I know at some point you’ve all heard men and women say something along the lines of “women can’t work together” or “too many women together is too many attitudes”. I know I’ve heard things like this for as long as I can remember. I can remember hearing things like “everyone isn’t your friend” or “many people don’t want to see you doing better than them….”
Can I just tell you these types of statements drive me NUTS! And it’s totally not my experience. While I’m cruising around on social media I see all of these memes about having “haters” or posts where people go out of their way to “prove to a hater how well their life is going”. After reading these things I often wonder “Am I the only person on the planet who doesn’t have a hater?” Or is it naïve of me to think that everyone is cheering for me and my success because that is how I really feel?
My network is truly full of women (and men) who support me and my dreams. I don’t worry about sharing ideas with them out a fear of them stealing them. I don’t worry about telling them what I’m working on because they may be praying for my demise. My network is just the opposite. If I share an idea with them they ask “Where is the plan? What do we need to do? When do we get started?” And they will hold me accountable. When I share with them about a contract that I’ve just signed or an award I’ve been presented with, they are ready to celebrate with me.
I recently attended an event where I’d been virtually working with someone for months so I was happy to meet them in person. When I introduced myself, she told me, “I’ve known of you for a while. Your reputation precedes you. I heard nothing but great things and I definitely will be referring people to you soon.”
A few weeks ago a high school friend was introducing me to his client and said “She is the IT person. She is the machine mind behind several successful entrepreneurs in our area.” I was sitting there like “Wow! I’ve got to meet her” and then I realized he was talking about me.
I don’t say these things to brag about who I am or what I do but more to brag about my friends, my network, my circle. They motivate me to move forward. They give me energy when I have none. They motivate me when I’m ready to give up. They show they believe in me by recommending my services. They support me in every way possible. And when you surround yourself with a group like this, you can’t help but BE successful. You can’t help but FEEL good. You can’t help but to ACCOMPLISH great things. The pour into me the same things I pour into them. And I love them for it.
If you don’t have a nurturing and motivating circle of people in every area of your life – today is a great day to change that. There are people who want to support you. There are people who want to see you succeed. There are people who want to celebrate you and not be in competition with you.
And if your circle looks a lot like mine – don’t forget to thank them. Don’t forget to treasure them. They are indeed a blessing.
