Dear Friends,
I hope this finds you well and feeling vibrant, as the summer draws to a close.
As you may recall, on August 7, Nice Skin Beverly Hills participated in a momentous event at the Skirball Center.
The Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Professional Women held its Networking Summit with the expressed purpose of bringing together an impressive array of women CEOs, presidents, entrepreneurs – essentially, the movers and shakers from every industry in the country – to share their wisdom and experience with the upcoming generations of aspiring business women.
Nice Skin Beverly Hills was a sponsor and exhibitor, so I had a chance to interact with a variety of remarkable, young women, who are totally focused on maximizing their capabilities and taking care of themselves and their families.
As a woman and the CEO of my own growing company, I know firsthand the unique personal and professional challenges that women face as they strive to achieve their career goals. So I was thrilled to take part in an event, the sole purpose of which is to prepare young women to take control of their careers and destinies.
But I was also a very engaged attendee and active listener to all the informative, and inspiring guest speakers and panels.
Here are some of my more poignant takeaways from all the discussions:
• We must take calculated risks, and recognize that our negative emotions about a circumstance can often be a catalyst to seizing upon an opportunity to make a big change. Said another way – When we are not in that wonderful state of joy, when we find ourselves in that “bad room” that’s a sign that something needs to change.
• Dream big and often. Find something you love to do and figure out how to get paid for it. We author our future, and defining for ourselves what we deem as success – pre-writing our destiny – is the first step toward accomplishing that very personal objective.
• Do not be afraid of our own finances. We must make our finances a priority in our lives, and we must remember that it’s not what we are making but what we are keeping, that allows us to take care of our loved ones and ourselves, long term. This is especially true for our retirement. We’re all living longer lives and living into our 90s or 100s is quite possible. That’s approximately 30 years after retirement – to live a $100,000 lifestyle through 30 years in retirement, requires $3 million in the bank and or through passive revenue streams. Creating those means is entirely up to us, and the worst thing that can happen is to want to retire and not have the option. Bottomline: Gain financial literacy for your life now.
• We tend to ignore the things we don’t want to address, but problems don’t disappear if we look the other way, they only get bigger. We must pay attention, and deal with issues with a cool head, in a timely fashion.
• Be the best or among the best. If we’re going to do something, we must put the effort into it and do it exceptionally well.
• Don’t step on people to get our way; We must learn to step around them to get to your destination.
• Don’t hide our light. Let people know what we are doing with our lives. Inform but don’t brag.
• Trust our little voice inside. It won’t lead us astray. It’s reminding us of our nature and when we move in a direction contrary to our nature, we ultimately sabotage and suppress our talents. I know that when I haven’t listened to my inner self, I’ve made mistakes and caused regrets.
Without question, the highlight of the afternoon was the speech delivered by Star Jones, the NAPW’s national spokesperson and the creator of the NAPW Foundation, the non-profit philanthropic extension of NAPW.
During her address, Ms. Jones shared the worst and best business advice she ever received. Ironically, both nuggets came her way on the same day, but from very different sources.
The worst business advice was offered by a male boss, when Ms. Jones was just starting her career as an attorney. He said: “You are a black woman attorney in a man’s world; my advice to you is to never rock the boat.”
Later that night, Ms. Jones went home and told her mom about what this man had told her. Her mother’s response and the best business advice she ever received: “Yes Star, never rock the boat if you’re in the boat. Otherwise flip that boat over and rock your world!”
I loved this, and of course, so too did the audience, which let out a huge roar of laughter and approval. My kind of women!
I hope that some of these bits of wisdom have resonated. If you have any questions about the NAPW Networking Summit or would like to know more about my journey and plans for Nice Skin Beverly Hills please contact me at angelanice@niceskinbeverlyhills.com.
Always With Love,
Angela