debbiedooodah

View Original

Thanks For Letting Me Talk About Cancer

Last week I wanted to talk about cancer – this week I wanted to honour you by talking about the responses I got to my post.

I have been completely humbled by the personal stories people have shared with me about their own experiences of cancer, bereavement and illness. I am certainly not alone in my grief for myself, my body and for others.

The recurring thing that kept coming out of the question ‘what would you do if you knew you had 10 years left?’, wasn’t big holidays, fancy cars, new homes, earning that elusive 6-figure salary. It was spending time with loved ones and just knowing that in this moment you are good.

I know I can get so swept up in building my business, in saving to pay off the mortgage in worrying about my empty pension pot. When in reality although these things are important, it’s the quality of the people around you now that count.

It’s taking time out of your business to be with those people who make you smile and light up your days. It’s stopping and literally smelling the roses and touching your arms, legs, head and knowing that you’re ok. You’re here now and will be in one-minute time.

You guys shared stories with me of being orphaned at such young ages, of having partners with incurable cancers, of health scares and laying awake at night worried you might die. Thank you so much for sharing those stories with me.

We all have shit to deal with all the time. We never know what is around the corner. We just have to deal with life one day at a time.

I spent last week in a castle with a moat that Henry VIII stayed in at a women in business conference, and there was a lot of talk of 6-figure launches, maybe even a whiff of some 7-figures!

My favourite quote of the 2 days was a conversation that went like this…

‘So I got my tax bill and it was £80,000 and I hadn’t saved any money to pay it, so I just did a launch and made the money to pay my tax bill’.

In our house if we need to pay for anything big, we’ll now be saying ‘just do a launch!'

While these women were so successful in their fields and made huge amounts of money, it all seemed a little empty. And as I got to know some of these women, so successful on the outside, they all still had the same worries as people earning £2k a month. Insecurities about not being good enough and staying away from social media because of comparison.

So my quest for you and myself is to build a solid business, built on adding immense value, on being true to yourself, of knowing that what you do is making a difference, a positive impact. On allowing yourself to be in the moment, enjoying what you’ve built and are building.

Of not spending too much time looking at what others are doing and have got. Of knowing what success looks like to you, and not being swayed by what success means to others.

That’s where true happiness in business lies. Your business, your way x

Read my blog post I want to talk about cancer