12 Business Lessons I Learned from my Mom

It's Mother's Day, and all over LinkedIn we're embracing working moms and recognizing the contributions each of our mothers have had on us.

Let me preface this blog post with one thing: My mom is not a business woman.

She chose to be our mom as her career, planning her part time working schedule around raising her two girls. She has incredible business savvy though, despite not having gone full throttle into a career of her own. Working alongside my Dad as his executive assistant, she handles a considerable portion of client relations for his business - and shared the learnings that she gathered both working with them and observing him.

She was super involved when I was growing up, and as I've grown into an entrepreneur; she's become very involved again helping me as an executive assistant as well.

Beyond keeping me organized, she keeps me sane, grounded and humble. A constant reminder of where I came from; and where I can get to... she has undoubtedly made more of an impact on my career than any boss, mentor or teacher ever could.

My toughest critic and biggest fan... here is what my Mom has taught me about growing into an entrepreneur in the last 29 years.

The sky is the limit. 

This is the quote that got me to go to business school. She'd often peg it to salary references, "teachers can only ever make so much, in business... the sky is the limit."

2.

Reach for the moon, even if you fall - you’ll land among the stars. 

This one feels especially relevant these days, all of us in crypto 'trying to get to the moon'. To me, it always meant that if I had the guts to take moon shots; I'd forever be surrounded by the other crazy, amazing people who dared to try.

3.

Let them laugh, and laugh with them. When you trip, and they laugh—retort “I had a nice trip last fall, thanks for noticing.” 

I realized very quickly at an early age, that embracing my failures and wearing them like a badge of honour would take the power away from the people trying to bring me down. Laughter is one of the most important tools I've used in my career. Comedy can ease any situation, especially the ones you're pushing through after a miserable misstep.

4.

The more they whisper, the more you know they’re paying attention. Let them. It means you’re onto something. 

The gossip, the haters, the trolls... it used to drive me crazy. (Annnnd some days it still does). But she taught me it's actually a really important metric to know when you're onto something.

5.

You’ve never fit in. That’s what makes you stand out. 

She likes to laugh at me these days if I get upset about not fitting into a certain mould, group of people or industry. I didn't as a kid either (shocker), and it's nice to know - or at least believe, that is okay.

6.

Mind over matter. If you don’t mind... it doesn’t matter. 

A golden oldie for the toughest days and toughest times. My mom's beat cancer twice - so I'd say she's got this one mastered. I'm still working on it ;)

7.

Don’t let anyone make you feel like you aren’t changing the world. Keep it up, and you’ll change someone’s world everyday. 

I mean... come on. Isn't this what being a mom is all about? I hope everyone's mom says this kind of thing to them. And if they don't - just take it from mine.

8.

Charity starts at home. Take care of you, take care of your family - and then you’ll be strong enough to help everybody else. 

A constant reminder to take care of myself or I'll be useless to anyone else - in life, in business, in everything.

9.

Travel. Learn. See. Grow. 

I remember sometimes in primary school she'd take us out to travel and even the teacher would agree, "they'll learn more exploring another place than they will cooped up in a classroom." My endless curiosity for people and places is 100% thanks to my mom.

10.

It’s more important to be interested than interesting. 

Sometimes my cousins joke that my mom is like the grand inquisitor, but she's honestly so good at party conversations because it's always about getting to know the other person. She taught me that the best way to bond with someone, is to learn their story by getting them talking about all of the things they love.

11.

Perfect is in the eye of the beholder. When striving for perfection, the only person whose opinion that matters is yours.

I've been cursed my whole life with being a perfectionist. It got a whole lot easier when I realized that I was only ever competing against myself - that everyone else's opinion was suddenly irrelevant. That's how you become a creator. By listening to your heart and not the voices outside of it.

12.

Be yourself. It’s so much more interesting than trying to be anyone else. 

Even though my mom is my biggest fan and so perhaps I should take this with a grain of salt... mavericks are made not because they follow trends or people, but because they refuse to conform to any brand.

What has your Mom taught you?

#MothersDay2018