing at different functions around campus. I did eventually create a demo because I wanted to kind of get some exposure as far as, you know, being a singer and all that good stuff. I did come up with a demo, did another one years later because I really wasn't quite satisfied with it. And then I'd say probably after just kind of pursuing things on that level, I did try to get a job after I got my degree in 2004. But the love of music was still there, but I still had to just keep pressing.

on until things kind of happened. So yeah, I mean, the music was still there, but I didn't really, really, really move forward on it until much later. I did essentially go back to school in Mississippi State to start my master's program and counseling. And enjoyed that. I was able to be a resident director, hall director, and did that. I was able to meet so many wonderful people still and was able to get that degree for free thanks to Mississippi State. So that was a great opportunity for me to get my master's and to kind of offset what I would be doing in years coming after that. Awesome, awesome.

Well, thank you for sharing that. So, you know, thinking back to your college experience, I've got really two questions. So the first one is, what would you say if you had to pinpoint maybe top two experiences while you're in college? I would like for you to share your top two experiences. And then I would love for you to share what your thoughts are on education as a whole, right? Because, you know, from 2004 to today, we've seen a lot of changes, right?

We've seen a lot of advancements. And I think people's thoughts on the investment of time, the investment of funds has started to shift. So first, maybe favorite two experiences and then your thoughts on education as it stands today. Yeah, yeah, sure. So I think one in particular that I'm thinking of, I was the Black Student Alliance president, and I was asked to speak on a panel. And it was regarding race, you know, race and those things never died down.

And of course, being the Black Student Alliance president, I was asked to be on this panel for this very reason. And so I was asked the question of, you know, does race matter? And I remember saying something, and I actually went back to look at this actual article, and I had said something to the effect of race plays a factor in every portion of your life. And I remember seeing the faces of people in the crowd just be like, hmm, because they didn't expect for me to say something like that.

Because I guess with having my energy and having my perspective on life, people probably didn't think that I would say something that bold or brash, but let's just be honest, it does. You know, it plays a huge role in our lives. And what's so interesting is that even 16 years later, here we are, and it still plays a major factor in our lives. And I didn't think about how important that one thing was until one, I saw it on the paper. It was, we had a school paper. it was on the front page, the first line of it, and also to think back to that time and to think now that that has not changed. And so that's something that's just really stuck out to me. It was a great moment because we were able to have a very honest dialogue.

And I felt like that day, that was at least a day forward that I was able to contribute to a conversation that needs to be had even at that time in life. So that's one thing that I can go back to. Another thing I always experience, well, I always remember, rather, is just when you're in a fraternity, when you are initiated into a fraternity, there's a coming out event for you where, you know, you revealed as far as being a part of the member and you do like a step show and everything. I just remember that particular event. And I remember my friends coming out to do, you know, be involved with it. My mom actually, I told her not to come because I didn't want her to hear, you know, all of the language and stuff that was going to be said. But she and a friend of hers drove up for it. And it was just like one of those moments where like, yeah, this is, this is something that's cool.

This is something that, you know, I'll always remember. My friends coming up being a part of this event, being a part of this event, being a part of. this fraternity. That was something that really stuck out to me, just not just with me, but with my fellow line brothers who, you know, were also initiated into the fraternity at that time. It was just one of those things that you always kind of think about as far as college. You know, you think about being involved in organizations such as that and just enjoying college life. Yeah, both really, really great memories and experience. Thank you for sharing those. So yeah, so let's hear your thoughts then.

