So, yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with the wonderful ladies of UT’s Phi Beta Chi chapter, which is a professional women’s sorority. When they first asked me to be a guest at their monthly meeting, I was a little nervous because they told me I could talk about anything. This kind of free for all is daunting because I am used to only speaking about PR.
When I was pondering what I should talk about, I remembered reading this post on writes like a girl, where Nicole shared her life mantras. I thought, “what are my life mantras?”, and how have they changed since I was in college?
It has been about 4 years since I graduated from college, and at the time if you would have told me I would be doing what I am doing, I would have never believed you. This definitely wasn’t my life plan, but it honestly worked out way better than I could have ever imagined.
To sum it, last night, I spoke about the 5 life mantras I have found to be true (basically, the things I wish someone had told me when I graduated):
Always be doing something.
…and try to find happiness while doing it. I was guilty of this, and now when I speak with college students, I hear it all the time, everyone is waiting for the perfect opportunity. News flash: the perfect job, the perfect life, the perfect situation doesn’t exist!! If you are graduating this year, it is a lot better to take a job, rather than sit around and wait for the “perfect job” to fall into your lap. It won’t happen. Plus, you will find that as you are doing things, more opportunities will come your way…it is just the way the universe works. Every experience is a stepping stone to where you want to be.
One of my biggest regrets is how I acted when I didn’t get into the colleges I originally wanted to. I was so hung up on going to school in NYC that when I didn’t get in, my entire world fell apart. I ended up going to Boston University for three semesters, and I was miserable. Who do I have to blame? No one, but myself. I should have put more effort into being happy. Instead, I was just obsessed with NYC. I applied/got rejected from NYU three times before I actually got in. The point is it all worked out, and I wasted a lot of time being miserable for no reason.
Admit mistakes.
My boss at one of my internships taught me that when you make a mistake, acknowledge it, apologize, and simply ask, “how can I fix it?”. Don’t spew a million excuses for why it happened because that makes you look weak. No matter how awesome you are, mistakes will happen, and it really comes down to how you respond.
Stop saying you are too busy.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves. When you go on and on about how busy you are, you are basically telling people that they aren’t that important to you. We are all busy; get over yourself!
We all make the time for the things that are important to us. If you don’t want to do something, just say “no”, rather than always using the I am busy excuse. If you genuinely do what want to do something, but your schedule is booked, just offer the next available date that you do have time (even if that is 2 or 3 weeks from now).
This should apply to all the relationships in your life: friends, significant other, coworkers, employees, etc.
Do it NOW!!!
There is no time like the present. This is especially true when starting a new business. You can gain all the experience in the world, and never feel like you are ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship. No matter how much experience you have, you will still need to figure it out as you go along. Nothing prepares you for this, so you just have to do it. I know it is easier said than done, but I encourage you to take all the risks you want.
As I start a new business, Glamtrepreneur, I have to remind myself of this on a daily basis.
Be nice.
It is true, you do get a lot more with sugar than spice. Sometimes in business, people feel like they have to claw their way to the top. That isn’t true. You will get further being a team player because more people will want to work with you. We should all work together to be successful.
All industries are really small, and everyone knows each other. You want your reputation to proceed you, but in a good way. If you are rude to one person, I promise you, it will get around. Just remember that, next time you start to lose your cool.
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