The Power of Ingredient 'X'.....and how to stand out from the crowd.

Introduction

If someone had said to me 20 years ago that I would one day, be the boss

of my own, successful business, seriously, I would have laughed out

loud!

Not because the suggestion is outrageous-just that, well, it would have been

outrageous for me to achieve that. You see I was never one of those people who oozed confidence and actually had very little confidence in my own ability at one time. I didn’t like being the odd one out at school (when you’re young, you want to be in the cool gang) and I wasn’t cool or trendy, or even pretty for that matter. I had a funny name that the teachers used to pronounce wrong –causing the other kids to laugh, I qualified for ‘free school meals’ because we were poor-and I was embarrassed, and to top it all I looked foreign-and, damn it, the boys were only interested in the 'blondes'!  In my school years I didn’t have reason to feel confident –I needed evidence but couldn’t find it. 

 It’s an inside job

But when I started working-I did find evidence. I was doing a job I enjoyed, and although only a trainee-I acted like I’d been there for years and knew what I was doing (I didn’t). I’d stumbled upon some of my key ingredients to standing out- ‘act as if you are doing the job you want to get’. Doing that, on it’s own, sounds like it could be really annoying for people you work with-but not when it’s mixed together with more of my key ingredients:

I was still humble and respectful, and I worked my little socks off to do a good job. And then I tried hard to be the one who was positive and pleasant to deal with –even if I didn’t feel like it. You don’t have a team when you’re a junior-but, I tried to imagine what I’d be like as a manager, setting a good example.

My confidence grew with each promotion I got, and I realised that all of it was planted and grown on the inside. I ‘imagined’ my evidence before I got it and that gave me all the confidence I needed. Throughout the rest of my life (and still now) I have goals-the things I next want to achieve. I’ve always dreamed big, not always about money and trappings-more about achievements. What’s the point of dreaming small when you want big?

Could never understand that!

My early years taught me a lot. I know what it’s like to struggle, and not have much. That’s why I like saying to people:

       ‘It doesn’t matter where you’re from-it’s where you’re going that counts’