Yeah. You know, education today as it stands and then kind of, you know, what your thoughts are. Like if this was you today, would you have went through that, you know, maybe the same journey that you did knowing what you know now? Well, I can definitely say that, you know, education is very important. But the way that things are now, I mean, the bachelor's degree, has kind of taking the place of a high school diploma in some instances. And so the level that it's at now as far as going back to get a degree,

it's kind of hit or miss, honestly, because there are some fields, and I'm sure that you can agree with this, there are some fields that you don't even need a degree to actually kind of flourish and do what you need to do. However, there are some careers where that piece of paper kind of, deviate you from somebody else. I think for me, I still probably would have gone the same way that I did in order of education that I got, getting my bachelor's, my master's, and eventually my PhD. I would still probably do that for what I wanted to do. Working in education, it's all about your

level of education. I mean, the higher higher, higher, higher, higher, your education, the higher level of salary you get, the higher level of positions you get, it's needed. It's not. It's not. necessary. Whereas there are some other careers that don't need that at all. You know, of course, as an engineer, a bachelor's is all that you really need. You may need some credentials here and there, but in order to sustain yourself, a bachelor's does just fine. And then there are other careers, such as accounting and anything business related, where, you know, certifications would hold high, you know, as far as having those things. Because there are some accountants that work in these accounting places that may not have a bachelor's degree, they may have just an associate's degree,

but they have certifications that allow for them to work in particular areas. So, you know, things have changed a lot since that time. You know, online school is really big now. Being able to go to school from the comfort of your own home or wherever you are is, you know, really necessary now, especially with the pandemic going on. And at one point in time, you know, that was frowned upon, you know, going to the University of Phoenixes and all these other schools, that was kind of frowned upon, you know, the brick and mortar schools frowned upon, you know, people that went to the online schools. But now you'll see the brick and mortar schools changing their tune to that because they're losing so much money from people not wanting to go to live

on these campuses and to be exposed to other people that may have the virus. So, you know, the education spectrum, the higher education spectrum has been really, made a lot of tops and turds and all that stuff. I'm just kind of fixated on the fact as it relates to me, I probably would have gone the same direction. I probably still would have gotten the bachelor's master's and PhD, just because in high red, I knew what needed to be done in order to deviate myself from the next person

and to make sure that I can get the salary and get the types of positions that I want. awesome awesome well thanks for sharing your take and like i'm a big believer that some people are meant to go and some people aren't like for me i knew when i finished high school i wanted to do sales i wanted to eventually go into entrepreneurship and i knew that i wouldn't if i went i would be a waste of my either my money or my parents and i was very self-aware in high school of that fact and did i did i know that it wasn't going to be easy absolutely because without it, you're going to work harder. But I was willing to bet on myself because I could effectively communicate.

Because I think that's one thing, my friend, that will separate anyone apart. If you can effectively communicate, if you can read body language, if you can relate to people, those are skills that pay the bills in any form in life because in every organization, I don't care what you're in. You could be in manufacturing. you could be you could be in you know fashion sales is how you generate revenue right so having that ability to effectively communicate for me i was just i was like you know what if that's the route it's going to go i'm good at that so you go there and i'm just a big believer on like going to bat for

your strengths like trying to focus on areas that you're good in because when we put attention to areas that maybe we're not as good in, our strengths actually start to diminish a little bit. We don't invest that energy in time. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on that and maybe how you've seen that, you know, come to fruition in your own life. Oh, absolutely. I mean, you said something really powerful just then where you had that self-awareness that as a businessman, you are going to work hard for yourself because you knew what your strengths were and you knew what was at stake as far as being a businessman. When you're out there on your own, you're betting for yourself, you have to work hard.

You have to have that tenacity in order to just possibly be disappointed, but still having that energy to get up the next day and go back at it again even harder. Those are things that I wish that really just in total people will focus more on in high school because there are a lot of things that we learn in high school that we don't even use, right? But it's having those type of life skills that are going to help you prepare yourself, even as an adult later on in life. That's going to help you just to really, really grow and just to really blossom as a person. But yeah, I think definitely focusing on your strengths is a top priority.

