This interview with Margaret Hirsch first appeared in News 24
Source: News24 | by Taylaann Holtz | 23 August 2016
"As women we have to balance a lot - our work, our home, our husband’s, our children, our finances. We have to be courageous and have a sense of our own self worth and not allow people to take advantage of us. How often do we actually do this, just because we want to be liked? Too often.
A woman's work is never done. Don’t be complacent. Things can change in a heartbeat. When my father died, in a split second our lives changed forever. However I know now that I would never be the person I am today if he had not died and left my mother and I to find our way in a world where we had absolutely no experience of life in general - we came from a very cloistered environment and were literally thrown to the wolves. I realised early on that it’s not what people say about you, it’s what you do that counts.
If you like yourself, then you are okay. You know your own worth, and you don’t need to count on the kindness and goodness of others to tell you how good you are. You know.
How do you get to where you want to be? It’s a journey. Confront your fears. Get over your first disappointment, your first lost love. Surround yourself with goodness and get the haters out of your life because while they are in your life there is no room for good people.
Surround yourself with people who uplift you, and if you don’t have parents to support you, then find someone who is waiting to nurture you. It’s different for everyone. When I met my husband I knew he was the right one. I saw the decency and kindness in him. And then my mentor Bob Rickards who was so wise and taught me all I know about business.
People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember what you do. Huge success is the best way to shut people up who down you. Whatever you do - do it the best you can and then go the extra mile.
People judge you on what you do and not what you say. In my business as in most, service is the name of the game, and whatever you are doing you need to be serving and if you serve well your life will go well.
I am energised by the people I meet - both my employees and our customers. Coming from nowhere and being poor I can relate well to those who also come from nowhere and who are poor, and I know that if I speak to them, I can show them that they don’t have to stay where they are, they can get ahead in life.
You must be able to take rejection and not worry about it. Just move forward, because if you are not growing, you are dying, you cannot live in limbo. You have to know that there is absolutely nothing you cannot do. You have endless potential, and opportunities present themselves all the time. You have to grab every one that comes your way. You have to wake up every day and say “Thank you God for sparing me for this day.”
What you do for other people is how you measure yourself and you cannot help anyone else without helping yourself as well. Every day strive to be better than you were yesterday. You won’t always get your way.
You won’t get what you want all the time - but God’s delays are not God’s denials. You can have it all, but you can’t have it all at the same time.
Sometimes you have to make compromises.
You have to continue to work. You have an obligation to do something special in this life. Please make me proud to be your friend."