Who is She? My Mother

Brief Career History

 The author interviewed Madam Lim, a single mother in her late 50. Her husband just passed away on May 2010. She runs a medium restaurant selling variance of food and a small bakery shop. She has four children, three daughters and one son. The oldest daughter is a dentist, currently working at family clinic. The second daughter is a medical student, currently serving as intern. The son is a university student, currently studying in the last year. The youngest daughter is an accountancy student, currently studying in second year.

Madam Lim is a Chinese descendant. She can speak Mandarin and some dialects. She was in food and beverage industry for almost 21 years. She started by helping her husband in running the business since her husband is illiterate. She, herself, was not degree holder. She only finished her Junior College. Due to her family financial background, she couldn’t pursue university degree. She started to work since young to help her poor family. She has nine siblings.

Madam Lim is brilliant and smart even though she couldn’t enjoy university life. She has sharp thinking, excellent communication skills, and good management skills. She picked those skills by herself through the experiences she has undergone. Madam Lim managed to expand her husband business from a small restaurant to a medium restaurant with strong customers’ loyalty. The restaurant is well known for their fast serving and delicious food. She also managed to open a small bakery shop, catered to birthday and wedding cake, along with the restaurant. On top of that she successfully entered her four children to university. Even some people didn’t believe that she could do that.

 She is also an entrepreneur. On May 2010, her husband passed away due to sudden heart attack. Then she has to manage the restaurant and the bakery shop alone. She struggled with the family economy to sustain her three children education cost. Due to the economy recession, the business didn’t go well. Luckily she got opportunity to open family dental clinic together with other relatives. She also joined her friends in other business projects. She is a good risk analyst, excellent predictor, and deep thinker.

The fairy tale is too good to be true. In fact she was diagnosed with diabetes type II, a genetic illness (Amy Adams, 2000). In spite of her illness she continued to fight and pursue her dream. She wanted to see all her children to be successful in the future by having university degree. She continued running the restaurant and bakery shop; and looking after other business. She is a strong-willed person.

What are key factors for my future career?

Conclusion 

  

Based on interviewee as well as analysis and discussion, and reading the prescribed text and recommended readings for this course, the two key factors that will be taken into account in career planning and development for food and beverage industry, the owner of a medium restaurant and a bakery shop and an entrepreneur is motivation driver and values.

Motivation is very important to achieve goals in order to fulfill some need or expectation. Motivation is what an individual can do, will do (given the ability) and allowed to do (Kant, 2009). Motivation also leads to degree to which an individual wants and chooses to commit in certain act. There are a lot of uncertainties in the future, but motivation will drive individual to strive and fight. Like Madam Lim, her motivations drive her despite of her illness, running the restaurant and bakery shop alone. She wanted to see her children graduated from university. In order to do so, she worked hard to earn living and save money for university fees. Finding the right motivation will keep individual stand after so many falls. To be an entrepreneur, motivation will help to cope with unpredictable result; whether the business will be successful or failed.  

Motivation is like oil and fire is career. Without oil the fire will die. Simultaneously career can grow with unending motivation.

However finding the right motivation is another issue. Luckily Madam Lim found the right motivation for her. It was not money or social status but family and good education. Hence motivation must be supported by personal values. Values will build personality. The religion, parent, community, and school provide individual with right values. Each individual has to develop it as guidance in doing anything. It becomes integrity of each person. Guy Kawasaki on The Art of Start mentioned that the company should try to make meaning not a lot of money. By making meaning there is chance for the company to make money. Whereas by making money the company can destroy meaning. It is similar to career. The career should make value in contrast to popular believe that career should make a lot of money. If individual don’t have integrity, they will use any means to achieve their goal. In other word they can use illegal way to get what they want. In conclusion motivation with right values and integrity are the requirement to work in 21st century.