,

Hypnotize

Biggie Biggie Biggie can’t you see
Sometimes your words just hypnotize me
And I just love your flashy ways
Guess that’s why they broke, and you’re so paid (uh)

21 years agoĀ hiphop icon Notorious BIG was shot dead. His famous lyrics came to mind thinking about the week that Iā€™ve had. A week full of women who had inspiring words. Not only at the International Womenā€™s Day Summit we organized, but also on Facebook, face to face and via email. Check out the photoā€™sĀ here.

Strive for continuous improvement
I wasĀ hypnotizedĀ by the words of these inspiring women because some people sell hope,Ā but what we saw last Tuesday was results. Women who had done it, real life role models.
Even though some things did not go the way I would have liked. I remembered these words by a previous BrandedU Speaker (Katja Kokā€“KeizerĀ of Van Lanschot Bankiers): “Never strive for perfection, because it doesn’t leave room for others. Strive for continuous improvementā€!
I believe that. You can always keep developing yourself, because ā€œGrowth is happinessā€. And yet still one third of employees donā€™t invest in their personal development. They do discuss the subject with their HR managers (at least 40%), but less than 12% take action.

Get up & take action
So the biggest lesson I learned from all the women that spoke last week is how important it is to take action. And to keep taking action and to keep going. Even if you fall down flat on your face which is what I did in front of almost 250 women last week at the summit (true story). My ankle was so swollen it looked like a tennis ball. But hey, I kept on going through the pain and guess what?! By Friday it was almost gone and I could walk again, no joke. It seems that if you keep moving it heals quicker. That is how it is in real life as well. Keep on moving forward in your career even when you face the most difficult obstacles.

Stay relevant
And that brings me to this. Working on your personal development is the biggest gift you can give yourself. And with that comes self awareness and self confidence. These two qualities will help you get up when you get knocked down. And you will get knocked down. So for me developing these helped me tremendously in my career. And the feedback I have received over the last 4 years is that what BrandedU does is exactly that. Our training courses will help you become aware of who you are and want to be and will give you the confidence to show yourself authentically to the world. AND IN YOUR CAREER PERSONAL BRANDING HELPS YOU TO STAY RELEVANT!

Corinne Vigreux, founder of TomTom, said at our summit: ā€œHave the confidence to do the things that make you move and give you the energy to go all the way to the top. Because going to the top is important, thatā€™s where you make decisions, that is where you can influence people. I think we should not limit ourselves as women.ā€

So if you are ready to make moves SO YOU CAN STAY RELEVANT! Register here for our BrandedU info dayĀ this Sunday in Amsterdam at 11 am.

If you need help moving forward in your career,Ā donā€™t wait, but get moving.

XOXO,
Nancy