Kate
by KATE HUNTER
Through life, we collect gems of wisdom which act as signposts on our journey. They might come from our grandparents, our teachers or, more recently, in Facebook memes. Because she’s an old-fashioned kinda gal, Rebecca Sparrow found one in a book, and wrote about it last year:
“I heard something recently that made me stop and think. It was from Elizabeth Gilbert – the author of that mega-seller Eat Pray Love. Stop rolling your eyes. I know her book divided people into two camps. The couldn’t-put-it-down camp and the this-is-self-indulgent-drivel camp. Personally, I liked it. And I like Gilbert. So I’m watching an old TV interview with her and she’s talking about how crazy her life has been post-Eat Pray Love. And then she said, “I’ve worked out I’m my best person when I have less on my plate.”
And for whatever reason that quote resonated with me. When I’m stressed and my life is crazy busy, I’m not a great person to live with. And I think Gilbert is right – for me anyway – I am my best person when I have less on my plate. I’m less stressed. And I’m happier. Which in turn means I can give more. And instead of doing a half-assed job on a dozen things, I can give proper attention and care to say six. Okay, three.
“In our world there is still kudos gained from being ‘busy,” says Jo Basset, creator of the website Living Savvy. “There is a misbelief that busy people are important people or doing important things. In my quest to live a savvy life I endeavour to live a life that is full and filling not busy, juggled and stressed.”
Full and filling – not busy, juggled and stressed. I can’t think of a better mantra to take with me into my fortieth year. Along with an emptier plate.”
Of course, if you tried to live by ALL the fabulous, inspirational pieces of advice you hear and see, you’d end up in therapy, getting more advice. So we need to be selective.
I stopped pinning meaningful phrases above my desk a few months ago. The sheer volume was getting me down, which was defeating the purpose. I’m trying to hold just three pieces of advice in my mind.
“Put all your eggs in the family basket”
1) Put all your eggs in the family basket. This was from writer Frances Whiting. Bec (Mamamia’s Contributing Editor) told it to me when I was struggling with whether or not I could do a job. How could I decide? The pros were even Stevens with the cons – I was stressed and confused. Could I have a bet each way? The family basket advice bought clarity and simplicity to my decision.
Life isn’t a share portfolio – I’m not diversifying. Nothing offers greater returns than investments you make in your family. Of course, Bec also once talked me into having my eye makeup done at a shop at Sydney airport – not all her advice is gold.
2) Bite Off More Than You Can Chew, Then Chew Like Hell. This was from my brother in law. He’s a politician, so I normally take his advice with a fistful of salt. But I’m a procrastinator with a low boredom threshold. Unless I have a deadline and an impossible task to complete, I’ll Google ‘Funny Dog Names’. So I often take on things I shouldn’t – like signing a contract to write a novel I hadn’t started. I very nearly choked a dozen times, but I kept on chewing and somehow got it done.
3) Bust your arse. Pay Attention. Fall In Love. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld used this as a basis for a speech he first gave at a performing arts school in New York. The first two are self-explanatory – the third refers not to romantic love, but loving what you do. If you love what you do, it won’t feel like work, you’ll want to spend all your time doing it and you’ll get better and better. I might put that one back on my wall.
Just in case this is all too cosmic –Oprah-karma reach-for-the-stars for you, let me say that there are many pieces of advice I believe are crap choose to ignore.
No. Wrong.
1) If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. If something fails, I prefer to try a different way, or do something else.
2) If you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re probably right. This reminds me of the very excellent post by Stella Young, ‘We’re not here for your inspiration.’ Stella is in a wheelchair and pointed out that thinking REALLYPOSITIVELY about getting up a flight of stairs won’t help her – a ramp would be far more useful.
3) If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It. This features on gym singlets worn by hot kindy mums at drop-off. It’s also on a pony poster hanging on my nine year old daughter’s wall. I don’t want to burst my little girl’s bubble, bur she can dream all she likes – but she won’t be riding a palomino filly in a gymkhana anytime soon.
Kate Hunter is Mamamia’s contributing editor and an advertising copywriter with over 20 years experience and one Gruen Transfer appearance to her name. Kate is also the author of the Mosquito Advertising series of novels. You can buy them here.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve heard? And what advice have you been given that makes no sense?
Comments
170 Comments so far
My mum used to say to me “you’re no better than anyone else and no-one is any better than you”.
