Tag: leadership

She Has a Really Big….

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business

Rolodex.  Of course.  A rolodex.  For those of you under the age of 30 you may not even know what a rolodex is, but way back in the time of paper we had these things that sat on our desks called a rolodex.  The rolodex was a desktop card index used to record names, addresses, and telephone numbers, (or business cards) in a rotating spindle or a small tray to which removable cards are attached.

 

Nowadays we call them phones.  🙂 . But in a recent retreat I participated we were asked to describe our self with one word and the first letter of that word had to be the first letter of our name.  So going with “R” I used the word relational.  I believe that I am a relational personal who builds long-lasting relationships.  I value my relationships with friends, business acquaintances and family a great deal.

I confess I am not the quickest to build the relationship.  I think I have mentioned before that I don’t make very good small talk.   But if we get past the small talk in our conversation then I dig in – I really get to know you.  I have known this about myself and I have a few close friends who know this about me, but honestly when the Mayor of our City described me to a consultant as having a really big rolodex, I was kind of shocked.

Should I be shocked that he thought of me as having a big rolodex? I guess I kind of thought that was my little secret.  Isn’t that kind of weird that I felt exposed and kind of “found out” when I was described as having a big rolodex.  You know, I know people.  haha

After weirding out about it just a little, I have come to take great pride in my rolodex.  I believe the people in my rolodex (or phone) are one of my greatest prized possessions.  I know people.  I know people who know people and everyday I love expanding my network of people.

John Maxwell once said in a training session that he always asks his new friends or acquaintances, “Who do you know that I should know?”  Maybe that is because he too values his rolodex.  He values the people he knows.  I believe I am in company with the likes of someone like Maxwell who is always focused on building his rolodex to grow and develop as a human, a leader, and a mentor.

#GoGrowYourRolodex

Ep 6: Emma Otto Visits With Rachael about the Art of Negotiating

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business, Success Without Apology Podcast

After listening to the podcast please leave me your comments here.  I would love to hear any of your stories about how you or one of your rockstar girlfriends negotiated creatively.   At every turn of my career I have negotiated a day job that allowed me to take my personal days to officiate basketball.  Your needs may be different – tell me about how you make it happen.

#b2bnetwork #MediaLife #Negotiate4Life #CreativelyNegotiate

Practice Forgiveness for Happiness

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business

There are so many books right now being published about happiness. While on the surface this may seem like a good topic and good for us all to be consuming, I believe it is one more indicator of tumultuous and hurting society.  We, as a collective unit, are desperately seeking anything to calm the storm that lives with us right now.  We are consuming the drugs of hate, bitterness, anger, and anxiety to a point of detrimental personal health and well-being.  We have a President who name calls like a teenage bully, news stations fueled with hate and division, and teenagers turning to gun violence and retaliation rather than professional help or friends.

I am so saddened by our unfulfilled hearts.  I am heavy hearted that we have so many people who are in desperate desire to understand what could/would make them happy.  I genuinely hurt when others cannot find happiness in their life.  I have seen the darkest of days where happiness seemed afar and true inner joy was a goal, yet overall, I am a happy person.

I recently listed to Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver on Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations podcast and listened to Marie talk about her newest book, I’ve Been Thinking.  Maria spent a few minutes answering a question Oprah asked about what she teaches her children.  She spoke of the values and then she caught my attention when she began to expand upon forgiveness.  She tells her children they must practice forgiveness and work to be good at it.

As I heard her say that, my mind trailed off to write this blog because it struck me.  It really resonated with me that forgiveness and a forgiving heart is truly a key to happiness.  I think of the times I have been in the very darkest of days where happiness eluded me. I see now that I was in a place where I was being unforgiving.  For example, after my marriage ended I was in pursuit of my true joy and happiness, but it wasn’t until I fully forgave my ex- husband that I felt my personal happiness again.

As I mentioned earlier, you can read a dozen books about happiness if you would like.  You can find literature about the happiest people in the world, but can you forgive? Practicing forgiveness may be one of the best tactics to finding happiness.  Speaking of forgiveness, have you forgiven yourself for being slightly overweight or too bossy or a stay-at-home or a workaholic?  Have you forgiven your sibling for how they spoke to you or reacted to a situation?  Have you forgiven your friend for speaking ill behind your back against you?

