The cliché statement, “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade,” is a mindset I’ve lived by when life becomes that bully on the playground. Perspective and perseverance rolled up into a sugar-coated lemonade stand. I believe tough times are often given a bad rep. We all suffer struggles and trauma throughout our lives, but when you change your perspective of the challenge, that challenge then becomes a window of opportunity.
I was diagnosed with highly aggressive breast cancer at 38. It came at the perfect time. I was working with the Estee Lauder Companies. Career obsessed and eager to grow with the company, I felt unstoppable. My ambitious career drive was finally paying off.
August 10, 2018, life slammed the brakes on me, and I came to a screeching halt. It was divine intervention that my diagnosis came while working with a company that founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital. I was blessed.
I hired three different career coaches in three months. I was obsessing over, not just losing my hair and possibly my life, but my career. The thought of losing my job scared me more than the diagnosis.
While undergoing 11 months of chemotherapy I did some forward thinking and returned to college to study a bachelor’s degree program in digital marketing and brand strategy. There was my window. I attended webinars on business acumen, strategies on building an effective Linkedin profile, and I began networking with multiple established women-in-business platforms.
I felt that my bachelor’s degree was beneficial, but I needed some leverage in the beauty business world. The Fashion Institute of Technology offered a Beauty Business Essentials program. Here was another window. Making only $949/month on a disability check, a full-time student living alone, I managed to enroll on a payment plan.
Since graduating FIT, L’Oreal personally invited me to attend a Master Class on Marketing and what it takes to make it in the beauty business. Candy Gebhart, General Manager of REDKEN at L’Oreal, was the guest speaker. The perspective she had and the challenges she overcame during her career were very much like my own. These seven strategies would serve as my road map to future success.
Self-Awareness
Perception is reality. Ask yourself, what is your intent? How do you perceive yourself? Then ask different people what 3 words they would use to describe you. Do they align with how you wanted to be perceived? Use feedback as a tool, don’t be discouraged by it, learn from it to better yourself.
Executive Presence
Find mentors or people you admire in your industry. How do they dress, speak, sit, and lead their teams? Emulate their presence. Dress like you are the CEO and treat your job as if you own the company.
Learn Effective Presentation Skills
Exemplary communication skills are a top soft skill that all companies seek out in a potential employee. Polish your presentation skills. Practice your public speaking skills to ensure you are comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. Take time to have learn clear, concise, communication.
Be Curious
Ask questions, and don’t be afraid to speak up or seek out advice if you are stuck. It is better to find the answer rather than placing a project in jeopardy due to ego. Have a growth mindset and be a creative problem solver. There is always a solution, and curiosity sparks creativity.
Maturity
To carry an executive presence one must be professionally, emotionally, and socially mature. Leave your personal problems at the door before entering the workplace. Sharing personal problems with team members and colleagues can bring down morale. Composure is a sign of emotional maturity. The ability to maintain grace under pressure is a key characteristic in successful professionals. Social maturity refers to how you conduct your social media accounts, what you post, comment, and even the content you engage with. Present yourself accordingly.
Ambition and Drive
There is an element to success that trumps talent on the playing field, and that element is grit. Grit, or perseverance, is having a passion that turn challenges into windows. We make time for the people we want, and we overcome obstacles to fulfill our true passions. You could have all the talent in the world, but if you lack passion, it is irrelevant. Believe that hard work brings success, and practice makes for a larger window.
Leadership
Turn experiences into ideas and be a role model. Keep composure under pressure and condition yourself for mental resilience. Be a thought leader, change leader and sprinkle your lemonade stand with collaborative leadership style. Share your experiences to motivate.
Candy Gebhart says a strategy implemented into your career goals is a road map to success. Develop a very laser focused plan of action and stick with it. At times our window needs to be defrosted to have a clear view of the road ahead. Failure is inevitable, you are human. Use failure as a lesson learned and use feedback as a tool to craft the perfect career.
About the Author
Shannon K. Cook is studying for a bachelor’s degree in digital marketing and brand strategy at Full Sail University, Winter Park, FL. She recently earned a certificate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York for Beauty Business Essentials.
She is an assistant manager at the Aveda Experience Center, Aveda corporate headquarters, just returning after a 4-year hiatus while she battled breast cancer having been diagnosed at age 38.
On October 2, 2020, she helped orchestrate the reproductive rights March in Minneapolis, and was project manager for the Womens’ March text bank during the national elections. We texted 5 million women in key voting states to sign up voters and send information on the mail-in-voting process.