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My friend Michael told me when I was going through a rough time:
“You settle for what you believe you are worth.”
I can pin-point when that was, as everything in my life turned for the better when I began living by that advice.
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Sometimes it is better to look a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
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1. Work hard and be nice to people.
2. If a man hasn’t gotten in touch, he is not interested. Move on.
3. A little of the best. Applies to food, wine, makeup, perfume…
4. The purpose of life is to be happy- follow your heart and be true to yourself
When I was a toddler my very glamourous, funny grandma used to sing ‘Keep young and beautiful if you want to be loved!’ to me as my horrified mother looked on… thankfully this didn’t leave a lasting impression and I just find it amusing now. On a side note, she may be 89 now but she is still one of the most beautiful people I know!
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“2. If a man hasn’t gotten in touch, he is not interested. Move on.”
Truer words were never spoken, there are no exceptions to this rule. I learnt this the hard way. Imagine if everyone believed this right away, we’d save ourselves so much trouble and heartbreak.
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“this too shall pass” for both the good and the bad
“if you dont like it change it, if you cant change it, change your attitude”
and
“just finish it”- helps me for exercise
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When I was younger I used to worry all the time about what people thought of me, if they like me, and if I was the subject of gossip… this one was a real light bulb moment for me (don’t know where it’s from)…
“You’d be surprised what others think of you, if you realized how seldom they do”
Chances are nobody is thinking about you as much as you are so don’t worry about it!
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David Foster Wallace said it – he has some great quotes.
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Helen Fielding in Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination wrote something similar.
Her character is giving herself a talking to before going into a party where she won’t know anyone, and reminds herself, “No-one is thinking about you, they’re thinking about themselves, just like you”.
Has always stuck with me, and I repeat it to myself before going into every party. =)
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I love that one too.. Dr Phil uses it A LOT..
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Procrastination is an art that can be mastered, given enough time.
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“Always wear boring underpants, that way if someone sees them they’re not worth talking about”
I’m a teacher and this second one is particularly good
“If you’re going to fart go near the stinky kid, the kids will never think to blame you”
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“What other people think of you is none of your business.”
As someone who was/is so anxious about other people’s opinions I’ve found this saying is a great circuit breaker.
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Never deprive someone of hope, it might be all that they have.
and….
Just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to, doesn’t mean that they aren’t loving you the best way they know how to.
lastly…
If all else fails, hide under the table and drink wine
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what other people think of you is none of your business!
As someone who used to get ridiculously anxious about the opinions of others this saying is a good circuit breaker
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Some of my favourites are:
“Never take a person’s dignity. It is worth everything to them and nothing to you.” Frank Barron
“As soon as you can afford to spare the money, get a cleaner” My mother in law
“Why would you want to be someone else when you could be you?” My husband
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From Dad, when teaching me how to drive – “Everyone on the road is an idiot. Including yourself.”
Has certainly helped me with the road rage!
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The best piece of advice came from my best friend the day I bought my first child home from hospital.
I was in a panic that the house was a mess and I thought I had so much to do…..
She told me “You will never have this time agian. You must cherish the first 6 months of you new born as you will never have this again”
She was right. I spent hours just looking at her and cherishing the time I had before I went back to work.
It was not the same with number 2 as you don’t have the luxury of all that free time. I have passed this onto other new mothers and they have all come back and thanked me.
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from my mum: “always wear a skirt or dress to the doctor if it’s for a pap test”
from my nana: “tuck your singlet in so your kidneys don’t get cold” and “only make lamingtons when you have lots of time and won’t worry about the mess”
from my dad: “always turn off your headlights before the ignition. Otherwise it will drain the battery” I don’t think is actually true though…
from my sister: “you are clever and good and everything you try. Believe in yourself and work harder at one of those things. Something great will happen because of it”
from my obstetrician when I was fretting about giving birth again: “the first baby paved the way. This time it won’t be so bad!”
And general quotes I love:
“You will find that it is necessary to let things go, simply for the reason that they are heavy.”
“Be kinder than you feel.”
“Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.”
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Love that last one.
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it’s from the Southern Comfort ads on tv now
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Actually, no, originally it was Oscar Wilde. The advert has just borrowed it.
He has some fantastic lines…
“There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.”
“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”
“Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.”
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Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.
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I love this one.
