by Lori Milner: author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress
Your attitude is the way you view the world. What attitude did you choose to bring with you today? We all have a choice. We can choose an inner dialogue of self-encouragement and self-motivation, or we can choose one of self-defeat and self-pity. It’s a power each of us has. We all go through times of hardship; it can’t always be smooth sailing. The key is to realise it’s not what happens to you that matters; but as we’re sure you’ve heard before, it’s how you choose to respond.
In the world of entrepreneurship, this is a people’s industry – and attitude is everything! Even in your businesses, you know that skills can be taught, but that rare amazing ‘go getter, I’ll do anything it takes’ attitude, is magnetic and we will do anything to have those people around us.
Here is an excerpt out of Seth Godin’s audiobook, ‘Leap First’ which was instrumental to a situation I was faced with a few weeks later:
‘Think about the New York Marathon. Everyone who runs in the race gets tired. No one says I want to run in the race and not get tired. That's not what's going on. What's going on is the people who finish are the people who figure out where to put the tired. They don't deny the tired. They don't say I'm going to be able to run without getting tired. They say I have tired, where do I put it? And if you can put the tired somewhere then you can do the work. You can run the race’.
Now, I was speaking at a conference a short while after listening to this and was kept up the entire night by my 2-year-old daughter who was sick. I scraped together around 4 hours of sleep that night and had to deliver a 90-minute talk to a large group of people. When I arrived, my internal dialogue was ‘I have tired, just figure out where you are going to put it for the next 90 minutes and go and do your best work’. And I did just that and delivered a great talk. It was a significant moment for me because I could have chosen an attitude of self-pity and excuses and possibly justify why I don’t need to give my best. But it’s in these moments, we define and decide our character and who we really are.
So, next time, you face a similar situation, just figure out where to put the tired and show up as the best version of you! And after that, you have full permission to go home and rest!
Here’s to owning your attitude,
Warm wishes,
Lori
LORI MILNER is the engaging facilitator, thought leader and mentor known for her insightful approach to being a modern corporate woman. Her brainchild, the successful initiative Beyond the Dress, is the embodiment of her passion to empower women. Beyond the Dress has worked with South Africa’s leading corporates and empowered hundreds of women with valuable insight on how to bridge the gap between work and personal life. Clients include Siemens, Massmart, Alexander Forbes, Life Healthcare Group, RMB Private Bank and Unilever to name a few. Lori has co-authored Own Your Space: The Toolkit for the Working Woman in conjunction with Nadia Bilchik, CNN Editorial Producer. Own Your Space provides practical tools and insights gleaned from workshops held around the world and from interviews with some of South Africa’s most accomplished women to provide you with tried-and-tested techniques, tips and advice to help you boost your career, enhance your confidence and truly own your space on every level. Own Your Space is the ultimate ‘toolkit’ to unleash your true power. It’s for the woman who wants to take her career to new heights and who is ready to fulfil her true potential.
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