That's actually what I like to try to practice with my clients because a lot of times we can focus on that negative, the things that we're not so. good at. And just as you said, it dwindles us. It makes us even smaller. But it's, it's in those moments when you're actually able to focus on your strengths and the things that you're good at, that you start developing so many other things that you're good at that you don't even realize that you're good at. So it's almost like a domino effect. When you learn what you're good at and you continually feed it, you basically grow whatever you feed. So if you're going to continue to feed the negativity, then absolutely you're going to get driven. You're going to

get drowned in negativity, negative thoughts, negative perspectives. But if you feed that positive, those strengths that you're really, really good at, you're only going to grow and you're going to blossom even more. I think something that I can use an example, I started my business two years ago. So at that time in my life, I was at a point where I felt just drowned and not being happy in what I was doing, not something. feeling appreciated on the job and not really making the money that I want to make, I'll just be honest. And when it came to a point in my life when I just said, you know what, I'm just going to go out on a leap, just take a leap of faith and do what I want to do. That's when I think things

started to just kind of blossom for me and other things just started kind of coming my way because I was focusing on the positive. I was focusing on something that I wanted to do. And it was only in those moments where I actually started to see the growth and the actual unmeasurable amount of blessings that I received when I was able to focus on that. And so that's kind of what I tell my clients as well. Like, yeah, just focus on what you get at. And sometimes we have to ask people what they think we're good at.

Sometimes people that we love because they know it's the best, you know. But in those moments when you're actually able to focus on the story, strengths that you have and the positive things that you do have, that's when you grow. That's when you actually start to just really be the person that you're really supposed to be. 100%. Yeah. I think when you're living in the strength zone, right, now you're actually going after your passion. And we typically find our purpose and our passion. Once we found that thing we're passionate about, once like you said, you start to feed that and then investing consistent energy to create that momentum.

And then the purpose comes in. When you mix passion and purpose, that's when things are born, right? That's when things really start to take off. So when you got that Ph.D., how long removed from receiving it, did you start your own thing? So I guess how long did you work somewhere

where you were not happy? You know what I'm trying to get out here. Yeah, well, I'll be honest, just kind of thinking back, you know, with this conversation, which you said what happened, so I appreciate it. I remembered when I started my PhD in 2012, I was working somewhere that I didn't particularly enjoy. It was probably one of the least enjoyable jobs I've ever worked at in higher ed, and I learned so many things during that time. So I guess it was all, you know, meant to happen. But it took me three years to get my PhD. So from 2012,

to 2015. I was working at this place and I was fortunate enough to go to, and this was also Mississippi State. So I got all three degrees from Mississippi State. I was actually able to go to school. It was a program that was set up for working professionals. So I would have classes three times out of a semester and they would be based on Friday and Friday nights and Saturday all Saturday long. And I was able to leave that job on, like, like Friday afternoons to go drive to Mississippi State and then have the class and then I also have classes online. But I just remember and just kind of looking back at that whole job, I was actually able to benefit the most from getting my PhD at that specific time because of

all the resources that I was provided. Now, I didn't too much care for the job, but God divinely put me there so that I could get my PhD at that time. And mind you, you know, getting a PhD is something that takes a lot of people at least five years to get. Five years, you know, sometimes seven, sometimes even 10 years, you know, just depending on how much they're able to get to it and write their dissertation and all the things that go on. So many things can happen while you're getting your PhD. But I got mine in three years. And I just always think back to that time.

And I say to myself, God, you just really been good to me in times of my life when I didn't even see it. So at that time, I wasn't even happy. But to answer your question, I got my new job after that job, probably two months after I got my PhD. So this is August of 2015, I got another job and working at another school. And so from, I'd say 2012 all the way to 2018, I was still at a place of just not really being happy, not really being fulfilled. Even with the new job, it was a good job. I enjoyed it. It was probably the best experience.

had and working at a higher ed place, but it was still that thing that I just wasn't being fulfilled on. So I think the last three years working from 2015 to 2018 at the other institution, it gave me satisfaction on the job, but internally I still wasn't as happy. So we're looking at a trajectory of 2012 to 2018, so six years that, you know, I went without necessarily being happy, but I got the PhD in 2015. So three years after that is when it was like, okay, I got to do something different at that point. Six years essentially of learning, right? I mean, you learned a lot of lessons.

