Being the exception to the rules and getting what you want. Do you see how this happening for you could make a massive difference in your business? Your career? Your life? But when you really want something that seems unreasonable to expect, or even impossible to get, how to you get it? How do you become the exception to the rule? In today’s episode of Winning Mindset Mastery, April reveals two inspiring personal stories. One from her childhood, and one from early in her entrepreneurial journey, when as a female entrepreneur, she defied expectations and gained entry into an all-male business group. In both stories, she became the exception to the rule. What did she do? The answer may surprise you. And it will inspire you. Because it’s super-simple! And it’s something you can do too! Want to find out more? Then click here now to listen to today’s episode of Winning Mindset Mastery. To your success!
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Tired Of Settling? This Technique Changes Everything
One of the stories that I talk about in my book, Magic Blue Rocks, talks about how you can become the exception to the rule. One of the things that I love about developing a winning mindset is how often it has you seeing things as possible and you have to find a way or, “This rule is for everyone else. I’m the exception,” and how you feel empowered to get the things you want and what’s important to you. I want that for you.
In this chapter of the book, I talk about how I was twelve years old and I needed a job because we were very poor and I wanted clothes for school that would help me fit in. There were certain brands, certain shoes, and certain things that kids had, and we couldn’t afford those. I saw those clothes as armor, a way to fit in, and a way to, at that point, hide the family I came from and the issues that we had. I wanted to be able to go to school and blend in, and in order to do that, I was going to have to buy those clothes myself.
Magic Blue Rocks: The Secret to Doing Anything
I found an ad in the paper. This was back that far. I called on the phone to interview for a job that I found in the newspaper. It was for an Avon representative. I was only twelve years old, but there was nothing in the ad that said you had to be a certain age. It sounded like something I could do. You could make your own money, make more depending on how much you work, and sell great quality products. It sounded like the thing for me.
I not only got hired, but I did a great job because I really enjoyed interacting with people and showing them the things that I had that would make these ladies feel more beautiful. I was very successful at selling. I got a sales award. It wasn’t until I got the award that my manager and her district manager realized I was a then thirteen-year-old kid. It was against Avon’s policy to have someone under eighteen selling, but at that point, I’d proven myself. I wanted to be a part of the team, and they were willing to make an exception. They let me stay and let me sell. I did it under my stepfather’s name.
Much of life is like that. Much of life can be changed and molded to suit what makes sense for you. You just have to have the desire and the ability to see yourself as that exception and to ask for it in a polite and kind way. It’s not going to work 100% of the time, but it will work about 90% of the time, and that will make an incredible difference.
Success Technique: Much of life can be changed and molded to suit what makes sense for you. You just have to have the desire and the ability to see yourself as that exception and ask for it in a polite and kind way.
Some people have said to me, “I can’t do that. I can’t ask for that. I can’t put myself out there.” The thing is the worst thing someone can say is, “We can’t do that.” You’re no worse off than you were. Candidly, you learn a lot from asking for these exceptions. Each time when you are so afraid of it and then you work up the courage, do it, and it works out for you, that builds your confidence in a great way. Even when it doesn’t work out for you, when for whatever reason someone says no, that lessens your fear because you understand that it’s not the end of the world. You didn’t lose anything. You didn’t have it in the first place. Those exceptions become easier to come by.
I remember when I first started my company, I was looking for a group. I wanted to be surrounded by people who’d done something like what I was doing and who knew more than I did so I could learn from them. Being an entrepreneur can be lonely. There aren’t necessarily people to look up to unless you’re in some sort of group of other folks who are doing what you’re doing.
Success Technique: You want to be surrounded by people who’ve done something like what you’re doing and who know more than you do, so you can learn from them.
There was this gentleman that I admired who wrote for Medium. His name was Mitch Harper. He was an eight-time founder in Australia and a 30 under 30 multimillionaire. He had grown up very similarly to me where he had been in poverty and he had parents with substance abuse problems. I saw him as someone to model my business after.
At the time, he was doing a group. It was specifically for male entrepreneurs who already had seven-figure businesses, trying to get them to eight figures. My business was brand new and I was a female entrepreneur. I reached out to him and said, “I’m so inspired by your work and the things that you do with founders. I really want to be a part of this group. I’m not where you want people to be to be in this group, but I want to be in this group because I think I’ll get there faster. Would you make an exception for me?” Incredibly, he did. That was a game-changer for my business. I learned things that it would’ve taken me years to learn from him and the other people in the business.
I also got reinforced on the idea of the worst someone can say is no. Put yourself out there. Ask that question. Take that risk. The same is true for you. There are so many times that people will make an exception for you in your personal life, business life, or day-to-day from a customer service perspective as a customer. There are so many opportunities for you to be the exception.
There are so many opportunities for you to be the exception. You are more special than you know. Share on XIn order for you to have the guts and the gumption to ask for those exceptions, whether it’s making a role for yourself in your current company or asking to get promoted early even though you haven’t been at the company that long but you’ve done incredible things, I encourage you to ask for exceptions in your day-to-day life in a positive and excited way. Practice both feeling what it feels like if you don’t get it because it’s not that big of a deal, but also seeing how easy it is to get those exceptions. Realize that you are more special than you know and this is more possible for you than you could ever imagine. Here’s to your success.
