{"id":21195,"date":"2013-02-19T20:43:22","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T20:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=21195"},"modified":"2016-05-19T08:47:04","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T12:47:04","slug":"faculty-member-smith-lends-guidance-on-charting-a-course-and-reaching-a-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2013\/02\/faculty-member-smith-lends-guidance-on-charting-a-course-and-reaching-a-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty member Smith lends guidance on charting a course, and reaching a dream."},"content":{"rendered":"

The road to a goal is an individual journey that requires persistence, careful planning and an occasional change of course.<\/p>\n

Using personal anecdotes, videos and audience participation, Antoinette Smith, a faculty member in the College of Business\u2019 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<\/sup> presentation was part of FIU\u2019s S.T.E.P.P. (Striving to Enhance Personal Performance) series. She gave a similar talk at the Biscayne Bay Campus.<\/p>\n

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Antoinette Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smith, who also guides the university\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to your goals, you have to assess where you are and where you\u2019re going\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m here to tell you that you can\u2019t rush the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Personal experiences create basis for presentation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Recounting episodes from her life, she described how important it was to reassess your plan and evaluate its value.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could feel like you\u2019re doing everything you can to get to your goals, but if you don\u2019t stop and assess how you\u2019re getting there, you won\u2019t get there with excellence,\u201d Smith said. \u201cDo not wait until competition gets tough for you to change your technique. Look at it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved it,\u201d said Saghira Martin, who works in the dean\u2019s office in the College of Arts and Sciences. \u201cIt made me think about the things I\u2019ve wanted to do, but I didn\u2019t see them as goals. Now I can see them as goals, and I see the importance of the details.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith has written You\u2019re More Than What Meets the Eye<\/em>, a book that recounts how she achieved her goal of creating a balance between her personal and professional lives.<\/p>\n