I enjoyed a presentation by the humble, funny, delightful Kate Langbroek at the Whitehorse Women in Business Lunch. Kate has been through an amazing life and career journey that she was happy to share with us.
There were so many wonderful anecdotes but here is a summary of the messages that resonated most with me.
1) How people are really keen to prescribe how women should do things. How you should dress, how you should have your hair, what you should wear, how long your skirt should be, and I really just don’t believe in that. It should be how you feel good.
2) Have the courage to embrace the things that make you different rather than be embarrassed by them. The things that make you different make you stronger. The more free you feel the more free you become.
3) The beauty of life is in the small things. It shouldn’t take a crisis for us to realize this.
4) “If you find yourself in hell, keep going” (Winston Churchill).
5) Always speak from your own experience even as no matter how you express yourself someone will will be offended by you. Don’t let yourself down by sharing your own voice.
6) Sometimes you don’t know what you have, or what you don’t have, until you stop.
7) Always find the laughter.
I think these are some great lessons for life and for business. Know there will be hard times and you will and can get through them, and do it as your authentic self. As I often say – “be yourself as everyone else is taken”.