Unleash Your X-Factor

For many women, reaching that 40 something year mark can be a significant milestone.

Would I do the same, knowing what I know now? Hell No! My corporate career ended a week before my son was born. A corporate career I worked hard for. One I had sacrificed a lot to get to, dedicated a lot to and worked tirelessly to achieve against all odds. It left me with a new perspective of myself. Not everyone gets married nor do they have children, but the stressors of all these significant milestones can often bring you to breaking point. Not often spoken about, all these factors can leave you feeling deflated. I found myself needing more, wanting to do more. With a young family in hand I needed to pursue new purpose in my life, looking to establish myself again with a voice for change and help others cope with these challenges.

Only with the dust of having my 2 children and a business of my own having settled did I allow my mission to properly perpetuate. I wish to give a voice to women who didn’t otherwise use it or think they had one i.e. in the corporate environment or otherwise. I wish to empower women to speak out openly about their.challenges, fears and feelings of isolation and to help them explore effective ways to manage it. I wish to remove pre-existing stigmas by creating a norm of things we can openly and unashamedly speak about. Once forced out of their spaces, sometimes even by other women in leadership positions…how do women and even men cope with these challenges going forward? How do they reinvent themselves outside what they’ve been conditioned their whole lives to do in the pedagogical sense, having gone to school, studied and climbed the corporate ladder like I did? And if the route is self-run business as the great resignation dictates, then how different are the challenges of the entrepreneurial world that awaits.

4 Questions to help you navigate

1.What would your life look like business or otherwise if nothing stood in your way?

By the second half of your life you see your decisions differently. You find yourself at the crossroads of finding your purpose, business propositions that may or may not work and finding what you’re good at. You also in the process have lost sight of the confident, student you were at University and what that felt like as you pursued opportunities. Remember that girl. Quiet reflection is required to ponder on the following:

• What is your purpose?
• Where does your talent, your purpose and why you want to do it intersect?
• What kind of difference do you want to make?
• What do you want to be remembered for?
• What are your values that you want to carry across to what you do next?

2.What changes do you need to make to support this vision?

Women, as a generalisation, are nurturers and

get stuck in the guilt trap. Being a women and en­ trepreneur can have significant challenges. How do you ensure that you do what you need to in the time you have available with the support you have each day to ensure that your loved ones are taken care off.

From a time management perspective there is also no purpose in following someone else’s prescribed routine as your life in all likelihood is so different. Create something that works for you. Build in exercise as best you can and regular downtime to support your mental wellbeing for sustained productivity. Don’t let self-doubt and becoming overwhelmed stand in your way. There are ways of coping with all of these things to ensure that the journey is not so difficult. As women we find it very difficult to ask for help. We need to be able to identify and tackle those and other limiting beliefs as it’s important to reframe the negative assumptions for optimal functioning. You’ve spent so much time focussing on everyone else in your life, that when it’s your turn you can become a bit unstuck. Learning how to be an entrepreneur and developing that mindset is sometimes challenging too.

The fear of a wrong decision is more dire as mistakes are costly and the longer you pursue the wrong decision the less the probability of success. Like many, we have become boxed in our thinking but as an entrepreneur you have to learn resilience, be action orientated, think out of the box, recognise opportunities quickly and be adaptable problem solvers.

3.How can you create a support system around you?

This is precisely the reason why I started Accelerate­ Her Official. As I realised more and more women were facing the very same struggles and together we really were stronger. Being an entrepreneur you can quickly lose perspective. Having a network of likeminded women brings great value to situations where time is limited and you can lean in to peo­ ple you know, like and trust. This is paramount to getting what you need done properly and fast and providing the same level of support in return.

I advocate a Personal Board of Directors for any entrepreneur navigating this self-run business world.

A Compass

Someone you trust that encourages you, motivates you and keeps you moving in the right direction.

A Coach

Someone that provides a different perspective, gets you thinking and reflecting back at you, highlights your blind spots and asks those tough questions that you cannot.

The Wise One

Someone like a mentor who’s done what you’re trying to do and succeeded, but most of all is willing to support you. Someone who has worldly knowledge and experience to guide you.

The Expert

Someone that can be a source of useful information in the specific but vital areas that you fall short in.

The Collaborator

The one that can provide tools, resources and connect you with the right people to propel you forward.

Your Safe Space

Someone you can confide in and you can trust to give you the right advice when things get tough. This may very well be the most important person so reliability is paramount.

Accountability Partner

A role often shared to hold you to the goals that you have set for yourself. Even if they do change. Someone who you know wants you to succeed and you don’t want to disappoint because doing so means you’re disappointing yourself.

4.How do you stay ahead of the game?

This can be a moving target most days as we move swiftly with technology and the progress being made generally. Staying ahead of the game can only be accomplished through thorough research, constantly innovating, collaborating and not being afraid to try new things. Build your confidence and acknowledge your self-worth. Improve your ability to self-promote and show up for yourself no matter the platform. Network and get to know other people. There is often magic that lies there. This will help you accelerate, to be able to do what you love instead of what you were told was the right thing to do or what you were brought up believing.

Be honest enough with yourself to recognise the beliefs and assumptions that might be standing in your way and to reach out for help you might need to reach your ultimate goal. So charge forward with confidence and conviction, to reclaim your space. Stand in your ultimate truth and live a life of purpose doing what truly sets your soul on fire. It is at this very point, that every bit of life’s lessons, challenges, courage and experience has culminated so that you can make your indomitable mark on the world!