I would never run a marathon but apparently I can walk one in 48hours. The trick it seems is being in a city with my eldest daughter! Last year we gave our three daughters the Christmas gift of a weekend away on their own with each parent. My eldest chose New York during the holidays. At first I thought it was so she could skip school and come with me because I was speaking at a conference in New York in December, but once I told her I would come back and pick her up so we could spend the weekend together - she was still interested so off we went!
Here are some fascinating observations of my time in the city that never sleeps....
The suits are back -People in suits are walking NY streets - more businesses are back in the office, restaurants are filled with those dressed for work and on business lunches and dinners.
The pavement battle takes practice! - I realized quickly that I needed to teach my 14 year old how to walk in a busy city. Determination, speed, and not getting pushed around takes practice when crossing streets and trying to get into the door of your favorite store! By the end of the weekend she was barging ahead, head down like a true New Yorker! My parenting work here is done.
Kindness wins every day - I don’t think the lady who slipped and fell by the JetBlue Mint desk at JFK airport knew that the kind person who full on picked her right up was Cristo Fernandez aka Danny Rojas from Ted Lasso. (He followed us all the way through the slow security line but on strict instructions of my daughter I was NOT allowed to talk to him or ask for a picture! - though I did sneak one to prove it really was him!)
When you are occupied you don’t notice how much effort you are putting in - even now we both can't quite believe we walked a marathon, but we were so distracted by the colors of Central Park, the joys of vintage shopping in Greenwich Village, the installations in MOMA, the spectacular buildings of St Patricks Cathedral, NY Public Library, and Hudson Yards time and miles just flew by!
Vintage is valuable! - we used to hide the fact that we bought our clothes second hand when growing up out of embarrassment we couldn't afford them new - now thrifting is a proud past time of many teenagers! My daughters have taught me that thrifting is a pleasure not a necessary evil. - I even bought two Missoni dresses for a bargain price!
Ask others how well you are doing -I have to remind myself to do what I advise my clients - don't listen to your own view of your performance and impact - ask others! I got to meet my US Publishing team at Kogan Page while I was in New York and was delighted when I asked them how well they thought my two books were doing. - Given I launched Rapid Growth Done Right on May 2020 I knew it was a tough time to launch a book, and launching my third in January this year made me wonder how exactly they were doing in my publishers eyes - Turns out I need to press the mute button on the voices in my head a little more and listen to others!
“Make the goals unrealistic and the timeline realistic" Deshawna Barber - If you ever get the chance to hear DeShawna speak go and listen - a veteran and former Miss USA has many wise words to share. I love the idea of detaching the goal from the timeline - I'm curious to hear what unrealistic goal you have quietly in your head that if you shared with one person it might not be as unrealistic as you think.
I want to take a minute to highlight the work of a brilliant organization in England. Andy’s Man Club has a motto of “it’s ok to talk” and holds free support groups across the UK. Their goal is to end the stigma around mental health and help men’s suicide prevention. I invite you to follow them on their social media channels and share their messages they apply beyond the men they are targeting.
...and finally if you are struggling what to get the kids in your life I highly recommend the idea of a weekend away with one at a time. Ever since we brought our twins home from the hospital when our first daughter was only 23 months old, the power of "divide and conquer" runs strong in our house!
Dedicated to growing your business,
Val
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