My Favorite Quote

Recently, our class was given the opportunity to "interrogate" our professor as a means to get to know him better and to build a foundation for how our class dynamic would develop. One of the questions, and often a go-to for people getting to know each other, was "What is your favorite quote?". For a while, my favorite quote was the cliched shoot for the moon, if you fall, you'll land among the stars. Although I was aware of the immense overuse of this phrase, it stood for the future scenarios I would create for myself, setting incredible goals and hoping for profound opportunities. Although many of my dreams were unlikely (I was convinced until late elementary school that I was going to marry a prince), the aim alone was enough to get me some pretty great opportunities.

Although this still holds true for me, I've recently seen myself thinking about another quote on a weekly basis. The movie, "We Bought a Zoo" is incredible, and if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend renting it or finding it on TV. Throughout the movie, Matt Damon's character, Benjamin Mee, often refers to bursts of courage that direct many of his decisions. Specifically, the quote goes like this:

All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage and I promise you something great will come out of it.

                                                                                                       -Benjamin Mee, We Bought a Zoo

I tend to be an extroverted individual (no surprise there, right?), yet I often face hold-ups when I can't seem to push myself over that proverbial edge to do something out of the ordinary. However, when I think of this quote, I think to myself, "what would happen if I was courageous for just 20 seconds? I don't have to make these decisions for the rest of my day, just for 20 seconds." Incredibly, this little pep talk has allowed for some great things to happen for me.

Networking is a subject preached to business students on a weekly basis, but for most it's difficult to approach a professional and carry on a conversation. I'm generally more comfortable doing that than my peers, but I still have my hold-ups. So, specifically, this "20 second" mentality helps me approach people that I want to make connections with and allows me to create relationships.

One example of this took place over the summer while at a Women's Business Council meeting in Addison, which I was given the opportunity to attend with my boss. Our speaker, Marny Lifshen, was attention-grabbing and funny, and she spoke about the important differences in communication between men and women. She spoke to how these differences affect the way that men and women interact in the workplace, and how we can adapt to those differences to create more effective conversations. I was fascinated by her insight and interested in her experience as a personal coach and brander.

After the formal portion of the meeting was over, I spent time speaking to my coworkers and boss, before decided to take the opportunity to approach Mrs. Lifshen. This burst of courage paid off and we spoke for a while before being interrupted by another member of the council. Mrs. Lifshen insisted that I email her to set up a time to meet for coffee and we've been in email correspondence ever since. As I walked away, she said to me, "I would love to be of help when you start to look for jobs, please let me know what I can do!"

Marny has proven to be a great resource and she has offered to help me develop myself professionally. In addition, I've read her book, Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Women and have realized how knowledgeable she really is. That 20 second burst of courage has allowed me access to a great mentor and I look forward to working with her in the future. In addition, I also look forward to what else my courage will grant me access to!