I remember you said that you probably learned the most from, you know, from that job with the longer stretch. But also you came out of it in three years with a PhD. right so you know you know what I'm saying and I think you know when we're in these storms or these seasons you know it's it's so hard to see clearly right because you know it takes hindsight to give us that 2020 to be able to look back and say wow I understand now why I went through that because now in your role right you took the plunge two years ago you're going to have people that are in those same seasons. You're going to have people that are weathering the storms that you went through. Yes. And so that's the beautiful thing about life is, you know, I was in my bathroom. And this is

kind of, kind of weird that I'm bringing this up. But I was literally, I was in my bathroom. I think I was doing my hair or something. And I always have these quotes just pop into my head. And so I'm the kind of guy. I have my phone near me. I pull out my notepad. I just start typing out what this quote is. And so I remember my wife walks in and she catches me just laughing. And I, and she's like, why are you laughing? And I said, well, hey, read this quote. And so she reads it. And I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to read it to you because it makes a lot of sense for the exact same thing we're talking about. So let me go ahead and read this quote. And this was, let me see when this was actually, this was August 11th of last year. And so what I wrote is the struggle might be real, but the good news is that every struggle has a free gift called a lesson.

Oh. And so she read it and she said, that sounds exactly like you. I was like, because it popped in my head. But isn't it so true that our struggles teach us the most, but we only grow if we actually learn from the lesson, right? Because there's people that are still in the struggle. They're still spinning their wheels and they're not getting anywhere because they haven't decided to grow from it.

You know? Absolutely. I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. I think me going through the struggles that I have gone through have propelled me to help other people who are currently facing it, you know, are going to face it. And let's just be honest.

I mean, when you don't repeat them and you learn from them, I mean, how much do you grow at that point? I mean, there are so many things that come back at you. And it's almost like God is testing you to see if you learned from the previous time. But you're able to, of course, you know, handle it and deal with it accordingly because you've been through it and you don't want to go through that same thing again. So it's kind of like when you can smell something that just doesn't seem like it's going to be right, you can say, okay, no, I'm good. I've done that before. I've made that mistake before.

I bought the T-shirt, not doing it. So, yes, you learn so much. the struggles. And again, yes, that four years stint that I had at that job, I learned so much. I'm still still just carrying around those lessons, man. It's just, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's really helped me as a life coach as well, I can honestly say. Just being in the trenches of life has really helped me just develop so much knowledge and develop so much to help other people in their journeys. And I mean, you, if you haven't lived life, you can't be a life coach. No. You know what I'm saying? Like, I mean, it's in the title. Right. Like, so you have to have gone through some things in order to coach other people to get to the other side. Right. Right. So, I mean, you know, what an amazing journey. So I want you to share a little bit about your business, a little bit about how you help people get to that other side. So are there some, are there some, you know, baseline things that you'll do with everybody? Or, you know, you know, you know,

because we're all different, because we're all wired different, we've got different environmental influences, different cultures, is everybody's situation unique? Like, give me some context there on how you typically work with folks. Oh, yeah. So when I'm working with people, I am ranging from all types of personalities, you know, different personalities, different upbringings, different perspectives of life. And so that very first conversation that I had with them is so important because it tells me so much about that person and tells me where they are. It tells me how much I'm going to

have to really work with them in order for them to get to where they're wanting to go. And so a lot of times people will come with the assumption that they don't have the answers, right? But in actuality, they have the answers and they probably seen the answers the entire time, but it takes me to kind of pull that thing from them. But what it also takes is for me to know how they think. So when I say the initial conversation is so important, I'm asking questions like, tell me about yourself, tell me about your upbringing,

how was it going for you when you grew up, you know, how would people, how would they describe you? What are some things that they say that you're good at? Because if they're able to tell me those things, that tells me that their confidence level is pretty good. If they're not able to tell me those things, it tells me that I'm gonna have to really focus on building their confidence while I am helping them on their journey.

