“It’s okay to struggle, it’s okay to not know what you are doing, but it is not okay to forget why you do what you do. What you are doing matters, and you can’t ignore that.
– Jennifer Javornik, VP of Sales, Filament Games and Author of She’s a Technology Sales Executive and She’s My Mom: The Stem Mom Series
Jennifer Javornik wasn’t happy after achieving success and landing a top corporate position. “I thought I would find happiness at the top of the food chain,” she shares. “I had a thriving career in the tech industry and I still didn’t feel fulfilled.” Where exactly was this emptiness coming from? Jennifer began looking inward and realized that her career had to go beyond previous notions about happiness and personal satisfaction.
The Road to a Higher Advocacy
Her success wasn’t something she envisioned growing up. “I had a very limited view of the jobs available to me. I never dreamed I would be VP of anything. Let alone part of a boys’ club such as the tech industry.” This realization, along with her new role as a mother, got her thinking about how she could broaden her own daughter’s horizons.
Jennifer had to go outside what she knew and what she had been doing all along. “I’m a huge advocate of educational play and storytelling and that’s where it hit me. I can open the eyes of girls of everywhere through stories about real women,” she realized upon figuring out her next step. Her publishing company Foundation Books and The Stem Mom Series was born out of this idea.
The Rewards of Stepping Outside Her Comfort Zone
“Writing and self-publishing my first book was hard and uncomfortable,” she reveals. But the series eventually gained traction after its release last October 2017. “I’m constantly overwhelmed by the moms and dads who read my book and say, ‘Thank you, this is a game changer for my daughter,’ or ‘I got this book for my daughter, but it validates my struggle as a mom and a woman in STEM.’”
Hearing all this feedback motivated Jennifer to continue despite the challenges. “I did this for my daughter, for all the little girls who think that there’s something they can’t do because they’re girls,” she emphasizes.
If you’re planning to do something uncomfortable or are struggling with a difficult choice, Jennifer reminds us how to stay on track. “That is the greatest piece of advice I can give to other entrepreneurs: when you are struggling, remember WHY you started. If you can keep that at the forefront of your mind, you can overcome any discomfort, any naysayers, any challenge.”
How are you striving? Order Strive today to start your journey to a life of fulfillment and joy, one that holds the possibility of discovering your fullest potential.
