Week 20: Failure to Prepare – #AlphaFemaleFriday

Week 20: Failure to Prepare – #AlphaFemaleFriday

“ WEEK 20 / 133 – 133 WEEKS TO SUCCESS ”

My cousin is a chain smoker turned poster boy of Pinterest fitspiration. One of his favorite phrases, which he frequently uses on his clients who he coaches to motivate them for good diet and exercise, goes like this: if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Whether it’s at the gym or in the workplace, I remind myself of this phrase in every situation.

It’s a Monday night. I rush back home from work, and after being in the office all day, I smell like midtown New York City. The stench sticks to me now that we’re getting into the warmer months. I clamber out of my corporate fashionista uniform and switch into my raggedy gym clothes. Granted, I know that I will most likely never be one of those women who actually look put together at the gym in the Lululemon attire. Still, I go, knowing that it’s the better thing for my health and sanity than eating Hot Pockets and watching House of Cards on Netflix.  (Because even Frank and Claire Underwood go running on a frequent basis!)

I’m having an entire stream of consciousness inner monologue with myself the whole time I’m at the gym. In between the thoughts of “why am I watching Shahs of Sunset on the elliptical” to “maybe I should stop treating leggings as workout gear”, I find myself thinking about the conference call I have to hop on as soon as I get back from the gym. I think back to my initial thoughts before I even got home this evening, and I was thinking to myself: do I really have time to go home, go to the gym, and make it back in time for my 8 PM call? Will I be prepared to talk at 8 PM?

I was four minutes late (this is a rarity for me. I’m the person who would rather be three hours early than three minutes late), but I felt prepared by the time I hopped on the call. I had prepared my thoughts in advance, prior to my evening workout, knowing that as soon as I got home I wouldn’t be able to breeze through notes. I’d have to be ready, right then and there, to jump on.

This week, the focus is on being prepared for events, specifically social events. The industry that I am in completely focuses on being prepared for social events, because we are typically the people who sell, run, operate, advertise, and clean up those said events. If there’s anything I’ve learned this week, it’s that the face time warrior in the office or at the event isn’t always the clear cut winner. More often than not, it’s the person who showed up prepared and with a plan, in the right place, and at the right time. Fortune favors the bold, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Cheers,

Kelly

@AlphaFemSociety tweets by @KellyRGonzales                                                                                

About:

Each week, I take a tip from Lois P. Frankel’s book, Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office, and explore how each of these tips affect myself and other women in similar positions on the road to becoming the women we want to be. There are far and few between who are a few steps behind me, and many more who are far advanced. I found that Lois P. Frankel’s advice applied to novice, intermediates, and experts alike. It helped me see that I was already doing right, served as a reminder to keep on doing what I was doing and how to keep that momentum going. The book also showed me areas where I could improve, and gave realistic tips to jump on board. There are a total of 133 tips, and explore one tip per week in a program I call: 133 Weeks to Success.

Join the movement using the hashtag #133WeeksToSuccess with posts which are posted every #AlphaFemaleFriday.