Ep 1: Success Without Apology, My Why

On the introductory episode of the Success Without Apology Podcast, we rightly talk about trailblazer Calamity Jane and how we can become legendary just like her!

Transcript

 Success Without Apology by Rachael Melot. Today we're going to talk about a legend. A legend named Calamity Jane.  Her real name was Martha Jane Cannary. But most of us know her as Calamity Jane.  She's a woman who knew what she wanted, 

In my research of Calamity Jane, she's one of those people who wrote her own story, literally wrote her own memoir. In fact, today we still don't know how much of her story, the one she penned and we read, is true and how much is actually complete fabrication. She's known as quite the spinner of yarns.  The fact that fascinates me about this is that Calamity Jane decided she wanted to be a legend.

So she lived and she dreamed a legendary life worth us remembering. Do you have any friends like Calamity Jane? Are you like her?  Do you have people in your life who encourage you to simply be legendary? Do they challenge you to take risks? Fall in love? Calamity Jane Chase the dream, ask for more money, or stand up for what you believe to be right. 

My friend Sherry once described me to her daughters as that one crazy friend who just encourages you to go for it.  I always liked that, because I believe women are often Too scared to succeed. We don't want to outshine someone, or have people think we're too all that, or we fear that someone will realize we're an imposter, and we're not actually qualified, or we're not good enough.

So we hide the secret of our incompetence  or our insecurity, and we settle for less than what we ultimately desire.  I challenge you to not apologize for wanting success, and instead, Go grab it with a Calamity Jane kind of fearlessness.  This reminds me of a book I'm reading. It's titled, Women Don't Ask.

Co authored by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever.  The premise of the book is that women who do not ask for what they want professionally   they don't ask or negotiate for raises, promotions, or more quality of life. 

And by not negotiating a starting salary for our very first job, women sacrifice over half a million dollars in earnings by the end of their career.  Did you get that?  One half million dollars, all because of our very first job. We didn't have the confidence to negotiate and ask for a little more than what was being offered. 

Girls, this is my very first podcast recording for you, and I hope you hear my passion, feel my encouragement, and take to heart my message. Girls, this is my very first podcast recording for you, and I hope you hear my passion, feel my encouragement, and take to heart my message. Quoting Calamity, I figure if a girl wants to become a legend, then she should just go ahead and be one. 

I suggest, if you want to make more money, get more out of your life, or enjoy the luxuries of work life balance, then you better ask for it, and you better do it now, starting with the first job of your career, or the next job of your career.  Go for it. Want success, and then have the confidence to ask for what you need to attain that vision of success. 

Thank you so much for joining me, Rachael Melot, and my Success Without Apology podcast. This summer, I'll be interviewing several of my women friends pursuing success in their own legendary way. I cannot wait for you to meet them.