Bet on Yourself

Courageous, strong, brave. I have been called these words a lot recently. I don’t feel any of them. 

I feel weak and tired. I feel sorry for myself. I am procrastinating on sending out my daughter’s birthday invitations because the thought of being surrounded by people is overwhelming. I keep getting ads on my Facebook feed for maternity clothes and baby items and it knocks the wind of out me each time.

I recently met up with an old colleague who, a few years ago, had started a new career in real estate and has been incredibly successful. I teased him about a house he has listed for sale that wasn’t selling and he looked at me dead in the eye and said, “I’m going to sell that house today.”

He was so serious, I thought he had a buyer already and was just letting me give him shit. “Oh, that’s great!” I said. “You really are going to sell it!” 

He didn’t have a buyer but he had an unnerving faith that he would sell that house. He said, “I bet on myself everytime. Don’t you?”

I was caught off guard. He wasn’t being conceited or cocky. He just knew in his gut he would sell that house. He bet on himself.

Betting on yourself resonates with me more than “courageous, brave, strong.” 

I bet on myself when I walked away from a public sector job that was full of fear, back stabbing, and red tape.  I bet on myself when I started Rodan and Fields, even thoughI was scared to death that people would judge me or I would never get anywhere with it. Hell, I bet on myself when I put my crazy kids to bed each night because I know, in the end, I will win.

In my line of business I talk to a lot of people. And most do not bet on themselves. Most let fear drive their decisions and would rather take no risk of success because they fear failure. 

When I was in NOLA, I heard from some of the top leaders in the company. They all said the same thing. I have failed but I didn’t give up. I didn’t quit. 

They bet on themselves. And you should too. Living your life in fear is like not living at all. Your success is worth the risk of failure. Your life is worth living. 

Now, I am going to work on some birthday invitations.