Ladies Who Launch

by Chellie Campbell

“As the World Turns” once nixed Hugh Grant. “Santa Barbara” deemed Julia Roberts “dull.” Sharon Stone was rejected by “General Hospital.”—From Michael Levine’s Breaking News

Donna called me the day after class. Intelligent and warm, I enjoyed meeting her and was glad she enrolled in my financial workshop. She worked selling advertising for a small publication and wanted to increase her sales and income. I wondered why she seemed a bit anxious that first night as each participant introduced themselves. Now on the phone, she explained.

“Last night, listening to the other people talk about their goals, I didn’t feel I belonged in the group. I felt their goals were so much higher than mine; that they were smarter, better, more experienced—more whatever—than me.

“But I had a realization as I walked down the hill to my car. When I arrived for your class, I had parked at the bottom of the hill, thinking that others would have gotten there first and taken all the convenient parking spaces. But I was the first to arrive! Why did I assume that others would be there before me? Why did I park at the bottom and walk up that steep hill without even trying to see if I could park at the top?

“I saw that this was a metaphor of how I have been living my life. I have assumed that others will take the top spots, so I automatically settle for the inconvenient place, the lesser place—and lesser income, too. But now that I’ve seen it, I’m going to stop it. I will find my space at the top of the hill from now on.”

Do you park at the bottom of hills? Do you take a back seat, let others do the talking, let others get the clients, the sales, and the cash? Who told you to do that? Who told you that you had to go last? You’re just as smart and talented as everybody else. Maybe all you need is some business coaching to bring it out.

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