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“Feel the fear and do it anyway”
“Lefty Lucy, Tighty righty”
“Success is the best revenge”
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”
“Love many, trust a few and learn to paddle your own canoe”
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Lefty Lucy, Righty Tighty – totally! My husband taught me this and it has served me well. I never fumble anymore!
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I don’t get it….
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Oh wait, is it turning taps on and off?!
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I think it’s pretty universal for anything you can turn, left is loose right is tight. I always say this in my head when I turn of taps or unscrew my car aerial for the car wash!
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Yeah it’s actually “Lefty loose-y, Righty tight-y” rather than “Lucy”. As in, when you turn a tap/screw/bolt to the left, it becomes looser. When you turn it to the right it tightens.
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“Every action has a reaction.”
A lesson in thinking first, doing second.
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When times are tough – “This too will pass”. A great reminder that life is full of ups and downs and things will change for the better.
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The beauty of ‘this too shall pass’ is that it not only applies to tough times, but to good times too. You can let it guide you so that you appreciate the good and see through the bad
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My Grandmother always used to say; “It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice”
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It is more important to be respected than nice.
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“Never trust anyone who says trust me.”
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If it’s to be, it’s up to me.
This one is simple, yet it really sums it all up. I like to tell this to myself those times that I’m feeling sorry for myself and waiting for someone or something to suddenly make my life better.
Every time my life has improved I’ve actually had to get off my arse and put in effort, even if that was just putting one foot in front of the other to keep moving forward
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Reach for the stars – you might not reach them but at least you tried.
Don’t be afraid to fail.
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“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet”…
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‘Do what you think you should do.’
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My Grandma loved quoting sayings, she had tons of them. The one that I actually like though – “better to be late than dead on time”. I hear this all the time when I start to speed (because I am constantly late).
Worst she ever gave – “school days are the best days of your life”. Although I loved school, being an adult is a thousand times better.
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“If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans.”
I don’t believe in God but still believe in this 100%. One thing that experience has taught me is that life is crazy unpredictable and you can never know where you’re going to be in 5 and 10 years time.
I’ve never been able to understand people who say things like “I’ll buy a house when I’m 25, I’ll get maried when I’m 28, do a big Europe trip at 29 and then have a baby.” Good luck with that.
Also, I would love to see certain cliches that have been repeated thousands of times retired. Think “everything happens for a reason”, yeah try telling that to parents whose child is dying of cancer.
Another one is “you can be anything you put your mind to.” No I can’t, there is no way I am going to become an Olympic gymnast or the President of the United States no matter how much I put my mind to it.
A simple fact of life is that 99.9% of us are not going to be the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Lady Gaga so why are we constantly repating this useless phrase.
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That is so true. Less than 6 months ago I was declaring that by 30 I would have gotten engaged, bought a house, married Ex Mr W, travelled to Europe and had a baby on the way probably.
NOW? I have NFI what life has in store for me. And it equally scares the living SH!T out of me and excites me!
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I’m with you. en years ago I had no idea that at 40 I’d still be childless, and heading off to uni to study social work. Certainly haven’t met any of the ‘goals’ of owning a home, travelling overseas and having plenty of money…the last two losing importance as the years have marched on.
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I am 32. At the start of last year I was 30.5 I would have thought baby but no.
What happened instead was that in March I applied to a course I had just heard of at Oxford University and was accepted.
Still no baby as of right now, but if anyone had told me 21 months ago that I’d study at Oxford University, and WITHIN 6 MONTHS –>I’d have laughed and laughed. I had no plans of even so much a holiday in Fiji last year!
You truly DON’T know what’s around the corner but it can be better than expected.
Besides, I can have a baby in 2013 or 2014 or 2015
If I’d had a baby any earlier I’d have never gone to Oxford
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“Be realistic about your goals”. This is the frame of that not everyone is going to be the PM or as rich as Gina Reinhart. It’s more about setting goals that a reasonable and achievable
“You are never too old to learn”. I’m an avid advocate for lifelong learning. Heck I’m going back to uni at 40. It doesn’t matter if you are 18, 30, 40, 50 or 90, one thing that this country does well is make higher education accessible to all. If you have always wanted to study astrophysics then go for it, no matter how old you are…I know once I’m finished with career based study I’ll be studying fun topics such as quantum physics.
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I’d like to study fun things that I’m interested in at uni but I can’t afford it! It’s so expensive.
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You should see if you can find a grant, maybe there is something around the corner for you if you want it badly enough!
