You might not be self employed, but discipline is so critical to having greater success in your life. See, discipline is the ability to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you want to do it or not.
AND when you have discipline, you are influential.
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
I have listened to this one 4 times as I can’t think what to say! I have been blogging recently about the bad messages I received growing up so this was good for me to have to switch. I struggled to be honest but then realized – perseverence! My mum is stubborn as a mule when she sets her mind to something and so am I. So thanks Mum!
Louise Edington
Fearless Over Fifty
http://louiseedington.com
Louise, I love your honestly here! As you know, you have seen me speak about my life, my childhood was no bad of chocolate kisses! I have realized though that it all make me who I am!
I love this vlog and how you honor your mom. It’s so true about the sheet folding, I am often guilty of being one of those people that doesn’t take the time to fold the bottom sheet correctly, not always, but sometimes. 🙂
My mom had great work ethic, she always took her job very seriously and did her best at it no matter what the task. I was always the same when I worked for others, the best employee they had on staff. However, I am now working on having that same work ethic with myself, in my own business.
Lisa Vitale
http://lisawifemom.wordpress.com
My Mom taught me that there is a big whole world out there and that I should go out and find it. If i had not followed her advice, i might still be living in the Northern town in the UK and working in one of the factories. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that life if it makes you happy. I just know it would not have made me happy. I always knew i was meant for a life of travels and adventures and I am still on that journey
One thing I remember growing up Julie was my mom saying, over and over: “you WILL go to college.” Many of my friends growing up didn’t. My parents didn’t. But her telling me that gave me opportunities I would not have had. Your mom telling you that meant she knew you and you needed more!
It’s funny. she just sent me a birthday card and she only wrote 4 words “To our brave daughter” I never would have considered myself brave. strange how others see you sometime
I am profoundly grateful to my mother. She relentlessly (or so it seemed) pounded into my head that I could do anything I set my mind to do. I never realized how important that message has been in my life until about a year ago. How totally and unconsciously I accepted it as truth.
I go forth in this world starting things I don’t know how to do, not worrying about not knowing. Knowing that I can learn it, whatever the “it” may be. That is a kind of courage – a courage that she made sure was so natural that I took it for granted.
Thank you Mom. More than these few words can express.
thanks Ann for this posting. I think my mother taught me, through actions, not to make decisions on 100% emotion. using all senses and resources, and trusting my gut is critical to success and i believe i learned that from both my mother and her mother who raised me when I was very little – thanks for making me smile about these wonderful women. -M
Wow Melissa, I love this! What a gift your mom gave you! My mom is so emotional about everything, I would have loved that lesson!
Wonderful message, Ann. We’re fortunate if our parents set good examples for learning discipline. From my mother (and father, too), I learned to love reading and learning, to follow my curiosity, and to express myself through music. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that these traits, and just about any other you could name, require discipline, which is a skill we gradually perfect every day. For some people, learning discipline takes giant strides by coping to survive harsh episodes in their lives. Others learn significant lessons from participating on sports teams or from joining the armed forces. As you suggest, however we learn discipline, we should occasionally pause and be grateful for it’s benefits and for who taught us.
My mum left when I was 10 and we didn’t really connect again properly until I was an adult. The gifts she gave me were independence, tenacity and meticulousness as well as a desire to shine.
My mother was a hard woman to appreciate at times, but the one place she was comfortable was with books. She read to us daily from an early age and taught us to love reading, good writing, and language. I got obsessiveness about correct usage of apostrophes from her, too, but happily, I take it a bit less seriously than she ever did!
Judy Stone-Goldman
The Reflective Writer
“My cat owns me, my clutter stymies me, my writing frees me. Word maven loves—and learns from—ordinary life.”
http://www.thereflectivewriter.com/blog/
My mother taught me many things…sometimes painfully…but as an adult I understand and appreciate more! Going to college was (still is) a very big deal for her…and so it was for me too (even if I didn’t want to go away and leave all my friends behind…at the time)…she was very vocal and made sure that my sister and I knew that we did NOT need a man to take care of us, get an education, work hard, and that we should not rely on someone else to make us happy. She was hard on me at times and had very high expecatations (which as a parent I now understand) which I always strived to live up to…out of fear and not wanting to disappoint…and wanting to succeed! I am very proud of who I am today…and have her to thank. She has prepared and shown me a great work ethic. Thanks mom:) She’s already talking to my 4 year olds about going to college….lol!!! Thanks for sharing:)
Rita Brennan Freay
@Rita4kids
ritabrennanfreay.com
My mom was a stay at home mom and she was very meticulous about keeping the house looking spic and span and cooking great meals; dinner was important and being together as a family at mealtime was important. She made sure that my sisters and I were disciplined, did our homework, learned responsibility and what I most love about her is how she taught us to respect one another and others in our lives; how she taught us to love and trust God, and how to share that love with our friends and anyone else we met. She also taught us to be generous with both our time and our possessions and to not be stingy with what we had — which really was not much in our case! I think what has helped me the most concerning our business is the sense of commitment and responsibility and trust in God she taught me, which has gotten me through some really hard times.
