Jul 11
12
My life began in a small farm town in Alberta. We pretty much knew everyone and everyone knew us. That’s how it is with less than 1,200 people in a town.
There were few jobs. Most of the locals were either entrepreneurs or farmers.
Most people worked 6 or 7 days a week for the majority of the year – the concept of 9 to 5 jobs and rush hour traffic was totally foreign to me.
Traffic only happened during parades and funerals.
I started working in my parents motel as soon as I was old enough to see over the counter at the front desk and big enough to make a bed. My friends all had chores or part time jobs from very early ages too.
Don’t worry – I am not about to go on a rant about today’s youth and their lack of work ethic. That’s not where this is going.
My home town celebrated it’s 100th anniversary on July 2nd. I went back for the massive celebration. When I sat down to write this blog post for you – and share lots of pictures of my small town roots - I saw all the pictures of myself at the town celebration wearing a t-shirt with the words “Because I am a Girl”.
That t-shirt reminded me of something else I haven’t talked about – something far more important than sharing small town lessons with you.
It’s the story of making things happen for yourself and your community. The people in my hometown did it while I lived there and are still doing it today.
It’s about knowing something better is possible and taking a giant scary step forward down an unlit path to make it happen.
What’s this have to do with women, poverty and business building?
Of the one billion people in the world that live in poverty, 70% of them are women and children (according to the organization behind the campaign ‘Because I am a Girl‘).
It’s part of the reason the Divas support a micro-credit program that supports women entrepreneurs around the world. And it’s a big reason that I am quickly becoming a bigger supporter of organizations like Plan Canada.
It’s not about hand outs – which I don’t support. For me it’s about education and creating opportunities.
Bit by bit I am educating myself more and more about issues like lack of water and severe poverty in countries like India. And as I do, I read stories of women who depended on the men to provide for them and for their children – only to have their husband get sick, get hurt or die. The woman and her children are left in poverty.
And even when the men can work, in some areas there is little work for them that can bring in money so they can afford certain necessities like water or other sanitation that enables them to be healthy and live productive lives.
In the July 2011 issue of Chatelaine there’s a powerful story of a woman in India named Gita who was married off at the age of 9 only to have her husband drink himself to death. Going against her male dominated culture – she reached out for help. She had to survive. It’s a longer story than I intend to share but she brought employment to her Caste – much to the mens initial protests. Now she and some of the women have jobs. They are now able to pay school fees for their children, buy machines to grind grain or filter water, and enjoy the comfort that comes with knowing you can support your family.
Here’s the part that stops me dead in my tracks though. This is the part that comes back to you.
Women like Gita, with just about every force against them, are finding a way to make a better life for themselves and their children. They are making their dreams come true. Are you? Are you finding a way to make a better life for you and your family?
So many women (and men!) I meet in North America are just making excuses.
Maybe it’s because your survival doesn’t depend on you stepping up and making something big happen.
Maybe it’s because you’re scared – you’ve tried something before and it didn’t work out. You’re definitely comfortable. Even if you’re miserable – you’re comfortable in your misery. If you weren’t comfortable you’d do something about it.
We have every opportunity in front of us to contribute, create and conquer whatever obstacle is in front of us, but most of us don’t.
Dave and I had a call with one of our students last week who said he’s decided not to push forward this year because he is finding that it’s tough to work on real estate while maintaining and enjoying his social life (he’s a younger single guy), with his full-time job. At least he was honest – most people would make up some other reason why they weren’t going to keep working towards their objective. It didn’t make me any less sad – but at least he was telling himself the truth.
In our country we have EVERYTHING WE NEED to live a fulfilling and powerful life.
Oh my goodness – so the banks aren’t lending to many investors?! FIND ANOTHER WAY!!
There are no deals with cashflow?! LOOK HARDER or TRY A DIFFERENT STRATEGY.
I don’t get it. If Gita can do make her life, and the life of the others around her 10x’s better by stepping WAAAAAAY out of her comfort zone, what’s holding you back?
We’re now officially half way through 2011 – are you closer to the goals you set for yourself at the start of 2011?
If you’re making excuses and you’re not doing what you know needs to be done to achieve your goals, why not?? Do you think something is holding you back?? All I want today is for you to think about it for a minute. And be honest.
That’s all I am going to say on this.
I did promise some pictures so here’s a few shots: 
That’s main street! They had it closed to traffic for the 1000+ people who wandered around taking in the tea house, old fashioned candy store and museum they had set up just for the celebration weekend.
Here’s a shot of the massive BBQ dinner and program that took place to celebrate the town through the decades. 1200 people took part in the BBQ and hung out in the arena for the festivities (pretty impressive turnout considering the population of the town is pretty close to that number).
Next blog post … staging your property for success. Whether it’s a rental or a property for sale, I’ve asked a couple of home stagers to discuss the most profitable and effective ways to stage any home!