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“Where there’s a will, there’s a way..”
Another great lesson that applies here. Good luck!
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Yes, trying to convince my Mum to have a go at uni – she is really interested in history, so I’m trying to work on her!
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I have a friend whose mum does UTA (university of the third age) courses and loves it.
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Kris2040 – tell her to check out the history course at the University of New England (UNE) – I’ve been to four uni’s now and I enjoyed my history courses there more than anywhere else. All of the subjects can be studied online. It’s never too late!
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Cool, thanks! I think she’d be really good, but I worry about her confidence. Also, I doubt she could see a “reason” for doing it, but I am trying to say that the enjoyment of the learning is the reason!
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A staple of my childhood from Dad, “Actions speak louder than words”.
From mum, “whatever you do, I will end up finding out. Doesn’t matter if it takes years, I will still find out”. Yeah but only because when we reached our 20s, my sister and I told you all the stuff we got up to as teenagers
My current favorite, is a quote from Nanushka, “if you crave respect in your old age, it may be advisable to begin earning it in your youth”.
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I love “You are what you think all day long”.
When I let myself sweat the small stuff for no reason, i end up being angry and bitter, starting fights, making things worse for myself. If i put a positive spin on things I’m much happier, more productive, nicer to be around
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From my darling Aunty: “If all they eat for dinner is eggs and cheese, well they’re getting protein and calcium! If all they eat is toast and vegemite, then they’re getting carbs and vitamin b. If you spread the meals out over a week, well then you’re doing just fine!” in regards to my fussy eater. Gave me the ability to see that yoghurt and mango for dinner is just fine, allowed me to let go of the “must eat meat, veg and carbs in one sitting” mentality that was causing major arguments every night.
Not so much advice, but a wonderful way of dealing with conflict:
“When you do……, I feel……” My mum taught me this at about 20, and I use it all the time. No-one can MAKE you feel things, but this allows you to explain that behaviours exibited by other people promote specific feelings in you.
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From my wise grandmother:
“If a lady doesn’t watch her figure, no one else will.”
“The best way to predict the future is the past.”
I railed against both maxims when I was younger but the older I get the truer they seem!
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Don’t have a quote as such, but lately the idea of ‘being grateful’ has resonated with me, as has ‘don’t burn your bridges’.
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I miss open post. I want to know whats happening with people. Is Karoke man totally off the radar now? Is another fabulous still having a massive office crush.
Sigh…
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Karaoke man ended up being an idiot.
And I think the office crush ended too.
I would love group therapy on a Monday and open post on Wednesday or the other way around.
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‘Be Yourself’
(from my uni lecturer to me when I was about to go out on my first prac teaching day in a rough and tough high school)
AND
‘Always wash the glasses first’ (from my ‘domestic science’ teacher)
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“Don’t eat the yellow snow”
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“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay then it’s not the end”; that works for me. What does not work for me is “Everything happens for a reason”. Bull***t!
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worry about the things you can change, don’t worry about the things you can’t change
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Five things.
‘Once you’ve slept with someone, you can’t go back to just holding hands’
‘Love many, trust a few, but always paddle your own canoe’
‘Listen to everything, but only hear what your need’
‘Nobody’s ever had YOUR baby before’
‘Happiness is not having what you want, its wanting what you have’
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My grandfather wrote in my Mum’s childhood autograph book ‘Life is only froth and bubble, two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s troubles, courage in your own.” I can’t tell you how many times just the word ‘courage’ has gotten me through tough times.
He was also renowned for saying “People go to church on Sunday so they can stab you in the back on Monday.” Certainly fitting for current events!
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Life is going to throw all sorts of sh** at you, but it’s how you choose to deal with it, learn from it and move on that is important. You have a choice on how you want it to affect your life. I’ve been through a difficult time the last couple of years. I’m choosing to go through this difficult experience in a positive manner.
I like Jerry Seinfeld’s advice. I also hope I find something career-wise that I am passionate about and absolutely love doing.
The other piece of advice I like is to say no to things – don’t feel obligated to say yes and then stress out about having to do it or feel like there is too much on. i love not having too much ‘organised’ stuff in my life..
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Please bring back open post!!!
Surely there is room for group therapy and open post?
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I agree! The only reason I come to Mamamia is I’m an isolated SAHM and I miss being at work. Open post/best and worst make me feel like I’m in an office catching up on the gossip in my otherwise lonely life.
