Ask for Advice, Then Take It! with Dr. Jamie Ball
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:40:55] Wow, that’s true. I collaborate with colleagues all the time because I am not an expert in every research design. Right. I have colleagues that have better things than me and I will reach out to them all the time. My office frequently will sit and read and look something up, you know. How do I do that? Well, let’s experiment with this a little bit first.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:41:19] And see what works right. And like you said, reading is is a good thing to do. Someone else is probably figured out at least some part of what you’re going to do. I know whenever we’re having a big holiday meal or something like that, I, I like to cook big things. And the first thing I’ll do is I’ll jump on YouTube and I’ll see what a few people are doing and I’ll get the basics of, OK, here’s how long you need to do certain things and how you want to do it so that you don’t like poison everybody. They die. And then after I got that part, then I go off and do what I want to do because I’m free to play with it and do it the way I want to. But but first, always, for me, the first step is let’s go find some other people who’ve already done this, whether I think I’m generally smarter than them, whether I think I’m generally a better cook than them or any of those things, I need to learn how to do this thing. So let me go find some people who can do this thing and see what they have to say about it.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:42:18] Absolutely. I used YouTube a lot as a student and as a professor.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:42:25] So now you’ve got a couple of other things that you had mentioned to me, you’ve got it’s a Densmore teaching English as a second language. And I think that’s interesting that we had one of our students for a dissertation done ended up doing the same thing thing after she retired from higher ed administration, she decided that she wanted to keep working, keep doing some things to stay active and engaged. And it turns out that this idea of teaching English as a foreign language worked for her and her doctoral degree was a little bit of an asset in getting work in that environment. So how did you come up on that? And what was that experience like for you?
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:43:04] I stumbled across that is as I was finishing up my degree, my employer had closed without warning. We were literally locked out. But I guess and I went from there and then I got an internship at our local medical university. And as I was finishing that up, I just fell into this. Somebody said, hey, I saw your resume on LinkedIn, and I think that you would be really good at this. OK, I had already discovered that I liked teaching. I wish I’d have known that right out of high school. But I went ahead and I gave it a try because they had you teach a sample class. OK, I’ll hire you. So I did a lot of reading of the expectations for the type of class that I was going to be teaching for the company for which I was doing that. And they liked me and well, I was working for them. I went and obtained my certifications for teaching ESL entail for teaching mostly children English as a second language. But I also had adults and I did that online. And I have to say that I really enjoyed that. Yeah, it was. It was. You know, I like using my mind every day at work, but I at the end of the day now I have a headache and there was something just very refreshing about being able to teach these children. And most of the time, the parents were nearby. Not always, but it was it’s a very different experience. They were more appreciative. A lot of times. I would just think to myself, as I was dealing with these children, you know, a lot of time how precious, you know, how special. Yeah, having the doctorate, I think is actually. What ultimately got me moving forward on that, because I found more and more clients, because I was Dr. Ball. That when you have doctor in front of your name, usually us wants from you.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:45:35] And that’s one of the things I think is so interesting about this particular thing. Opportunity is that there’s nothing in the job description, nothing in the requirements that would say that you needed at your doctoral degree at all. But what happens is there’s a big list of people who do this work in a directory and there’s parents who are choosing people. And how many parents are going to say, hey, I want I want to be able to tell everybody at the tea shop or the coffee shop or whatever. My little girl is being taught by an American doctor being taught English by an American doctor as opposed to.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:46:13] Yeah, well, it it’s true. And can it work? And, you know, the also the other function that I like to do with the doctor should be on a more personal note, but I’ve taught others how to do this, to take those research skills and then be able to apply them to anything else. Oh, yes, because let’s talk about the pandemic, for example, when I didn’t know what to believe because a mainstream media can’t seem to keep a single story line. I started reading the research. What did the research say? I had no opinion and now I’m going in. And what does the research say? I have make a decision on something. If it’s something, a research topic, I will go with the research. If I know somebody who wants to help themselves or maybe they want to argue with the school board or with government or promote a program, whatever it is they’re trying to do. I’ve often taught my family approaches me a lot over this. OK, will you show me how to read this and where do I find this kind of, you know, reading, reading, research and where to find it? Course, most people, but most people who don’t have a master’s or a doctorate. Where do you find the research? Right. How do you how do you know.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:47:53] That’s true? And being able to just learning to think critically is very, very important. And so I think that that’s that’s the transition. That’s what a lot of students say. Well, I don’t understand why. They won’t accept my dissertation yet on why they won’t pass me or why they won’t let me graduate, and it’s not that they’re holding me back, it’s that you’re not ready yet. You know, when you can say these things properly and you can look at a situation, look at a problem and dissect it and figure it out, then you’re ready. And that’s the thing is that when you learn how to think critically, it it just pays off in so many ways.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:48:31] Yes, I just I would encourage anybody to take this stuff and go ahead and apply them in other areas of your life. I cannot tell you how much that has helped me, even with my health. You know.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:48:48] Being able to go out and advocate for yourself is important. Right. But I think so many of our students, when they’re when they’re struggling to get through this process, there might be moments of self-doubt and, you know, is it worth it? And I think that the example that you gave just a little bit earlier about the work you were doing with teaching the kids English as a second language, it shows you not only the opportunities out there, know the doctoral degree does open doors and bring opportunities to you, but they’re going to be opportunities that you weren’t looking for that you didn’t know were out there, that you weren’t anticipating or manufacturing on your own. That will still find you. And you get to decide at that point whether you want to do this or not. So if somebody is there listening, saying, oh, she did all this is she’s teaching English to kids, what a loser with they know this is how making choices and having opportunities so that you can decide what you want to do, because if that’s the kind of thing you’re into, awesome, do it. If it’s not, guess what? There’s going to be some other opportunities. Everybody choose their path. And that’s the cool thing about having.