The road to a goal is an individual journey that requires persistence, careful planning and an occasional change of course.
Using personal anecdotes, videos and audience participation, Antoinette Smith, a faculty member in the College of Business’ School of Accounting, gave an animated talk about choosing and following your own path to success before an audience of over 80 participants at the Graham Center at Florida International University (FIU). The January 30th presentation was part of FIU’s S.T.E.P.P. (Striving to Enhance Personal Performance) series. She gave a similar talk at the Biscayne Bay Campus.
Smith, who also guides the university’s PhD Pipeline program—which encourages minority undergraduates to consider pursuing a doctorate in business—built her points around techniques to help audience members achieve their goals.
“When it comes to your goals, you have to assess where you are and where you’re going” she said. “I’m here to tell you that you can’t rush the process.”
Personal experiences create basis for presentation.
Recounting episodes from her life, she described how important it was to reassess your plan and evaluate its value.
“It could feel like you’re doing everything you can to get to your goals, but if you don’t stop and assess how you’re getting there, you won’t get there with excellence,” Smith said. “Do not wait until competition gets tough for you to change your technique. Look at it now.”
She also led the audience in an assessment of their own goals through a worksheet, including specific steps they could take toward successfully meeting their objectives.
“I loved it,” said Saghira Martin, who works in the dean’s office in the College of Arts and Sciences. “It made me think about the things I’ve wanted to do, but I didn’t see them as goals. Now I can see them as goals, and I see the importance of the details.”
Smith has written You’re More Than What Meets the Eye, a book that recounts how she achieved her goal of creating a balance between her personal and professional lives.
