“You have to learn the rules of the game and then play better than anyone else” Albert Einstein.
Well, what if playing better than anyone else means bending the rules everyone else is following? For decades there have been the ‘golden rules’ which have been repeated to us by parents many times as well as demanded by bosses. So what is the true rule? The number one rule is not to break these rules, just to bend them a little.
1 ) Ladies are seen and not heard. As females, it seems that the words; ambition and determination cannot appear in our dictionaries. When a woman is ambitious or determined it apparently means that we enjoy dreaming. However, we are entitled to walk into a room and say we are motivated; that we have a goal set in mind and will strive for it.
2 ) There are two people in life and the harder you work, the further you’ll go. There are many career folk who will work until their fingers are numb and palms bleed but this doesn’t automatically mean that success will be obtained. The trick is to work effectively and efficiently, once an idea or project is valued highly- that’s when true success is hit.
3 ) The money monster. Discussing money is wrong, chasing the dollar is worse. Money may enable us to buy beautiful tangible things but it can also allow us to be free and travel the world for instance. Trust me when I say that soon enough after work you’ll be dying for that holiday rather than the latest Louboutins!
4 ) I want doesn’t get. I would like may be a more polite way yet you will gain more respect if you have a word with your boss to set out your goals and aims, whether a promotion, project or pay rise. Besides, how can a boss answer yes if you don’t give them the chance to do so?
5 ) Women can’t have it all. Says who? Your boss? The world ? God wouldn’t agree, she would say: “You are in the 21st century”. When it is the time to put children first, priorities may shift but you don’t have to lose sight of the race or your goals.