Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Strategy Blog - Mellissah Smith - Page 6

The difference with having it all and wanting it all

The difference with having it all and wanting it all

As I sit typing on my keypad, I am thinking about whether or not it is at all possible to 'have it all'. 

When I look out at some of my friends, no matter how successful they are, they still have things in their lives that they want to improve or put more effort into. Relationships usually being the staple amongst those who realize that no amount of business success will ever supercede what you can achieve personally.

I have had an amazing month in so many ways and personally, I have grown more than I could ever imagine. 

I won't deny that I want it all, but I have become more realistic in realizing that that is not possible. You can't have it all - at the same time. It's impossible and those who say that you can, are either living a short-lived fantasy or are hiding what is really going on behind closed doors.

Business has always been a challenge for me. I am not a natural people person and stress overtakes me more times than I care to admit. I worry about and analyze things that don't deserve the effort that I put into it.

I procrastinate, often leave great ideas unfulfilled and sometimes need to have a better poker face. 

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Is Twitter to blame for cyber bullying?

Is Twitter to blame for cyber bullying?

On Saturday, I received a call from my friend Samantha, that her former colleague had just committed suicide. She was in shock and needed to take stock - and rightfully so. 

Charlotte Dawson's name only became known to me through the media about "trolls" bullying her on Twitter. At the time, the media was reasonably supportive of her plight, but columnists and bloggers including myself were on the fence. If you took time to read the dialogue well before it became public you may have an opinion that some of the things that she had openly said about other people were not so nice either, and as an adult, some of the insults that flew back to the "cyber bullies" were something that you would be horrified about in a school yard. 

Now, that doesn't mean that cyber bullying is acceptable - as it is not. I too have been prone to have a few trolls pass both of my Twitter accounts which combine amount to 41,000 followers, on some topics that I have chosen to write about on this blog, namely the one on how women can help their man be more successful. Apparently, I am stuck in the 50's but the trolls took it a little bit further and threw a few distasteful words my way. I politely replied to some (not all) with "Thank you so much for sharing your opinion. I respect everyone's point of view and perspectives." It stopped within 24 hours, only after my website had more than 100,000 visitors. 

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When love drives you crazy

When love drives you crazy

We've all been in love at some stage in our lives and as St Valentine's Day approaches, it gives those with a romantic bone in their body, something to think about.

Over the years, I have been with some of the most romantic men imaginable. St Valentine's Day has been filled with surprises, flowers, love notes, jewellery, surprise holidays, art and above all - love.

In the past couple of years, it's been no secret that perhaps the one thing I want most in life, is a little harder to get than the rest of my bucket list. In fact, it seems to be the only thing that really eludes me.

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What happens when your dreams are not possible?

What happens when your dreams are not possible?

I sat in my office and looked up on the wall. 

As I read each of my team members three (3) goals that each of them wrote down for the next two (2) years - I felt proud. Of the three, each of them have one crossed off as of February 1, 2014. What an achievement. I feel blessed that as a team, we were able to achieve this for them and they did it all within 3 months.

Then I looked at mine.

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My New Years Resolution

My New Years Resolution

On Sunday night, I woke up in the middle of the night and got online and booked a flight to Melbourne. I was tired and partied out. After a week in Sydney, enjoying the harbour and catching up with my friends for breakfast, lunch and dinner - I was exhausted!

Not exactly how I would like to start the new year.

Booking the flight was one of those things that had to be done yet once I pushed the button, I realised that perhaps I should have given it more thought.

The next day, after saying goodbye, I boarded my flight to Melbourne. When I landed, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was exactly what I needed after a big year.

I picked up my car and drove straight away down to Portsea to stay with one of my good friends without telling a soul. 

After my first good nights sleep in weeks, I woke up and realised that it was New Years Eve and there were things to consider. Should I attend a party or should I just stay in. In the end, I decided against a romantic night with someone I love, and decided on a quiet night in with a few friends so that I could take time out for myself and look ahead at the new year that I was about to enter. I don't know about you, but for some reason, I found that being in situation without any influence would help me start the new year in the best possible light. The hardest decision was sacrificing spending a night, with candles and conversation with the person I admire most in the world - but it had to be done.

We had a simple dinner overlooking the ocean and thought through our New Years Resolutions.

