That quote is by one of my favourite speakers when it comes to motivation, being innovative and I've never listened to a Simon Sinek interview or talk and felt anything but uplifted. He has some extraordinary ways of approaching life and reframing circumstances. He has many great quotes, but this one I found particularly appropriate today.
A few days ago my sister and I were chatting about our hair. Last week I started to lose mine in clumps - it's not true hair loss, it's postpartum hair shedding and it's to be expected. My sister recommended that I should increase my vitamin D intake because she's had good success with it decreasing her hairfall (she has really long beautiful hair). We then got on to talking about the kids hair and how both LL and BK get quite bad knots. My sister has one of those awesome hair detangling brushes. I've not yet owned one but I think I'm going to get one for LL.
I asked her if she knew the history behind that detangling brush. She didn't. It's one of those stories that I keep tucked away in the folds of my mind for when I need to give myself a "motivational pep talk".
In 2007 Shaun Pulfrey pitched his idea on Dragons Den for the Tangle Teezer hair brush and his idea was shot down by investors calling it "a waste of time". Immaterial of being rejected, he later went on to launch his product and it became worth £200m. That hairbrush became the bar to which any doubt about an investment was waged "Oh but remember the Detangle Hairbrush".
While it's always nice to hear underdog stories about rags to riches, I feel there's more than just the monetary success he gained. He believed in himself, his product, knew its worth and he didn't just bow down to the judgement of others when they were meant to be "wise" in terms of investment risk. (I feel like this when my time investment in Hive is criticized. I still believe!)
Being willing to take rejection after a setback or failure and then daring to try again takes courage and the need to dig deep, sometimes way deeper than we are accustomed to. If you are going to do something differently to the masses and question the status quo, you also have to be prepared to get knocked down and pick yourself up. It's certainly not easy but it's better than the alternative.
I believe this about each aspect of life. None of us get it 100% right 100% of the time. Sometimes drowning out the noise from others (especially if it's derogatory) is necessary in order to be able to keep moving forward and untangle the knots. Dare to be different and prove them wrong in the process, but first and foremost - believe in yourself and try again!
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