And if they're just kind of in the middle with it, and it tells me, okay, I can probably still maneuver them and kind of helping them get to where they need to go, just like I would anybody, but it may just take a little more effort. But I typically find that the people who don't have the most confidence in themselves are the ones who seek me the most. And so I use a lot of that time, the initial time, and just kind of building them up to even see that they're worth what they're wanting to get. Because one, it's quite important that they do know that they want to go somewhere,

but they don't have the confidence. They never say it, but they're saying it in every shape of the form of conversation. And so I'm able to detect the confidence. And so I focus on building them up. And I do that by accentuating everything that they are doing that's good. And when the conversation kind of shifts to them actually taking ownership of that confidence and seeing that they actually have what it takes to get what they want, that is the aha moment. That's what I look for. And I'm able to get that quicker with people who have the confidence already.

We can get there quicker and faster because they already know what they're good at, but they just don't know how to get there. That's not a problem. We can work on those things pretty easily. and they usually become lifelong clients to my knowledge. I've had clients that have been with me for quite some time that have fit in that category as well. And also the ones who bring out their inner confidence and they're able to see it for themselves,

it may take a while on the end of building them up, but once they get it, they don't come back. And they're able to come back to me and tell me, update me, on the things that they're doing, but they're doing it and they're doing it knowing that they can continue to do it by themselves. And that's beautiful to me, man, to be able to uplift somebody that did not have that confidence originally. And for them to be at the point where they not only get it, but they get it and they have that self-assuredness to know that they don't ever have to have anybody's help to get there anymore.

They got it on their own. So that's what I shoot for. The aha moment is the time when they finally figure it out. Like, oh, I do have all the answers. Oh, I had just the entire. time. Oh, I was doing this already. I had been doing this 10 years prior. Yeah, you have, but they don't take the time to realize the inner confidence in themselves because they don't have it. And so it's in those situations where I have to really dig deep to help build them

in those moments of building their confidence, but it's always worth it because they leave self-assure and knowing that they can handle anything at that point. Now, the other clients, lifelong clients, they are the people who want to be healthy. held accountable for the things that they said they want to do. They struggle with that. And we literally focus our time on what it is. They said they're going to do and me holding them accountable for those things. So we focus on all those levels. But I tell you, it always makes for great conversation when I'm working with somebody who does not have that confidence. For someone to finally figure out that they get it week to week to week, it's beautiful. I love it. It's

something that I look forward to having and experiencing each time. Awesome, awesome. Well, thank you for sharing those insights with us on how you work with people. And in a second, I'm going to have you share, you know, where people can reach out to you. I know people are going to listen to this episode. They're going to get a lot of value out of your story and your journey. But what I would love for you to share, just, you know, as we're still dealing with this pandemic, you know, when this episode airs, the pandemic may still be happening. And even if it isn't, we're not going back to how things were. So I would love for you to just share some words of encouragement or positivity for anyone that's going to hear this episode, whether it's today or 10 years from now,

that could maybe give them some confidence during these challenging times. Absolutely. I think that this pandemic has been a blessing and a curse in some ways. A curse in a sense that we are not living as we normally would live, and I don't think we ever will, honestly, just my opinion. But the blessing in it is that we are given the blessing of time. And so this is the time to emerge out of this thing, stronger and better than we ever were before. This is the time to actually tap into those things that we wanted to do for a very long time. I had a to do list for a very long time and I've actually been able to tackle a lot of the things that I've wanted to do during this time. But what I would strongly suggest is to start making a list of things

that you always wanted to do and utilize this time that we've been given in order to tap into those things. Reach out to people who can help propel you to that level that you want to get into at this time. Because when this is all over, we all should be doing something different. We all should talking different. We should be walking differently. We should have a different mindset than what we had before all of this happened. Because if you are still doing what you did before the pandemic, then you got nothing out of this time. And I would hate to just say that somebody is doing that, but, you know, there are going to be some that that do that. For me, as a business person, I had to reshift everything that I was doing because I was doing a lot of stuff face to face.

