Overcoming Adversity and Getting Your Victory Groove Back

Welcome to Victory Groove! I am grateful that you are joining us today for a very special episode. Today, Tashara Robinson joins me to share her story of how she was able to overcome the “giant” called divorce and reenter the workplace after being a stay-at-home mom for 17 years.  With four children in tow, she used her faith and determination to get back on her feet, and she re-channeled the energy stemming from this adversity to help others.

Lessons explored in this episode:  

• Knowing God is involved smooths our life’s journey.   
• Roots and rocks will always appear in our daily walk. 
• Our faith, trust in His benevolence, and love help us move confidently forward in life.   

Dr. Eli Jones is a Professor of Marketing, Lowry and Peggy Mays Eminent Scholar, and the former Dean of Mays Business School at his alma mater, Texas A&M University.  He served as Dean of three flagship business schools over 13 years. Dean of Mays Business School (2015-2021), Dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and holder of the Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair at University of Arkansas (2012-2015), and as Dean of the E. J. Ourso College of Business and the E. J. Ourso Distinguished Professor of Business at Louisiana State University (2008-2012). Prior to becoming a dean, he was on the faculty at the University of Houston as an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor with tenure, Full Professor, Associate Dean for Executive Education Programs, Director of the Program for Excellence in Selling, and founding Executive Director of the Sales Excellence Institute at the University of Houston.  

He has published sales and sales management research in top academic journals and is a co-author of two professional books, Selling ASAP, and Strategic Sales Leadership: Breakthrough Thinking for Breakthrough Results. He just finished writing his new book, Run Toward Your Goliaths, a book about his and his wife’s faith journey. He is a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient by the American Marketing Association’s Sales Special Interest Group and a PhD Project Hall of Fame recipient in 2016.  Also, he is the recipient of Excellence in Teaching awards on the university, national, and international levels having taught strategic selling, advanced professional selling, key accounts selling, sales leadership, and marketing strategy at the undergraduate, MBA levels and in executive programs. Before becoming a professor, Jones worked in sales and sales management for Quaker Oats, Nabisco, and Frito Lay. He is on the boards of Invesco Funds, Insperity, and on the regional board of First Financial Bank. 

EliJones.com

Tashara (TJ) Robinson is a mother, author, and speaker who hails from Dallas, Texas. She is a graduate of Skyline High School and Texas A&M University – College Station. Tashara was very active during her college days – she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Tashara believed that if she followed the “perfect life plan” – graduate college, get married, be a stay-at-home mom – she would be happy. Life didn’t work out as planned – Tashara was divorced after 19 years of marriage. The years leading up and after her divorce were the most difficult, yet the most rewarding. Those years were filled with fear, self-doubt, peace, poise, and eventually, POWER. Her journey of self-discovery yielded a plethora of wisdom that she just could not contain. So, she began sharing with the world through her speaking engagements, website (tasharajrobinson.com), books, and her daily video podcast entitled “Powerful Ones.” Check out TJ’s books, Power Moms, 12 Stories of Moms Who Found Their Power to Win, and From Pitiful to Powerful.