Rachel Hollis, motivational blogger and author extraordinaire, recently expanded her personal company by hosting a women’s conference called Rise. Rachel. Despite only having a high school diploma, she made her journey from event planner to motivational speaker through unrestricted hard work and motivation. She started giving speeches, then began writing books, never letting anything get her down or slow her roll. Her most recent project was a film about the conference she hosted, title Made for More, that played in select theaters across the US. The film, while at times emotional, was incredibly inspiring, even life-changing. While the movie is jam-packed with motivational moments, I picked out the quotes and concepts that stuck with me the most.
“’No’ is a detour, not an answer”
Rachel shared this nugget of wisdom after sharing the story of writing and publishing her first novel; she was rejected by every publisher in America. Instead of taking “no” for an answer, she just decided to take a different route, and instantly researched ways to self-publish. She only found success because she refused to let rejection stop her from pursuing her dreams.
Not all things happen for a reason, but you can find meaning in all things
Rachel shared that she hated being told that “everything happens for a reason” because she knew that there was no grand cosmic reason for her brother committing suicide. She doesn’t believe that all things happen for a reason, but she does believe that it is possible to find a meaning in all the things that happen. This makes it possible to find motivation and inspiration even in tragedy.
“You are a warrior, not a victim”
It’s easy to feel like a victim when bad or difficult things happen to you, and that sense of victimhood brings you down and demotivates you. Instead of seeing yourself as a victim because something happened to you, look at yourself as a warrior because you got through it. This mindset still acknowledges and doesn’t diminish the things that hurt you, but it improves your sense of strength and self-worth. Your hard past can inspire you – if you’ve fought through those things in your past, you can get through anything.
Focus on what you are, not what you are not
Women in particular are constantly focusing on the areas we are seemingly lacking in, whether it be our physical appearance, our personality, our accomplishments, or anything else. Focusing only on where you think you are lacking only makes you feel worse. If we instead acknowledge the things that we are and the things that we do well, we will feel better about ourselves and be more motivated to continue moving forward and improving.
Dedicate one hour a day, five days a week to your goal
Many of us have goals in mind, but think that we don’t have the time, energy, or resources to achieve them. No matter how busy we may be, most of us can carve out at least one hour for ourselves every day. Spend that hour doing something that pushes you closer to achieving your goal. One hour is only a small amount of time, but it can make a huge difference and it really adds up over time. By tackling your goals one step and one day at a time, you can make huge progress that will encourage you to keep working and making progress.
To hear more from Rachel Hollis, including her podcasts and all other media, visit her site here. Her latest book, Girl, Wash Your Face, is out in stores now.