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:49:56] That’s the best thing. Right. What makes you happy? You know, I knew. Some of what I wanted to do with starting out, not everything, but I have discovered, you know, the whole angle, the whole reason for this was to be able to do something I liked doing. Exactly.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:50:15] You know, everybody’s different. You know, someone might say, hey, I was able to get a 30 or 40 or 50 percent raise in my corporate job. And I’m ecstatic about that. And meanwhile, I’m like, oh, you’re sitting in this cube and you’ve got a boss telling you what to do. It’s like, I couldn’t do that. So it’s just what you want to do, be able to make your choices and your decisions that this degree is obviously anybody can do that anyway. But this degree just provides more opportunities for folks to be able to act, to have more to more decisions, more options to decide among.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:50:54] Well, not only that, I think that by learning that the critical thinking and all of the skills of relationship building and all of that that comes along with it, I always tell people, you know, what, if that opportunity you wanted didn’t present itself, look around, see what is needed and make your own opportunity. And if you have a doctorate, you’re capable of making your own.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:51:24] And now you’re talking about people that have more of an entrepreneurial spirit, people who are willing to go out there and set a path or or walk the path less traveled. And now those are my people that I really enjoy that. That’s why we’re now helping folks who have their doctoral degrees, who really want to get their message out to the world, become published authors, because it’s such a great authority platform for the masses. So if you’ve got a book written by Dr. So-and-so. Yeah, that’s a golden ticket right there.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:51:59] Oh, yeah. So there’s just not a lot of reasons to go out and earn one. And I just tell people that you have to be tenacious. This is not a time line and say I’m going to be it by the time line is the goals and things that you want to finish, but don’t make them contingent on somebody else’s approval. I’m going to have approval by now. You can say I’m going to have Chapter one written by upright, but don’t say I’m going to have one approved by the end of next week. No. You know, if you’re tenacious, I think probably the most important keys.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:52:52] Determination is really important. But knowing what you’re doing is important to, you know, if if you’re if the water is really, really determined to roll uphill, it’s not going to have that true. You’ve got to you’ve got to make sure you’re going in the right direction. So what do I mean by that? So many dissertation students will are kind of moving at an angle to the direction they should be going or even going the wrong way to get their dissertation done. And they’re really determined and they’re working hard, but they’re not working in a direction that will particularly ever or will soon get them to graduation. So you want to make sure that you you you map your path, you know where you’re going, and then. Yeah, keep at it. Just keep at it, because it’s it is I’m convinced earning a doctoral degree is much more about determination than it is intelligence. You’re going to have to be smart. You’re going to have to do some work. And that work could be hard depending on how just, you know, mentally quick you are to start with. But anybody can do it. Just about anybody can do it as long as you put your mind to it and keep going. Just keep.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:54:04] And I would I would absolutely agree with that, I mean, I always tell people when they get to that, it’s like, you know, at the conclusion that you’re smart, you’re obviously smart, you already have a master’s degree, blah, blah, you know, you got here. Yes. This is about being tenacious and able to back and think things through and, you know, independent learning, that kind of thing.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:54:30] Yeah. So tenacity is the word. That’s awesome. Well, Dr. Ball, I had a wonderful time talking with you today. If someone wanted to to reach out to you and continue this conversation at all, what’s a good way for them to do that?
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:54:47] Oh, I see, I would like to start with an e-mail so I can email my personal email at. Ashlynn125@gmail.com.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:55:05] OK, and let’s give that give that out one more time, I want to make sure I’ve got it down correctly.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:55:09] It’s Ashylnn one, two, five at gmail dot com.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:55:20] All right, Ashlynn125@gmail.com. If you’d like to reach out to Dr. Ball and talk about anything that they can continue this conversation at all, that would be awesome. For those of you who are out there working on your dissertation, struggling with it, maybe not even started yet. And you just want to proactively make sure you’re going to get this done as quickly as possible. Reach out to us a DissertationDone.com/done, and we will see if you’re a good fit for a fast track, your dissertation coaching program, whether you feel like you’re ahead of the game, struggling to keep up or so far behind, you’re about ready to quit. Let’s have a conversation and see what we might be able to do. DissertationDone.com/done. And again, if you’re out there living your unconventional life, you’re an expert and you like Dr. Ball mentioned, you want to create your own opportunity. The best way to do that is to become a published author with Doctor, your name on the byline, and we can help you with that. Going from a blank page. You have to know what you want to write the book about yet will help you figure all that out, get it written, get the internal layout done, the cover done, get it published and out the door so that you can use it as your business card. People can find you on Amazon. It’s the best thing you can do to establish your authority platform. And we do that through our Expand Your Authority program. You can learn more about it at DissertationDone.com/book. Dr. Ball, again, thank you so much for being with us here today.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:56:44] Oh, thank you so much for having me. You’re so welcome. I’m going to put a little pick up for you, too.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:56:52] Yes. Yes, go ahead.
Dr. Jamie Ball [00:56:53] I always tell people about this and actually read for myself. So he does some great work and he knows what he’s doing and he’s some amazing help. So I recommend them too.
Dr. Russell Strickland [00:57:07] I certainly appreciate it. Thank you very much. For everybody out there listening, go out and live your unconventional life. Have a great day.
Outro [00:57:22] This has been an unconventional life. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today’s episode, subscribe now to keep getting inspirational stories of unconventional lives as soon as they’re released. Until then, go out and live your best unconventional life.
