Last summer I had the opportunity to hear Jessica Herrin, founder of jewelry company Stella & Dot, speak at a conference.
Jessica is a tall, energetic woman with a Italian heritage and a sparkle in her eye. She bounced, and I do mean bounced, across the stage as she talked.
Her words and energy left a lasting impression on, well, everyone. She helped the women at the Spark & Hustle conference to realize the importance of hard work, resisting fear and doubt and creating work and a life that matters- not just for us, but for other people.
The best work in life is done to help, to serve other people.
Jessica made me think (hard) about where I was going and what I was doing.
It is important to continue to check what we are doing and monitor our progress. It's easy to get sidetracked, lose focus or go down the wrong path.
Sometimes we need someone else to come along side us and give us a proverbial "kick in the pants."
I came across Jessica's notes this morning. As I read through her notes, I thought you might get a bit of a boost out of them.
Here's to creating a life, and work, that matter.
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“Welcome to Wonderland – Believe the Impossible”
Belief is the critical step. Most people lack the motivation to implement the work. (Almost all people have ideas).
- As an entrepreneur you gotta “go down the rabbit hole!”
- Move away from naysayers, discouragement, and middle of the road thinking.
Persistently believe in the impossible. Why am I here today?
Am I going to make it happen?
Its 2013 – Your Calling is CALLING!!!!!
1. Believe you are possible
Can I focus on my business, even when it is hard, even when I don’t like it?
Great things begin by ordinary people one step at a time.The quality of my life is defined by: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
-My beliefs
-My goals
-My efforts
-My positivity
Life is not supposed to be easy; it is supposed to be worth it!
How bad do I want it?
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein
2. Be inspired to follow your passion.
Your goal is happiness…your passion…your pace…in accordance with your life priorities.
Your vision- be responsible for it! (Be responsible for my own efforts).
“I wanted to build an entrepreneurial platform for the modern, entrepreneurial woman. I’m in the people business, the happiness business.”
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt
Unless you are happy with who you are and what you have, you will always be sad.
3. Set goals that scare you.
Do you really want to just achieve a very low bar?
Loud & Proud- Do I OWN my business?
Write and share goals.
Be Obnoxiously Positive.
“I myself am made entirely of flaws stitched together with good intentions.”
What is the most important thing to do today? What are my objectives for the year? Aligns tasks to these objectives.
“Good is the new great- on things that don’t really matter.”
Know which balls are which- rubber balls and glass balls.
Rubber balls can be picked up again.
Glass balls dropped are tragic.
The mission of Stella & Dot: To give every woman the means to style her own life
Make choices- full throttle- don’t feel guilty- you can’t do it all. CHOOSE!
- Don’t wait to be perfect! Start and make incremental changes.
- Start: Build sales & Revenue
When you see your opportunity, what do you see?
Keep your sense of awe and wonder, be authentic!!!!
In the early days- FOCUS on generating sales and revenue.
IF IT IS NOT GENERATING INCOME, I NEED TO QUESTION THE TASK!!!
Going out and getting it done: I am in sales! Decide what kind of company I want.
How to Maintain a work / life balance
Eliminate distractions
Eliminate the unnecessary
Focus on quality time with loved ones.
CHOOSE where and what I do. “I don’t do a lot of things.” “I didn’t choose that today.”
Own my own decisions.
“Really good entrepreneurs are drivers BUT entrepreneurship is the ultra – marathon. It’s about going the distance.”
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