This is the second part of a two-part article about Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims. For the first installment, read Sheriff Margaret Mims overcomes career challenges.
Aside from challenges at work, Sheriff Mims has faced many personal difficulties, such as overcoming breast cancer, that have shaped the person she has become today.
“I thought I knew what was important; I thought I had my priorities in order until I got the breast cancer diagnosis,” Mims said. “Then all of the problems I once had became very little compared to fighting cancer. But I dealt with that pretty much the way I deal with everything, which is to make decisions head on and take care of business.”
Sheriff Mims considers the phrase “just take care of business” her mantra, a phrase that motivates her to take the first step toward overcoming obstacles.
“By behaving that way, having a positive attitude, a deep faith and support of my family, I got that behind me,” Mims said. “I challenged it head on, came back to work and now I’m healthy. It also reinforced to me the early detection.
“Thank goodness I didn’t put off a mammogram because that’s what caught my cancer. This experience really drove home to me that my family, friends and support system is more important than any job I’ll ever have.”
Sheriff Mims says she lives each aspect of her life through faith and frequently recalls her other favorite phrase: “I am what I am by God’s grace.”
“I was sworn in with my grandmother’s Bible in order to make the ceremony meaningful to me,” she said. “To put my right hand on her Bible helped me with the bond between my job and my family. About the time I’m too big for my britches I remember that I am what I am by God’s grace and not because of me, which puts me back in the right mindset.”
Sheriff Mims’s advice to young students is to be sure about the decisions they make and think of opportunity as a “drive-by.”
“That self doubt can creep in and you ask yourself, ‘Am I really worthy?’ The answer is ‘absolutely,'” Mims said. “Opportunity doesn’t stop and knock; I call opportunity a drive by. You better be ready when it does go by, to jump on that bus.
“The first questions you should ask are, ‘Am I doing it for the right reasons? What do I have to offer? And is there somebody else out there who I feel might do a better job?’ You can’t always be the leader, there’s also a time to follow.”
For more information, check out Sheriff Mims’ Web page.