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I agree! I’d also really love to ask what was with the sponsored abortion post this morning – but I don’t know where to go to discuss. I’d be interested to hear about Mamamia’s reasons for posting it in the first place, and then the decision to take it down.
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Hello Lolly!
And everyone else. Lots of questions, so I’ll try and cover them all off.
Firstly, we’ve retired Open Post for a little while and we’re trying out Group Therapy on a Wednesday instead. We like to experiment and mix things up, see what people enjoy best but thanks for the feedback!
Secondly, we’re going to have Best and Worst as a bit of a B/W/Open combo this week and next, so you will still get the Open Post feel. Almost like a community noticeboard, come and tell us what you’re doing, what you love, what you hate.
And finally, the sponsored post. We had a little rookie error and someone hit the publish button accidentally. But you’ll see that post soon, I promise, at the time it was actually intended to run on the site
Hope everyone is having a fab week.
Jamila x
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Thanks for the reply Jamila. While I totally respect the decision to mix things up, I’m struggling to understand, I assume open post would have been one of the most popular articles every week. Anyway…
I look foward to Friday’s mixed bag b/w/open!
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I also miss the open post…… not a big fan of incorporating it into best and worst on fridays (don’t think it will add anything to fridays post). I loved the community feel of this site and having open post on a wednesday really contributes to that plus it is a nice little mid-week distraction.
Honestly open post is probably the thing that keeps me coming back to this site, even though I rarely comment I read it every single week. I really think you are making a huge mistake!
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I agree with some of the others and don’t understand why you would retire Open Post. I also thought that would be one of your most popular posts. Why not just add the Group Post on another day and maybe post one less article that day?
I don’t think Best&Worst needs anything added to it, works great the way it is now.
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I agree with everyone else. Open Post has always been my favourite segment, it’s what got me interested in Mamamia and what keeps me coming back.
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i also miss the pictures of what is happening in the office, it made me feel like we were a part of the site.
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I miss the open post too.
A suggestion re: group therapy. Could we have an update about what happens to the person with the problem a few weeks/months after the original post?
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Ditto to this request for updates from the writers of group therapy items.
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I don’t want to be too pointed but this is a business right? Mamamia aren’t going to dump a post that is popular. They wouldn’t ‘retire’ it if it was getting hundreds of readers each week.
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I miss it too! Open Post and B&W are the reason I come on here!
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Your inner voice speaks to you far louder than anyone else – know when to tell it to shut up!
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My mum likes to trot out the old standards quite often which annoy me sometimes. Stuff like ‘you can be anything you make your mind up to be.’ No, I can’t. I never bought that even as a kid – used to tell her that given my very average ability was at sports that I couldn’t see myself ever being able to become an Olympic swimmer. Dream big but you still have to be realistic. She still believes that phrase today though.
Another one she says that gets my goat is ‘if it is meant to be, it will be.’ Umm, no. I don’t believe my life is pre-determined and I’m just along for the ride. The biggest influence on my life is me – how much effort I put in and the choices and decisions I make. Yes, stuff (big stuff!) will happen that is out of my control but my life’s journey was not mapped out the day I exited the womb. (Part of it for her is a religious thing though, she believes in a God and his plan for us, I don’t. I don’t have a problem with people believing in God but it does annoy me when she tells me not to worry about a situation/work towards something as it’s all mapped out anyway.)
Advice I heard which has turned out to be spot on:
Exercise makes you happier. Totally worked for me!
One day, you will look back on this and laugh. Usually true!
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I read this somewhere recently and it’s my new mantra:
You are enough.
You have enough.
You do enough.
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Love this. Especiall “you have enough” – I think we can all try and remember that a little more.
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I’ve been given loads of good advice in the last few weeks. One of the best, from my friend was “maintain a dignified silence”.
I have failed at this twice, and called and been slightly crazy in one of the calls. But I think only a couple of faltering phone calls 5 weeks into ending a 4.5 year r/ship is pretty good. Do I wish I had heeded her advice at all times? Yes, probably, but I have to keep telling myself that I have MOSTLY maintained dignified silence!
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In relation to this theme (dignified silence)
An ex-colleague of mine’s live-in fiancé had left her suddenly. He went on to take up with a new girlfriend within that year.
A year to the week he left, he sent her a ‘wistful’ nostalgic (not really) email out of the blue –he was leaving his job and had been clearing his inbox. Apparently he’d come across old emails they’d exchanged when together.
