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[caption id="attachment_3698" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Outside garden shot coming soon.  In the meantime, allow me to bore you with this stale photo.  :-D"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/P12801782.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3698" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/P12801782-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

<p>So...I made goal for my 2nd year at Noble Publishing Superpower.</p>

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<p>In sales, this is a good thing.  I've heard that people celebrate when this happens.  I simply sighed relief.  Now I can fund this blog and a puppy.  Hurrah!</p>

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<p>I still feel very new at all of this, and I still feel like a teacher rather than a "salesperson".</p>

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<p>I suppose this is why NPS almost exclusively hires former teachers in sales.  We genuinely want to help our customers, and that authenticity is part of the corporate culture.  i.e., We're not your stereotypical smarmy salesforce.</p>

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<p>And since we're not typical, this is what I struggled with on our Awards Night on Day 124:  the vast majority of my colleagues/friends who worked their you-know-whats off, did not make goal.  It was an...interesting year.</p>

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<p>The teacher in me feels uncomfortable and unhappy when members of my work family played their best at the game and were left standing on the sidelines.</p>

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<p>If I were in charge, I would give them all their mid-year and end-of-year bonuses.  I am the eternal idealist.</p>

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<p>Real life dictated that my work family showed up on Friday night to celebrate with us in the most enchanting of settings, The Desert Botanical Gardens.  Hopefully, the ambiance, food, friendship, and open bar made the event a bit more palatable.  :-)</p>

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<p>I am extraordinarily grateful not only for my award, but for the best work family a girl could ask for.</p>

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<p>I can't wait to cheer for all of you in a year's time!</p>