Grit and Joy. The formula to success.
Ode to my mother, a true entrepreneur. Miss you.
Tease alert! Excerpt from my upcoming book.
They say you take after your parents, even if you don’t intend to. I wouldn’t say I was ‘like’ my mother or father, but I certainly know I have traits of them not just their DNA and personalities, but by simply proximity and osmosis, from the things they endured.
My dad and I were most alike in manners (and emotional temperament). At least that’s what my mum always said, especially after a good row in my teens when I wanted to defy anything and everything. But I digress. My dad has always been an unbelievable role model to me.
But it was my mother that taught me about strength. It’s because of her, that I believe my entreprenHER spirit emanates. She too, had the entrepreneurial itch young, but it was cultivated and nurtured especially being married to Dad. They truly were a power couple. She sold backgammon door to door in Sydney until one day she created a Games Shop that turned into 20 stores around Australia. Then, in the next decade, she and dad built our house up on top of a mountain. Literally, the two of them, with the rocks and wood from the forest.
This is my mum after a hard, yet fun, country-life day, when she was about my age.
Can you see her grit, yet her joy? Amazing. How can you possibly have both?
Well… when you are truly following your passion, you don’t mind a bit of hard work. That’s because you love what you are doing, or at least love what the result might become. For mum, it was building a house that was hers to decorate, entertain and live in: a house of her dreams. My mum was a force of nature. I will miss her. She has only been gone 6 weeks and I feel her strength in me every day.
When you combine grit - determination and hard work, with your passion - something that you love - you have the formula to success right there. Next time you are running a treadmill, working hard and late for someone else’s gain, think about why you are doing it. What if you were to apply the same amount of grit and effort to something that you will gain; that you are passionate about? Maybe, just maybe, it might be the ticket to your success.
Maybe. I guess it depends what you focus on.
xo,
Gilli
I coach entrepreneurs, creatives and life passion seekers to actualize their next big idea. Just find time for a free clarity call below if you are keen.