Here is what I came up with:

Theme: If nothing changes, nothing changes.

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It's all bad news

It's all bad news

Having travelled back to Australia for Christmas and to spend time in our different Australian offices, I have been absorbing myself in everything that I did when I lived here full-time. 

First stop was Melbourne. Skinny flat white and croissant from a cafe on Commercial Road for breakfast before work, prawn dumpling soup from Rice for lunch and dinner at Fog Restaurant - the food is delicious and there really is nothing quite like it.

With breakfast, I like to read the papers and I enjoy nothing more than walking into my local newsagency to pick them up. As I read through page by page, I am dumbfounded as to how much bad news there is out there. When I travel, I tend to only read business newspapers and usually online because that is the most convenient. But golly gosh, does it all have to be doom and gloom?

My second stop was Sydney, my favourite city in the world because I believe that there is nothing more beautiful than the harbour that I fortunately get to look out on all day long. I go to the office in Kent Street, Sydney, each day and I really enjoy the great weather and hustle and bustle of a big city.

On Thursday, I met with Family Future Managing Partner Rolf Howard to discuss Estate Planning. I am travelling a lot and there is many things that have changed about my life and finances. My biggest issue I face that in the event if I die young, my dog has to live with someone who loves and adores her as much as I do - which is impossible, but near enough is good enough. She has travelled to the US with me so that while I travel continuously, she can travel with me on the plane, in the cabin. It's very exciting and I know I will be travelling for some time to come, so it makes perfect sense for her to do so.

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Rules are Meant to be Broken: Entrepreneurs Take Note

Rules are Meant to be Broken: Entrepreneurs Take Note

A week of discovery in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, Argentina, has led to a new discovery of my own: that the world is full of surprises.

Caught up in the hustle and bustle of a city that boasts more than 14 million people, Buenos Aires is the hub for the world’s best polo players, Malbec wine, salsa dancers and beef.

You cannot live by normal rules if you travel to Buenos Aires, because the city simply won’t let you.

From the availability of buying the Argentine peso at a rate that is not less than half of what you would get buying it on the street, to the ability to eat at a reasonable hour – Buenos Aires asks you to take a risk, and that’s what the 400 entrepreneurs who graced an EO conference at Alvear Palace do every single day.

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Is Angelina Jolie the greatest role model of all time?

Is Angelina Jolie the greatest role model of all time?


Before writing this, I thought long and hard. My first concern was the relevance of this to my journey that I share on this blog. The second is because you either love Angelina Jolie or you hate her. No one seems to be indifferent.

I don’t write about celebrity for the simple reason that I don’t think any celebrity, sports star, politician or business person is better than the person sitting next to them – they simply have chosen different jobs. I have never been in awe of anyone in particular, although there are quite a few people I respect immensely – but those people, I know well.

I never have my photograph taken with a person considered a “celebrity” at a party, event, dinner party or social gathering - I simply don’t see the point. I possibly will never see them again, so why would I want a reminder of someone I don’t know? Is it so I can show my children (if I ever have any) or friends that really matter, that I stood next to a celebrity for a photo?

So, to call one a role model feels kind of weird – but in this particular case it is justified – for me at least.

Angelina Jolie has it all. She was born into a pedigree Hollywood family, growing up in Hollywood with wealth and influence. She attended her first Oscars as her father’s date when she was just 13 – her first real taste of light bulbs flashing and photographers yelling “look here”, “look at me”, “Angelina”. It must have been daunting, but today, I am sure it is like water of a ducks back.

She started modeling and acting quite young starring alongside her father in Lookin’ to Get Out (1982), but it wasn’t until her first major film role in Hackers and television films George Wallace and Gia (both award winning roles for Jolie) that she started to become known.

By her Oscar winning performance in Girl, Interrupted in 1999, she had the public mesmerized.  This film was followed by Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life, Mr and Mrs Smith, Wanted, Salt, The Tourist, A Mighty Heart, Changeling and her directorial debut in In the Land of Blood and Honey.
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What do 800,000 Australians have in common

What do 800,000 Australians have in common

I saw an invitation today to attend a masquerade ball in Toorak on 1st November, 2013. 

