The speaker clicked over to another slide” Which one are you?’ she asked the 500 women in the room pointing at the gigantic screen “are you the person who enters the elevator and works out if its safe to get in; How many people? How much weight? Is there a risk involved? Or are you the one who sees entering the elevator as an opportunity to chat to other people, time to perhaps even make an introduction? Or are you the one who just wants to get to the floor you need to get too as quickly as possible with no interruption?”
She paused as the audience worked out who they were “Of course” she continued, “there is another person, the stir-crazy one that pushes the ‘Close Door’ button impatiently and repeatedly over and over but I have not listed that person…”
Oops, I thought, that sounds a little bit familiar.
We had already been asked to circle colored words on a paper that best described us. I wasn’t sure I wanted to share mine. I seemed to net out as red, with only a smattering of yellow. Others around the table had circled lots of blue and green words, nice words like; reflective and cautious, caring and concerned, mine were only hair-on-fire-red-energy words. My neighbor had gone so far as to make extra notes on her paper. Lots of notes. She was wearing a ‘Speaker’ badge. I looked her up in the program. Ah ha, the extra notes made sense, she was an FBI Special Agent.
The rooster of women speaking was impressive. Don’t be fooled when you see a Rear Foot Reconstructive Podiatrist Surgeon in the line up, especially if they are called Marion Parke, they are sexy, funny, enlightened and go gung ho after their dreams.
I had been invited to join this professional leadership conference in Minneapolis by one of our ambassadors, Tammie Follet, who had helped found the event in order to inspire, encourage and support women in reaching their full potential.
Earlier that day another of our ambassadors had generously offered to come over and blow dry my hair. I was in need of a little help, having arrived well after midnight the evening before, after a stint in the LA office, spending time with our new Design Director who has just joined us from Isabel Marant in Paris (she is wonderful, has a brilliant eye and a warm heart and is just learning to write in English “It was very great this week to impregnate myself with your good test and universe” she emailed me) Lavish Lisa arrived in my hotel room, kit in hand ready for action. She has owned her own beauty salon for a while, we chatted a bit about the entrepreneurial life as she set up her things, hair spray, brushes, combs “Oh My God…” she suddenly exclaimed “I have forgotten the hair dryer” We ended up using the hotel one “its like a Tonka Toy” said Lisa, panicked “I could blow on your hair with my breath and it’d be quicker!” Love you Lisa, life is not always as we planned.
Love you Lisa, we can all relate to being a Harassed Mum. (Click here to shop my new keyrings)