Words of Wisdom | Arlene Dickinson

I had the absolute pleasure of joining a beautiful friend for a girls night of good food, great wine and inspiring words from the beautifully successful and humble Arlene Dickinson.

An evening of connecting with like minded individuals and hearing her speak of truth, love, sacrifice, growth, abundance and success.

A few things that truly stood out for me last evening…

Arlene spoke of one of her jobs while trying to literally make ends meet, as a bill collector. Something that anyone and everyone with a business will experience at some point in their life. It’s a thankless job much of the time that can really pull even the most positive person down. Arlene explained that there are two types of people in this world…

1. The people who, no matter what, will stay true to their word no matter what it takes. Who live in truth and honesty. Truly authentic people.

2. Then there are the people who just dont care and will never be true to their word.

I’ve personally experienced both in my life, personally and in business. I mentioned a few blog posts back that I had a Male businessman make a comment to me that I “scare him”… because I was doing my job and following up on a payment promise this man had made to me (and already broke). It completely took me aback for a second… until I realized he wasn’t scared of me, he was/is intimidated by me and my strong, articulate, independent, authentic business skills and ethics of when someone gives you their word they should stand by it… Thank you Arlene for reinforcing the power and strength of a woman in business and to never back down to someone who is trying to intimidate and belittle you… always rise above!

Another thing that really stood out for me was when she spoke about her marriage falling apart and her despair of not knowing how to move forward in her life. I cannot remember exactly what she said however it was when she spoke of her Dad when he essentially told her to pick herself up and that there was only 1 person who could change her life… her!

It took me back to a time when my dad said something similar to me, my boyfriend at the time had moved away for “work” and left me alone with all these promises. My dad told me to get up and stop crying over him… of course at that exact moment I was pissed, he didnt understand, how insensitive… BUT it pushed me to get up, to go out and rediscover the life I had literally put on hold and pushed aside for so many years. Honestly, it’s when I got my life back. It has taken years to properly heal and move forward, however it was monumental in my path in life. A path that I did not understand at the time. A path that was meant to be walked to make me into the strong woman and mom I am today and am still growing into every single day.

Follow your heart, be authentic, be you, everyone has a story, support each other, there is more than enough to go around, we can all stand on top of our own mountains! Especially women, not thay long ago life was totally different for women in business.

One of the biggest life lessons I learned last night from Arlene, by listening, was that you must keep moving forward. Bad things will happen, you cannot go back and change it. Every one of us has a story, so be compassionate and authentic to others.

Thank you Arlene for an awesome and inspiring evening. Kudos to you for sharing your story and inspiring all ages in the room!