How does forgiveness impact your personal happiness? If you are withholding forgiveness you are putting speedbumps on your road to happiness. If you can not forgive yourself or others, you prevent happiness from full development.  You may think it is easy for me to say because you think I don’t have people to forgive.

I have forgiven myself for all the wrong, inexperienced things I did as a youth director when I was trying to start a praise service.  I handled so many situations incorrectly and it took many years to forgive myself for them.  I forgave my ex-husband for his affairs and disrespect. I forgave the girl who used to bully me in school. I hold no grudge against my cousin who really screwed me in a business deal. I will forgive the person getting off this plane in an hour when she shows no curtesy or respect (trust me this takes a special kind of forgiveness, ha). I choose forgiveness, and I practice it daily.

The world gives us many avenues for anger, hate, bitterness, and unhappiness. What if we armed young people with the practice of forgiveness?  Could we prevent some of the actions they take to get revenge or to make people pay?  Each day we, as adults, are given opportunities to forgive.  We can practice forgiveness, model forgiving behaviors to young people and encourage forgiveness in others.  If you practice forgiveness, you can impact your happiness.  I say this, not as a happiness expert, but as a happy person.

Take some time to reflect and give me feedback if you would like.  If given the opportunity to forgive someone today, would you take it?

Sounding Board Save Me

Posted on by Rachael Melot in successwithoutapology, business

When I was participating in the Women In Fellowship program I heard that the greatest indicator of a woman’s success is her network.  At the time, I found this to be a very fascinating statistic and every since then I have continued to observe women and their networks for affirmation of said research.  While I believe a woman’s network is an indicator of future success,  I’m convinced a woman’s inner circle of her network, professional sounding board is even more indicative of her potential.

By definition,  a sounding board is a person or group on whom one tries out an idea or opinion as a means of evaluating it.  I believe my greatest indicator of success is the quality of my sounding board, more importantly than my full network.  Recently I was having a business issue that I was trying to solve for and after trying my damnedest to figure out how to solve for it, I simply asked two people in my sounding board for their advice.   The question at hand was, “How do I differentiate my business from the other salons in a way that stylists want to stay, have a sense of loyalty, and feel a genuine desire to see the salon success?” Continue reading “Sounding Board Save Me” →

All Men: When to Challenge

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business

The board room has an attorney, a facility manager, an office systems business owner, a banker, a pharmacist, a trucker, a retiree and me.  They are brilliant leaders in our community and they are in the dark when it comes to digital media.  I love serving on this board and I love that my background is so diverse from theirs – that I am younger than them, and that I am the “girl” in the room.  One thing that sometimes tickles me is that my ideas are often times completely foreign and outlandish to them, not because I am trying to be different but because my lens is just different. It sometimes leads to some ridicule and comments like, “Yeah, hey Randy – go ahead and twit that out would you?”

Continue reading “All Men: When to Challenge” →

Become A Legend, Like Calamity Jane

Posted on by Rachael Melot in successwithoutapology

Martha Jane Cannary, known by most as Calamity Jane, is a woman who knew what she wanted, went to get it, and never looked back.  In my research of Calamity Jane is she is one of those people who wrote her own story.  In fact, today, we still don’t know how much of her story – the one she penned and we read – is considered to be is true  and how much is complete fabrication.  She is known as quite the spinner of tales. The fact that fascinates me about this is that Calamity Jane decided she wanted to be a legend, so she lived and dreamed a legendary life worth us remembering.

Do you have any friends like Calamity Jane?  Do you have people in your life who encourage you to simply – be legendary? Do they challenge you to take risks, fall in love, chase the dream, ask for more money, or stand up for what you believe to be right? Continue reading “Become A Legend, Like Calamity Jane” →

Be You, Do Right, Keep Moving

Posted on by Rachael Melot in successwithoutapology

“I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” – John D. Rockefeller

Perseverance is vital to long-term success. As the richest man of his time, John D. Rockefeller knew that nothing of importance is built without much hard work. To do so, the work and focus must be intentional and consistent  – no matter the task.

In each of us is the potential to be successful, and with focus, a specific mindset, and a vision of your goal to become truly unstoppable you can tap into it.

Continue reading “Be You, Do Right, Keep Moving” →