by Lori Milner
I took my daughter to a friend’s 5th birthday party. There was a magician there to perform for the kids and afterwards he gave out his business card to the parents. On the front of the card in big bold letters it said ‘The cleverest magician in the world’. What I loved about the card was the boldness of it – yes, he is a magician and is meant to be slapstick and silly. But let’s stop and reflect for a moment.
Imagine – instead of HR Manager, Brand Manager, Social Media Specialist, Operations Officer – you had ‘The most brilliant Ops officer ever’ , ‘The most phenomenal strategist in the world’.
Now I am not suggesting you change your card because let’s be honest, no one will take you seriously. But can you internalise it? Can you give out your card or step into your day to day activities with that self-belief about yourself and your abilities?
Maybe you’re in the middle layers of your company or have only been running your business a short while but imagine the confidence you’ll have when you phone a client, supplier, investor and have this mind-set about yourself. If you can’t state it in bold words on your card, than make sure it comes through in your actions.
How can you show your clients that you are the best, you are worth investing in? When you have to defend a question about your pricing, you can answer with confidence and not feel apologetic if you are more expensive than the competition. Own it! You can say ‘I am more expensive but this is the value I am going to provide, this is the experience you can expect’.
Marisa Peer is a therapist and author who speaks about the power of self-talk. I loved this quote:
“Belief without talent can you take you further than talent without belief. You are unstoppable”
When it comes to selling yourself whether you are in your own business or an executive in an organisation, you have to start from a place of enough and the internal belief in yourself. If you cannot back yourself, how can you expect someone else to place their money and trust in you?
Marisa also speaks about how your mind is hardwired to resist what is unfamiliar and to return to what is familiar. This is often why people who win the lottery lose all their money eventually. They want to go back to what is familiar. It is a mind-set change that needs to happen in order to accept the new lifestyle and move from a poverty mind-set to an abundant one.
One of the things you need to work on making familiar is praise and positive self-talk. Marisa says, ‘Present praise to yourself, make it familiar and then your mind will present it back. Very soon, praise will stop being what you do and become who you are.’
Here’s to being unstoppable.
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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