We all (girls in the office) had fun drafting extraordinarily humorous and snarky replies (very therapeutic!), but in the end she simply decided to reply briefly and tactfully – aka politely.
She said to us all: ‘I’m not going to give him any reason to justify his leaving me.
She didn’t want to confirm his actions or reasoning in having made the decision.
It was a good insight for me (26 at the time) from my 32-33 year old colleague. It’s stuck with me in considering all my responses to other people in situations where I feel a bit upset, enraged or frustrated, and this extends beyond romantic scenarios.
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“She said to us all: ‘I’m not going to give him any reason to justify his leaving me.
She didn’t want to confirm his actions or reasoning in having made the decision.”
Oh that is so intelligent and mature, I wish I could have been so dignified.
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“Worrying is like a riding a rocking horse, it doesnt get you anywhere and only wears you out.” – this was my late teens/uni stage.
“there is always, always, always something to be thankful for” – this is my current mid 20s stage.
“Dont wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain” – this is my favourite for tough times.
“Why be afraid of drowning, when your life guard walks on water” – this is my favourite faith based one.
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Re put all your eggs in the family basket.
Its a lovely sentiment, as long as its not taken to total extremes. A lot of women suffer financially when their marriage dissolves and they find they have no employable skills. I’ve also seen women who simply dont cope with their kids grow up and leave home, because they’ve devoted themselves so entirely to their family.
So I suppose perhaps it should be saying that its ok to prioritise your family but dont lose yourself entirely in the process?
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Great point Sarah. It always worries me a little bit when I see women whose entire lives are devoted to their kids and they have nothing else to live for. Surely that can’t be a good thing once the kids grow up and move on.
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Agreed.
My best friend got married last year. Her (now) husbands mother cried and cried for the whole week of the (destination) wedding because her son was leaving home and she didnt know what she would do. She’s spend her life doing everything for her 2 sons and now they both live overseas. It was so sad that she couldnt be happy for her children and also be exicted for her new stage of life. It was all doom and gloom.
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Were they weaned off the breast first before marrying ?!
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I can completely understand her – there is nothing more important in life than family and it would be devastating to have your family up and move to other countries without you. I really think we expect too much of parents when it comes to ‘letting go’ of their children. It’s a relatively new way of living – for centuries we lived in tribes or villages and family was always with us, our whole lives. Kids used to look after their parents when they grew old and needed help – the cycle of care coming full circle.
Having a child move away can be akin to losing them and we’ve all heard of the elderly people whose children never bother to call or visit. I always wonder about the kids and why they find it so easy to leave their family behind. As someone who’s extremely close to her parents I can’t really imagine leaving – for a year or two at most maybe but I’d always come back to be close to them.
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“Be nice to receptionists, secretaries and executive assistants. They control access to the boss and often know the answers to your questions. They can be the most powerful people in a company without anyone knowing it.” This was advice from a lecturer and it is so true. I was an EA for awhile, and yes if you were horribly rude to me, you would be on the bottom of the call back list.
“Ask everyone to dance” from a dance teacher early on. Such great advice, I’ve danced with some of Australia’s best even though I’m nowhere near their standard. And you know what, they enjoyed the dance too because I was having such a blast.
“Find something happy to focus on in every day – even if the only thing you can find is a great cup of tea, remember it”. This is my own advice to myself and is what I write my blog on: http://blithemoments.blogspot.com.au/
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This is so true. I used to be a recruiter, and I would always ask the Receptionist for her opinion. Often the person she would deal with would be totally different to the person in the interview!
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Love your first point. It can be so true. I have worked as EA/PA whatever you want to call it for some very important people and they have jokingly-but-seriously, referred to me as the boss many times. In terms of, they had no idea what the could take on board, how they could do things, who they should trust, how other areas of companies operated etc… all that information was held by me, also called ‘the vault’
But man, there can be some snarky PA’s out there. The ones who really relish being like I just described but then abusing it. Creating miserable lives for other employees.
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Never get your make-up done in a kiosk at Sydney Airport.
Total. Disaster.
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I think that is a very valuable life tip!
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I’ve been there at the make up counter waiting for my flight to QLD where i was going straight to a job interview. Lets just say i looked like i still had my going out make up from a night onstage by the time i left. Needless to say i didnt get the job and im still in NSW.
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