Everyone looks a masquerade ball! The opportunity to dress up and be a bit mysterious is just too alluring. I have quickly rung up a group of my friends and put a table together. While there are heaps of events to go to at this time of year, I would much prefer to save myself for the Black Velvet Masquerade Evening at Lincoln of Toorak, than make it all the way out to the track where I need to toss a coin as to whether it will rain, be cold or be so hot that I end up with third degree burns.

It took me a few minutes to realise that this ball is all for a good cause. While Cancer and Mental Health causes are very popular, its the one's that fall down the way-side that really need our help.

Epilepsy is dear to my heart. Growing up with a brother that has epilepsy brings back some raw memories of how much this disease affects people's lives and ability to live in normal society. 

There are 225,000 Australian's living with epilepsy and more than 800,000 people in Australia are expected to be diagnosed with epilepsy at some stage in their lives.

For those who have not been able to learn about the pitfalls of epilepsy; it is when the seizures are unprovoked and recurrent - in other words, happen more often than once. 

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Stop bitchin'

I flew into Melbourne on Friday afternoon, after spending more than a month, hiring people in Atlanta and taking the business to the next level. As the plane landed, I couldn't help but reminisce about the things that I love about Australia.

Melbourne is a city that has grown on me. I have lived here for most of the past 10 years and it really has been the perfect home away from home. As a Queenslander, it took some time to get use to the weather, and talking about it all day long, but other than that, I have learnt to appreciate the finer things that make Melbourne and Sydney for that matter, so special.

As the plane landed, the first thing that came to mind is that I needed to get a coffee from my favourite barista. Secondly, how easy it is to walk through customs with the new technology that alleviates all the queuing that takes place in every other airport in the world. 

Having spent so much of this year in Atlanta and the US as a whole, it strikes me that I have been "bitching" too much. 

"No good coffee."

"Too many diner style restaurants."

"Business people are too aggressive."

"Everyone's homes look the same - boring."
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Are we all a bunch of know-it-alls?

Last night in New York, I was sitting at a dinner party where everyone was animated with lively conversation.

In no time, the conversation turned to dating, and with two single women in the room everyone was eager to establish the latest on their dating scorecards.

A very confident business woman explained that she had trouble dating and that being in her early 40s, most men that asked her out were in their early 30s or late 50s - but no-one in between.

She went on and explained in detail just how frustrating it is to date. With her very successful high profile business, commitments to travel and the fact that because she is in the public eye, she struggles with being noticed, this dynamic woman was fascinating.
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Why entrepreneurs are so vulnerable

Why entrepreneurs are so vulnerable

Late last night, I was watching some episodes of the television show Suits. It is my favourite show on television. I downloaded it from iTunes and watch 3 episodes each night that week and the week after. Unlike most people, I don't normally watch television. In fact, I don't even have one anymore. Instead, I rely on my ipad for entertainment and find that by downloading television shows every now and again it is as much television as I need.

#24yrold downloaded two television series for me. The first was Revenge, and I was so absorbed by it that I couldn't go out for an entire weekend, preferring to watch show after show with my dog by my side.

Then came Suits and I was mesmerized. You see, Harvey Spector and Mike Ross, are the lead characters and my own relationship with my number two in Atlanta is incredibly similar. It's really like looking in the mirror or watching a video of ones' self and seeing so many similarities that you actually learn a bit more about your #2 through a better understanding of the characters.
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Whoa 40! Is this really happening to me?

Whoa 40! Is this really happening to me?

40. It's not exactly something that I have been looking forward to, but without realizing it, it is almost here. 

My friends keep telling me that "life begins at 40". To be brutally honest, I am not so sure. How can someone think that is the case, when in your 20's you made all your mistakes but had the time of your life. In your 30's, you made some more, but they were far more manageable and life was pretty good. You had more money than in your 20's, more experience and had fewer issues. You felt as though you were more comfortable in your own skin and you came to terms with your flaws.

Then you started approaching 40. Somehow everything went back a few steps. Firstly, just when you thought you were comfortable in your own skin, you realized that there were a few things you wanted to change. For instance, your appearance. Do those wrinkles really belong to you? Have your eyebrows really drooped that much? Are your boobs really that saggy?
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Do you have a new best friend?

Do you have a new best friend?

Sitting in the Los Angeles airport after being in Miami Beach for an entrepreneur’s conference, I pick up The Mail on Sunday only to discover a story written about women who meet each other through work.

