Community Highlights: Meet Allison Carmichael of Second Arrow

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Carmichael. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After ten years in the classroom as high school English teacher, I made the leap to school administrator. I was honored to earn the position and determined to be the best leader I could be for my teachers and students in the Higley School District. My determination though could not help me overcome the job-related stress. I struggled to balance my responsibilities at work while feeling a part of my family. At the time I welcomed my third child before deciding to try climbing the ladder again. I was thrilled to be hired in the Queen Creek School District as elementary school principal. Although I felt supported by my leadership and was confident in my drive, I continued to battle job-related stress until the stress seemed to become overwhelming. 

I turned to literature and learned mindfulness techniques including meditation. I had never tried these techniques before, but I also had nothing to lose by giving them a shot. Not only did they help me, I would go as far as to say these new manners in stress management were life-changing. That is when I developed my company, Second Arrow, a platform to teach others the lessons I found valuable in my journey of living with a stressful job while also being an involved mother/wife. Now I hope to support others’ personal and professional performance through the instruction of the tools of mindfulness. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Part of mindfulness is to allow room for struggles to exist without fighting them. This helps me when I find roadblocks in the advancement of my company. A main challenge for me is that I am a well-trained educator; I am not a psychologist. Therefore, I am back to school working towards a Ph.D. in General Psychology with an emphasis on performance psychology at Grand Canyon University. I also have faced tremendous challenge in the new COVID reality we are all learning to navigate. As a face-to-face presenter, I spent much of the last year speaking to people from the comfort of my own home on Zoom like so many others. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
FOCUS. MOTIVATION. PRODUCTIVITY. 

Invite me to visit your school, department, team, or company. 

What will I gain? 

Learn tools and practices increasing focus, motivation, and productivity. 

Inspire your team through a refreshing look at efficiency through the lens of mindfulness. Participants will challenge current behaviors, judgments, and perspectives. We will learn what holds us back and why. Then, we will learn tools, habits, and efforts building productivity, effectiveness, and to improvement of personal well-being. 

Positive outcomes for both the bottom line and the engagement of employees. Many attendees experience personal growth as well! 

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t think I believe in luck. I think we make choices throughout our lives and interact with people in a way that creates a path. For example, a good relationship with a colleague can lead to a business opportunity in the future whereas burning a bridge can close doors. I also believe in learning. If I want to do something but lack of knowledge is a roadblock, the I need to just learn. It isn’t by luck that a person succeeds; it is by living a life that provides you with opportunity as well as a positive problem-solving attitude. 

Contact Info:

• Email: second2arrow@gmail.com
• Website: second2arrow.com
• Instagram: @second2arrow
• Twitter: @second2arrow