Every time I interview a 40-something woman for 40:20 Vision I ask them what three “gifts” would they give a 20-something if they were a “Forty-Godmother”. In essence, three things to help you get a head start on perspective and gain the confidence you need to make decisions that are right for you. No more woulda, coulda, shoulda.
When I interviewed Denise Restauri, founder of GirlQuake and Forbes contributor, about her book Their Roaring Thirties I couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask her what her three gifts would be. Herewith her well earned 60:20 wisdom:
1. Realize that you’re going to make mistakes in life and that’s okay. Just don’t make a mistake that harms others or changes your life in a bad way. Make your decisions with that in mind. Don’t hurt someone else, don’t hurt yourself and then just go for it if it’s something you want to do. Don’t let the risk hold you back, but don’t hurt others, or hurt yourself.
You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to screw up. We all do. I still screw up. Most mistakes are fixable. I look at life and say it’s fixable. If nothing else you’ve learned from it.
2. Belief in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, others can’t believe in you. You have to find it within yourself because you can’t depend on others for it. Dig deep and find it in yourself. Once you do, your life changes. Others view you differently. Everybody wants to be around you when you have confidence in yourself. They look at you and say, “I want you on my team. I want to be married to you”. Unless it’s somebody who doesn’t want somebody confident and you don’t want to be married to them.
3. Courage. I would give you the Lion from The Wizard of Oz to realize that you may think you don’t have the courage, but you’ve got the courage.
You can read the interview with Denise here:
What are your three gifts?