My mom was a worrier but she was also very happy and an optimist. Thankfully, I don’t tend to worry and I am naturally happy and an optimist like her. Working with people so closely, with their personal family photos and their memories, those traits have served me well.
Susan Berland
A Picture’s Worth
http://www.susan-berland.com
My mom taught me a lot of things growing up – she is an eternal optimist which influences me and fights my tendency to catastrophize. I had a crappy childhood, but in a lot of ways I didn’t realize it because of my mother and her positive attitude and affirming of her children. I actually used to say to people that I lived a “charmed life” and one day in my adulthood I heard myself after some challenging situations and I paused and thought, “No, I haven’t…” But you know what, no one does. It was my mother’s ability to see through to the positive that taught me to do the same. My mom recently went through a health scare, almost died, then I thought I might have lost her mentally (she is ok now) – so this Mother’s Day is especially poignant for me and I will value her gifts to me ever more.
My Mom was much-loved as a minister’s wife for her teaching, her muscial talents, her style and her way of being lighthearted and playful with people. From this, I inherently gravitated to discovering my talents and developing them and also became a spiritual teacher, although in a very different way. As life progressed, she took big risks to be herself and create a life beyond the boundaries of her role as a minister’s wife. In this, she was such a model for me to live my possibilities instead of settling for what was expected.
hmm? I still don’t know how to fold a sheet, maybe there is a correlation, as I am not so disciplined. Thanks for the thought. What I learned from mom was a bit different. One thing was to speak out for what I want and to stand my ground. I am a rock! This helps in field of nutrition where there are a lot of naysayers. Also, I believe in myself because no matter how quirky I was, I always got support. So I am able to be myself and stand strong.
My mom taught me the power of focus to complete a task and get it done…that has been invaluable in my business! 🙂
Brandy Mychals
Creator of the Character Code System
My mom taught me the power of focus to complete a task and get it done…that has been invaluable in my business! 🙂
Brandy Mychals
Creator of the Character Code System
My mom taught me the power of focus to complete a task and get it done…that has been invaluable in my business! 🙂
Brandy Mychals
Creator of the Character Code System
Oh wow. My mom taught me how awful it is to compare siblings to each other. I guess she also inadvertently gave me the power to survive a crisis and come out the other end even stronger.
Funny that you are bringing up mom’s this week, when I was just talking about my mom on an interview this week. Realizing how much my mom influenced my lifestyle aesthetic. She is determined and dedicated to creating an experience when people come over. My memories are all about how she filled the house with color flowers and beauty, how hard she worked to make it look so effortless. A lesson I need to remember now more than ever, is that she never gave up when she wanted something. So many lessons, I could write a book about it. Maybe I will write that book to her. She deserves to be honored, by me for what she created for me.
Jennifer Duchene
Home Makeover Mixtress blending lifestyle laughter and Diva Dens
http://LYShome.com
Great post Ann! My mom also taught me how to fold a fitted sheet.
What I learned from my mom is that anything is possible! My parents were divorced when I was in fourth grade. My mom had no work experience. She went and got a job at McDonalds in our little middle class town. It was a tough job. Humiliating, even. She went from that job to being the #1 sales person IN THE WORLD for Pitney Bowes.
Do. Not. Quit.
Great post Ann! My mom also taught me how to fold a fitted sheet.
What I learned from my mom is that anything is possible! My parents were divorced when I was in fourth grade. My mom had no work experience. She went and got a job at McDonalds in our little middle class town. It was a tough job. Humiliating, even. She went from that job to being the #1 sales person IN THE WORLD for Pitney Bowes.
Do. Not. Quit.
Great post Ann! My mom also taught me how to fold a fitted sheet.
What I learned from my mom is that anything is possible! My parents were divorced when I was in fourth grade. My mom had no work experience. She went and got a job at McDonalds in our little middle class town. It was a tough job. Humiliating, even. She went from that job to being the #1 sales person IN THE WORLD for Pitney Bowes.
Do. Not. Quit.
Great video. My mom passed onto me to never give up.
Alara K. Castell
Your Sassy Spiritual Guide
My mother helped instill my love of beauty and creating home which lead to my career as a designer. My blog is coming out in tribute to her tomorrow! I hope I can influence my grand daughter as much as my mother influenced me.