just rewards?

this was it. 8 weeks of training. the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of meeting with my team- scrambling to meet with various players in the company, brainstorming and developing a concept only to be redirected and start from scratch, obsessing over numbers and powerpoint presentations. it was finally time to deliver our business strategy to a panel of judges and an audience comprised of my training group peers, mentors, coaches and etc.

my group, group 3, was last to present. towards the end of the group 2's presentation, i could feel my cheeks starting to warm up, my throat was dry, and nervous energy spread throughout my body. i breathed deep, reminded myself that i had spent hours preparing and that i had memorized everything i wanted to say. sitting through the first two presentations was difficult, i was able to see the flaws in our analysis and foresaw the points that the judges would take issue with. the positive was that my group's approached the project from a completely different angle.

i was able to overcome my initial wave of nervousness and deliver my portion while minimally referring to my notes. the rest of my group fared well and the audience responded well. after a Q&A all the groups were excused from the rooms while the panel of judges deliberated with the audience to determine which group won.

in the end, my group won because our business plan and presentation entertained and intrigued. the prize was a free group lunch and the opportunity to present our plan to the CEO and President in two weeks time. the down side is that we will need to spend the next two weeks working overtime to improve and polish the project, taking time away from acclimating to our new positions, and stressing over giving another presentantion. the positive is a rare chance to make a good impression on the company's higher ups.

that evening, as i had shared celebratory drinks and appetizers with my training class at brother jimmy's, i reflected on the past 2 months. i realized how excited i was to finally begin this new phase in my career- my new boss is amazing, my job will be challenging, and i've met some quality people along the way.