The Koa Club Weekly News Bites

October 21, 2019

PRACTICAL LIFE SKILLS

Quotes that Inspire

By: Susan Seah, Founder & CEO of The Koa Club

As I looked outside and its gray and rainy, it is hard to stay motivated and all I want to do is to remain in bed, snuggle with my pup and not do anything at all. That of course, is a pipe dream. My week already started with a bang when I looked at my phone this morning at 5am and saw numerous urgent work requests that had to be addressed immediately. Before I started working on anything, I opened my Inspiration Book (I’ll tell you more about my compilations in a book I called my Inspiration Book in another Weekly News Bites publication), and read five of my favorite inspirational quotes below:

• “Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.” —Walt Whitman

When I read this, I picture myself in a large bubble where the sun is shining and I feel the warmth of the sun all over me, and I tell myself that no matter how crappy it may be outside, I am feeling warm and loved and that everything is going to be alright.

• “I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.” —Zane Grey

This one helps me to be excited about all the things I am going to achieve today. Instead of feeling stressed about what I have to tackle today, I think of all the things on my to-do list, whether professionally or personally, as little goal posts I know I will successfully tackle throughout the day. I apply this principle whenever I run a marathon – I would always yell excitedly and cheer each time I see a 5-mile marker that I now have 5 miles less to go on the race. That helped me enormously mentally and emotionally. In my daily life, I keep a checklist of “Things To Do Today” on the Notes app of my phone, and as I accomplish each item, I get such incredible satisfaction of clicking the checkmark button next to the task that has been completed. By the end of the day, I pat myself on the back I have done so many things and give myself a little reward whatever that may be – remember that you are always your best champion!

• “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” —Earl Nightingale

I once read an article by Harvard Business Review that said: “It’s hard for high-achieving people to accept that they can’t have it all. Even those who recognize the limits on their time often still expect to be energetic and efficient enough to excel in every role: productive employee, inspiring boss and mentor, supportive colleague, active community member, and committed spouse, friend, parent, and child…You cannot pursue all your goals simultaneously or satisfy all your desires at once. And it’s an emotional drain to think you can.”  I know I’m not a super-human, though I sometimes wish I am (just think of how much more I can get accomplished then!) and accept that I can only do what I can with what I have at this time.  There are many goals I desire in my life which I have yet to achieve, but I know that I will get there eventually. I just need to define my goals, set a plan to achieve them and work hard to get to accomplish them. Nothing is impossible – just have the courage to keep pressing on (even on a cold rainy gray day).

• “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” –Vincent van Gogh

If there is one quote that I live by, this would be it. I have always believed that to grow, we need to go beyond our comfort zones and try new things, even if we are afraid. What’s the worst that can happen? Try it and not like it? Try it and fail? If we try it and decide we don’t like it, we don’t have do it again if we don’t want to, but we won’t know we don’t like it unless we try it first. When I did a bodybuilding competition years ago, I used to tell people that it’s harder than when I did the Ironman, because I have to stand on stage and get judged for my body. My fear factor of failing was in the stratosphere at that competition! I know I would never be able to win at the competition, but my fear of being laughed at, falling off the stage or forgetting to do my poses were real. But I wanted to see if I could do it and I did and decided afterwards that it was not something I ever wanted to do again. In the meantime, I had learnt so much about myself training and doing that competition and I never for a moment regretted trying it. I believe it helped me grow in ways I did not expect – discipline, confidence and humility. I challenge each of you to attempt something on your bucket list before the year is over.

• “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” —Maya Angelou

We are not the only ones facing challenges to overcome. Everyone you come across today, whether that person is your spouse, significant other, friend, co-worker, acquaintance or stranger, are likely dealing with their own set of challenges. While we can’t necessarily solve their problems for them, we have the power to help others by being empathetic to their issues, providing a shoulder to cry on, acting as a sounding board for them, and being encouraging. By just remembering to be kind to the people around us, we can wield a powerful impact on others in a positive and meaningful way, more than you can imagine sometimes. We all have the opportunity to be someone’s rainbow.

Having read these quotes, I am ready to tackle the day, week, month. I grab my soy latte from my favorite coffee shop, take a deep breath and off I go to the races.

SPEAKER INSPIRATION

Sharing a thought from Mellicia Marx, Founder of Poplin Style Direction (https://www.poplinstyle.com/), speaker at The Koa Club’s recent Looking Seriously Good Series event on Money + Style:

“Accessories can really up your game with minimal effort. Pull out a few pieces of jewelry that you haven’t worn in a while. Make sure you feel like the pieces communicate your authentic personal style. Now, leave them out on your dresser. Challenge yourself to wear at least one every day. If you aren’t wearing an item after a week or two, give it away. Put something on your calendar to remind yourself to swap out those pieces every couple of weeks or so. You’ll find that different accessories can actually inspire you to wear different outfits.”

CALL TO ACTION

If you are interested in contributing a short article to this Weekly News Bites publication, talking about a topic that you are passionate about, be a mentor for others, or have suggestions about how we can make The Koa Club a community that can make a positive impactful difference in women’s lives, please reach out to us at sseah@thekoaclub.com.  We would love to hear from you!

THE WEEK AHEAD

Looking Seriously Good Series: Boost confidence in your body image and learn to strike the right pose

By: Amy Paine, Amy Catherine Photography

Monday, October 21, 2019; 5:30pm – 7:00pm @ Capital Hill Artist Warehouse, 1216 Tenth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122

MEMBERS + ONE ONLY EXCLUSIVE EVENT – Free for members of The Koa Club and a guest of the member

Light bites & wine provided

To register: https://thekoaclub.com/event/boost-confidence-in-your-body-image-and-learn-to-strike-the-right-pose/

Have you looked at selfies you’ve taken that make you cringe, or pictures taken by others where you’ve exclaimed “don’t you dare post that!” How do we feel good about the way we look and what are the foolproof ways to pose for pictures on the fly where we would look amazing most of the time? Come listen to accomplished commercial photographer, Amy Paine, who will teach us these very important and confidence boosting skills.

To view pictures of events that we have already held, check out our pages on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-koa-club/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thekoaclubwomen/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thekoaclub/).