It’s been five days of the best Miami has to offer coupled by discussing entrepreneurial topics, life and success (or in some cases, lack of) with some very versatile, uninhibited entrepreneurs who all seem content to share stories and experiences while enriching each other’s lives through old-fashion mateship.
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What I have learnt from 2012.


Happy New Year to my dear friends both old and new,
 
It's been a mammoth year for so many reasons, but I don't need to bore you with too much disclosure on this subject - after all you do read my blogs from time to time.

2012 has come and gone, and with it came ups and downs and few side-way turns - but what is a year, without steering left or right from what could possibly be a boring straight road ahead?

I started 2012, in the worse possible fashion. I was in another country, at a celebration that was marred by a relationship that was not meant to be and ensured that there was no celebrating the new year coming in. For someone who is somewhat superstitious about bringing in a new year, that was a less than perfect situation.  Nevertheless, it gave me an experience in life and a new appreciation for the fact that "everyone has their own shit to deal with" - and sometimes you just have to let people learn from their own mistakes and continue on their own journey without trying to advertly change them.

It's a great realisation to come to when you can look back at the year, and see how much you have grown as a person and how much more understanding, accomodating and less selfish you can become. I have watched others live their lives and occasionally fall down,  and its refreshing to see it from a different perspective. Positivity has been key and has been an underlying theme to everything that has gone on throughout the year. Sure, there have been moments and sometimes days, where it was hard to be positive, but this theme kept creeping back and let me assure you, it worked wonders.

While the start was not the best, it was a year that I became a better employer and business person. Business, as you know, is important to me. Every year, if you spend time taking in feedback and re-educating yourself, you will always improve and become a better version of yourself. I am sure my employees and friends have seen the journey more closely and can see a positive change that will take our company to a whole new level. It's not often a business person shares such insights, because everyone is out there trying to spruik how great they are at business or how much success they have achieved. I just tell it how it is and hope that some aspects of my life, relates back to the people I share it with.

I always feel that by sharing my inner most thoughts on a business blog, people that can relate to the fact that you don't have to be "on" 24/7 nor do you have to pretend to be "fine" with everything. You can show that you have feelings, that sometimes you get hurt by someone else's actions or that you make mistakes and sometimes you just take things the wrong way. I never wanted this blog to not tell the truth or how it really is. On that note, this blog has been a remarkable achievement and something that I am proud of for so many reasons. The hundreds of emails I receive weekly regarding this blog is something that I treasure dearly.

In 2012, I travelled and met some of the most interesting people imaginable. I have taken risks, climbed mountains, and hopped on flights just because there was a good party or an opportunity too good to miss. I have challenged my own sanctum by not doing things that were expected - over and over again. I have been continually grateful for the people around me and for the experiences I have had and that I know I will continue to have.

I sat on a plane only months ago, next to a gentleman who after 3 hours, decided to start a conversation. I don't really talk to people on planes, but on this particular occasion, it seemed right. We have since become firm friends and met up a few times even though we live in opposite ends of the world. His commentary on life and business is completely mesmerizing and his notes with words of wisdom and unabated kindness, are something I will treasure long after we lose contact.

I love to write, and often write notes to people and have been continually pleasantly surprised by others doing the same. In the past week, I have received more than a dozen letters, emails, and text messages with heartfelt notes from people that have been in my life or that are in my life, giving me insight into what I actually mean to them or an appreciation for a moment in time. To those people, thank you. Those messages mean more to me than you can ever imagine.

Everyone comes into your life for a reason, a season and a lifetime. We always hope for a lifetime, but just because they don't, doesn't mean that it doesn't have just as much meaning. 

I feel privileged to live the life I do, to have what I have and to be able to share my thoughts and opinions with people like yourselves. I can't imagine my life any way other than how it is, but I wouldn't care if it all changed. We are all on a journey and life isn't about what possessions you have, or how many friends you have on facebook. It's about being free to live your own life and being able to experience things that make you happy, sometimes sad or indifferent.

My niece said to me today "everyone's perception of the meaning of life is different and no-one can tell you that one way is right or wrong". Wise words Ashleigh. 

For me, this new year is different. It's about new beginnings and an openness to business and life. My theme for 2013 is "kindness and understanding" and with that, I wish you all a very happy new year. May this year, be the best one ever.

 
 
 
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