I did some motivational speaking engagements. I was doing staff development and training through corporations and businesses. All of that stuff that took that personal appeal to actually get some really, really good feedback on. And I had to learn that, you know, everything that I had been doing, I got to learn to do that in a remote place. I got to learn to do that in a Zoom space because I'm not going to be able to be around these people anymore. And so as a business, it took me probably, I'd say the first two months just to kind of restructure things as to what I wanted to do and what I wanted to continue to keep doing and just kind of figure out how I can keep doing it, but doing it on a different level. So I would advise anybody that is in that space where maybe something was going really well before the pandemic and you're still trying to figure things out, you've got to be able to think about how you're going to best serve the same clients but doing. it in a remote space and you got to use this time to communicate with people who can take you

to the next level. If you need to start consulting with people to kind of get a better take on what to do, how to market yourself a little better, how to rebrand yourself, so to speak, then this is the time to do that as well. I mean, this time that we've been given is really, really important for us. I mean, this is something that we're going to have for quite some time. So leaving out of this thing being bigger and better than you were before is so imperative. You have to be able to grow in this time that you've been given and actually move forward on the things that you want to do and to sustain yourself as a business person and to grow as an individual. Love it. Love it. Love the advice. Love the way that you were able to pivot your business. You know, it's funny when you think back to the end of 2019 and everyone had all these aspirations of 2020 and all these amazing goals that, you know, we wanted accomplished.

And, you know, I launched this podcast on January 1st. Oh, wow. I had no idea there was going to be a pandemic. I had no clue. And now here I am, you know, 10 months into it and have over 70 episodes recorded when my original goal was 50. So what I did with that time that I got back because I was commuting an hour and a half, two hours into the office, I gained back three to four hours. And I said the same thing, Sherman. Hey, how can I invest this time into ways to grow as a person? How can I invest this to spend more time with my wife and my kids? You know, I was doing yard work I wasn't doing because I was traveling so much. So if you look at it, right, there's two people that are going to come out of this pandemic. And it's going to be the ones that looked at it from an option. optimistic point of view, right? Invested that time and energy into strengths or skill sets that they put off. And there's going to be the ones that say, what happened? This year just flew by

and I'm in the same place that I was in. But here's the thing, folks that are listening. You have the choice. You get to choose which path that you're going to go down. And if you want to be a trailblazer like my friend, Dr. Sherman Green, you know which path to choose. Sherman. and it's been my pleasure hosting you on the show. I want you to share where are the best places to reach out to you. I know you're on social media. If you want to share those, I'll make sure all that info is down in the show notes as well.

Absolutely. So first and foremost, my website, Dr.S.green.com is where you can find me. And, you know, if you want to have that 30-minute consultation that I give, it's a free conversation, no charge to you. It's basically a matter of me, to know you and to get to know what you're wanting to do. It's so very important, so very critical for me to have that conversation. So you can go there to set that up. You can also find me on

Facebook. I have a strategic directions page where you can also set up a time. Just type in strategic directions. It'll pop up. I'm on Instagram. That handle is Dr. underscore Green underscore for SD. I have motivational videos that I post frequently and a lot since the pandemic has hit because I like to encourage people on this journey because some of the people like you just mentioned that are looking at it from a pessimistic view. They're not optimistic about it. They're pessimistic. They need to get some encouragement. And we got to keep the optimistic people encouraged as well. So I do post those videos on Instagram. I post them on Facebook. I also am on YouTube. You can type in strategic directions and go straight to litany of all of the videos that I post.

And also I'm on LinkedIn. You can just type in Dr. Sherman Green. I will pop up. I'm pretty much on all avenues at this point. And I probably can give you the specific links. Yeah, yeah. We'll put all that stuff in the show notes for everybody. They can connect with you and reach out.

So folks, if you're looking to connect with with somebody that, you know, for one, it's all about the individuals he's working with. You know, the one thing that I've learned about Dr. Sherman, he doesn't care who you are or where you're from. He knows he can impact you wherever you are on your journey, whether you've got confidence or you need it. So Dr. Green, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing how you've blazed your own trail. Thank you. Thank you again for having me, Jordan.