As a business economics student in a sales class, a lot of new terminologies and tactics have been mentioned to me throughout the first months of this course. One topic that has stuck with me thus far is being ok with being told ‘no’. In the context of sales and entrepreneurship, “buoyancy” typically refers to the ability of a salesperson (the entrepreneur) to remain afloat or resilient in challenging circumstances, like economic downturns, market changes, competitive pressures, or just a lack of morale.
It’s about maintaining momentum, adaptability, and positivity even when facing obstacles or setbacks. As a salesperson, facing all of this is a very common occurrence. This can be applied in a broad sense, in accordance with almost every career field. Regarding personal occurrences in my life, overcoming adversity has been a learning curve for me, as I grew up.
I wanted to be the best at everything I could be whether that would be school, sports, or other extracurriculars. I was pushed by my parents to be good as well, which developed into pressure that I couldn’t handle. The pressure that they gave me was healthy, but I took it as pleasing them instead of myself. In high school, it started crumbling when I re-made JV basketball my sophomore year, in hopes of getting a spot on the varsity team (such a cliche experience now). It crushed me and I accepted it. I played poorly the entire season and rode pine for the second half of it. I wanted to quit, I wasn’t happy, and I took it as ‘not pleasing my dad’ (he couldn’t have cared less). It took me sitting down with my entire family and them telling me that they couldn’t give a crap if I was on varsity or not.
Facing adversity in the workplace and being buoyant is a very common occurrence in today’s work world. Learning how to roll with the punches is something I am still working on, but I do think I’ve gotten better at the fact. Being resilient, adapting to change, persistent, and innovative all make up the subcategories of being a buoyant entrepreneur. Navigating these turbulent waters is an ever-going battle, but facing adversity before in life has given me pointers on how to pursue buoyancy as a college student, and in my future.
BoweryJE22
I love how you related personal rejection to the art of sales. I think all of our experiences can make us better at something or have better perspective if we shape them to. Learning to cope with and grow from rejection is probably one of the biggest challenges in sales (and life), but also one of the most character building.
I love the way you tied this into real life. Learning how to be buoyant is so important in all facets of life. Even if you were just on JV I’m glad your family is proud of you, and they raised such a good pledge master.