Happy Sunday! I’ve been a little quiet here as life has gotten busy. So thanks for hanging in there with me. Over at Forbes we have the Next Step newsletter where I write an opening note with some piece of wisdom or what we call “on-the-go inspo”. For today’s three wishes I have pulled a few of the “inspo”s. For more about what I’m doing at ForbesWomen, check out the newsletter here: If you’d like to be interviewed about your three wishes, let me know! And, my number one wish for us all, VOTE! Tuesday is the day.
Develop the vision to look beyond the no.
Remember that the other side of perseverance is the ability to see beyond the no. No doesn’t mean your idea isn’t good. If you know you are solving an important problem, you have to keep believing in yourself. And at the point where you are down, reach out to a mentor or a supportive network. They can help you put that “nth” no into perspective and frame some learning from it. Or they could see a bright spot that is clouded over by your shade of doubt.
Make it a zero-sum game.
When you are trying to affect change, the biggest barrier is often fear of that change. Work to identify what the group or system is afraid of, then prove that it’s not a zero-sum game. How can you show people that when change benefits one group it does not have to negatively impact another group?
Think about who is at your table.
“When there is true inclusion, we don’t need armor.” — Plum Perfect founder Asmau Ahmed
Asmau was responding to the idea that often women and people of color need to act like someone else to be seated at the table. She challenged the people in the room at a panel to rethink the table. “We’ve decided there is a table. And power equals the table. And that you have to play by table rules. And that few can be at the table,” explained Asmau.
How can you expand your idea of the table today? Who can you invite, include and more importantly, who can they invite? When the table or room, or whatever you can make the table, is more diverse, we all benefit from better ideas, more innovation and more profit!
Quote of the week: “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt,
About Three Gifts (and tell us yours):
Three Gifts for a 20-Something: What three “gifts” would you give a 20-something if you were a “Forty-Godmother”? Here 40-somethings share three wishes to help a 20-something get a head start on the confidence to make decisions that are right for them (not their parents, friends, teachers or society). No more woulda, coulda, shoulda.
You can submit your three gifts here (no matter what your age).
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