We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Lizel Cannon recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jessica Lizel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?
My career reached a turning point when I realized there had to be more in life than what my job provided. What became my identity as an accountant also became my distraction. I chose my career for many different reasons, but none of them came from a source of passion. So when I finally had the courage to ask the universe, “Why am I here?” I did not expect an answer towards many different possibilities.
Until this point occurred, I was living to work at fulfilling someone else’s needs that affected their bottom line. I stopped pushing hard to meet deadlines because it no longer mattered how efficient I became at my job. I failed to see that I was no longer growing professionally. I was stuck in a rut feeling like a rat in a cage.
I learned no matter who I worked for, I had to have personal goals for living life, not just the typical annual performance reviews that determined how much of a cost of living increase I deserved. Continuing to work on myself had to be the priority. Switching the mindset for working to live meant my goals needed to be linked with health, continuing education, creativity, and networking.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Around the time I was checking in with the universe about my purpose, I spent time reflecting on what my dreams were as a child. I wanted to be a traveling writer as a truck driver that stopped along the way to climb mountains. Instead of getting a commercial driver’s license (CDL), my maternal grandfather showed me the joy he experienced by owning his candy store. I knew at eight years old that I wanted to be a business owner but not precisely what product or services provided to the public. So I followed the business route by getting a BA in Business Management, a BS in Accounting, and finally a CPA license.
Fast forward to my conversation with the universe, and after being in the corporate world, I started to wish I could leave the corporate world to write while I cared for Mom. Being an accountant by day and caregiver by every other waking moment, I wanted to find a way to meet both of our needs. When I could not handle both corporate demands and Mom’s care needs, it was time to make the leap of faith to build a new dream.
See a need, fill a need became a new motto when I learned what epidemic Dementia had evolved worldwide. I stepped in with an accountant’s analytical mind because I needed to know how to stop Mom’s world of living with Dementia from becoming my reality. All of my research has produced a podcast for caregivers to share our stories, books for others to learn how to become Proactive Caregivers, a Keynote speech on avoiding elder fraud, and a Caregiver Trinity Masterclass for those seeking more in-depth training. It may not be grandpa’s candy store, but helping others avoid the financial and emotional brick wall that Mom’s life hit brings me joy as a Certified Dementia Practitioner.
My main clients are employers seeking to provide benefits to their employees through education which helps them improve productivity. We are responsible for self-care even with all the benefits provided, but knowing what self-care works to prevent Dementia is my unique approach. Other clients are those wanting to avoid the financial pitfalls of aging with poor retirement plans and elder fraud. In addition to their proactive planning, they will learn viable lifestyle and spiritual habits to prevent Dementia from becoming their reality. All our services continue to evolve as studies provide data showing the drastic increase in burdens placed on family and professional caregivers.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I stepped into a new role as a business owner and Mom’s essential caregiver. I had to unlearn the corporate training. In the corporate world, employees are hired based on their strengths to fulfill the demands of their roles. Weaknesses are used as areas needing improvement mixed in with their objectives for performance reviews. So when I tried to rely on my strengths as an analytical accountant, I realized I had weaknesses in communication, compassion, and the ability to connect that needed huge improvements. I had to learn how to be a better sales and marketing person for our care routines to go smoothly; otherwise, I kept the corporate performance review format in mind, which made me feel like a fool, a failure, or flat out not good enough in either role.
There is a reason people in sales thrive without being people pleasers. They don’t just memorize a pitch and hope you buy into their angle. No. Good sales and marketing people learn how to read their audience. They apply the ‘see a need, fill a need’ mindset by getting to know what their buyer wants. Negotiations are to be expected. As a caregiver, I had to learn how to sell Mom on receiving the care she needed while working within our limitations in abilities and financial resources.
It was easy enough to have short care agendas when Mom lived alone, but once she moved in with me, my weaknesses were blind spots for reducing stress and anxiety. In the beginning, I arrived at Mom’s house knowing how to manage time in helping with her Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). My goal was to streamline the tasks, so I had the least amount of interaction to avoid confrontations. I was good at this because I had not become a salesperson yet since I was still working with the facts of whatever situation. When she moved in with me, I could no longer avoid interactions and was forced to work with a trial and error approach regardless of the facts. I had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I became an accountant, it was for many different reasons. I had my ‘why & how’ figured out because I was a single parent-driven to succeed. I learned to accept how others were grading my performance, so I learned only to adapt in ways that provided rewards through salary. I knew how to avoid managers & co-workers that I felt judged harshly by as a way to survive in a job. There was only a need to have a job to pay bills.
When I became a business owner and caregiver, I had yet another set of reasons. This time the reasons included my passions and purpose. My mindset switched from why & how to who & what. What did I want to do for a living? Who was I going to create this business to benefit from? Thankfully, I had business management theory and skill sets, but I needed more than book smarts. Giving up was not an option, so I have kept a framed message on my desk saying, “I am enough” as my constant reminder.
In business and caregiving, we network and build strategic relationships. It takes several teams in an assisted living community to do what family caregivers do at home. When the caregiver’s network of family and friends falls apart, the struggle increases dramatically as the isolation and depression creep in. I did not realize how strong I could be until my family turned their backs on me for doing the right thing for Mom. It is painful to push forward without a solid family network, but it is necessary to ensure the job gets done and Mom remains protected. Finding my voice as a writer and businesswoman has risen from my role as an essential caregiver. This trial and error of learning what works in our care routine produce good and bad ways to approach Mom’s needs, but without the moments of failure, I would not have grown to be successful in knowing how to empower others.
I have often wanted to pull the plug on my business when the growing pains make me feel stretched too thin. Then I take time for reflection to see the growth so I can refocus on the potential. When I reach those moments of wanting to quit, it’s my indication of two things: 1) It’s time to change strategies, and 2) it’s time for a vacation. Either way, I cannot make a difference in changing the world to slow the Dementia epidemic if I give up and give in to self-doubt or negative self-talk. Praying for strength and guidance keeps me going forward to the bigger picture.
There is never a dull moment as a start-up business owner. From attempting to recreate grandpa’s candy store over the summer breaks to growing a business to serve caregivers, I have gained resilience by mixing my experience as an accountant and following my heart. It sounds cliche, but anything is possible when God puts a dream in your heart.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jessicalizelcannon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proactive_caregiver/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jessica-Lizel-Cannon-2123322074651542/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-l-cannon-cpa-cdp-81330a16/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9mdfA6x3xAkEEwwW1SctA
Image Credits
Jarrett Leger Carmen Buck