I feel honored to keep you as a friend.
XOXO,
Nancy
It’s been a pleasure to send you my weekly news and inspiration.
I’ll miss you, but hopefully we stay in touch!
XOXO,
Nancy
Sunday is Mother’s Day and I thought that was a good time to tell you about the lessons I learned from my mother.
I have the best mom in the world.
Really.
She reminds me of that Mariah Carey song ‘Make it happen’:
“If you believe in yourself enough and know what you want
You’re gonna make it happen (Make it happen)”
The woman is my biggest supporter and greatest criticaster at the same time. She always taught me to believe in myself. Which is the best gift you can give to a young girl growing up. You can’t hide from her. She just showers you with unconditional love. And I do realize how fortunate I am, because not everyone has a mom and if they do it is not always a great relationship.
So what have I learned from my mom when it comes to personal branding? A lot! But let’s focus on her 4 most important lessons.
– Don’t be afraid to try something new.
I guess I learned this at an early age. When my parents divorced, my mom moved us from Rotterdam to Amsterdam and that took courage. She felt she had nothing to loose and looking back that moment has defined my life, because I realized you can always start over. Since that first move she has had several moments of doing new things and she always looked at every situation like she was Pippi Lockstocking: “I have never tried that before, so i think I should definitely be able to do that”.
– You can always re-invent yourself.
After we moved to Amsterdam my mom started going to school again. Before that she had never finished high school, but she pushed herself and kept on learning, even getting a degree a few years ago in holistic studies (after a long career as a social worker).
– Your mindset is everything.
Growing up my mom always said “when it comes to money I can do magic “. Her motto was never worry, it will turn out ok. She was always so positive! And that made me always look at the bright side of life. Ofcourse you have setbacks, but if you continue to keep getting up and moving forward in the end everything will be ok.
– Speak up and be heard.
My 2 brothers and I are not afraid to speak our minds. No really, you can’t shut us up! This comes from the fact that we were always encouraged to speak up as children, much to the annoyance of several elders. We were told to tell the truth and stay true to our believes.
You know they say mom knows best? Well in my case it definitely is the truth. My mum knows best.
So tell me ladies, what have you learned from your mom?
XOXO,
Nancy
The title is an intentional sensational spelling for “thank you for letting me be myself again”. It’s from an old Sly & the Family Stone track. Janet Jackson sampled some of it on her Rhythm Nation Song. What I love about this band from the 60-ies and 70-ies is that they were very innovative. The band consisted of black, white, male and female band members. This in an era where segregation had just ended in America and feminism was only starting.
I was thinking about the meaning of this song when I spoke to a business woman this week about the fact that she was miserable at her job.
These lyrics came to mind:
Many men are missin’ much
Hatin’ what they do”
This woman I spoke to had a very demanding upbringing. Her parents decided what she went on to study and she felt that she had never really made any decisions in her life. It made her very unhappy. The outside world saw a women with a great career, children and a husband. But that was not satisfying her. She felt she couldn’t talk to anyone about this. This made me realize how lucky I am with my sisterhood of wonderful women.
I really believe in sisterhood. Especially for those of you who work in a male dominated workplace, because:
1. Women need other women.
There was a study that said women with a strong, supportive circle of friends had much greater chances of survival than women who where socially isolated.
2. We need a deeper emotional connection.
Our brains work differently than those of men and we need that deep emotional connection. We need to be heard and understood.
3. It is really inspiring and empowering.
I know my sisters have my back, which allows me to believe in myself more and inspires me to follow my own path.
So many women are not themselves and going to work with masks on. With your sisters you can take that mask off and just be. And then hopefully in the future you will allow yourself to be yourself in any situation.
Think about it!
On the 24th of June we are giving you an opportunity to connect with other like-minded women. It will be organized by the Harper’s Bazaar Network Academy in collaboration with BrandedU. Our aim is to inspire you by making role models visible, help you connect with other career women and to help you make yourself visible! Be seen the way you want to be seen.
XOXO,
Nancy